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shadowkat[As an aside, the play "The Vagina Monologues" is not a work safe topic. Well not at my work place at any rate. Perhaps if I was still in publishing, as opposed to public transportation...(although I do make more money in public transportation and it's a heck of a lot more interesting, not to mention challenging, so do not regret switching industries and careers...just miss the people.) And since I no longer have a printer at home - I have to do all my printing at work. And well, printing off that script requires a little bit spy tactics. Particularly since I work in a cubicle. I have a huge computer screen. And a shared printer with 75 other people. So, I wait until the tail end of the day, usually Friday, when no one is there, and print it then or at lunch when no one is around.]
1. What I've just finished reading?
Trade Me by Courtney Milan. This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance Novel, or rather within the subgenre of New Adult.
New Adult (NA) fiction is a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18–25 age bracket. St. Martin's Press first coined the term in 2009, when they held a special call for "...fiction similar to YA that can be published and marketed as adult—a sort of an 'older YA' or 'new adult'." New Adult fiction tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality, and negotiating education and career choices.
A sub-genre of this is well, the billionaire or Cinderella wealth fantasy, and erotica BDSM New Adult Cinderella Wealth Fantasy (aka 50 Shades of Grey). I'm not overly fond of this genre - read enough of it, to be able to state that it is not my cup of tea so to speak.
That said, I rather liked Trade Me, which sort of pokes fun at the genre, and fixes the things that don't work in many of the books.
Here's the review I wrote for Good Reads:
Better than most of the New Adult novels that I've read to date. The hero isn't a jerk like well 98% of the genre. And the heroine appears to, ahem, actually possess a brain and not just a killer wardrobe and great, albeit on the skinny-side, physique.
Milan clearly has read quite a bit of the genre, because she pokes fun at it in Trade Me, in various subtle ways. For example? The hero ponders having sex with the heroine in his car, but realizes that it is just not physically possible. For one thing - it would involve folding down the seats, and for another - horribly uncomfortable. (Yes, someone read the car sex scene in Bared To You by Sylvia Day (Crossfire 1).) For another? The billionaire hero actually is worried about his work, and works constantly and has worked constantly since he was 14. And ...well, being poor doesn't mean having trouble buying nail polish or the right shoes to go with that pencil skirt. But rather worrying about whether your rice will feed you for the rest of the week, if you can pay rent, and your parents utility bill.
Milan's strength appears to be in building interesting family dynamics, which do not fall into the over-used abuse cliche. Yes, we finally have a New Adult novel in which neither character was abused as a child by their parents or anyone else.
I think the only other author that I've read in this genre that managed somewhat convincing family dynamics may have been Casey Mansefield with Heart of a Star. Most skip over it and focus on the sexual hijinks. Like Mansfeild, Milan's novel has little sex. There's a few scenes, but not that many. So it may be a turn off for the erotica crowd.
For those who want a meatier romance, with actual character development, and a smart heroine. This may be it. Both characters have issues with fear. Big ones. The hero copes by not eating and running a lot. The heroine by shutting herself off. All is resolved by the end. It may be wrapped up a bit too neatly, but it worked overall.
Oh, a plus, we get our first transgender character, who will be the heroine in the next novel of the series.
2. What I'm reading now?
Among Others by Jo Walton.
The story is told via the diary or journal entries of a 15 year old girl, who is going to a British boarding school in the late 1970s. After a horrible fight with her mad mother, which has left her crippled, and her twin dead, Mori has traveled from Wales to London and is enrolled in an all girls school. She's miserable and loses herself in Science Fiction and Fantasy novels. The writing style reminds me a great deal of Pamela Dean's Tam Lin, where not much happens, and you spend most of your time reading about the daily life of a student. (ie. Today we had honey buns. I read Tolkien, it was absolutely brill. Is doing magic making me evil? Maybe not. Hard to tell if it is magic really.)
So not exactly a page-turner, nor poetic. But oddly compelling.
If you are a huge fan of 1970s and 1960s Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels, you'll probably love this book. If you aren't or haven't read any of them - it will most likely annoy you. (At least that appears to be the trend amongst the Amazon reviewers. I'm on the fence, having read half of them. And only vaguely familiar with the others. I tend to read across genres, so am not really an expert on any of them. While Mori reads exclusively Sci-Fi for pleasure, and other stuff only when it is pressed upon her - either for class or by her father/grandfather such as Plato's The Republic.)
This book references lots of other books, without really going into much depth regarding them. And it is a sci-fantasy novel, where magic is discussed in almost scientific turns. Mori describes magic much the way Einstein might explain physics.
It doesn't happen directly. You do something, and it starts a sort of pattern or ripple effect, similar to skipping a rock across a lake. Example? You do a spell to obtain a rose. A series of events happen, which enable a rose to drop into your hands.
