mariadeira

Reading has been a bit sporadic, a bit "eh." Recently read Breakfast at Tiffany's (didn't care for the movie) by Truman Capote -- and enjoyed it. Nice, clean prose that puts the focus on the story and characters, not on the writer's fancy-schmanciness.

I've also been reading two Louisa May Alcott novels: Eight Cousins and its sequel Rose in Bloom. Nice to reread something I enjoyed in my childhood. The second book is kind of slow, but I'll get it done.

Also rereading some Dashiell Hammett novels: The Thin Man, Red Harvest.

Next on my list is John Varley's The Golden Globe, if I can find it. I know we have it somewhere because D--- read it years ago and it shouldn't have gone far. Probably on some bookcase... I think John Varley books make for good summer reading. Steel Beach got me through a particularly lonesome and boring summer as a philosophy department student assistant. The Persistance of Vision and Other Stories -- oh yay! Got me through another quiet summer, when D--- and I moved in together. Same with the Barbie Murders. Good reading memories.

Also up next: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami and maybe rereading some J.D. Salinger, since everybody seems to be hating on Holden lately and I'm kind of missing the Glass family.

Today I was going to start my novel (again), but this time with energy, enthusiasm, and determination. I cleaned the bathtub instead. It's still early in the day, right?

By the way, Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber is pretty awesome.

I miss eating yogurt and cottage cheese and it's been hard finding a good yogurt alternative. (I don't think there's such a thing as non-dairy cottage cheese so I'm not even looking.) Until recently, the best faux-gurt I could find was Whole Soy & Co (I've tried the strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and lemon (UGH!)) which isn't bad but has a strange little aftertaste and lumpy texture. I like Nancy's Plain Soy Yogurt, but I haven't been able to find it since we moved. Yesterday, I came across So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Strawberry Banana faux-gurt at Safeway. I HATE coconut, but the makers of So Delicious is a company called Turtle Mountain -- the same company that makes the highly addictive dairy free frozen dessert Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag (Chocolate! Peanut Butter! More chocolate! Hea-ven!) -- and I thought I'd give it a try. Well, I tried it last night and it is sooo delicious, smooth and sweet; I don't taste coconut at all. I LOVE IT. The only downside is that one 6oz container costs $2.49. Yowza.

Wow. I can't believe how bad Dollhouse is. Or can I?

To fight the badness, here's a list of some great stories I've read recently:

"An Exposition of Canon Lizardi's Letter" by Bernardo Atxaga (from his short story collection Obabakoak; also anthologized in The Dedalus Book of Spanish Fantasy)

"Keep Calm and Carillon" by Genevieve Valentine (Farrago's Wainscot, 1/09)

"Keepity Keep" by Carol Lanham (Fantasy Magazine, 12/29/08)

"Until Forgiveness Comes" by K. Tempest Bradford (Strange Horizons, 11/17/08)

ALSO! I had a very short story up recently at pequin:

"My Son the Dragon"

Lois Tilton at The Internet Review of Science Fiction:

Elena has a Power. Something in her saliva heals cuts and abrasions. She can't raise the dead, however, or cure cancer. And now her power is fading, which increases the frustration she has always felt with its limits. This is affecting her relationship with Hector, who loves her for everything she is.

"Elena eats the same way she makes love: quick and neat. She's curled up in the armchair, sucking on a mango sprinkled with chili powder. Her lips part and a slice of fruit disappears between her teeth. Seconds later, her tongue pops out to lick away the red dust that clings to the corners of her mouth. When Elena eats, she never loses a crumb, never allows the tiniest drop of juice to dribble down her chin."

But Hector also has to admit that the jolt of her power has always been an important part of sex with her, and he misses it.

This is a story about a relationship. The fantasy element is secondary, although it is at the center of the relationship; still, the story would not have been all too different if the element were non-fantastic. The question "What will our relationship be without your power" is much the same as "What will our relationship be now that you are sick/old/poor." It is a complex thing, a relationship between two people who love each other, and this is what the author shows us.

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My short story The First Time We Met has gone live at Strange Horizons!

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi
(Yes, I got a bit obsessed there w/ Satrapi's graphic novels. Didn't really like Persepolis the movie, though.)

Poor Folk by Fyodor Doestoevsky
Dostoevsky: The Seeds of Revolt, 1821 - 1849 by Joseph Frank

Bitch magazine's latest issue is pretty good. Called "The Noir Issue" it includes the essay "Am I Normal?" about Lois Duncan's YA novels. Does anyone else remember reading those? My favorite Duncan book was Down a Dark Hall. There's also an interesting article on the evolution of rape-revenge films. And, of course, a piece about the Twilight series and abstinence porn.