![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Books II: Son of the Hardback
So, Amazonfail. There're letters and official letters and theories and posts going around, not to mention a wonderful and totally unexpected show of support for the lgbt/feminist/disabled communities, and... I'm not sure what I believe. Not a hack, not a glitch... I like Erica's, over at Okazu, theory best - it's a mix of incompetence, mismanagement, and casual prejudice that feels about right.
The two best things to have come out of this mess? The post over at AfterEllen.com: What Amazon's "Glitch" Says About American Pop Culture, which perfectly sums up a lot of things I've been worrying at the past couple months re: popculture's portrayal of homosexuality (which then crystallized into totally unexpected rage when I saw![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
copperbadge's post Sunday morning) - and this post by Vromans Bookstore Blog: Amazonfail & The Cost of Freedom, which talks about Amazon's domination of the book market and how, even if this turns out to be a totally innocent mistake, we should start thinking about taking our business elsewhere. Which, yes. I think so.
And, speaking of books!
Currently Reading:
Cunt by Inga Muscio
The Prophet of Zongo Street by Mohammed Naseehu Ali
The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Skeen's Search by Jo Clayton
Finished Reading:
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon (reread)
The Accidental Sorcerer by by K. E. Mills
The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability by Javier Grillo-marxuach and Les Mcclaine
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
To Read Pile:
Around the Bloc by Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher <3 <3 <3 <3
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Nine Layers of Sky by Liz Williams
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Am almost finished with The Dark Lord of Derkholm - I've been carrying it around with me since I 'borrowed' it from my parents yesterday and don't intend to put it down until I'm done. It's a great read, like most of Jones' books (and I've been somewhat on a kick, lately), and I find myself particularly fond of the characters and the setup (magical world forced to stage adventure tours every year for people from our-ish world. Focus is on this year's Dark Lord and his children {two human, five griffin} as they struggle to manage the campaign. With bonus liberation shenanigans in the background!)
On the other end of the spectrum, the Middleman graphic novel was sadly disappointing - the tv show based on it is much, much better (better, deeper characters, much better portrayal of women/minorities, less of jerkface!Ben, no deeply stupid ending, this *never* happens, the hell?) and I encourage everyone to track it down and watch it [loves it so].
ETA: Yeah, I finished The Dark Lord of Derkholm (in conclusion, very good read) on the ride home yesterday, then took myself over to Borders, picked up my copy of Castle in the Air (along with a bunch of other books), and inhaled it. In two hours. It was a ton of fun - good writing, quick pacing, the return of all our Howl's favorites (often in unexpected ways) plus a bunch of fabulous new ones. I've told myself I can't buy House of Many Ways until it comes out in paperback, we'll see how long that lasts.
The two best things to have come out of this mess? The post over at AfterEllen.com: What Amazon's "Glitch" Says About American Pop Culture, which perfectly sums up a lot of things I've been worrying at the past couple months re: popculture's portrayal of homosexuality (which then crystallized into totally unexpected rage when I saw
copperbadge's post Sunday morning) - and this post by Vromans Bookstore Blog: Amazonfail & The Cost of Freedom, which talks about Amazon's domination of the book market and how, even if this turns out to be a totally innocent mistake, we should start thinking about taking our business elsewhere. Which, yes. I think so.And, speaking of books!
Currently Reading:
Cunt by Inga Muscio
The Prophet of Zongo Street by Mohammed Naseehu Ali
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Skeen's Search by Jo Clayton
Finished Reading:
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon (reread)
The Accidental Sorcerer by by K. E. Mills
The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability by Javier Grillo-marxuach and Les Mcclaine
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
To Read Pile:
Around the Bloc by Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher <3 <3 <3 <3
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Nine Layers of Sky by Liz Williams
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Am almost finished with The Dark Lord of Derkholm - I've been carrying it around with me since I 'borrowed' it from my parents yesterday and don't intend to put it down until I'm done. It's a great read, like most of Jones' books (and I've been somewhat on a kick, lately), and I find myself particularly fond of the characters and the setup (magical world forced to stage adventure tours every year for people from our-ish world. Focus is on this year's Dark Lord and his children {two human, five griffin} as they struggle to manage the campaign. With bonus liberation shenanigans in the background!)
On the other end of the spectrum, the Middleman graphic novel was sadly disappointing - the tv show based on it is much, much better (better, deeper characters, much better portrayal of women/minorities, less of jerkface!Ben, no deeply stupid ending, this *never* happens, the hell?) and I encourage everyone to track it down and watch it [loves it so].
ETA: Yeah, I finished The Dark Lord of Derkholm (in conclusion, very good read) on the ride home yesterday, then took myself over to Borders, picked up my copy of Castle in the Air (along with a bunch of other books), and inhaled it. In two hours. It was a ton of fun - good writing, quick pacing, the return of all our Howl's favorites (often in unexpected ways) plus a bunch of fabulous new ones. I've told myself I can't buy House of Many Ways until it comes out in paperback, we'll see how long that lasts.