Quick Guide to (Mostly) Recent Science Fiction

It's been an age since I posted anything on this platform, but maybe the pandemic is the time to bring blogs back along with things like baking bread at home. 

I made this graphic for a recent genre discussion hosted by the Massachusetts Library Association's Readers' Advisory section. If you're new to the genre of Science Fiction but want to get started on some recent titles, this might provide a starting point. As I said in my talk, many of the books below could be placed in a variety of the subgenres I've arbitrarily listed, this is not a comprehensive list, it's purely subjective, etc. Link to the graphic here.

Titles and authors:

Space Opera

Behind the Throne, K.B. Wagers

Unconquerable Sun, Kate Elliott

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers

Chilling Effect, Valerie Valdes

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine

Military

Vorkosigan series, Lois McMaster Bujold

Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee

Fortune's Pawn, Rachel Bach

Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic

Moon of the Crusted Snow, Waubgeshig Rice

The Record Keeper, Agnes Gomillion

American War, Omar El Akkad

Afro/Africanfuturism

Broken Earth series, N.K. Jemisin

Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor

An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon

Artificial Intelligence

All Systems Red, Martha Wells

Robopocalypse, Daniel H. Wilson

Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie

Aliens

The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu

Rosewater, Tade Thompson

Lilith's Brood, Octavia Butler

Annihilation, Jeff Vandermeer

Time Travel/Alt-History

Here and Now and Then, Mike Chen

To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis

This is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Romance

The Agent Gambit, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Ice Planet Barbarians,  Ruby Dixon

Rulebreaker, Cathy Pegau

Polaris Rising, Jessie Mihalik

Climate Fiction

New York 2140, Kim Stanley Robinson

Gold Fame Citrus, Claire Vaye Watkins

Humorous

Redshirts, John Scalzi

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Space Western

Serenity: Those Left Behind, Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Will Conrad

Dark Tower series, Stephen King

Superhero

The Mighty Thor v. 5, Jason Aaron, Walt Simonson, Russell Dauterman, James Harren

Heroine Complex, Sarah Kuhn

Graphic/Manga

Saga series, Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

Pluto series, Naoki Urasawa

Steampunk/Cyberpunk

Parasol Protectorate series, Gail Carriger

The Black God's Drums, P. Djèlí Clark

Young Adult Science Fiction with Adult Appeal

Illuminae series, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Not Your Sidekick, C.B. Lee

The Marrow Thieves, Cherie Dimaline

Warcross, Marie Lu

Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi

Proxy, Alex London

50 Shades Readalikes Project: A Recap

In 2013, I set myself the task of reviewing readalike suggestions for the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James with the idea of coming up with some kind of consensus on what the best books to recommend to patrons might be, depending on their interests. After perusing articles, blog posts, pinboards, and lists by librarians and others, reading and reviewing double-digit books, and sitting on this information while it slowly digested like that creature in Return of the Jedi, I am here to share the results of a project I ceased updating more than a year ago.

Given the imminent release of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie and the announcement that the sequels will also be filmed, patrons are bound to return to the library for the books. As a result, they may also be casting around for similar reads, especially when it turns out all the E.L. James books are missing from the shelf. There are no doubt books that have been published in 2014 and early 2015 that also fit the description of "Fifty Shades readalike," but, as this project left me suffering from Erotic Romance Exhaustion (check your DSM-V), I haven't read them. Nevertheless, I hope that this wrap-up will help librarians think about the cycle of popular books and their readalikes--panic about which is highest at the peak of an item's popularity--as well as offering some go-to titles when constructing displays.

Methodology

Appropriately, I ended up with fifty different sources by searching online for "readalikes" and "if you liked/loved Fifty Shades," etc. I began by giving an author/work combination one point (in my fantastic Excel spreadsheet) for every mention in a source. After a while, it became clear that some series were being recommended repeatedly, so I combined all mentions of a single book in a series and the entire series. The total number of books/series recommended as readalikes was 373, but 223 (about 60%) of were mentioned only once.

To give an idea of the variety of single-mention books, they included:

The Notorious Rake, Mary Balogh
Forever..., Judy Blume
A Lick of Frost, Laurell K. Hamilton
Submitting to the Boss, Jasmine Haynes
Lolita, Nabokov
The Witness, Nora Roberts
The Dying Animal, Philip Roth
Aftermath, Zane

The sheer volume of suggestions offered--come on, Philip Roth?--gives an idea of how desperately bloggers, librarians, and industry experts were grasping at straws to find something else to give a theoretical population of enthusiastic Fifty Shades readers looking for readalikes. For the purposes of this project, I focused on books and series that were mentioned six or more times among the various sources.

Top Readalikes for 50 Shades [in 2013]:

The title and author are followed by the number of mentions. Hyperlinked titles are titles or series in which I have read and reviewed at least one book.

Crossfire series (Bared to You, Reflected in You, Entwined with You, Captivated by You, One with You), Sylvia Day (31)
Sleeping Beauty series, Anne Rice (26)
Sweet series, Maya Banks (18)
Wicked Lovers series, Shayla Black (16)
Kushiel series, Jacqueline Carey (14)
Dirty, Megan Hart (14) [DNF]
Smooth Talking Stranger, Lisa Kleypas (13)
Gabriel's Inferno, Sylvain Reynard (12)
Broken, Megan Hart (11)
Nature of Desire series, Joey W. Hill (10) [read one but didn't review]
Beautiful Disaster, Jamie McGuire (10)
Masters of the Shadowlands series, Cherise Sinclair (9)
Vampire Queen series, Joey W. Hill (8)
Bound Hearts series, Lora Leigh (8)
The Story of O, Pauline Reage (8)
Play-by-Play series, Jaci Burton (7) [read but didn't review]
Liberating Lacey, Anne Calhoun (7)
The Edge of Impropriety, Pam Rosenthal (7)
Black Dagger Brotherhood series, J.R. Ward (7)
Wild Riders series, Jaci Burton (6)
Too Much Temptation, Lori Foster (6)
Rough Riders series, Lorelei James (6)
Nauti series, Lora Leigh (6)
In the Cut, Susannah Moore (6)
The Siren, Tiffany Reisz (6)
The Lady's Tutor, Robin Schone (6)
House of Rohan series, Anne Stuart (6)

Additional titles reviewed:
The Librarian, by Logan Belle
The Dark Garden, by Eden Bradley
Beautiful Bastard and the rest of the Beautiful series by Christina Lauren

Even these most popular suggestions were all over the map in terms of tone, theme, "hotness," setting, and date of publication. Some, like The Story of O, are considered classic works. Some are e-originals that may or may not have been put into print. In my reviews, I tried to place each readalike suggestion in terms of the 50 Shades trilogy. I also found a few new favorites that I would be comfortable handing to almost anyone looking for sure-bet romances, such as Sweet Talking Stranger and Christina Lauren's Beautiful series.

