Man read 10,000 books in his lifetime.

This has been making the rounds over Twitter: Man reads 10,000 books in his lifetime.

And by “lifetime”, what I actually mean is between 1994 and 2013. Assuming the list is accurate, this is somebody who read multiple books a day. Many of then genre books, too, so you’ve got to praise him on good taste!

I think he may have been some sort of literary god in human form…

It made me wonder, though, how many books I’m going to be able to read in my lifetime. Now, I’ve only been keeping track of what I’ve read since 2005 (and I skipped 2006 and 2007, for some reason), but even counting duplicates, I’ve read 463 between then and now. And I know a good few dozen of those books are rereads, so let’s say that I’ve maybe read about 400 books in the 6-and-a-bit years that I’ve been keeping track.

Well, I know that I’m not going to make it to 10,000, at any rate. Not even half that! Not unless I suddenly win the lottery, quit my job, and do nothing else all day but read. Or possibly perfect the art of speed-reading.

This man is something of an inspiration to me. He took his hobby and he owned it! Nobody can say that he didn’t love what he was doing and what he was reading. Let’s face it, nobody devotes that much time and energy to something if they don’t love it (mandatory employment not withstanding). This man is somebody a voracious and prolific reader could look up to and say, “I want to be just like him someday.”

From the link, you can download a complete list of the books he read, duplicates removed, along with when he read them and what he rated them. Well worth a look.

What a Girl Wants: What girls in geekdom are allowed to do.

So you think you’re a geek girl, huh? Or you’re thinking about claiming the title for yourself because of all the awesome inherent in geekdom? Awesome! Good for you! But before you get too happy about it all, I’m here to burst your bubble. It’s not all fun and games. You’ve got to take this hobby seriously, don’t you know, and there are certain rules that need to be followed here. It’s not enough to just say you’re a geek girl. You’ve got to know where you stand, you’ve got to do the right things, project the proper appearance so that everyone knows you’re not just one of those wannabes.

Or worse, one of those girls who tries to usurp a place in geekdom that isn’t hers to take.

So to make sure you don’t step on the wrong toes, let’s take a look at the rules you’re going to have to follow if you’re going to be a socially-acceptible geek girl.

Anime

~ It’s okay for girls to like anime. But only certain kinds of anime. Girls are allowed to like shoujo anime, because it was made specifically for girls and contains all the things that girls like. Pretty clothes, adorable mascots or animal companions, magical powers to battle with, the whole shebang.

~ It’s okay for girls to like yaoi and shounen ai. Encourage, even. After all, nobody else is going to touch that stuff with a ten-foot pole. It’s pretty much understood that if you’re a girl who likes anime, you’re going to like yaoi.
~ Just… please don’t talk about it in public.

~ It’s acceptible for girls to like anime that falls outside these genres, on the condition that there are a suitable number of bishounen (ie. pretty boys, aka. “bishies”) in the cast. Otherwise, there’s no real reason for girls to be interested in the anime at all.

Video Games

~ Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually okay for girls to play video games. That’s why the entire RPG genre exists, after all. Rather than forcing girls to put up with boy games, like sports games, fighting games, or first-person shooters, girls will be more attracted to RPGs because they have a greater emphasis on dialogue and story development and stay far far away from anything resembling realistic violence or unpleasant things that might be difficult to handle.
~ The jury’s still out on whether girls enjoy games like Skyrim. The lines are a little blurred here. I guess it might be okay if you play a female Khajiit…

~ Games that involve you raising and battling monsters (or “animal companions”), such as Pokemon or Monster Rancher, are acceptible also, because there are plenty of cute and pretty things in those kinds of games.

~ Simulation games are also fine, because they don’t involve any violence, and often incorporate an element of domesticity, which naturally makes them more appealing to girls.

~ Remember, girls, the surest way to prove that you’re a fake geek girl is to say that you like playing games outside of these genres. Telling somebody that you enjoy playing Halo, Call of Duty, or similar games instantly gets you marked as someone who’s trying too hard. Come on, I mean, it’s obvious that you just heard some game names on the Internet. We all know you haven’t really played them. What’s in there for girls to like?

