Wendy's Friend Comments

My latest book (co-editor with Storm Constantine) is now listed on Goodreads! Check out Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu. Available April 18th from Immanion Press.

Just spent some time trying to find a column I had in the AJC years ago. Didn't find it, but was confronted with the amazing achievements of my packrat nature. So much memorabilia, either personal or saved. I don't have nearly the time to share THAT archive, but one thing I did grab was this record I did of my reading for 1994-1995, i.e. 20 years ago. This would've been my freshman/sophomore year of college:

FOR SCHOOL
Second Shift
Understanding Psychology
Constitutional Law for a Changing America
The Roots of Evil
The Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories
The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories
Angels in America: Millenium Approaches
News Reporting and Writing

VOLUNTARY
Shout!
A Tale of Two Cities
The Book of Endings
Last Watch of the Night
Queer in America
Boys of the Rock
Gender Outlaw
Cross Dressing, Sex, and Gender
Quentin Crisp's Book of Quotes
The Stranger
The Celluloid Closet
State of the USA Atlas
Memnoch the Devil
In My Room: Teenagers in Their Bedroms
City: Rediscovering the Center
The Invention of Homosexuality
Sybil
Spock's World
Helter Skelter
Unleashed: Poems by Writers' Dogs
The College Woman's Handbook

What I'm reading next:

In the Beginning (Chaim Potok)
Iron Council (China Mieville)
The Divided (Katie Waitman)
The End of Nature (Bill McKibben)
Collapse: How Socieites Choose to Fail or Succeed (Jared Diamond)

I also now have a second vintage copy of The Razor's Edge, thanks to my brother, but I think I will wait on rereading until I've at least gone through these. Or it feels right.

And for non-fiction I've read in 2011, there are 3 stand-outs:

Black Like Me (John Howard Griffin)
The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping (Paco Underhill)

‎10 Best Fiction Books I've Read in 2011

Bridge of Darnath (4 books) -- Carol Berg
Lighthouse Duet (2 books) -- Carol Berg
Drawing Blood -- Poppy Z. Brite
Geek Love -- Catherine Dunn
Thomas the Rhymer -- Ellen Kushner
Swordspoint -- Ellen Kushner
The Privilege of the Sword -- Ellen Kushner
The Fall of the Kings -- Ellen Kushner
Lavinia -- Ursula K. Le Guin
Four Ways to Forgiveness -- Ursula K. Le Guin

Note:
The first "two" books are actually 6. Also, while I tried only to list first-reads, I list Swordspoint because this time I gave it more of a fair shake and loved it. Also Four Ways is less a novel and more 4 longish short stories.

Skimming through one of my fav scifi books . It really touches me. I've reread it quite a few times.

Wow. According to GoodReads, I've read almost 9000 pages this year. Total number of books is 21. Obviously some of those are long!

Wendy wrote: "Think I'm going to reread Swordspoint. After Thomas the Rhymer, I am craving more Ellen Kushner.

Well, I did indeed reread Swordspoint and liked it much better this time, and even though I still got a little lost with all the intrigue, I did better at following it. Meanwhile yesterday and today I gobbled up Priledge of the Sword, which was marvelous. The short story included at the end of Swordspoint with the Duke dying is now even more poignant.

Think I'm going to reread Swordspoint. After Thomas the Rhymer, I am craving more Ellen Kushner. And since I don't have Fall of the Kings (yet) I will make due with what I have. Maybe it will improve on rereading. I just know the first time around I was disappointed, but it might have been the heaps of praise I'd heard about it. It's well written, just missing the proper (in my opinion) amount of juiciness and spiciness. And it has too much intrigue. (And yes, I am rambling!)

Went to Borders close-out sale and came home with:

- Spirit Lens (Carol Berg)
- Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
- Neuromancer (William Gibson)
...- Flesh and Fire (Laura Anne Gilman)
- Diary of a Madman, etc. (Nicolai Gogol)
- Black Like Me (John Howard Griffin)
- Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
- Thomas the Rhymer (Ellen Kushner)
- NYT Sunday Crossword Tribute to Eugene T. Maleska

Combo of couple of old favs & things on my to-read list. Plus my crack, i.e. crosswords.