Appeal Factors for the 50 Shades Trilogy

• Romantic redemption
• Alternative--“kinky”--sexual practices
• Dominant male hero
• Lifestyles of the rich and famous
• Wounded twentysomething characters
• Virginal heroine awakened
• Explicit descriptions of sex
• Writing—inner monologue, first-person perspective
• Fanfiction origin
• Epistolary communication
• “Everyone else is reading it”

The wide range of appeal factors in Fifty Shades of Grey means that there are several different kinds of books that a patron might be looking for. Many past, current, and future romance novels will fit several of these descriptors, and there will also usually be a given Book of the Moment that fits the "everyone else is reading it so I want to read it" criteria, such as Gone Girl or, more recently, The Girl on the Train. Fifty Shades of Grey fell in to this category for a lot of readers. Books like these inspire the most panic among librarians, because their popularity is their primary appeal, but ideally there was a reading population that picked up the James book and discovered the allure of erotic romance as a subgenre. Those are the people who might come back for readalikes.

Output

I created a readalike handout for a presentation to the New York Library Assocation--Public Libraries Section and have since added links to my reviews on this site. These books are scored 1 to 10 in terms of their readalike potential and their explicit erotic content, both of which are important to keep in mind when making suggestions to library patrons. Feel free to use the handout with attribution.

2015, the Movie, and Beyond

With the advent of the movie upon us, a new set of posts recommending books to read after Fifty Shades of Grey have emerged:

• Romance author Sarah MacLean for The Washington Post: "What to Read After Fifty Shades of Grey"
• Popsugar: "15 Books to Read for Your Fifty Shades of Grey Fix"
• Huffington Post: "Check Out These 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Readalikes"

Some of the authors listed I also encountered in my search two years ago, but the books are largely different. Publishing, and by extension reader's advisory, is a moving target. A project like the one I've discussed here takes an immense amount of time, and the results are ephemeral. Librarians can't possibly find the time to read everything that is being published in a subgenre like erotic romance, let alone all new and forthcoming fiction and nonfiction. Give up right now on the idea of reading everything and use the tools available: review blogs, articles, NoveList, Twitter librarians, and your own good sense. It's good to read the benchmark or hotspot books in a genre, which I'd argue Fifty Shades has ended up being, but for everything else there's How to Read a Book in Five Minutes. 

Helga Recommends: Patricia Veryan

My mother was a great fan of historical romance, and I happily followed her lead. There's pretty much nothing I'd rather read than a good historical--one with the right mix of historical detail and relationship-building. Ideally, a book that reflects the author's interest in and research about the historical period and not one riddled with obvious anachronisms and modern characters transposed onto historical settings. The less said about those, the better.

Let me get to the point. If you like Georgette Heyer's historical romances, you should try Patricia Veryan. If you like historical romance with elements of swashbuckling adventure (à la Scarlet Pimpernel), you should read Patricia Veryan. If you enjoy historical romances with characters that pop up in multiple books, especially series that end with rogues becoming heroes, Veryan could be a good fit for you as well. I am a Heyer fan, but I'm a Veryan fanatic. Every time I visit a new library, I go to the Vs in the fiction section to see how that library's collection measures up.* As you can see from the picture below, I am deadly earnest about this recommendation.

My personal collection includes my mother's copies as well,
hence the stack of duplicates on the right. 

From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, Veryan published more than thirty historical romances set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Most of her books are connected to four different series: the Golden Chronicles (set in 1746 in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion); the Tales of the Jewelled Men (featuring several characters from the Golden Chronicles); and the Regency-era Sanguinet Saga and Riddle series.

Why Do I Love Them?

This was surprisingly hard to quantify. To me, Veryan's books are a perfect blend of humor, romance, action, adventure, swashbuckling, and period detail. Perhaps it's because there are always interesting and life-threatening situations that put the hero and heroine in relief? There are very few books that I re-read, but these are on top of my list. I would be perfectly fine stranded on a desert island with only Veryan series and Oreos to sustain me. In short: my literary catnip.

This scene is from The Tyrant (which I was just re-reading the other day), in which the hero and heroine become engaged to hide the fact that they were aiding a fugitive. They hope to extricate themselves from the engagement once the danger is past, but in the meantime:

Carruthers swooped down and planted a kiss on her cheek.
She jumped back, saying indignantly, "I thought it was agreed there was to be none of that!"
He shook his head at her. "You'd make a poor spy, Miss Ramsay. You seem quite incapable of understanding that this is a most deadly predicament you have got me into."
"Of course I understand, but--"
"It is of vital import that we keep up the pretence if we are to come out of this alive."
She glanced around. "Certainly. But there is no one here to--"
"One of the first things I learned in my military career," he said gravely, "was that one does not fail to post sentries merely because there is no sign of the enemy."
Phoebe regarded him suspiciously, then started up the stairs. She halted on the third step and looked back. He stood there, watching her. She fancied to detect a quickly suppressed grin, but then he said "I believe we have taken sufficient precautions for tonight, ma'am. Mustn't overdo it." (68) 

Like Heyer's, Veryan's books are also "green light" reads--there are only a few (very tasteful) sex scenes to be found throughout the series. Perfect for when you've got an elderly lady at your reference desk who doesn't like those "modern" romances.

Where Do I Start?

If you're looking for a one-shot, test-the-waters book, try The Wagered Widow, Married Past Redemption, or Some Brief Folly. Both Practice to Deceive and Time's Fool are good series openers, although they aren't my favorite books in their respective series. Love Alters Not is another fun book, if you don't care about jumping in to the middle of a series.

Several of my personal favorites (Sanguinet's Crown and The Mandarin of Mayfair top this long list) are many books into a series and should be read as a culmination of plots from the preceding books.

Books to avoid unless you become a die-hard fan: The Lord and the Gypsy, The Mistress of Willowvale, Give All to Love. The Riddle series was her last, and I haven't re-read it multiple times like I have the other three.

Unfortunately, Veryan's books are very hard to find. Her last new book was published in 2002. They are not easily found in used bookstores--trust me, I check every time, even though I own all but a few of them. Georgette Heyer's books have recently been reissued in lovely trade editions. Let's hope for the same for Veryan's work in the near future. In the meantime, check your local library.


Other things I've recommended:
Podcasts
Paper Books


*My own library does very well, with 16 Veryan titles on the shelf. I check them out regularly to make sure they don't get weeded.

What is #librarylife?

Once upon a time, there was a project called Library Day in the Life. Between 2008 to 2012, it was a semi-annual event coordinated by Bobbi Newman in which librarians from all kinds of libraries shared glimpses of their work life through Twitter and other platforms. And it was fun! My Library Day in the Life posts are here. Newman decided to shut down the project, but some of us still want to share what we're doing at work. I've written in this space about why I think it's important to share my work as a librarian.

