Many of these books I received via SFSignal in my role as book reviewer for that site, but sometimes I refer to these books on my own site as well and a few of them I have received personally outside of SFSignal. SFSignal also lists the books it receives for free that it disperses to its volunteer reviewers. For legal purposes, please assume that any book I review I may have received for free, although I do sometimes review books I have personally purchased. Also, please note that sending me a free book will by no means ensure a positive review.

Over the next few days I will be adding to this list, so please refresh the page if you return visit. For more information on these new regulations, refer to Edward Champion’s interview with the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Richard Cleland and recent posts by Jane Little at Dear Author.

Hat tip: Angela James via Twitter

Broadsheet blogger Judy Berman today came out to being a geek.

I recently had to admit something to myself: I am, it turns out, a geek. I finally came to terms with it earlier this week, after drinks with female friends. We had been catching up and talking shop when someone mentioned Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All of a sudden, we were all shouting over one another, recounting our favorite episodes and most loved and hated characters.

Despite the fact that Berman used a very cool Kevin Smith quote,* I spent a good few minutes trying to ferret out why her post left me feeling disaffected. Shouldn’t I be glad that more and more women are owning up to their geek interests? (yeah) Shouldn’t I be ecstatic that there’s a much larger female presence at geek venues like Comic Con? (hell yeah) So what’s my problem?

I re-read the post a few times and kept coming back to an angle that initally flew right under the radar:

One friend floated the idea that the show includes just about every kind of guy a girl geek could possibly be attracted to.

To each her own, obviously, but this is not why I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love that show for these reasons: Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Tara, Fred, Darla, Drusilla.

Buffy can kick arse six ways to Sunday, Willow has the power of the universe at her fingertips, Cordelia has more self-confidence in her pinky finger than most women will ever have, Tara lived a life of authenticity, Fred has one of the biggest brains on the planet, and Darla told the world to suck on its outdated idea of “good little girls.” But Berman and her gal pals would far rather talk about how dreamy Angel, Spike, Riley, and Xander are.

I am not saying that I’m immune to the charms of vampire boyfriend fangs, super-secret special ops pectorals, or best friend late nights, but there’s something in Berman’s sentiment that reminds me of that “crapload of new TWILIGHT fans” she references. Last week over at Writers At Play in my post “Of Paranormal Heroines” I asked why there are so few truly paranormal heroines and noted that:

The “vampire boyfriend” type shows us a story through the “Female Gaze,” something quite blatant on all of those naked torso covers. We’re so used to experiencing stories through the viewpoint of a male character that this switch is remarkable and probably one of the elements that make these books so popular.

With its mundane heroine, TWILIGHT is the typical “vampire boyfriend” story where the reader, presumably female, is meant to identify with Bella and swoon over Edward. It seems Berman and her friends have experienced Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a similar way. Did they bypass Buffy’s own supernatural nature?

I think geekdom is about not being afraid to pursue your interests with gusto, no matter how obscure those interests may be. In that light, I’m glad that more women aren’t afraid to acknowledge their fangirl tendencies. “[B]ooth babes and jiggle physics” seem to be the counterpart to Team Edward, swooning over Angel, and naked torso Romance novel covers.** All of these examples are the Gaze at work and I’m glad that both genders are represented. In her post, though, Berman tries to parse how the genders express fandom differently, but I rather prefer the Joss Whedon quote she cites:

“There’s not a difference,” he tells Rogers, between male and female fans. “What? Female fans are more nurturing? People are crazy, and fans are the best kind of crazy. And I speak as one of them. And I’ve never seen a difference in the way the men and women respond to things.”

Like a lot of fanboys out there debating who had better tech, Batman or Night Owl (Batman), I’d rather talk about who’s probably stronger, Buffy or Glory (Glory, but strength obviously isn’t everything)? I certainly don’t dismiss how smoking Spike rocked that leather trench coat (as I’m sure those fanboys noticed Silk Spectre’s garters), but my ultimate focus is on how all these freaking awesome women get to do all sorts of freaking amazing things.*** You’d think a Feminist blog like Broadsheet would at least mention that in passing.

Berman closes with this:

So, what do you think, Broadsheet nerds? Was the TWILIGHT kerfuffle a battle of the sexes or the ages, or both? Is there a difference between fangirl and fanboy behavior? And will girl and guy geeks ever learn to put down their lightsabers and get along?

Doesn’t she know that a true Jedi doesn’t ever put down her lightsaber unless she’s trying to trick the latest Sith apprentice into making her a part of the Force?

Meh. Baby geeks.

Back in the day I used to have to trudge through 10 miles of snow just to manually set my VCR to record Buffy, but now you can watch it on Hulu. And I didn’t even have call waiting to know which friends wanted to debate whether it was fashion tape that kept Glory contained in that slinky red dress or was it due to her supernatural Big Bad powers?****

I mean, really.

* “That’s what I love about a comic book convention. People will come to a convention, stand there in a Spock costume, look at someone in a Chewie costume, and say, ‘Look at that f__in’ geek. How dare you pass judgment on those 12-year-old girls who like vampires!”– Kevin Smith

** The Romance novel, especially Paranormal Romance, has more in common with comic books than most people want to think about.

