ByGD
This spring it felt like every bookish social media account I follow was raving about The Kiss Quotient, the debut novel by Helen Hoang. The premise was charming – a gender-flipped Pretty Woman starring a mixed-race man and an autistic woman. The backstory (you know how I can’t resist a good backstory) involved the author locating herself on the spectrum through research for the novel. It was only a matter of time until I read it. Read More
ByGD
It might seem like I blog a review of every book I read, but I don’t. For example, as a research exercise for my NaNo-reboot project, I read 10 romance novels in January, and I didn’t review a single one here. I did rate them on Goodreads and basically kept saying,
It’s pretty good … for a romance.
ByGD
I was introduced to Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest by the fabulous Felicia Day and her Vaginal Fantasy Bookclub. But I don’t know how I missed it on my own, since it’s right up my alley. Set in a mythological Ireland when Druids still held the upper hand against expanding Christendom and Fair Folk still meddled in the lives of mortals, Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of the “Six Swans” fairy tale. Read More
ByGD
Partway through 101 Reykjavík, I got fed up with Hlynur Björn. I had to take a break from him, so I picked up Tawna Fenske’s latest release, Frisky Business. It was just the playful thing to break up the sludge of Hlynur’s misanthropy, and it delivered all the goodies that I’ve come to expect from Fenske’s books. Read More
ByGD
Ed Wood’s artistic vision
I try not to be unduly influenced by labels. The Spoonman on the street corner, the experimental-progressive underground rock band, and the latest Top 40 pop ingénue may all have something to contribute to the cultural dialogue. McG may never give the world a Citizen Kane, but I firmly believe in the artistic merit of John Woo’s ballet of violence.
If Ed Wood was really such a terrible director (and he was) why do we still watch his movies? Yes, we enjoy making fun of them, but dozens of other directors of B-grade horror movies have long since been completely forgotten. Wood’s movies have staying power because they were the expression, however flawed, of an artistic vision, and despite those flaws, they were expressed with a conviction that speaks to the audience more fluently than the vehicle itself. Read More