Books that I have read recently

Some thoughts about a few things I have read recently:

First Bite - How we learn to eat by Bee Wilson
This is a non fiction book I recently finished reading. I don't think I've ever been so enthralled by non fiction. This book is highly readable and absolutely fascinating.  There are 8 chapters - Likes and dislikes, Memory, Children's food, Feeding, Brothers and Sisters, Hunger, Disorder and Change.  It covers how tastes are formed, why babies and toddlers don't like certain tastes, how we can teach children - and adults- to change their tastes, the relationship between eating and hunger and how family affects how we eat.  And more.

Seeing as I have a vegetable refusing 2 year old this book was a real eye opener.  It's not a parenting guide, it isn't about getting your child to eat, but it does contain some useful info about eating well.  A lot of it is written from the viewpoint that a great majority of people have disordered eating patterns, that we don't eat purely to fulfil hunger and that anyone can change their tastes with time and repeated exposure to new tastes.  I took a few things away from it, which are:

• We should enjoy every mouthful we eat.  If we don't like what we are eating, we should change it.
• If you want to enjoy new flavours, try them.  Try them repeatedly.  Give yourself  20 or so exposures to them before you decide if you like them or not.
• Cooking and eating should be pleasurable.  You can learn to enjoy cooking and eating.
• Children don't like bitter food.  But they can learn to.  If they refuse vegetables, don't turn it into a battle, don't hide veg in the rest of their dinners.  Offer them tastes of things outside of mealtimes, a lick will do, or a tiny pea sized amount of it the new food, which they can put in their mouth and spit out again.  Reward the try with a sticker or similar, do not reward them with chocolate or other food.  persevere with new tastes.  They will get it eventually and they can learn to like bitter food.
• If we feed our children sweet things to cheer them up when they are little, or as a reward for doing a good thing, then they grow up to associate sweet things with feeling good, and these sweet things become comfort food.  If we were to reward our kids with healthy food they would grow up to associate healthy veg etc with comfort.  Wouldn't that be a fab thing.
• Children's formula milk is manufactured to taste sweet because that's what adults think children's food should taste like.  The tastes and likes of children are most heavily influenced between the ages of 4 and 7 months.  What they eat then has a correlation to what they like as older kids and adults.  If we flavoured formula milk with spinach or other veg they would be more open to these vegetables as they get older.
• Breastmilk contains the flavours of what the mother eats.  However eating lots of veg and other good stuff does not guarantee that the toddler will like vegetables.  Don't I know it.
• When a child or adult is disgusted by a food they are genuinely disgusted.  Force feeding them the food won't make them like it, it will just continue to disgust them. If you want to get over your disgust of a certain food you need to repeatedly an gently expose yourself to it over a period of time.
• Food is a joyous thing and it's quite sad that lots of people don't enjoy a wide range of flavours and textures.

Bike Topia - Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories in Extreme Futures
This is a brilliantly enjoyable set of short science fiction stories which involve the use of bicycles.  I think cycling is the most civilised way to travel, and in a future where there may be little petrol or diesel available it makes sense that people will rely on bikes.  And that those in power will control the use of bikes.  I enjoyed all stories apart from one, which I found quite disturbing, but that's down to my personal sensitive points.  Find more info about the book here:
https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/6675

Hitler's Forgotten Children by Ingrid von Oelhafen and Tim Tate
This is a non fiction book about the children of the Lebensborn - those with racially pure parents that were selected to be raised in Nazi ideology and to form the Nazi warriors of the future.  I'm halfway through and so far we have mostly covered Ingrid's early post war life and been given an overview of her adulthood.  As a young child she found out her parents fostered her and I have just got to the bit where she is discovering that she was a Lebensborn child and she is trying to track down her biological family.  This is a really interesting book that makes clear the horror of a government directed drive to create racially pure citizens, and shows how not knowing your origins can seriously affect your life.

Further adventures in reading (or reading about adventures)

I had a think about what comics I'm buying and what I'm getting from them and I decided to cancel Bombshells.  The last 6 or 8 issues have been truly hard work. Typically, I cancel it, then get home and read #29 where Supergirl and Lois meet and it's love at first sight, and Superman is introduced in a 1930s strong man suit:

What a fabulous design!  However I must remind myself that queering Kara and Lois and redesigning Supes is not enough to keep me reading, and spending money.  I think I have 4 issues left to pick up and then I'm done with this.

My pull list is now

Supergirl
Superwoman
Wonder Woman
Bitch Planet
Black Magick
Princeless

The DC titles aren't doing much for me so are likely to get cancelled.  Bitch Planet, Black Magick and Princeless come out sporadically.  I think I'd like to read standalone mini series, or non superhero stuff.  I think I'd also like to read more independent stuff.  I know I want to catch up on Clockwork Watch, Jennie Gyllblad's other work and Magic of Myths.  I think the Cinebook titles would be good to revisit too.  I know I am not interested in reading Saga or any Image stuff that was hyped up and popular about 4 years ago.  Right now I can't remember any other publishing houses.

Please give me your recommendations.  I think superheros are off the menu for now, I've read far too many superhero stories and it's the same things over and over and over.  I need a break from them.

I have been reading more books recently.  The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society was great fun. Whimiscal and humourous with a good insight into Nazi occupied Guernsey.  I didn't know the Germans took over Guernsey.  It was awful.  The protagonist was immensely likeable and the book felt filled with affection and love.  I liked that.

I also read Beauty Queens by Libba Bray,  It's a female Lord of the Flies.  Where Lord of the Flies is an examination of toxic masculinity, and therefore a book for and about boys as women really do not need to be told about how shit masculinity is, Beauty Queens is about femininity and the patriarchy and how women are constrained in society.  It turns out very differently to Lord of the Flies, because women and men are different and society shapes them differently.  There are different pressures and expectations and when men are taken out from the rest of society they continue to live by the rules that benefit them, but when women are taken out from society they break free of the rules that constrain them and can grow in themselves.  It's bloody brilliant.  And it examines the kyriarchy and it's intersectional.  If Lord of the Flies is still a required text in schools then Beauty Queens should be too.  I had no interest in Lord of the Flies when I was meant to read it, because it was obviously so unrelated to me and my daily life.  Beauty Queens would have been perfect for me to read.

I have also read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield.  It's a future dystopia where all citizens undergo extensive surgery at age 16 to become pretty, so that no one suffers from being less attractive than anyone else and life becomes fairer and more pleasurable for anyone.  There's 4 books in the series.  Uglies deals with the teenagers pre-surgery and those who reject the surgery and choose to run away from the city.  Pretties is about the recently turned pretty teens and their fight to break through the programming to make them docile and compliant.  Specials is about the secret police force with enhanced skills and the final book, Extras, is post the revolution when the the government systems have broken down and no one need undergo the surgery anymore.  The series looks at environmentalism, the destruction of the planet that we are doing now, the need to connect with nature and what how nature gives us healthy minds, social media and our dependence on it, self esteem, free will, and of course the morality around aspiring to beauty.  I think this should be recommended reading for teenagers too.

