Anime and Manga 101: Introduction

In the long while I've been off the blog, I seem to have been spending all my time working practicing crying over the misery that is making reeds watching a lot of anime.  I've mentioned my love of anime/manga on the blog before, but my recent descent into almost exclusively watching anime and a brief conversation on Twitter with someone who mentioned they wished they had a guide to anime and manga got me thinking.  In short, I have a new feature (do I have other features? Is this a thing I do?), and without further ado let's begin our first class!

First, a little background on your teacher.  (You may call me Sensei.) I didn't grow up reading manga or watching anime, and although I'd say it's definitely growing in popularity (well, at least the latter) it's definitely not a part of mainstream American culture.  In fact, the only reason I started watching anime at all was because I was horribly, horribly ill my sophomore year.  I was vomiting every 10 minutes for a full 24 hours (Literally. I timed it.) and when you're that sick it's pretty much impossible to focus on anything at all.  It just so happens that it was during one of those short breaks on tv where all the shows are on hiatus for a couple weeks and I was desperate for ANYTHING to take my mind off being that sick.  As I was browsing through Hulu, I stumbled across a show that I remember a middle school friend of mine being totally obsessed with - Inuyasha.

Let's just say it's a miracle that I ever watched anime again.*
 

*Don't watch Inuyasha. Just don't do it. Seriously.

Luckily, I am a plucky heroine and started Fruits Basket after like 23904812021342334 of Inuyasha NOT GETTING THE FREAKING SHARDS. SERIOUSLY HOW LONG DOES THAT TAKE???? and a new love was born!  While I hadn't actively avoided anime growing up - a combination of having no time and not being allowed to watch tv for most of my childhood did that - I did actively avoid manga.  I thought it was something only really nerdy people did (and well...to be honest, I'm not sure that's entirely wrong. I know people who only watch anime, but the people who really love anime are the ones who read manga. And I don't know anyone who only reads manga).  Well, not long after my love for anime was solidified, a friend HORRIBLY DECEIVED me (but that's a story for another day) and I got drawn into manga.  In his defense, it's still my favourite ongoing manga, so I suppose I should be thanking him.

But Sensei, you might be thinking, why are you wasting our precious class time with this story?  I use it to show you that I didn't find anime until I was well into adulthood.  (Ok, technically I guess I'd only been an adult for a year or two. WHATEVER. DETAILS.) And while I didn't grow up with anime, I have definitely spent the past six years making up for lost time.  So what does that all mean?  I guarantee you there is an anime out there for you.  That's right - I used the words GUARANTEE.  So, put your trust and faith in me, and I will lead you to the anime for you!

Before we get started on specific anime, we've got some basics we need to get covered.  Most people have many misconceptions about anime.  Point in case - my father's reaction upon hearing that I was watching anime:  "WHAT?? You mean that animated PORN???"  (Despite my many attempts at explaining that anime does not equal porn, that would be like saying all literature is literotica I'm pretty sure he still believes that anime is animated porn.)  The other main stigma is that it's only for children, but as most of my students here are young adult bloggers, I'm guessing that won't be a hard stigma to overcome.  Anime is just as diverse as our literature - there's anime out there for any age and any interest, and you'll pretty quickly learn what you like and what you don't like in your anime.

When you start watching anime, or particularly when reading manga, you'll probably notice some terms while searching for new stories (and occasionally in the manga itself) that you won't recognize.  We're going to start today's class by touching on what some of those terms are.  Today we're only going to focus on the terms the Japanese use for which audience the manga or anime is being marketed to as it's a good place to start when looking for manga.

Audience type is decided by which magazine publishes the manga.  In Japan, where the mangas are first released, they're released chapter by chapter rather than entire volumes.  (I'm not well-versed enough in comics to know if that's how we do it here too).  Each chapter is usually around 30 pages, and they're released anywhere from a weekly to bi-monthly basis. (Don't be concerned that you can only get a chapter at a time - if the manga does well enough they're published as volumes like we do with graphic novels).  The magazine each manga is published in has a specific audience they market to - Shojo Beat, for example, publishes chapters from manga that is  marketed for girls.  As we know from our giant blend that is young adult, audience level often has little to do with what type of story you are going to find, so while I give you generalizations for each audience level below, just keep that in mind.  In fact, in researching which mangas were what I was surprised to find that many of the ones I had thought were for men were for boys and that quite a few I had thought were for girls were actually marketed for men.  So while I give these terms for you as a good place to choose your first story from, I definitely recommend using the manga or anime you choose as a springboard for choosing your next one rather than sticking exclusively in one audience level.

Shounen 

This image (courtesy of Ningen) is from El Cazador de la Bruja, a fun anime with some kickass ladies.

This is manga typically geared towards boys (below 18).  It usually has a low emphasis on romance, a male lead,  and usually encompasses more sci-fi/fantasy/action genres.  That being said, don't think because this is a younger genre that you won't encounter mature themes - any of you who recognize Death Note or Attack on Titan wouldn't consider those light fare.  It's just like Young Adult fiction - you get a wide range of subject matter.

You might know: Pokemon, Attack on Titan
My favourites: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Darker Than Black

Shoujo

This image comes from Koi dano Ai dano (but is redrawn by Yabuki-you) which is tied with Skip Beat! for favourite ongoing manga.

This is manga geared towards girls (below 18).  The artwork tends to be much more delicate than shounen or seinen (and it usually has a lot of flowers and stars thrown in for good measure haha!)  It is almost entirely comprised of either magical girls (think Sailor Moon) or more contemporary/slice of life plots.  They almost always have a school setting and have a much heavier focus on romantic relationships than shounen or seinen.  The latter stories (which are the bulk of the genre)  are directly comparable to our contemporary YA novels, and as with our contemporary YA the stories can range from fluffy and cute to more serious slice-of-life stories.

You might know: Boys Over Flowers, Fruits Basket
My favourites: Skip Beat!, Cat Street

Josei 

This is another all time favourite (and incidentally has one of my favourite opening songs).  This is a good one for newbies - it doesn't have some of the tropes/quirks you come to expect in anime and manga!

This is manga geared towards women (18+).  It takes on a much more realistic view on relationships (and may delve into more mature subject material where that is concerned, although it's rarely extensive or graphic), whereas shoujo is more idealized relationships.  It also focuses more on careers and familial and platonic relationships as well.

