Nerd Church - Books Matter

Hey guys, and welcome back to Nerd Church - that part of the week where I get all moral and philisolophical (known by normal people as philosophical) in relation to all things nerdy and book-y.

This time I'm going to announce a simple effing truth that I think we forget far too often in today's topsy-turvy society:

church image courtesy of debspoons at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Books Matter

I know that a lot of people will know this already - but clearly not everyone. Because if everyone knew and understood that books matter, then the state of affairs that we have in the UK at the moment, with library closures and the downgrading of library services, would not be happening. People had to work so hard in the past to ensure free library services for poorer communities - and with a callous sweep of their destructive fingers, the Tory government is taking away every mode and method of support for communities which need them the most.

It's actually possible that councils throughout the country are breaking the law via the downgrade of library services, and foisting off libraries onto community groups and volunteers.

Guys, books are what can take people from poverty to prosperity - they give hope, magic, knowledge, and inspiration. If we just stand by and let the government erode the things that make Britain a country we would actually want to live in (and don't even get me started on their other poverty-creating measures, as well as their erosion of worker's and individual rights,) then pretty soon the country will look like a Dickens novel - and I don't mean the Christmas celebrations, I mean the workhouses, the starving poor, and the arrogant and unseeing upper classes. We're dangerously close to it as it is. Books matter. People matter. Don't forget it.

Friday Fics Fix!

Just one fic for your Friday fix this week! (Oh no, how will we carry on my dear Reading Addict, without your recs! Ah, never fear erstwhile reader, there is plenty of fan-fiction on the internet, and feel free to look over my past posts for more ridiculous ficcy goodness!)

So, this week's fic is (duh-diddle-uuuhhhh!) -

Ripple Effect by Cyhyr.

Mahoosive warnings! There's domestic abuse, references to rape, flashbacks, references to childhood trauma and abuse, murder, and a sh** load of feels! M only.

This is an Avengers College AU (an Alternate Universe where the Marvel's Avengers characters are faffing about in college,) which involves some Steve/Tony and Tony/Loki elements. It's a long one-shot (stand-alone one-part story,) with many, many feels, in which Steve Rogers is a complete douche-bag. Perhaps it goes off on one a bit at the end, but all in all it's pretty good (well, I thought so, but I've been reading fan-fiction for weeks now and no longer know which way is up.)

Reviewing the Evidence Again! - Through the Ever Night

Title: Through the Ever Night (US Link)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Genre: dystopian, ya, sci-fi
Series: Under the Never Sky

A few starting notes:

As this is the sequel to the awesome Under the Never Sky, my basic rule for reviewing sequels applies - no spoilers for previous books beyond what is in the blurb of this book. With that said and done, I was really looking forward to reading this because I enjoyed the first one - and #2 didn't disappoint.

Premise:

In a world split in two - the pods of Reverie, and the harsh reality of the Outside - Aria and Perry have been trying to find a way to walk the delicate line between the worlds. With things heating up, and both societies in danger, it's going to be a bumpy ride...

Best bits:

I love Aria, one of our protagonists. What we have here my friends is a realistic and imperfect dystopian female protagonist with her own ideas and motivations - I know, what is this???? Is this a strong but flawed female character????? In a dystopian YA novel????? I may have to lie down for a while!

As with the last book, the strength of Rossi's complex world really impresses me. The hardships of both the once-proud Reverie and the dangerous Outside are both painted with confidence and deft skill - it's believable, and the imagery is vivid.

We also have a non-love-interest male friend. I know! And it works so freaking well! Just one of the ways that Ms Rossi takes the well-worn path and adapts the living sh** out of it to create something which manages to feel fresh in a heavily-laden genre.

Not so great bits:

I didn't like Kirra - once you get there, you'll know. But then, I don't think we were supposed to like Kirra - she's mainly there, in conjunction with Brooke, to show how awesome Aria is, I just wish there could've been another way to show the levels of awesomeness in the main character without resorting to creating characters which exist purely to provide contrast.

There are also a few, but noticeable, moments when you want to physically shake either Perry or Arya by the shoulders and tell them to stop being so freaking stupid - but then, I suppose that real people are also pretty damned stupid, and in comparison to other YA protagonists, these two are freaking geniuses. And they do have some apocalyptic dystopian sh** to deal with, so I'll cut them some slack.

