It's almost the mad and lusty month of May (via Camelot, the musical)! Since this is the last post of April, and the 901st post, I thought I'd keep it simple with just a couple of tidbits and 4 book reviews. I do want to note, while I have your attention, that it has been bothering me that a number of video/podcast reviewers, who are generally young folk, anywhere from early 20s to early 40s, are touting the latest fantasy book without any knowledge or research into the background of that genre and the books that built the genre from scratch. Books like Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider's of Pern series, which came before, and is a much better dragon fantasy than Fourth Wing. Or anything by Ursula LeGuin, particularly her ground-breaking "Left Hand of Darkness" and "Lathe of Heaven" which were calling into question society's assumptions about gender (in the former) and race (in the latter) decades before all the authors who are writing about these issues now, and claiming that they are the first or only authors to do so. Seriously, I know it is exciting to read a book about a subject that you feel doesn't get enough attention, or one that you're passionate about, but please realize that there's very little that is "new" under the sun. Also realize that referring to the books that the new authors relied on for their own take on gender or race or romance makes younger readers seek out the older works and keeps them in the public consciousness. And it makes this Boomer dinosaur happy.
I find this continuous harassment of Drag Queens and those on the LGBTQ spectrum thoroughly disgusting. I mean, bomb threats, really?? Just for dressing like Dolly Parton does every single day of her sparkling life? Just because someone dresses differently than you do, and likes to read to kids, doesn't make them pedophiles or bad people in any way. In fact, the opposite is true.
It makes me feel bad that we even need someone to provide safety tips for children's story hour in a bookstore.
Drag Story Hour's Jonathan Hamilt on
Bomb Threats, Safety Tips
Around the country, growing numbers of
independent booksellers are
finding themselves the targets of
anti-LGBT harassment, with bomb
threats proving to be an increasingly
common tactic.
In recent weeks, Loyalty Bookstores in
Washington, D.C., and Silver
Spring, Md., Buffalo Street Books in
Ithaca, N.Y., and Mosaics in Provo,
Utah, have all been targets of bomb
threats related to drag storytime
programming. Sadly, they are not alone,
and the numbers only continue to
rise.
Per the nonprofit Drag Story Hour
https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQbew-UI6a80IUwgHA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nBDMKtpoMLg-gVdw,
there were nine documented incidents of bomb threats targeting
official DSH events in 2023. In 2024, there have already been at
least 12 such incidents, with the number growing almost every
weekend.
Hamilt called it "deeply
disturbing" that adults are choosing to incite
violence and intimidate children,
parents, and storytellers at
family-oriented events while claiming
to want to protect children.
Despite what the public perception may
be, Hamilt continued, Drag Story
Hour is "not scrambling." The
organization is nearly 10 years old and
its efforts are "very organized."
Anti-LGBT harassment is nothing new,
though sometimes it takes different
forms, and the organization is
"working on getting through this."
To that end, Hamilt offered some advice
to booksellers looking to host
drag storytime events (whether directly
affiliated with DSH or not), or
events featuring guests or performers
from any vulnerable group. He also
advised reaching out to
safety@dragstoryhour.org, saying, "We
have best practices that we don't want
to gatekeep."
When it comes to advertising drag
events, or any event that might be
similarly targeted for harassment,
Hamilt emphasized that typically,
most harassment comes from parties who
are not local and often not even
in the same state. Keeping event
advertisements in-store and off the
Internet can go a long way in cutting
down on attacks: "If you don't
need to put it on social media, don't."
It is also important to "be on the
same page with everyone when law
enforcement is involved." In the
event of protestors appearing at the
store, calling law enforcement may not
be necessary or, depending on the
circumstances, even desirable. In the
event of a bomb threat, Hamilt
said, "law enforcement will show
up or need to be called," and there
should be a plan in place.
Bookstores should also consider "who
are you putting up front" when
dealing with law enforcement or
protestors. Instead of putting the most
vulnerable staff members, whether
queer, trans, or from a historically
marginalized background, in the most
exposed position, put the "cis,
white allies in front."
On the subject of allies, Hamilt
brought up the various ally and
defender groups that sometimes offer to
help at events. Making sure
they're all on the same page as the
store is essential, as sometimes
these groups can be confrontational,
combative, and prone to escalate
situations. "These are children's
events," Hamilt said. "We don't scream
back. We de-escalate."
Hamilt pointed out that it is also
worth being clear about terminology.
People often use the term hate crime in
the vernacular, but "there is a
strict, lawful definition," and
hateful speech doesn't equate to a hate
crime. Keeping documentation of any
harassment, as well as any
communication with law enforcement, is
valuable too.