You might know: Honey and Clover, Nodame Cantabile
My favourites: Princess Jellyfish, Nana

Seinen 

xxxHolic has by far my favourite art out of all the anime and mangas I've seen.  I want to frame like every cover and inner color pictures because they're all so gorgeous.  Seriously - google image xxxHolic. The entire search pages is freaking beautiful.

 This is manga geared towards men (18+).  It's pretty much all-encompassing when it comes to genres, and to be quite honest I usually mistake mangas in this audience for other audiences.

You might know: Berserk, Battle Royale
My favourites: xxxHolic, Angel Beats!



You might be thinking, well this information sure is interesting and all, but I still don't know where to start! Should I read the manga or watch the anime? Where do I even get all these things? And wait...hold on...isn't everything in Japanese????  Well don't panic, I've got you covered -

BBBRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNGGGGGG

Unfortunately due to this unexpected fire alarm (aka blogger deleting a full week's worth of work so I had to start the whole bloody lesson plan over from scratch), this week's class has been cut short.  But no worries, I promise next class we'll talk about where to start and how to get there!  Your homework is to think about what anime you think you'd like to start!  While this is a level 101 class, so it is geared towards anime newbies (especially these first few lessons), all levels of otaku are welcome and accepted and as always class discussions and recommendations are always welcome below!  (And remember, class discussions help to keep your participation grades up!)

Monday Musings: Social media, screaming into the void, and stereotyping grandmas.

I'm sure many of you have heard about what happened with Katie M. Stout, author of Hello, I Love You over Twitter last week (wow I started writing this a long time ago!).   I feel like almost all bookish drama goes over my head because I so rarely get on Twitter, but that consequently every time I get on Twitter I just see this huge spiral of negativity as people attack other people, and then defenders of said victims pile on top of the attackers and it just snow balls from there.  And it's not only book drama - it's just easier for me to ignore the rest because A. I'm not in any way involved in said life drama and B. It's usually not about someone who I care about or know.  (Not that it makes it any better in any way - it's just easier to emotionally remove myself from the situation).  I get really, really stressed out when it comes to conflict.  If I've got a problem with someone I'm generally pretty direct.  I like to resolve things quickly because conflict stresses. me. out.  Twitter is basically a breeding ground for misunderstandings - it's easy for people  to get upset when things are taken out of context, and at 140 characters, it's like EVERYTHING is out of context.  (Not that people aren't straight up offensive on Twitter - they totally are, but I feel like the limit often makes both statements and reactions seem more extreme than they were intended to be and it just spirals from there).

On top of all of the dog piling, it often feels like there are millions of people all talking at the same time and they keep trying to be louder than everyone else and sometimes they're yelling to you or the universal you or they're having a semi-private conversation but talking over every one in doing so and it's just so overwhelming.

 I want to be sure that I add that this has nothing to do with any users or Twitter users in general, it's just that I think I'm so ill-used to dealing with so many people talking at one time that I'm at a loss at how to process it.  Twitter is, well, loud.  And with so many people talking at one time, it's not only overwhelming to try and follow what everyone is saying, it's completely intimidating to try and break into.  I'm not very good with large crowds of people, and that doesn't change when it's a virtual environment.  I love that people get to interact with all sorts of people they wouldn't ordinarily be able to talk to, but it's intimidating to talk to people I don't know and just sort of...interrupt a conversation. (I'm getting better about this. I think?) And it's scary when you see how quickly conversations can turn into an internet mob, and it makes me feel constantly on guard in a place that seems geared towards casual conversation, which gives a weird feel to the whole thing.  It also feels like anytime you try and break through the mass of people you're just bulldozed down by millions more people.  This feeling on the fringe also brings out a side of me I thankfully rarely see. It's like I revert to all the awkwardness and insecurity I had when I was in middle school. And frankly, it's painful to behold.  Any time I'm on Twitter, I inevitably reach a point where I'm like "Why isn't anyone responding to me? They think I'm dumb don't they?! They're right I AM dumb.  I'M SO UNCOOL."

Anytime I have to remind myself "Chill Elizabeth, you're not in middle school anymore you are a GROWN ASS WOMAN", is at least one time too many.

That being said, I've had some fantastic experiences with Twitter too.   I'm taking part in OTSP Secret Sister, which is the whole reason I've been on Twitter so much in the past couple weeks at all.  If you guys don't know what it is, it's basically like a 6 month long secret santa project, but with an emphasis on positivity and letter writing and good vibes, and is basically really fun. Not going to lie, at least 20% of my brain has been on this project for the past couple weeks, seeing all the bonding that's been going on between bloggers, and of course planning what to give my secret sister (and what clues to drop her in my letters).  I'm applauding my self restraint in having only written one letter so far - I want to at least wait until she's gotten the letter before I write another haha!  (She isn't at the address she gave yet, so I've been waiting on TENTERHOOKS.)  It's been so much fun so far, and I definitely recommend giving it a go for the next round!  And regardless, the ladies from On The Same Page are wonderful and definitely worth knowing, regardless of your interest in OTSP Secret Sister!


I also took part in #LLRGirlsNight hosted by the girls at Live, Love, Read and that was definitely a lot of fun too!  It's basically like an online movie night - you get to watch a movie and chat about it on twitter while you watch! It's all the plus sides of not having to leave your house to watch a movie and getting to talk about said movie without pissing off your co-watchers haha.  Last month our pick was Sweet Home Alabama, a classic chick flick for those of us born in the 90s and I met loads of new awesome people (and got to talk swoons and sassy Southern girls, always a bonus).  It's going to be a monthly thing, and this month's movie night is going to be this Friday actually!  Voting is still ongoing for a Disney movie pick - you can vote and see all the details here. Even better? You can sign up for e-mail reminders (I think they come out day of or day before) for those of you who are forgetful like me! (I missed the first one because I totally forgot so this is perfect haha!)  In any case it's a lot of fun and went a long way into making me feel more comfortable on Twitter, which despite my what must be close to a year on the site now is only something I've been feeling comfortable with in the past month or so.


And of course a shout out to LaLa who tweets something positive my way almost every Friday (and for the better part of the past year is probably the only reason I ever got on Twitter in the first place!).  She's a guarantee my Friday is going to have a feel good moment :)

So where does this leave me?  Well, for better or worse I'll be sticking around Twitter as it's part of the fun of the #OTSPSecretSister Project.  I'm trying to limit my (already fairly low) usage of Twitter - if I'm starting to feel middle school-ish I make myself get offline.  And I'm hoping the fact that I'm using it so much will continue to make it feel more comfortable for me and just erase my middle school person for good.