Many people already participate in and follow the #saturdaylibrarian and #sundaylibrarian hashtags on Twitter, but what about the rest of the week? That's where #librarylife comes in. It's a hashtag that lets users share a little bit about what they're doing at work for the purposes of fostering community between librarians from many different kinds of libraries. As with the weekend tags, it's a good way to find out what other people are doing--and useful for finding new librarians to follow.

So, when you're on Twitter recounting your storytime success, listing some of the things that you never learned in library school, talking about the interactions you're having with patrons (good and bad), or just contemplating how much you love the sweet, sweet sound of microfilm rewinding, try tagging it with #librarylife!

Meditation on my 2013 Year in Reading

It's hard to believe that this is the fifth year I've done a post like this. I feel like I've done a good job taking control of my reading, at least in terms of tracking what happens, which has made it easier to compile stats. And who doesn't love stats? Don't answer that.


Read: 121 (including 24 audiobooks and 15 ebooks), about the same number as 2012. Goodreads says this is slightly over 40,000 pages. The longest book by far was Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, which clocked in at 1,007 pages. More than half of the books I read were romances, so I'm going to break that down into more categories this year.

Romance, general: 18
Romance, historical: 17
Romance, lesbian: 17
Romance, erotic: 14
Fantasy: 21
Young Adult: 9 (4 Fantasy, 5 Science Fiction)
Manga/Graphic Novels: 6
Nonfiction: 4
Mystery/Suspense: 4
Middle Grade: 3
Science Fiction: 3
Historical Fiction: 2
General Fiction: 2
Picture books read to Little G: still ∞

My goal for 2013 was to read 125 books, and I didn't quite make it there, despite spending November reading furiously. I would have easily reached my goal if not for the siren call of fanfiction, which reappeared in my life at the end of 2013 after a long absence. In any case, I think 125 is the outer limit of what I can read in one year--not surprising, since it requires reading at a rate of more than two books a week. For the first time in many years, I didn't read any Young Adult books with LGBTQ emphasis. I'm not sure why, but nothing seemed to grab my attention. Some of the YA books I read refused to address LGBTQ issues at all. Last year was very light on nonfiction as well.

Compared to 2012, the number of audiobooks went down slightly, from 29 to 24, and the number of ebooks went up from 10 to 15. This is at least partially due to the fact that I chose the audio format to plow through some long works, such as the aforementioned Way of Kings. It takes a long time to get through 36 CDs, even with a half hour commute. On this front, I'm pleased to announce that I picked up an assignment, mid-year, as an audiobook reviewer for Library Journal. So far it's been very enjoyable!

My Fifty Shades of Grey readalike project (recap forthcoming) was the primary reason that I read so many erotic romances, and my Reading Roulette project (recap also forthcoming) led to reading several entire series--mostly fantasy and romance. This year I decided to look at the breakdown between male and female authors among the books I read, and the outcome was very heavily skewed toward female authors. I read 98 books by women, 22 books by men, and one book, Freedom & Necessity, that was co-written by a man and woman. I am completely on board with this trend and hope it continues in 2014. I'm not rejecting books written by men out of hand, but there tend to be more female characters in books written by women, and I'm past the point of wanting to read so much about dudes.

Looking forward, I am going to continue my Reading Roulette project into the new year. It's really expanded my horizons in terms of making me read things I would never choose on my own, which can only help me when it comes time for Reader's Advisory. I'm also going to try to participate in the Year in Reading, kicking off in January with a book from the year I was born. Some of the likely candidates so far: The Silmarillion (*sigh*), The Thorn Birds, and Agatha Christie: An Autobiography. I took my reading goal down to a more reasonable 100 books, as I am hoping to write some as well as read this year.

What were your favorite reads of 2013? What's your plan for 2014?


My favorite reads of the year:

Beautiful Bastard, Christina Lauren
Deep Deception, Cathy Pegau
Etiquette & Espionage and Curtsies & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger
For Darkness Shows the Stars and Across a Star-Swept Sea, Diana Peterfreund
Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh
The Kat Series (Kat, Incorrigible, Renegade Magic, Stolen Magic), Stephanie Burgis
The Luckiest Lady in London, Sherry Thomas
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, Marie Brennan
The Republic of Thieves, Scott Lynch
The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion
A Woman Entangled, Cecilia Grant


Meditation on my 2012 Year in Reading (117 books)
Meditation on my 2011 Year in Reading (62 books)
Meditation on my 2010 Year in Reading (51 books)
Meditation on my 2009 Year in Reading (87 books)

Meditation Index

It's Shawl Weather Inside the Library

I spent a semester in college living in Bath, England. When spring break came around, my family visited and we spent the time driving around England and Wales. My mother had an itinerary a mile long and included innumerable historic sites--among them Haworth, home of the Brontës. This was before I spent hundreds of hours thinking about Emily Brontë's poetry for my senior thesis, but I was still very excited to visit the parsonage and walk on the moors where they lived.

While we were there, we also visited a mill where we bought some lovely yarn, which my mother subsequently crafted into the "Charlotte Brontë shawl" (not, as I understand it, something she actually wore but something she might have worn) pictured above. I use it at work when it's particularly cold in the library, and it feels like mom is giving me a nice warm hug.

Thanks, mom. You were so good to me.

Reading Roulette: Eighth Pick

I read a bunch of books last month that were connected to this project when I was working my way through National Book Reading Month. The way things are going, though, this may be the last pick of the year!

The Laughter of Dead Kings, Elizabeth Peters (2008)

Who stole the mummy of King Tut? The brazen crime bears the earmarks of one Sir John Smythe, the international art thief. In fact, John Tregarth is the longtime significant other of Vicky Bliss. Innocent, he vows to clear his name by hunting down the true criminal.

Vicky loses faith. But her boss, Munich Museum director Anton Z. Schmidt, "the finest swordsman in Europe," pays their luxurious way from London to Munich then Cairo, also to defend his own reputation. Once Schmidt deflects his new paramour Suzi, who only wants his body to spy on John, the entourage swells with the Egyptian officials responsible, cousins - wealthy Ashraf and poorer Feisel - plus mummy-expert mistress Saida.

The Arab security guard, then a female middleman, both turn up dead. Dead hands, from her and from Tut, separately accompany notes, his is a ransom demand for millions. Kidnappers, murderers, and danger dog their way.

This is the sixth (and final, presumably) book in the Vicky Bliss series, which was one that my mother and I read with the same enthusiasm. When this book came out a few years after my mom's death, I immediately purchased it, thinking of her. Since then I've found myself unable to sit down and read it, knowing that I can't really share it with her. But I think that maybe it's been long enough. Maybe I can read it for both of us. RIP Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Mertz.


The Last Policeman, Benjamin Winters (2012)

What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway? Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.

The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.

The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond “whodunit.” What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?

I'm pretty sure I came across this as part of my collection development work, and added it to my list. That happens quite a lot.


Old Man's War, John Scalzi (2005)

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.

