Magical & Colloquial

Someone remind me to make a separate post about Boardwalk Empire once the first season is over. This is not related to what follows but here it is anyway.

I think I want to talk about books more on this journal. As some of you may know, I already have a separate book blog but I think I need a place to talk about my bookish life in a more informal manner (having a blog is nice and all and I've already met wonderful people through it but I'm not sure the book blogging community is for me... it's so, well, formal and proper and apart from the people I met it's a bit hard to find like-minded people).

Anyway, I have a Goodreads account which I really cherish - if you don't have one already, I suggest you have look around, it's a really good way of 1) organizing your book collection 2) keeping track of the books you've read & plan to read 3) motivating you to leave your thoughts on each book you finish 4) finding good recommendations 5) checking out what people you know are reading/plan on reading and get even more recommendations. Goodreads also has groups but since my taste is a bit eccentric I don't feel like I belong to a specific group of readers (like fantasy readers or mystery readers or whatever).

My favourite reads recently have been:

- Soulless by Gail Carriger, which is a steampunk/comedy of manners novel taking place in Victorian London with a great heroine who's soulless (which means she can kill supernaturals, such as vampires). It's hilarious. It's the first in a series of 5 books, 3 of which have been released thus far: Soulless, Changeless and the latest Blameless. The series is called the Parasol Protectorate series. Goodreads link. 

- A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee, which is about girl spies in Victorian London. It's the first in a trilogy, two of which have been released - A Spy in the House and The Body at the Tower. Feminist.  Goodreads.

- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E.Lockhart, which is a stand-alone novel about a 15-year-old girl called Frankie who attends Alabaster, an elite prep-school and who's going to, to put it plainly, disturb the peace and rebel against this elitist system. Feminist. Goodreads link.

- Unnatural Fire by Fidelis Morgan, which is the first in a series of five novels, all released. It's funny (very funny, think bawdy humour) mysteries set in Restoration England. The series is called the Countess Ashby de la Zouche series (after one of the main characters). Goodreads link.

I look forward to reading Moonshine by Alaya Dawn Johnson, which is about Zephyr, a teacher & social activist in New York in the 1920s. It's urban fantasy with vampires and other creatures (everybody knows they exist in this world). It's the first in a series but the second one hasn't been published yet. Goodreads link.
I also bought a copy of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, whom a lot of my favourite people seem to love. Goodreads link.

Other things I want to buy but really can't afford:

- Downton Abbey box set, according to Amazon there are audio commentaries, which is also my favourite extra so I seriously look forward to that. GO SYBIL.

- Boardwalk Empire by Nelson Johnson, which is a book about Atlantic City in the 1920s and was the starting point for the new HBO series. The author just published another book, The Northside, which is specifically about African-Americans at that time and which I'm eager to read too.

I find it so hard to find good books. You wouldn't believe the number of books I try when you see how few I finish. I think for about one really good book, I have to try (and in my case trying means buying so you see how this is going to be the death of me) at least 4 or 5. It's that dire. I still have no idea what 'group' I belong to and I think I'm actually alright with that, even if it makes it incredibly difficult to find new books to read, I enjoy the challenge. Sometimes non-fiction seems like a safer bet because I do know I'm interested in the 20s and in screwball comedies and in LGBTQ and in feminism and in humanism and in academic essays about my favourite TV shows so chances are if it's about any of these topics, I'll at least not be bored.

How do you find new books to read? How long do you spend making sure it's a book you want to read?

:)

SIX SCENES TO FALL IN LOVE WITH SYBIL (AND TOM!) IN EPISODE FOUR: A PICSPAM;



 

Would anyone be interested in swapping sweets/candy with me? :) A small envelope will do, I'm not talking a huge parcel here. Just something nice and tasty to get in the mail. Stole the idea from Yuletide's Candy Extravaganza. I'm thinking of a one-off thing, $5 of sweets tops, really.

You may comment here or PM me directly :) I don't think I'll get more than one reply, if any, but I can only afford postage to one person so I'll pick at random should there be more interest.

1. Okay, very quickly - polyship sign-ups are open till - gasp! - tomorrow so head over there now if you're interested in an exchange of fanworks with polyamory characters. They accept art, fanfic, vidding, icons, wallpapers, fanmixes. Unfortunately it's not the place for original fiction. All fandoms and ratings welcome.


2. I want to talk about ABC's TV show Huge which aired this summer. I only found out about it two days ago. Never mind the fail. First two shout-outs: thank you Jamie for your introductory post about this series which put it on my radar and also, FRITH IF YOU READ THIS WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE SHOW? (I stalked my flist's profiles to see if anyone had caught it before and saw you had). You may comment here if you wish or send me a PM with your thoughts.

This is an open invitation - if any of you want to talk about the show with me but not in a public comment, feel free to PM me.

