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books,
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Scratching Itches

I have made many a post about how no other writer scratches the same itch that Robin McKinley does, but here is another one, expanded out to talk about other writers who scratch very specific itches.

I am skeptical of the BookTok/GoodReads "readalikes" conversation, because I don't think there are any writers who actually readalike--every writer is distinct--and also I hate the tendency of book copy to compare books to other books/writers ("for readers of...") mostly because the comparisons are usually bad comparisons! Book B is nothing like Book A actually! Why did you even say that it was? Have you, person who wrote the copy, actually read both books? Etc.

However, I do think that thoughtful comparisons of writers can be helpful is the conversation is very specific about what you're actually comparing. For instance: if you ask for writers like Austen and someone suggests Heyer, that could work really well if what you're looking for is "romance set in Regency England written by someone who isn't just writing about Regency England via osmosis of reading a thousand other Regency novels" but it would simply be frustrating if what you're looking for is "gorgeous early 19th century prose and keen-eyed commentary on human foibles and social expectations." See?

So I'd like to have a discussion about what itches particular writers scratch that are difficult to find in other writers' works. That's not elegantly phrased, but maybe examples will help.

I'll probably make several posts about this featuring a handful of favorite writers or perhaps favorite books and I would be VERY interested to hear what itch-scratchers you're always looking for, whether in the comments or in your own posts. And if you can think of any writers or specific books that hit any one of the points I'm looking for below, please, please share recs! Recommendations are my love language!

When I say that I want more books like Eva Ibbotson's (adult) books (and Star of Kazan), what I mean is one or some combination of the following:
+ golden descriptions of pre-WWII Europe (particularly Hapsburg territory, particularly Vienna) with its sense of how diverse Europe was with dozens of different cultures all jostling with each other
+ colorful, eccentric, specific characters (mostly these are supporting characters in her books, not the leads, but I am happy whenever they arise) evoked through amazing details
+ beautiful writing about love for the arts, including moments of transcendence and grace in the midst of sorrow

What I'm not talking about:
+ the romances, which I find only partially convincing most of the time

When I say that I want more books like Robin McKinley's, what I am saying:
+ close attention to the domestic details of life from baking to raising newborn puppies to creating fire-proof dragon-fighting gear
+ an atmosphere that is warm without being saccharine--there's sorrow, pain, loss, etc. alongside the coziness
+ wonderful evocations of magic
+ wonderfully realized female characters (Beagle's Tamsin did this for me, if you want another example)

What I'm not talking about:
+ any particular one of her settings--I like them all but I don't go searching for them
+ fairytale retellings--these can be good! but often are not

When I say I want more books like Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series, what I mean is:
+ vividly evoked specific historical settings, a strong sense of place, settings that are rare and not over-visited (look, I love Victorian London as much as anyone, but sometimes I'd rather have a story set in Central Asia or the Incan Empire or something)
+ close attention to how power affects how people move through the world (without getting preachy)
+ focus on how marginalized people find agency and build lives despite the limits enforced on them by those forces of power
+ depictions of people trying (sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing) to build relationships across those societally-enforced lines

What I'm not talking about:
+ historical mysteries, necessarily (I love historical mysteries when done well but SO many of them just do not work for me)

When I say I want more books like Susanna Clarke's, what I mean is:
+ magic that is beautiful but untamable, wild and fey
+ delightful footnotes or digressions
+ love for scholarship, history, books, etc.
+ a sense of wonder
+ a sense of the writer's deep understanding of the literature and history of the era she's writing about

What I'm not talking about:
+ conflicts between men wielding magic in different ways
+ Regency-era fantasy, necessarily (again, most of this does not hit for me)

(no subject)

Hm. I'm still not sure about writing `2.` but if you have to use floats then I think I came around to preferring to write `2.0` over writing `2`.