Stuff that's been swimming around my brain for a while

I have come across tons of cool stuff lately so I'm going to dump them all in this blogpost.   Enjoy.

This video is my friend interpreting Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody into British Sign Language.  If you like, performances, Queen or BSL do yourself a favour and watch this.

Here's a story about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, which went into the Jaws movie.

Here's a graphic showing the sign language family tree.  It's not entirely up to date, Auslan (Australian  Sign Language isn't on there, for example) but it's a good start and probably useful for folk who don't know much about how sign languages develop.

Sci-fi women rock:

 

I'll end with a few turtle themed pictures:

The Hunger Games vs Twilight

This might be a bit rambly. It's 10pm and I've JUST finished The Hunger Games (first book, no spoilers for books 2 and 3 please).

In my mind it is linked with Twiligth because they are both very popular young adult books, with female protagonists, loved by teenage women.

That's about all they have in common though.

Now, I really really enjoyed Twilight.  I don't think it's anti-women, I don't think it's anti-feminist.  Yet a few chapters into The Hunger Games I couldn't help but comment that Katniss is far better role model than Bella will ever be.

But that's missing the point of Twilight.  Bella isn't meant to be a role model.  She's a cipher.  She doesn't need distinguishing characteristics because the story is not really about her - it's about Edward and his Amazingness.  And it's about Edward  and his Amazingness because it's a romance fantasy.  A teenage romance story.  For readers to identify with Bella they just need to know that she feels as swallowed up by love as they do.  Of course, it's not real love that Bella feels, it's heady infatuation, extended.  Obsessive world conquering infatuation.  It's hormone fulled teenage lust and it's very different to what you feel when you've been in a relationship for several years.  We all know that.  But teenagers don't - they think what they are experiencing is what everyone else feels.  They don't understand how love grows, develops, simmers down and matures.  I'm not criticising teens for this.  It's just how life is.  Teens haven't been alive long enough to experience changes in love that long term relationships experience.

But to denigrate Twilight for not being grown up and for Bella for being wet is to miss the point.  It is not really a book about adventure, the vampire/supernatural thing is just the window dressing.  Bella shouldn't be too developed as a character because then she will alienate too many readers.  Twilight's readers need to identify with her raging hormone lust and her love for Edward, but that's all they need in common.  In that way the focus is on Edward - he also becomes a cipher for the person that Twilight fans adore.  the vampire/werewolf stuff is window dressing to make it more exciting.  To give this obsessive love a framework in which to operate, to have a story.  The details of Edward's and Bella's personalities really aren't that important.  Which is why they aren't role models.  They are ciphers.

They are a bit like teenybopper boy bands (does anyone even use the word teenybopper anymore?  Am I showing my age?).  When I was a teenager (many moons ago..) the girls in my year idolised Take That.  before Take That it was new Kids on the Block.  The guys in the band were ciphers.  Symbols.  One dimensional products that hormonal teenage women (possibly some hormonal teenage men too) could project their ideas and fantasies onto - they could become the perfect boyfriend in their fans heads.  I guess maybe One Direction (?) fulfil that niche now.  Twilight is the fiction equivalent of Take That but with better window dressing.

This isn't a problem.

Whereas Katniss is a hero.  She's someone we are meant to look up to, to emulate.  And as that she's a fab hero.  She's clever, resourceful, fiercely loyal and protective.  The Hunger Games is a proper adventure story and Katniss is a fully developed character.  We suffer alongside her, we understand her family, her background, we grow and develop with her.  She faces very real challenges.

She's a million miles away from Bella, because they are written with very different purposes.  For a different type of story and to fulfil a different type of goal.

There's nowt wrong with that.

Now if you'll excuse me I've got book 2 of The Hunger Games to start reading, and a Twilight film marathon to arrange.

I'm talking at Eastercon :)

Eastercon is the British National Science Fiction Convention, and it's happening over the Easter bank holiday weekend, at the Radisson hotel at Heathrow.

I volunteered to be on a panel discussing 'Comics outside the mainstream'.  There was a twitter conversation about the lack of women on convention panels, and I butted in exclaiming how terrible it was, and then one of the folk involved with the con looked at New readers... and well at that point I felt like I couldn't say no.  I really hope I don't make a twat out of myself or embarrass the the organisers or anyone.

Apparently we shall be discussing these questions:
What good comics are published outside the big two?
What is published on the web and outside mainstream publishing entirely?
Are comic creators increasingly moving to the freedom of publishing outside the major distributors?

George R R Martin and Paul Cornell will be there (not on my panel, well as far as I know they won't be on my panel, I can't imagine why they would be on the panel).

So, this thing is happening on the Sunday (8th April) at midday..

Is anyone in blog land attending?  If you are then come and listen to me gabble on!

RIP Anne McCaffrey

She died last night, from a stroke, aged 85.  I am really sad about this.  I adore the Pern books.  I first picked them up as a teenager just when I was starting to read again.  For a few years the only books I really read, with iinsatiable joy, were the Discworld ones.  That's what being depressed does for you.  I must have read other books too, but I don't recall getting enthralled and diving into any ones other than the Discworld ones.

Coming out of my fug, I picked up the first pern book, was delighted, and then raced as fast as I could throught he rest of the series.  I was borrowing them from the library, several at a time, and I remember going talking to the assistant, trying to work out with her which one was next in the series and glowing about the stories.  My face was lit up.  That almost never happened to me.

I never wanted a dragon, I wanted a fire lizard.  I wanted to be there when they found AIVAS, I wanted to learn with them, I wanted to see threadfall and I wanted to go to a school where they taught crafts, and real skills, not just academic knowledge.

As I've got more life experience my understanding of the gender politics of Pern has changed and I've got more out of the stories with each re-read.  Every time I read the Masterharper's death scene I'm at risk of crying (I don't cry).

Anne McCaffrey and her worlds will be missed.  I realise she hasn't taken full authorship of the recent books, that's been done by her son Todd, but her influence will be missed.  I am ever so grateful (and lucky) to have been giving the opportunity to discover and read her worlds.

LGBT Book Review: Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Another submission for the LGBT book review challenge.  Here we go.

Golly gosh, crumbs, wowsers, by heck, this was good.  It broke my heart several times over.

Has anyone seen the film?  I ain’t (cos I’m a bibliophile and nothing beats a decent book) but I’ve heard decent things about it, so I picked it up (well, downloaded it anyway, onto mah kindle).