Drag Story Hour is working with the
Southern Poverty Law Center
https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQbew-UI6a80IUwgEg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nBDMKtpoMLg-gVdw
on a report detailing anti-LGBT harassment, and Hamilt said DSH will
be at Children's Institute in New Orleans, La., in June. The
organization will host an interactive workshop that will include
discussions of floor plans of fictitious bookstores, employee
capacities, de-escalation plans, and more. He reiterated that the
information from these sessions "could go for anything, not just
drag events." --Alex Mutter
I read and enjoyed this book, and I can hardly wait to see the movie, particularly with this stellar cast! I adore Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan!
Movies: The Thursday Murder Club
Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Ben
Kingsley will star in The Thursday
Murder Club https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQmIk-sI6a80IB8iGw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nOWpKjpoMLg-gVdw,
an adaptation of British TV host and
producer Richard Osman's
bestselling novel, Deadline reported.
Chris Columbus is attached to
write and direct the project,which is being made by Steven
Spielberg's production house, Amblin
Entertainment.
Filming will begin in the U.K. at the
end of June and run through to
September. Deadline noted that the
rights to Osman's first novel, which
has had several sequels, were acquired
by Spielberg in 2020, and work
has been ongoing since then.
This is exciting news, that a new B&N is opening in my favorite town in Iowa, Dubuque! I went to Clarke College (now University) for my undergrad degrees, and I always felt that it was a town of very smart bibliophiles. I hope that the new store does well.
New B&N Stores Opening May 1 in
Iowa
Barnes & Noble is opening new
location in Dubuque, Iowa, on May 1.
The Dubuque store will be located in
the Ashbury Plaza shopping center
in a space that formerly housed a Pier
1. It will open May 1 with a
ribbbon cutting and signing featuring
author Heather Gudenkauf (Everyone
Is Watching).
B&N opened more stores in 2023 than
it had in the previous 15 years
combined. In 2024, it plans to open
more than 50 new stores.
A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith is a YA fantasy/adventure/romance novel that has a beautiful cover and is one of those adventuring group fantasies that can lead to disaster, but in this case leads to a fascinating group of characters who fight for those they love, often in defiance of Fate. Here's the blurb: I enjoyed the characters and their quest to fulfill the prophecy, but I often felt that Calla fell into those moldy old female protagonist tropes of being torn between two hot guys, in this case, brothers, and eventually realizing that both are asshats (but she does choose to forgive one brother the unforgivable, which pissed me off, because seriously, no one is that good looking that you'd forgive them anything) and that she has to make some decisions of her own, without interference. The prose was good but uneven, and the plot was dense enough that you had to really commit to finishing the book, which was, as a lot of books are nowadays, too long by roughly 100-150 pages. The authors bio at the end of the book says that she "annoys people about astrology" which I found to be the most intriguing sentence I've read in a bio in a long time...how does she annoy people? Has Ms Smith got it out for certain signs vs other signs? Like she loves water signs but hates fire or air signs? Please tell me more, publisher. I promise not to be annoyed. At any rate, I'd give this pretty book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who likes group adventures with plenty of snarky friends.
A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber is the third book in the Broken Heart series, and its a rather soggy YA fantasy romance that will leave feminists screaming and those who enjoy their romantasy spicy, disappointed. Here's the blurb:
Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE, the breathtaking conclusion to Stephanie Garber’s #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy
Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.
Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.
Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.
Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.
I've tried to read other books by Garber, most notably her Caraval trilogy, and I've found myself bored and feeling cheated by the "paint by numbers" plots in all of her books. Though I made it through Caraval, I couldn't stomach more of the same, so I didn't read the next two books in the series, and now, after reading the first book in this series years ago (Once Upon a Broken Heart) and finding this hardback copy on sale for $4, I can't say that I was wrong in my estimation that Garber's facile approach to writing YA romantasy is just not for me. Perhaps Garber feels that young adults need to have an easy plot and junior-grade writing in order to get into a series and keep buying her "swoon-worthy" tomes, but I believe that if that is the case, she's grossly underestimating her audience. The cover designs for this series are beautiful, so I suppose that's a draw for those who purchase books they judge by the cover, but I'm always more interested in the contents of the novel rather than it's flashy cover design. So if you don't mind a female protagonist who is blinded by male beauty and is something of a dunce, and lots of descriptions of pretty boys (their hair! their jawline! their blazing eye colors!) along with a weak-tea version of a fairy tale, then this C+ grade novel is the book for you.