Fantasy Cliches

Some recent reading has got my mind on the topic of fantasy cliches, in part because I'd like to do some writing (gasp!) and really, really want to avoid these. I suppose I'm mainly talking about "typical" Medieval type fantasy, not at all Dark Fantasy, as there's certainly fantasy out there that has nothing whatever to do with swords and sorcerers...

So here's what I came up with the other day:

apocalyptic scenarios
Celtic influences
centaurs
corrupt council
dragons
dungeons
empires
European analogies
European words
evil priest
evil sorcerer
evil warlord
famine
fortresses
grand destinies
heterosexuality / het.-only romance
hidden/parallel worlds
horses
kings and queens
lost ancient civilizations
lost heirs
magic
magical caves
magical objects
magical races / species
Medieval / Renaissance type society/technology/etc.
monasteries
no electricity
political intrigue out the wazoo
plague
plucky peasant kids
polytheism
portals
rigid class system
Roman Empire parallels
salty old warriors
saving the world
secret identities
self-contained "world"*
servants
slavery
soul transfer / reincarnation
sorcery / black magic
spies
swearing by gods ("Deunor's teeth!")
swords
torture
tragically flawed princes
tunics, tabards, breeches, etc.
war
warlike/scholar contrasted siblings
warrior women
witch hunts and inquisitions

* Meaning that events take place which are worldwide significance (say: fate of the planet or universe) and yet only on kingdom on a whole planet is involved, which makes me wonder what other drama is going on elsewhere. Seriously, a prince, his sorcerer and a smart peasant woman are the center of the world? Really?"

After coming up with a long list of fantasy cliches, I started thinking about makes GOOD fantasy and then about my favorite fantasy reads. Here's my list:

Stand-alone

Calenture (Storm Constantine)
The City of Dreaming Book (Walter Moers)
Imajica (Clive Barker)
The Lathe of Heaven (Ursula K. Le Guin)
Perdido Street Station (China Mieville)
The Scar (China Mieville)
Sign for the Sacred (Storm Constantine)
Thin Air (Storm Constantine)
The Thorn boy (Storm Constantine)
Tourniquet: Tales from the Renegade City (Kim Lakin-Smith)
Wicked Gentlemen (Ginn Hale)

Series

Dream and a Lie (Fiona McGavin)
Bridge of D'Arnath (Carol Berg)
Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin)
Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)
Kushiel's Legacy (Jacqueline Carey)
Lighthouse (Carol Berg)
Nightrunner (Lynn Flewelling)
Magravandias (Storm Constantine)
Stone Dance of the Chameleon (Ricardo Pinto)
Tales of the Flat Earth (Tanith Lee)
Tamir Triad (Lynn Flewelling)
Wraeththu (3 trilogies + singles) (Storm Constantine)

Story Anthologies

The Birthday of the World and Other Stories (Ursula K. Le Guin)
Dreams of Dark and Light (Tanith Lee)
Mythanima (Storm Constantine)
The Oracle Lips (Storm Constantine)

Suggestions?

So, based on this, what else might I like? I like my fantasy WEIRD.

Wendy

Finished Guardians of the Keep (Carol Berg) in less than two days. And I was pacing myself and have a job and slept. I had books 3 & 4 of the series at home but might take a break for a day or two. I suspect yet MORE torture, slavery and mayhem.

Just received Books 2-4 of Bridge to D'Arnath and it's everything I can to resist tearing into them immediately.

Thought about starting a book this weekend but didn't because the next three Bridge to D'Arnath will be arriving probably tomorrow. There is no WAY I'll be able to resist cracking Book 2 immediately. I already stopped reading Party of One halfway through because a) it was annoying me and b) Book 1 arrived and from page 1 was addictive.

Just ordered books 2, 3 & 4 of the Bridge to D'Arnath because I only have about 100 pages left in Book 1 and I know I'm going to want to read the next one SOON. This one is getting better by the page!

During lunch I was reading Son of Avonar and almost broke out in tears at the description of Karon's last days. That was just heart-wrenching!

Overnight I could not stop thinking about the book I'm reading, Son of Avonar. Like I'd wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about it, speculating, going over dialog... Think I had dreams about it.

Stephanie wrote: "Hey Wendy! Thanks for accepting my friendship. :)"

No problem. Although I wouldn't be able to make it to any in person meet-ups unless they're in town (I don't drive) I enjoy people with good tastes in books :)