It’s set in an alternative 90s where clones are grown/reared in specialist institutions to provide vital organs for their ‘models’ when said models get cancer or other horrific and otherwise incurable diseases.  It’s told from the point of the view of a particular group of cloned humans, but, and this is the interesting bit, the clones are fully aware of what they are and what their destinies are.  But, because they’ve been treated in such a humane manner, it never occurs to them that some people could see them as sub human.  They regard themselves as fully human, with souls and with every right to exist, all the time whilst accepting their destinies.

This group of clones (or students as they are referred to within the book) live at Hailsham, an idyllic and peaceful residential school ion the English countryside.  They are taught maths/art/English/science and all those other lessons every other kid does.  The students have no contact with the outside world and this is made clear and reinforced when it is mentioned they are being taught about (what we think of as) everyday things like the police, road crossings, taxes etc.

As we proceed throughout the book we see hints that some teachers are revulsed by the students, who do notice this attitude but are bemused as to why this is so.  They are raised to have self worth, and any emotional issues or confidence problems are linked to personality differences and the group dynamics of the students.  The cloning thing is only brought to light and really dealt with at the end of the book, which is also where we discover the history of England and how it came to be using clones (as well as some suggestions as to the horror that other clones endure growing up).

The students are all sterile and unable to bear children, although there seems to be no taboo on sexual activity.  Nevertheless, the students do not all engage in sex from an early age.  No, most of them have sex when they feel ready and on the whole have healthy relationships. 

There’s a small reference to being gay, but it’s brushed aside really quickly and I can’t understand why the author even included it.  I guess he thought it would be inclusive, but it’s just a small paragraph explaining that while there may be gay boys at the school gay relationships aren’t established as the kids get bullied for it.  That’s it.  There’s no mentions of lesbians or of bisexuality.

It’s bizarre because the book is quite clear that the teachers have no problem with the students having sex (so long as it’s safe and consensual), and with no contact with the outside world I don’t know where they’d get the idea that being gay is wrong.  Homophobia is not innate, it is learned, so where would the students learn this from?  To be honest, that paragraph reads like the author had to invent a reason not to deal with gay relationships.  If that’s true, that’s a rubbish cop out thing to do.

Ignoring this one problem, I really loved this book and would urge people to try it out.  Especially as it’s available as an e book!  I read it on my kindle (which I am still loving, thank you very much!).

LGBT Reading Challenge 2011

So, I saw a blog post on Book After Book about an LGBT reading challenge for 2011.  The idea is to read as many LGBT books in 2011 as you want, review them, and in so doing share the world of LGBT literature.  Guess what, comics are eligible! Hooray!

Anyway, more information including details of how to sign up to the challenge can be found here.  I'm gonna give it a go.  I wonder how far I'll get.

On Stories

Glamour magazine recently did an article on 'The weird sex things he secretly wants to try'.  Number 6 was female superhero sex*.  The text reads:

'Our female superhero crush isn't only about the fact they are drawn with proportions so pneumatic they make Barbie look like a Dickensian waif.  They project power and confidence, yet they are always troubled.  Sometimes they need rescuing, if only from their personal demons, and we're just the sensitive he-men who could do it.
The great thing is, any real-life woman can be a superhero - just be strong and confident, and let us know you need what only a man like us can give'.

Emphasis mine.

First off, let's get John Stewart's views on this:

Secondly, that isn't a description of any superheroine I know of.

What is really bizzare about the text is that it's turning the costumed woman into a doll, existing only for the male lover.  In the view expressed, the woman has no autonomy, that's all taken away to make all her actions, desires and characteristics about the man.  She needs to be rescued by her great manly lover!  He can soothe all ills and pains!!

This is a good example of how even women's magazines, supposedly writing for and about women, still publish stuff explictly from the male gaze point of view.  They could have taken another approach to (or indeed criticised) this point of view, but no.

I realise that it is a fantasy, but fantasies reflect reality.  Glamour talks about feminism and tries to put across some sort of pro womens rights agenda, yet they also include articles like this.  Reading it I can't help but recall all those examples of bad anatomy, all Greg Land's pornface art and all those times when women's fierceness and independence is destroyed by comics such as Superman/Batman 72 (more Lois from that issue here), or other books where women's roles are relegated to the sidekick, or downgraded to being the love interest.

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I recently read Going Under by Justina Robson.  This is the third book in the Lila Black series.  Lila is a cyborg on an earth where ther Quantum Bomb of 2015 brought the human, elf, demon and faery planes into co-existence.
On page 116 of the first paperback edition the nature of the hero and the heroine is discussed:

(This conversation takes places just after a female demon has died in a dramatic and senseless manner. She demon was young, beautiful and talented and so has been labelled a hero).

(Lila speaks) 'Heroes can't be self-doubters Malachi,' she told him.  'I read it in the book of rules.  That means I can't be a hero.  So at least I'm safe from that one.'
(Malachi speaks) 'That's the spirit!'. 'You could probably be a heroine though' he added. 'You're in love, you're racked with self-questioning, you're at the mercy of society's higher forces and you're riddles with a form of consumption.  That's quite gothic'.

Why are the two definitions so different?
I'm fairly certain the description of the heroine is meant to be tongue in cheek, whilst still being a valid comment on Lila.  Nevertheless, that idea of the weakened heroine is taken from a lot of literature, so why have female protagonists in literature been given this damaged role?

Given Lila's personailty and abilities you could add super to the front of heroine and still be making an accurate observation.  By this book, Lila's machinery is melding with her fleshy bits and she can produce guns and other weapons out of her arms just by thinking about them.  A bit like Guy Gardner as the Warrior.  Lila may question herself and the motivations of those around her, but she's not a passive person drowning in her own worries.  She gets on with things.  She does what needs to be done.  She's pro active.  She may not like what she's become but she does know who she is.  She's a pretty darn good fun character actually**.

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Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett.
Withces Abroad is a Discworld story about stories.  On the Discworld there is an element called narrativium.  It ensures that stories happen according to basic fictional tropes, such as wheels that roll out of fires and gently come to a stop, or third princes embarking on and succeeding on a quest where their elder brothers have all failed.  Page 8 of the 1997 paperback edition says this:

'Because stories are important.
People think that stories are shaped by people.  In fact, it is the other way around.
Stories exist independently of their players.   If you know that, the knowledge is power.'

One of the main themes of the book is how you shouldn't treat people as if they are characters in a story.  You can't make happy endings for people.  It's immoral to attempt to do so.

The flip side of this is that as the text says, stories are important, they do have power.  They give us a framework to navigate through life.  They reflect our experiences and value within society, even when they don't feature us.  When we have fiction we don't entirely like or agree with, we create our own stories and narratives to satisfy us.  Any long time comic fan knows how this happens.

This role of stories is why I have included Witches Abroad in this post.  What does it say when Glamour tells us a story where women will always need and depend on men?  Where Going Under tells a story of how heroes are strong and heroines are indecisive?
And what is the significance of books like those in the Discworld series which highlights the existence of these narratives and give us a different kind of female protagonist?