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for a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

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(no subject)

I'm writing this from the kitchen table in my new place — I am in the process of moving out from the home I shared with Elizabeth since 2008. We got to a place where we had a big gulf between what each of us thought our relationship should be and I decided I needed some space and concordance between what our relationship had become and what the infrastructure looked like. So here I am, a kilometer and a half away in a little 1940s house with a bedroom for me and each kid, a woodstove (landlords promise to inspect and clean it before it gets cold) and a certain amount of distance. The kids seem pretty positive and practical about moving in; they'll be in on a supply run on the weekend to kit out their rooms while Elizabeth and Doug go to Toronto for a gig. Unless things go terribly, they'll have their first night here then, and then I'll get Vivien to the bus really early for her school trip to Quebec City.

What this all looks like emotionally going forward... is still up in the air. I was pretty unhappy with where things were going. Elizabeth seems to want to go straight to friends and I'm feeling more like getting the practicalities of co-parenting down, being fair while standing up for myself, setting some clear boundaries. I'm lucky to have a broad circle of support and some really good people close to me. Andrea says I'm brave, and has been there for me all through this. My parents are understanding. My peer group is proud I'm taking concrete action. Lots of people are offering help, even the kids (I'll make sure they get some choices about their space and also carry some boxes). It feels weird but maybe I do need to assemble some kind of separation registry and insist that people only contribute things they have doubles of or don't use -- partly to help get over the hump of expenses (and in to paying rents of the current era and child support) and partly so I don't just say "come to the housewarming" when they ask what they can do.

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SMOF News, volume 4, issue 40

The now traditional start-of-summer-convention-season wellness reminders.

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semi-recent reading

Since my last reading post:

Nobody Cares, by H. J. Breedlove. This one is good, but dark: it's dedicated this to Black Lives Matter, and fairly early on I got to the first mention of Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. It's also book 3 in the Talkeetna series, with further developments in the friendship-turning-romance of Dace and Paul.

The Disappearing Spoon, by Dan Kean: a history of the periodic table, with a bit about each of the currently-known elements and the people, or groups of people who discovered them. Someone recommended this after I mentioned liking Consider the Fork, but the two books have almost nothing in common.

The Electricity of Every Living Thing, by Katherine May: a memoir, about walking and what happens after the writer hears a radio program about Asperger's and thinks "but that's me." (I don't remember where I saw this recommended

Return to Gone-Away, by Elizabeth Enright: read-aloud, and a reread of a book I read years ago. Sweet, a family's low-key adventures in an obscure corner of upstate New York. As the title implies, this is a sequel; read Gone-Away Lake first.

Beautiful Yetta, the Yiddish Chicken, by Daniel Pinkwater, a short picture book that we read aloud after Adrian and I realized Cattitude hadn't read it before. Conversation in three languages, with translations (and transliterations) for the Yiddish and Spanish. Not Pinkwater's best, but fun.

Thimble Summer, by Elizabeth Enright, because I enjoyed rereading the Gone-Away Lake books. Several months of a girl's life with her family on a farm. The plot and adventures are relatively low-key. I liked it, and am glad I got it from the library.

Also, it looks as though I didn't post about the summer reading thing here. It started June 1, and the bingo card has a mix of kinds of books, like books in translation, published this year, or with an indigenous author; some squares with things like "read outside" and "recommend a book"; and some that go further afield, like "learn a word in a new language" and "try a new recipe." Plus the ever-popular "book with a green cover." (OK, last year it was "book with a red cover.") I do a lot of my reading on a black-and-white kindle, so I don't know what color the covers might be. Therefore, I walked into a library yesterday, looked at their summer reading suggestions, and grabbed a book with a green cover.

current state of my life

This article is about the project that is my job, and my life's work.

https://www.thetransmitter.org/community/flybase-funding-squashed-amid-harvard-grant-terminations/

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this fucking mess: art edition

followup on the art thing

(see tag for details)

I got an email from the art dude announcing that he's temporarily opening registration to his courses.

(Still full price, just you usually can't sign up, just get on the waiting list. Which I had not explicitly done.)

I unsubscribed. Grumpily.

I can understand his logic -- entering a contest to get X indicates interest in X -- but this wasn't opt-in, and it should have been '

mugged by a magpie

Picture me: sat on the sofa, opposite the French doors, vaguely paying attention to what was going on at the bird feeder, mildly amused by the extremely ungainly magpie.

