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I began reading "Green Witchcraft" by Ann Moura with the idea of writing a comprehensive review, but I'm 19 pages in and I have a hand cramp from making notes in a notebook that is now full.

And I've just hit a paragraph that has made my brain boil into mush.

Photo of a page from Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura

paradox: Closeup of an eye (book)
This is a record of books that I read in May 2010. A title with an asterisk (*) indicates that I've read it before.
Cut mostly to experience the joy of the new cut tag... )
I really struggled to finish The Law of Nines and Empire, because the preachy tone of both was infuriating and pretty contrary to my personal paradigm. On the other hand, I LOVED First Meetings, Temeraire, A Madness of Angels and Guardian of the Dead. And any book by Terry Pratchett is entertaining.
paradox: Closeup of an eye (book)

This is a record of books that I read in April 2010. A title with an asterisk (*) indicates that I've read it before.
  1. For Kicks by Dick Francis *
  2. Dead Cert by Dick Francis *
  3. Odds Against by Dick Francis *
  4. Forfeit by Dick Francis *
  5. Enquiry by Dick Francis *
  6. Rat Race by Dick Francis *
  7. Knockdown by Dick Francis *
  8. Risk by Dick Francis *
  9. Reflex by Dick Francis *
  10. Banker by Dick Francis *
  11. The Danger by Dick Francis *
  12. Proof by Dick Francis *
  13. Break In by Dick Francis *
  14. Bolt by Dick Francis *
  15. The Edge by Dick Francis *
  16. Straight by Dick Francis *
  17. Comeback by Dick Francis *
  18. Decider by Dick Francis *
  19. Wild Horses by Dick Francis *
  20. Dead Heat by Dick Francis
     
 
I went on a bit of a Dick Francis kick in April, obv.  I loved Francis' books as a kid, and still enjoy 'em as a comfort read.
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This is a record of books that I read in March 2010.  A title with an asterisk (*) indicates that I've read it before.
  1. Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett*
  2. A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
  3. The Ninth Circle by Alex Bell
  4. Persona Non Grata by Ruth Downie
  5. Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls by Ruth Downie
  6. The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland
  7. The Art of Digital Wedding Photography by Bambi Cantrell and Skip Cohen
  8. Professional Techniques for the Wedding Photographer by George Saub
  9. Decision at Doona by Anna McCaffrey
  10. 61 Hours by Lee Child
  11. Nemesis by Isaac Asimov
  12. Funland by Richard Laymon
  13. Witch Crafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic by Phyllis Curott
I meant to post this list a while ago, but yeah.

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This is a record of the books I have read in February 2010. A title with an asterisk (*) indicates that I've read it before.
  1. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson *
  2. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
  3. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
  4. The Case for God: What Religion Really Means by Karen Armstrong
  5. Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black
  6. Green wedding: Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration by Mireya Navarro
  7. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
  8. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
Not so much reading done this month, what with starting the new job and watching a whole lot of TV programmes on DVD.  Haven't had time to visit the library (seriously, all I've done this month is drop books off!), so instead of reading I've been watching Farscape, CSI, NCIS, House and Scrubs.

Kinda feel guilty about that.  But!  The books I did read were pretty good brain food (also, I cannot begin to express my love for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms... review coming soon), and god knows I get enough of that at work too.  ;-)
paradox: Closeup of an eye (Default)
This is a record of the books I have read in January 2010.  A title with an asterisk (*) indicates that I've read it before. Read more... )

Edited to add a cut to save reading pages!
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Finished:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
It is June 1950 and a sleepy English village is about to be awakened by the discovery of a dead body in Colonel de Luce's cucumber patch. The police are baffled, and when a dead snipe is deposited on the Colonel's doorstep with a rare stamp impaled on its beak, they are baffled even more. Only the Colonel's daughter, the precocious Flavia - when she's not plotting elaborate revenges against her nasty older sisters in her basement chemical laboratory, that is - has the ingenuity to follow the clues that reveal the victim's identity, and a conspiracy that reached back into the de Luce family's murky past.

3.5/5

Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell
Riley Rose, atheist and bad girl, has been tricked into attending Spirit Ranch, a Christian camp. There she meets Dylan Kier, alumni camper and recent paraplegic, who arrives with a chip on his shoulder and a determination to perfect all of his bad habits. United in their personal suffering and in their irritation at their fellow campers, they turn the camp inside out as they question the meaning of belief systems, test their faith in each other, and ultimately settle a debate of the heart.

4/5

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Computer hacker Marcus spends most of his time outwitting school surveillance until the day that San Francisco is bombed by terrorists--and he and his friends are arrested, taken to a secret prison, and brutally questioned for days. When they release Marcus, the authorities threaten to come for him again if he breathes a word about his ordeal; meanwhile, America has become a police state where everyone is suspect. For Marcus, the only option left is to take down the power-crazed Department of Homeland Security with an underground online revolution.

