Note: I received a copy of Falling into the Fire from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. In her review of Falling into the Fire earlier this year, Victoria said “I begin to wonder whether there is an entry in the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) for readers like me, who find themselves fascinated by accounts of people struggling with the different illnesses it defines.” If there is, I surely have it, and I could not resist asking Penguin for a copy of this psychiatrist’s account of some of her most severely ill patients at…
5 CommentsReading the End Posts
This passage right here? A group of Luck‘s writers, interns, and various others, predominantly young and female, were waiting for [showrunner David] Milch outside a darkened room. They resembled vestal virgins. Milch entered, arranged some cushions, and lowered himself to the floor. He assumed a position to accommodate his bad back: head propped up on one arm, one leg bent awkwardly to the knee so that the foot faced upward. It was not unlike an especially awkward male pimp pose. In front of Milch, at eye level, was a computer screen. At a desk to his right sat a…
26 CommentsI am of two minds about Huntress. From the standpoint of representation and messages, I am all about it. The cover, as you can see, features a woman who is clearly Asian and clearly fierce (cause the protagonist is both of those things!); and the central romance of the story is between two women. Nonwhite queer protagonists are woefully underrepresented in YA (and in fiction generally — cf. #weneeddiversebooks, which damn, we really do). It was lovely and refreshing to read a book like this where not the protagonist a queer person of color, and the arc of her story…
16 CommentsMark Watney was left for dead on Mars by the rest of his crew, but he’s alive after all. The next Mars mission won’t reach Mars for four years. He has to figure out a way to survive until then. I don’t know what to add to what’s already been said about Andy Weir’s The Martian. It’s great fun to watch its protagonist encounter obstacles and figure out clever science ways to surmount them. For more, I refer you to the Tor.com review that convinced me to read it and the AV Club review that reminded me to add it…
15 CommentsGod, Lady Audley folds like a tailgate chair once Robert turns out to be alive. She cannot shut up with the confessions. If it were me I’d have denied everything, and I’d have gone back to my husband to emphasize Robert’s insanity. Once Robert’s committed to an insane asylum he can’t gather witnesses, can he? The only obstacle I see is Phoebe and Luke, and if Lady Audley just smothered Luke real quick (he’s all burned; he can’t fight her), Phoebe could live her life in freedom. PHOEBE! Then Sir Michael offers to kill Robert, which Lucy doesn’t take him…
13 CommentsThis week, the Jennys agree that Amazon is being a bully in the Hachette dispute, discuss what makes a book feel dated, and have amiably opposite responses to Italo Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveler. We also play a game in which we learn some things about Italy. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 23 Or if you wish, you can find us on iTunes (and if you enjoy the podcast, give us a good rating! We appreciate it very…
7 CommentsWhen I was a baby blogger, I wrote a really nasty post about Sarah Monette’s book Melusine. Years and years of crawly shame spiders have effaced my memory of the details of the post (which I long ago deleted), but I know I said fuck and annoying quite a bit. Sarah Monette subsequently linked to my post from her blog, with a sad frowny-face emoticon, and I felt — and still feel — terribly guilty and ashamed that my thoughtless pique made an author feel bad. Ever since then I’ve been much more cautious about writing resoundingly negative posts — fun though…
21 CommentsWHOA WHAT THERE IS ANOTHER SECRET? “I am weary of my life here, and wish, if I can, to find a new one. I go out into the world, dissevered from every link which binds me to the hateful past, to seek another home and another fortune. Forgive me if I have been fretful, capricious, changeable. You should forgive me, for you know why I have been so. You know the secret which is the key to my life.”–Helen Talboys So she already had a secret before she ever went out to be a teacher and governess? All right, Lady…
14 CommentsEva is an echo. She was created to be the perfect double of a girl called Amarra, insurance against the possibility that Amarra might one day die. Every week, Amarra writes letters to Eva, describing everything she’s learned and seen and done, so that Eva will have all the same memories and all the same knowledge. If Amarra gets a tattoo, Eva has to get one to match it. In her small house in England, hedged about with Guardians to remind her of her duties, Eva chafes against her restrictions and dreams of being free. I wanted to like The…
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