*** Unlike, say Padme, who wrung her hands and lamented having to quit her job because of becoming pregnant. But I digress.

**** Because that’s a superpower I’d like to have. It wouldn’t be good to have a wardrobe malfunction while kicking Big Bad ass. BTW, my real friends know that I refused to answer the phone at all when Buffy was on.

Shattersnipe offers some very good insight in “Why Paranormal Romance Is No Fad,” but also seems to be unaware that vampire Romances existed pre-Edward (emphasis mine):

“Which brings me to the current trend in paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and that particular proliferation of vampires….Urban fantasy, apart from anything else, has always been the gateway drug of make-believe…The fact that Harry Potter and Edward Cullen have helped move this phenomenon from screen to page seems overdue, and not in the least bit faddish…the current boom in paranormal romance feels like the response of a market which has hitherto existed, but remained largely untapped, populated by the kind of intelligent, imaginative women who might shy away from picking up a Harlequin romance novel, but who still – often without realising it – have been hankering for a little bit of literary lust.Ironically, it’s taken a surge in YA fantasy for this to become apparent, assuming the legions of grown women lining up to buy Twilight are anything to go by.”

Then at IO9 Lauren Davis quotes a Publisher’s Weekly article in a post about angels being the new black:

After a seemingly endless run of books trying to capitalize on the success of Twilight, young adult publishers are experiencing a touch of vampire fatigue.

Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series has been at the forefront of the vampire Romance trend as well has been J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. Feehan’s DARK PRINCE and Ward’s DARK LOVER were published in 2005 — the same year as TWILIGHT’s release.

While certainly the TWILIGHT phenomenon has been a boon to Paranormal Romance, it’s worth noting that Linda Lael Miller’s vampire series started with FOREVER AND THE NIGHT in 1995, ten years before Edward Cullen was a glimmer in Stephanie Meyer’s word processor.

Team Tremayne. RAH!

I saw these guys perform on Saturday and they were amazing. If the embed above doesn’t function, click here to watch the video at You Tube.

In the cartoon, Trixie did little more than yell “Speed!” and moan a lot, so I appreciate how they developed the character in the movie, actually portraying as an active character with interests outside of her love for Speed Racer. Rebecca Murray mentions that Trixie is “an outgoing young woman who’s equally unafraid of dressing girlie and kicking a little butt” and quotes Ricci as saying:

“Trixie is Speed’s childhood sweetheart. He’s his best friend and confidant; his partner in crime. In some ways, she’s the feminist ideal model. She’s as girly as she wants to be, she’s into her hair and outfits and makeup … she has a special outfit for each activity, but at the same time she’s into all the things the boys are. She’s never judged or given the irritating title of ‘tomboy’ and that’s important for young women. Young women tend to watch the reaction of men around older women and they see if someone’s judged, positively or negatively, in too strong a way. Young women shy away from making those kinds of decisions.”

At the Tribeca Film Festival, Ricci has actually considered her character Trixie from a feminist point of view and said:

“It was really fun. It’s fun to play someone who’s a little bit cartoonish. They dressed me up like a doll, but then they let me go and fight people and race cars and fly a helicopter so it was fun…It was really fun and it was something that I loved because that really is the sort of ultimate feminist thing where you can be as girlie as you want to be, but you’re still as capable and as able to do everything that the boys can do. But I still want more.”

Trixie evidently isn’t just the girlfriend of Speed Racer, but an important member of the Racer family’s racing team. Speed clearly respects her abilities. We get to see Trixie coming to Speed’s rescue, racing Taejo Togokahn’s car, repairing engines, and flying a helicopter among other things.

As a side note, one character did have to strip down to skivvies in this movie — and for once it wasn’t a woman. Nope, this time it was Matthew Fox as Racer X. Never in my girlish crush did I ever expect to see Racer X in his boxers and all the while fighting a ninja!

First Trixie flying, racing, and rebuilding engines. Then Racer X in his boxers. Can I watch the movie again?

REVIEW SUMMARY: This complex story explores the good and evil in all of us, even superheroes. The characters in Black and White are relatable and flawed despite their extra-human status. I enjoyed this new take on superheroes with the two main characters being female and best friends – and of course later archenemies. Without taking itself too seriously, this Justice League-meets-Harry Potter novel offers some valuable insights into the nature of being human.

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Diana Peterfreund said:

The other day, I heard someone refer to the pararom/UF market as the “vampire boyfriend” genre. Which is really interesting and not necessarily inaccurate because so many stories seem to be able to be described as “girl falls in love with [insert paranormal creature here.]”

An apt description, and partly why I’m much more interested these days in SFR rather than Paranormal. Why is it the paranormal character is so often the hero and not the heroine?

Love Romance Passion responded with the a very enlightening post “6 Reasons Why the Paranormal Character is Always Male” and The Galaxy Express responded with “The Romance Heroine is Not a Side Dish.”

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