Verdict:

I love this book. It's fresh, well-written, and involving, bringing a breath-taking dystopian novel without diving too far into the loony end of the pool. I will definitely be on the look out for the next book.

Girls 'n' books

Lately I've been thinking about the representation of female characters in novels - please, don't groan, I'm going to refrain from tub-thumping as much as possible.

No, I haven't been thinking about it in a totally obsessive-because-I-have-nothing-else-to-do kind of way - more a gentle meandering of my thoughts into this general direction. And why wouldn't I think about it? I am a woman after all - it's sort of natural to consider how women are portrayed in novels.



Image courtesy of taesmileland at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Which brings us to that most dreaded of topics - the Bechdel test - first used to gage the levels of female representation in films. That isn't to say that if a film - or a book, TV show, whatever - fails the Bechdel test then it's sexist. That's simply untrue. Going back to films for example, Avengers: Assemble is generally thought to have failed the Bechdel test - but it rocks. And Black Widow rocks - she is a complex female character and a f**king inspiration! And if anyone calls this film, or Black Widow, sexist, I will have to subject them to a re-education process that will be long and arduous.

I personally don't like using Bechdel to gage individual films or novels because it reduces things which may be totally beautiful and meaningful in so many ways to a simple arbitrary test. But, I think that it is important to use the Bechdel test over a range of data - so long as we understand that this is just one of a variety of tools we can use for analysis. This is because it shows the bigger picture - yes, it's fine for an individual book or film to fail the Bechdel test, but if they all fail it? Perhaps it says something, perhaps it doesn't - but it raises the point, and the point probably needs to be raised.

So, what about the books that I've reviewed in the last six months? How do the novels and graphic novels (non-fiction is a different kettle of fish, they're slightly restrained by fact,) fare against Bechdel?

The Bechdel test has three parts:

1. Are there two or more named female characters? (The waitress who takes an order and does nothing else, for example, doesn't count.)

2. Do they ever speak to each other?

3. Do they ever speak to each other about something that isn't a male character, or boys/men/male characters in general? (In other words, do they have their own motivations, or are they just there to complement the men?)

Here's how the (fiction) books I've reviewed since about March hold up (although, in fairness, I couldn't remember all the details so I apologise for any mistakes or vagueness):

Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine

Two or more female characters? Yep, definitely.
Do they talk to each other? Check.
About something other than blokes or male characters? If they do, I can't remember it. I'm not saying they didn't... but they can't have had too many conversations that were non-dude-related.

Genju No Seiza vol 1 by Matsuri Akino

 Two or more female characters? Umm... I can remember one... was there? I remember one female character, but couldn't honestly tell you whether there were any more. Maybe there was a female ghost? I don't know.

The Shape Stealer by Lee Carroll

Two or more female characters? Yes, there were.
Do they talk to each other? Yep.
About something other than dudes? Urrrmmm, they might've talked about fairies? Or music? Or musical fairies? Ooh! Yeh, there was a fairy-themed discussion, some talk of time-line shenanigans, and questions about a female lover (extra points for diversity!) Bechdel safely passed.
 
NOS4R2 (NOS4A2) by Joe Hill

Two or more female characters? Yes, definitely. And they rocked.
Do they talk to each other? Yep, quite a lot.
About something other than dudes? Yep, I can think of several conversations. Bechdel test passed with flying colours.

Love is Blind by Kathy Lette

Two or more female characters? Yeh.
Do they talk to each other? Yep.
About something other than blokes? Ummm... not really. Not that I remember anyway. They talked about moving to Australia... but that was to meet dudes...

Cross by James Patterson

Two or more female characters? Yep.
Do they talk to each other? They might... maybe.
About something that isn't men? Probably not - though they might've snuck in a request for coffee or something somewhere.

The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston

More than one female character? Yeh, quite a few actually.
Do they talk to each other? Yep, a lot.
About something that isn't blokes? Yeh - they definitely talk about magic and things like that. Bechdel test fully passed.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

More than one female character? Yes
Do they talk to each other? Yup.
About something that isn't men? I think they talk about music... and there may've been one or two other conversations... so yes. Bechdel passed.

A Dreadful Murder: The Mysterious Death of Caroline Luard by Minette Walters

More than one chick? Yup.
Talk to each other? Ummm... I think they might've once... not sure... couldn't confirm or deny to be honest.