It's also definitely made me more sympathetic to (typically) older generations who struggle with newer technology. If I, at 25, have a hard time with Twitter - a technology I have been acquainted with for almost a year now, and whose technological foundation has been created during my teen years - it's no wonder that technology that is moving so fast would baffle a lot of people for whom it's been practically the blink of an eye.  (I also realized I have a selective memory - I didn't move onto Facebook until 3 years after it's founding - dinosaur years in technological time - and flatly refused to have a smart phone until it was the only cheap option by the time I hit grad school.  Which might not sound that bad until you realize that was only three years ago for me.  So clearly I have never been particularly good about embracing new technology.)  But before I go and say it's the older generations only who have trouble with new technology - I dropped the kids I nanny off at their grandmother's house a few weeks ago, and she was happily sharing photos with friends on Instagram (an app/site/I don't even technically know what it is).  So really it comes down to what you find important in your life - not your age.  So, like many others who struggle with technology, at the end of the day I'll have to figure out what I think makes life easier, and what is merely a distraction - and we'll see if Twitter makes the cut.

Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise (Book Blogging Test Day 5)

Today, we're going to travel to the magical land of:

SHOUJO MANGA! 

(For those of you not in the know, this gif is from a funfilled anime/manga known as Ouran High School Host Club. I prefer the anime, but either one is LOADS of fun!)

Shoujo manga is defined as: manga marketed towards females between the ages of 10 and 18.  So basically it's like manga equivalent of YA books. (Except you're less likely to encounter dystopias or robots in shoujo. Not impossible though?)

Now before I get started, let me add this disclaimer: there is some GREAT shoujo manga out there. It's definitely the largest type of manga I consume.  That being said...there's definitely a lot of issues that pop with the genre, frequently.  Like my biggest pet peeve.

Anyone who has read pretty much any shoujo manga ever has encountered the dreaded amnesia arc.  Usually it happens towards the end of a manga when the couple has finally gotten together, there's no external or internal drama, so clearly SOMETHING needs to happen. So the mangaka thinks...EUREKA. I have it!  Love interest will have a car crash/get mugged/hit their head in the swimming pool/fall off a cliff/any dumb crazy reason ever, and BAM. The love interest will lose their memory...but ONLY of the main character.  Because they can't remember the other person they will revert to being a total asshat/a new love interest will be introduced (usually a total mean girl who knows the guy is in a relationship, BUT SO WHAT WHO CARES.)  This also happens dramas ALL. THE. TIME. And it makes me want to punch people.

It's just such a lazy plot device, and it's way, way, WAY overused.  And it incorporates basically all of my least favourite things ever.

1. Significant other being a jerkfaced LOSER.
2. Mean girls who have nothing else to them other than being total horse butts and their entire purpose in life is to ruin the significant other's life. Cue lots of mean girl attacking significant other, particularly in front of the main character.
3. Girl fights over boys.

It's basically a plot device that wraps all of my other least favourite plot devices inside of it.  It's like a plot device bomb.  And it's ruined otherwise good series for me.  That being said...the only manga I could remember off the top of my head (despite looking at a very long list of manga with amnesia) with this problem was Hana Yori Dango, also known as Boys Over Flowers.  This manga WOULD not be included in my otherwise good series - there's waaaaaay too many other problems with it to qualify, but it's the best example I could have come up with for this trope anyway.  (I've talked about my Hana Yori Dango issues before. It's hard for me to admit my addiction to this story despite it standing against like everything I believe in.  And it IS important to the genre - there's a reason it's still one of the most popular mangas twenty years after the fact. So it's not a manga I actively steer people away from...but I don't go herding them towards it either.  For a GREAT shoujo manga, I steer you towards Cat Street)

Yet Another Ode to Tamora Pierce: Keladry of Mindelan

Art by: minuiko

Warning: Spoilers for The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, Protector of the Small, and Daughter of the Lioness.

There's something I really love about Keladry of Mindelan.  I feel like whereas Aly might be the most actively disliked heroine, Keladry is the most overlooked.  (What is with me and loving the least loved?)  People just don't seem to connect to Kel in the same way they do with Alanna and Daine.  Kel's certainly less flashy than the other Tortall heroines.  The other heroines all seem to be born to what they do.  Daine is a wild mage because she's basically a demigod, Aly is also a product of her heritage (although I think she is the most tenuous in my argument that the non-Kel heroines are born to what they do), and I'd argue that Alanna's involvement with the Goddess is so deeply ingrained that her path has almost entirely been shaped by the Goddess.  (Not that I'm saying that they don't work their butts off to get where they are. It's more of a destiny sort of thing that guides them so that there really isn't anything else they could have been.) Kel on the other hand, is very, very normal.  And that's kind of the point.  She's the only non-magical heroine we have (disclaimer: I haven't actually read the Bekka Cooper books yet, so all of these claims are excluding her since I can't say anything on that matter), so she doesn't have the raw power or specialties that the other three do.  Yes, she does eventually become a God's project, sort of, but it happens only in the last book.  Whereas it feels like Alanna was always chosen by her goddess, and Daine and Aly were born into their involvement with gods, it feels more like Kel's god chose her because of who she has come to be, not because she particularly was who he was waiting for. She was simply the best tool for the job at the time.

Art by: Renigada 

I know some people might have felt less involved with Kel's story because there's no big one true love situation.  There's definitely some romance, but there's no one in particular that she ends up with definitely. I actually think this might be one of the reasons I love this quartet so much.  It felt a lot more like what I was like growing up: I was definitely interested in a more than a few boys, but I was never interested in taking it very far.  Basically, like Alanna there are a lot of love interests - but unlike Alanna, there's not lots of sexy time.  And I think it's important that both of these things are put into stories. Both that it is ok to have sexy times if you want them, as long as it is your decision, and that if you aren't ready, then you don't need to do that either.  Both of these situations are good, no one option is better than the other.  And I think it's great that you see heroines who really only have significant interest in one guy (Daine, Ali) or that there's serious interest in lots of guys, but the heroine gets her one guy (Alanna), or that there's interest in lots of guys, but the heroine isn't ready to settle down to have her one guy yet, so she doesn't end up with anyone (Kel). And she's happy like that.