*Yeah, cos that's really weird.  I think Glamour may be jumping on a bandwagon here.
** According to the blurb this book is 'the work of a smart and sexy novelist having smart and sexy fun'.  This description tickles me and so I mention it whenever I mention the book.

Living with Cannibals and other women's adventures

Let us usher in the new year with some excitement shall we?  2009 has been pretty dire so lets hope that 2010 is better.  Onwards..

As I write this I am sitting in my living room on Boxing Day, filled with overwhelming yearning for the day when people will make regular space flights, a day when space travel is open to all, in a similar way to bus transport is now open to all.*

Why do I feel like this?  Well, I've just his afternoon read Living with Cannibals (an unfortunate title).  It's a collection of 16 short pieces on women travellers experiences, lives and achievements since 1797.  The particular piece that so interested me was the retrospective on Shannon Lucid's career.  She went to space for 188 days in 1996.

I cannot ever decide if the idea of space travels exhilirates or terrifies me.  I would love to experience zero gravity conditions but sometimes when I look up at the stars I'm crushed and awed by the, well, bigness, of it all.  That's crushed and awed in an 'I'm terrified' sort of way.  But, the sci-fi fan in me thrills at the thought os space travel.  Who wouldn't?

Will we get regular cheap tourist flights in my lifetime?  I'm 29 and imagine being an old lady, ina rocking chair, on the porch (it's a very American image, British houses don't have porches in the same way), looking at  the sky and seeing the shuttles lift off, taking travellers to far flung destinations.

It's a very romantic image.  I'd be too old to travel, of course.  With all this in mind, I put up a poll on 28th December.  If you haven't already voted, go do so.

*Open to all those who don't live in the rural English countryside and expect more than 2 buses a day that is.  I am well aware of this country's public transport problems.

Authors I have particularly and think you should give a go

Doris Egan - the Gates of Ivory trilogy.
It's sooo much fun. Female protagonist, no cliches, no stereotypes, just a real 3D honest to goodness person. No chainmail, no swords, some sorcery, no wenches, no rape threats, no women knowing thier palce, just a person like you or me, ona rela world.

Michael Morpurgo
Just delicious. Thoughtful, textured provocative writings for young adults without patronising them. Older adults will get just as much from them, because they are not dumbed down.

John Wyndham
A glorious sci fi writer from the 50s. Particular favourites are Day of the Triffids, Trouble with Lichen, Web and The Chrysalids along with any of his short stories. I'm not so keen on The Midwich Cuckoos but I hear lots of people do like it. He was quite a progressive writer and had many women scientists in his books, in actual high level positions.

Ursula Le Guin
Fluid, graceful, diverse and intelligent. Try reading the Earthsea books, The Lathe of Heaven or The Birthday of the World and Other Stories. She is rather brilliant, and I mean that in the old fashioned sense of the word.

Terry Pratchett
Fantastic satire. The Discworld books are the best and what he has devoted his life to writing, but Nation is also pretty good. I don't care for the Truckers books. if you decide to start reading the Discworld you will get more out of it reading them in order, but then again the first book, The Colour of Magic is rather dire. Start with The Light Fantastic instead. Or try Thief of Time.
He satirises detectvie novels, fairy tales, wizadry, jingoism, death, religion, Shakespeare, the cinema and Christmas amongst many many other things.

George R R Martin
Favourite. author. ever. A Song of Ice and Fire is the current series in progress and I cannot stress how good this is. Many many different characters, all are 3 dimensional including the children, political intrigue, assasination, marching armies, direwolves dragons. You will find something you like. In another aurthor's hands this story could be run of the mill and base. In Martin's it's not. If you don't fancy the fat books that comprise this series try picking up Dreamsongs Volume 1, it's a collection of his short stories. Then read With Morning Comes Mistfall, The Ice Dragon and The Monkey Treatment and come back and tell me you haven't fallen in love with his work.

Glenda Larke
I've read her Shiver Barrens tirlogy and blow me down with a feather, but she's written a fantasy series with people of colour as the focus. The stories are fun and easily readable, not great literature but a pretty good way to pass the time.

Part 2 of this latest book list, fangirly raving and other news type stuff

Firstly... I'm going to see Waiting for Godot tomorrow. I know jack about the play, other than that it's by Brecht (am I right?) [EDIT: Feminist Avatar informs me it's by Samuel Beckett, not Brecht. oops. he's probably still a master at what he does though] who is apparently a master at his stuff and well loved by theatre luvvies. I'm not really a theatre buff, apart from a Midsummer Night's Dream, which I love and have seen many many times. The reason I am seeing this play is for the actors. dum dum dum...wait for it.....
.
.
.
.
.
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan.


That's it. Just the two of them, on stage in front of me for about 3 hours. And I don't even have to travel to London to see them. They are in a theatre half an hours walk from my house. This shit never happens in Norfolk. I was stunned when it was announced. Tomorrow night is gonna be awesome. I am going with my sister who is visiting for the weekend, on Saturday we get to go shopping for shoes for me to wear at her wedding. Yawn. She studied drama at Uni so will be able to appreciate the play. Me, I'm planning on appreciating Patrick Stewart.

On other cool news I was rather pleased to see this art for the Justice League mini coming out later. Bee-yoo-ti-ful.