Books

~ Girls in geekdom are encouraged to read plenty of genre books. The paranormal romance subgenre is booming, and there are plenty of options to read about strong beautiful women getting swept off their feet by any number of gorgeous alpha males.

~ If you absolutely must read something else, stick to fantasy, especially fantasy written by women. Those women writers know how you think, and they’ll write about all the things that other women want to read. You wouldn’t be that interested in fantasy written by men. Too much violence, too dark. Really, it’s in your best interests if you just go with fantasy written by other women.

~ Science fiction? No, no, honey, you’re not getting it. That stuff’s filled with spaceships and laser battles and all kinds of complicated technology and war and stuff. There’s nothing there was would interest you. Look, here’s a nice paranormal romance about werewolves! Wouldn’t you like that more?

Cosplay

~ This is a controversial and touchy subject, but when you get right down to it, cosplay is the best part of geekdom, and girls are absolutely encouraged to participate. Girls love to dress up, after all, and this gives them a great chance to pretend to be their favourite magical girl or healer.

~ It’s going to happen that you’re going to dress up as a sexy character, and boys around you are going to appreciate it. A lot. Vocally. Sometimes physically. This is okay, and girls should expect it and play along when it happens. If you object to this kind of behaviour, then you’re setting a bad example for others, and causing a great deal of confusion. If you didn’t want people to view you as a sex object, then you shouldn’t have dressed up as a sexy character.

~ And while we’re on the subject, do remember to cosplay within your body type. Girls are very concerned with their images, and Sailor Moon was never meant to have rolls of fat on her stomach and thighs. If you don’t cosplay characters within your body range, then you’re cosplaying badly.

Collectible Card Games

~ Do girls even play these? Well, maybe a couple. The weird ones. Best to steer clear of these games; they’re usually too complicated for girls to play well anyway.

TV and Movies

~ There are plenty of offerings on TV for geek girls these days. Shows like the classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Vampire Diaries, and even Supernatural. These shows either tackle the hard-hitting issues that girls experience (like romance and fashion) or else contain a large number of attractive men for women to ogle.

~ Sci-fi shows like Stargate or Battlestar Galactica don’t have much to appeal to women, because of the scientific content inherent to sci-fi.

~ There are many movies these days that are great for girls because they’ve got a good blend of strong female role models and romance. And women will be happy because now they don’t have to sit through the more action-oriented sci-fi that their boyfriends always want to watch whenever movies are discussed. If presented with the choice of watching World War Z or The Mortal Instruments, you know which one to pick.

Appearance

~ Geek girls come in two varieties. There are fat ugly unpopular girls, who got into geek culture because no other high school clique would have them. And there are pretty girls, who contain the largest percentage of fake geek girls but are far more pleasing to look at. These groups have rigid boundaries and there’s no crossover. Ugly girls, stop trying to make yourself look good. Pretty girls, stop pretending that those are real glasses.

Hard though it is to accept, geekdom, like any other aspect of life, comes with its own set of rules and etiquette, and in order to keep everything running smoothly, you have to be aware of when you’re about to step out of bounds. If you can remember to follow these guidelines, you’re going to have a much more enjoyable geeky experience.

April in review

For really only just having gotten back into the blogging game this month, I think I did pretty dang well. Especially considering the health crap I keep running up against, and the fact that I ended up spending a few days in the hospital to boot. (Have you ever tried getting any serious reading done in the hospital? While you’re hooked up to awkward IVs? It’s not easy, trust me.) I’m whittling down the number of reviews that were backlogged while I took my gigantic hiatus at the beginning of the year, and I’m feeling pretty accomplished, over all.

April’s reviews

Take a Thief, by Mercedes Lackey
Another: volume 1, by Ayatsuji Yukito
Son, by Lois Lowry
Brightly Burning, by Mercedes Lackey
The Tainted City, by Courtney Schafer
Indigo Springs, by A M Dellamonica

In addition to reviews, I also wrote about the state of things in regard to Night Shade Books (twice!), and had a fandrogyne moment over finding out that The Last Unicorn was having a gigantic movie tour. I also ran DNF Week, which highlighted certain books I had tried to read but couldn’t finish, along with my reasons for not finishing them and my thoughts on DNF reviews in general.

