Posts tagged books
The Spiral Dance
"Though both are bound in the spiral dance, I would rather be a cyborg than a goddess." - Donna Haraway
Olivia Waite: Read what you like: Why "Adults should read adult books" is bull
What do you think of the NYT article: Joel Stein’s “Adults Should Read Adult Books”?Here’s the article, if you’re curious.
I think it’s complete and utter drivel from the pretentious mind of someone who clearly has lost the ability to…
<33333
*makes tea*
(Source: swinging-dots)
Thank you for making ASH a success!
Recently I received my latest royalty statement from my publisher, and I was very excited to learn that my first novel, Ash, has earned out its advance. This is exciting not only because now I will get royalty checks for future book sales of Ash, but because … MY LESBIAN CINDERELLA STORY HAS EARNED OUT.
Authors don’t often announce when their books earn out. Some authors probably fully expect that to happen and it doesn’t seem like a big deal to them. Others probably never expect the book to earn out at all, so there’s nothing to state. But in a world in which it can often feel like anything about LGBT characters has a snowball’s chance in hell of being successful, I feel like this is something to celebrate. Cheesy as this may sound, now Cinderella really does get to live happily ever after. [Continue reading]
You rock, Malinda! *cheers, screams, falls over* *not graceful but enthusiastic*
Came across a link to “The 10 best first lines in fiction,” and since obviously no one is going to agree on the 10 best first lines, I used this as an excuse to comb my shelves and post some of my favorite first lines. In no particular order:
1. “The first thing I want the reader to know is that I had nothing to do with the book you have in your hand.” - Laurie R. King, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
2. “All this happened, more or less.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
3. “The only thing I remembered was that I had seen extraordinary sights on the morning of the day I died.” - Frank M. Robinson, The Dark Beyond the Stars
4. “This story should begin in some sharp, visually violent way, like the crack of a brutal hand across a face, but does not.” - Laura Argiri, The God in Flight
5. “To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband’s dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.” - Deanna Raybourn, Silent in the Grave
Let me talk to you about books.
Specifically, one book. This book.
This book should be a best seller. This book should be required reading for graduating from high school. Before you get that diploma, you read this book.
This book deals with debunking “Neurosexism,” which is a very fancy term for all of that evolutionary psychology bullshit that people spill about those “brain differences” between boys and girls.
This book debunks such myths as:
- Boys are better at math than girls
- Women make crappy lawyers/business CEOs/etc, as their brains are not cut out for aggression.
- Men make crappy counselors/primary school teachers/primary parents/etc, as their brains are not cut out for empathy.
- MEN ARE BUILT FOR GOING OUT AND HUNTING WHILE WOMEN ARE BUILT FOR STAYING HOME AND BABYMAKING IT’S NOT SEXISM IT’S JUST BIOLOGY
- And many other such myths.
Furthermore, this book covers topics such as:
- Neurosexism and gender perceptions in multiple races (as this is not a singularly white experience, just as the western world isn’t a singularly white experience)
- Sex discrimination in the workplace, and how women are (or, more often, are not) allowed to behave
- How science is used (badly) to support many of these claims
- Experiences of trans* people, both through interviews and empirical studies.
AND FINALLY - It is all brilliantly researched, cited, compiled - and it’s easy to read! Cordelia Fine actually manages to be funny while writing this, which I think is important, because it makes all of this information infinitely accessible.
Delusions of Gender has reinforced what Oberlin taught me: The gender binary is stupid and arbitrary, and dangerous. And it is a self-perpetuating bias that needs to be addressed to be overcome.
Summer Reading!
I WANT TO READ THIS PLEASE
(Source: likefrancium, via m1nou)
'Frankenstein' App and the State of Adult-Targeted Apps
Hm, this actually sounds like an example of “interactive reading” that could be quite interesting! Unfortunately, I can’t investigate whether it goes beyond a neat gimmick and pretty graphics to actually being an engaging story/experience, since my iPod Touch is too old to run it. Has anybody else checked this out?
I took this romance reader survey and there were a couple of questions I had problems with. First, the genres! The problem with their list was that 1) some of those genres aren’t really distinct (“drama” vs. “contemporary”?), and 2) I generally prefer all my romance novels to be erotic romances, no matter what the genre. Doesn’t “erotic romance” just basically mean the book has sexy sexy sexytimes? Can’t an erotic romance be historical, fantasy, sci-fi, action/adventure, etc.?
Also, the choices for why I still generally prefer paperbacks were completely inadequate. None of them applied to me. In fact, I would prefer ebooks if their problems with permanence, accessibility, usability, and privacy were all solved. I don’t give a shit about lending books to friends (sorry, guys), how they look on my shelves, or the feel of paper (come ON).
(There was no write-in section in the survey, so I have to air my grievances here.)
I was on my own case about that for awhile. Perhaps, I thought, I should be more realistic in my portrayal of sex. Maybe I should, once and awhile, not make it so good. Maybe it should really hurt the first time and not so much in the “hurts so good” manner. Maybe the orgasm isn’t explosive and shared. But then I decided to let myself off the hook. Unless I miss my guess, readers don’t buy my books for the realism. Like I said in the CnD post, I don’t really write realism. It might be better said that I write “idealism”. I think readers like my stories because of that. Because it’s always good. I’m dependable that way. Probably because that’s what I like to read myself.
Exactly. Authors and readers know they’re not writing/reading something “realistic” and, fuck it, that’s okay. Romance writers and readers aren’t idiots.
I went to the library today and just for fun, I picked up this romance novel. I can’t even remember the title. It was something like “Warrior in Love” or “In Love with a Warrior” and there was this buff half-naked man wearing plaid on it with long hair, cradling some chick with this crazy revealing dress in his arms.
I now have hope (after reading a few chapters of this) that I could get published. Because honestly, this was some of the craziest shit I have ever read. There lines like ”Her dress revealed the tops of her plentiful bosom” and “Her eyes were like the purest of lavender”. It was pretty flipping hilarious.
Congratulations on your desire to publish a romance of your own! Congratulations as well on your innocence, for thinking that getting published is as easy as falling off a log! Pay no attention to the thousands — nay, millions of intelligent, educated women who love romance and devote many of their waking hours to reading it and writing it and honing their craft and technique. Surely your one lackluster experience with a book that was not to your taste — though you appear to have gotten several chapters in — gives you more authority about the genre than someone who has actually read an entire romance novel. The same way that my dislike for the novels of Thomas Hardy means that I could no doubt produce a stellar example of classic English literature.
Bonus points for talking about the cover rather than the text. Authors traditionally don’t have a great deal of control over romance covers, especially the clinch-tastic ones like you describe.
In fact, though, your desire to be published in romance is on the right track: romance is the most flourishing part of the book industry right now, whether we’re talking about print or digital or anything in between. It’s also a hugely supportive community, so it would be quite easy for you to find mentors and others who can help you hone your writing and strengthen your work.
I wish you the best of luck!
+1 for the commentary!
Olivia Waite: Romance and porn and Lolita and Fifty Shades.
“What this comparison makes clear is that whether we’re talking above Nabokov or E. L. James, it’s always the men who are deemed important.
This is a subtle form of sexism, but once seen it cannot be unseen. It’s why supposed relationship experts worry that romance heroes will make real-life…
(Source: oliviawaite.com)