 

 

 

 

Huge is a drama about 'teens sent to a summer weight-loss camp called Camp Victory.' Now I don't know about you but when I saw the poster, featuring Nikki Blonsky (who plays one of the main characters, Will and by the way I find Nikki gorgeous but that's shallow of me :p) in which she looks awkward and uncomfortable and when I saw the premise, I wondered what the hell inspired anyone to create a show that was obviously going to beat up fictional characters for being fat instead of fucking learning from the fat acceptance movement once and for all.

I was wrong. The pilot is ridiculous and buys into every cliché imaginable - the kids are made to give up their food and food is pinpointed as the enemy, which had me shake my head in horror. But then the show turned out to be a little more. The creators' idea was not to set the show in a fat camp (I'm using fat throughout this post as a reclaiming of the adjective - fad doesn't mean bad and fat doesn't mean unhealthy. Fat means fat) just for the sake of having these characters be ashamed of themselves, it's set in a fat camp so from the word go weight is no longer something different and it's about the rest of it. The entire cast of teenagers is fat, which makes Huge a seriously refreshing show that's doing a lot for representation of fat people on TV in fiction. There are no tokens in this show.

I was really impressed with Huge. I saw all 10 episodes of the first season and really cared about each character and each storyline. It revolves a lot around romance and you know how bored I am when watching romance but I wasn't here. It was just so well-done.

1. Even if the show itself seems to condone the whole 'lose weight and be a better person' mindset, Will, who's a rebellious sarcastic teen, is THE voice of fat acceptance activists. I LOVE her character. She refuses to buy into this bullshit. She refuses to believe that fat is bad and that you can't be healthy at any size. If you need a little inspiration in your life, watch Will, that's all I'm going to say.

2. Becca. Becca is a geek. I love Becca so much. She loves books and LARPing (Live-action role-playing, in which she plays a warrior princess). She loves runes. She's an amazing friend. I completely fell for her character.

 

3. Alistair - OH MY GOD ALISTAIR. I can't begin to explain the beauty that is Alistair. Alistair is queer. He's a genuinely nice character who lives in his own world and is pretty much oblivious to anything that's not genuinely nice like him. You just have to see it. He doesn't label, he takes people for what they are and takes himself for what he is. I found this character very touching.
Actually, talking about sexuality - the only out asexual character is one of the characters who's not fat. Apart from the fact that asexuality actually exists in this show (this is so rare), YAY @ the idea that fat people have no sexuaity whatsoever being flushed down the toilet.

4. This is co-written by Winnie Holzman, who created the wonderful, jaw-droppingly awesome My So-Called Life, the most realistic show about adolescence ever. She's written this show with her daughter. I really love Winnie, she has a sensibility I found nowhere else on television. Everything she touches is real and genuine and graceful. Her characters are eccentric, never stereotypes and Huge is no exception. It's eccentric, it's quirky, which makes it disarmingly charming.

5. This show is making a statement. I didn't think any screenwriter out there would ever create something like Huge, because you kind of lose faith after a while. It's like when they announce 'a lesbian show' or 'a bisexual book' (lol that never happened, bisexuals are so invisible in fiction, but this is another debate). You're hungry for it, you can't wait, and then you can't help but turn each page or watch each new episode with apprehension because obviously they're going to get it wrong at some point and any way we're just better off with fanfic. Give this show a chance. It's a subtle thing that deserves attention and recognition for what it's doing.

You may watch the 10 episodes of the first season HERE (I'm linking you to streaming links) or straight on Hulu or ABC Family for those of you living in the US.


It's a tiny fandom but we have a comm - join us over at - huge_deal.

Now - the show has just been cancelled, which was the whole point of Jamie's post. She linked to two things - this and this. I'd be very very sorry to see this show go. I can't believe they're letting it go, actually. Please save it if you like it. I can't do much as it's not even being aired here.
While you're at it, you can read this very good interview with Savannah Dooley, who created the show.

If you want a primer on fat acceptance, feel free to read this post over at ontd_feminism , which is one of my favourite communities.

I'm settling for a new episode of Downton Abbey (this show is mad!) but before then I want to rec two stories I just read that were written for the Bechdel Test Fic-a-thon. You can find the masterlist here - please check it as my fandoms are not your fandoms, as per usual.

Gilmore Girls
The Olympics of Average (Paris, Rory, G) - you know my love for Rory and Paris dialog and this fic absolutely nails it. Paris and Rory arguing about who's the most average. It's hilarious and could have been a missing moment. It's got discussion on hair privilege. Just go check it out, it's seriously wonderful.

Pride and Prejudice
Poor Prospects (Caroline, Elizabeth, G) - such impeccable voices too. This is a very funny story about reading, amongst other things. Go read it and here's a quote by Caroline to lure you in: 'Good Lord, I should say not. I try to confine myself to works of substance. Poetry, and history. Novels are so mundane. Useless prattle designed to render simple minds even smaller.' :)

I'm off now, have a great week, you all!

Charles and Fitzwilliam, from here :)

Burn Notice. Burn Notice. Burn Notice. 
The best show you're not watching.
5 minutes into the pilot and I was hooked. I've now reached 1x03 and three more seasons to go. Life is good.