All in Links + Things
Links, Things + More Books for Cheap
- First of all, watch this important video of Justin Timberlake singing Friends in Low Places with Garth Brooks. I Love how they're both freaking out about singing with each other. And Garth's "outfit."
- If you're obsessed with Orphan Black like I am, you'll watch to check out this preview of the next season over on EW.
- I hope someone uses this NPR piece on "speed dating" in the 19th century as inspiration for an awesome historical romance novel.
- ComicsAlliance took a moment to celebrate Emanuala Lapucchino's Magic Mike-inspired Justice League of America cover. It's pretty incredible for a number of reasons.
Links & Things + Books for Cheap
- I really liked this reminder from Chuck Wendig about why it's important to finish your shit.
- Are you gifting a Lisa Schroeder book this year? (And you should!) If you are, you should get in on this signed bookplate offer by Dec. 10.
- Alert! If you preorder Liza Palmer's a-freaking-mazing Girl Before a Mirror, you can get a signed copy of one of her previous books. I loved the hell out that book so, so much and can't wait to re-read it.
- It looks like The Scorpio Races movie has a decent chance of becoming an actual thing... I am both excited and nervous about this news.
- In other Maggie Stiefvater news, she now has a Society 6 shop featuring her artwork. I'd like one of everything, please. (Or at least this, this and this.)
- My friend Kinoko is an incredible graphic novelist. She recently loaded up her Etsy shop with some goodies--including her graphic novels and these adorable bookmarks.
- I thought this was interesting: Vulture takes a look at all the female-centric television happening right now.
- The Guardian acknowledges what we already knew: Mindy Lahiri is the best TV character of the year.
Links & Things: Angry Girls, Feminism, Diversity & More Cheapo Books
I'm back with another semi-regular roundup of interestingness on the web. Make sure to scroll down for some good deals on good books I've found for y'all.
Required Reading
Blogger Reynje wrote the best review of Elizabeth Scott's brilliant Heartbeat and digs into who much some readers have hated the main character.
If Emma’s character is divisive then I’m stating right now that I’m firmly on her side. I want to see more of this: more honesty, more difficulty, more discomfort. Sometimes teenage girls are angry, or sad, or complicated. And that’s okay.
Links & Things: It's Been Awhile Edition
I haven't posted my link roundups in quite some time and there's a reason for that. I've had a problem with those posts being lifted verbatim or nearly-verbatim and re-published. This has, understandably, been pretty upsetting, so I stepped back from compiling them until I could figure out a way to still share but mitigate the chances of that happening.
Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that, but I'm hoping that by diversifying my linkage content, it'll be less-appealing to folks who don't understand attribution and plagiarism. *cross fingers*
In Which I Help You Spend Your Ebook Settlement Refund
Did you get a nice surprise in your email inbox this morning? I was more than excited that I got a nice Amazon gift card thanks to the Ebook Settlement Refund.
Now I'm faced with the age-old book hoarder's dilemma: Do I maximize the gift card by strategically shopping sale items or do I splurge on some pricey picks?
So, I took one for the team and sifted through way too many pages of the bargain section on Amazon and think I'm going to go with quantity--there are just too many super-cheap options that I've had on my to-read list for ages. Plus! Apparently, we can use our refunds on both ebooks and print books, which is good news, since most of the deals I found are on the old fashioned variety.
Here are some of my finds. These are all either books I've enjoyed, a CEFS contributor recommends, or I've heard from trusted reviewers are worth checking out.
Please double-check the pricing and format before clicking that buy button, okay? My blog software should update the price if it changes, but you can't trust technology!
Click on the cover image to visit the book's Amazon page.
Recommended Reads On Sale
Hey y'all! I've been buried in work lately, hence no link roundups, but there are some awesome books I recommend on sale at the moment that I have to call your attention to.
Hope you find a good read or two for your long holiday weekend (in the U.S.).
Links + Things: Terrifying Roosters, Beautiful Book Covers & Gendered Television Criticism
Hi y'all! Happy Friday and welcome to another installment of Links & Things!
Let's get down to business...
Required Reading
“Just as films labeled as romcoms become marginalized under the sexist label of “chick flicks,” primetime dramas labeled as “soaps” become “women’s shows.” And, unfortunately, once it’s limited to that label, the show loses its credibility.Just look at “Scandal.” The Shonda Rhimes-helmed ABC series is one of — if not the — most intelligent series on network TV. With its emotional intensity and complex, always-twisting plot, “Scandal” embraces its identity as a full-out soap. Sure, its storylines are often implausible and sometimes straight-up unbelievable, but since when is plausibility essential to great television? While “Scandal” often isn’t taken seriously for its more outlandish moments, other shows like “Breaking Bad” are given free pass after free pass. We let “Breaking Bad” get away with improbable feats, because the things that truly matter — emotions, characters — are believable.