I've seen Scalzi speak at two conferences now, and follow his Twitter feed and blog, but haven't managed to read any of his books yet. That changes now!

Why am I doing this?

#NaBoReMo Recap

After the first week of the National Book Reading Month challenge, I revised my reading goal from 1,500 pages to 5,000 pages. I'm sure you're all wondering if I managed to reach that goal! Here's what I read during the month:

Reading Roulette challenge books:
Persuasion, Jane Austen
For Darkness Shows the Stars, Diana Peterfreund
A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
Renegade Magic, Stephanie Burgis
Stolen Magic, Stephanie Burgis
The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy

Read for fun:
Cursties & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger (ARC)
Like Jazz, Heather Blackmore (e-ARC)
Love Overdue, Pamela Morsi
The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson (audiobook)
Oath of Honor, Radclyffe (ebook)
Finding Home, Georgia Beers
A Rogue by Any Other Name, Sarah MacLean
The Luckiest Lady in London, Sherry Thomas

Still in progress as of 12/1/13:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (audiobook)
I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb (audiobook)
Across A Star-Swept Sea, Diana Peterfreund

As you can see, many of the books I read were not from my other reading challenge. I decided that in order to read 5,000 pages in thirty days, I was going to allow myself to read whatever I wanted. Unsurprisingly, it turned out that I wanted to read romance novels. This list doesn't include the array of fanfiction I read in November.

The average number of pages for the fourteen books I completed was 346 (thanks, Brandon Sanderson!). In the case of the unfinished audiobooks, I used paper copies to determine what page I had gotten to. After all this, the total number of pages was:

(drum roll)

(still rolling)

(drummer rolling eyes at me)

5,127

Deploy the self-cleaning confetti!

My NaBoReMo Update

This morning I figured out how many pages I've read since the beginning of the month for National Novel/Book Reading Month, and came up with 1,590. Given that my goal was to read 1,500 pages, I felt gratified, yet embarrassed. Apparently, I have no idea how fast I read--I don't think I've shifted my reading habits dramatically just to read more during the month of November. I am conscious of choosing reading here and there over paying full attention to the television, but still.

The books I've completed are:

Curtsies & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger (paper ARC)
Like Jazz, Heather Blackmore (e-ARC)
Persuasion, Jane Austen (as part of my other reading challenge)
Love Overdue, Pamela Morsi

I have been slowly working my way through the 36 audio CDs of Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings for the last several weeks, and I'm currently about halfway through Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars. I haven't made a huge amount of progress, page-wise, with my audiobook since the beginning of the Month--less than two hundred pages. I'm going to need a long trip, or to sit down with the paper copy (which I also have) to finish that behemoth.

So here we are on November 8th, and I've already read past my goal number of pages. I think this calls for a more ambitious goal, so I'm going to revise it to 5,000 pages. Because I can.

Reading Challenge: NaNoReMo (aka NaBoReMo)

Yesterday, LibraryReads suggested that those of us not currently writing like fiends celebrate the month of November by "reading furiously"--or, for those of us who are already doing that in pursuit of weird challenges, reading EVEN MORE FURIOUSLY.

My friend Jenna (@auntie_jenn) and I have already taken to Twitter with our pledges to read at least 1500 pages this month, which seems pretty doable after I spent between 1:00 and 3:30 this morning reading a romance novel on my ipod. I'm going to track and share my page totals every day, using the hashtag #nanoremo (National Novel Reading Month)--several people pointed out the "bore" in the middle of #naboremo, and my reading is anything but boring.*

Here is my hastily assembled FAQ:

Only novels? That doesn't seem fair.
I suggest you read whatever the heck you want. I'm not going to count the picture books I read to my son because I am lazy, but if I were reading them to myself I sure would.

I only do audiobooks!
I suppose you could pledge to listen to a certain number of CDs, but you could also check the page count of the print version and use that number. If you're listening to an abridged version, give it your best guess. If you don't get all the way through your audiobook by the end of the month, do the same.

What about ebooks? The pagination is different.
I decided this morning at 3:30 that I would use the pages listed for the print edition. If I fail to get all the way through an ebook in November, I'm going to estimate the percentage and make a rough calculation.

What about magazines?
Whatever floats your boat.

Your record-keeping seems rather lax.
Those NaNoWriMo people are very in to their word counts, aren't they? But we, the supportive readers, should feel free to round up. Reading is reading.


As a former NaNoWriMo participant, I also want all current participants to know that I support them! I am looking forward to reading their efforts during future NaNoReMos. In the meantime, I will continue to work on my novels at a rate of one sentence per fortnight.

*Oh, fine, I'll bow to my friends at LibraryReads and use #NaBoReMo, since it's their baby. :)

Meditation on the Choice Not to Read

Yesterday on Tumblr I shared this image:

(via piratespook) adding the comment "or for not reading!" It seemed sensible to me, from my perspective as a public librarian, that not everyone wants to read. I got some pushback for this position, including a response that said if a person is proud of not reading, if they actively denigrate it, then "F them."

I find it hard to imagine myself being in a situation where someone I'm interacting with is trumpeting their hatred of reading. However, let me stretch my imagination a bit. I'm going to confine my scenario to the adult patrons I help at my job. If I had a patron who volunteered how much he or she hated reading, I would not tell them to fuck off. I would assume that they have good reasons to feel that way, most likely because people in positions of authority like mine have been telling them for most of their lives that they need to read or have to read or that they should be reading something "good" for them.

Some people have learning disabilities that makes it very difficult for them to read. Some people have been systematically taught that reading is a chore that must be completed. Some people just don't like reading AND THAT IS OKAY. I have many, many adult patrons who do not use the library for books. But if I wanted information about the interesting movies that are going to be coming out soon, I know just who I would ask. If I wanted to know one patron's opinion of the best one-hit wonders of the 60s and 70s, he would tell me in a heartbeat. I may read more than 100 books a year, but they know a hell of a lot more than I do about the media they consume.

Modern libraries are about more than books,* they are about providing access to stories--both the stories people want or need to consume, and those they create using the tools we provide them (with their tax dollars). If we limit ourselves to a rigid definition of "read or get the fuck out," we are doing ourselves, and our patrons, a great disservice. Let's not presume to judge any other person's reading, watching, listening, or internet browsing choices.**

The only choices that I am qualified to judge are my own.

There is nothing shameful about choosing not to read.


Meditation Index

*Note: I am not saying that libraries don't need books.
**And while we're at it, let's dispense with the concept of "guilty pleasures"--everyone is entitled to like what they like.

Book Review: The Dark Garden [2007]

A cover of the re-released The Dark Garden promises "If you loved Fifty Shades of Grey, then you'll love this." While this may be true, it won't be because they are similar books. Eden Bradley's 2007 book is yet another caught up in the rebranding craze inspired by 50 Shades. However, it is true that 10% of the sources I consulted for this project considered The Dark Garden a good fit--both male protagonists are named Christian, after all...

