(no subject)

1. I'm making slow progress on the seemingly endless novel with no end -- I finally got to the section I was struggling to get to for the last year and a half. I sort of moved it up a bit, when I wrote it in long-hand, I'd put a bunch of stuff in there that was not necessary and repetitive, so I got rid of that, and shortened the time-line. This works better. Although I'm iffy on the locale. I may have to change that upon revisions.

Most of this book takes place in upstate New York and Martha's Vineyard. I need to make a trip to a few destinations upstate to make sure I got the lay of the land correct -- although a cursory understanding is all that is required, unless you plan to write long descriptive passages. (I've discovered this upon reading a lot of books in which it is clear (to me at any rate) that the people have never been there. Or if they have, it doesn't really matter -- it could be anywhere really, and I sort of forgot where they were half-way through.

Setting is more important in the fantasy, historical, horror and sci-fi genres than the mystery and romance genres. Mystery and romance are more character/plot specific, with setting as mere window dressing.

2. The dental appointment went well. ( Read more... )

3. The New York Theater Group has provided a list of the 50 Best Plays of the Past Hundred Years. (OR rather the list-makers favorites. I'm skeptical of these lists even though I find them sort of fun, obviously.)

"The Number one play of the past 100 years is Arthur Miller’s 1949 play “Death of A Salesman,” according to Entertainment Weekly’s issue of July 5/12, 2013. Number 50 is Conor McPherson’s 1997 play “The Weir.” In-between are 48 other plays (the scripts, really, not any specific productions) that EW’s critics have chosen. (The print edition includes a brief description and explanation for each selection. I’ve linked each play below to its Amazon page, which provides a brief description of the play and a chance to purchase it.)

There are no musicals on this list. But beneath it is EW’s list of the 10 greatest musicals." [Well, of course not -- it's a list of plays not musicals. They aren't the same thing. Hello.]

Meme:

Bold what you've seen or read (they are plays, either works. Actually it's probably better if you've seen it. Since plays are meant to be produced and change depending on who is producing them. I know I've wrote a couple, and collaboratively did a read-through of one that I co-wrote.)

Italicize what you couldn't get through.

[Snark at their list and put in why you disagree with it or substitutions. (Because I certainly will - I despise Arthur Miller.)]

( Fifty Best Plays per the New Theater Play Writes Group )

The 10 Greatest Musicals, according to EW
( Read more... )

4. Beautiful September Day -- should take a walk. Teeth hurt and I need to eat. So will do that first.

(no subject)

1. The problem with lists -- in the creative arts, is seriously this is subjective. People tend to like what resonates for them personally -- that's what art does. And it's moody, I often will love something ten years ago, that I hate now, and vice versa. So art or what is good art is in the eye of the beholder, and objective criteria -- outside of technical skill, is difficult to assess.

What's interesting here, unlike the BBC's lists or the New York Playwrite's list, is they actually tell us about the voting process.

More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. The winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey are an intriguing mix of classic and contemporary titles. Over on NPR's pop culture blog, Monkey See, you can find one fan's thoughts on how the list shaped up, get our experts' take, and have the chance to share your own.

A quick word about what's here, and what's not: Our panel of experts reviewed hundreds of the most popular nominations and tossed out those that didn't fit the survey's criteria (after — we assure you — much passionate, thoughtful, gleefully nerdy discussion). You'll notice there are no young adult or horror books on this list, but sit tight, dear reader, we're saving those genres for summers yet to come.
[Uhm, actually there are several YA horror novels on this list, I counted at least three (Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, King's Gunslinger, and McKinley's Sunshine) -- so I don't know what these people are smoking.

Warning: I did not like the list. But I did read an awful lot of books on it, and promptly forgot about them. There are several books on the list I did like -- but I feel this list unfairly slanted to old white dudes, who wrote books that are highly overrated, outdated, and have not stood the test of time. The other problem I have here -- is they impose rules for the romance novels, comedy, and horror -- two novel rule. But didn't here, and they should have -- there's a lot of old, dead, white dudes with multiple selections, some deserving, many not. Maybe this was before they realized it was problematic? I don't know. I wouldn't so much if they were there instead of books by several of my favorite authors, who are more deserving and better books. There's no Andre Norton, CJ Cherryth, Maria Doria Russell, Sherri Teppar, James Tippetree, Octavia Butler, N K Nemishe, Ann Leckie, Cat Valente, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Bear, etc. Instead we have people like Diana Galabadon, Jim Butcher, way too many Heinlein (I think he has four) Gaiman (four-five), Ray Bradbury -- five, etc. This is bad form. NPR? Shame on you. And why on earth, do we have the sexist Conan The Barbarian Series? ]

Meme:
Bold the ones you read.
Italicize the ones you tried and couldn't get through. (Some of these are series...so, decide how you want to treat that.)

( 100 Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy According to NPR's Reader's Poll )

YMMV of course. But bleach. And I did read a lot of them, so make of that what you will...

Five books I'd have added to it that are not on there.
( Read more... )

Those are better books and series than over half of the ones on there.

Also, I'd have kicked off Jim Butcher, and put instead Joan D. Vinge's Snow Queen.
Not to mention the Dragon Prince series by Mercedes Lackey.

Ugh.

2. On another note...I finished The Expanse finally and was rather impressed by it. Although S3 is not as good as S2, it does open things up in a way that makes S4 look interesting. It also brings in some new characters, and builds up new relationships. The female characters do rock in this series, more than in most. And it's among the few with a diverse cast. David Straithorn and Elizabeth Mitchell are added.

I'm looking forward to S4, which is to drop in December and am rather glad it got renewed.

Feeling somewhat aggravated lately. Not sure why. I think I'm frustrated with everything and people in particular, which is making me snappish. I will strive to do better.