Reading Wednesday

[oyceter]

Not a particularly exciting week in reading, but notable in that I got myself to read and even enjoy it when I wasn't in the mood.

I know! This would have shocked younger me—not in the mood to read?! Blasphemy! Alas, older me has had to deal with an increasingly small attention span, in addition to diminished enjoyment in nearly everything. Things are getting better in terms of both attention span and enjoyment, and this makes me hope the reading will come back as well.

What I've read: I finally finished my nostalgic reread of Terry Brooks' Talismans of Shannara. Ahahaha, oh Par, so boring. On the other hand, Matty Roh is even more awesome than I remembered, and I had completely forgotten about the Matty Roh-Damson Rhee adventures! There should be fic, IJS.

Spoilers

I also got confused because Cogline is revealed to be not dead and just floating around Paranor in Elf Queen, because I was so sure he died! Turns out he does! Just in this book instead.

What I'm reading: I am progressing through Anuja Chauhan's The Zoya Factor, which got a little boring a few chapters in as it introduced the love interest and he and the heroine were antagonistic and etc. However, he is now being much nicer, and there has been a street market, so I am liking it much better again. Also continuing to read Tenea Johnson's Smoketown, which is still gorgeous. I think I opened up Yuki Kaori's Iiki no Ki to show off the Kobo Aura HD's screen to troisroyaumes, but I haven't read much past the first few pages. The art, though, is gorgeous! And already I am afraid it is going to be a version of the Riff/Cain + Merriweather triangle, with another demonic guy, some aristocratic guy, and a cute spunky girl.

Random book-shaped space: I am still trying to figure out what to get with the Kobo 50% off coupon before it expires! Candidates so far: Kate Elliott's Jaran books, some Charlotte Stein novellas the library doesn't have, ???. Maybe the dinosaur book I have been looking at?

In less pleasant news, I deleted Ben A's books from my computer.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Sorry those books didn't work for you. :/ I wonder whether my fondness for London the city has obscured something I should've picked up on.

[oyceter]

I did like the one book I read! Unfortunately the author himself has been behaving pretty awfully online :(.

[kore]

Oh dear, why was that? The horrible 'you are interrogating the romance from the wrong perspective' comments, or did he do something worse? (That was pretty bad in and of itself.)

[oyceter]

Alas, that is where it started! If only he just stopped there! http://everythingisnice.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/how-to-be-a-professional-author-and-decent-human-on-the-internet/

[kore]

//clicks with trepidation

//reads


Return to the argument whilst simultaneously claiming “I’m not going to get back into the argument”

AWWW MAN, NO

Perhaps if you stopped trying to create a devide between readers and writers you might find our presence a little bit less intimidating?

and a smiley

ahhh, Christ //reads on

[thistleingrey]

Ah--understood now. Via RSS I ran into his follow-up post regarding it (I think--here's hoping it's the one event and not more than one thing), which has a partial screen shot of a comment thread. In the post he thanks Rose Fox "for the very clear explanation as to why author/fan discussions will always be fraught which has helped me come to my decision," which is to quit SFF fandom, limit future panel participation, and such. [ETA I cut off too much--he seems to mean that he'll participate as a writer when invited but cease the public fannishness that predates his writing/publishing career considerably.]

I'm not going to look for additional context right now, but it is certainly true that rosefox is often effective at explaining things with clarity to a variety of individuals, and I mean that sincerely. It is a good thing.

ETA2 Okay, I went and looked. I guess the two differences in this case between the author in question and me are that I've kept my long lists of objections to Renay's SH pieces (ETA3 pieces plural) to myself, and that it wouldn't have occurred to me to speak up in the way that the author in question did. And again: oh dear. :(

[oyceter]

Yeeeaaahhhhh..... Well, that, and you're a) not an author debating with fans and b) not stalking people across blogs to obsessively comment! I don't agree with all of Renay's piece myself, and I actually think your long lists of objections would be interesting.. it's mostly the stalkerish behavior that really bothers me and creeps me out. Well, that, the general lack of concern re: rape threats, and the overall ignoring of any possibly gendered stuff.

[thistleingrey]

No? I'm an author on Goodreads and LibraryThing (on something with sales figures dwarfing his), [ETA I co-run social media for it,] and I know how to Google-stalk people. :) I'd like to think I wouldn't get so heated up by something as to forget manners as has happened here. My very small point is that sometimes people don't set out to be obnoxious asses--though certainly acting like one is a problem no matter how one got there.

[oyceter]

Ah, I hadn't realized!

Mostly I meant that it's not his objecting to the article that I mind so much as what he did with it, so I don't see the main difference between him and others as saying or not saying anything about the article, but more what happened afterward. Other authors who have been weighing in on this probably also know how to Google stalk and etc., but thankfully have refrained from doing so. Which is also why I think it may have started as a breach of manners or being an obnoxious ass, but the length of time over which his behavior has been an issue is also a factor for me.