slaingod

So I made a trek to BB&B yesterday, on 6th Ave and 18th St. (NYC). I hadn’t been in several years, so my list of things I needed had gotten pretty long. Plus, it is impossible to go in there and not walk out with twice as much as you expected. (As I was standing in line to have my purchases scheduled for delivery, the woman in front of me was saying the same thing to the delivery coordinator, who I’m sure hears that at least once a day.) My goal was to spend less than $1000, and I pulled through with only $850.

I got a humidifier, which I’ve been needing as it just gets dry with my boiler heat in the winter, even though winter is officially over. Nothing worse than itchy skin. I probably could have gotten it on sale in a week or two, oh well.

But the coolest little things I’ve found so far, are these little metal cans with magnetic bottoms, and clear tops that I put my vitamins and a couple of spices in and then stuck to the fridge door, clearing off the Boos prep table of those 4 jars/bottles. Only $2 a pop. And then I got a combined pepper mill/salt shaken, to knock down the number of things on my prep table to just the one.

Also got a coffee maker, as decaf coffee has replaced cigarettes as my vice of choice since I quit smoking. I know, I know, ‘DECAF??!?!?’ I’m sensitive to caffeine in general, so decaf, which still has like 1/6th of the caffeine of regular coffee, gives me a little buzz. Plus I drink a lot. And with my sleep patterns so messed up, half the time I wake up at 2am and have to wait for hours until my local cafe opens, or I wake up at 6pm right after they closed. And the nearest decent coffee is about half a mile away. Not that I don’t need the exercise…

So, since this blog is all about me, I wanted to list some of the various media I consume that I’ve enjoyed above the rest.

 

Books

• Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel Series: This is a dark fantasy series, soemwhat racy at times, but simply breathtaking it it’s scope and character development. Each of these weighs in at 600-700 pages.
  
• David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest: The funniest, strangest, and most intellectual book you could ever want to read.
  
• Don DeLillo’s White Noise

TV

• Deadwood: HBO blows for canceling this
  
• Carnivale: HBO sucks for canceling this
• Kyle XY: What can I say I like teen paranormal drama
• Roswell: What can I say I like teen paranormal drama
• Smallville (First 3 seasons)
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: ROCKS!
• Spooks: Great Brit 24-esque spy show
• One Tree Hill/Everwood: I like teen drama in general I guess
• Scrubs: Funny, funny, funny
• Family Guy: Funniest, Funniest, Funniest
• Sopranos
• The Shield: Except that part where my ex was Vic’s love interest
• Rescue Me: Dramedy FTW

Music:

• The Cure
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Beth Orton/Mazzy Star/Elysian Fields
• The Smiths
• Tool
• NIN (Old school)
• Dinosaur Jr.

Movies:

• American Beauty
• Irreversible
• The Matrix (I)
• Henry Fool
• Fifth Element
• Love Actually
• Insomnia (Danish/Swedish version)
• The Celebration
• Leon - The Professional
• Killing Zoe
• Closer

That’s it for now. I’m sure I’ll add more as I think of them.

 

OK, so this is a little (a lot) embarrassing, but I’m a big fan of the paranormal romance book genre.  I was always a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel fan, and ultimately that is what those shows were about: the paranormal and romance.  So I guess it has stuck with me, and now when I find the free time, I like to plop down with a fun vampire, werewolf/shapeshifter, demonic, sidhe/fairy, psychic or otherwise paranormal romance book.   I’m not a fan of the historical vampire novels per se; I like the ones set in relatively current times. And did I mention I dig kick ass chicks? The other thing I love about the genre is that it is serial, with tons of sequels.  I love movies, but I find myself enjoying TV shows more because they have more than an two hours to develop the plot. I become invested with the characters and the rules of the world they live in, and so I appreciate being able to slip into their familiar world again every few months. It is also fun to see how others create a particular set of ‘rules’ for their particular world and how it affects the plot development, such as vampires who can walk around in the daylight in some series versus others.

My favorite authors in this genre along with some of their books:

• Carrie Vaughn - Kitty Series: This is a predominantly werewolf series, with vampires added in to spice things up.  The hook is that the lead character, Kitty, is a DJ on a radio station and a werewolf, and she runs a late night radio show about the paranormal.

• Laurell K. Hamilton - Merry Gentry Series: Hamilton has had her ups and downs in both of her series, but for me this is currently the one that has the most going for it.  She is wildly inventive when it comes to visual description, and imagination. The romance is a little repetitive and forced at times, and she has a bad habit of having her characters over-analyze their relationships. This series revolves around an anti-‘fairy princess’, and the issues between the good and bad Seelie (fairies from Irish folklore) who now live in the U.S. after being driven out of Europe.
  

• Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series: This was the series that started it all for me.  RIght as Buffy was finishing up season 7, I started reading this series (there were already 5-6 at the time).  Those first 6-8 of this series were great, but it has really gone downhill. I’m not sure if it corresponds to the author starting a second series, or her divorce from her husband/editor, but this series has really devolved into a morass of excruciating relationship  analysis obsession by the  characters. There was always a hint of that, but it has become a malignant disease on the series, along with the gratuitous multiple sex partner theme.  It is hard to recommend this series now, but they really were the start of it all, and the first few books are really fun.

