Currently Reading

Is anyone else guilty of reading multiple books and sometimes.... forgetting one or two of them?

(Because this is the internet, and we're only human, I'm going to assume "yes.")

I'm technically reading like six books now — although, if I'm being totally honest, I haven't picked some of them up in almost a year. I keep them on my list, though, because it A) makes me feel a little less guilty about abandoning them and B) reminds me that I'm meaning to read it/like it enough to keep reading it. I figured that I'd write about my "currently reading" books here because it might compel someone else to read them while I continue ignoring them.

(so, in no particular order....)

1. Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? — Michael J. Sandel
This book was assigned reading for my legal studies class last year, and I'm probably... halfway through it? Maybe a little less. I can't bring myself to abandon it because I don't see any reason why I should — it isn't hard, I didn't hate it, I just... wasn't required to finish it for class. This book is more philosophical than any of the other books on this list, but manages to apply theories (pertaining to equality, justice, etc.) by putting them in real-world context.

2. A Tale for the Time Being — Ruth Ozeki
A Tale for the Time Being was a "new addition" at my college's library last spring, and because I had seen it popping up a lot on the internet, I decided to pick it up for fun. I got about halfway through with it before the school year ended and I had to return it, but I liked it a lot and I definitely intend on finishing it the first chance I get. (Also, the cover art is, imo, gorgeous.)

3. Imperial Life in the Emerald City — Rajiv Chandrasekaran
I picked this book up last semester from the library because I was bored with my classes and wanted to read something that I could relate to my coursework while still...not being my coursework.

Since then, I've probably recommended Imperial Life to three people since I started reading it. I probably would have finished this book, but I let a friend borrow it because he had to write a paper about Iraq and — ugh. It got away from me. I'm going to pick up a paperback copy of this when I get home as opposed to reading it on my Kindle. Imperial Life is a book I like being able to flip back and forth through in order to refer to the index or earlier chapters. (I started making a reference sheet of characters for my personal use, but I lost that. :/) I'd definitely recommend this book if you're interested in American foreign policy — specifically in the Middle East, Iraq, or in the George W. Bush era. Chandrasekaran is a journalist, and also a really clear and concise writer. I think he does a really good job at explaining things in this book so that you don't need to have an intimate knowledge of Iraq to understand what's going on.

4. A People's History of the United States — Howard Zinn
OK, so I'm ACTIVELY READING this book. While it's been neglected a little bit since I've arrived in Jordan, I wouldn't say that it's been abandoned. The only problem that I have with this book is that it's so long and so dense that I can tell it's going to take me forever to finish it. I'm really enjoying it so far though, and I'd recommend picking it up for a more comprehensive understanding of American history. I can understand why so many people enjoyed it/recommend it. I've also gotten compliments on it, which hasn't happened to my reading list, like... ever. (This is the one book I brought to Jordan with me (besides my Kindle), and I think it was a good move on my part.)

5. The Secret History — Donna Tartt.
I started reading this book on the recommendation of one of my good friends, G., who, when telling me about it, got so excited that she started yelling. It was then that I figured I should read it for myself and see why so many people seemed to be nuts for this book. I'll admit that it took me a while to get into it (some of the characters really annoyed me in the beginning, and it took me a while to get used to the writing style), but by the time I left for Jordan I was totally hooked. I decided not to bring it with me because I figured, since I only had maybe 100 pages left, I couldn't really justify bringing it along with me on the plane because, if I finished it, I didn't want it to be a dead weight. I'm hoping that it won't be too hard for me to pick back up when I get home.

6. Abarat #1 — Clive Barker
I got the second Abarat book a little over ten years ago for Christmas. It's been with me for maybe three moves, and I finally decided that if I was ever going to read it, I should maybe start with the first book in the series. I had to drop Abarat for the usual reasons (going to school, leaving home & not wanting extra baggage, etc.), but think that if I had maybe gotten it a week earlier than I had, I would be finished with it. It's a fast, easy read, and I think that it's a really interesting concept. Asides from my forays into Discworld and Percy Jackson, it's the first fantasy I've read in a long while.



Is there anything you've been reading but putting off? Any books you've accidentally abandoned?

On fandom(s)

Via.

Last night I was out walking around my college campus, killing time until I had to be at rehearsal, when I scrolled down to an old playlist on my iPod labelled "Dasey."

"Dasey," for those of you who don't know, is the shipping name for Derek Venturi and Casey McDonald, the main characters in the Canadian TV series Life with Derek. Throughout elementary,  middle, and later high school I was a huge fan of the show (I still am, but my input into the LWD fandom has decreased significantly in past years.). I don't know if it's really important to tell you guys that, but when I pressed "shuffle" on that playlist, it was kind of like a time capsule, and Past!Maddie was talking to me and communicating with me the importance of these characters, this show, this relationship. And when one sone came on, I nearly started crying because I simultaneously felt like I was coming home, like I was crawling into a warm bed... and like I was never going to be able to go back to that point in time, that I had changed too much.

I've been thinking about this kind of nostalgia for old fandoms today, and so I want to take a stab at talking about it before I forget or lose my nerve or both. This is my blog, after all, so I can say what I want.

I am a firm believer in the power of fandoms/"fandom."

I believe that fandom (general fandom, fandom-at-large) can create a tremendous feeling of community and security - both creatively and personally. I believe that fandom empowers people, fans, what have you, into taking the show/book/series in question into their own hands and making it their own. Fanart, fanfiction... both are excellent at conducting these kinds of feelings, and with blogging that community is amplified with blog posts and discussions. It creates a kind of social network, and while that can be incredibly rewarding for some people, others are not so lucky.

Because sometimes fantoms - while starting off on good intentions - can leave others feeling like victims. I'm not going to lie, some real nasty shit goes down sometimes in fandoms, and while debate and criticism is good within a community, it can "other" a group of people who have a set of legitimate concerns and critique for not going with the status quo. You see this a lot in discussing LGBTQIA+ issues in Harry Potter and Heroes of Olympus, or quest baiting/queer coding in Supernatural and Sherlock, and sexism in Doctor Who and racism/representation all around. So, yeah, I feel like in creating really wonderful communities fans sometimes/usually have the tendency of stepping on people's toes within the fandom... Or, you know, acting absolutely atrocious because The Honor of the fandom is at stake, and God Forbid any critique of the fandom go Too Far, because that would be Too Much.

Via.

I'm lucky in the regards that I haven't had any real negative experiences in the fandoms I've been super involved and invested in. While I'd like to say it's because I pick my communities well, it's more likely because I don't engage in serious discussion about shows or things that I like enough to encounter that sort of criticism. (Either that, or the show/series's incompetency was widely known throughout the fandom. I remember a "WTF" rating for Life with Derek show recaps) So I guess this post is kinda nostalgic about the things I used to do, I think it's also an example of why I need to push myself to be mindful of the communities I take part in and fandoms I join because complacency =/= fandom perfection.

I'm going to keep this post as-is for now, and hopefully in the future I'll be able to blog some more about this subject. (As a fangirl, I feel like this is an area I can actually discuss with any minor authority.)

What do you guys think? Do you feel the same way about fandom, or do you have a different opinion?