Art by: tameraali

Kel also doesn't have Alanna's temper, Daine's emotionally charged background, or Ali's quick wit, so I suppose even her personality and background doesn't stand out quite the same way theirs does.  And again, I don't think this is a bad thing.  A lot of things about Daine's character are really, really good - she's patient and mild-tempered (at least outwardly - she definitely fights to portray the calm people think she has) - but they are seen as sort of boring traits.  The same with her background - she's from a diplomats family, and her family seems to deeply love her. She didn't hide who she was half her life (Alanna), have her family murdered (Daine), and Ali kind of makes up from having such a privileged background by being so snarky and witty (my opinion haha).  Kel's personality just seems so much quieter than the others, and is more of a team player (even as she ends up being a leader) and I think who she is as a core is just so unappreciated a lot of the time.  In fact, while browsing for awesome Kel fanart, I came across minuiko who is a hard core Kel fangirl, and man you should read what she wrote on why she loves Kel so much.  I mean she just really nails down everything I'm trying to say here.  And on that note, I'm going to leave you with one of my favourite paintings of hers (I think it's because Kel is such a giant and Daine's hair is like....flawless).

Coming Out of the (Book Blogging) Closet

Now I really want to rewatch this show...

I used to be really shy about people knowing that I wrote a blog.  I can't even really put a finger on what it was I was so uncomfortable about.  I wasn't ashamed of it exactly, just afraid it would change how people see me (and I'm not sure how I thought that would change - just a niggling feeling that was the sort of thing people laughed about behind your back I suppose).  I felt like this even before I reviewed mostly YA books, so it has nothing to do with how society views someone my age reading those sorts of books.  Maybe it's because I haven't been an "adult" for very long, but I'm not even sure I knew that was a thing people were ashamed of!  (But it's also likely due to the fact that reading as much as I do in general provokes negative attention, so I used to only fangirl over books with my one or two friends who also loved books, or occasionally with my family when our reading interests lined up).  Probably close to a year ago now, I decided to let my family know about it since I'd started writing some personal posts.  I thought it was going to alleviate some of the guilt when I am a terrible daughter/grand daughter and drop off the face of the earth for a month.  (Mostly it's prompted phone calls wanting to know why they didn't know about things before I put them on the blog :-p. What can I say... I'm usually ok with communication, but I can be really, really terrible haha)

Since I've told my family about it, I'm a bit more relaxed about people in my life knowing about it.  I'm equal parts proud and embarrassed, and really it's a weird feeling.  It makes me feel alternately really shy and secretive and then like I want to say "Look at this awesome thing I do!" (And then I remember that normal people give me kind of disbelieving looks when I talk about books to them, so I try and reign it in haha).  So at the moment I'm kind of trying to act nonchalant (but mostly awkward). I don't want to hide it, because it's a big part of my life and that feels weird, but I try only talk about it if it comes up in conversation.  I'm trying to be a bit more brave about it, but then I worry it comes off as bragging? Or shame?  Basically it feels Part of me wants to be totally down with people I know reading it (because a few of them do), and part of me wants to keep these parts of my life completely separate (and well...it's a bit late for that).  I've found that once someone knows about it, it's a little easier to talk to them about it?

So I guess...how do you guys do it? Are most of you keeping it a separate thing? And if you don't, how do you become comfortable with talking to people about it in real life? (Or am I just a crazy super self conscious person and it's just not a problem for you to talk about it?)

Audiobook vs. Hard Copy - Do you mix medias when reading your book series?

For the first time, I am in the unique position of having to choose between getting an audiobook or a hard copy.

When I first listened to Etiquette & Espionage, I knew next to nothing about the series. In fact, I don't even know why I decided to use that as my free audiobook from Audible.com. I must have seen a recommendation somewhere, because honestly for how charming these books are, I hear very little about them. Luckily, I forgot to cancel my audible subscription so I ended up buying the second book in the trilogy as well before canceling my subscription.  This puts me in a bit of a (admittedly first world) dilemma. I knew so little about these books that I didn't even realize they were a trilogy, let alone an unfinished one! I finally finished the second book last month and was pleased to find out that luckily the third book is coming out next week.  It only occurred to me this week that since I'd listened to the series so far, it might be kind of weird to start reading it!

There's a few problems with getting this on audiobook, however:

1. Audiobooks are expensive.
2. I pretty much exclusively listen to them in the car, which requires them to be in cd format. (This series I actually own digitally, so I listened to them a lot when I was in the shower/cleaning, but it takes forever that way, since mostly my showers are like 5 minutes unless I'm washing my hair)
3. Ergo, I'd ideally own this in cd format, but then my formats won't match since I own the other two digitally.  So that's not entirely ideal either I suppose...
3. Did I mention they were expensive?

On the other hand:

1. I love the narrator, and I'm glad this was my first delve into audiobooks because Moira Quick is absolutely perfect.
2. I already own the first two books on audiobook, and I do like having all of everything in sort of the same format. And it would feel weird to have the first two on audiobook and the third one on my bookshelf.
3. It wouldn't kill me to make some free time to listen this, even if it means I won't get to it anytime soon.
4. The library isn't getting this book anyway, so regardless of all my options, I'm going to have to buy it.  Might as well buy it in the matching format!

We'll see. I mean it's not like I'm going to have moneys/time to listen to this soon so I suppose just because the book is coming out (came out this week?) doesn't mean I have to make a decision right now.  But I'm curious - do you guys mix and match how you read books in a series? Or do you stick to one or the other?  Does it feel weird bouncing between the two?

(And under rhetorical questions, WHY doesn't my library have a cd audiobook of the Abhorsen trilogy? Tim Curry narrates! I want it!)

*P.s. I'm in the market for any recommended book narrators/ones to stay away from/books that are particularly good as audiobooks! I'm limited by what my library has, but other than the Garth Nix trilogy, they seem to have a good selection at least so far!

RrraaAAWWrrrr (Or: Why Zombies?)

I've discovered somethings strange about my reading habits:  I absolutely never read horror because I'm a weenie pants...but apparently I love zombies.

This isn't limited to my reading habits. I don't watch scary movies, but over the years almost every scary movie I've ended up stumbling upon by accident (or by force) have been zombie ones. I'm not sure if my tolerance for zombie movies has eased the path for my love for zombie books or if it's the other way around, but either way I find it curious. Perhaps I can handle zombies better because they are another form of an apocalypse, and I do tend to love my apocalyptic storylines.


