I'm not dead!
Just rather bleh and not up for much writing right now; and I should be doing some work on various things...
(picture very related; Vanyel, O how I was one with you and your angst as a teen...)
You have received this note because someone thinks you are a literary geek. Copy the questions into your own note, answer the questions, and tag any friends who would appreciate the quiz, including the person who sent you this. Don’t bother trying to italicize your book titles. We know you want to.
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Hands down, K. A. Applegate. I own the entire Animorphs series which is *checks wiki* a total of 64 books. Not only do I own all of the books, but I also have copies on my computer (been working on rereading them in between fanfics).
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
Into the Land of the Unicorns. I read my paperback copy so much the pages started falling out so my mom got me a hardcover copy; I still have the paperback one after all these years because I cannot bring myself to throw away a book.
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
No.
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Umm...secretly? ...the ones I haven't been obvious about would be Ax, Uchiha Itachi, George Cooper & the God Kyprioth (from Tamora Pierce's Tortall books).
5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
Any of Tamora Pierce's books and many of Mercedes Lackey's books; don't know which one has been read the most.
6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Probably the Animorphs books.
7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
I attempted to reread one of Ann Rice's books (don't remember which one). Yet I loved them in middle school...
8)What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
Not counting the ones I reread; I liked Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.
9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Any of Tamora Pierce's books. They are amazing and so is she.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
Tamora Pierce (can you tell who my favorite author is?). Her books teach great morals (work hard, be kind to animals, girls are just as awesome as guys, etc), have amazing characters, are very entertaining, and despite many being about warriors they do not glorify war (though they show that sometimes war is necessary, it is not shown as being romantic or the best course and it is shown to be devastating to everyone involved including civilians).
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Any of Bruce Coville's books or short stories. I think they are great and would make great movies pretty easily.
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Tamora Pierce's books. Because I just know they would destroy them far worse than how they destroyed Ella Enchanted.
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I don't ever recall dreams.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?
Does fanfiction count? -_-;;
15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
Milton's Paradise Lost (though I still haven't finished it; poetry makes me wander off).
16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?
Haven't seen much Shakespeare; I've just seen the Scottish tragedy and Richard II.
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
Umm...
18) Roth or Updike?
No idea who they are.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
See above.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare.
21) Austen or Eliot?
Meh.
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Umm...I haven't read many actual books since I went to high school and stopped having money/time for books. Mostly I read manga and fanfiction now.
23) What is your favorite novel?
Do I have to pick one?
24) Play?
I loved Bury the Dead; we performed it in high school and it was the first play I was lights head for. ^_^It was written between the World Wars and is set "A year into the war that could start tomorrow". It's about five dead soldiers who refuse to lay down in their grave and how the Generals try to make them lay down (it's also about how useless and destructive most wars are).
25) Poem?
I'm not much for poetry, but I like To the Virgins to Make Much of Time.
26) Essay?
Does little light's seam of skin and scales count? Or maybe Cedar's Beyond Inclusion. ^_^
27) Short story?
Probably "Homeward Bound," by Bruce Coville.
28) Work of nonfiction?
Whipping Girl by Julia Serano.
29) Who is your favorite writer?
Tamora Pierce; though Mercedes Lackey and Bruce Coville are also great.
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
JK Rowling. I loved some of the characters, loved the world she created...but the plots were really contrived and had huge plot holes and she didn't do much with the characters and concepts she introduced. I far prefer fanfiction to the actual books.
31) What is your desert island book?
Can't I just have my laptop? It has a ton of my favorite books and fanfics on it...
32) And… what are you reading right now?
The 4th Animorphs book, When Darkness Falls by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, & Return of the King (rereading all of them).
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Yeah, just more links
Plastics and other commonly-used chemicals may be responsible for early puberty (as in 14-month old babies and 7 year old girls). I already don't eat meat and try to use soaps without chemicals in them...but I know its impossible to get away from them all.
Kate Bornstein on WALL-E. I <3 loneliness, WALL-E, and being trans*.
(I got both links from Helen).
Queen Emily is guestposting on Lisa's blog; she's doing an awesome job looking at common cissexist/transmisogynist tropes. So far, "You're really just a man/woman" and "patriarchal privilege" are up; and the comments are pretty good too imo.
London Pride shouldn't be proud of how they treated (and their non-apology) trans*women. At Pride, trans*women were barred from using the women's restrooms. The stewards called the police on them and the police demanded their gender recognition certificates. WTF.
The People's History of the American Empire (video).
Debs did a "Rape News Round-up".
And now I want to get a few of these books...
Bint Alshamsa tells us not to call her "differently abled".
Measure of Medication from Gehenna.
Over at Radical Masculinity there is a call for discussion about creating healthy models of masculinity. The posts sie (?) links to are very good reading (one of which is a critique of Robert Jenson's views on masculinity, the other is on butch identity and ableism). I highly recommend a lot of the posts on RM; Genderqueer Genders in Society and Masculine Privilege Without Male Privilege? are two great ones.
Also, if I'm still in MI I really want to go to Camp Trans. Is anyone else going?
Type rest of the post here
Monday, June 16, 2008
But What Does it Mean?
I have a few posts in the works, no idea how long they'll take though--I'm rather unfocused right now.
One on monsters and the monstrous, another on Sylvia Rivera, on my childhood, as well as a few links/posts I might discuss.
For now, in a transgender forum someone asked what we mean when we say "we feel like [our gender]", how do we know we're that gender. (And sie asked for book recommendations)
Me: I've always felt like I should have male-assigned equipment instead of female, so I started out just wanting to change that. I didn't know if I was a man or a boi or genderqueer.
As I began changing my wardrobe to more male-assigned clothes, getting shorter haircuts, etc. I was gendered male more and more often and it felt right. Eventually, after a while I just felt male no matter that I still haven't started to medically transition. Eventually I just started to identify as a man; and it felt right.
Being gendered and seen as male just feels good and comfortable; being gendered female never did.
And along with Whipping Girl, I recommend The Riddle of Gender and The History of How Sex Changed.
Here's my answer, what's yours?
