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Books
Am considering buying a few more books on Kindle:
1) John Brandon's Citrus County intrigues me. Here's the summary:
Brandon (Arkansas) finds shards of redemption in the swampy backwaters of Florida in his funny and horrifying latest. When Shelby Register moves to Citrus County, Fla., with her single father and little sister, she's expecting "surfers instead of rednecks," but the precocious teen makes the best of it. Things get screwy when Toby, a neglected, loveless boy living with his abusive uncle, becomes her twisted love interest. Toby finds trouble far more elaborate than ordinary delinquency when he enacts a strange, cruel plot on the Register clan. Presiding over it all in his own confused state is Mr. Hibma, a young teacher draped in irony and disaffection who lectures on the evils of capitalism, avoids his colleagues, and wants to do good but isn't sure how. As the Register family's misery deepens, Shelby begins to test boundaries, Toby realizes that he can't reverse the effects of his "prank," and his and Shelby's braided fates hurtle toward either tragedy or a narrow miss. Brandon's dry wit, dark imagination, and surprisingly big heart combine to reveal a Florida that, despite (or because of) being more Ted Bundy than Disney World, is absolutely worth visiting. from Publisher's Weekly.
2.)Swamplandia by Karen Russell
Swamplandia! is the story of Ava Bigtree, a 12-year-old alligator wrestler who embarks on an improbable journey through the mangrove wilderness of southwest Florida in search of a lost sister. Young Osceola has run off with a ghost-figure named Louis Thanksgiving, and only Ava knows where to look for them, dreading what she might find. Passages of this fine novel call to mind Conrad, Garcia Marquez and even – for those who have kids – Judy Blume. There’s not a forgettable character in the cast, from Ava’s flamboyant father, Chief Bigtree, who runs the family’s failing tourist trap, to the bedraggled and cryptic Bird Man, who guides Ava on her harrowing trip.
3.) Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.
Combining elements of fantasy and romance, Cashore skillfully portrays the confusion, discovery, and angst that smart, strong-willed girls experience as they creep toward adulthood. Katsa wrestles with questions of freedom, truth, and knowing when to rely on a friend for help. This is no small task for an angry girl who had eschewed friendships (with the exception of one cousin that she trusts) for her more ready skills of self-reliance, hunting, and fighting. Katsa also comes to know the real power of her Grace and the nature of Graces in general: they are not always what they appear to be.
Graceling is the first book in a series, and Kristin Cashore’s first work of fiction. It sets up a vivid world with engaging characters that readers will certainly look forward to following beyond the last chapter of this book.
[Yes, I appear to be in a mood to read Young Adult Fantasy/Horror/Adventure novels about spunky and tough-minded teenage girls. I've no clue why. ]
And CW heavily rec'd that I read William Gibson's Spook County - which like Girl With Dragon Tattoo apparently takes off after the first 100 pages, ie. the characters grow on you. And is CW's favorite Gibson story. She also told me to re-read Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land - which I haven't read in 22 years.
Now I just have to get through Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first. Hmmm, wonder if it would be simpler to just rent the movies?
We discussed female characters Saturday - specifically the strong ass-kicking competent female ones.
CW finds them to be offensive. Too masculine. The writer is removing all the things that make us women. And she feels that it is cliche. Very interesting view. I don't think I agree, but I think I do understand. It's a criticism that I've seen online as well - the fanboy ideal. The female character created to fit the male and female fantasy. Taken to the extreme to the point of caricature (which is a word I can't spell to save my life - did multiple variations until Firefox spelled it for me) - is well the Femme Nikita Trope or the superpowered waif (River in Firefly) or Aeryn Sun (in Farscape) or even Kalinda (on the Good Wife) on the other end of the spectrum is Bella (the damsel in distress) in the Twilight books. Buffy to be fair actually straddled both sides of the equation. That said? I rather adored Aeryn Sun, Kalinda, and Nikita - the female assasin and don't think it is cliche, and can't abide the damsel. The problem with feminism...is it is a tricky arena to traverse.
Speaking of...just had the funkiest argument about misogyny over the phone:
ME to friend: My friends online think The Black Swan is misogynistic. I don't think it is -
Friend: Of course it is.
Me (Surprised b/c friend didn't think so previously): How so?
Friend: Well what with the self-mutilation, the aneorexia, how she scratchs at herself -
ME: Wait! That's not misogyny, that's self-hatred or self-mutilation. Not the same thing.
Friend: Yes it is.
Me: No. Misogyny means the hatred of women.
Friend: Then what is the hatred of oneself?
ME: I don't know. Mis=hate. Ogyny = woman. Like GYN - gynecologist. Misogyny = hatred of women.
Friend: If you say so.
Me: Wait. You don't believe me? You want to look it up in the dictionary?
Been having a lot of odd disagreements lately. Maybe Mercury is in retrograde. No, it's the full moon - saw it out in full gleam last night.