Looking forward

I wish I could honestly say what May is going to bring when it comes to content here. I can guarantee 3 more reviews (which have already been written and scheduled), but I’ll be checking back into the hospital on May 15 for major surgery (2 weeks from tomorrow…), and won’t exactly be up to posting much. I put out the call for guest posts, but so far only 3 people have said maybe, and that still leaves me about 15 posts short of the time I expect to be completely out of commission. If you want to have the chance at a guest post here, please email me at bibliotropic.reviews@gmail.com and let me know. I’d really appreciate it.

Indigo Springs, by A M Dellamonica

  Buy from Amazon.ca or Amazon.com

Author’s website
Publication date – October 27, 2009

Summary: (Taken from GoodReads) Indigo Springs is a sleepy town where things seem pretty normal . . . until Astrid’s father dies and she moves into his house. She discovers that for many years her father had been accessing the magic that flowed, literally, in a blue stream beneath the earth, leaking into his house. When she starts to use the liquid “vitagua” to enchant everyday items, the results seem innocent enough: a “‘chanted” watch becomes a charm that means you’re always in the right place at the right time; a “‘chanted” pendant enables the wearer to convince anyone of anything . . .

But as events in Indigo Springs unfold and the true potential of vitagua is revealed, Astrid and her friends unwittingly embark on a journey fraught with power, change, and a future too devastating to contemplate. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends as Astrid discovers secrets from her shrouded childhood that will lead her to a destiny stranger than she could have imagined…

Thoughts: Indigo Springs takes the concept of magical realism to the next step, not just making the magic realistic in its function but to a degree, actually somewhat scientific, too. Add to that a cast of characters that is wonderfully diverse and surprisingly not heteronormative, and you’ve got the makings of a novel that can take the genre world by storm.

It certainly blew me away!

The story itself is told in two interlinking parts. The first is told from the perspective of Will, assigned by the military to get information out of Astrid Lethewood. The second is told from the perspectiveof Astrid herself, as though she’s revealing the story piece by piece to Will as he asks for detail and explanation. As both parts are told, the reader begins to get a more complete picture of the situation at hand. Astrid was the guardian of magic and the maker of magical objects, though somewhat new and unsure about the whole thing, and through happenstance her two friends become exposed to the liquid magic known as vitagua and its effects on the world. What sounds innocent enough turns dark and menacing quickly as it becomes clear that Astrid’s long-time friend and crush, Sahara, went mad with power over the magic and eventually formed a cult around herself, one which is wreaking havoc across America. Magic’s secrets have been exposed, the country is in chaos over it, and that brings us back around to why Will is questioning Astrid in the first place. It’s a complex story that’s surprisingly hard to sum up in a short description, and I know I’m not doing it justice by trying. It really is best experienced firsthand, so that the reader can pick up on all the little subtleties and nuances and details that unfortunately have to be left out here.

For me, while the book was a thrilling and fascinating read, it was also somewhat of an uncomfortable one. I could see some of myself in Astrid, but more importantly, I could see an old friend of mine in Sahara. From How Astrid felt about Sahara to how Sahara grasped desperately at power — especially power over other people — and wouldn’t let go, it was like a fictional and ramped-up retelling of parts of my life. This certainly made for a relatable read, if an uncomfortable one at times.

Dellamonica’s writing style was a real treat to experience. The pacing was fast and smooth, and you never had a chance to get bored even when there was a lack of action on the pages. especially interesting was seeing Astrid when she was holding too much of the vitagua in her body, and watching her get confused about where on the timeline she was standing. Not sure why that in particular fascinated me, but it did. Dellamonica also has a clear talent for not only writing interesting and diverse people, but also writing them realistically. It’s hard for me to think of another book I’ve read lately where a character’s ethnicity or their sexuality featured but wasn’t a driving force behind the character and their development. Dellamonica wrote these people as people, with their flaws and foibles and concerns, and didn’t try to make them into less or more than they were.

