Wednesday Reading Meme...
Mar. 12th, 2014 07:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat[I'm thinking that I may need to play with my icons again. But not tonight. Exhausted. The time change has once again played havoc with my sleep schedule. Also it was pouring earlier. Supposed to drop down into the low twenties tonight with a wind-chill factor of 0 and below 0 tomorrow. I don't know about anyone else? But I'm tired of winter. My mother shared a photo of my niece lying out on a beach blanket next to the mound of dirty snow in her backyard - stating, enough winter, ready for the beach now. And according to my Aunt, who lives up in Michigan, they've had the worst winter since the 1880s.]
1. What Have You Just Finished Reading?
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt - which I reviewed already at length here. It was clearly a first novel that the author rewrote from a mediocre everybody's human historical Spuffy fan-fic. The way you can tell? Fan fic writers have a tendency to leave out or skimp on certain key bits - because their audience has seen the tv show or read the book they are basing the fic on. Which works fine if you are writing fanfic because the reader doesn't require all these details, not so much if you aren't. [I read a review of a new young adult novel entitled "Half Bad" that's being hyped on Good Reads over lunch today. The reviewer basically stated that it was a Snape fan-fic, retooled as original fiction - had all the trappings, but lacked the detailed world building, which often happens with fan fic.] Other than that? Okay. Don't highly recommend.
2. What are you currently reading?
It has occurred to me that I would finish Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood - a lot faster if I stopped reading the page-turner books before bed. I'm supposed to just read the Atwood before bed, but I can't seem to stick to that resolution for some reason. Well-written it is, gripping? Not so much.
The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison is my new cotton candy novel or commuter novel via the Kindle. And yes, I've effectively jumped genres. This is urban fantasy - the same genre as Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files. Actually it reminds me a bit of the Dresden Files, except not quite as well written. Also, she's making the same mistakes that some of her contemporary female paranormal writers have made - which is focusing a wee bit too much on the romantic life of her heroine and not enough on everything else. Not that I mind that necessarily, it's just I'm not certain the writer is comfortable with it. She's more of an action writer than a romance writer.
Anyhow, since this is a serial, again like Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, you can't start with this book. You'd be hopelessly lost. At this point, it's just not stand-alone, although I'm not sure it ever really was. Some of Butcher's novels sort of are, not so much here.
It's about a demon, a pixie and an elf...which sounds like the beginnings of a dirty joke, doesn't it? A demon, a pixie and an elf walk into a bar...Anyhow, the demon and elf have fallen for each other, but they can't be together for political reasons and well the small fact that their species have been at war for thousands of years. Currently the demon is trying to save the world from yet another magical outbreak - spells are misfiring all over Cinnicinati. It takes place in Cinncinati. OR AU Cinncinati (which I clearly can't spell). Rachel, the demon/witch, is trying to figure out why. Meanwhile she's engaged as Trent, the billionaire elf's security detail - while attempting to ignore her feelings for him (this ust has been building for about 10 books now, we're on the 11th book and there are only 12 in the series.). Trent - at this point - has decided that he wants Rachel, and is actively pursuing, except in his own passive aggressive and somewhat manipulative manner - which is how elves operate, more of out necessity than any other reason.
The elves, way back when, saved the human population, by bioengineering a cure for virus contracted from tomatoes. There's a lot of bioengineering information in these novels, because the writer was a bio-engineer. But people blamed them for the virus and made bio-engineering illegal. So the elves went deep underground - to hide from the demons who had tried to wipe them out and the humans, not to mention the vampires and werewolves.
See? You'd be hopelessly lost. There's a lot of complicated back story. The writer used to summarize it, but she gave up eventually.
This book is okay so far. But the series feels like it is winding down and the writer has clearly gotten bored of her characters and world. I think she's ready to move on. Which is my difficulty with serials - they seem like a publisher thing, not a writer thing. I bought it and am reading it mainly for completion purposes and I want to know how she wraps up her story - and if she manages to find a way to get that pesky elf and demon together. Theirs is an impossible romance. Particularly since the series started out with Rachel trying to send Trent to prison for illegal drug dealing, bio-engineering, and murder. Trent meanwhile kept trying to get Rachel to work for him or in lieu of that, simply kill her. ie. Spuffy and possibly John Crichton/Aeryn Sun. Apparently I like this sort of romantic trope a great deal.
3. What are you reading next?
No clue. May go back to Elizabeth Hoyt or skip to Courtney Milan or try a mystery. It's up in the air.
______________________________________________________________________
In other news...because I'm too lazy to do another post, finished watching the last three episodes of Revenge - did like the latest two plot twists.
Anne Rice has set up a Petition to censor the cyberbullies on Amazon book reviews, and for that matter Good Reads. There is admittedly a group of anti-fans out there who like to tear apart writers on review sites. (While I understand the impulse, I think it is counterproductive.)
Saw one group of anti-fans go after John Green, of all people, on Good Reads. Seriously, John Green. The guy who wrote The Fault in Our Stars. Makes me think George Clooney was right when he said fame is the cancer of success. Or better yet, JD Salinger had the right idea - about not publishing his future work until five years after his demise, and staying far far away from his readership.
Neil Gaiman probably provides the best advice regarding negative book reviews and Amazon/Good Reads threads. Which is don't read them. If you are a writer? Best to stay far away from the reviews of your books and not to engage. No good can come of it. And he states ...if I ever do what Anne Rice did, please shoot me now.
