megwrites

Title: Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England
Author: Juliet Barker (JulietBarker.co.uk)
Genre: European History/Non-Fiction
Page Count: 464
Publisher: LIttle Brown and Company

( Review: Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England )

So, I'm collecting the books that are listed in the #ThoroughlyGoodBooksbyPoC hashtag on twitter, because well, I myself want to keep up with such a list and others might, too.

Caveat: I haven't read all of these books, and I'm taking it on good faith that the authors identify themselves as PoC or are not White-Western authors, and that they are thoroughly good. However, no book is ever thoroughly perfect, especially when it comes to intersections. Discussion of what's good (or bad or problematic) about these titles is more than welcome in comments.

Also, if I spell or get someone's name wrong (or in the wrong order, though I've tried to double check so that it doesn't happen), please correct me! I want to make sure I accurately name these authors not only because it's respectful, but so that readers can find them and their books quicker! This list is accurate as of 13:00EST in the U.S. I'll keep updating it as long as Twitter does.

ETA 1: List updated! Accurate and complete (to my knowledge) as of 17:00EST in the U.S. First round of errors corrected as well. Please let me know if there are any more, and as always, feel free to add on with books and authors that meet the criteria.



That said, onto the list, which is in two sections. The first is authors and books recommended. The second is short story authors that are being recommended. Where just an author has been recommended in the book section, I've put "all titles". If you want to add a specific one, feel free to leave a comment.

( The #ThoroughlyGoodBooksbyPoC Hash Tag List o' Books and Authors. )


( Short Story PoC authors in the hash tag )

Title: Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford
Author: Alison Weir (AlisonWeir.org.uk)
Genre: Non-fiction
Page Count: 406
Publisher: Ballentine Books

( Review )

Title: Archangel's Blade
Author: NaliniSingh.com; nalinisingh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 310
Publisher: Berkley Sensation

( Review: Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh. SPOILER WARNING! SPOILERS! )

1. I'm trying out the Pheonix client for Dreamwidth, so let me know if anything about this entry has turned out wonky or otherwise not as it should be.

2. My husband put the finished draft of my novel into .mobi format and loaded it on our shared Kindle. It was like it was a really real book. I'm tempted to now to just give it away and let people throw money into some kind of tip jar because, eeeee! It looked really nicely formatted and like a real book and everything.

3. I'm still figuring out how to organize that inclusive SF/F writer's group/writer's support and critique comm thing type dealie place majigger. Right now I'm thinking of drawing up a basic statement of beliefs and goals and letting people see if they like it.

( A rough list of what the basic statement's tenents would be. I welcome and encourage feedback. Seriously. Talk to me, DW-verse! )

4. I am now consumed by the need to start researching ALL THE FLOWERS AND PLANTS because there's a story somewhere in my head. Not sure where it is, and it's not ready to come out yet, but like a seed opening underground, I know something is going to pop up soon with some sunshine, some rain, and some time.

5. I mentioned this on Twitter and Tumblr, but it's that season again. My birthday is in April and when I get my inevitable gift cards/birthday money, I'm gonna need book recs. My criteria (copied from Tumblr) are:

- Really awesome SF/F or urban fantasy/paranormal romance by authors of color and/or about protagonists of color. The less fail-y the better. God, but I need some good speculative literature right now.

- Steampunk that doesn’t fail.

- Ditto the above for authors who are queer, trans, have a disability, etc.

- Any awesome history books about non-European, non-White people centric history.

- Any books about journaling, drawing, or painting that have been helpful, especially for beginners who don’t have a lot of nifty tools at their disposal.

- Hot, steamy, queeralicious romance, erotica, etc. Will try out heterosexual pairings or situations where it breaks through norms and tropes or otherwise is something besides the same old, same old. Kink is a plus.

- Any good social sciences/culture books about topics relevant to my interests.

- Any good pop science books, particularly on physics, astronomy, astrophysics, biology, or chemistry. ETA: Botany and other natural sciences are good, too.

- Any other books that seem like they’d be right up my alley.

6. This is my dog on Youtube. This is her tail of adventure, action, and whirlwind passion. She is absurd in every possible way and extremely sweet and inordinately fond of citrus and eating cloth. I just wanted to brag about her because she's really cute and sleeping next to me. Yes, she is named after the book/movie but only because she was named "Cora" at the animal control place we adopted her from and we didn't like that. I wanted to name her Sharptooth.

7. I'm on Goodreads. Go add me so I won't be lonely? *sad woe face*.

I know I haven't been around much in the last part of 2011. That's due to a lot of things, including some mental health issues that I'll talk about some time, but not now.

