Reading + watching roundup, + meme

[hamsterwoman]

34. N.K.Jemisin, The City We Became -- Huh. I was expecting to have a hard time getting through this book, based on everything I knew about the premise and also the reviews I've seen from people for whom it did not work. So I cautiously peeked at it when I needed a new thing to be reading on my phone, when I didn't have my main (hard copy) read

Comments

[author_by_night]

Do you have a link to all of the questions?

but there are definitely fandoms I lost interest in because they veered into character dynamics or story arcs I disliked,

Oh, for sure.

Or canons I enjoy where it turns out the fandom is interested in / centered around something else, which is disappointing, but then it's easier to just stay awayI had this problem for the longest time myself. Even the fandom I'm in now is mostly great, but there is definitely an emphasis on one ship - good news is that said ship is my Oest of OTPs, if "Oest of OTPs" is a thing, but I tend to veer toward gen, and I feel sometimes my less ship focused fics get less attention. Plus, I sort of wish as a general rule, fandoms weren't so do or die about ships. I think the Harry Potter fandom ruined shipping for me. :P But even IRL, I'm not huge on romance. (Or... I'm typing this at work, so I can't get into the other things people like ships for. Let's go with "saxophone scenes

[hamsterwoman]

I'll be back with an actual answer but here's the questions for the Frankenstein meme

[author_by_night]

Thanks!

[hamsterwoman]

ood news is that said ship is my Oest of OTPs, if "Oest of OTPs" is a thing,

It's wonderful when that happens! (and LOL at "Oest of OTPs" -- cute phrase!)

I definitely feel like gen fics get less attention in fandom than shippy fics, in most if not all fandoms. I've come across people who say they just don't read gen, because that's not what they're reading fic FOR, which I guess is fair enough, but that's sad for the writers who prefer to focus on gen.

(Or... I'm typing this at work, so I can't get into the other things people like ships for. Let's go with "saxophone scenes.")

Hehe. Saxophone scenes are definitely a key part of some fandom experiences :P

[bearshorty]

I have been weary of checking out Jemisin since while I liked the Broken Earth trilogy, it was a bit heavy for me, so I associate Jemisin with heavy writing. And I am not sure about the premise since I lived in NYC for almost 30 years and I am sure some things would bug me since my New York, from a Russian Jewish immigrant perspective, is not Jemisin's New York. My Brooklyn is not her Brooklyn and I am sure it would grate at times. Right now I am in my parents house in Staten Island, where they moved in 1998 when I was a senior in high school (I still finished my high school in Brooklyn), and that makes me even more weary based on what you write. Staten Island has a reputation, it is the least city like of all the boroughs but it does seem like Jemisin resorted to some stereotypes. I might pick up the book someday but I am not sure I want to.

[hamsterwoman]

I would be SUPER interested to know what you'd think about The City We Became, but I do suspect that it would bother you in the ways you hypothesize -- not your NYC, not your Brooklyn (and a NYC and Brooklyn that kind of ignores that experience; there's a sort of very short immigrant montage you get with Queens, but IIRC it's definitely centered on POCs, and I have a hard time imagining anyone with a Staten Island connection not being put off by the SI stuff. Like, I do think she's trying to be even-handed about Staten Island, but it didn't come across that way to me.

I will say this book is definitely not nearly as heavy/tough as Broken Earth, which was difficult reading for me, as much as I admire it (it took me over a year of reading in small chunks to get through Obelisk Gate).

[spiffikins]

I read TCWB - and I think I had similar feelings about it as you! I found it a reasonably easy/fast read (especially compared to previous Jemisin books, which I liked, but found them much denser). But at the same time I don't know that I particularly liked it - I don't know that I've ever read another "avatar" type book - so it was new to me, but I didn't really bond with the concept because it really seems too...pat? Something about trying to consolidate the entirety of millions of people into one representational person - why?

But I think I would've liked the book more if it was just stompy art grandma, her Jersey sidekick, and ex-rapper/council member lady doing thing around magical New York, without any of this reductive avatar nonsense.And really, this is why I kept reading - I liked those three and would have been thrilled if the book was just them as characters and ignore the whole "avatar of their borough" thing

[hamsterwoman]

I found it a reasonably easy/fast read (especially compared to previous Jemisin books, which I liked, but found them much denser).

Yeah, agreed. I have all the respect in the world for the Broken Earth series -- I think Fifth Season is the best sci-fi of the last 10 years probably -- but easy reading it definitely wasn't, and Obelisk Gate took me over a year of reading in small chunks to get through, because I could barely handle Nassun's POV.

but I didn't really bond with the concept because it really seems too...pat? Something about trying to consolidate the entirety of millions of people into one representational person - why?I don't get the why either -- I don't really understand what people get out of a "Character X is avatar of Thing Y" story that they wouldn't get out of just a story with Character X. I suppose I can see it as a kind of validating "a person like you can be an avatar of this thing that may have rejected people like you in the past", which is I guess the attraction here? But the weird reductive effect of it

[_profiterole_]

That cartoon was the best! I was so hooked on it. It's a pity they never did much with Jubilee in the recent adaptations.

[hamsterwoman]

I watched it religiously after school until they stopped showing it -- it was a great time!

I was actually a little surprised to remember just HOW central Jubilee was in the cartoon (I guess I'd focused more on the grown-ups, even as a kid), because she's been barely IN any of the live action movies. Which is kind of weird, as she's a great "audience POV" character, being a newcomer. But I guess the old movies kind of replaced that role with Rogue, and the most recent ones with Jean, I suppose... (I hope it wasn't because it was more bankable to star a white actress than an Asian one...)

[lyssa027]

Morph comes back in later seasons :x I won't say anything more because it's a huge plot point.

I used to watch the 90s X-men with my dad every Saturday at 11 est. It was our thing :)

I've tried to rewatch it recently, but so much if it is cringeworthy LOL, on the other hand, I've recently watched X-men Evolution and liked it much more now than I did when it came out

[hamsterwoman]

Morph comes back in later seasons :x I won't say anything more because it's a huge plot point.

Ooh, OK, I'll need to watch for that if I continue! (So far, it's pretty easy going, even though some of it is rather cringey, yeah -- the episodes being only 20 minutes long means that even if my attention does wander, I'm probably halfway through the episode already by then, and might as well finish watching. And they're actually pretty committed to doing the cliffhanger thing, considering how TV used to air back in the day, so I often just continue on to the next episode.)

That's so cute that you used to watch it with your dad! I watched the cartoon religiously after school until they stopped showing it -- it was a great way to unwind before starting homework.

[lyssa027]

Dad and I have always had TV traditions ever since I was a kid to an adult ;)

X-men was totally our thing when I was little as well as, Star Trek Next Generation/Voyager,X-files, Hercules and Xena. When I was older is turned into Andromeda, Farscape, Doctor Who, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis, and Eureka.

[hamsterwoman]

Aww, Herc and Xena are two other shows I'm pretty nostalgic about -- those were a good time, too!

(I'm not sure I would want to watch Farscape with a parent though, LOL XD)