This week, booklist, etc., etc.

[lyssie]

1. On Saturday, I went and had lunch with frobisher at the Milwaukee Public Market. It was excellent.

2. Sunday, I discovered I was hitting a wall in Bring it On (Laura Anne Gilman), in that the SAME THINGS that had happened in the previous two books were happening in this one. And I suddenly hit a point where I was tired of the over-arcing plot GOING NOWHERE. No forward movement in TWO AND A HALF BOOKS. NONE. So I got annoyed and stopped reading. (say what you will about some of the fluffy crap I was reading--like Black Wings/Night/Howl, but at least THE PLOT MOVED in those)

Then meganbmoore was talking about Scandal at me, and I was bored. So I marathonned the episodes I hadn't seen (well, I saved the last two for Monday). And, yeah. Ridiculous, over-the-top, whatever. But it was still fun. Aside from the True Love of the President for Olivia Pope (maybe he's just jealous of her amazingness, idek).

3. This will be relevant to some members of my flist: thg_kink - a Hunger Games kink meme.

Also,

A multi-fandom, multi-ship place in the shade

And, it is Michael Trucco's birthday, so there is a 'Make Sam Happy'-fest goin' on. (icons, prompts, fics, gifs, fanmixes, etc.)

4. In other news, I'm getting really tired of rape being the go-to threat for any given female protagonist (it's especially prevalent in urban fantasy, though not limited to it). I'm aware rape sucks, but good grief, it's boring. Can't we move on and threaten women with other things? I'm pretty sure having your teeth drilled with no anesthetic is way more effective. At this point, I just roll my eyes at rape threats. But teeth squick me out.

I don't know if it's because there's a subconscious "rape fantasy is hot" thread to it all or what, but it's really annoying.

Also, and I cannot believe I'm saying this, I kind of miss the days when Buffy's tiny size was an asset to trick people into thinking her helpless. Most UF novels have tiny protagonists who are constantly going on about how awful it is that everyone out-classes them in height/weight, and how they'll never defeat larger opponents. And I'm like "WTF IS THIS." because it's FANTASY, people. Vampires, magic, demons and angels are AOK, but short women beating the shit out of tall, built dudes is COMPLETELY OUT? wtf. (and it's so often coupled with rape threats. So, again, rape fantasy? idek)

So far, I haven't found a single UF heroine taller than 5'4". As someone who is 5'6", this makes me sadface. It's harder to identify with the skinny hot protagonist when she's also shorter than me. Where are all the tall women hunting vampires, dammit?

5. What have I been reading?

A Misbegotten Match by Rita Boucher (re-read)
A Reckless Wager by Lois Menzel (re-read; ahoy the victim-blaming rapist was only following his 'instincts' mentality)
At Dagger's Drawn by Lois Menzel (re-read; better than ARW, but only because Caroline probably would shoot Philip if he threatened her)
The Viscount Takes a Wife by Marcy Stewart (this book is so awful and meandering, and I wanted to punch the 'hero' in the face a lot. I suppose it's not his fault he has about four different personalities that never mesh)
Black Wings by Christina Henry (kinda silly and ott, but while the 'romance' aspect is eye-roll-worthy, it's not the worst thing I've ever read. And the heroine consistently saves her own ass, even if she keeps passing out/getting injured and having to be healed)
Black Night by Christina Henry (it is like delicious id-crack wish-fulfillment fic. Just with not enough women, so it's not completely awesome. Also, rape. sigh.)
Black Howl by Christina Henry (still don't like the portrayal of women other than our heroine, keep pretending that JB is a chick. Laughing maniacally at the ending which is just ridiculous, WHAT)
Curse the Dark by Laura Anne Gilman (still decent uf, though sloooow assss mollasssessss plooottttt)
Ganymede by Cherie Priest (not as amazing as Dreadnought, but still good. Also did not contain rape threats)
The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee (I didn't want to like this book, quite a bit of the time. But it was compelling and entertaining enough to keep me reading. contained multiple rape threats. I spent 90% of the novel pretending the protagonists were Sam Anders and Kara Thrace [not because they really matched, mind. But because.])
Dark Descendant by Jenna Black (needs less rape and threats of rape, good grief)