But why zombies? I mean there are loads of reasons why I CLEARLY shouldn't like them

1. My inability to handle anything remotely scary (admittedly, I usually have a good week of zombie dreams after encountering them in stories. But they're more adventure than terror?)
2. My inability to handle anything graphic even if it isn't supposed to be scary. (Guys. I can't even watch Bones right now. Anytime they get to a gross part I have to mute the tv and look away from the screen)
3. It's a zombie apocalypse. It's usually really bleak. Did I mention how long I usually procrastinate when I know a book is going to be depressing?
4. It's probably unhealthy for me to get this obsessed with survival techniques and government conspiracies.
5. The more I read/watch zombie things, the more I am 100% certain that it would be a miracle if I managed to survive past the first wave. I don't run. I don't kill anything.  ANYTHING.  Those giant gross roaches? I put them outside. My mortal enemies? (Aka house centipedes. Seriously.  These things are freaking TERRIFYING) Nope, not even them. So giant decaying people? Not likely.


So...what's the appeal here? I have a few theories.

1. I see zombie apocalypses as an equivalent of situations like we have in West Africa right now. That and crazy mob/survivalist situations. I'm obsessed about trying to plan for these situations.
2. My love for government conspiracies.
3. ...you know the more I'm thinking about this, there's clearly something wrong with me. Who thinks about these sorts of things all the times in preparation for a situation like that?!
4. I've just read some REALLY phenomenal books, and they have happened to be zombie ones.

Growing up, the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix was one of my absolute favourite series of ALL TIME. (Clariel!!! So soon!! I'm FREAKING OUT.)  It's definitely not your traditional way of zombie telling. In a way, it's the perfect combination of everything I love - zombies, fantasy, hint of romance, awesome side characters, great character arcs, and straight up badass heroines. And how awesome is it to combine magic and zombies? It's also the only zombie series I've read that doesn't have a medical reason behind the zombies (or an implied one). It also has fairly sentient zombies, in that the head zombie is well...there's a head zombie. So while this book falls on the edges of traditional zombie telling, really the only qualification needed to be a zombie book is undead things.  

The Newsflesh Trilogy is what really set me off on the zombie obsession. Meg gave this to me as my Secret Santa present last year, and as the first books I read this year, they still stand in my top ten books of the year - in fact, they might even be my #1 choice for this year. If I thought that zombie books were going to be purely action packed with little character development or world building, this series completely proved me wrong. I can not emphasize enough how AMAZING this series is. The author makes some really shocking choices - and then commits to them. I've never been so impressed and surprised at the same time (excepting Queen Sarah J. Maas of course). If there is one zombie book to try, this series is IT.

Technically I've only read the first book in this trilogy, but I've got the next two checked out so hopefully remedy that soon.  If you want your feelings spared at all, this is definitely not the series for you. It's why I haven't finished the trilogy yet - ordinarily I would just read straight through (although I am pleased to say that the first book at least reads like a stand alone and I LOVE the way it ended), but after the first book I definitely can't read these at work.  YOU try explaining to people who walk in the door that "No, no I'm fine, just one of my favourite characters was just killed by a zombie". 

This is just as action packed as the other series, but it's also a lot more reflective, and the way the romance is treated is amazing. When I first picked up the book I was ready to roll my eyes, but as the book develops it's just...I don't want to spoil things, but even if you roll your eyes for the first few chapters, give this book a chance. The relationships - family, friends, and love interests are messy and complicated, and that isn't diminished by the fact that they are fighting for their lives. It's basically a perfect balance for me - definitely action packed, but some of the best and most drastic character growth I've seen in a long, long time.

Hey guess what? Don't google zombie images if you want one for your blog.  #Nightmaresforever.  Also I just realized it's October, aka the perfect month to post about zombies. Look at my subconscious, it's got everything covered for me!  And man this was a long post even after I cut a ton out of it...sorry!  (I may have run at 5:30 this morning so I wasn't late to work. It's clearly messed with the natural order of things and now my brain is out of control.  MAKE IT STOP.)  

Thoughts on zombies? Favourite zombie books I should read?  Shoot! (But remember, only head shots kill zombies.  Friendly reminder of the day).

If Disney Characters Were Cast: Tortall

This is an idea I've had floating around my head for months! It actually started because I was planning on doing a post where I peg Disney characters as musicians, but I got stuck and this came out instead haha!  I'm hoping to get the music post though, because what I do have nailed down is perfect.

So with no further ado, here's which Disney characters I would cast in the roles of Tamora Pierce's characters from Tortall!  (The names link to quotes that I think nail down their characters)

 Alanna of Trebond

So...confession time.  I haven't actually seen Brave (blasphemy for a self proclaimed Disney obsessor I know!), but from what I have inferred about Merida, she has the same tomboyish, headstrong behavior Alanna has, and is excellent at combat?  The curly red hair doesn't hurt either :-)

 George Cooper

By bechedor79

Charming? Check. Rogue? Double check.  Besides, Flynn is almost as good as the King of Thieves.  He's perhaps a bit more suave, yet at the same time clumsier, than I would pick for George, but in all other ways he's a perfect match!

Jonathan of Conté

By FreeLikeWater

Once Jonathan has grown into his role as king, he's a pretty standard dude.  Eric is similar in that, other than with his dog Max and torturing Grimsby, he doesn't have any outstanding character traits either.  So this one is going solely on description - black hair, bright blue eyes, and a strong, straight nose?  Sometimes I wonder if the artist who came up with Eric read the Alanna books!

Thayet jian Wilima

By alicexz

This is another one where I feel like the looks suit the description (although upon browsing Tumblr I have discovered that apparently Thayet has always had really pale skin - I've always imagined her with dark skin! Whatevs. I'm sticking to my image).  Thayet and Pocahontas are both princesses in a complicated cultural situation who choose to help their people by leaving to another country.  Esmeralda was a close second for this one, as she's is deeply invested in her people's well being, but I felt personality wise she was too saucy for Thayet haha!  Thayet seems to be somewhat more reserved, making her a better fit for Pocahontas.  Plus she has a super close friend the way Pocahontas does, which I've just realized is kind of a rare thing in Disney movies.  All the bffs are animals!



Buriram Tourakom


By Elentori

While Buri isn't a warrior princess - she is a high ranking noble warrior, so I think that's close enough!  Both are highly skilled warriors who don't trust easily (although Kida's not quite as stubborn as Buri is).



Roger of Conte


By AlexandriaMonik

Charming, attractive, and utterly unsuspected by pretty much everyone, Hans is the perfect fit for Roger. 

Keladry of Mindelan


By Ry-Spirit11234 

Although Mulan in many ways could be a good match Alanna, what with all the gender bending, Kel and Mulan are much calmer people.  Both have to mask how they feel constantly, and in general are very centered, focused people.