• C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp - Sazi Series:  These are a lot of fun, dealing with shape-shifters like werewolves, weretigers, and werebears. They do a really good job of weaving in characters from the previous books into the new releases, so you never feel too far from the characters you enjoyed in the past.

• Amy Lane - Little Goddess Series: This is a self-published series, meaning the author releases the work herself without publisher support.  I don’t really know why they haven’t been picked up by a publisher yet, as it really is an exceptional series of books set in Northern California and generally revolving around the life of a young woman who becomes involved in the dealings of the Sidhe (fairies of all shapes and sizes) and vampires. Really taps into a lot of the insecurities of a young women in todays world at times (not that I would know, I’m just guessing here).
  

• J.R. Ward - Brotherhood of the Black Dagger Series: One of my favorite series, this is a vampire series where the vampires just try to get along while fighting against undead Lich’s (undead being that hide a phylactery – think a jar – with their essence the gives them extra power and resilence)  organized against them. She does have an annoying habit of killing off lead characters though, lol, so unlike most books from this genre, the happy ending in many cases is bittersweet.

• Lara Adrian - Midnight Vampires Series: Similar to the J.R. Ward books in theme, though not quite as good, but still very entertaining.

• Nalini Singh - Psy-Changeling Series: This is one of the paranormal romances with a science fiction
   twist.  Also, one of my favorites.  In this series we have shape-shifters like werewolves and werecats fighting against the emotionless Psy, a race of psychics linked together in a hive-mind. The hook here is that the Psy’s end up breaking their conditioning against emotions and fall in love with the shape-shifters.  While the theme is somewhat repetitve from book to book, it is a very compelling theme, and really works.

• Eileen Wilks - World of the Lupi Series: Another good werewolf, et. al. series that also does a good job of bringing characters from previous books into the new releases.

• Patricia Briggs - Mercy Thompson Series: One of the better werewolf/vampire/fairy combo series out there, Briggs really has a way with words, drawing you in.  The twist here is that the lead, Mercy, isn’t actually a werwolf, but a coyote shifter who has to deal with being a ‘lone wolf’ so to speak, surrounded by real werewolves.

• Richelle Mead - Georgina Kincaid/Succubus Series: One of the demon based series, with some vampires thrown in.  This series is a fun romp set in Seattle, where the lead character, who isn’t always likeable, derives her sustenance through intimate encounters, stealing the life of her victims.

• Christine Warren - The Others Series: Another good multi-supernatural-being series set in New York City, with vampires, were-creatures, fairies and demons.

• Susan Sizemore - Prime Vampires Series: Interesting mix of three different vampire types, roughly correllating with ‘lawful’, ‘neutral chaotic’, and ‘evil’ along with a human vampire hunter group that doesn’t distinguish between them.

• Charlaine Harris - Southern Vampire Series: A fairly light, fun series about vampires down in Louisiana, and the psychic mind-reader who loves them.

• C.E. Murphy - Urban Shaman Series

• Marjorie M. Liu - Dirk & Steele Series: Despite the author-admittedly cheesy name of the Dirk & Steele paranormal investigators, this is a wide ranging series with a lot of fun and one of my favorites, with a decidedly Asian influence at times.  Ms. Liu is one of the more beautiful ladies of the genre, and uses her mixed heritage to give her books a fresh feel while still touching on the old themes.  My only complaint would be that the, uh, ‘romance’ could uses a few more sparks at times.  The first book hits it right, but it seems like there is a little more held back these days when it comes to the passion.  Could be one of those ‘my parents/family read my books’ syndromes.

• Kim Harrison - Rachel Morgan Series:  This is a great series with a lot going for it, with witches and vampires, ley lines, and potions, with a few elves(fairies) thrown in.  My one complaint here is also that the romance lacks a little spark.

• Carole Nelson Douglas  - Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator: This series is just getting going, but it seems like a lot of fun, so should be one to watch. Lots of good humor.
  

• Kelley Armstrong - Women of the Underworld Series:

• Rachel Caine - Weather Warden Series:
  

• Katie Macallister - Aisling Gray Series: This is a little too fast paced at times, but still fun.

• Rebecca York - Marshall Werewolves Series
  

• Keri Arthur - Riley Jensen: Guardian Series: This series takes place in Australia, and is one of the few crossover series that started out in ebook format before being picked up for publication.
  

• Vicki Pettersson - Sign of the Zodiac Series: Fun mix of supernatural beings, Dark and Light, with a cool comic book hook.
  

 

Young Adult Series: These are some good-to-great series in the Young Adult genre that don’t hold much back in some cases.

• Richelle Mead - Vampire Academy Series: Really looking forward to the next in this series.
  

• P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast - House of Night Series: Another great vampire YA series. Lots in common with Vampire Academy, in a good way.
  

