I realized the other day that my Tell Me Tuesday posts are now the only regular book posts here on the blog. In search of blog view numbers most of my post themes have evolved into fantasy living fare; the most popular post types on this site. I was thinking I needed a general book chat feature because there are times when I have thoughts of the literary kind, and bookish questions I'd like to ask. Adding these to my TMT posts would make them too long. So here we are... let's chat my friends!
When I first started book blogging, my ten year anniversary is coming up in September of this year, LGBTQ representation in Young Adult literature was becoming popular. In the YA books I was reading at that time, it was usually not a main element; there was most times a secondary character who was mentioned as being gay and that was as far as the involvement in the storyline went; maybe it would be mentioned that the character had a crush on someone in school of the same sex and that was usually the end of the conversation. At that time this was enough to get a book hashtagged as LGBTQ on Twitter and put on shelves and lists on Goodreads... but is it now? I say no.
•
What brought this to mind recently is an ARC I was reading had a main character (in the 1600s) who was having subtle feelings for another female in the village. If this was ten years ago I would have shelved it on Goodreads as LGBTQ, and hashtagged my review as LGBTQ on Twitter... (yes, when I first started blogging I did full post reviews here on the blog; please don't faint away, ha ha). However, now I wait to see if the LGBTQ+ content has any real impact on the story, making the reader more enlightened from reading it.•
Now that I'm finished with the book, the addition of the character having an attraction to her friend, in a way, cheapened her friendship in my eyes because you couldn't really know if she was helping the other woman because she was her friend, or because she was attracted to her.
•
What does it take for you to shelve a book as LGBTQ+? Too many authors have been adding small nods just to get the extra attention. I say it's time to stop giving them that unearned attention.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST ADULT FICTION NOVEL YOU READ?
•
Mine was definitely Jane Eyre. I read it in seventh grade when I was twelve. My best friend's mother was the junior high librarian and she suggested I read it. I loved it so much I turned around and read it again immediately. It was my favorite book until I read To Kill a Mockingbird the following year. Honestly, they are tied for that top spot. I'm buddy re-reading Jane Eyre with Liis from Cover to Cover, right now, for Women's History Month.
•
As some of you know, I collect multiple editions of Jane Eyre, and I came across this stellar edition the other day when I was looking for linocut images for this blog post. I need it. This is the Random House 1943 hardcover edition and I am now on a mission to find a "used very good" copy for a reasonable price. Wish me luck! Do you collect multiple editions of favorite books?
I would love to hear your thoughts!
•
What was the first Adult Literature book you read?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank-you for dropping by! I love to chat, so comments get a lot of love.