Alianne of Pirate's Swoop

By Shricka

Other than the red hair (and you'll see what with the white washed Disney characters, it wasn't possible to stick to people who looked the part), Ariel is also spoiled and feels restless trapped in her current situation.  She just wants to have fun!  And spoilers she also decides to leave her home for a completely different culture that she's fallen in love with.

Nawat Crow

By kyri01

A loveable rogue like Nawat, he's no professional thief like Flynn/George.  He also feels like he needs to change who he is to get the girl.  And in case you were wondering, he's my favourite love interest out of all Tamora's works.  Although George sometimes wins in these contests I hold in my head. Stop looking at me like that.

Saraiyu Balitang

Saraiyu and Jasmine are both very complicated characters.  In many ways both are like Ariel/Aly - they're all supremely spoiled girls.  But Saraiyu is more fiery like Jasmine, and she is determined that her life will be one of her own choosing, and not one set by political manuevers.  She wants to help people on her own terms, and she only wishes to marry for love.

Dovasary Balitang

By greyannis

Ok, so originally Belle was going to be for Numair (because who says the characters have to match gender?), but then I ended up using Pocahontas for Thayet, so Belle is the obvious choice for Dove.  Perhaps the most introverted of all the Tortall characters and Belle for the Disney princesses, as well as both being giant book lovers, clearly they are the same person. 

This post is getting a bit too long now and the other characters I have plotted out don't have much description, so for what it's worth I could see Elsa as Imajane, Captain Lyle as Rubinyan (the same very rational, no one sees him as a villain reasons as why Hans and Roger are a good match), John Smith as Liam Ironarm, and Gaston as Bronau which is probably one of my favourite picks actually haha!  They just love themselves so much!

And for you Daine and Numair lovers out there - don't be offended! I just honestly couldn't think of good picks for them.  I've always had a hard time nailing down Daine's dominant character traits, and Belle was the only person I could think of for Numair and she was taken.  Any suggestions from you guys?

So what'd you think? Any people you would switch around?

Monday Musings: Fantasy Settings and Diversity

To give you a little background on this week's MM, I'm going to talk a little bit about The Kiss of Deception.  No spoilers, and it's only to give parameters for the topic.

The Kiss of Deception is not only a book you should absolutely go pick up now, it's a book that led me to an interesting epiphany of sorts.  While reading this book I came to a realization: for possibly the first time ever, I imagined all these characters as non-white characters without consciously making the decision to do that in the beginning of the book.  I had been imagining the main character as resembling someone like Jasmine from Aladdin (and actually she still might be - I couldn't remember her description) and the others as a range of darker skin tones - but Rafe is blond and Pauline is described at some point as having honey hair, and another character is mentioned as having pink skin.  This actually dampened my enjoyment of the novel - the characters were just so different in appearance than I had imagined!  This is unusual for me, because I generally have a vague concept of how things appear, not specific ideas so I can't think of a time finding out someone's appearance or race being different than I imagined as a bad thing.  But I suppose I was just so pleasantly surprised to discover a fantasy novel with both diverse settings and diverse people that I got disappointed when I discovered this wasn't the case.

I was trying to figure out why this bothered me so much and why I had imagined them all as non-white characters in the first place.  Then I realized that the setting is different - there are jungles with tigers, as well as deserts and your general expected town settings in a fantasy novel.  Almost all fantasy worlds are set in the equivalent of the Western world, and almost all characters are white. Fantasy novels rarely get deserts, and even scarcer are jungles, and I think these settings are intrinsically linked to other cultures for me, therefore other races are at the forefront of my mind when imagining these places.  When I think of jungles and the desert, my mind definitely jumps to stereotypes of Africa, the Middle East, and South America - all places where there's generally a majority of darker skinned races.  (My dad is South African and he's white, so this all goes to say that I DO know that not everyone is one color in these places.  And there's plenty of blonde South Americans.  But still. Generally, stereotypically speaking, I think most people around me also have the same stereotypical images when thinking of these places)

I was really excited about getting new settings - while I'm a fantasy girl through and through, we really do seem to get a lot of the same looks in fantasy worlds.  I'm always excited to discover something entirely different (in fact it's one of the ONLY things I liked about Defy - it was probably the first fantasy novel I'd ever read that even mentions a jungle).  That's a lie - Tamora Pierce does a fantastic job of getting her characters into all sorts of different lands - Carthak and the Copper Isles are great examples, and the Circle of Magic series has even more great settings.  But otherwise, I really haven't encountered much Eastern based fantasy. (C.S. Lewis doesn't count. The Horse and His Boy had some offensive stereotypes if I recall. I could be wrong about that though.) Now I have even more reason to want diversity in setting - specifically speaking for me, I imagine more racially diverse books when the setting is more diverse itself.  This isn't to say that I don't strongly believe we need more diversity in ALL fantasy - after all it's not like the Western world is only built up of white people, so we shouldn't be getting only white characters in our Western based fantasy novels - but if I get to kill two birds with one stone (Actually I hate that saying. It's barbaric.) why not get a book with diverse climates, cultures, and people?

Goal: I'm always on the lookout for books with diversity (this is not exclusive to race), but I'm also specifically looking for non-Western based fantasy.  Go!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 05 - A book or series you hate

It's honestly really, really difficult to make me hate something.  Mostly because it's hard for me to hate anything that someone has spent years of their life dedicating heartfelt work into.  As an artist, it hurts a bit when I dislike things because well...as an artist I understand what it's like to be on the other side of the process.

That being said, I seem to have a specific trigger for RAGE when reading.  When it's pointless.

Example 1.  Waiting for Godot

There is nothing NOTHING worse than this book.  Period. The end. Ever.  The entire point of the book is THAT IT HAS NO POINT.  I just can't.  I don't give a crap about your existentialist points.  They're full of shit and so are you Thomas Beckett.  There's three whole pages of gibberish.  It's not even real words, or even charming nonsense words like Dr. Seuss (who I adore).  IT'S NOTHING. THE WORLD IS EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS AND BOOKS LIKE THIS SHOULDN'T EXIST.

Example 2. Heart of Darkness

Until I read Waiting for Godot, this was the worst book I'd ever read.  I honestly can't remember anything but a very specific scene I will get to.  I'm pretty sure it's set in Africa.  ....and that's all I've got.  I'm not sure even when I read it that I understood anything that was going on, to be honest.  What I do remember is a specific scene somewhere in the middle of the book.  The characters are stranded somewhere in the jungle because they need screws for their ship.  And then literally like a sentence later IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH...they're sailing down the river.  Wait what? When/where did they get the screws? What was the point of telling me any of that then?  WHY????