The same is true for “Scandal,” which may get wacky with its plot points, but is bitingly real when it comes to its characters’ emotions and the complex issues that inform the story: power, race, sex, morality. And yet, people pigeonhole “Scandal” into the category of “guilty pleasure” TV, while more male-centric series that stay clean of the gendered “soap” label are held up as beacons of today’s golden age of television.”
— Kayla Upadhyaya: The glass ceiling of TV’s golden age - The Michigan Daily
Links & Things: September 20th
Hi y'all! How was your week? Mine was... exhausting. I really don't understand why life doesn't stop so I can curl up with a good book and drink a cup of tea. That doesn't seem unreasonable, does it?
Here's some interestingness--an abbreviated version, that is--I spotted on the web this week that you may have missed.
Recommended Reading
- CEFS favorite Lisa Schroeder has a new novel for teens coming out next summer. It's called The Bridge from Me to You and is half verse, half proseand sounds like it has a Friday Night Lights vibe:
The Bridge from Me to You is a YA novel that is part verse, part prose. It is told alternately by a 17-year-old girl who is new to a small town with a family secret, and the star football player she meets who is having a tough year and has big dreams beyond the field. Publication is planned for summer 2014.
- If you read Jenn Bennett's fantastic Arcadia Bell series, you're going to have to wait an extra month to get your hands on it--it won't be released until May 2014.
- VQR has a great discussion of the problematic nature of Jonathan Franzen's latest rant.
- Goodreads has yet another policy change.
Links & Things: Friday the 13th Edition
I haven't posted a slew of interesting links in awhile, but I've been saving up a bunch to share with y'all.
Onward ho!
Video of Awesome
There's a special place in movie hell for Prometheus, quite possibly the worst "film" I've ever seen. Awhile back, Laura sent me this fabulous video about everything that's wrong with that movie. Enjoy.
Required Reading
Jillian Cantor’s ‘Margot’: Stop Writing Anne Frank Fan-Fiction (Flavorwire)
“ She could have created an original character, but she chose the dead sister of one of history’s most famous murdered children as her subject, and there is something horrifically exploitative about that. Margot’s story in Cantor’s novel is unspecific enough that it could have been about any survivor, but the usage of the Frank name rings of gimmickry. ”
When I saw Jillian Cantor's Margot up on Netgalley, it certainly gave me pause. As a human being, there's something that just doesn't sit right with me about this premise (and apparently, there are other titles of this ilk). Jason Diamond of Flavorwire wrote a succinct discussion of why this needs to stop.
Links + Things: It's Finally Ironic, Women in Television, Good Deals on Print Books + More
Welcome to an unexpectedly lengthy edition of Links + Things! I hope you enjoy this roundup of interestingness on the web, and the special print-only edition of my book deal roundup.
And! Happy early birthday to CEFS blogger Sandra, who's birthday is Sunday and a belated happy birthday to on-hiatus CEFS blogger Rebeca. Two to are 100% AWESOMESAUCE!
Video of Awesome!
My good friend Mookie sent me this phenomenal video made my two sisters who fixed Alanis Morissette's un-ironic "Ironic" song. This makes me unbelievably happy.
Required Reading
Tavi Gevinson on Strong Female Characters and Figuring It Out (Brenda Chapman)
“The question often goes misinterpreted and instead we get these two-dimensional superwomen who maybe have one quality that’s played up a lot like a Catwoman-type or she plays her sexuality up a lot and it’s seen as power,” she says. “They’re not strong characters who happen to be female—they’re completely flat and they’re basically cardboard characters.”
Brenda Chapman (who's a very interesting person herself) highlighted an old (well, a year old)TED talk from Tavi Gevinson, teen blogger, and media sensation. She critiques the way "strong" female characters are developed as actually quite flat and uncomplicated and the real-life ramifications of these depictions.
Links + Things: It's Been Too Long Edition
It's been a couple of weeks since my last link roundup, and I've collected a ton of interestingness to share with you--hope you enjoy! Also, I've found a bunch of good deals on good books lately that will keep you reading for awhile, so make sure to scroll down to check out these bargains.
