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yendi(and anyone else who enjoyed her post on casual sexism)
Check out this article (gleaned from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lizlet's non-LJ blog).
The really frustrating thing (aside from the assumption that women don't like Philip K. Dick or know what Cyberpunk is) is that this crap begins by referring to Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris, one of my all-time favorite books about books (and something that belongs in everyone's library).
Check out this article (gleaned from
lizlet's non-LJ blog). The really frustrating thing (aside from the assumption that women don't like Philip K. Dick or know what Cyberpunk is) is that this crap begins by referring to Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris, one of my all-time favorite books about books (and something that belongs in everyone's library).
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 06:23 am (UTC)I feel dirty and not in a good way.
Rarely am I moved to respond to such articles but at the moment I really want to write this person and explain in no uncertain terms that there ARE women who like Philip K. Dick and know what cyberpunk is (and enjoy it) AND in addition to that -- because there's always something in addition, right? -- there is no time like vacation time to tackle that 600+ pager. In fact, I'm more likely than my boyfriend to haul along a book that clocks in at eight or nine hundred pages.
Grrrrrrr.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 07:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 10:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:AAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH.
Date: 2004-07-09 01:16 pm (UTC)In our house, Patrick's the SF/fantasy aficianado and I'm the fan of pulp crime and off-beat literary books. But I'm the one who's read more Phillip K. Dick and cyberpunk.
He introduced me to Neal Stephenson; I introduced him to Larry McMurtry. He reads more female authors than I do, although they are, admittedly, all in that SF/fantasy genre. I would never have picked up Nina Kiriki-Hoffman if it wasn't for him -- in return, he gets to devour my collection of Hammett, Jim Thompson, John D. McDonald, etc.
Gahhhhhh.
Thanks, lady, for reinforcing about 700 tired stereotypes.
Re: AAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH.
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From:(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 06:57 am (UTC)Wonder if she'd mind if I added her, I need all the enlightened view I can get.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 01:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 07:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 07:37 am (UTC)No girlish whimsy. You will never get him to open Georgette Heyer, so play fair and leave Regency Buck and The Grand Sophy at home.
You will never get ME to read such drivel.
The same goes for detective novels.
Chicks read detective novels? You're the only person I know who reads detective novels.
anything by Paul Auster; sci-fi by Philip K Dick; anything involving Nearly Falling Off a Mountain; all 'cyber-punk' (whatever that is); Titus Groan; business books.
*SCREAM*
Fucking defective article-author, I swear to god. Dick? I love Dick, and I'm not just saying that because it makes me giggle. Cyberpunk? Learn what it is before panning it, bitch. I write cyberpunk, for godssakes.
Then again, if he wants to pack any of the above, ditch him and go away with a Carol Shields-loving girlfriend instead.
*sputter*
But men like their books to be virginal and pristine.
Oh, and of course we silly girls don't mind, because we don't care about books, do we? *insipid giggle*
*SCREAM*
It's morons like this that give female bibliophiles a bad name, I swear. I mean, hello? I'm the golden-age sci-fi geek in the house. I'm the one who writes the stuff. I'm the one with the Dick (heh) and the Sturgeon and the Shirley and Sterling and Dangerous Visions (two copies!) and Again, Dangerous Visions and and and...
She is fucking uneducated and does not deserve to get paid for writing this misogynistic SHIT.
In closing...
This is what girls read, bitch. And see the bookcase behind me? That's my to-read shelf. And yeah, there's at least one cyberpunk book there. And my copy of GRRM And and... AAAGH!
*pant* *pant*
And stop listening to "Funkytown",
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 07:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
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From:Well...
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From:(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 07:54 am (UTC)As I can do nothing but sputter in reply to this I think I'll just head off merrily this weekend with my bag, which is currently filled with journaling materials AND a Philip K. Dick omnibus edition AND Jennifer Government...and maybe a detective novel. ;-)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:Hrm.
Date: 2004-07-09 08:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:17 am (UTC)She's obviously not writing about me: I've read cyber punk (although it's not my favorite part of science fiction) and Titus Groan (likewise but fantasy), and I enjoy biographies and books about history. On the other hand, Heyer's The Grand Sophy is a marvelously well-written romance; Jo Walton (a marvelously good sf&f writer herself) reads and recommends Heyer. But I also read Tom Clancy novels for pleasure. And my husband loves vampire novels.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:21 am (UTC)Books
Date: 2004-07-09 08:22 am (UTC)I have so many objections to that article it's hard to pick one, but here it is: Why not just pack all the books and take books that you enjoy instead of trying to compromise and read books you're not as excited about? Does togetherness have to extend to fiction? I mean, if I had to read what my husband reads, I'd be reading all comics and RPG manuals (with some notable exceptions like GRRM). Frankly, if you're going to pack lightly for a vacation, take paperbacks! Or just take less of something else and keep the books. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:40 am (UTC)For me, vacation = 1 pair of sandals.