6. What have I tried to read?

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire - seemed to be more interested in whining and going on about how Horrible Life Was as opposed to telling a story. Got annoyed by the prose early on, never got better. Stopped after the prologue and the first chapter, skipped to the end. Oh, look, more murdered women and girls. Yay.
Bloodlands by Christine Cody - prose style was difficult (borderline FRAKKING ANNOYING, tbh) to follow, and while the prologue was all right, flipping through the rest of the book made me want to roll my eyes and throw it across the room at the same time. Also, did I mention the prose was annoying to decipher? Yeah.
Night Child by Jes Battis - supernatural crimes unit! This should be so up my alley. Instead, the first chapter contains at least three conversations that make no sense because all the dialogue is attributed to one person. I don't know if that's an editing mistake or what. I also didn't care about what was going on, the prose didn't pull me in (which, Dark Descendant is not that great a book, but by god, the prose was interesting enough to make me read it all the way through). And I wanted to like this book. I love the concepts behind it! Cop show with magic! (ask me again if I would have watched Ron's silly magic show, despite my dislike of Ron's plot stylings. Then again, TRICIA AS A NECROMANCER, I WAS ALREADY SOLD)


7. In job-hunt news: still looking. Had an exam for a position earlier in the week and I'm on their list now. Whatever that means.

Comments

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

3. Hmm. I just looked at thg_kink and I maybe don't understand? I thought kink memes were supposed to be dedicated to, well, kink? Most of the prompts there look like average, everyday fic prompts. Admittedly, there are only a half dozen or so, but only one of them struck as being for a particular kink.

And I need to do something for the Trucco thing. I just don't know what. *sigh*

4. That's very disappointing. I generally like urban fantasy, but yeah, there've been some recently that I dropped because of the general misogyny. I think I've become more sensitive to that since I've been in fandom. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

7. I hope you land something, preferrably something awesome, soon.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

I've been hearing that kinkmemes have devolved like that--they're more comment-fic prompt memes, these days.

(so do I, but my brain is dead)

4. I wonder if it's a resurgence of the whole "there must be Reality!" in them or something. I've been noticing more than a few "my character isn't hot" themes, as well (though if they're not supposed to be, they'll still have people lusting after them, so idek)

Thank you! My fingers are crossed, a bit. =D

[lavidaessueno.livejournal.com]

I don't read Patricia Briggs precisely because rape and sexual assault is her go-to plot device to control women's behavior. Thanks but no thanks.

As far as tall UF heroines: Rachel Morgan, the main character in the Kim Harrison series, is pretty tall (5'8"). She's the only one I can think of offhand.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I'd heard that, which was why I hadn't tried one of hers yet.

Kim Harrison is a name I've seen a lot in the paperback racks at the library. I'll pick one up.

(mostly, I'm being hyperbolous--which is probably not a word--about the height, but I did read four books in a row from different authors, all with short protagonists who angsted about how all the manly-men could defeat them without breaking a sweat)

[lavidaessueno.livejournal.com]

The thing is, though, you're right, and it's an obnoxious trend. Part of what I like about the Rachel Morgan series is that she's tall, she's kind of klutzy, and she wears leather pants. That being said, the first few books were the best in that series.

[auroramama]

I'm so with you on rape as handy-dandy plot utensil. For one thing, my tolerance for fictional rapists continuing to thrive has dropped from about a page to maybe a sentence, and so much better if something kills the guy before he can do more than be a jerk. If I have to turn the page to see what happens to him, it's just not fast enough, chicken Marengo. Book, meet Wall.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

*gigglefits*

BUT YES.YES, THAT. it's especially annoying when, for plot purposes, the rape-threatening dude ends up an ally of the protagonist. (which is why I wonder some of it is some weird rape fantasy thing)

[amaresu]

On the other hand I hear they're rolling back the plan to have rape as Lara Croft's backstory due to the outrage heard round the 'net over it. So that's something. Not exactly progress, but not exactly the status quo.

I've owned Night Child for years and never gotten past the first chapter. I keep thinking that next time I won't bounce off of it.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is awesome (I'd heard about it, and it had added to my raaaaage).

See, that makes me feel slightly better, but I want to like the book! That whole supernatural crimes aspect was the part of the Anita Blake books I liked best, back in the day before they were non-stop dubcon porn.

[amaresu]

Last I heard they were rolling it back because people pointed out how awful it was.

Yeah, I feel like I should like this book series and I can't even read the first book. It has lots of things I should like. So it sits on my shelf of books I should like, but bounced off of for no reason that I can point to.