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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Warning: This is not a review. It is more like a personal rant. Let me just tell you that everyone especially SFF readers should read it. It is a no-holds barred, highly opinionated writings about various subjects from personal struggles, discrimination towards women, the importance of non-binary gender, how to survive in the publishing industry, gamergate, Sad Puppies and so on.
Okay? Okay. Now let's start the non-review.
Reading this feels like having a direct life lesson / motivational seminar from Hurley herself. Obviously I don't find everything she told relatable but heck yeah most of them happened to me in some ways.
One that stroke me the most was her defiance on not letting people get her down because of her weight. When she was dying in a hospital (she suffered an immune disorder), she overheard her mom saying that she never looked that great because she was so thin. I broke down and cry after reading that.
You see, I have someone very close to me making comments on my weight almost every single day. I did lash out a few times and asked that person to stop because it hurts. It stopped for a while but then when I lose a few pounds that person said 'Hey good that you lose weight!' and 'How much weight did you lose?'. Repeatedly. Then when I gained some the person made another comment 'Oh but you were thinner the other day. Look at your [insert body part]'. Over and over again. To this person, it seems to me that my worth revolves around my weight. And my appearance. My life achievements do not matter. The person does not care if I am a straight A student and graduated with honor (which I did). The person does not really care if I have a good career, have lots of friends and activities, in good health and overall happy with my life. That person never made any comment on that. It is always about how I look. I am not one of those pretty, feminine girls with luscious long hair in trendy clothes and nice shoes you see walking in malls. I am a fat, frizzy-haired, spotty-faced girl with jeans and tshirt as her staple clothing. I'd rather buy books than make-up. I know I won't be able to be as slim as I used to and I have accepted that fact. But when I hear that comment it still hurts. Maybe I have not let go completely. Maybe I still give that person some power over me. And it is not just this person. I found a lot people making that comment as if it is the only that defines me. 'Hi there, OMG you are getting fat!' I rarely see people making that comments on guys, at least in my social circles. In fact, fat men are sometimes applauded (!) as fat bellies signify prosperity.
Hurley said that as a woman, you/we are always going to be fat. People are always going to trot that one out to insult you, like taking up more space in the world, as a woman, is the absolute worse thing you can do. So yeah, I refuse to have my success measured in the width of my ass.
Okay. Lots of other great stuff to talk about from this book, but since I am on vacation I am too busy enjoying it and can't write longer reviews.
PS: If you are in Patreon you should support KH even just for $1 per short story. Her short stories are excellent. And of course you should read all of her books too.
PPS: Kameron Hurley retweeted and replied to my review. Sweet.
Okay? Okay. Now let's start the non-review.
Reading this feels like having a direct life lesson / motivational seminar from Hurley herself. Obviously I don't find everything she told relatable but heck yeah most of them happened to me in some ways.
One that stroke me the most was her defiance on not letting people get her down because of her weight. When she was dying in a hospital (she suffered an immune disorder), she overheard her mom saying that she never looked that great because she was so thin. I broke down and cry after reading that.
You see, I have someone very close to me making comments on my weight almost every single day. I did lash out a few times and asked that person to stop because it hurts. It stopped for a while but then when I lose a few pounds that person said 'Hey good that you lose weight!' and 'How much weight did you lose?'. Repeatedly. Then when I gained some the person made another comment 'Oh but you were thinner the other day. Look at your [insert body part]'. Over and over again. To this person, it seems to me that my worth revolves around my weight. And my appearance. My life achievements do not matter. The person does not care if I am a straight A student and graduated with honor (which I did). The person does not really care if I have a good career, have lots of friends and activities, in good health and overall happy with my life. That person never made any comment on that. It is always about how I look. I am not one of those pretty, feminine girls with luscious long hair in trendy clothes and nice shoes you see walking in malls. I am a fat, frizzy-haired, spotty-faced girl with jeans and tshirt as her staple clothing. I'd rather buy books than make-up. I know I won't be able to be as slim as I used to and I have accepted that fact. But when I hear that comment it still hurts. Maybe I have not let go completely. Maybe I still give that person some power over me. And it is not just this person. I found a lot people making that comment as if it is the only that defines me. 'Hi there, OMG you are getting fat!' I rarely see people making that comments on guys, at least in my social circles. In fact, fat men are sometimes applauded (!) as fat bellies signify prosperity.
Hurley said that as a woman, you/we are always going to be fat. People are always going to trot that one out to insult you, like taking up more space in the world, as a woman, is the absolute worse thing you can do. So yeah, I refuse to have my success measured in the width of my ass.
Okay. Lots of other great stuff to talk about from this book, but since I am on vacation I am too busy enjoying it and can't write longer reviews.
PS: If you are in Patreon you should support KH even just for $1 per short story. Her short stories are excellent. And of course you should read all of her books too.
PPS: Kameron Hurley retweeted and replied to my review. Sweet.
I listened to this via audiobook which may change how I perceived this but much of the first half felt very much like yelling. which is fine if that's the tone she was going for but I even was turned off by it and I'm super geeky and super feminist. I'm glad I stuck it out though because the second half of the book was full of great ideas. the biggest take away I found was that I need to be more okay with accepting that to someone else I am wrong. I will eventually do something that will offend someone. I can do my absolute best to be accepting and I will still mess up along the way. I still have privilege. but by accepting that I'm wrong and that I have privilege and trying to correct that and apologize for my mistakes I can do better.
Aunque me lo he leído rápido y me ha parecido entretenido, en el fondo me esperaba más. Si sigues a la autora en redes, muchas cosas ya te sonarán y no te aportará nada nuevo. Aun así, me quedo con el mensaje optimista de fondo, porque en realidad hace falta más gente con ganas de cambiar el mundo.