*I am so very much not not looking up this word. I assume she means the bottles of skin peelers and restorers and enhancing and reducing creams. Because that's so much more important than reading what you like.
Right, I'm going to go reread some Stephenson. Or maybe some Gibson. Or anything else I damned well feel like reading, because I can assure you that good writing will not fry my poor little feminine brain nearly as badly as reading that piece of shit advice will.
I looked it up....
Date: 2004-07-09 08:47 am (UTC)Re: I looked it up....
From:(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:44 am (UTC)It seems her entire reason for even writing this piece is because she thinks books are heavy. Sure, books are heavy, but so the fuck what?! They're certainly no heavier than several pairs of shoes, and I would much rather have a suitcase full of books and one pair of shoes on my feet, then tons of shoes and no books. *rolling eyes*
IMHO, someone who's concerned more about the weight of the books than their actual content is not someone who I'm inclined to take advice from.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:59 am (UTC)Him: Why is this box so much heavier than the last one?
Me: Those books use bigger words.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:45 am (UTC)And we wonder how Bush gets so many votes... oh wait... she's British.
*boggle*
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 09:04 am (UTC)Calls herself a bibliophile, seeks to date a bibliophile, seeks to go on a vactation with him. Then seeks to force him to read her crap instead of letting him bring his own, so she can have more room for shoes????
Screw your shoes, you twit, I'm bringing my William Gibson hardbacks!
I'd scream if my mind could actually take her seriously
Date: 2004-07-09 09:12 am (UTC)I didn't realize books had gender specifications for their readers. I guess my local bookstore isn't carding because no one has stopped me from buying any sci-fi before. I guess in future I'll have to hand my money to my husband outside so he can buy the books and sneak them to me like I am some kid trying to score some beer.
This woman is absurd.
Side note: If she is so worried about her appearance (after all, she can't possibly bring enough lotion and shoes), shouldn't she view those 'heavy' books as a means to get a work-out for free. After all, she is going to be reading them all at the beach (presumably in beach attire).
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 11:16 am (UTC)I have plenty of room to pack my 600-page sf novels AND my goddamn unguents, balms, and tinctures, BECAUSE I am not a fucktard. Nor do I insist that whatever poor hapless bastard I am vacationing with read books that I also want to read.
What a git.
huh.
Date: 2004-07-09 01:48 pm (UTC)i have a hard time even FINDING men who will read a 600+ page book.
(and while i really love reading, i think anyone who goes on a vacation to Somewhere Else and takes books to read is a bit goofy. but i know that's just me.)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 02:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 02:16 pm (UTC)I'm also female.
I like cyberpunk.
Grar.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 04:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 06:29 pm (UTC)That right there proves she doesn't know what the hell she's talking about.
{Bette Davis}What. A. Twit.{/BD}
If you do let him take it, trouble will follow. Either he'll get sick of it and start stealing your books or he'll plough stubbornly on and you'll have to listen to his sighing over the whir of the cicadas.
Well, leaving the "Let" bit alone, there's also the chance that he might get really into it and spend time really enjoying himself, leaving "you" to happily read your own book.
But, you know, that never happens. 'Cause girrrrllllllssssssssss don't really read. Well, except for pretty pink books. And romance novels...pink romance novels sprayed liberally with perfume.
There are many books that he might like but which you definitely won't
Oooh, she knows what I definitely will and won't like. Amazing. There are no genres that I absolutely hate *everything* in. I've even like a couple romance novels. But I should throw all that stuff away. It'll strain my pretty pink brain! Especially those Cyberpunk books. Doesn't matter that I've been reading them for a decade or so. I'm fooling myself. I don't really *like* them.
Ooh! Maybe I'm not really female. *checks* Nope, the parts haven't changed and I'd remember hormone treatments.
And try not to get suntan lotion on the hardbacks, girls. I like it when I open an old book and it smells headily of Ambre Solaire. But men like their books to be virginal and pristine.
Oh yeah, I *like* goop on my books. All women do...oops! Girls. Right. Girls like gross books, MEN like untainted books. Okay, good to know.
I've learned so *much* from this article.
And now I need to go get rid of it. I do hope the bathroom isn't occupied.
Gessi
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-09 08:19 pm (UTC)The social reinforcement of sexism is a prevalent as it ever was. Consider it progress, at least, that some of us are escaping the sexism and breaking the stereotypes.
Real freedom is choosing what you like and respecting someone else's choices.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-10 01:02 am (UTC)I read everything she writes about... big books on holiday, Heyer, Sayers, Melville, and my better half reads most of that (saving the Heye).
A pox on her.
TK