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Category Archives: Opinion
Book abuse!
19 March 2008 – 5:43 pm
I do not own pristine books.
I am not a book collector, not in the way for which some organizations award prizes at least. I acquire books because I want to read them. As long as they are in readable shape, I’ll take them. This is one of the reasons I have been grabbing books from the free boxes in from of Michael’s Books in Bellingham. This is why I attend the Friends of the Seattle Public Library’s massive book sale frequently. (…)
Women riding side-saddle
10 March 2008 – 5:15 pm
I’ve been mulling over an editorial on female characters in literature for a while. Since I ripped on author Joe Abercrombie yesterday for his female characters in Before They Are Hanged, it’s high time I got down to business on this.
I’ve only read a few books that are generally classified as chick lit. The Devil Wears Prada recently and a few years ago I read Bridget Jones’ Diary and Good In Bed. I did not like them. (…)
Racial bias in science fiction and fantasy
16 February 2008 – 12:27 am
Blogger S. M. Duke is asking science fiction and fantasy reviewers to help him figure out if there’s bias in science fiction and fantasy. He wants us to note some stats in our reviews:
For every book you read in the SF or F genre, take a note of which ethnic, religious, social groups are present within a work in a significant way. What this means is if the main character or a significant character is White, Black, or Asian, then write that down. (…)
Orson Scott Card does not deserve the Margaret A. Edwards Award
22 January 2008 – 7:24 pm
This year, Young Adult Library Service Association (Y.A.L.S.A.) handed out the Margaret A. Edwards Award to Orson Scott Card this year, specifically mentioning his books Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow. The award immediately started controversy. Card is a right-wing bigot. He’s anti-homosexual, anti-liberal, and generally intolerant.
The committee that awarded the prize says they were unaware of Card’s views. (…)
Reading
Graphic Novels Is Not Reading
8 January 2008 – 8:00 am
Here at Rat’s Reading, we (meaning me) consider graphic novels to be reading only in a very narrow sense of the word. We wouldn’t call watching movies reading, and so neither can we call graphic novels literature.
This is not an uncommon viewpoint, though you’ll probably find this view to be more prevalent with a previous generation. I’m fully part of Generation-X. I came of age in the 1980s on MTV and comic books. (…)
2008 New Year’s Goals in Reading
3 January 2008 – 2:44 pm
Goals can be something to check off. They can be a source of stress. But in this instance I view them as the finish line, the target, the direction on the map. I need to have a plan and direction. This is mine. Short and simple this year. My reading related goals for 2008 are the following:
Read 104 books in the calendar year. That’s an average of two books per week. I have a lot of free time on my hands. I ought to be able to make a good run at this. (…)
Best of 2007?
24 December 2007 – 10:00 am
‘Tis the season for best of lists.
I read on the internet that these lists aren’t worth the paper on which they are printed. One man’s treasure is another man’s garbage, or something like that. What’s the value of these lists when reading is so personal?
On one hand, there’s something to the argument. The New York Times top books of 2007 are full of stuff I won’t ever read. Why should I give them any credence? (…)
2007 Holiday Buying Guide
23 November 2007 – 5:34 am
Welcome to my inaugural holiday buying guide post, also known as my best of 2007 except that it doesn’t really cover 2007. What I’ll be doing here providing a list of the best reads featured on Rat’s Reading from Thanksgiving 2006 through Thanksgiving 2007, posted just in time for you to go out and buy holiday gifts for people on Black Friday. I won’t rank books, but I will limit the number so it isn’t just a list of all the books I liked this year. (…)
Secret Loathing
16 November 2007 – 10:47 am
When PostSecret first made the rounds several years ago, I enthusiastically signed up for the feed. It’s a fine idea. People get to unburden their secrets, though I can’t really see how anonymous posting of these secrets is really an unburdening. And readers like me got to experience voyeuristic gossip without the schadenfreudistic guilt of knowing the subjects. Sometimes it wasn’t as good as at others, particularly when the secrets were generic. (…)
Electronic publishing vs. print publishing
29 October 2007 – 8:00 am
Author K. S. Augustin decried the snobbiness of print authors toward their brethren (include Ms. Augustin herself) in the electronic publishing (epub) world in her blog. If you recall, she’s the author of The Dragon Of Ankoll Keep which I really didn’t like. That definitely doesn’t mean I don’t like her, or even her writing. Her blog is opinionated and worthwhile. (…)
