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Mood today (NOTHING IS SAFE, NOTHING!!!):
Hanging my head in shame. I couldn't resist the shock factor. I'm bad. I'm bad. I'll now be Serious Author.
Here's the New York Times' list of top American Fiction since 1980:
NYT TOP AMERICAN FICTION
I'm sadly, sadly behind in reading, it seems. Has any of you read more than one on the list? I bet most of them have sad, sad, endings. You know, the literati hates people being happy ;-). As Oprah said so cheerfully on her show one day: "Honey, that's not real!" As if everyone has a right to be unhappy and filled with angst.
I used to be an existentialist, you know. Then I discovered that I was schizophrenic. Oh wait, I received an email telling me that I was being politically incorrect to use that term. Sigh.... Maybe I SHOULD just Camus back into my existential shell.
I also know I still owe that list we were trying to make--Uber Romances of All Time ;-) before the Romantic Times Convention interrupted our Uber Serious Endeavor. I haven't forgotten. Just got distracted, that's all.
Got a techie question from a blog-reader. She wants to subscribe to my blog! And how does one do that, she asked. Okay, from my limited Internet knowledge, there's something called Atom Feed or RSS Feed or XML Feed, which I sort of know about but had never bothered to really investigate. Does anyone of you subscribe to a bunch of blogs that way? Are you familiar with it? Can you tell me how it's done without me googling and spending hours following techie instructions? Much appreciated.
Another techie update. Remember my trying to use Power Point to put watermark? Thank you to those of you've given me some suggestions. I still haven't been able to do it right BUT I found I could just print some text on a picture by using Picture It Express. You saw an example of it with my "Virtually His" rendition of Hugh Jackman.
How can one be existential AND unhappy when one has UBER SUBSERVIENT CHICKEN for companionship and endless self-discovery? SQ, you were WRONG. My subservient chicken do so do the YMCA. Just type the four letters. But his hula-ing technique is better. And have you check out his golfing? AND, have you ever asked a chicken to stick his tongue out? Never? Hmm. Lastly, have you ever praised a chicken and called him a hot chick? (I know, I know, he doesn't know that he is a cock) I mean, you have to make a cock happy once in a while. Just saying.
Another observation from my online travels...I've noticed complaints from readers that mytho-arcs in current books, from LKH's Anita Blake to Christine Feehan's Carpathians to Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series, are getting too complicated and too hard to follow. Is this true for you? I'm way behind in the Dark-Hunter series but I love all the different myths coming together that La Sherrilyn weaved but I have to admit that I'm probably going to be a bit lost if I start her newest book without reading the few I have on my TBR pile.
Are there too many "myth-arcs" running around in your head these days? I mean, add the three above, admitted the giants, with growing ones like The Black Daggerhood Brothahs (hope I got that right), the Dante Valentine series I'm just starting (and loving), all the Roarke and Eve books that are sitting on my shelves waiting for me (I'm behind six books, maybe more, arghhhh), and probably a couple more, and you see how you have a problem ;-). Or, maybe not. What's your favorite series and do you have trouble keeping up?
That said, I view my Virtual Reality three-book arc as a series possibility because I do have all these commandos. There's a possibility of going further as my heroine grows. I know of one reader who objects to this kind of story-telling because she prefers the ultimate happy ending immediately, without it going on and on. She definitely hates the Roarke and Eve books ;-). I, on the other hand, love me some Roarke and Eve, if only I could get a whole month off to read....
Ah well, one day, one day....
Hey, that reminds me. Anyone of you going to the RWA Con the end of next month at Atlanta? Would love to meet, drink, make merry, and possibly take some pictures for the blog!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Random Drive By
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4 comments:
Hi Jenn,
Re: "mytho-arcs in current books, from LKH's Anita Blake to Christine Feehan's Carpathians to Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series, are getting too complicated and too hard to follow."
I haven't read LKH but I'm up-to-date with the Carpathians and the Hunters. Personally, I don't think that they're getting too complicated and too hard to follow. I do know that a lot of people think that they are, with some suggesting that a companion book be released. Here's what I notice from cruising through messageboards/groups, especially those that are dedicated to SK's books: there's so much "information" out there that they are confusing the readers, especially first time readers of the series. There's a bunch of suppositions, what ifs, arguments as to what this or that line in the book meant, the symbolic meaning of something, etc, etc. So, reader 1 might say A is true, then here comes reader 2 saying B is true. Now you have other readers taking sides and a great debate follows. Eventually, reader Z comes in and say that all of you people are wrong as A and B were just suppositions made by other readers and were never mentioned in the book in the first place. AAAHHHH. Save my head! This is how people get confused. My advice is to stick with the story. Don't try to psychoanalyze what the author has done, is doing, and will do in future books. Oh, and stay away from messageboards or groups. LOL. Book discussions are good but keep an open mind. Remember we all have our own interpretations of the book(s).
But I digress ... As I've been somewhat disappointed with the last 2-3 Hunter books. I just think that the last few books were more like prologues for Acheron's books that are coming out next year. I just felt like the H/H in the last few books weren't fully developed or that the development was too early or too rushed, making it hard for me to connect with them. Too many characters and being introduced and the secondary plots are taking over the main story. Whatever. I still enjoy the series.
Wow. A looong post. Must be slow at work today. :)
-Leah-
Luv the DH series. Confusing? not really. I guess it might do you good if you know some myths but really she is actually making up her own to go along with the book which i LUV! Another series that i cannot help but luv is Lynn Viehls just today her new release Dark Need came out. Really good.However i don't read LKH for some reason i always shy away from books in 1st person. Shrug. Read the Dark series though. Dark Demon although good just had something lacking. It was a culmination of everything yet the couple just didn't mesh with the storyline as well. Although i luved how kickass Natalya was. I am however looking forward to her newest drake book and later ghostwalker. Dark Possession looks good. Still waiting on skylers. sigh
I've read all of SK, most of the JD Robb, all of the Anita Blake and am VERY much into the Black Dagger Brotherhood.
I still like the Hunters, but I agree that the last few haven't been stellar but I still enjoy reading them. (But the first few set such a high bar, I think it would be difficult for anyone to maintain!) The Anita Blakes I don't like as much anymore, but I can't seem to stop reading them.
The JD Robbs are still excellent. I never get tired of reading about Roarke and Eve. And I adore the JR Ward Brotherhood books. The heroes and heroines so far are awesome and I love the interactions between the brothers. Too funny!
Excellent long post, Leah ;-). It's encouraging to know that readers love myth-arcs, love figuring out the layers to a writer's universe, and love the characters enough to want their stories. The message boards you're talking about scare and fascinate me, from the sound of it! To have readers so into the books! Wow.
Anonymous,
Yes, I'm waiting for Skyler's book too. I haven't dared start Viehl's because I'm already so behind in so many series.
JC,
I love a good series, if it holds my attention, and especially if there's a powerful myth-arc. Hence my fascination with television series like Buffy, Angel, and Alias, etc. But it seems so hard to keep that particular ball rollng because I see these series "peter" out into non-explanations. And yeah, my bitterness of TV series-land is showing ;-).
It does happen in books too. If the myth-arc becomes too clogged with characters for me as a reader, I tend to move on. It's just me, of course. There are thousands of other readers who love that.
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