As much as slut shaming and carboard bffs are enough to make me want to throw a book across the room, none of these have anything to the rage induced by these books. (Probably because I HAD to read them).  That being said, Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbevilles is definitely up there on this list.  I think it's an important book, and I think Hardy wrote some great commentary on the society at the time, but man do I loathe that book.  I didn't include it in this list because I feel like I can't talk about the reasons why I hate it without spoilers and well...I feel like there are people out there who will actually read it. And I know people who love it. So there you are *shrugs*

And that concludes books I loathe!  Any other books I should avoid at all costs?

The Book Challenge: Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever

So...I am going to have a real problem sticking to my guns about no repeats on this list (especially since I keep picking more than one book).

I've already talked about Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, All of Tamora Pierce's books, Abarat, and Unspoken, all of which would be contenders for this category.  I'm going to go ahead and see if I can pick a standalone novel, so let's see where that leaves me...


                                                

I've picked both of these books because
A. Then I don't have to choose between them, and because
B. The less you know about them, the better.  It means I can't talk much about them, but I'm hoping you'll take me at my word here that if you love INSANE plot twists, both of these books are definitely for you.  (And on a sidenote, I've discovered almost all of my favourite standalone novels are adult fiction.  There's like two that aren't.  Is this because almost all of YA is series now? Uncertain...)

If you like gothic feeling books, I couldn't recommend The Thirteenth Tale more. I cannot talk enough about how in love I am with this book.  If you read her book Bellman & Black and hadn't read The Thirteenth Tale, please please please don't judge her writing by that book.  (Or rather her ability to write things that are heart racing, absorbing, and have a plot. Her writing is beautiful even in Bellman & Black, it just didn't actually make anything happen).  I don't know a single person who didn't love this book. (And these are all reviewers or authors whose opinions I value greatly.  Also sorry not sorry, I was a total creeper and totally checked out if we loved the same books.  What? It's important to know!)  Basically, the writing in this book is just beautiful (and we know how I am with beautiful prose), it definitely has a complicated premise (so if you like your mysteries clear cut and simple, this isn't for you), has a...narrator that is my favourite type (LOVE - it's even like an unreliable narrator getting the story from an even more unreliable narrator. IT'S THE BEST.) and best of all, it's all about books :)  (Also if you liked The Thirteenth Tale and haven't checked out The Shadow of the Wind - and vice versa - you totally should.)


The Double Bind is no less complicated than The Thirteenth Tale, but it's a very different sort of mystery.  But again, I can't say how.  I will say it is just as...dark, but in a more graphic way?  This was my very first Chris Bohjalian novel, and remains my favourite.  If you've read any of his novels, I will say that they are all very different, and this one is definitely in a category all on its own, so if you've read his more popular books (like Midwives) it is nothing like them, and you shouldn't bring any conceptions of his style of story telling from those.  Even more than The Thirteenth Tale there's just very little I can talk about.  Like...there are things that I want to say...I just can't! Because you need to know NOTHING beforehand.  Just...can someone PLEASE read this so that I have at least one friend who has read it and I can talk to someone about it?  GO READ THIS NOW.

Monday Musings: Genres and Complacency

Ahh, my standard putting a post up not on the day that matches the title...in my defence I currently don't have internet. (And will probably not have internet for the first couple weeks of July, so we'll see...) I will also say, please excuse my English for the rest of my post because I wrote most of this late at night...and I've been binge watching a K-drama so...my English sounds a little unnative at the moment haha!


-->Until fairly recently I thought I read pretty much anything.  Over the past couple years, I've realized that I don't really love all genres. For example, I've known for a while that paranormal romance because just doesn't really work for me.  There are a few things that I think are on the border - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' Kiesha'ra series technically is a shapeshifter series which makes one think paranormal, but it really feels like a fantasy novel, and Laini Taylor's Smoke and Bone series has angels, but again in a lot of ways feels more like fantasy.  I've also grown to know that perhaps I don't read all that much contemporary fiction and my consumption of historical fiction has greatly diminished (and I don't know why since that used to be a staple of my diet), but I at least was pretty well rounded when I came to science fiction and fantasy.  Right?   

Wrong.  

 
I read almost exclusively fantasy novels.  I only recently realized, after a conversation with one of my only IRL bookish friends, that I don't really read any science fiction.  Admittedly, I do read dystopias. But I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I read a science fiction novel that wasn't a dystopia.  And of the other genres I read, almost all of them border on fantasy in some way.  Yes, Anne McCaffrey is science-fiction...but she has dragons and a similar set-up to the feudal systems you find in fantasy.  So...it's still close enough to fantasy for me to feel like I'm not reading much in other genres.

Over the past couple years I've also almost entirely cut adult fiction from my reading. It used to comprise of probably 40% of what I read.  In this whole year, I've read only 4 books that are clearly adult fiction books (Things like Locke Lamora can be classified as both I feel) that weren't for review.  None of these things in and of themselves is bad - young adult vs. adult is simply an audience change. But again - I think getting stuck in one audience is just as limiting as reading one genre.

Yes, it's good to streamline your books so you are reading books that interest you.  But by being so selective with my books, I've also boxed myself into a very specific genre with very specific messages.  And that means that I'm not pushing myself.  At what point does the balance between not wasting your time on books you might not like start to encroach on reading book that push you to  new ideas and experiences? Is that something you worry about, or is it better to consume as many enjoyable books as possible?  I'm of the mind that I want books that push me, because it just opens you up to so many new thoughts and experiences, but I also feel like my patience for books outside my comfort zone has greatly diminished as I have started to blog.  The last book I can remember challenging my way of thinking or putting things in a new way for me was Just Like Fate - a contemporary novel (with a twist. Could potentially be seen as a contemporary with sci-fi undertones?)   I think it is noteworthy that while I've found some of the best fantasy novels I've ever read in the past six months, none of them have made me have that "Aha! I never thought of it that way" moment.  