As far as books about magical realism go, this has to rank pretty high on the list, if it’s not holding the top spot entirely. There wasn’t much I could find to dislike about Indigo Springs, and it was one of those books that I fell into and didn’t want it to let me go. From start to finish it was a wonderful book, and my only regret is that I took so long to get around to reading it. I highly recommend taking a chance on Indigo Springs. Even if magical realism isn’t normally your thing, the characters and the situations they find themselves in will captivate you enough to likely change your mind. Definitely worth it!

DNF Week wrap-up

So I said back in the beginning of this that if I’d forced myself to sit through some really horrible books, then what I didn’t sit through must be pure crap.

Turns out that wasn’t quite true.

Some of it’s true. I’d wager that the holder of this distinguished award would be Twilight, since, as I said, it pretty much became the basis of my rating system. But as we’ve seen over the past week, some DNFs aren’t so simply because the book’s bad. Sometimes things just sat with me the wrong way. Sometimes it was a small thing that I just couldn’t quite get past. Sometimes I’m just a picky little so-and-so.

There are many reasons why a person can’t or doesn’t finish a book. And while I know many people think that not finishing a book means that the reader has no rights to write reviews on such, I disagree. I’ve always figured that the reasons I don’t finish a book are just as valid as the reasons I do. What are reviews for, after all, except to tell other people what we thought of a thing, why we liked it or didn’t like it, why someone else of similar taste might enjoy it or not enjoy it too. If I don’t finish a book, aren’t my reasons for why I didn’t finish understandable? Aren’t the somewhat the same as for someone who did finish it?

I don’t tend to do for DNF reviews here on Bibliotropic, mostly because if I did, I’d be spending even more of my time writing than I would spend reading. But I figure a DNF review has its place, and can influence potential readers as much as any review can. Bring ‘em on, I say! Tell me why something rubbed you the wrong way enough that you couldn’t finish it. Tell me why it bored you!

Chances are, you’re not the only one.

So what do you think of DNF reviews, anyway? Do you write them? Read them? Think they have no place in the reviewing world? ‘d love to know your opinions on the matter.

DNF Week; Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Publication date – October 5, 2005

Why is this a DNF? I don’t know what will surprise more people here: that I tried to read Twilight, that I didn’t like Twilight, or that I’m admitting to both in public. This seems to be one of those books that people either adore or abhor, and I fall firmly into the latter category.

When people found out I liked to read, they would inevitably recommend this book to me. And from everything I’d heard, I formed my opinion about it beforehand; I wouldn’t like it. But after enough people kept yammering on about it and telling me it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, okay, fine, I’ll give it a try.

It took me about a week to read half of it. I gave up at that point.

Bella’s an everygirl, the kind of bland character that everyone’s supposed to be able to relate to, at least a little bit. I found nothing relatable in her at all. She’s a self-proclaimed unpopular plain girl who nevertheless moves to a new school and suddenly becomes the apple of everyone’s eye. Girls want to be her friend. Guys want to date her. She’s clumsy and doesn’t relate well to her flighty mother and absentee father.

Hey, Meyer, if you want to know what these traits actually look like in a person, you should have based Bella on me!

Aside from Bella’s general unlikability, she of course has this irresistable scent to the resident hot broody vampire boy. It must be wuv!

Honestly, by the time I’d gotten halfway through the book, I still had yet to come across any semblance of an actual plot. This, coupled with dull characters and a writing style that was in desperate need of polishing, turned the book into a truly horrendous experience for me. In fact, this book was actually the jumping-off point for my rating system: no matter how bad a book is, if I finish reading it, it’ll get a 1-star review. Why? Because at least I could finish it. Unlike Twilight.

At least I can say that the movie stuck closely enough to the book, at least in tone, because when I attempted to torture my roommate by making her watch it, we had to take a break halfway through because we were both so bored.

Maybe at some point I’ll feel masochistic enough to actually attempt to read this one from beginning to end. But I doubt it. The insane hype alone could have ruined my chances of enjoying this book, even if it had been something I didn’t have to force myself to sit through. I think this one will forever remain a DNF, setting the standard by which all other books I read are judged.

The days fly by…

…and once again I’m going to be returning to the hospital. Not immediately. But yesterday I got the call from my doctor. My surgery date is May 15.

I’m surprised it’s so soon. 3 weeks from today.