Back to the book list, part 2. (Found here by the way)
Joe Haldeman: The Forever War (1974) Pretty good actually. In the end I decided it wasn't homophobic, rather, it was mocking our currently held views. A point which seems to have been lost on the dickhead reviewer:
"It's not perfect - it's hard to take seriously a future in which hetereosexuality is a perversion"
Screw you asshole.
M John Harrison: Light (2002) Not interested.
Robert A Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) Rubbish. And offensive. I got halfway through the book then gave up. Maybe it improved later, but I was sick of male world view by that point.
Frank Herbert: Dune (1965) This is on my bookshelf waiting to be read. It has had a long wait. Comics, Ursula Le Guin, George R R Martin and Sheri S Tepper have seemed far more appealing.
Hermann Hesse: The Glass Bead Game (1943) Sounds like it would drive me mad with frustration.
Russell Hoban: Riddley Walker (1980) Not read this one, but I have read 3 other Hoban books and they are wonderful, and showcase a specific type of Englishness, which doesn't come across as forced. he paints a very natural picture of English life and he is to be commended for that. Very much recommended.
James Hogg: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) Hmm. Is about Christian religion, but somehow it's not grabbing me.
Michel Houellebecq: Atomised (1998) I always thought I'd want to read this, now I've read the review I'm not so sure.. :/
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World (1932) Oh god this book is amazing. For my GCSE English coursework I wrote a comparative essay on Brave New World, 1984 and The Time Machine. About the only time I ever got the coursework done on time. Anyway, BNW is easily one of my most favourite books ever and everyone should read it.
Kazuo Ishiguro: The Unconsoled (1995) Not interested in anyone who's been compared to Phillip K Dick.
Shirley Jackson: The Haunting of Hill House (1959) A laaay-dy. Could be good.
Henry James: The Turn of the Screw (1898) Too old for me to be interested in.
PD James: The Children of Men (1992) A dystopia eh? Apparently made into a movie. Still never heard of it.
Richard Jefferies: After London; Or, Wild England (1885) This may be Victorian, but ti sounds gooood.
Gwyneth Jones: Bold as Love (2001) Blah. I hate books about music and musicians.
Franz Kafka: The Trial (1925) I know I should read Kafka but I am that contrary I refuse to read stuff foisted or pushed onto me.
Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon (1966) Awesome. Thought provoking, intelligent. Recommended.
Stephen King: The Shining (1977) I have read this, but I didn't think too much of it. The Dark Half is a much better King novel.
Marghanita Laski: The Victorian Chaise-longue (1953) This looks good. I shall seek it out.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: Uncle Silas (1864) Great name for an author. Oh look, Victorian again. Not interested.
Stanislaw Lem: Solaris (1961) The American film was shit. I have the Russian one downstairs, not yet watched. I am hesitant to read translations of Russian books because so often the translation is awful. If you want to read a Russian book about the supernatural may I recommend The Night Watch.
Doris Lessing: Memoirs of a Survivor (1974) This looks really good.
David Lindsay: A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) Tried reading this, was very very bored. gave up about a third of the way in.
Ken MacLeod: The Night Sessions (2008) Sounds good - it has religious themes. Could be one to pick up.
Hilary Mantel: Beyond Black (2005) I really don't need to bear witness to a "shocking, upsetting, often painful read". Think I'll give this one a miss.
Michael Marshall Smith: Only Forward (1994) Hmm. It's a possibility. It has cats.
Richard Matheson: I Am Legend (1954) LOVE this. One of the first stories I read/watched that tried to look at vampirism from a scientific perspective. Thereafter I wanted all vampires to be treated scientifically, hence why I liked Blade. I haven't seen the Will Smith film, but from reviews and plot synopsis it seemed to move away from the central themes of loneliness and madness.
Charles Maturin: Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) Good book title.
Patrick McCabe: The Butcher Boy (1992) Read this as a teenager. Good, but odd. I think I was too distracted to really appreciate this at the time of reading.
Cormac McCarthy: The Road (2006) Ummm..no.
Jed Mercurio: Ascent (2007) It's got Soviets in it. That's enough to get me interested.
China Miéville: The Scar (2002) I think I confuse the writer with the band, China Drum. This is steampunk and sounds fantastic. Definitely one to pick up.
Andrew Miller: Ingenious Pain (1997) Sounds desperately dull.
Walter M Miller Jr: A Canticle for Leibowitz (1960) Cold War books can be horribly bigoted and stereotyping, so I think I'll leave this one.
David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas (2004) Read this. Wasn't impressed and can't remember any details.
Michael Moorcock: Mother London (1988) Moorcock is a great writer. I haven't read this one but every one of his I have found is a keeper.
William Morris: News From Nowhere (1890) Read as part of my Utopias and Dystopias module at Uni. Didn't like the style.
Toni Morrison: Beloved (1987) Meh. About slavery. Could be promising.
Haruki Murakami: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle (1995) A friend of mine loves Murakami, but as explained before, I resent people trying to foist their book choices onto me. So I won't read it.
Vladimir Nabokov: Ada or Ardor (1969) I've read Lolita - a lot more complex than most would have you believe. I reckon this one would be good.
Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler's Wife (2003) Despite the title, not actually about the wife.
Larry Niven: Ringworld (1970) The SF Masterworks cover for this puts me off. That and the fact he's called Larry. I think it will be classic male sci-fi, too focused on the faux science explanations and not enough on the stories and themes.
Jeff Noon: Vurt (1993) "it's been described as the spawn of Alice in Wonderland and A Clockwork Orange" Way to make me not care.
Flann O'Brien: The Third Policeman (1967) "inspiration for the TV show Lost - is indeed fantastic in every sense. Set in a rural Ireland that is also a vision of hell, it features policemen turning into bicycles; that SF standby, the universal energy source; and any number of scientific and literary in-jokes. It's also gleefully dark and properly creepy" OK, now I'm interested.
Ben Okri: The Famished Road (1991) I like the sounds of this - "According to Yoruba tradition, a spirit child is one who has made a pact with his fellows in their other, more beautiful world, to rejoin them as soon as possible. Azaro breaks the pact, choosing to remain in this place of suffering and poverty, but the African shanty town where he lives with his parents teems with phantoms, spirits and dreams."

Currently listening to: Suede - Coming Up. Fun fact - I am in the audience for the Film Star video. It was fun.

Part three coming next week.
Have a fun Easter everyone! Tis the season of renewal and life, and daffodils :-)

Book news! Part 1

Town names streets after the Discworld. Wincanot in Somerset is not only twinned with the Discworld city of Ankh Morpork but has also named two streets after Ankh Morpok streets - Treacle Mine Road and Peach Pie Street.
That, is brilliant. I want to move there.

On a book related matter, The Guardian has done a list called 1000 books you must read before you die. They have a sci fi section, so i got interested. Here's the list and my thoughts on the books:

Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979). Some of the later books were better.
Brian W Aldiss: Non-Stop (1958) Don't know it. Mutated rats sound interesting though.
Isaac Asimov: Foundation (1951) After I tried to read the book with the crazy computer named Hal in I decided I hated Asimov.
Margaret Atwood: The Blind Assassin (2000) Really not keen on The Handmaid's tale, I do not like her writing style. Therefore have been put off reading anything else.
Paul Auster: In the Country of Last Things (1987) Haven't read but it sounds really good. And has a female protagonist. Rock on.
Iain Banks: The Wasp Factory (1984) Read when I was 16 (or thereabouts) and loved it. Skipped to the end early cos I was desperate to find out the plot twist and have never done that again. Would love to re-read.
Iain M Banks: Consider Phlebas (1987) Not interested in his SF stuff, but the boyfriend loves it.
Clive Barker: Weaveworld (1987) Isn't he a horror director?
Nicola Barker: Darkmans (2007) Set in Kent, near where I grew up. Could be worth a go.
Stephen Baxter: The Time Ships (1995) Ugh, sequel to the Time Machine. I hope he writes better than Wells.
Greg Bear: Darwin's Radio (1999) Again, boyfriend loves Bear, I haven't found any interest in him myself though.
Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination (1956) This an SF masterworks book I think. is on my list of books to read.
Poppy Z Brite: Lost Souls (1992) Vampires and rock and roll. Sounds awful.
Algis Budrys: Rogue Moon (1960) Sounds blah.
Mikhail Bulgakov: The Master and Margarita (1966) I've read this one. The second half was much much more enjoyable than the first story. If you try it, keep at it, don't lose heart too quickly.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton: The Coming Race (1871) Apparently the city of Vril-ya inspired Bovril. Not interested, written too long ago.
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange (1960) Last time I tried to watch this I was meant to be high but just ended up depressed (not because of the film). I don't think I should bother.
Anthony Burgess: The End of the World News (1982) Not interested, see A Clockwork Orange.
Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars (1912) Burroughs has always tempted me.
William Burroughs: Naked Lunch (1959) Tried to read this. Failed.
Octavia Butler: Kindred (1979) This sounds awesome:
Butler's fourth novel throws African American Dana Franklin back in time to the early 1800s, where she is pitched into the reality of slavery and the individual struggle to survive its horrors. Butler single-handedly brought to the SF genre the concerns of gender politics, racial conflict and slavery.
Samuel Butler: Erewhon (1872) I should have read this at Uni, doing my Utopias and Dystopias module. Victorian, so i reckoned I wouldn't like the style and I picked up Ursula Le Guin instead.
Italo Calvino: The Baron in the Trees (1957) This sounds great. Fantasy about a boy living in a tree and the French Revolution. Great!
Ramsey Campbell: The Influence (1988) Horror. I don't need to read horror, or I shouldn't read it anyway....
Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) Read as a child of course. Wouldn't like it now.
Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) As above, except I don't think I ever read it.
Angela Carter: Nights at the Circus (1984) Now Carter is good. I should read this.
Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000) About comics maybe? Is it worth reading?
Arthur C Clarke: Childhood's End (1953) Maybe I meant Clarke when I commented on Asimov earlier?
GK Chesterton: The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) Hmm. Could be OK, but probably written too long ago for me.
Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004) Nowhere near as good as it was hyped to be. I found the experience rather frustrating.
Michael G Coney: Hello Summer, Goodbye (1975) Long summers, long winters, i'd like this. :)
Douglas Coupland: Girlfriend in a Coma (1998) Umm...no. This would be too close to the bone I reckon.
Mark Danielewski: House of Leaves (2000) Started reading, gave up. Not captured at all.
Marie Darrieussecq: Pig Tales (1996) Could be good. Could be explicitly feminist hamemring you over the head with it's ideologies. I've had enough of books like those (hello, 50% of the output of the women's press)
Samuel R Delaney: The Einstein Intersection (1967) Never heard of it.
Philip K Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) This sucks.
Philip K Dick: The Man in the High Castle (1962) I like alternate universe stuff. This could be good, but Dick is every hit and miss.
Umberto Eco: Foucault's Pendulum (1988) I studied Foucault at Uni. Bloody difficult theory and the poor translation didn't help. I doubt I will pick this up.
Michel Faber: Under the Skin (2000) "can also be read as an allegory of animal rights" That interests me.
John Fowles: The Magus (1966) Never heard of the book or the author.
Neil Gaiman: American Gods (2001) Ahh yes! Awesome, made of win, recommended, you have to buy, etc etc.a His best book.
Alan Garner: Red Shift (1973) I think I've read this. I've read a lot of his other stuff and it is excellent. Recommended.
William Gibson: Neuromancer (1984) Too hyped for me to accept.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Herland (1915) Love love love. Everyone should read. Its so..leafy.
William Golding: Lord of the Flies (1954) spit hack spit. Hate this. Hate it with a passion. Studied it at school. Fucking rubbish. I remember thinking that I had no interest in it because there was no way I was going to identify with the boys in the book. No way at all.

Parts 2 and 3 to come. I have flicked through them and ma very surprised to see there are no Discworld books in there. And no George R R Martin. I would also add in Sheri S Tepper - the margarets, or Beauty too.

60 years of Woman's Hour

Some choice quotes and observations from the Woman’s Hour book (my version doesn't have such a crappy cover, although it is still pink. Why does everything for women have to be pink?!):

John Merrett – 19th December 1946
In 1947 Merrett and his wife co-presented a talk on the thorny subject: should women keep their jobs after they are married?

“What jobs in running a home can a man do best?.......For heaven’s sake don’t bring the question of whether its ‘a man’s job’ or not into it! That phrase died out with Queen Victoria……..The first thing that men discover is how badly women have been treated concerning their working conditions…..a woman spends a large part of her life in her kitchen. It therefore follows that the kitchen should be one of the best rooms in the house – bright, sunny and cheery….
Now you’re going to ask how I help my wife… I usually buy the vegetables for her….[lists heavy vegetables] – it all makes up quite as tidy weight – too much for a woman to have to carry [the grocers is half a mile away] if there’s a man who can do it for her…..
There’s one other job I’ll tell you about. Sometimes I clean the silver and brass as I sit listening to the wireless.”

Interestingly enough, throughout the collection of interviews (1940s through to 1970s so far) there is a recurring description of housework and bringing up the kids as being an actual full time job.

Vera Brittain, 4th November 1953
A writer, pacifist and feminist. Talking about conversations as a college student:

[Upon meeting a male married friend in the street]
He said: ‘Have you heard of our fiasco? Our baby arrived yesterday - and it’s a girl!’ Only a girl! How often did you hear that when you were young?......[Quoting from Lady Stephen] ‘probably only women who have laboured under it can understand the weight of discouragement produced by being perpetually told that, as women, nothing much is ever expected of them.’

Nancy Astor, 7th October 1956
The first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons, as Conservative MP for Plymouth South, in 1919.
[Recounting a conversation with Winston Churchill, Prime Minister during WW2]….
Churchill: It’s a very remarkable performance
Astor: What?
Churchill: You staying where you are
Astor: Well Winston, why on earth didn’t you speak to me?
Churchill: We hoped to freeze you out. When you entered the House of Commons I felt as if a woman had entered my bathroom and I’d nothing to protect myself with except a sponge
Astor: Had it never occurred to you that your appalling appearance might have been protection enough?’

Shirley Chisholm, 29 December 1971
Chisholm was the first African American women elected to congress. During her first term she employed an all-female staff. She ran for Democratic nomination for President in 1972.

Interviewer: If you became President of America, what would be the greatest achievement: what would be the greatest achievement, that you had got there as a woman, or as a black person?
Chisholm: I think it would have to be looked at in terms of two in one, because at this moment in America black people are saying, ‘Why not a black president?’ and women are saying, ‘Why not a woman President?’ I happen to be black and I happen to be a woman, so actually I would be killing to birds with one stone.

That's intersectionality at work folks. Now, since she ran for Presidential nomination in 1972 why the hell did I not hear about this last year? Nothing in the media coverage, that I saw, talked about her. I thought that Obama was the first black person to run for Presidential nomination and Clinton the first woman.