So here is where YOU come in!  Over the next few months I want to start reading some books that aren't fantasy.  Any genre (even paranormal romance), any audience - picture books, mg, ya, na, adult! I'll try them all!  It may take me a while to get to them - I'm going to be moving and it's going to be totally hectic basically until September, but I will hopefully get to at least one of the recommendations/person...by the end of the year? (I'm terrible at challenges, so I make no promises as this is a bit like a challenge...but I think I have it in me!)  Some of you have already recommended me some books that I am putting in a new goodreads shelf that will be just for book recommendations from you guys!  Feel free to browse my favourites shelf and the books I really, really, REALLY plan on reading (instead of my 1000 book tbr pile haha) to help with the recommendations or to vote them higher on my tbr list.  I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

Monday Musings: LGBT in Books

Note: Some of what I'm going to talk about relates to this series, since it's what provoked the response in the first place. But a lot is relevant to views on LGBT in general, and I've marked spoilers for the series where relevant.  But I will warn you, that while I do my best to mark things, if you are determined to read Wolfcry, you might want to read it before this, just in case.  Onwards!


During my month long hiatus, I spent a lot of time rereading books because that's what I do when I get stressed out.  In fact if you look at the list of books I've read in 2014, May's length is pretty much triple all the others, and almost all those books are rereads haha! During this reread I decided to tackle Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Kiesha'ra books, since I remembered really enjoying them in high school and had recommended them to someone fairly recently. If you don't know about them, they're a collection of really unique shapeshifter books - these aren't your typical werewolf ones (although the later ones do feature wolves). There's snake shifters and hawk shifters and tiger shifters and dragon shifters (ok aWyvern, but they're basically mini dragons).  The world building is amazing, especially considering how short all the books are.  I mean she not only has a full culture built in with social norms, religion, mythology, and history...she has that for multiple cultures. At least 3 fully fleshed out in the series, but another two that she's clearly mapped out as well.  But as I said, the books are short.  They could all stand to have at least another 100 pages to flesh things out a bit more.  In fact that's really my only complaint, otherwise they're a really fun, quick read.


Once I'd reread the books, I decided to go onto Goodreads and update my ratings if needed, and just generally browse reviews.  When I got to Wolfcry...I was shocked.  And with each review I could slowly feel my anger build, and build, and build...until I was about ready to explode.

 Clearly I need to go on a Goodreads review ban again.

I ended up writing a review more as a rebuttal to what other people had written, rather than a review of the book itself.  It's not the most well thought out thing I've ever written since it was very much done in anger. This review is much better written and is well worth reading and really nails down everything great (and not great) about this book.  (But there's spoilers, be warned).  In any case, it's the other reviews I want to talk about - the ones that made me absolutely seethe inside.

Next comes a small spoilery bit, just so you know.

There was a reviewer who actually thought she was going to end up with the wolf who TRIED TO RAPE HER before Betia could be considered as a love interest, and thought that would have been a better choice.  There are people who would rather have a woman raped than have them end up with another woman. Yeah. Let that sink in for a minute.  I don't know why I was surprised by that sentiment...but I was.  Everyone seemed shocked by the ending choice. I wasn't. Admittedly, I'd read the book before, but it has been OVER A DECADE, so I couldn't remember the ending. You could argue that might put me subcionsciously more likely to understand the ending and pick up clues, but that's beside the point.  There are all sorts of hints that happen with Oliza's travels with Betia.  Things that if it had been a male and female character would undoubtedly have caused people to ship them, but because they were same sex characters, the thought didn't occur to them.  That in and of itself is not a problem - that simply says to me that there need to be more books out there like this.  We need more exposure.  It's the reaction after the surprise that makes me angry.   

END SPOILERS

What concerns me the most is not the people who were outspoken about their belief that lesbian relationships are unholy.  They will always be there. For all of time. There is nothing we can do to change that.  There are still people who believe interracial couples should be condemned to death and that women shouldn't be leaders.  I like to think they are in the minority and that mostly they're just kind of crazy. But the people who pretend they are ok with LGBT relationships? They're what's scary. They know it's not socially acceptable, so they think they are ok with it.  And I honestly think that most of them really believe it of themselves, because most of us think of ourselves as good.  But when these people are actually confronted with said relationship, they rebel against it and are disgusted. They don't want to hear about relationships that are different from theirs. They don't want to read about anything "other".  In some ways - very minor and very different ways - I understand the kind of invasive questions and disgust that gays get.  I don't want to make it seem like what I have experienced is anywhere near what the LGBT community goes through.  But I often encounter the same sort of people (the ones who don't think they're being offensive).

It's like the people who have seen me with my boyfriend. He's Korean.  I know I'm not getting as much flack as I would if he were black, but I've still had encounters - from people who probably don't even believe they are racist.  I've had people ask me if I have something against white men.  I've have people tell me to look them up when I'm interested in a real man. I've had people make assumptions about my boyfriend's genitalia that I really don't find entertaining.  And honestly? What right do you, as a stranger (or even as my friends and family), to talk to something like that with me, simply because of my boyfriend's race?  It's also just feels invasive.

If I was dating a white man not a single one of those conversations would have happened.  Not. One. Ever.  I feel like I'm in a relationship that is probably one of the most accepted as far as dating outside race goes, and certainly more accepted than LGBT relationships are.  (Although I've noticed it seems to make a big difference - towards the negative - that I am a white woman and he is an Asian man, and not the reverse. I have my own theories regarding that, but this post isn't supposed to be about this, so I won't get into that now).

A lot of the same situations happen with LGBT relationships (and I'm not speculating on this - I have friends who experience this all the time).  They want to know who the "girl/guy" in the relationship is.  Or they feel uncomfortable if you show any physical affection in front of them - but they're totally ok with your relationship, really.  And some of them actually do mean well and are just curious.  We need books out there that make these relationships seem normal so that people don't end up being treated like they're at the zoo.  Books like these are the books we need for world views to change.  I've mentioned before, particularly about Tamora Pierce, that although I don't think I ever would have had a problem with the LGBT community (because my family is awesome and raised me well), I also think being raised on books like these have ingrained in me that people are just people no matter what they look like or who they love.  Books can have that power, especially when kids get to read them. 

We're getting spoilery again:

I think it's also important to have books specifically like this one, where you aren't set up from the beginning to know that the main characters are going to be gay.  I feel like I've seen fewer poor reviews of books that were either set up from the beginning to have an LGBT relationship or if it is a side character, because people going in already know that's what they're getting.  I feel like people think it's "ok" to have books about gay characters...but they don't want to read about them.  Not if it's a main character and not if the character can be seen as straight at any point in time.  Not if there's a potential love interest of the opposite gender.  Then it's suddenly not ok.  And that's what scares me.  Because put in those terms, it's letting people who think they are allies show that they still believe LGBT relationships are inferior to straight ones.  That it is preferable to have a man stalk you and attempt to rape you than choose to love another woman.  And that's unacceptable.

via GIPHY