Diary of a Wimpy Vampire by Tim Collins

Two or more female characters? Yes.
Do they talk to each other? I think they do.
About something other than men? Possibly. There may've been something about chores or school, but I'm not positive.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Two or more female characters? Yep, practically falling from the rafters compared to a lot of novels.
Do they talk to each other? Again, there's no shortage.
About a topic which isn't dudes? Yes - and often. Bechdel test thoroughly passed.

Bloody Valentine by James Patterson

Two or more females? Yes.
Do they talk to each other? Uhhhhh... yeh actually, they do.
About something that isn't men? A murder investigation. Check. Bechdel (surprisingly) passed.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Two or more chicks? Check.
Do they talk to each other? Yeh, they do.
About something that isn't blokes? Gallery openings, dinner, school, taking a trip together... yup and yup. Bechdel passed easily.

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Two or more females? Yeh, can think of at least four or five.
Do they talk to each other? Yes, throughout.
About something other than men? Angels, demons, nuns, nail polish... I'd say that covers it. Bechdel swum through with ease.

Printer's Devil Court by Susan Hill

Two or more girls/women? Yes, I can think of two.
Do they talk to each other? No, they never actually meet. Bechdel failed.

Diary of a Wimpy Vampire: Prince of Dorkness by Tim Collins

More than one female? Yes, there are.
Do they talk to each other? ...I think they might once or twice.
About something other than men or a male character? I don't actually think so. Bechdel failed (unless my memory is tricking me.)



I'm actually quite surprised at how well some of these novels did - 8/16 passed outright, 6/16 probable but unconfirmed fails, 2/16 confirmed fails.

That's a 50% pass - I was expecting a lot worse! That's not to say that this says anything about the quality of the novels, or the way that women are portrayed in them - but it certainly makes for some interesting data! What about your recent reads? You may be surprised by the results you come up with.

Nerd Church - Look At All That Pain

Hello my dear darling lovely internetty-type peoples! Welcome back to Nerd Church - that part of the week where I attempt to be deep and meaningful by taking a look at books and other such nerdy stuffs with my moral-eyes firmly plugged in. (Yes, I have had coffee. Yes, I have been listening to MCR. Yes, I'm ready to f**king DO this!!!)

My rambling topic this week is dystopia. Yep, dystopia - you know the kind of thing: Hunger Games, The Running Man, 1984, Divergent, Under the Never Sky. It's particularly popular amongst the YA genre-peoples right now. Well, why? Here are some of my theories (in a handy-dandy 5-point list - yay! Ok, maybe less coffee before I post next week.)

Church image courtesy of debspoons at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

#1 - Things can always get f**king worse.

Ok, so we live in a sh**ty world - pretty much everything is either broken or breaking. But we don't live in any world Suzanne Collins created, so it gives us an opportunity to count our (albeit limited) blessings.


#2 - Young people have a voice when the world goes to hell.

Have you noticed this? Somehow the teenagers and 20-somethings can make an honest-to-goodness difference in these dystopian societies. That means we've got a chance - if Katniss can do it, then we can too. I think we really cling to this because, lets face it, if you're young, you feel pretty powerless with the world as it is - and it's us who'll have to mop up the mess of previous generations.


#3 - Back to basics

We kind of feel like society has its priorities arse-backwards - who cares if you have a f**king new iPod - there's a kid f**king dying over there! This is an attempt to redress the balance. What matters to the poor souls in dystopian novels is their survival, the survival of other people, and fixing the corruption and injustices around them.


#4 - Come the revolution!

These worlds usually have some problem which we see in our own - injustice, inequality, even climate change. This inspires us to do something about it, and consider what these things may lead to if left unchecked. It also allows as to explore deep moral and ethical sh** without having to actually stand there with a knife in our hand.


#5 - Look at all that pain

The characters in these novels have been through utter hell, and, let's face it, at some point in our lives so have we, and so will we again in the future. Dystopian characters offer us hope in a world that seemingly has none (metaphor for modern life anyone?) and inspiration to keep fighting for what we believe in. They also offer us a chance to empathise with people who may be in very extreme situations, and take a look at our own lives and priorities.



See you next week for more Nerd Church. Happy reading!

