Do Better: SFF without Sexual Violence discussion

Hey everyone! I hope you're all well! And if you're new to Do Better, welcome!

We wanna know, where did your reading journey take you in July? What did you like, what didn't you like and which (if any) do you think might be suitable for our DB bookshelf-database?

Pop by anytime this month and share. Elena and I will research/validate all member's suggestions for the DB bookshelf-database at the end of the month.

Note: For any books you are recommending, if possible, let us know of any common content warnings that you noticed. Here is our current list on our bookshelf-database: (view spoiler)[

Animal abuse
Animal Death
Body Image
Bullying
Child Abuse
Child Death
Child Neglect
Emotional Abuse
Fat Shaming
Graphic Violence
Homophobia (that is acknowledged)
Low female rep
Mental Health
Memory Manipulation
Oppression
Racism (that is acknowledged)
Self harm
Sexism (that is acknowledged)
Slavery
Suicide
Transphobia (that is acknowledged)
Enbyphobia (that is acknowledged)
(hide spoiler)]

July's over already !? Where did it go ?

Mary wrote: "July's over already !? Where did it go ?"

I know, right?! But writing this post gave me a boost, I'm thinking I can finish a couple of things over the next couple of days 😁

Some things I read and can recommend

Shadow Life (graphic novel) bisexual Asian elder fights death with a vacuum cleaner and a little salt.😁 No CWs

Hunting Party space opera with not 1 but 2 strong female MCs over 40. On the negative side, the unfortunate inclusion of fox hunting rather than cross country racing. CW Animal Death

Werecockroach - hopepunk/kindness novella about aliens landing in London + disability/non-bi/ACE rep

Foreigner Political SF CW Low female rep, but the two we do see are badass and one is older

A Psalm for the Wild-Built it's Becky Chambers does it need a description? lol no CW

In the Company of Men - Could consider this speculative. From the Côte d'Ivoire revolving around the 2014 ebola outbreak, every chapter is from a different POV... from the expected doctor, nurse, and patients to a grave digger to a baobab tree and the virus itself. CW: Child Death, neglect, not Graphic Violence per say but graphic death

@ Mary - Thanks! I'm even more excited about Werecockroach now, it sounds right up my alley and it will work well for the wbtm challenge 😁 And I'll maybe have to give Foreigner another try one day.

I had another great reading month, but unfortunately only one I can recommend to DB


<>Recommending to DB: >

The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein- A fantasy/science mash up, that has aged very well and doesn't feature the usual tropes. Recalled rec for (view spoiler)[ brief threat of what might have been SV (hide spoiler)]


Not recommending to DB:
I highly recommend both of these, but they each have one scene that more sensitive readers may find triggering:

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap - one story features (view spoiler)[ students taking revenge on a teacher who grooms and sexually abuses teen students (hide spoiler)]
White Tears by Hari Kunzru - (view spoiler)[ a disturbing murder takes place off scene. SV may/may not have occurred (hide spoiler)]


Not SFF:
No One Is Talking About This - No SV
Normal People - CW (view spoiler)[ non-consensual groping, self harm (hide spoiler)]
The Woman in the Purple Skirt - No SV, but a (view spoiler)[ male character raises a question of consent (hide spoiler)]

The Steerswoman was recommended to DB before but its been disputed. I still think one scene is strongly suggestive of off page sexual abuse. You didn't think so?

Ryan wrote: "The Steerswoman was recommended to DB before but its been disputed. I still think one scene is strongly suggestive of off page sexual abuse. You didn't think so?"

Oh!! I swear, my memory gets worse every month! Thanks, Ryan!
I just found the quote that Melissa posted previously. I remember reading that part and having to stop to figure out what/who they were suggesting. Regardless of the who, it did seem like a veiled threat. So yeah, I withdraw my recommendation for this book for DB.

However, it's such a small moment in the book, I still feel comfortable recommending this to all but the most sensitive of readers.

Same! I'm still recommending it to people and happy to talk through any issues they may have with it.

Beige wrote: "@ Mary - Thanks! I'm even more excited about Werecockroach now, it sounds right up my alley and it will work well for the wbtm challenge 😁 And I'll maybe have to give Foreigner another try one day."

