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[personal profile] renay
A few weeks ago I read On Reviews by [personal profile] forestofglory and began thinking more critically about how I use reviews online.

I don't read a lot of reviews from strangers unless the reviews are obviously critical, have low ratings that lead me into the review, or are Did Not Finish. I suspect some of this is because it's much easier for people to talk about and explain what they didn't like about a book. I know my narrative kinks and the sort of characters, story beats, and plots that I enjoy, so if they get cited during a critical review without hitting any of my DNWs I'm immediately adding that book to my to-read list. It's been the greatest tool in my book-finding arsenal.

On the flip side, it's really difficult to talk about what a book did right and how much we love it sometimes. This is especially true with me because I worry about devolving into keymashing love and failing to say anything of substance. People need a little to go on, and I'm not sure flailing around and screeching, "READ THIS NOW!" on Twitter is very effective (unless you are [personal profile] spindizzy, because for some reason she trusts my judgment). Read more... )
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[personal profile] renay
Banner for Strange Horizons online SF Magazine


My latest column is up in the most recent issue of Strange Horizons! \o/ Communities: Raise Your Voice is a slightly belated essay about how I feel about author eligibility posts for fan awards (tl;dr version: yes please, bring me ~all the eligibility posts in the land~).

Sadly, I cut A LOT of words where I flailed about how all the smartest critics I've ever met came from fandom, fandom is FULL of critical fans, and how we are SUPER PICKY and demanding from our favorite sources.

*


Maybe I will use that some other time for something else! It was pretty good even if it ended up being off topic.

Other parts of the issue available now:

FICTION: Such Lovely Teeth, Such Big Teeth (Part 1 of 2), by Carlie St. George
FICTION: Podcast: Such Lovely Teeth, Such Big Teeth, by Carlie St. George, read by Anaea Lay
POETRY: Fat Women, by Sandi Leibowitz
REVIEW: Short Fiction Snapshot #7: "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" by Ted Chiang reviewed by Abigail Nussbaum
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[personal profile] renay
Back in October, Jared asked me to write about fanfic and do some recs as one of the special features he runs. Of course, over a month later I finish and I've gone 200% overboard in my excitement and the post has to become a standalone thing because I can't control myself when it comes to recs. I love talking about stories I enjoy, and I always wanted an excuse to highlight that fanfic barely scratches the surface of fandom and also that we're all awesome. Remix and Transformation: An introduction to fanfiction is live and I had a lot of fun writing it and sharing some of the stories I love — I was pleased to include some podfic and vids in there, too. ♥

....I barely restrained myself from having a full on meltdown about Supernatural, though. Ugh, Supernatural, I both hate and love you. :|

Anyway, if there are iconic and/or interesting stories/podfic/vids/art out there you love, please do share them in the comments over there. I thought about 19 things I could've included from unimported delicious bookmark links AFTER I finalized my draft. Curses. /o\
renay: photo of the milky way from new zealand on a clear night (Default)
[personal profile] renay
Banner for Strange Horizons online SF Magazine


My second column is up in the latest issue of Strange Horizons! \o/ Communities: You Got Your Industry in my Fanwork discusses the changes to book blogging culture, creators interacting with fanwork and fan communities, and lots of things we were likely debating back in the 1970s, just with different names. Nothing new, except my perspective. :D

Other parts of the issue available now:

FICTION: Difference of Opinion, by Meda Kahn
FICTION: Podcast: Difference of Opinion, by Meda Kahn, read by Anaea Lay
POETRY: Triptych, by Jane Crowley
REVIEW: NOS4R2 by Joe Hill, reviewed by Katherine Farmar
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[personal profile] helloladies
The Backstory )

The Inevitable Disclaimer )

Methodology )

The Results )

Credit and Further Reading )

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renay: photo of the milky way from new zealand on a clear night (Default)
[personal profile] renay
A few days ago Aarti posted a review of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I probably wouldn't have noticed, but I was alerted that the review was imminent and was specifically watching for it after being told it was similar to my own.

Ana and I reviewed the book in 2010 and had mixed feelings about it. I came away feeling like I was missing an emotional connection with the characters. The fondness I normally have for John Green's characters never quite jelled, and I didn't expect them to jell with David Levithan's but was proven wrong, because over a year later I still like Levithan's Will the best. The review posted a few days ago reflected my feelings accurately, and many people say similar things about how the book was tricky, suggesting one conceit but then delivering the Tiny Cooper Variety Novel instead. It's still a great story and says interesting things about friendship and first love and companionship, but it misses the mark emotionally as Tiny eclipses the other characters in the narrative.

Of course, then I had to go read the comments. It should be a rule for me on reviews of YA novels in spaces that don't often review specific types of YA because I often come away with all the feelings. Don't Read the Comments™, Renay! But I did! Read more... )
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