I would also like to add to this quote from a post made by Yuki Onna and found via Seeking Avalon:
"And when we see story after story that has no one like us in it, a book entirely without women, a TV show where white people speak Chinese but there are no Asians visible, a movie set in California without Hispanics, image after image of a world where everyone is straight, and when we are told that it's no big deal, really, there is no race in future societies, that it's not anyone's fault if all the characters are white, that's just how they are, in the pure authorial mind, that we have no sense of humor, that we are ganging up on people because we speak our minds, this is what we hear:

You do not have a right to live. There are no stories for you, to teach you how to survive, because the world would prefer you didn't. You don't get to be human, to understand your suffering or move beyond it. In the perfect future society, you do not exist. We who are colorblind, genderblind, sexualityblind would prefer not to see you even now. In the world we make in our heads, you have been obliterated--even better, you never were. You are incapable of transcendance. You are not worthy of the most essential of human behavior. If you are lucky, we will let you into our stories, and you can learn to be a whore, or someone's mother, or someone's slave, or someone's prey. That is all you are, so pay attention: this is what we want to teach you to be."

She explains so clearly what I have found very hard to articulate. I have been banging on about this issue over and over but I feel that she has got it in a nutshell.
I heartily recommend you read the rest of the post.

So, thinking about lists and books..

Following on from my meme post featuring the 100 books list, I was thinking about the comments left. There was one from Baal pointing out the lack of diversity in the list, referring to both the authors and the subject matter I imagine. Well, I reckon Baal is right. I also reckon that looking into why that is so would be a good idea. To do this, it would help to find the original list from the BBC.
Alas, I cannot find it, I am not sure it exists. I did however find this which reckons the list was cobbled together by someone, not necessarily at the BBC, from the BBC's Big Read done a few years back. So I reckon, if you were after an official list to measure yourself up against, we've been duped.
If you wanted to see how you measured up against generically popular books, then I guess the meme list does it.
Anyway, inspired by Baal's comment I thought I'd see how I measure up against a Feminist SF and F list for beginners. Because, hey, I prefer my books not to be misogynist and I love Sfa dn Fantasy.

Bearing in mind that I read a lot of books, a lot of the time, let's see how I measure up.

As a reminder here are the rules:

1) Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those you have read.

2) Add a ‘+’ to the ones you LOVE (or in my case just plain old liked)

3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.

If there is no '+' after one I've read assume that i hated it.

Here goes:

Margaret Atwood. The Handmaid's Tale. X
Louky Bersianik. The Euguelionne
Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Mists of Avalon. X +
--. Thendara House. (Darkover)
--. The Shattered Chain (Darkover).
Gerd Brantenberg. Egalia's Daughters
Dorothy Bryant. The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You
Katherine Burdekin. Swastika Night
Octavia Butler. Wild Seed.
Parable of the Sower.
Kindred.
Xenogenesis Trilogy: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago.
Leonora Carrington. The Hearing Trumpet
Angela Carter. The Bloody Chamber X
Saints and Sinners
Suzy McKee Charnas. Walk to the End of the World.
motherlines.
The Furies.
the Conqueror's Child
Samuel Delany. Triton
Dhalgren
Candas Jane Dorsey. Black Wine
Suzette Haden Elgin. Native Tongue.
The Judas Rose: Native Tongue II.
For the Sake of Grace" (copyright 1969 from Fantasy & Science Fiction; reprinted in
Donald Wollheim & Terry Carr's World's Best Science Fiction: 1970).
Sally Miller Gearhart. The Wanderground.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman. "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Herland X +
Jewelle Gomez. The Gilda Stories
Nicola Griffith. Ammonite.
Bertha Harris. Lover
Nalo Hopkinson. Brown Girl in the Ring
Gwyneth Jones. White Queen
Tanith Lee. The Birthgrave
Ursula K. Le Guin. Always Coming Home.
The Left Hand of Darkness. X
Tehanu. X+
The Birthday of the World and Other Stories X+
Elizabeth Lynn. The Northern Girl.
The woman Who Loved the Moon and Other Stories (1981)
Maureen McHugh. Mission Child
Vonda McIntyre. Dreamsnake (1978)
Judith Merril. Daughters of Earth and Other Stories (1969)
Naomi Mitchison. Memoirs of a Spacewoman (1962)
Solution Three (1975)
Elizabeth Moon. Sheep-Farmer's Daughter
C.L. Moore. Jirel of Joiry (1969) (a series of stories) X+
Marge Piercy. Woman on the Edge of Time. X+
He, She, and It.
Joanna Russ. The Female Man
The Adventures of Alyx
The Two of Them
Jessica Amanda Salmonson. Amazons! anthologies (two)
Pamela Sargent. Women of Wonder anthologies.
The Shore of Women.
Melissa Scott. Shadowman
Trouble and Her Friends
Mary Shelley. Frankenstein *
Joan Slonczewski. A Door Into Ocean.
Secret Feminist Cabal. Flying Cups and Saucers (1998) (the Tiptree anthology) * (Because of the title, I hadn't heard of it before this list)
Nancy Springer. Larque on the Wing.
Starhawk. The Fifth Sacred Thing.
Theodore Sturgeon. Venus Plus x
Sheri Tepper. Beauty. X++++
The Gate to Women's Country. *
James Tiptree, Jr. "Your Faces, O My Sisters!" in Aurora: Beyond Equality.
Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" in Aurora: Beyond Equality.
Elisabeth Vonarburg. The Silent City.
In the Mother's Land.
Sylvia Townsend Warner. Lolly Willowes, or, The Loving Huntsman (1925)
Monique Wittig. Les Guerrilleres
Virginia Woolf. Orlando
Jane Yolen. Sister Light, Sister Dark

That makes 10 that I've read. I don't know whether that makes me a bad feminist or a bad SF and F fan. or just not widely read. /sarcasm

Mind you, i don't do much better with the list of comics:
Doom Patrol X+ (I haven't read their own title but what i've come across in other books is pretty good)
Fags in Space: A Completely Queer Cosmic Comic
Futaba-kin Change
Hothead Paisan
Invasion of the Space Amazons from the Purple Planet
Ranma *
Tank Girl X+ (i've liked some, Tank Girl The Odyssy is rocking)
The X-Men X (Joss Whedon's run is ok)
Aeon Flux *
Akiko by Mark Crilley
Best American
Books of Magic X +
Castle Waiting
Clockwork Angels by Lea Hernandez
Finder
Hellblazer: The Restoration Comedy X
House of Secrets X
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (I saw the film, does that count? ;)
Love and Rockets - Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez
Promethea X (Vol1 +++, later volumes not so enjoyable)
Rumble Girls
Sandman by Neil Gaiman
A Game of You
Death: The Time of Your Life X++
Strangers in Paradise
Top Ten X

I think they need to update their lists. And specify runs of comics, with authors and artists.