3/5

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Frankie’s a fifteen year old girl with a smarts and sass, but the people around her don’t seem to notice this. She’s “Bunny Rabbit” to her family and “adorable” to her boyfriend. But Frankie’s not the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer, especially when it means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society. When Frankie instigates a series of pranks using the members of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, nobody has any idea that the mastermind behind the pranks is really Frankie.

4/5

Waiting to be read:

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis
Terrier by Tamora Pierce
Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
The Case for God: What religion really means by Karen Armstrong
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I went hunting for Tamora Pierce books (I don't feel guilty about getting these out of my library, 'cause they have multiple copies, so I know the kids won't be deprived by my borrowing!):

Sandry's Book - The Magic in the Weaving
Tris's Book - The Power in the Storm
Daja's Book - The Fire in the Forging
Briar's Book - The Healing in the Vine
Trickster's Choice
Trickster's Queen

And then I found more YA fic that I wanted to re-read!  Woo!

The Haunting by Margaret Mahy
The Flight of the Albatross by Deborah Savage

And then I wandered back up to the adult section and picked up:

The Good, the Bad & the Undead by Kim Harrison
Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey
Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey
Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Strata by Terry Pratchett

I also had some books on hold:

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Dragon's Kin by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey
Dragon's Fire by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey
Dragon Harper by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey
The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern by Jody Lynn Nye and Anne McCaffrey
Becoming Bicultural by James E. Ritchie

That's probably enough books for one week (the librarian who checked 'em out to me asked me if I was sure I wanted to pick up my held books, and looked startled when I said yes).
paradox: close-up of an eye (eye)
Can heterosexual authors write excellent stories about LGBTQ people?

Possibly, but I imagine that it would be pretty damn difficult to ignore one's cis-privilege enough to be able to fully understand what queer people go through, in order to do it from a queer perspective that reads as authentic!

"I would love to hear someone say a gay writer has no business writing a straight character or women have no business writing a male character."

You're right. Minorities often can write from the perspective of the majority. You know why? Because the minority is surrounded by that majority perspective every single day. The minority often has to struggle against discrimination from that majority. The minority gets a good look at just how that majority works. And often, the minority learns this so that they can "fit in".

How often do you think that works in reverse?

I don't doubt that there are straight writers who can nail the experience of being queer.1 I just think that when you've got actual queer authors doing the same thing, which source should you go to first? The observer or the participant (so to speak)? And so, when you're searching for excellence in the field of queer lit, it makes sense to look at the work of queer authors. Doesn't it?

I get that in the case of the Lambda Literary Awards, one of the biggest objections is that the guidelines changed - and that stirred up some serious questions and issues for people. But honestly, some of that seems to be "borrowing trouble" and maybe peeps need to take a step back to relax & look at it again.

(In the interests of full disclosure, I am a bisexual "woman" who has the luxury of being identified as straight due to my current long term relationship with a straight man.  I don't hide my bisexuality, and if it comes up in conversation I confirm it, but that has rarely happened.)

1. I know that experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer etc all differ, but I think they certainly have something in common that a person with only the experience of being heterosexual in a heteronormative society lacks.
paradox: Closeup of an eye (nz)
Young Adult fiction set in New Zealand or written by New Zealanders

I've read and enjoyed (and recommend!) the following:

Click to see the list )
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I have read:
  • The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (for the third time, before the movie is released here)
  • Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (rec'd by Mum & much enjoyed)
  • A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (I bought if for Mum on her b-day but hadn't read it myself)
  • Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, and Spellbinder by L.J. Smith (first 3 of her Night World series for YA - As a teen, I loved her stuff)
  • The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey (first time, in prep for the latest movie release)
  • Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey (for the hundredth time, although it's been several years since I last picked them up)
  • The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (after reading a post by the author on her LJ)
  • A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (recommended in the same thread as The Demon's Lexicon)
  • Storm Front by Jim Butcher
  • A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

I have loved:
I have listened to:And the rest of my free time has been spent playing WoW (my latest warlock is nearly 62 & the DK is 73).  Yay!
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Favourite series include:

Patricia Cornwell; Scarpetta series
Lindsey Davis; the Falco novels
David Eddings; The Elenium trilogy, The Tamuli trilogy
Terry Goodkind; Sword of Truth series
Frank Herbert; Dune series
Robert Jordan; Wheel of Time series
Guy Gavriel Kay; The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy
Sergei Lukyanenko; The Night Watch series
Terry Pratchett; Discworld series
J.K. Rowling; Harry Potter series
 
Favourite stand-alone books include:
 
Audrey Niffenegger; The Time Traveller's Wife
Alice Sebold; The Lovely Bones
JRR Tolkien; The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings

Also, anything by these authors:
 
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Neil Gaiman
Robert A. Heinlein
Anne McCaffrey
Starhawk
 
I also like fanfic, mostly in the following fandoms:

Dragonriders of Pern
Harry Potter
Star Trek (reboot)
World of Warcraft
 

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