Day 28
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
The Belgariad, by David Eddings. I went through the entire lot very quickly. Also The Mallorean, the follow-up series.
That is, if we’re not counting The Babysitters Club, which I’d probably prefer that we didn’t… because I think I did waste a lot of money on those. Oh, so many books. And the super summer holiday bumper editions. Have I mentioned What Claudia Wore? A website devoted to extolling the fashion of that pre-teen clothes horse, Claudia Kishi, and also usually bemoaning Marianne’s atrocious style. Several things weird me out about this site: how much I have been enjoying reading it; how much I remember; how many books I apparently missed out on, because I got over the series waaay too soon, apparently.
Day 15 – belated, as well
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Depends entirely on my mood and why I need comforting.
I’ve recently been reading all the Eddings I can get my hands on; that’s been pretty comforting.
Juliet Marillier’s Wildwood Dancing and Cybele’s Secret are comforting because they’re so easy to read and I love the characters – and the romance.
Hmm. You know what? Embarrassing admission: I think the comforting books are the ones with romances I enjoy. So, in movies I like Han&Leia, I like The Fifth Element for all the awesome action and explosions but so much for the love-angle… and this goes on, and on, in many of my favourite flicks. So I think the same thing applies to books (see previous posts – The Changeover etc). However, I’ve realised in thinking about this question that actually, my recent re-reading of Eddings aside, I haven’t done much comfort RE-reading in a long, long time. I tend to read new stuff instead – new for me, anyway. Which is… interesting. Although I am now feeling the love of the re-read, and am wondering about diving back into the Deathstalker series….
Day 14 – belated!
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book
This is an impossible question to answer!
Beldin – for being so rude, and so utterly wonderful at the same time. I wish Eddings had put in some actual profanity.
Lizzie Bennett – well, duh. I want to BE her.
Aragon. Just because.
Lady Macbeth – so strong, so loving, so loved, and so utterly tragic.
Kassa Daggersharp – she has a birthmark the colour of dried blood.
Kristy Thomas – because not being fashionable, and being a loud-mouth, doesn’t prevent you from having friends and being really quite awesome.
Galactic Suburbia #13!
You can go to Galactic Suburbia to listen or download; it will be on iTunes aaaany time now, once a small glitch is corrected!
In which we discuss girl heroes, boy books, sexy zombies with whips, why proofing makes Alisa’s brain hurt, how many limbs get hacked off in David Eddings novels, and analyse what SF awards actually mean to us.
News
Ditmar nominations now up
Author Hannah Moskowitz complains at the lack of and treatment of boy characters in YA.
Tamora Pierce responds with a discussion of why she writes girl protagonists.
What have we been reading/listening to?
Tansy: The King’s Bastard, Rowena Cory Daniells; The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer. Listening to: Starship Sofa 142 & 144, Notes from Coode St
Alisa: books she is publishing, including SPRAWL
Alex: the Belgariad, David Eddings. Worlds Next Door, edited by Tehani Wessely.
Pet Subject
The value in awards for writers/publishers/readers.
The value in awards when they become a long-running thing (ie does it mean more to get a Tiptree now that it’s been going for a long time?).
Difference between fan-voted, peer-voted, and judged awards.
Feedback, etc: galacticsuburbia@gmail.com
Randomly Yours, Alex 