It’s a little bit scary, to be honest. I’m glad it’s happening, because that means that the gradually-worsening hell I’ve been living through for the past year and a half may soon be over. But it’s still a bit scary, because although I’ve been in the OR before (only a few weeks ago), this one’s going to be my first major surgery. The kind where they fully put me to sleep and start opening up parts of my body with a sharp instrument.

After the surgery, I’m going to be out of commission for a while. I already have the forms telling me that I won’t be able to return to work for 6 weeks after, and I expect a good half of that time will involve me lying in bed not able to do too much. Or so I hear from people who’ve undergone similar surgeries, anyway.

So where does that leave me when it comes to Bibliotropic? Well, I technically do have enough backlogged reviews to keep plenty of content going during that time, but I thought I’d try something a little different. I’m opening up the blog to guest posts. I’m putting out the call.

So, bloggers, reviewers, and authors, if you want a chance to ramble about something on someone else’s blog, now’s as good a time as any. I’m looking for a total of 18 guest posts, to be posted here between May 15 and June 2. If you’re interested in doing a guest post here during that time, please send me an email: bibliotropic.reviews@gmail.com. Preferably posts about things related to fantasy and speculative fiction, fitting the theme here. Other than that, topics are wide open.

Thanks again for all the wonderful support I’ve been getting through this, and for anyone who considers doing a guest post here to cover the time I’ll be out of commission.

DNF Week: The Concrete Grove, by Gary McMahon

The Concrete Grove, by Gary McMahon
Publication date – June 28, 2001

Why is this a DNF? I’d heard some good things about this book. And I was in the mood for some horror. Besides, this book takes place relatively near where I was born and where much of my family still lives, so I figured it might have some nostalgia value to add to the amusement.

It started out interestingly enough, though I found the writing somewhat flat and distanced from the action. There was a definite hook in the creepy factor. I found myself reading through the opening sequence quite quickly.

But what needled me was a later reaction. It was a small thing, but it made me think that I was going to have a hard time relating to one of the characers who seemed like they would feature prominently. You’ve got a married guy who’s having problems in his marriage, his wife is sick, and he’s unhappy. So he’s out running and find a collapsed girl on the ground, whom he helps out, but not before noticing that although she’s young, she arouses him a little. He tries to squash those feelings, then finds out that the girl lives with her single mother, and the guy’s thought pattern jumps to, “Hey, this girl has a single mom and I’m having problems in my marriage. I wonder if this is fate.”

Aaaaand you lost me.

I don’t doubt that thoughts like this pass through a person’s head in any situation. Thoughts just happen, even inappropriate ones. I get that. But this kind of thinking is just baffling to me. It may have something to do with the gender divide, maybe. But when I run into characters who have to interject that a character in a desperate situation turns them on a little, I start to raise eyebrows and back away from the story. It makes me uncomfortable.

I’m not sure if the “It must be fate,” mentality is actually going to play a part on the story. I don’t know if it’s going to be anything other than a random thought in a stressed character’s head. But it was another thing that just made me think that if I continued reading at that point, I’d spend the length of a book rolling my eyes at a main character, and I didn’t really feel up to doing that.

I may return to this book eventually. Admittedly, it was a small thing that put me off it, and perhaps it was simply that my mood didn’t match the tone of the book. I hear it’s quite good, once you get into it, and quite complex. But for now, this is staying on the DNF list, because I really don’t fancy trying to bridge the gap between myself and characters I find utterly incomprehensible.

DNF Week: I don’t even remember the title…

I wish I could remember the title of this one. I think it’s something like, “Between Two Worlds,” but I can’t find mention of this book anywhere, nor can I remember the author. I think it was self-published or possibly published by a very small publisher, which doesn’t help matters.

Anyway, I got a copy of this one during my early days of book reviewing, back when anyone approaching me with, “Want to review my book?” evoked a giddy thrill in me because holy crap, someone’s trying to pitch to me, that’s freaking awesome! The author informed me that it was a Christian fantasy tale intended for younger audiences, and I admit, that concerned me a little, but  figured that hey, if Narnia can have heavy Christian themes and still be loved the world over, then I ought to at least give this one a chance.