Rowan Cassidy is a Mistress at an exclusive BDSM club in Los Angeles. After an abusive experience as a submissive during her college years, Rowan is determined never to let anything out of her control again--yet she's been secretly writing about submissive experiences. When dominant newcomer Christian Thorne catches her eye, she's ready for a change. Christian sees a deep need in Rowan that he wants to explore in a safe space, and he proposes an agreement wherein they will delve into her submissive side over a thirty-day period. Despite her misgivings, Rowan accepts the challenge.

As he patiently guides Rowan toward self-discovery, both Christian and Rowan struggle to avoid developing deeper feelings that might complicate their therapeutic relationship. Christian doesn't want to take advantage of Rowan when they've agreed not to have sex; Rowan keeps getting close to understanding more about herself, but her automatic response is to run. The subplot, which is more overtly concerned with BDSM and is actually rather sweet, involves April--new to the scene--and Decker, who is notorious for his unwillingness to settle with one partner. Their romance provides some much-needed relief from the emotion and angst of Christian and Rowan.

Grade: B-

Despite the fact that the male lead is named Christian and the story explores some aspects of BDSM, The Dark Garden is not much like Fifty Shades of Grey. Rowan's strength and experience masks her uncertainty, and Christian doesn't demonstrate a need to be dominant in all aspects of her life. The thirty-day bet is similar to the conceit of Beautiful Disaster, however, as is the characters' determination not to get together when they clearly want to be together romantically. There are some "posh" elements--Christian and Rowan aren't hurting for money--but there isn't a lot of label name-dropping. In terms of "bondage as a road to healing," I found it similar to (although not as explicit) another book I read for this project, Joey W. Hill's Holding the Cards.

The Dark Garden was a bit of a struggle for me to finish. I got it as a library ebook, though, and had to finish it within fourteen days before it disappeared. I'm not sure I would have made it through if not for April and Decker.

Reading Roulette: Seventh Pick

I feel like I am making some progress! It's probably an illusion, I realize.

The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch (2006)

The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a ghost that walks through walls. Half the city believes him to be a legendary champion of the poor. The other half believe him to be a foolish myth. Nobody has it quite right. Slightly built, unlucky in love, and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. He certainly didn't invite the rumors that swirl around his exploits, which are actually confidence games of the most intricate sort. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else, pray tell, would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny of it. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves, the Gentlemen Bastards.

Locke and company are con artists in an age where con artistry, as we understand it, is a new and unknown style of crime. The less attention anyone pays to them, the better! But a deadly mystery has begun to haunt the ancient city of Camorr, and a clandestine war is threatening to tear the city's underworld, the only home the Gentlemen Bastards have ever known, to bloody shreds. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends will find both their loyalty and their ingenuity tested to the breaking point as they struggle to stay alive...

First in a series that has been recommended in several locations. The audiobook is on its way to me right now, thanks to the magic of interlibrary loan.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)

Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America - the comic book. Drawing on their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor, and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. With exhilarating style and grace, Michael Chabon tells an unforgettable story about American romance and possibility.

Various people have recommended this to me, and now I'll finally get around to reading it.

For Darkness Shows the Stars, Diana Peterfreund (2012) 

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology. Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever. Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

I pre-ordered a copy of this from my local bookstore when it came out, and it's been waiting patiently on my shelf ever since. I may also have to throw in a re-read of Persuasion as well.


Why am I doing this?

Reading Roulette: Sixth Pick

I have been sidetracking myself with this project by reading entire series when one book was recommended (more on that in another post), but that didn't stop me from finishing everything from my last pick and spinning the wheel again!

A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge (1993)

Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.

Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.

Classic science fiction, here I come!


Hark! A Vagrant, Kate Beaton (2011)

Hark! A Vagrant is an uproarious romp through history and literature seen through the sharp, contemporary lens of New Yorker cartoonist and comics-sensation Kate Beaton. No era or tome emerges unscathed as Beaton rightly skewers the Western world's revolutionaries, leaders, sycophants, and suffragists while equally honing her wit on the hapless heroes, heroines, and villains of the best-loved fiction.

I had gotten this before and somehow never got around to reading it (although I've read individual strips online). I put it on my list to remind me to give myself a treat.


The Cardinal's Blades, Pierre Pevel (2007/2009) 

Welcome to seventeenth-century Paris, where intrigue, duels, and spies are rife and Cardinal Richelieu's agents may be prevailed upon to risk life and limb in the name of France at a moment's notice. And with war on the horizon, the defense of the nation has never been more pressing.

Danger is rising from the south—an insidious plot that could end with a huge dragon-shaped shadow falling over France, a shadow cast by dragons quite unlike the pet dragonets that roam the cities like stray cats, or the tame wyverns men ride like horses, high over the Parisian rooftops. These dragons and their descendants are ancient, terrible, and powerful ... and their plans contain little room for the lives or freedom of puny humans.

Cardinal Richelieu has nowhere else to turn; Captain La Fargue and his elite group of agents, the Cardinal's Blades, must turn the tide. They must hold the deadly Black Claw cult at bay, root out traitors to the crown, rescue prisoners, and fulfill their mission for the Cardinal, for their country, but above all for themselves.

It's death or victory. And the victory has never been less certain. (Translated from French by Tom Clegg.)

This one can be attributed to my childhood obsession with The Three Musketeers.


Why am I doing this?

Book Review: The Siren [2012]

Author Tiffany Reisz subscribes to "the erotica writer's creed: It's not erotica until someone gets hurt." While I disagree with her blanket generalization, she definitely put her principles into action in The Siren, the first book of her Original Sinners series. The book was recommended by six of the fifty sources I consulted as a Fifty Shades of Grey readalike, and in this case I ended up disagreeing. Mild spoilers follow.

Nora Sutherlin is a popular erotica author and professional dominatrix trying to break into the literary fiction market. Zachary Easton is an exacting editor who has left a fraught marriage behind in the UK to work at a publishing house in New York City. When Zach is assigned Nora's new book, he first refuses on the grounds that she's a trashy writer, then grudgingly accepts after meeting her in person. Nora lives with her teenage (but legal!) assistant Wesley, a virgin who is in love with and very supportive of Nora but doesn't approve of her continued ties to the world of BDSM and her former master Søren.

Nora still makes a significant amount of money from her A-list customers, a fact she continues to hide from Zach even as they grow more intimate. She wants to establish herself as a legitimate author so she can get out of the game, but there are still many things tying her to that community. Foremost among them is her complicated past with Søren, which she is mining for the new book. Along for the ride and attracted despite himself, Zach gets an education in the darker aspects of sexuality. While Zach struggles with his attraction to Nora and his lingering feelings for his wife, Nora tries to balance her feelings for Wes, Zach, and Søren, as well as finish her book by the deadline.

