Bookkeeping

[stillsostrange]

1. Butcher Bird - Richard Kadrey
2. Blood Engines - T.A. Pratt

3. Witch World - Andre Norton (reread)

It's probably been at least twelve years since I read this. I'd forgotten how much it influenced me--huge swathes of the Dread Juvenilia owe themselves directly to the Witch World books. I kind of miss them now. Maybe someday I can salvage some different parts of it. When I read Norton in high school I bounced off the prose a lot, but I appreciate it much more now. (Except some crazy-ass commas.) I should reread the whole set.

I want to consider the Loyse Issue, or fetishization of tomboys in a certain era of fantasy, but I think I'm too stupid to do it at the moment. You all may have a clumsy examination of gender and sexuality to look forward to in the near future, if I'm not distracted. Lucky you.

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

The tomboy fetish used to drive me crazy, if we're talking about the same one. "If I'm not a late-blooming jock, I'm a boring ugly cow. Thanks, folks. That's really charming."

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Yes. Or "It's okay to be a girl, but it's not okay to like girly things." Because enjoying make-up and clothes clearly indicates a lack of moral fiber.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Everybody should be dressed and fed and moderately clean without any effort going into it on anybody's part. Yes. And anybody who worries about that is a silly fussbudget and should be ignored.