For now, it's time for the annual "how many and what kind of books did Meg read?" total. I didn't get as many read as I wanted to this year (I aim for 50 every year, haven't gotten there yet). But here it is:



Reading Stats
Books Attempted: 28
Books Completed: 24
Average Time to Read A Book: 10 days
Most Read Author: Alison Weir
Longest Book Read: The Broken Crown - Michelle West
Shortest Book Read: Sex With Kings - Eleanor Herman
PoC Authors Read: 14
Female Authors Read: 21
GLBT Authors Read: 1 for sure, but probably more


Genres:
History/Biography: 6
Science Fiction: 5
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance: 9
Fantasy: 2
Mainstream/General Fiction: 1
Non-Fiction: 1


5 Favorite Books I Read In 2011:

5. Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir - A really wonderful and impeccably researched (as always) biography done by Alison Weir who has a talent for well balanced and carefully considered histories. Not only is Eleanor herself a fascinating subject for study, but the ways in which Weir makes sure to frame the history to show that even if she wasn't given credit for the things she accomplished or help accomplished, she certainly deserved it. I want to give this book to anyone who thinks women somehow become useless after 40. This woman rocked Europe well into her seventies.

4. The Broken Kingdoms by NK Jemisin - I love Jemisin's writing, I love how she's taken the fantasy genre into a new direction and I love that she gets characters so right. She understands how to build drama and delicious chemistry between her characters, both in love and conflict. A compelling and sympathetic narrator and impressive worldbuilding made this a book that set the bar high for books I read in 2011.

3. Four Queens by Nancy Goldstone - I simply devoured this history, partly because it's something I never got taught even in classes focusing on European history in that period and partly because Goldstone knows how to infuse her histories with a sense of humor and a human warmth in the writing. The book very much reads like a very smart, witty friend teaching you history. The topic of the four sisters from one family who all eventually gained the title of "queen" (of England, France, the Romans [which is actually Germany] and Sicily respectively) is complex and fascinating, but even though there are a lot of intersecting lines and things to keep straight, the author painted riveting portraits of the women who shaped Europe and both the high and low points of their royal lives.

2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - This is one of those books that when a writer reads it, they go into a spiral of "why bother, I could never be better than this!". The God of Small Things is as close to a perfect novel as I think it's possible for a human being to write. Lyrical, wrenching, multilayered, heartbreaking, searing and whimsical by turns, it lays out a story that is both microscopic and epic in scope. Each time I left this book, I found myself surprised to be back home instead of there with Estha and Rahel and all the others.

1. Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson - It's no secret I love Hopkinson as an author. So when I scored this book in a bookstore by total accident, I was over the moon. And deservedly so. This book is sheer magic and everything that science fiction can be and should be, as far as I'm concerned. A story about all stories and their power, an exploration of a world where human and person aren't the same thing, a tale of just one young woman and of an entire world at the same time, it sings and whispers and bellows out beautiful things while being a damn good read and a very solid science-fiction novel that explores a lot of what the mainstream tech-obsessed canon in this genre neglects as being unimportant.



5 Least Favorite Books I Read in 2011:

5. Kingmaker by Maurice Broaddus - I wanted to like this novel badly and it isn't necessarily a horrible book or terribly written. There are a lot of deeply impressive elements. The worldbuilding, the marriage of mythology to a thoroughly believable modern setting and the interpretation of the King Arthur story in a way that sets aside the Disneyfied versions and gets to a truth. However, the plot, structure and pacing of the story were a hot mess. The real plot doesn't begin until halfway through, lots of threads are left hanging in ways that I'm not sure were deliberate, and while many of the scenes and characters were fascinating, their importance to the plot seemed flimsy at best.

4. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh - I liked this much less than Singh's Guild Hunter novels. By an order of magnitude, really. The writing felt like it came straight off the Paranormal Fantasy Template and while the worldbuilding was uniquely Singh's, the writing could've come from any paranormal romance with a half naked guy on the cover. The romance isn't even romance, the entire society is problematic as hell and there are so many misogynistic alpha male shenanigans here that I debated not finishing. The sex honestly bored me. The best I can say about it is that it was at least paced logically and I didn't need to read any of the other books in the series.

3. Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian - The misogyny and creepiness just drip off of this book. An entire species that has no women in it, because The Breed can only be men. Women are "Breedmates" only and though they have powers of their own. Those names alone had me ready to check out and forget this book. I wish I had. While Breedmates have powers of their own, they don't get to do much. they tend to just sit around needing saving and being mystically bonded to guys. The Breed even has their misogyny enshrined in law. Breed men are permitted by law to order around Breedmates they're related to! Even the relative uniqueness of the vampires-as-alien hybrids couldn't save this book. At ever chance, the book takes the most predictable and boring path when so many interesting ones are available. The characters might as well be cut and pasted from other books, minus any trace of real personality or presence.