Well, that passed the time.

Currently listening to: Lots of old Octopus singles. I'm still on my indie kick. Octopus were wonderful.

Share the reading love

And oh, what love this week! (And last week’s too, as I’m late)

What follows is talk of:
Supergirl 38, Superman/Batman 55, Action Comics 874
Green Arrow and Black Canary 17
Booster Gold 17
Showcase 95 #5 (featuring Spoiler!)
A few lines about other old DC books (Fanboy GL, LoSH and New Gods)
Some delight over George R R Martin’s Dreamsongs, a RRetrospective volume 1
Me bemoaning my lack of attention to reading orders, maybe. Possibly also some Buffy thoughts.

That’s a lot to get through. I’ll bolden up each heading, read whichever parts you like.

So, onwards and, of course, spoilers ahead.
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Supergirl #38
Oh my how I love the cover of this. Not so much for Kara, but for Superwoman. The eyes, the eyes. She’s mesmerising. I could look at that cover all day.
About the inside of the book. It seems like a lot of issues have opened with Kara announcing ‘This is my life’ and her getting decked by a supposed friend. A reference back to the earlier issues perhaps? Kara does talk like a teenager in this, which is good for getting the character right, but might be annoying if you don’t use teenage slang yourself. I do take umbrage at the use of the word ‘psyche’. Has anyone ever said that, past about 1994? Honestly.
The fight scene was fun and the colouring lovely – the blues of the ice, the sea and the sky were a pleasure to see. It’s good to see that Superwoman’s gold discs have a use – that of communicating with her bosses.
Focusing on the art once more, the panels with Cat Grant were a treat and really showed her ugly personality. The doll scares me, and I feel trepidation regarding who sent it, I’m certain Kara didn’t, not her style.
The Superwoman mystery depends. Forget what I said last month, now I’m hooked and excited as to who she is. It is revealed (or is that a red herring?) that she’s not Kryptonian, despite Kara guessing at Thara being under the mask.
Now, in a planet full of Kryptonians, how could Kara be given a secret mission? And could Superwoman truly hide her identity? Surely all Kara would have to do is listen hard to everyone on the planet (far less a number than earth’s population) and focus on the familiar voice, then go find her. But I guess Kara isn’t that curious (or creepy).

Re: Origins and omens. Looks like there’s interesting stuff coming up. I’m glad to see that Lana is looking after Streaky (love the origin of the name) and I’m looking forward to the future love interest.

Best line in the book? ‘I’m so going to kick you in the face!’

Superman/Batman #55
I KNEW it. Batman is insane. This proves what I’ve been saying (thinking?) all along. Power hungry messed up in the head idiot. He beat up on Selina! And Dick! I reckon Kal’s powers brought out the urges he’s been burying.

Kara as Linda Lang comes to see Clark at the hospital, and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t recognise her immediately. I’m a bad fan. The scene was wonderful though. In fact, this whole story arc is great.

Favourite panel? Where Bruce is laying into Clark and GL, Flash, Zatanna and Lois are all holding Clark back.

Action Comics 874
Good opening page. Very good. The Zod, Ursa and Non problem is coming along nicely and we are promised more of Nightwing and Flamebird next month, which is a plus. The destruction of the phantom zone is very intriguing, as is the question of how Mon-El will survive on earth.

Booster Gold 17
Booster ensures Barry has his accident and then Booster interrupts a younger version of himself. Not as good as last issue, but good enough.

Green Arrow/Black Canary 17
I love this cover – it’s the shades of green they’ve used and the detailing on the shadows I think.
This is a vast improvement on previous issues. For one, the deliciously evil bad guy attacks a building with a truck. By driving into the top floor from another high storey building. That, is ace.
Secondly, Dinah gets to fight. She helps herself, she doesn’t get rescued by Ollie and they work as an effective team. We also get to see more of the action from Dinah’s point of view. Now that means that the issue lives up to it’s title, for once.

Re the origins and omens segment, we see Dinah’s discovery of her powers and the aftermath of the guy she injured last issue – he’s been deafened and he’s not happy about it. Speedy has been given a black costume, but doesn’t look evil and I think that one of the pictures shows Ollie pointing an arrow at Dinah, but the positioning is off. And it looks like the future is going to centre around Ollie, as usual. Which would be fine, if the book was named Green Arrow.

Showcase 95, #5
A Spoiler story! Steph finds out her coach is dealing drugs to schoolkids, in her school. One of them dies in a car accident the inference is that it’s because they were high. This incident teaches Steph that yet again, shit happens and she loses a little more faith in adults. Poor kid.
This issue also features a Thorn story, and a Firehawk story. It’s worth getting for the Thorn and Spoiler sections.

Assorted DC books
Legion of Superheroes #43 – the intruder to their HQ calls Drura ‘Infectious Lass’. This may have been a joke but is an entirely plausible name for a member of the LoSH. Good issue, I’d kinda like to read more of this run now.
New Gods #1 – I should have read this before Final Crisis.
Fanboy – GL of the lunch room sector# 2. Odd. I hadn’t come across the fanboy mini before. Features half of Hal Jordan’s ass.

Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective book one
Well I finally finished reading it, and I can definitely say it’s the most enjoyable and gripping collection of short stories I have stumbled across. You won’t find a huge amount of diversity in the stories, but they are so well crafted and so powerful I don’t really care. To be fair, in Martin’s future worlds sexuality doesn’t seem to be an issue although all his couples are heterosexual. Anyway, onto specific stories:
If you pick this volume up I wouldn’t bother with the 4 colour fanboy section. Instead, head straight to the filthy pro, sci fi, fantasy or horror sections. With Morning Comes Mistfall is beautiful, The Ice Dragon is about a small child discovering her humanity and empathy, Bitterblooms uses Arthurian legends and In the Lost Lands deals with how it is sometimes unwise to get what you most desire. I found the horror section the most powerful though. Meathouse Man displays deep misogyny, yet also condemns it, and The Monkey Treatment is a story of how the fat man gets his revenge on diets.

After finishing reading this volume I felt at a loss for what to do next. I ended up going to Waterstones and spending £31 on 4 more books, including the 2nd volume of Dreamsongs and an Ursula le Guin book which I discovered was the 3rd in a series. I've read number 1, not number 2, and have been waiting to read Powers for months and months, and now have to get book number 2 first. Arggh. I could have been getting more reading action done months ago if I’d known. I’m a dumbass.

I found this post about the Buffy comics (via WFA). The writer has a very good point. Where are the normal sized ladies in Buffy? Where’s the variation we saw in the last episode of season 7? ‘Tis a crying shame that hasn’t been carried through.