Required Reading
For Colored Girls Who Can’t Find Themselves Between the Pages (Romance Around the Corner)
“We can start with the money. White people sell, on the surface. The truth is people of color sell too, when their stories are given the proper exposure. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is always a movie I like to point out. Amazing, award-winning film and not once have I heard anyone say, “That really could have used more white people.” It did well in the US market because it was a great film that got proper exposure. Marketing matters, people. When it’s really difficult to find positive and realistic stories about people of color, white and people of color alike think those stories don’t exist. ”
Romance Around the Corner hosted a fantastic week of posts celebrating and deconstructing heroines in romance-focused fiction. (I was thrilled to participate, with adiscussion and recommendations for brave YA girls.) While all of the posts were thought-provoking and compelling, author Rebekah Weatherspoon's post about representation was the one that I kept coming back to. It has over 50 comments at this point, and that discussion is definitely worth reading as well.
Links + Things: YA Books + Sex Ed, The Nastiness of Comparison, Cheapo Books + More
Wow, there sure has been a plethora of interesting discussion happening lately, in the book world and beyond. I had a very hard time selecting items from my giant Evernote file of interestingness (yes, that's what I call it) to share with you guys. I also found books by a couple of awesome authors on sale (and not just e-books!), so be sure to scroll down to check those out.
Required Reading
YA Books, Sex Ed & Pornography (CK Kelly Martin)
Like Malorie Blackman, I feel young adult literature has a responsibility here. It can and should play a role, reflecting realistic sexual experiences, both good and bad and thereby allowing teenagers to process aspects of the experiences before they are ready to engage in sex themselves. If you are writing young adult books that don't fade to black when it comes to sex scenes and if you're handling those scenes with honesty, without being exploitive, and neither glorifying sex nor demonizing it, you are already personally my favourite kind of YA writer. But more importantly, you're helping empower young people who are living in a highly sexually charged culture.
Author CK Kelly Martin wrote a spot-on, smart post in response to a piece in The Telegraph about where teens get their information about sex and the role of YA literature. The other items she links to are important as well, all shedding a light on the world today's young people navigate.
Links + Things: Can't Think of a Clever Post Title Edition
I'm back with another abbreviated Links + Things (we'll be back to our regular posting next week).
Required Reading
The Vulcan and the Other (Phoebe North)
And JJ Abrams has approached xenobiology and xenoanthropology in a very Star Wars way in his reboot. Background puppets abound, used to illustrate the diversity of the universe, but this is still a universe where the actions of the humans are those that matter. Scotty has a non-verbal alien friend who plays an almost identical role to Chewbacca in Star Wars; he’s a silent cipher whose words must be surmised only through the pauses of the more plot relevant human. Kirk bags a space babe, but she’s mostly just a sight gag. And there are Romulans and Klingons, but they’re villains–obstacles to overcome, really. But still not people, not fully, not yet.
I meant to share this outstanding, thought-provoking post from author Phoebe North (Starglass) last week and somehow omitted it. She dissects diversity and otherness in the context of the new Star Trek movie, and points to J.J. Abrams' frequently problematic treatment of alien characters in his work. This is a companion to her earlier post about Star Trek: Into the Darkness, which (warning) contains spoilers, but is an important read.
Why Men Should Speak Up About Sexism, Mysogyny and Rape Culture (Chuck Wendig)
We don’t want the behaviors of this septic culture to become or seem normalized. If we’re quiet about it, we contribute to the normalization of misogyny or any of the other cultural poisons.
Like I said the other day, this isn’t about playing the hero — we aren’t going to fix it with our magical man-hammers, and women are not our Death Star Princesses to rescue. But we can signal boost. We can support. We can be on the side of the angels instead of the side of the diseased dick-bags (they don’t rate being devils, honestly) who want to trumpet their hate and rampant shittiness. We can try to do better and ask that others do the same.
This week author Chuck Wendig (Blackbirds) wrote an unintentional three-part series about sexism as a result of the mess of misogyny from the SFWA (which I mentioned last week). I recommend reading each post, but the last one about why men should speak up about this type of behavior struck a chord with me.
Links + Things: Semi-Short & Sweet Edition
Just a semi-quick roundup of links this week, since I'm on a semi-vacation at home this week and next. So, just bulleted news, cover art and some good deals on books in this edition. We'll be back to our regular programming shortly.
Recommended Reading
- Tiger Eyes is out on on-demand!!! It's taken tremendous self-control to not watch it yet, since I'm meeting up with friends to see it in an actual theater tomorrow. You can get it oniTunes and Amazon Instant Video. (US only so far.)
- Our friend Reynje shared this excellent piece about violence against women and gore on our television and movie screens. I honestly thought I was just being overly sensitive, but it turns out that I'm not alone in being disturbed by the seeming increase in violence in popular entertainment.
- This is the best analysis I've seen of Book Expo America. I kind of hate conferences (I know, I know--I've just had to do too many for work) and can't afford to travel to them anyway, but it sounds like BEA needs to think about how to make the show work for the broad range of attendees. Be sure to read the comments, which have some very interesting discussion.
