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My summer reading list (so far).
Apr. 9th, 2009 04:40 pm( It's a bit long. )
I love how half of that list is comprised of books I feel guilty for not reading yet and the other of books I'll feel guilty for reading.
Anyway, what else should I read this summer, flist? Rec me things!
What I like: Non-shitty genre fiction, comics that do not involve superheroes (exceptions can be made if said superheroes refuse to be called superheroes, a la Runaways, or are retired, a la Watchmen), fucked up kid books, fiction that is actually interesting and not just about people trying to decide whether or not to have affairs and/or regretting that decision for twenty years afterwards, non-fiction that is about society and feminism and how badly human beings are screwing things up, biographies and memoirs about people who did things and weren't just child actors or fallen political figures, alien invasions of any kind, YA lit, books about teenagers saving the world from some impending threat (bonus points if said teenagers are also in a band and if said threat is undead in nature), historical fiction that isn't by Philippa Gregory because I find her books to be incredibly problematic and sexist (not to mention poorly written), and anything with pretty pretty illustrations.
What I don't like: Bodice-rippers, fantasy that tries to be Tolkien (partly because it's derivative, partly because I don't like Tolkien), sci fi that takes itself too seriously, fiction that tries to tackle Important Issues in a way that is clearly more about winning awards than actually saying anything, excessive irony, authors who assume their readers are stupid, gratuitous and poorly-written sex scenes, books that have "A Novel" included in the title (we KNOW it's a novel, it's IN THE FICTION SECTION), books that are thinly-veiled dramatizations of the author's own experiences (either write fiction or suck it up and call it a memoir, Christ), queer lit that is all about coming out, The Life of Pi, Canadian fiction that dwells excessively on incest, national identity, and how much it sucks to live in a small town (Margaret Laurence, you may sit down), anything that ends in someone's issues magically disappearing through the power of True Love, and Dave Eggers. FUCK YOU, DAVE EGGERS.
I love how half of that list is comprised of books I feel guilty for not reading yet and the other of books I'll feel guilty for reading.
Anyway, what else should I read this summer, flist? Rec me things!
What I like: Non-shitty genre fiction, comics that do not involve superheroes (exceptions can be made if said superheroes refuse to be called superheroes, a la Runaways, or are retired, a la Watchmen), fucked up kid books, fiction that is actually interesting and not just about people trying to decide whether or not to have affairs and/or regretting that decision for twenty years afterwards, non-fiction that is about society and feminism and how badly human beings are screwing things up, biographies and memoirs about people who did things and weren't just child actors or fallen political figures, alien invasions of any kind, YA lit, books about teenagers saving the world from some impending threat (bonus points if said teenagers are also in a band and if said threat is undead in nature), historical fiction that isn't by Philippa Gregory because I find her books to be incredibly problematic and sexist (not to mention poorly written), and anything with pretty pretty illustrations.
What I don't like: Bodice-rippers, fantasy that tries to be Tolkien (partly because it's derivative, partly because I don't like Tolkien), sci fi that takes itself too seriously, fiction that tries to tackle Important Issues in a way that is clearly more about winning awards than actually saying anything, excessive irony, authors who assume their readers are stupid, gratuitous and poorly-written sex scenes, books that have "A Novel" included in the title (we KNOW it's a novel, it's IN THE FICTION SECTION), books that are thinly-veiled dramatizations of the author's own experiences (either write fiction or suck it up and call it a memoir, Christ), queer lit that is all about coming out, The Life of Pi, Canadian fiction that dwells excessively on incest, national identity, and how much it sucks to live in a small town (Margaret Laurence, you may sit down), anything that ends in someone's issues magically disappearing through the power of True Love, and Dave Eggers. FUCK YOU, DAVE EGGERS.