• Ellen Schrieber - Vampire Kisses Series: This one is a little more sedate, but still a fun read.
  

• Holly Black - Modern Fairie Series: A very dark series with a lot of adult themes, even though it is aimed at the YA market.

• Rachel Caine - Morganville Vampires Series: Another dark series with adult themes, with a lot of heartache and angst.

• Melissa de la Cruz - Blue Bloods Series: The Gossip Girl of vampire series, set in the Upper Eastside of Manhattan. Loads of fun, with lots of adult themes.
  

 [More to come soon. ]

Some series I haven’t listed that many consider to be cornerstones of the genre like Feehan, Sands, etc. I simply haven’t gotten around to reading yet because it would take a month to catch up, or they are historical, which just isn’t my bag.

There are a number of common themes amongst these books, but many times it is the ones that break from these themes in some way that are the more memorable.  Here are a few of these common themes:

• There are generally two kinds of series, evenly split, those with a single protagonist (‘Singles’) throughout (ala Hamilton’s Anita Blake, or the Vaugh Kitty series, Rachel Caine, Kim Harrison’s Morgan and Lane’s Little Goddess)
   and those where a group of people with similar powers or relationships have a self-contained romance within each book (‘Serials’), many times with the next protagonist introduced near the end of the previous.  Series that typify this style are J.R. Ward, Kelley Armstong, Marjorie Liu and Lara Adrian.  These differences result in very different ‘arc’s in many cases. Obviously the single protagonist novels are going to have a lot of problems in their relationships, otherwise there wouldn’t be much romance.  ‘Singles’  tend to be a little darker  and have a little more introspection, and obviously more development of the characters, who have many flaws and insecurities.  ‘Serials’ tend to have the more of the ‘romance’ elements, with typical happy endings at the end of each novel. There is always the chance you might not like the particular protagonist for one of the books in a Serial. There are notable exceptions to these, like J.R.Ward where the happy endings can be hard to come by, or combinations of the two: ‘Serial Singles’ which generally follow one protagonist, but spin off into another series about a different protagonist in the same ‘world’, like Patricia Briggs’ new Anna & Charles Series.
• Many of these books revolve around the concept of compelled or inevitable romance, where mystical forces will ensure that the lovers eventually come together, but that one or both fight the cumpulsion to ‘mate’.  Equally, the protagonists might realize they are compelled to ‘mate’ but try to develop the romantic love to go with the physical need to be a mated pair.  This is by far more common in Serials. The other common theme in this vein is where ,though they recognize the mating call and want to be together, circumstance prevent them from being together, such as vampires falling in love with mortal humans, werewolves falling in love with werecats, demons falling in love with any of the above, and ‘cross-species’ and ‘cross-class’ forbidden love in various forms.
• Invariably, the leads are damaged in some way, or have a close relationship with someone who is damaged. This usually takes the form of a history of rape or incest, someone who is still a virgin out of fear or other emotional damage, someone who had a single bad sexual experience and has never made another attempt, or someone who was so emotionally damaged in a previous relationship as to make it difficult to ever trust again.  While sometimes, this is an obvious attempt by the author to manipulate an emotional sympathetic response to the protagonist, at the same time I’m a sucker for it every time.
• The Reveal: This is probably my favorite aspect of the paranormal romance genre.  At some point in most of these novels, there is a big ‘reveal’ where someone who doesn’t know about or doesn’t believe in the supernatural is forced to come to terms with it, usually on of the targets of the romance.  Being able to write a compelling ‘reveal’ is one of the key indicators for success in this genre.  The reveal can take on slightly different aspects, such as one supernatural creature not realizing their lover is also supernatural.
• Development of powers/abilities/skills: One of the common themese is for the protagonist to find out he/she has abilities that they were never aware of, or have an experience where they suddenly become much more powerful than they were, such as becoming a vampire/werewolf, or always being the weak runt of the supernatural group, and suddenly blossoming with some new powers or old but forgotten powers that propel them into adventure that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to undertake.
• Orphans/Adoption: While less common, it is still a key theme in many of these books, and part of the ‘reveal’ and development of special abilities where the protagonist finds out they are adopted and are in fact half-vampire, or are orphans and discover their true birth parents. Think Harry Potter.
  

My one rant about the genre is that red hair occurs in less than 2% of the worlds population (up to 4-5% in the U.S. however), but fully 30-40% of the protagonists or love interests in the genre have ‘flaming manes of red hair’ (always the woman).  Seriously, I have to laugh every time I read about another red haired lead.

 

That said, I’m not saying these are amazing books in and of themselves.  They are great entertainment in a mindless way, and lots of fun in that Buffy the Vampire Slayer way.  The tend to have a lot of action and not in frequently blood and guts. The authors of this genre tend to release a book every 6 months or so, so while you get your ‘fix’ of a particular protagonist or culture on a pretty frequent basis, you don’t get the same level of detail and scope that I find in say a Jacqueline Carey novel, who releases once a year.