En cuanto a la traducción, sin ser yo experta, notaba mucho los anglicismos y me costaba que sonara fluido.
Also, endnotes. Hate them.
En cuanto a la traducción, sin ser yo experta, notaba mucho los anglicismos y me costaba que sonara fluido.
Also, endnotes. Hate them.
I felt a little duped by the title initially as it appeared to be a lot about her own writing. However, I grew to really appreciate her insight in her own writing and the SF world in general. Even as someone who doesn’t like Sci fi or Fantasy, I appreciated her perspective.
The essays got better and better the further into the book I got. Some parts were truly great, some less so. Overall a great read, 'Dear SFWA Writers: Let's Chat About Censorship and Bullying" was my favorite, paintfully current & so on point, and of course 'We Have Always Fought'.
An important entry in the new wave of feminist writings, specifically focused on what speculative fiction writers can do to make the world a better place. Part call-to-action, part memoir, and an all-over great collection of pieces.
Don't let the "feminist" in the title keep you from going into this with an open mind. Hurley's essays are about being a female science fiction writer but they touch on topics that are universal and should be discussed by both men and women.
Likewise, the "geek" in the title could just as easily be misleading as I don't feel that one need necessarily be one to fully enjoy and understand where the author's coming from.
What makes it a feminist book is that it mostly touches on what it means to be a woman in an industry (and world) that tends to look down on women (and minorities) and take offense at those who refuse to remain quiet about the situation. It gives the reader a ton of things to think about even if their ultimate goal is not that of being a writer. I constantly found myself mulling over a topic brought up long after I'd read an essay.
My one negative is that she constantly repeats herself. Most of these essays were previously released as part of the author's blog or in other websites, so this might be the reason, but it has a problem with being repetitive in some of the information it shares. Hurley has a tendency to use the same example for several topics. It's probably not something as glaring when not collected one after another, but it feels a bit like lazy writing when read consecutively.
Even with that minor caveat, this is a book that I'll definitely recommend for anyone looking to explore a different point of view with an open mind.
Likewise, the "geek" in the title could just as easily be misleading as I don't feel that one need necessarily be one to fully enjoy and understand where the author's coming from.
What makes it a feminist book is that it mostly touches on what it means to be a woman in an industry (and world) that tends to look down on women (and minorities) and take offense at those who refuse to remain quiet about the situation. It gives the reader a ton of things to think about even if their ultimate goal is not that of being a writer. I constantly found myself mulling over a topic brought up long after I'd read an essay.
My one negative is that she constantly repeats herself. Most of these essays were previously released as part of the author's blog or in other websites, so this might be the reason, but it has a problem with being repetitive in some of the information it shares. Hurley has a tendency to use the same example for several topics. It's probably not something as glaring when not collected one after another, but it feels a bit like lazy writing when read consecutively.
Even with that minor caveat, this is a book that I'll definitely recommend for anyone looking to explore a different point of view with an open mind.
A couple of years ago I was at a writer's conference in Dearborn, Michigan with my baby sister. Because the baby sister is significantly more easygoing than I am - and I have that eldest child thing going on - I tend to heavily influence the panels we sit in on. I don't remember the panel titles now but I remember a handful of authors that made a lasting impression. One of them was Kameron Hurley. She was blunt. She was genuine. I can't say she was all rainbows and sunshine, but she was respectful and seemed determine to share her truth. In short, I took a liking to her, which is why I picked up this book when I spotted it in the Kindle bookstore last year. This was a "support an author I admire" purchase.
Now, my TBR pile is out of control, which means the book sat on my digital TBR shelf a little longer than I had intended to let it sit. It and so many others!
I wasn't quite sure what I expected of this essay collection because I had never read Kameron's blog and my only exposure had been at a conference where I doubt I even said so much as hello to her. Still, I was intrigued. I consider myself a nerdy little geek - I like academic theory as much as I enjoy a fun romp through science fiction and fantasy landscapes. I grew up on Star Wars and Buck Rogers (how many of you even remember that one!?). I play video games - mostly offline in story mode, true, but I play. I'm assistant guild leader in an online mobile game I've been playing steadily for a little over two years now. I think this easily qualifies me as a geek, even if the haters disagree.
Oh, and the feminist label? It applies.
So I expected to see myself reflected quite a bit in the pages of this book. What I didn't anticipate was that a great portion of this book would appeal to the writer in me. While I didn't always agree with Kameron 100% on social matters (more like 90% agreement, 10% disagreement), I found her musings on writing to be quite thought-provoking. She's given me a lot to think about as I get back to the task of writing. I'm confident that her voice will help me give more attention to those I might normally silence, even if I'm silencing them unintentionally.
Now, my TBR pile is out of control, which means the book sat on my digital TBR shelf a little longer than I had intended to let it sit. It and so many others!
I wasn't quite sure what I expected of this essay collection because I had never read Kameron's blog and my only exposure had been at a conference where I doubt I even said so much as hello to her. Still, I was intrigued. I consider myself a nerdy little geek - I like academic theory as much as I enjoy a fun romp through science fiction and fantasy landscapes. I grew up on Star Wars and Buck Rogers (how many of you even remember that one!?). I play video games - mostly offline in story mode, true, but I play. I'm assistant guild leader in an online mobile game I've been playing steadily for a little over two years now. I think this easily qualifies me as a geek, even if the haters disagree.
Oh, and the feminist label? It applies.
So I expected to see myself reflected quite a bit in the pages of this book. What I didn't anticipate was that a great portion of this book would appeal to the writer in me. While I didn't always agree with Kameron 100% on social matters (more like 90% agreement, 10% disagreement), I found her musings on writing to be quite thought-provoking. She's given me a lot to think about as I get back to the task of writing. I'm confident that her voice will help me give more attention to those I might normally silence, even if I'm silencing them unintentionally.