randomosity

[meganbmoore]

1. I have not been home since shortly after waking up. Seriously, I didn't even check e-mail/LJ until I got to work (just finished). I thought about it, and then I realized that the stomping over my head would be ALL DAY LONG and fled.

End result was poking around bookstores, even though I'm not supposed to be visiting them until after the Book Sale O Doom next month. (Anyone read Midori Snyder? I picked up a couple of her books on a whim.)

Now, Mystery Writers of the World: I realize you want to write in historical periods. I highly approve of you writing in historical periods. However, pleasepleaseplease stop using "Such-and-such historical figure/writer/character is my detective"*. Please. I beg you. Because most of thesethat I've read aren't that good.

2. Linked by woodburner, if you read YA fiction, you are a pedophile. PST! Don't tell this person that Harry Potter, Twilight and Eragon are YA, much less that the target age group for most licensed manga is 13! (Yesyesyes, they mentioned HP. Still...)

3. I forget where I got this site from, but I swear no manga review site has ever filled me with such rage. At first I thought it was judt that they were endlessly praising series I think are shallow at best, but more often overrated series that cater to the lowest common denominator (still on the kind end), while anything that I thought had any worth was dismissed as bad or boring for not specifically catering to the reviewers preferences. Then I read a few where manga I really liked was being praised, and got even more annoyed. I share this because I spent an hour or two tere, getting more and more annoyed. I think it may now be my anti-manga rec. I also suspect a few here will get many LULZ out of some of their recs.

4. Linked by coraa, 5 Thoughts on the Popularity of Steampunk. I'm particularly interested in shared-gender geekery and bridging the sub-genre gap. Which makes me wonder: how much further back could the basic idea go? At the core, steampunk is tied around the idea of the industrial revolution going faster and in different ways, but what other "girly" periods could it be applied to? The Elizabethan period comes to mind. It isn't necessarily thought of as a "girly" period, but it is a romantic period in the public mind, as well as a period of swashbuckling and exploration, and you not only have people wanting new and faster and better ways to exoplore, but you also have advances in ways to wage war. And then you go back a little further and have people like Da Vinci inventing things, only have them take off. Random food for thought.

5. the CLAMP friending meme!



*I make 2 exceptions(the only 2 bearable ones I've found): Bruce Alexander's John Fielding mysteries, and Susan Wittig Albert's Beatrix Potter books. Albert's book barely even nod at the nysteries, and Sir John Fielding is the founder of the Bow Street Runners. That makes perfect sense (and even though he's the title character, the main character is his ward.)

Comments

[kirarakim.livejournal.com]

Reading that YA essay I don't think he thinks if adults read YA books they are pedophile. He is just saying that the public could view them as this. While I think that is a little extreme, I do know a lot of adults who would sadly refuse to read anything that is targeted to teens and kids. I actually sort of agree with the author's sentiment that I am not sure what the point of the target demographic is. I think it is great to write books with young adult/teenage protagonist but I think calling them young adult books actually alienates both adults and teens. Adults are afraid to be reading something labeled "young adult" while teens the actual target audience would rather read "adult" books.

On a side note as a fan of Steam Punk that was an interesting read. :)

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Wow, that post about YA is rage-making. I don't read a lot of YA fiction, but I do read a lot of manga, and as you noted, most manga is aimed at teens, especially the hugely popular stuff. Hell, I've even read and enjoyed series aimed at pre-teens (if your protagonist is 12 or 13, you can bet the target age is a few years younger). I've never once felt like a pedophile for doing so, wtf.

And there was a commenter in the post saying that YA was something new and just a flash in the pan. Uh...there was YA when I was a kid and I'm 32.

[kingcrankycat.livejournal.com]

Kirarakim already noted it, but I don't think the writer believes that YA is pedophilia, but that it is how the public views an adult reading a YA book (bearing in mind that most of the public couldn't differentiate a kid's book from Shakespeare, but that's another point entirely). And while the thought might not immediately jump to "pedophile" there is certainly a very large stigma attached to reading YA books as an adult. It's all based in perception, not in fact.

There's a reason that publishers in England released the Harry Potter books with two different covers, one for kids and one for adults.

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

I was really worried link #3 was my site, for some reason. I haven't read much of the content there, but that is where I was spoiled on a very major development for NANA in an article that was just supposed to be discussing several series in a general way. I was displeased.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am trying to figure out why that manga site bugged you so. I read some reviews and I agree with some and not others, but it doesn't seem so bad. Seems a pretty decent review site to me so am curious...(even if she did give Furuba in boredom).

[rikoren.livejournal.com]

...Y'know, I think I read almost nothing but YA fiction. When I pick out a book to read, I don't bother to check what age group it's for, I just go "Hey look, this book has centaur hackers in it!" and go for it. I wonder if this makes me a pedophile.

Also, I really liked that steampunk article, and...that review site is kind of...not so good. Yes.

[animeshon.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry WTF is with that guys YA is just younger characters and makes you feel guilty reading it?! I'm proud that I love reading YA and for the most part the genre of YA is defined by yes the protagonist being between 12 and 18, but also the fact the majority of the themes of YA fiction and the stories themselves centre around the experience of Young Adults. I read them for the most part because they are an enjoyable and easy read. There are as always exceptions to this that cross the boundaries and deal with adult topics where the protagonist is a teenager, but for the most part they don't. (sorry for the rant)

As for the manga site, I'm a little confused as to why their number one manga is tramps like us! And seriously her review of W-Juliet is bloody harsh!

[rhap-chan.livejournal.com]

I feel so happy you linked my meme. <3

[(Anonymous)]

YA dude makes some valid points, and I am reminded of my library, which classes all manga as YA. Including Monster and Uzumaki. But bringing up pedophilia is excessive and not even really relevant. Steampunk article looks neat. Will read fully when on a computer.

[escalove.livejournal.com]

I disagree with the YA article a lot, and not just because of the "pedophile" thing but I do thing YA is a necessary class of literature (not genre because YA houses different genres) they are supposed to be written to a certain point of development and most YA do focus on coming of age, belonging, and other issues that adolescence face. This isn't to say that teens can't and won't read adult fiction but usually YA acts as a bridge, and I think for people who really good readers don't understand what it is like for those who struggle with it and so for them to have a section with books that they can read and understand is important, the fact that YA has a lot of stories that attract older readers is just a bonus.

That manga review site made me laugh. I can't understand how they could recommend Koukou Debut and not W Juliet, because while I adore KD it can be a bit typical shoujo at times.

[akosikae.livejournal.com]

I left one a while ago. The store is on sale. Found one that looks interesting, but not enough to really really hook me so I'm looking at the internet right now. It's Exit A by Anthony Swofford.