Grade: C

One of the reasons that The Siren is not a good readalike for Fifty Shades of Grey is because of the proliferation of love interests--Nora and Zach do spend some time paired together, but their relationship does not end in the happily ever after that I believe a 50 Shades fan would expect. A repeated theme in the book is that of lovers who are meant for each other but incompatible in some fundamental way and can't truly be together. The series continues through quite a few books, venturing off in different directions and focusing on previously minor characters in a way that does not suggest straightforward romance along the lines of what a typical 50 Shades fan would want. The narration is also not first-person, and shifts between Zach's perspective and Nora's.

Nora is a far cry from the virginal and innocent Anastasia Steele. In addition, the dominant male character in The Siren--Søren--is mostly a sinister offstage presence, and it is Nora that takes center stage. With all of Nora's manic, seductive, tormented, clever aspects (she is very clearly the titular "siren"), Reisz offers a more deeply realized female character than is often found in typical erotic romances. However, the characterization is such that it's hard not to wonder if Nora represents a rather extreme version of the author herself.

I don't think I'll be reading any farther, but I might recommend The Siren to a patron who is looking for erotic romance of a different flavor, especially one featuring a more experienced female lead. With a warning about the seduction of minors and the relatively heavy BDSM elements that Reisz explores.

Reading Roulette: Fifth Pick

I am starting to pick up the pace on this project, especially now that I'm not reading quite so many erotic romances for my other project. Having a week-long vacation didn't hurt, either. However, no matter how many books I read, I seem to add three to take their place. When this project started, my TBR list was at 355 books. It is now at a hopeless 459, despite my earnest attempts to reduce it. I've created a Book Hydra.

My next three picks are:

Noble Falling, Sara Gaines

Duchess Aleana Melora of Eniva, future queen of Halvaria, is resigned to the gilded cage of her life, facing a loveless marriage to Tallak, the prospective king, and struggling under the pressure to carry on the family name despite her wish to find a woman to love.

When her convoy is attacked on the journey to Tallak's palace, Aleana is saved by her guard, Ori, only to discover her people have turned against her and joined forces with the kingdom of Dakmor, Halvaria's greatest enemy. Her only hope is to reach Tallak, but she and Ori don’t make it far before another attack and an unlikely rescue by Kahira, a Dakmoran woman banished from her kingdom for reasons she is hesitant to share.

Though Kahira is marked as a criminal, Aleana’s heart makes itself known. Aleana is facing danger and betrayal at every turn, and she fears giving in to her desires will mean she will enter her marriage knowing exactly the kind of passion she will never have as the Halvarian Queen—if she survives long enough to be crowned.

I'm pretty sure this ended up on my list because of Danika's Lesbrary review. It wasn't available through any of my usual library sources, so I spent the $6.99 on the ebook, buying it directly from the publisher, who has it listed as a YA book.


A Broken Vessel, Kate Ross

No detection team was ever more mismatched: Julian Kestrel, the debonair and elegant Regency dandy, and Sally Stokes, a bold and bewitching Cockney prostitute and thief. But one night Fate throws them together, giving them the only clue that can unmask a diabolical killer. It all starts in London's notorious Haymarket district, where Sally picks up three men one after the other and nicknames them Bristles, Blue Eyes, and Blinkers. From each of them Sally steals a handkerchief - and from one she mistakenly steals a letter that contains an urgent appeal for help as well. But which man did she get the letter from? Who is the distraught young woman who wrote it? And where is she being held against her will? These questions take on a new urgency when Sally finds the writer of the letter - dead. Luckily, Sally's brother is none other than Dipper, reformed pickpocket and now valet to gifted amateur sleuth Julian Kestrel. The authorities dismiss the girl's death as suicide, but to Kestrel it looks more like murder. To prove it, he must track down Bristles, Blue Eyes, and Blinkers, and find out which of them had the dead girl's letter. Sally uses all her ingenuity and daring to help Kestrel solve this case. But she is out to solve another mystery as well: Is there a man of flesh and blood under Kestrel's impeccable clothes?

This is the second in Ross's series, added to my TBR this year after I finished Cut to the Quick for this project on the recommendation of my friend Margaret. The wonder of random selection!


Revealed, Kate Noble


Phillippa Benning is the unrivaled beauty of the Season. But when another lady challenges her for a marquis's attentions, Phillippa entices him to a secret rendezvous - only to stumble upon The Blue Raven, England's most famous spy, lurking at the site of her planned tryst.

The Blue Raven has uncovered an enemy plot directed at upcoming society functions, but he's unable to infiltrate London society. Phillippa makes an offer: in exchange for entrée among the ton, he agrees to have his true identity revealed at the Benning Ball - guaranteeing her unrivaled notoriety. As the danger draws closer, the mysterious spy and Phillippa give in to mutual desire. But when the game turns deadly, betrayal waits around the corner, and Phillippa must decide once and for all - is it the myth that captured her heart, or the man?


The random pick was actually the third book in this series, Follow My Lead, but I loathe reading series out of order, so I am going to read the first book instead. No doubt this attitude is part of the reason my TBR list keeps ballooning. I think this might be Margaret's recommendation as well. There is only one paper copy in my library system, but it's also available in ebook format--score!


Why am I doing this?

Book Reviews: Series Books and Readalikes

Consider this a corollary to my general series on 50 Shades readalikes, as most of these books were read in the course of that project. Some spoilers below.

Entwined with You, Sylvia Day (2013)

This book is the third (but NOT LAST) in the Crossfire series. As I got farther and farther in to the book, I kept thinking about how many loose ends Day seemed to be leaving and wondering how on earth she was going to bring them all to a satisfactory conclusion within the bounds of the supposed trilogy. It turns out she's not even going to try--the series will be a quintet. And I am fine with that! I enjoyed the book quite a lot, and still believe that Crossfire should be the first stop for most readers who are looking for 50 Shades readalikes.

Grade: A-

Entwined with You brings Eva and Gideon closer together, even as it increases the number of strains on their relationship, including but not limited to: exes, nosy detectives, tabloids, suggestive music videos, parental affairs of the heart, and of course FEELINGS.


Beautiful Stranger, Christina Lauren (2013)

This is a follow-up to Beautiful Bastard and has appearances by Bennett and Chloe, but the focus is on Chloe's friend Sara Dillon and the notorious British womanizer Max Stella, with whom she enjoys an heated (but anonymous) encounter at a club. Max is left with a sexy video of Sara dancing to obsess over, and only pure luck enables him to find out who she is and pursue her. Sara has recently left a cheating ex to start a new life in New York City, and forming an attachment to anyone, no matter how charming and sexy, is not on her agenda. For his part, Max is extremely gratified--at the beginning--to have found a woman who wants nothing more than to meet with him once a week and have sex in near-public locations. They also make a habit of recording their encounters with a camera. Although their original agreement might have been no-strings-attached, both Sara (determined not to be vulnerable) and Max (feeling like he wants to pursue a real relationship for the first time in a long time) know that there's something more between them than lust. But when some of their revealing photos are stolen and released to the tabloids, Sara must decide whether she can truly trust Max's intentions.

