Some Quick Thoughts

I don't think I can explain this week to anyone in a way that really communicates how it went, but I'll say it was a rough one to get through.  So let me give you some quick thoughts I wanted to jot down, and promise you some more thorough and thoughtful posts soon.

First, I think this is cute: Blind date with a book.

Next: The sequel to Sharon Shinn's The Shape of Desire came out, and I had it from the library for a while.  I liked Shape of Desire, on the whole--it wasn't that strong a book, but as I told Brenda the other day, I would almost read Sharon Shinn's summary of the Yellow Pages.  I love the way she writes about day to day life, fitting the pieces together so that everything just seems to make sense.  And I respected what she was doing with the book--taking the intense romance of the paranormal romance and showing what it really looks like 20 years later--the missing time, the parts of his life you can't share, the loneliness of keeping secrets from those you love.

Unfortunately, Still Life With Shapeshifter was a little closer to reading from the phone book that I can get on board with.  I think, first of all, that the sister relationship is a little harder to sell me on--sure, there's love and protectiveness, but at some point you have to let a person lead her own life.  Second, she meets a hot guy very early in the book and totally falls for him--it's not exactly instalove, but anyone who's sucked in by the charms of a good looking TV reporter who's trying to get information out of them has sketchy judgement in my book. 

So I gave up on that book, sadly.  Luckily, the world is still full of Sharon Shinn books I haven't read yet.  Mystic and Rider--soon!

And my final point: I have volume one of Fables: Fairest out from the library right now, but the very notion of this book has been bothering me, and I think  I finally figured out why.  Giving the women of this series a spinoff is kind of ghettoizing them.  Fables has some amazing female characters--Frau Totenkinder is probably my favorite, but Snow White is a powerful, intelligent leader; Rose Red is a charismatic and clever leader; Cinderella is a kick-ass spy.  You've got the evil Baba Yaga, the upstart Ozma, and the Beast's Beauty, who's working to find a role of her own in Snow White's shadow.

Why do theses women need a special "girl" series?  I'm really afraid to open it.  But I'm trying to convince myself that it's really just a chance for more Fables.  After all, it's the same excellent writer, and it looks like the spin might be a bit more on the history of the characters, rather than the modern storyline that's taken over the current series.  So I'm really hesitant, but I'm holding out hope.

I need to do a comics review soon; I've got some good stuff on my list.  I'll try to hurry; February is kicking my butt, so it may be a bit.  Thanks for your patience!