The magpie that inspected the water bowl (that someone had thrown off its stand) and the feeder (that was empty) and the me (on the sofa) and Came To A Decision.

It did a tiny hop-skip-flap over and landed, very deliberately, on the workbench just the other side of the glass. It turned its head from side to side to get a good look at me from both eyes.

And then, having glared at me, it started yelling.

And kept yelling until I was up off the sofa and clearly heading for the door, whereupon it retreated to a safe distance, i.e. the garage rooves, and Continued Observing.

I sorted out the water dish. I got the crates of Misc Birdseed out of their cupboard. I sorted out the feeder. I sorted out the other feeder.

I went back inside.

Some time elapsed.

Eventually I got sufficiently puzzled about why the magpie hadn't come back yet to actually notice that I'd left the crates of seed out, and their cupboard door open.

I heaved myself back off the sofa.

I returned the seeds to their cupboard, and shut the cupboard's door. I returned myself to the sofa, shutting the patio door behind me.

Not terribly long after that, the magpie returned, and drank, and nibbled suspiciously (I had changed which food was in which feeder position), and appeared satisfied at least to the extent of not yelling any further...

... right up until the squirrel showed up to claim a portion of the restock.

I am absolutely delighted to have made this neighbour's acquaintance.

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mundane

flea antics 3

Cat was at the vet while I was working. Fleas are gone, she has thyroid and bladder issues. Fast metabolism is why she's so skinny. So she's old as fuck but not at death's door quite yet. Also may not have dementia? Apparently her bladder issues just make her uncomfortable and act weird.

Things said to cats

Cat: "Me-ow!"
Me: "Me-ow! You-ow! We all ow!"

Current Mood: sore

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(no subject)

Two minor amusing things from a trip downtown this morning:

I saw (and rode) one of the googly-eyed trolleys for the first time.

And on the way back, an ad in a subway car for some AI thing. The headline is something like "offload the busy work." The steps given below that are "AI drafts brief" and "brief accepted." Almost anything would have been a better example, after repeated news stories about lawyers getting in trouble for submitting impressively flawed AI-drafted legal briefs.

The trip was to try on sandals at the Clark's store. There was one that was slightly two big, so I have ordered a pair in my usual style, to be delivered to the store, so I can try them on there and return them if they don't fit.

I stopped to grab some lunch at the Quincy Market food court, and then wrenched my knee while sitting down on some stairs in order to eat it. The trip home was not fun, but I came home, sat down for a couple of minutes, then got out last fall's cane and went into the kitchen to make tea.

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The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, ed. Yu Chen & Regina Kanyu Wang (2022) [part 5]

This is the fifth and final part of my book club notes on The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories. [Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.]

"The Woman Carrying a Corpse" by Chi Hui (2019), tr. Judith Huang

( Why doesn't she put it down? )

"The Mountain and the Secret of Their Names" by Wang Nuonuo (2019), tr. Rebecca F. Kuang

( Wreckage from satellite launches threatens a rural village. )

"Net Novels and the 'She Era': How Internet Novels Opened the Door for Female Readers and Writers in China" by Xueting Christine Ni (2022) [essay]

( What it says on the tin. )

"Writing and Translation: A Hundred Technical Tricks" by Rebecca F. Kuang (2022) [essay]

( Kuang discusses translation. )

the end

I was pretty impressed by this collection. The stories spanned a lot of different themes and styles, and while not everything was to my taste, the quality of writing was high and it's hard to think of any entries that didn't at least offer something interesting to think about. There was agreement among the group that it's a good starting point for Chinese SF/F but of course it can only be a small slice of a huge and diverse field. I'd be interested to explore further.

I may need to sit out the next book for scheduling reasons. But even if so, I will return!

Why Are Your Poems So Dark? by Linda Pastan

Isn't the moon dark too,
most of the time?

And doesn't the white page
seem unfinished

without the dark stain
of alphabets?

When God demanded light,
he didn't banish darkness.

