Comments for FolioFiles

Comment on My return to audio. by Kirsten

Kirsten — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:14:54 +0000

Wil definitely does a great job overall. I am super picky about narration, which is probably part of why I’m not as avid a listener as I’d like to be. It grates on me and distracts from my ability to follow the story when I feel a narrator’s affect is too something, or not something enough; he’s only irked me a very few times so far, which makes him one of the best narrators I’ve listened to for this long! ;)

Comment on My return to audio. by biblioholic29

biblioholic29 — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:31:36 +0000

I read it around Thanksgiving and loved it! In fact, I loved it so much that I immediately downloaded the audio version so I could listen to it. I’m taking my time with it, mostly because I don’t have much occasion to listen to audiobooks, but what I have heard I’ve enjoyed! Love Wil!
biblioholic29´s last [type] ..Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

Comment on Readathon prep. by Kirsten

Kirsten — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:08:31 +0000

I have so much guilt associated with marking everything read; I really need to get over that!

Comment on Readathon prep. by Dawn - She Is Too Fond of Books

Dawn - She Is Too Fond of Books — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:57:44 +0000

The Google Reader has caused more gray hairs than my children! I read blogs for 30-60 minutes each night; then, on Sundays, I “mark all as read” and begin again the next day.

I also will pop over to a link from twitter when something catches my eye during the day. I guess it’s a multi-faceted approach.
Dawn – She Is Too Fond of Books´s last [type] ..Book Review: *50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker* by Lynn Alley

Comment on Dystopian Fiction by Kirsten

Kirsten — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:02:46 +0000

1984 is on my list, as well; I don’t own a copy (or it’s in one of the still-packed boxes), so I couldn’t pull it out for this year’s BBW. I’d not heard of Oryx and Crake before, but that’s another one I definitely need to read.
I think it’s interesting that, because the larger story isn’t “true” in the case of, for example, Handmaid, the bits and pieces that have come to be are largely written off – but that’s how societal augmentation comes about, it isn’t all or nothing. It’s a slow, insidious process… and it has to start somewhere. That’s why the exposition about the gradual loss of liberty in Offred’s world is so powerful – it wasn’t a single event that changed the world, it was a little shift here, a slight change there.

Comment on Dystopian Fiction by Kirsten

Kirsten — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:54:27 +0000

I’m absolutely adding it to my wish list :) Already checked the library for the e-book, but I imagine it’ll be a bit; not that I don’t have enough to keep me busy in the meantime!

Comment on Dystopian Fiction by dogearedcopy

dogearedcopy — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:51:13 +0000

Do the authors really fear that their creation will be our reality in two or five or ten generations if we don’t get our act together?

In the case of George Orwell (e.g. 1984) and Margaret Atwood (e.g. The Handmaid’s Tale and, Oryx and Crake) I believe that both were writing cautionary tales. George Orwell had witnessed not only the nastiness of Eton (just like Aldous Huxley – coincidence?); but the horrors of watching men become monsters in WWII. Two of the more chilling aspects of 1984 that are all the more unnerving for having become “true” is the use of near constant surveillance (CCTV in the UK) and language (de-) evolvement as specified as in the appendix (e.g. “plus” and the truncating of polysyllabic words/terms into bi-syllabic words. The whole of the government controlling the masses through propaganda has had its precedent as well as current iterations :-(
And again, in the case of Margaret Atwood, considering that The Handmaid’s Tale I was published in 1985 (and presumably she had been writing it before that year) is incredibly prescient of terms of social and political conventions that came practice. The biblical literalism coupled with religious fundamentalism, the use of debit cards, the shift away from the USSR fright to the Middle East threat…
In Oryx and Crake, her exposure to the biomedical research industry lends special credibility to her writing about how gene engineering can go awry. We see the hope for cures and solutions justifying some truly horrific practices in the biotechnology fields, including genetically modified foods. Whatever scientific advances have been made have been offset by the consequences and the fact that no widespread or efficacious applications have resulted.

Conveniently, I’ve chosen of the more well-established authors to make my case; but then again their writing grounded in past experience or knowledge and the insight into human nature is what makes their writing Modern Classics.

Comment on Dystopian Fiction by Literate Housewife

Literate Housewife — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:42:56 +0000

Thanks for the shout out. The classification of dystopian novels made for an interesting discussion last night. Yes, please read WHEN SHE WOKE. I highly recommend it!
Literate Housewife´s last [type] ..#372 ~ When She Woke

Comment on Love-hate relationship. by Kirsten

Kirsten — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:47:23 +0000

That’s exactly the sort of thing I mean; thanks for sharing, Foggi. Also, even if I weren’t gay, I’d be bothered by Card’s opinions as I’ve read them, and even if I weren’t fat, I’d be bothered by McKinley’s. Books are already filled with mostly white, able, fit, male protagonists unless their being “other” is the catalyst for the story (and that doesn’t happen often, either). We don’t need those characters to be, whether for lack of thought or willfully, discriminatory, especially given their influence on young readers.

Comment on Love-hate relationship. by foggidawn

foggidawn — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:01:34 +0000

I know what you mean! I found I am happier not knowing about my favorite authors’ personal beliefs and opinions a lot of the time. For example, I used to read Robin McKinley’s blog. Then, one day, she posted a rant about going to the opera or theatre and having to sit next to a woman who was overweight, and how miserable and uncomfortable this made her (McKinley — one can only speculate on the overweight woman’s feelings). She pretty much said that fat people should just stay home. Now, I’ve been to some venues where the seating was pretty tight, and I’m not exactly skinny. All I could think was, that could have been me, stuck in an uncomfortable seat, enduring the glares and sighs of the stranger sitting next to me. So, I decided that, though I generally enjoy McKinley’s writing, I’ll pass on reading her blog. I do still buy her books (though I trend to check them out at the library first, but that’s more about my limited book budget).

Perhaps willful ignorance of an author or artist’s personal views isn’t the best solution, but on the other hand, it may be a good way to live and let live, particularly for people that I will most likely never meet or converse with in person.