Friday Fics Fix! - Fic-ception Edition

For this week's Fics Fix I've kind of got a theme going for my recs (recommendations, for non-fandom speakers,) - fics where the characters find fanfiction of themselves on the internet, and pretty much get scarred for life. It's a little bit fourth wall meets Inception, with a huge helping of gay porn. I'm going to blanket rate these fics M - Ok, kids - no reading these! The reason why I'm blanket rating is because the internet is a terrifying place and if there is anything left of your innocence, given the amount of weirdness on the web, please do RUN; RUN FAST. Seriously, if you're still somewhat normal, find something else to read (and stay in school, don't do drugs, stealing is wrong...there, I tried.)

Oh, and these are all MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) fics, mainly Avengers-centric - not because I was aiming for that, just because it turned out that way. And thanks to my friend Miss Lottie for the Fic-ception phrase ;)

Midgardian Smut by Lula Madison

OK, this is perhaps a bit, well, crack (which, as I explained before, is a fan-fiction that you would need to be on crack to come up with) but it's actually really funny. Basically, Loki finds the Internet - complete with smutty fanfics - and torments Steve, Tony, and Thor. What I really like is that slowly the Internet warps everyone's brains - because that's what I feel. So, so, often. Particularly when writing posts about fanfiction. (Warning: there is Stony (Steve and Tony) and Thorki (Thor and Loki) relationships.)

The Joys of the Internet by turnthemusicupnow

This time it's Tony who finds the dirty stuff on the internet, and then passes it on. Doesn't fully descend into porn, but the inference is most definitely there. This includes ThunderShield (where Steve and Thor have the hots for each other,) and a bit of Science Bros flitting in at the end (where Tony and Bruce get more snuggly than the studios would allow in the films.)

Don't Ever Call Me Stevie and Food Play by Unoriginality

These are fab. I mean really, fantastic. Essentially, Bucky traumatises Steve with internet (and it doesn't even morph rapidly into gay porn - I know, how weird? They don't end up kissing and doing naughty things, and it's still funny!)

The day Loki discovered Frostiron by Majinie

OK, this is Frostiron - where Tony Stark and Loki have a little something going on romantically. I'm more than a little worried that that sentence is no longer weird to me. I may need a fic detox soon. Anyway, Loki finds Frostiron porn on the internet - and you can pretty much guess where it ends up from there.

Blogger Recognition Award

The lovely Mimi Syabani nominated everyone who read her post for the Blogger Recognition Award (thanks Mimi!) so, I couldn't resist, could I?

My Story

Once a book nerd was bitten by a radioactive librarian... Sorry, I've either had too much or too little coffee this morning, I'll be good now *serious face, trying not to giggle.*

No, my story is simply that I love books. Like really love books. I love books so much that I figured if I inspire even one person to read something in the course of this blog, then I'll have done my job. The other inspiration was that I love writing (I know, I know, clichéd as all hell,) and wanted to have something to egg me on to write, get me back to being a productive member of society and all that jazz.

I'll let you in on a little secret, I have had a really crappy few years. As the result of which, I got whammied by depression on top - because obviously, when the world's going to hell you need your brain to rebel against you. I'm a millennial, working self-employed, who had to pick herself up and dust herself off after gut convulsions (pretty much as fun as they sound) and labyrinthitis (definitely not as fun as it sounds) put pay to going to university.

Then my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I acted as her carer until (fingers crossed) she was all clear. Trying to care for my mother was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, and I ended up believing I was worthless, that everything was my fault - I started blaming and criticising myself for things that I had no control over.

Eventually, everything came to a head - and I ended up doing what is one of the other hardest things I've ever had to do, and went to the doctor. My life has certainly not run smoothly since then - far from it, I lost both of my grandparents within four days of each other over Christmas - but I learnt to get back up and carry on going. And throughout it all, I've had books - I've had reading. Without it I have no idea what I'd be like right now - so, yeah, books are kind of a big deal to me. And if I can show someone else the way to that magic... yeah, so that's why I ended up starting this blog.
 
My Advice

Don't do anything just to become rich and famous. Most bloggers will never have recognition beyond a small circle of followers - and even that is beyond the reach of some. No, if you want to blog - do it for the love of your subject, you'll be a lot happier in the long run.

Never allow yourself to be shamed for what you enjoy - if you like a book and everyone else hates it, say that you like it. No-one should be made to feel ashamed of what they like or dislike.

So, yeah, have fun... be true to yourself... all that stuff. Just, enjoy your life guys - happiness is more important than whether you drive a sports car or have the latest apple product, honestly.

I'm going to copy Mimi and nominate everyone reading this!