The book started out in a way that made me raise an eyebrow. It takes place in Heaven, and apparently, everyone in Heaven reverts to being about 7 years old and eats cookies and plays all day, because hey, why not? Kids probably do think that’s what an ideal afterlife should be about. And since the book was geared toward kids in the first place, as much as that didn’t sound like a great afterlife to me, I let it slide.

Most of what I read of the book was odd, simplistic, and definitely full of preachy morality. Little Heavenly kids go to earth to save lost souls and bring them to the light. Not so much Christian fantasy and really evangelical Christian fantasy.

But the turning point for me was a scene in which some guy who’s been brought to Heaven by our little munchkins ends up running into the Good Prince, who’s a transparent expy for Jesus. And the Good Prince demands to know what this man’s doing in his domain, how did he get in, and before the guy can even start to explain, the Good Prince starts causing him severe pain and practically tortures him on the spot! Until the little tyke who brought him here runs up and goes, “Stop, he’s with me!” Then the Good Prince is all smiles and kindness.

So the moral of the story is that Jesus is totally cool with torturing people if there’s any sign at all that someone snuck into Heaven without his knowledge, I guess. And you know, I’m not Christian, but that was too painful for even me to take. This is supposed to be the good guy! In a sickly-sweet story for evangelical tykes! You’d think that the Good Prince would, I dunno, show some mercy and compassion and hear the guy out or something, but no. Jumps straight to torture, because someone wandered into the wrong section of his home without an escort.

Good thing he doesn’t throw many dinner parties…

DNF Week: Horror Story and Other Horror Stories, by Robert Boyczuk

  Horror Story and Other Horror Stories, by Robert Boyczuk
Publication date – September 29, 2009

Warning – There’s some strong language used in this post. Don’t like swearing, then feel free to skip over this.

Why is this a DNF? This was my introduction to Boyczuk, and I figured that some short stories would be a good way to find out if I liked his stuff before committing myself to a full novel.

And the first few stories weren’t too bad. Nothing special, really, especially when compared to some other short horror stories that I’ve read over the past few years. The writing style didn’t exactly jump out at me, but as far as these things go, it wasn’t out and out bad. I figured early on that it would take a bit of effort to keep myself interested, unless things picked up.

Then I got to one particular story, and I just couldn’t continue past that point.

In this story, a gay couple end up having to stop in a weird little town in which everybody has a negative attitude toward homosexuality. There are no women there. A strange creature starts being glimpsed in the bushes. As the story goes on, we see that sometimes men cross-dress as women and go dancing, and that the reason everyone has such a negative view of homosexuality and wants the couple to show absolutely no signs that they might possibly might be maybe gay is because there’s a giant purple phallic monster that terrorizes the town and drags off anyone who’s open about it.

I just… Where do you start? I honestly couldn’t tell if Boyczuk was making a mockery of all the idiots who act as though even talking about homosexuality will cause people to become lustful cockmonsters, or was telling a story about how being openly gay will bring you to a bad end. Even assuming the former still means that the execution of this was done poorly; the giant penis-monster still kills people for not hiding their sexuality. There are hints that the monster also has sex with men, or possibly arises because two men had sex; it could be interpreted either way. Satire is one thing, but this was just insulting.

It made me angry. Really angry. And even if what Boyczuk was going for was a mockery of morons, the presentation of the story and its monster really missed the mark. That wasn’t so much the straw that broke the camel’s back so much as the anvil, and I couldn’t force myself to sit through more so-so writing and sci-fi style horror shorts after the rage that this story induced.

Perhaps the point of this one just went right over my head. I haven’t seen anyone else speak negatively of it. I’ve been told that I was just reading too much into it, that a story’s just a story and that I’m getting too worked up over nothing. And maybe so. Maybe I just don’t have the level of sophistication needed to sit through a story about how being gay gets you horrifically killed unless you take pains to hide it. Maybe I’m oversensitive because I’ve heard all too many people demonstrate that exact same mentality… and mean it. They think it’s best if you’re gay that you don’t let anyone know, that you don’t demonstrate yourself in public because then your life will come to nothing but badness. Maybe the actual story was about how repression causes demons that other people have to face because you can’t. I don’t know.

But this one story just sealed the deal for me, and was the biggest reason why this collection became a DNF.