The Glass Box by J. Michael Straczynski (writer and creator of the famed and wonderful science fiction series Babylon 5) is an edgy SF version of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Keasey. The protagonist here is a youngish woman, however, and the tall Native American is written as a large non-verbal, violent man who has been nicknamed "Frankenstein" and whose horrific childhood of abuse has lead him to be incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital indefinitely. Here's the blurb: Having read a couple of JMS's other books, including his heart-rending memoir about a childhood rife with abuse, I knew the prose would be gold-standard perfect, and the plot fast and sure, but what I didn't expect was the chilling idea woven throughout the book that America is only one crazy Republican dictator away from this world becoming a reality. Having also been a history (and theater) major in college, I could also recall my disgust at learning about Chairman Mao in China and Lenin/Stalin in the USSR and their incarceration and obliteration of anyone who protested their regime or wrote pamphlets resisting their deadly policies. But I always believed that this kind of insanity could never happen here, in the USA, where we have the Constitutional protections of Freedom of Speech and Assembly and Freedom of the press, etc. Laws that protect the weak and poor and the rich and famous alike. What JMS does here is show us how slippery a slope it is from the book bans of today to the incarceration and killing of people who protest the policies of the government tomorrow. Shudder. His protagonist, Riley, refuses to let this dystopian nightmare crush her, however, and (SPOILER) fortunately, she succeeds in bringing down the sadistic doctors and nurses determined to brainwash every mental patient into being a passive, easily controlled sheep in a town full of wolves. I loved this book, and read it in one sitting. I'd give it an A, and if I could, I'd make it required reading in every high school in the US.
Wild Magic by Alexandra Ivy is a paranormal romantic fantasy that was surprisingly clean with crystalline prose, and a floating on air plot that will keep readers turning pages for hours. Here's the blurb: From a Wyoming ranch to a New Jersey
bookstore-café, when old-world demons, modern-day mages, and
irresistible attraction collide, desire becomes the most powerful and
dangerous weapon of all, in this spellbinding new series from the New York Times bestselling author.
There was a time when demons reigned. That was before they were forced to retreat to the shadows. Today, in hidden corners across the globe their evil blood still pools, and the authority of their new rulers—the Vampire Cabal—must never be challenged. Leave it to a Jersey girl to change ancient history.
At sixteen, when Peri Sanguis’s wild magic first appeared, she was forced to flee her Wyoming ranch—and her suddenly murderous family—to save her own life. On the East Coast, tutored by mages who run the Witch’s Brew bookstore-cafe, Peri’s world seems magically tranquil—until her estranged mother and a coven of witches are slaughtered. Now, to solve the violent mysteries of her past, she must put her trust, body and soul, in a sensual immortal who is every woman’s darkest fantasy . . .
The golden-eyed vampire, Valen, has never wanted more than to claim an untamed female like Peri. Lured into each other’s orbit, and working together against a resurrected evil brings them intimately closer—to danger, blood betrayals, all-consuming passion, and to sacrifices that must be made to save themselves and the world.
There was a time when demons reigned. That was before they were forced to retreat to the shadows. Today, in hidden corners across the globe their evil blood still pools, and the authority of their new rulers—the Vampire Cabal—must never be challenged. Leave it to a Jersey girl to change ancient history.
At sixteen, when Peri Sanguis’s wild magic first appeared, she was forced to flee her Wyoming ranch—and her suddenly murderous family—to save her own life. On the East Coast, tutored by mages who run the Witch’s Brew bookstore-cafe, Peri’s world seems magically tranquil—until her estranged mother and a coven of witches are slaughtered. Now, to solve the violent mysteries of her past, she must put her trust, body and soul, in a sensual immortal who is every woman’s darkest fantasy . . .
The golden-eyed vampire, Valen, has never wanted more than to claim an untamed female like Peri. Lured into each other’s orbit, and working together against a resurrected evil brings them intimately closer—to danger, blood betrayals, all-consuming passion, and to sacrifices that must be made to save themselves and the world.
While I loved the "found family" that are Peri the protagonist's bullwark against evil, I didn't understand (to be fair, I rarely understand the draw in any novel) the undeniable desire to bitten and shagged by a vampire. I mean, they're dead creatures with no heartbeat who are immortal unless you can behead them or stake them through the heart (or put them into direct sunlight). So basically you're hot for an animated by (others) blood corpse. Ewwwww. Like a giant mosquito, or a flea. I don't find any of that to be remotely alluring. Yet in novel after novel, there's the skinny, paper-white skinned vampire seducing pretty young women and using them like a blood bank by sucking them dry and discarding them. But I guess if blood and corpse guys are your thing, go for it. I loved Peri's journey to her own wild magic, though, and I liked the people she surrounded herself with, for the most part. I'd give this interesting book a B+, and recommend it to those who are into vampire romantasy.
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