Yes try Werecockroach ! Foreigner is definitely not for everyone, Cherryh likes to put you in the mind of the MC and the saying "just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me" would describe him. lol

Opps, I completely forgot to add my monthly reads from July!

For our shelf:
Sinew and Steel and What They Told - short story, some war violence
An Easy Job - short story, some war violence
Project Hail Mary - I think this is on our list already
The Seventh Perfection - this was interestingly written, I cannot recall if sexual violence was discussed, but I don't think so
The Last Graduate - some death
Fireheart Tiger - some controlling relationship, war
Paladin's Grace - I think its already there?
Witchmark
Elatsoe

Not for our shelf:
The Memory Theater - slavery (I don't think it was sexual in nature but playing it safe, so maybe TBD for our shelves), violence
Magic Study - second book in a series, the first book had some past tense sexual violence.
The Midnight Lie - violence, physical and emotional abuse, oppression
And What Can We Offer You Tonight - violence, physical and emotional abuse
The Vanished Queen - violence, physical and emotional abuse
The Kingdoms - violence, physical and emotional abuse
The Midnight Bargain - physical and emotional abuse

Rebecca wrote: "Opps, I completely forgot to add my monthly reads from July!

For our shelf:
Sinew and Steel and What They Told - short story, some war violence
An Easy Job - sho..."

Wow, that's an impressive amount of books for one month!! I look forward to researching them next week and seeing your reviews. Thanks for sharing!

@ Mary:


Thanks again for sharing! Here are the result of our validation/research

Shadow Life - ✔️ Added to DB bookshelf with no CW
Hunting Party - ✔️ Already on bookshelf, thanks for seconding!
Werecockroach - 🔄 Added to pending, insufficient reviews
Foreigner - ✔️ Added to DB bookshelf with CW for low female rep
A Psalm for the Wild-Built - ✔️ Added to DB bookshelf with no CW
In the Company of Men - 🔄 Added to pending, insufficient reviews

@ Rebecca:

We didn't have much luck with these, a few had insufficient number of reviews, a couple were Young Adult and a few had brief mentions of SV. We're still very glad you suggested them, some members are fine with YA and aren't triggered by brief mentions if SV so they might appreciate knowing about them. 😁


✔️ Already On DB bookshelf, thanks for seconding!
Project Hail Mary

🔄 Added to pending
Sinew and Steel and What They Told - insufficient reviews
An Easy Job - insufficient reviews
The Seventh Perfection - 1 out of 168 review lists a (view spoiler)[mention of rape. (hide spoiler)]

✖️ Excluded:
Elatsoe - Young Adult
The Last Graduate - Young Adult
Fireheart Tiger - A few reviews list (view spoiler)[ a mention of an attempted rape and domestic abuse in an adult relationship (hide spoiler)]
Paladin's Grace - A few reviews list (view spoiler)[ a mention of a past problematic relationship. Their descriptions varied: "dubious consent", "sexual assault" and "domestic violence" (hide spoiler)]
Witchmark - this has previously been excluded due to (view spoiler)[ mention of rape and forced marriage (hide spoiler)]


And I did want to ask about the ones you're not recommending due to violence, emotional and physical abuse. If those abuses occur outside of an intimate sexual relationship, we would consider them for DB (with the appropriate content warnings). I just wanted to clarify that point, just in case some of these might fit our with our DB guidelines.

Ahhh I keep forgetting about the YA exclusion, sorry about that! I also don't really know how to tell which are YA, the GR tags seem incorrect sometimes. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The ones I marked as not appropriate were guesses based on my memory. I pay attention to violence but sometimes forget if it was sexual in nature, I think its a coping mechanism so my mind doesn't dwell on that aspect. That doesn't make me a great recommender here tho, lol!

Oh dang, I never updated with my July reads. I guess I'll just do a big August update.

Rebecca wrote: "Ahhh I keep forgetting about the YA exclusion, sorry about that! I also don't really know how to tell which are YA, the GR tags seem incorrect sometimes. 🤷🏻‍♀️..."

Oh no worries! YA classifications can sometimes be wonky, especially if publishers think a more adult themed book will sell better there. We're always willing to make exceptions if anyone feels a YA book doesn't read as such.

And I hear you on the memory thing, I had to recheck all each of my August reads. The more I read each month, the worse my memory is!