- I know everyone has already linked to this, but author Ann Aguirre's post about being a female writer of science fiction is a must-read. (via author Alanna Blackett)
- In a similar vein, author Jeanine Frost has an insightful discussion of her feelings on the current SFWA mess.
- I love Nafiza's honest and thoughtful discussion of the whys behind book blogging. So much of what she said resonated with me--especially the numbers game issue, which has been making me increasingly uncomfortable lately.
- The Huffington Post has a list of nine "books" (several are genres/categories) people will judge you for reading. While I appreciate the sentiment behind this post, that it's pretty silly to sit around judging people's reading choices, I really wish folks would stop lumping all romance novels, young adult fiction, etcetera, together, even when they're being positive.
- This is a fascinating interview with Sarah Dessen and her editor about their editorial process, and how they work together.
- I am devastated about this news, re: the possibility of teleportation.
- This lengthy profile of WNBA rookie Brittney Griner is fantastic, even if you don't care one bit about sports.
- The Writers Guild of America apparently has a list of the 101 best-written television shows of all time (PDF). Friday Night Lights comes in at 22. For the record, I have some quibbles with that ranking. Texas forever, y'all.
Links + Things: Superheroes, Super-Detectives, Super Book Discounts and More Super-ness
Happy Friday, all!
It's time for another edition of Links + Things, a roundup of interestingness around the web. This is a slightly abbreviated version, since I don't have any cover art news and I haven't spotted any got-to-see YouTubes lately. Make sure to scroll down to the end for a selection of discounted books I've found recently.
Required Reading
Why I’m Taking a Break from Superhero Movies (LL Ward)
I’m tired of the way the tension was ruined for me in Spiderman 2 by the sexualized shot of Mary Jane in chains with all its allusions to bondage and sexual victimization. I’m tired of Bruce Wayne taking women to bed but refusing to be straight with them about who he really is (and I’m also tired of him only sleeping with women who have no personality or canned personalities). I’m tired of the general consensus that Tony Stark’s womanizing behavior is “amusing.” (And if I were Pepper, I would dump his sorry ass faster than he could say, “I’ll be home late tonight!”) I’m tired of seeing the smart, competent Moira McTaggert, Charles Xavier’s worthy love interest, disguised as a stripper. In short, I’m tired of women appearing in these movies as though they are one more nifty accessory, like a Batman’s “batarangs” or Green Lantern’s Power Ring, just another perk of being a superhero.
Author C.K. Kelly Martin tweeted this outstanding piece about the problematic nature of recent superhero movies. I have so many mixed feelings--and honestly, a bit of guilt--about my affection for superhero flicks (and action movies in general) and this pretty much nails it.
Links + Things: Gendered Books, Hulk vs Grizzly, More Tiger Eyes News, Recommended Sale Books + More
Happy Friday, all! This week's Links + Things is a bit on the light side as I burned up a lot of my best stuff last week.
This Week's Video of Awesome
I asked my husband if he'd seen any fantastic YouTube videos lately and, naturally, he sent me this clip of the Incredible Hulk fighting a grizzly bear. It's quite excellent, no?
Required Reading
There’s room for all kind of heroes and heroines and some of our greatest stories happen to be love stories too. Love, friendship, sexual attraction— all essential parts of life. It’s only when girls or women become the audience that we start to turn our noses up at something that we all care about.
I loved author Leigh Bardugo's response to a reader who's frustrated that YA books aren't "geared towards guys," as she hits the nail on the head with regard to something that always bothers me: the dismissal of stories involving romance and love. Sarah Rees Brennan added some additional thoughts that are spot-on as well.
Links + Things: Colbert on The Great Gatsby, Mean Girling, The Importance of Pleasure Reading, Guinea Pigs in Outfits, Cheapo Books, Discounted Tablets + More
Better late than never, right? Welcome to this week's edition of Links + Things!
This week I've got a bunch of interestingness for you, including guinea pigs wearing cute outfits, a fabulous discussion of the practice of mean girling, the importance of reading for fun and some good discounts on ebooks and Nooks/Kindles.
This Week's Video of Awesome
I had to choke back tears of laughter watching Levar Burton explain The Great Gatsby to Stephen Colbert and Carey Muligan.
Required Reading
New Report Confirms Benefits of Reading (National Reading Campaign)
Reading for pleasure leads to greater self-understanding, the fostering of social relations, greater well-being, improved cognitive and academic development, and a higher disposition to participate in civic society…
The Canadian government's National Reading Campaign commissioned a study about the benefits of reading in terms of, well, its impact on society. What is most interesting is that it reveals that reading for fun reaps many rewards--yet another reason to think twice before deriding anyone's choice in reading material.