It's told in first person close and the author works hard to stick within the voice and internal thoughts of a 15 year old. So it has a stream of consciousness feel at times. I can see why it won the Nebula and Hugo, but am not quite sure I like it.
Which is an odd thing to say, I know. But there it is.
3. What I'm reading next?
Flirting with Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, which I tried ages ago, but alas was not in the mood so couldn't finish. Not sure I will be able to now. The television series sparked my interest.
My only problem with the series is, at least according to various Amazon reviewers, Gabaldon appears to like to use sexual violence as plot point or means of moving characters forward. She's by no means alone in this tendency. It's actually quite common in historical novels, or at least the pulpier versions. For some reason or other, these writers have decided that it's only accurate to that time period if the characters are constantly being threatened by rape, torture, some sort of horrible violence/molestation or being raped. Noticed this with GRR Martin as well.
I've read some history - not everyone was threatened by sexual violence back then, any more than they are today. Seriously, the writer can't find something else to push the plot forward? And according to one Amazon reviewer, Gabaldon does heavily rely on this as a means of developing character and plot, and it is in all her books and happens to all her main characters. This gave me pause. Hmmm, do I really want to read this series? More to the point, do I want to watch the television series? I already know that there is a highly controversial plot point coming up in the television series, which they apparently are going to do (considering Ron Moore did far worse in Battle Star Galatica, I wouldn't be surprised), that may, ahem, lose a few fans. It certainly alienated quite a few readers.
That said, the book is by no means as bad as the 1970s boddice rippers. It is more a historical than a romance, I think. Although, again according to the Amazon reviews, the series does appear to go on a bit long. Sort of like GRR Martin in that respect, except Martin had more characters and clearly a plot arc in mind. But once again, these are Amazon reviewers - so....I've bought the first two books: Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, which were dirt cheap on Kindle ($1.99 and 4.99 respectively) and we'll see where we go from there. Not sure I'll make it through all 8 novels. For one thing they are long - about 800 pages each. And it takes four years for her to publish each segment, with no end in sight. (Again reminds me of GRR Martin, except she writes faster, and not quite as involved.)
A co-worker read them and recommended them. He told me that it was good up to a point, but then he gave up. I think he stopped after the fourth book. (He did the same thing with GRR Martin.) He also highly rec'd the television series - which he was right about. This is the same co-worker who lent me the Roger Zelzany book, which I admittedly was not in the right mood for. I may try Zelzany again, when I'm in the mood for speculative sci-fi. (I'm a moody reader - I may hate a book one week and love it the next. As one friend stated - I reserve the right to be agnostic on my tastes or change them at will.)
Anyone online read the Outlander series? If so, what did you think of it? Don't worry about spoilers...I sort of spoiled myself a bit reading Amazon reviews today. Although most made no sense.
1. What I've just finished reading?
Trade Me by Courtney Milan. This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance Novel, or rather within the subgenre of New Adult.
New Adult (NA) fiction is a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18–25 age bracket. St. Martin's Press first coined the term in 2009, when they held a special call for "...fiction similar to YA that can be published and marketed as adult—a sort of an 'older YA' or 'new adult'." New Adult fiction tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality, and negotiating education and career choices.
A sub-genre of this is well, the billionaire or Cinderella wealth fantasy, and erotica BDSM New Adult Cinderella Wealth Fantasy (aka 50 Shades of Grey). I'm not overly fond of this genre - read enough of it, to be able to state that it is not my cup of tea so to speak.
That said, I rather liked Trade Me, which sort of pokes fun at the genre, and fixes the things that don't work in many of the books.
Here's the review I wrote for Good Reads:
Better than most of the New Adult novels that I've read to date. The hero isn't a jerk like well 98% of the genre. And the heroine appears to, ahem, actually possess a brain and not just a killer wardrobe and great, albeit on the skinny-side, physique.
Milan clearly has read quite a bit of the genre, because she pokes fun at it in Trade Me, in various subtle ways. For example? The hero ponders having sex with the heroine in his car, but realizes that it is just not physically possible. For one thing - it would involve folding down the seats, and for another - horribly uncomfortable. (Yes, someone read the car sex scene in Bared To You by Sylvia Day (Crossfire 1).) For another? The billionaire hero actually is worried about his work, and works constantly and has worked constantly since he was 14. And ...well, being poor doesn't mean having trouble buying nail polish or the right shoes to go with that pencil skirt. But rather worrying about whether your rice will feed you for the rest of the week, if you can pay rent, and your parents utility bill.
Milan's strength appears to be in building interesting family dynamics, which do not fall into the over-used abuse cliche. Yes, we finally have a New Adult novel in which neither character was abused as a child by their parents or anyone else.
I think the only other author that I've read in this genre that managed somewhat convincing family dynamics may have been Casey Mansefield with Heart of a Star. Most skip over it and focus on the sexual hijinks. Like Mansfeild, Milan's novel has little sex. There's a few scenes, but not that many. So it may be a turn off for the erotica crowd.