Regarding censorship? Actually, hate speech is not protected under the First Amendment, a lot of people don't seem to know this. Neither is slander or defamation of character.
So actually you can prohibit this sort of speech without hurting or even bruising the US Constitution, if you can prove that it is hate speech that incites a violent crime, or that it defames or slanders someone in a punitive manner. That's the hard part. The whole proving bit.
1. What Have You Just Finished Reading?
Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt - which I reviewed already at length here. It was clearly a first novel that the author rewrote from a mediocre everybody's human historical Spuffy fan-fic. The way you can tell? Fan fic writers have a tendency to leave out or skimp on certain key bits - because their audience has seen the tv show or read the book they are basing the fic on. Which works fine if you are writing fanfic because the reader doesn't require all these details, not so much if you aren't. [I read a review of a new young adult novel entitled "Half Bad" that's being hyped on Good Reads over lunch today. The reviewer basically stated that it was a Snape fan-fic, retooled as original fiction - had all the trappings, but lacked the detailed world building, which often happens with fan fic.] Other than that? Okay. Don't highly recommend.
2. What are you currently reading?
It has occurred to me that I would finish Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood - a lot faster if I stopped reading the page-turner books before bed. I'm supposed to just read the Atwood before bed, but I can't seem to stick to that resolution for some reason. Well-written it is, gripping? Not so much.
The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison is my new cotton candy novel or commuter novel via the Kindle. And yes, I've effectively jumped genres. This is urban fantasy - the same genre as Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files. Actually it reminds me a bit of the Dresden Files, except not quite as well written. Also, she's making the same mistakes that some of her contemporary female paranormal writers have made - which is focusing a wee bit too much on the romantic life of her heroine and not enough on everything else. Not that I mind that necessarily, it's just I'm not certain the writer is comfortable with it. She's more of an action writer than a romance writer.
Anyhow, since this is a serial, again like Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, you can't start with this book. You'd be hopelessly lost. At this point, it's just not stand-alone, although I'm not sure it ever really was. Some of Butcher's novels sort of are, not so much here.
It's about a demon, a pixie and an elf...which sounds like the beginnings of a dirty joke, doesn't it? A demon, a pixie and an elf walk into a bar...Anyhow, the demon and elf have fallen for each other, but they can't be together for political reasons and well the small fact that their species have been at war for thousands of years. Currently the demon is trying to save the world from yet another magical outbreak - spells are misfiring all over Cinnicinati. It takes place in Cinncinati. OR AU Cinncinati (which I clearly can't spell). Rachel, the demon/witch, is trying to figure out why. Meanwhile she's engaged as Trent, the billionaire elf's security detail - while attempting to ignore her feelings for him (this ust has been building for about 10 books now, we're on the 11th book and there are only 12 in the series.). Trent - at this point - has decided that he wants Rachel, and is actively pursuing, except in his own passive aggressive and somewhat manipulative manner - which is how elves operate, more of out necessity than any other reason.
The elves, way back when, saved the human population, by bioengineering a cure for virus contracted from tomatoes. There's a lot of bioengineering information in these novels, because the writer was a bio-engineer. But people blamed them for the virus and made bio-engineering illegal. So the elves went deep underground - to hide from the demons who had tried to wipe them out and the humans, not to mention the vampires and werewolves.
See? You'd be hopelessly lost. There's a lot of complicated back story. The writer used to summarize it, but she gave up eventually.
This book is okay so far. But the series feels like it is winding down and the writer has clearly gotten bored of her characters and world. I think she's ready to move on. Which is my difficulty with serials - they seem like a publisher thing, not a writer thing. I bought it and am reading it mainly for completion purposes and I want to know how she wraps up her story - and if she manages to find a way to get that pesky elf and demon together. Theirs is an impossible romance. Particularly since the series started out with Rachel trying to send Trent to prison for illegal drug dealing, bio-engineering, and murder. Trent meanwhile kept trying to get Rachel to work for him or in lieu of that, simply kill her. ie. Spuffy and possibly John Crichton/Aeryn Sun. Apparently I like this sort of romantic trope a great deal.
3. What are you reading next?
No clue. May go back to Elizabeth Hoyt or skip to Courtney Milan or try a mystery. It's up in the air.
______________________________________________________________________
In other news...because I'm too lazy to do another post, finished watching the last three episodes of Revenge - did like the latest two plot twists.
Anne Rice has set up a Petition to censor the cyberbullies on Amazon book reviews, and for that matter Good Reads. There is admittedly a group of anti-fans out there who like to tear apart writers on review sites. (While I understand the impulse, I think it is counterproductive.)
Saw one group of anti-fans go after John Green, of all people, on Good Reads. Seriously, John Green. The guy who wrote The Fault in Our Stars. Makes me think George Clooney was right when he said fame is the cancer of success. Or better yet, JD Salinger had the right idea - about not publishing his future work until five years after his demise, and staying far far away from his readership.
Neil Gaiman probably provides the best advice regarding negative book reviews and Amazon/Good Reads threads. Which is don't read them. If you are a writer? Best to stay far away from the reviews of your books and not to engage. No good can come of it. And he states ...if I ever do what Anne Rice did, please shoot me now.
Regarding censorship? Actually, hate speech is not protected under the First Amendment, a lot of people don't seem to know this. Neither is slander or defamation of character.
So actually you can prohibit this sort of speech without hurting or even bruising the US Constitution, if you can prove that it is hate speech that incites a violent crime, or that it defames or slanders someone in a punitive manner. That's the hard part. The whole proving bit.