Instead he invented
ebony and crows

and that small mole
on your left cheekbone.

Or did you mean to ask
"Why are you sad so often?"

Ask the moon.
Ask what it has witnessed.

*****

_Link

I've got a lot of links built up, here's some more

But so it doesn't get lost in the crowd, don't forget about the protest on the 14th!

( Links )

Current Mood: contemplative

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scanners vs. divers, again

I was discussing confidence and job searching with friends the other day, and one of them suggested reading Refuse to Choose: Use All of Your Interests, Passions and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams so I dutifully clicked the link and then went WAIT WHAT A BARBARA SHER BOOK I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT?!?!

I'm a big fan of Barbara's books, and spent a lot of time on her message board when I was younger. I helped proofread Wishcraft when she was first digitizing it, and had even talked to her on the phone once regarding the project. I was very sad when I heard she had passed away, because her books were very formative and helpful for me.

So yes, I immediately bought the ebook of Refuse to Choose and started reading it, and well, it's basically a how-to manual for scanners.

Hmm.

Okay, let me explain: Barbara says there are two types of people in the world: scanners vs. divers. A diver is someone who finds a subject they are interested in, then dives into it and learns everything about it. Scanners are the opposite: they taste a bunch of different subjects and have a lot of different interests.

In the past, I had considered myself a scanner. Now, I'm not so sure. I mean, it's been TWENTY YEARS and I am still primarily listening to Final Fantasy music. It's been FIFTEEN YEARS and I am still knitting and crocheting happily. And those are primarily my two interests. So that feels more like a diver to me.

And yet: I get bored within 6-12 months at a job. Once I learn what I'm doing and master it, I get depressed and listless. I was also the person in high school and college who took classes just because they sounded fun (like, I was never REALLY interested in acting or the theater, and yet I took both "Beginning Acting" and "Play Production" in high school, and enjoyed the classes.)

There's such a thing as a frustrated diver--that person who hasn't found their niche yet. I do wonder if that could be me. Or flipping things around: am I really a scanner that's masking as a diver right now because of anxiety/depression/whatever? There are so many ways I'm afraid to step out of my comfort zone. I'm trying to be more brave and try new things, but it's going to be a process.

If I think of all the things I have tried in the past... well, let's list them:
* photography
* drawing (when I was a kid)
* digital art (a college class I took that was open to highschoolers)
* journal/memoir writing (took a class on this)
* fiction writing (I subbed to Writer's Digest for several years)
* acting
* play production
* embroidery (I have a kit from the library that I was working on)
* candle making (never did it, but bought a kit when I was younger)
* astronomy (had a telescope)
* piano (took lessons as a kid, had electronic keyboards as an adult)
* flute (played in grammar/high school)
* violin (bought a cheap one off ebay and the Suzuki method books and played around with them)
* marathon walking
* pin loom weaving
* tablet weaving via backstrap method
* bracelet making (as a kid/teen)
* origami
* studying Japanese for fun
* anime/manga
* coding for fun (bot!)
* interactive fiction coding/writing
* website design
* DVD making (I made a simple menu for a DVD of Serenity-related items)
* painting, particularly on windows
* trading card games (MtG and LOTR)

...and probably more... that's quite a list! And I wouldn't say I mastered any of them, with the possible exception of bot. I am proud with what I did with bot. Oh, and I actually succeeded in completely a marathon, so that's an exception too. But all of the others, I dipped into for a bit. Usually, I would get REALLY EXCITED about something, throw my all into it for a bit, maybe succeed in accomplishing something, and then... drop the subject.

One thing I notice is that much of the stuff on the list has a creative element to it. I do very much feel like I'm a creator. I want to produce stuff. I want to create stuff out of nothing. I want to inspire or bring joy to people with my creations. I am happiest when talking about creating things. Also happy when discussing video games, but then it's primarily about the really good stories and characters and not so much the gameplay. I'm a sucker for a good story.

So yeah, maybe I *am* a scanner that hasn't allowed herself to explore lately. Either way, I'm gonna finish reading the book and see what Barbara has to say.