For those who want a meatier romance, with actual character development, and a smart heroine. This may be it. Both characters have issues with fear. Big ones. The hero copes by not eating and running a lot. The heroine by shutting herself off. All is resolved by the end. It may be wrapped up a bit too neatly, but it worked overall.
Oh, a plus, we get our first transgender character, who will be the heroine in the next novel of the series.
2. What I'm reading now?
Among Others by Jo Walton.
The story is told via the diary or journal entries of a 15 year old girl, who is going to a British boarding school in the late 1970s. After a horrible fight with her mad mother, which has left her crippled, and her twin dead, Mori has traveled from Wales to London and is enrolled in an all girls school. She's miserable and loses herself in Science Fiction and Fantasy novels. The writing style reminds me a great deal of Pamela Dean's Tam Lin, where not much happens, and you spend most of your time reading about the daily life of a student. (ie. Today we had honey buns. I read Tolkien, it was absolutely brill. Is doing magic making me evil? Maybe not. Hard to tell if it is magic really.)
So not exactly a page-turner, nor poetic. But oddly compelling.
If you are a huge fan of 1970s and 1960s Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels, you'll probably love this book. If you aren't or haven't read any of them - it will most likely annoy you. (At least that appears to be the trend amongst the Amazon reviewers. I'm on the fence, having read half of them. And only vaguely familiar with the others. I tend to read across genres, so am not really an expert on any of them. While Mori reads exclusively Sci-Fi for pleasure, and other stuff only when it is pressed upon her - either for class or by her father/grandfather such as Plato's The Republic.)
This book references lots of other books, without really going into much depth regarding them. And it is a sci-fantasy novel, where magic is discussed in almost scientific turns. Mori describes magic much the way Einstein might explain physics.
It doesn't happen directly. You do something, and it starts a sort of pattern or ripple effect, similar to skipping a rock across a lake. Example? You do a spell to obtain a rose. A series of events happen, which enable a rose to drop into your hands.
It's told in first person close and the author works hard to stick within the voice and internal thoughts of a 15 year old. So it has a stream of consciousness feel at times. I can see why it won the Nebula and Hugo, but am not quite sure I like it.
Which is an odd thing to say, I know. But there it is.
3. What I'm reading next?
Flirting with Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, which I tried ages ago, but alas was not in the mood so couldn't finish. Not sure I will be able to now. The television series sparked my interest.
My only problem with the series is, at least according to various Amazon reviewers, Gabaldon appears to like to use sexual violence as plot point or means of moving characters forward. She's by no means alone in this tendency. It's actually quite common in historical novels, or at least the pulpier versions. For some reason or other, these writers have decided that it's only accurate to that time period if the characters are constantly being threatened by rape, torture, some sort of horrible violence/molestation or being raped. Noticed this with GRR Martin as well.
I've read some history - not everyone was threatened by sexual violence back then, any more than they are today. Seriously, the writer can't find something else to push the plot forward? And according to one Amazon reviewer, Gabaldon does heavily rely on this as a means of developing character and plot, and it is in all her books and happens to all her main characters. This gave me pause. Hmmm, do I really want to read this series? More to the point, do I want to watch the television series? I already know that there is a highly controversial plot point coming up in the television series, which they apparently are going to do (considering Ron Moore did far worse in Battle Star Galatica, I wouldn't be surprised), that may, ahem, lose a few fans. It certainly alienated quite a few readers.
That said, the book is by no means as bad as the 1970s boddice rippers. It is more a historical than a romance, I think. Although, again according to the Amazon reviews, the series does appear to go on a bit long. Sort of like GRR Martin in that respect, except Martin had more characters and clearly a plot arc in mind. But once again, these are Amazon reviewers - so....I've bought the first two books: Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, which were dirt cheap on Kindle ($1.99 and 4.99 respectively) and we'll see where we go from there. Not sure I'll make it through all 8 novels. For one thing they are long - about 800 pages each. And it takes four years for her to publish each segment, with no end in sight. (Again reminds me of GRR Martin, except she writes faster, and not quite as involved.)
A co-worker read them and recommended them. He told me that it was good up to a point, but then he gave up. I think he stopped after the fourth book. (He did the same thing with GRR Martin.) He also highly rec'd the television series - which he was right about. This is the same co-worker who lent me the Roger Zelzany book, which I admittedly was not in the right mood for. I may try Zelzany again, when I'm in the mood for speculative sci-fi. (I'm a moody reader - I may hate a book one week and love it the next. As one friend stated - I reserve the right to be agnostic on my tastes or change them at will.)
Anyone online read the Outlander series? If so, what did you think of it? Don't worry about spoilers...I sort of spoiled myself a bit reading Amazon reviews today. Although most made no sense.