1) John Brandon's Citrus County intrigues me. Here's the summary:
Brandon (Arkansas) finds shards of redemption in the swampy backwaters of Florida in his funny and horrifying latest. When Shelby Register moves to Citrus County, Fla., with her single father and little sister, she's expecting "surfers instead of rednecks," but the precocious teen makes the best of it. Things get screwy when Toby, a neglected, loveless boy living with his abusive uncle, becomes her twisted love interest. Toby finds trouble far more elaborate than ordinary delinquency when he enacts a strange, cruel plot on the Register clan. Presiding over it all in his own confused state is Mr. Hibma, a young teacher draped in irony and disaffection who lectures on the evils of capitalism, avoids his colleagues, and wants to do good but isn't sure how. As the Register family's misery deepens, Shelby begins to test boundaries, Toby realizes that he can't reverse the effects of his "prank," and his and Shelby's braided fates hurtle toward either tragedy or a narrow miss. Brandon's dry wit, dark imagination, and surprisingly big heart combine to reveal a Florida that, despite (or because of) being more Ted Bundy than Disney World, is absolutely worth visiting. from Publisher's Weekly.
2.)Swamplandia by Karen Russell
Swamplandia! is the story of Ava Bigtree, a 12-year-old alligator wrestler who embarks on an improbable journey through the mangrove wilderness of southwest Florida in search of a lost sister. Young Osceola has run off with a ghost-figure named Louis Thanksgiving, and only Ava knows where to look for them, dreading what she might find. Passages of this fine novel call to mind Conrad, Garcia Marquez and even – for those who have kids – Judy Blume. There’s not a forgettable character in the cast, from Ava’s flamboyant father, Chief Bigtree, who runs the family’s failing tourist trap, to the bedraggled and cryptic Bird Man, who guides Ava on her harrowing trip.
3.) Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.
Combining elements of fantasy and romance, Cashore skillfully portrays the confusion, discovery, and angst that smart, strong-willed girls experience as they creep toward adulthood. Katsa wrestles with questions of freedom, truth, and knowing when to rely on a friend for help. This is no small task for an angry girl who had eschewed friendships (with the exception of one cousin that she trusts) for her more ready skills of self-reliance, hunting, and fighting. Katsa also comes to know the real power of her Grace and the nature of Graces in general: they are not always what they appear to be.
Graceling is the first book in a series, and Kristin Cashore’s first work of fiction. It sets up a vivid world with engaging characters that readers will certainly look forward to following beyond the last chapter of this book.
[Yes, I appear to be in a mood to read Young Adult Fantasy/Horror/Adventure novels about spunky and tough-minded teenage girls. I've no clue why. ]
And CW heavily rec'd that I read William Gibson's Spook County - which like Girl With Dragon Tattoo apparently takes off after the first 100 pages, ie. the characters grow on you. And is CW's favorite Gibson story. She also told me to re-read Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land - which I haven't read in 22 years.
Now I just have to get through Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first. Hmmm, wonder if it would be simpler to just rent the movies?
We discussed female characters Saturday - specifically the strong ass-kicking competent female ones.
CW finds them to be offensive. Too masculine. The writer is removing all the things that make us women. And she feels that it is cliche. Very interesting view. I don't think I agree, but I think I do understand. It's a criticism that I've seen online as well - the fanboy ideal. The female character created to fit the male and female fantasy. Taken to the extreme to the point of caricature (which is a word I can't spell to save my life - did multiple variations until Firefox spelled it for me) - is well the Femme Nikita Trope or the superpowered waif (River in Firefly) or Aeryn Sun (in Farscape) or even Kalinda (on the Good Wife) on the other end of the spectrum is Bella (the damsel in distress) in the Twilight books. Buffy to be fair actually straddled both sides of the equation. That said? I rather adored Aeryn Sun, Kalinda, and Nikita - the female assasin and don't think it is cliche, and can't abide the damsel. The problem with feminism...is it is a tricky arena to traverse.
Speaking of...just had the funkiest argument about misogyny over the phone:
ME to friend: My friends online think The Black Swan is misogynistic. I don't think it is -
Friend: Of course it is.
Me (Surprised b/c friend didn't think so previously): How so?
Friend: Well what with the self-mutilation, the aneorexia, how she scratchs at herself -
ME: Wait! That's not misogyny, that's self-hatred or self-mutilation. Not the same thing.
Friend: Yes it is.
Me: No. Misogyny means the hatred of women.
Friend: Then what is the hatred of oneself?
ME: I don't know. Mis=hate. Ogyny = woman. Like GYN - gynecologist. Misogyny = hatred of women.
Friend: If you say so.
Me: Wait. You don't believe me? You want to look it up in the dictionary?
Been having a lot of odd disagreements lately. Maybe Mercury is in retrograde. No, it's the full moon - saw it out in full gleam last night.