Grade: A-

This series totally has my number. Give me more! It's not a true readalike for 50 Shades, but it is a lot of fun and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.


The Red Diary, Toni Blake (2004)

As you can probably tell by the cover redesign, this book was reissued in January 2013 with an eye toward the Fifty Shades of Grey market. Unfortunately, although it's a fine romance with more strongly drawn minor characters than usual, it's not a great readalike for the EL James series. The Red Diary is the story of Lauren Ash, a wealthy accountant who will someday inherit the lucrative family business. Nick is a working-class painter whose father once owned half of the Ash company. Nick blames Lauren and her family for all the pain and heartache his family has gone through since his mother's death, including his father's alcoholism and its tragic consequences. When he stumbles upon a journal of her private sexual fantasies during a job painting her house, Nick thinks he's found the perfect way to take revenge. But Nick finds that being intimate with Lauren leads to pesky FEELINGS about Lauren as well as dimming his desire for revenge. Soon he has to decide whether to come clean about violating her privacy and risk their fledgling relationship. For her part, Lauren believes that she and Nick have a spiritual connection that allows him to bring her fantasies to life, and she tries to draw him out about his life and experiences. Can she recover when it turns out that he's not really the man she thought she fell in love with?

Grade: B-

There's some wealth and there's a lot of sex, a little of it kinky, and the hero does have a tragic past, but to me it just didn't feel like a 50 Shades readalike. Perhaps because the social positions are reversed and she is the wealthy and powerful one?


The Revenge of Lord Eberlin, Julia London

This is the follow up to The Year of Living Scandalously, which so aggravated me by not resolving the mystery that it set out in its first pages. Guess what? The Revenge of Lord Eberlin doesn't solve the mystery of the missing Ashwood jewels either, although it does advance the solution somewhat. Lord Eberlin, AKA Tobin Scott, returns to Hadley Green to get revenge on Lily Boudine, who is now the Countess at Ashwood. Tobin believes that Lily, who was eight at the time of the jewels' theft, is responsible for his innocent father's death--and he's determined to take the entire Ashwood estate down with the wealth and power that he's gained as a weapons dealer. As in The Red Diary, Tobin and Lily fall in love and she must decide whether it's worth being shunned by Society to be with a man who purchased a Danish title (*gasp*). London portrays Lily as primly self-conscious of Society at some times, and blithely uncaring at others, such as when she--an unmarried woman of quality--goes to dine with Tobin alone at his house. Inconsistencies like these, in addition to all the mentions of the "mud" inside Tobin's soul, AND THE FACT THAT THE DAMN MYSTERY IS STILL UNSOLVED, left me unsatisfied.

Grade: C+

I didn't realize before I put them next to each other that The Red Diary and The Revenge of Lord Eberlin were so similar, despite their settings. WEIRD. So let's call them readalikes.

It remains to be seen whether I'll be reading the next book. Someone please read it first and tell me if the missing jewels mystery is finally solved.

Book Review: Club Shadowlands [2009]

Cherise Sinclair's Club Shadowlands is the first in her Masters of the Shadowlands series about a BDSM club. The series was mentioned in nine different online sources that I consulted for 50 Shades readalikes, putting it just out of the top ten. One commenter noted that it "seems to be the fav of the BDSM club scene books for vanilla readers." The book was not available through my library system (although some of Sinclair's books are available through public libraries such as the NYPL), so I chose to purchase an electronic copy, which I think was $3.99. The things I do for this project!

This book starts with a bang with acknowledgments and warnings, such as "Please do not try any new sexual practice, without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death resulting from use of the information contained in this book." It continues with a plea from Sinclair to keep sex "safe, sane, and consensual." After that somewhat daunting beginning, Club Shadowlands settles down into a somewhat clichéd narrative opening: Jessica Randall has run her car off the road in a storm, and the nearest place to take refuge happens to be a mysterious private club in a mansion. Given the chance between waiting in the cold lobby in soaking wet clothes and reading and consenting to the club rules and gaining entry, she chooses the latter. Unfortunately, as she's wet and cold, she signs without really reading the document she's given. The Shadowlands owner, Master Z, takes charge, efficiently strips Jessica, and puts her in the shower to warm up and recover from the shock of her accident. He then offers her dry clothes, but no underwear.

After entering the club proper, Jessica is very surprised to find that it's "bondage night," and Zachary (Master Z) ends up taking her under his wing. We begin the second chapter from Zachary's point of view and discover that he can read people's emotions, but that seems to be the only paranormal aspect to the story, and it's something that Jessica takes in stride when she discovers it. Zachary, a child psychologist when he's not running the club, is quite taken with Jessica from the moment she arrives and decides quickly that he will take her to bed if she's amenable. However, it's not clear at the outset whether she really will be submissive. Zachary sets himself to watch and wait. He uses his powers to keep order in the club, primarily to determine if people are truly consenting participants, and he wants the same to be true of Jessica as well: "All the choices needed to be hers, right up until she handed the right to him." He can't help kissing her a few times, however.

Jessica--a conservative accountant who is always in control of herself--is in her mid-to late-twenties. She describes herself as pudgy and feels unattractive, and has the opinion that sex is pretty overrated. Once she gets over her surprise about the nature of the club, she observes and becomes intrigued by the action around her, although she has some trouble resisting championing those that she (wrongly) believes are being injured, earning a punishment per the rules she's unwittingly agreed to. As she slowly comes to understand the dynamics of a dominant/submissive relationship and faces her growing attraction to Master Z, she has to decide whether she's willing to yield to passion and risk involving her heart as well.

Grade: B

This was quite a sweet and good-natured book, given its setting. Jessica and Zachary aren't actively struggling with Shadowed Pasts, and portions of the narrative are almost humorous. The characters are engaging and interesting, and it doesn't venture into truly hardcore territory. Despite not being a virgin, Jessica's naïveté is on par with that of Ana of Fifty Shades of Grey and Regina from The Librarian, which is to say almost unbelievable. Another similarity is, of course, the happy ending--this is an erotic romance through and through. Jessica and Zachary's romance takes place over the course of two nights separated by a week, which may be par for the romance course but always makes me feel skeptical. However, I was able to put that aside and enjoy the book.

I would recommend Club Shadowlands to a patron who was genuinely curious about the dom/sub aspect of relationships that Fifty Shades of Grey only flirts with, as here it is embraced wholeheartedly.

Note: What is this thing that these authors have with heroes with long-ish hair? If I see one more description of a man with hair that the hero can tie back or that "just touches his collar" I am going to wonder if there is some sort of conspiracy. I am putting this character trait alongside my pet name irritation in the growing list of tropes for this genre. Master Z's pet name for Jessica is, appropriately, "pet." And also "little one." And "kitten." SIGH.