2. Gideon by Jacquelyn Frank - I rooted for the villains and wanted to set the heroes on fire. The book appropriates Jewish names/theology for Celtic-based demons for no reason I could discern. I've never read such weak and terrible writing. The dialogue was so stiff you could've ironed your shirt and the book meandered between couples, not even focusing fully on the main characters (not that there was anything to miss out on). The romances here are bland and sometimes worrying. The relationship between Jacob and Bella (yes, I laughed hard) goes down the checklist of things abusers do to control their partners. Throw in the constant misogyny and "women should leave politics and fighting to the men" nonsense and you have a recipe for disaster.

1. Seduced by Shadows by Jessa Slade - Where do I start? Problematic and appropriative as all hell, it not only abuses the Jewish religion, but doesn't even do it well. The entire world is based on a writer using the concept of teshuva wrongly and for no reason. As a side dish, there's Islamobigotry because the villains are all djinn while the angels are all Christian. The characters drip with self-pity and whine about their souls and salvation a lot. There wasn't even really a romance here. The hero's past owning of enslaved people on a plantation is handled atrociously and the heroine starting the book with a disability isn't done much better. For those reasons, the book landed dead last on this list.

1. Something awesome: ephemere is taking preorders for a book of calligraphy and art entitled Kandila. If you've ever seen the breath taking work that she's posted before, then you already know that this is definitely a worthy addition to any library. Plus, the more you pay, the more extras you get. The basic package starts out at $25US, which I think is more than reasonable for something this beautiful and obviously made with great talent, love, and dedication.


2. Re: The #YesGayinYA thing, deepad has a really, really great post asking for critiques of the books on the list here in her post: "In which I am derailing and contrary and also unsupportive of the Market".

A lot of what she says were things that were really front and center in my mind when I compiling the books for the #buyabiggaynovelforscottcardday list from Twitter and comments. And things that I think are essential to this conversation. And other conversations, frankly. Especially about the US-centrism of the discussion, and about the work that goes into critiques and reviews of books.

I also highly recommend you check out: this post about it from colorblue, who says:

More often than not, I find representation unaccompanied by critical analysis (that takes into account underlying hierarchies) worse than the alternative. The representation of minorities that most often gets past gatekeepers is the representation least challenging and most flattering to the status quo, and I don't see how this will change if it isn't even acknowledged.

And, on a personal note: I'd rather not see myself represented at all than see myself represented in that fashion by major publishing houses, because it hits too close to home, leaves me in the most awful headspace. That said, I've always had access to stories about people somewhat like me, and my privileges have ensured that there are quite a few stories like this (outside the big name US publishers, that is).

The fact is that we don't need to create a glut of literature that is rubber stamped by the establishment and then act like we've done a favor to either GLBT+ youth or the world in general.

Thus, I urge anyone who was checking the Big Gay Book List for recs to immediately head over to deepad's entry and look at the comments and see what people (especially people who are talking from their lived experiences and actual identities) are saying about books that you might think are good - but remaining willfully unaware helps nothing.

I had something of an illuminating experience at the Borders "going out of business" sale this weekend.

For those who don't know, Borders is (was) one of the major brick and mortar retailers here in the U.S. They've been fighting bankruptcy and financial woes for years, but it's finally caught up to them. They're going under and individual locations are going out like light bulbs.

Here have a link about it from the Wall Street Journal.

This is very bad for the employees who are losing jobs. I feel genuine and deep sympathy for them, especially with the way job markets are right now.

But as a person who buys books and is deeply interested in book retail and the publishing industry, it was something of an instructive experience.

( Discussion of book buying habits, stores, economies and other things that might not be interesting. Also, very U.S.-centric, with my apologies! )

Title: The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity
Author: Amartya Sen
Genre: Non-Fiction
Page Count: 391
Publisher: Penguin

( Review: The Argumentative Indian: Writings On Indian History, Culture and Identity by Amartya Sen )

The book(s) I am reading: The Broken Crown (Sun Sword #1), Michelle West (aka Michelle Sagara), The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen, and The Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson

The book I am writing (or would like to write or see written): I'm bouncing between the sequel to the book I'm editing and a space-romance threesome book.

The book I love most: The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkison. That book seriously blew me away, changed what I thought I knew about how books should even be structured, completely took a sledgehammer to the notion that genre classifications can be helpful, and so many other things.

The last book I received as a gift: None. I don't think anyone's ever given me a book as a gift. I borrowed a few, but never been given one. I stand corrected! Here I was trying to think of x-mas, birthdays, etc and it turns out that nwhyte actually very generously gave me the gift of King Rat by China Mieville (which, btw, is the sole Mieville novel I've ever finished or enjoyed). I feel like kind of a jerk for forgetting that!

The last book I gave as a gift: None. This may explain my above answer.

The nearest book on my desk: The Rise of Modern China by Immanuel C.Y. Hsu.