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Wednesday had text and phonecalls about credit card fraud BEFORE COFFEE*

What I read

KJ Charles, Copper Script (2025): somehow not among my top KJCs.

Finished Bitch in a Bonnet Vol 2, perhaps even better than vol 1.

Angela Thirkell, The Old Bank House (1949): not quite sure why this got to be picked as a Virago Modern Classic: WO WO Iron Heel of THEM i.e. the 1945 Labour Government, moan whinge, etc etc; also several rather repetitious passages of older generation maundering to themselves about the dire prospects that await the younger members.

Finished Dragon's Teeth, the last parts of which were quite the wild ride.

Latest Slightly Foxed, a bit underwhelmed, well, they can't always be talking about things that really interest/excite me or rouse fond memories I suppose.

On the go

Have started Upton Sinclair. Wide is the Gate (Lanny Budd, #4) (1943) simply because I had very strong 'what happens next? urges after the end of Dragon's Teeth, but that gets answered in the first few chapters, and I think that in this one we're already getting strong hints that Lanny is about to head southwards to Spain, just in time for things to start getting violent. I might take a break.

I have just started a romance by an author I have vaguely heard well of and was a Kobo deal but don't think it's for me.

Up next

Dunno: perhaps that Gail Godwin memoir.

***

*Even barely woken up I was not at all sure that this was not all one of those cunning scams that is in fact a fraudster telling you they are your bank/credit card co, but it turned out it was actually about somebody making fraudulent charges - in really odd small ways - on my card, when I got onto the website and found the number to ring - the number being called from with automated menu bearing no resemblance to the one on my card, ahem - went through all the procedures and card is being cancelled and new one sent. SIGH. This is second credit card hoohah in two days, yesterday got text re upcoming due payment for which bill has so far failed to arrive, for the one for which logging into website involves dangers untold and hardships unnumbered and having the mobile app. (Eventually all resolved.)

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health,
pets

(no subject)

Fox is feeling better and back to normal - keeping an eye on him to ensure that when there's behavioral changes, I can notice and get the symptoms treated immediately. But for right now, he does seem fine, which is a relief. He's letting me pick him up again too, which is nice.

Less nice: Domino decided to go and sprain(?) her and it's mildly inflamed. I don't want to haul her into the vet unless necessary, because if it is just a sprain, she gets very excited, wants to jump and leap everywhere, and will instantly make it worse by going to the vet. She's a well-trained girl! But at 93lbs and with her hip dysplasia, when she gets excited, even the mild little "I'm not allowed to jump but I WANT TO" hops in place that I cannot train out of her will make any sort of ankle sprain worse.

So for right now, she's getting the physical therapy treatment. Lay down, sleep it of, routinely icing and heating it in turn with gentle massage on the joint and overall leg, and an increase in her medication for the next week to reduce inflammation. I'll sedate her and bring her in if it doesn't fix up, but here's to hoping. So far, she's gone from being majorly ginger to trying to immediately act as if the leg doesn't hurt at all after one night, so. Joke is on her if it was just a pulled muscle in the first place, she's still getting the week of downtime just to be sure.

I am kind of dourly.. annoyed/amused/self-directed belligerent over the fact I do treat my animals significantly better than myself. The answer is not to treat my animals in the same way that I treat myself - because I would rather kill something, tbh - but instead to invest that same level of interest and commitment to my own health. But it is hard. And to be honest, the very fact this is an assessment I am having to perform and adjust my behaviour over in the first place is very insipid.

All the more reason to correct the behaviours and never have to think about this again, though!

Recommend me something to read

Ideally something I can get through the NYPL or the Queens Public Library (I haven't yet re-upped my Brooklyn Public Library card. I ought to go do that this weekend or the week after.)

I suppose I should set a good example and rec something to all of you first. Lemme see....

I did recently enjoy both Long Live Evil and How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying!

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( Read more... )

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The Company of Women

This was my Yuletide story for 2024, a Peter Wimsey story that focuses on Harriet, and her relationships with the women in Peter's family (and one or two others).

If you have come from my website and would like to leave a comment, this is the place!