However, I am giving Sinclair points for having Zachary describe Jessica as smelling like "vanilla and woman"--finally some equal time after all those heroes who smell like "man."

Book Review Index

Book Review: Matched Trilogy

Ally Condie's Matched Trilogy consists of Matched, Crossed, and Reached. It's a dystopian YA series in the vein of The Hunger Games and Uglies. I listened to the majority of the books in the car and on my ipod, but also forged ahead with the books at times when I was too impatient to wait for another car trip.
This series is a textbook case for the pitfalls and frequently shifting landscape in the relationship between ebooks and libraries. I downloaded Matched from OverDrive in Mac-compatible MP3 format on a whim (it was on my list but had not come up on my Roulette list), then went back for Crossed. It was only available as a WMA file. Reached wasn't available at all, so I had to get those books on CD. Why? The series is published by Penguin, which doesn't play with OverDrive anymore. THANKS, PENGUIN!

All right, on to the review. Spoilers ahoy.

In the world of the Society, everything is predetermined: what you eat, where you go and the activities you do, even who you are supposed to love. The Officials who run the Society do their best to assign a probability to every possible event. As Matched begins, we follow seventeen-year old Cassia to her Match Banquet, at which she will be paired with her Society-selected perfect mate. There is a brief mention of people who decide not to participate in this process, but by and large, people in the Society choose to be matched. At the banquet, Cassia is surprised and pleased to find herself matched with her best friend and neighbor, Xander. It isn't until she's alone later that another picture flashes in Xander's place, that of the aloof Ky...is Ky her real match? How could the Society possibly make a mistake?

The first book focuses not only on Cassia's struggle to choose between the clever, patient Xander and the quiet, mysterious Ky (both of whom seem well-matched to her) but also on the details of the restrictive life of the Society. Although the Society has eliminated most diseases and optimized life for all its members, we learn through Cassia's interaction with her grandfather that all citizens are poisoned on their 80th birthday if they do not die of natural causes before then. Citizens do not know how to write, and all cultural artifacts--songs, paintings, poems, stories--have been reduced to a "top 100" of each category. There is a lively black market trade for items from before the Society was in power, known as artifacts. Before his death, Cassia's grandfather gives her two contraband poems (one by Dylan Thomas and one by Tennyson), putting her in the awkward position of having precious but illegal material. Knowledge of these words becomes one of the things that bind Cassia and Ky together, despite her ties with Xander. While there are some signs of societal strain in Matched, it isn't until Crossed that Cassia, Ky, and Xander become fully aware of and involved in any rebellion.

Condie uses first-person narration in each book, adding characters each volume--Matched is told solely from Cassia's point of view, Crossed incorporates Ky's story, and Reached features Xander as well. This slow expansion of the reader's knowledge about the characters mirrors their growth and understanding of the Society and their roles in its potential downfall. The love triangle aspect is essentially decided by the end of Matched, although it pops up from time to time in the subsequent books. I appreciated the fact that Xander was portrayed as a strong and sympathetic character with his own voice, despite being the odd man out. Through crisis, each of the three finds a role that they are suited to play, and the trilogy comes to a satisfactory conclusion--after an interesting veer into thriller territory, as they race against time to develop a successful vaccine. Condie's worldbuilding is excellent, and I would definitely recommend the trilogy to fans of dystopian YA.

However.

I was consistently bothered by the lack of LGBTQ characters in this series. The premise of the first book rests heavily on matching, and there is little to no explanation of what happens when citizens are not heterosexual. Are they the mysterious "singles" that are so briefly alluded to? Are they among the people that the Society has labeled aberrations and anomalies? Has the Society "fixed" the "problem" of homosexuality? How much stronger would the story have been if Condie had incorporated any queer characters, giving the already creepy prospect of matching yet another dimension? If you're writing a story set in a world that is obviously our own, there is absolutely no good reason for leaving out these kinds of characters, or for not addressing of the questions I posed above. As I recently wrote in a post for Gay YA, the ability of LGBTQ teens to find characters like themselves in fiction is incredibly important, and I know this trilogy is popular. It's been optioned by Disney for movie production. It's very disappointing that Condie chose not to tackle this subject when it only could have enriched her work.

Just as I'm totally over reading contemporary YA fiction without gay characters, I am so totally over reading YA in my favorite genres (SF and Fantasy) that doesn't include them.

Grade: B+

For posts on LGBTQ characters in YA dystopia, see Kirkus (Paolo Bacigalupi) and YALSA. The Outer Alliance purportedly has a list of gay YA dystopias, but their site seems to be down at the moment.

Book Review Index

In Search of Anna Mickelsen

One of my objectives for driving the 900 miles to Chicago for the ALA conference (aside from proving my insanity) was to have a car for my own nefarious purposes. I have several relatives from earlier generations buried in Chicago cemeteries. To me, the most intriguing is my great-grandmother and namesake, Anna Kristensen Mickelsen, who died in the flu pandemic of 1918. After the conference was over, I dragged Kristi with me to Mt. Olive Cemetery on the north side of Chicago before we started our long drive back east.

The first thing I had to do after we got there was find out where in the cemetery her stone was located. I had previously visited her grave site at some point in the late 90s with the rest of my family, which resulted in zero useful recollections. My father told me that she died October 22, 1918, and that and her name was the only information I had to give to the cemetery office. The person helping me had some difficulty finding the information, bringing me a few possibilities on 4x6 notecards: an Anna Mickelsen (d. 1929) and an Anna Mickelson. After I politely rejected these, he brought out the big guns, a huge book with a label that read something like "Internments 1911-1921."

Who says print is dead?

After some confusion about October vs. December, we found the right page and the right name (pardon the photographer's shadow):

The listing had precise coordinates for her grave site, which he then tried to show me on a map of both the cemetery and the specific section (20). Unfortunately, looking at a map and knowing the general location did not prepare us for the search that followed. There was a good deal of wandering about and peering at tombstones:

Kristi proves her devotion to me.

There were a lot of Annas in this part of the cemetery, and a lot of people with variations of the Mickelsen (Mickelson, Michaelsen, Mikkelsen) surname. After fifteen minutes of fruitless searching as it threatened rain, I began to identify strongly with the inhabitants:

Then, just as I was about to give up hope, Kristi spotted it!

Located within twenty feet of the place where we parked the car.

The stone was under a tree, which I had sort-of-not-really remembered from my last visit. It's a peaceful spot:

Seeing the physical stone brought me a sense of accomplishment as well as a wistful sort of feeling about how much I don't know in terms of family history. I have lost three grandparents and my mother since college, and neither my father's mother nor mine have a concrete place they are buried. Approximately half of my mother's ashes are in a tupperware container on my bookshelves, which works fine for me because I knew her. But what about my grandchildren? Is it better for them to have a bunch of dust or a few square feet of stone? I guess that the loved ones we are missing exist in neither place, but it was still nice to make this pilgrimage to find Anna Mickelsen.