Where Did the Novel Go?

 I Didn't Abandon Princess

It's still there, I promise. And soon I will get around to editing the side bars. But I will admit to not doing a lot with it, mostly because by the time I'm done with classes and homework my "producing" abilities are severely compromise, and soon I am too burnt out to do anything but consume (books, some TV, food) and sleep.

But rather than simply not blog at all, I've been experimenting with some new things. Like the Black Swans series, which I will continue (but slowly, because that actually involves some research and writing of coherent sentences). Also like book reviews.

I'm not planning on turning this into a review blog, but there will be more reviews coming. Mostly because they're helpful to me, as a writer.

Reviews are a Teaching Tool

Reviews lead me to read critically, and to think about books critically. And that is something that is vitally important to improving my writing. Reviewing books allows me to see what works and what doesn't, what plot devices feel fresh or overused, what dialogue sounds natural and engaging....etc. etc. etc. until the cows come home -there is so much to be learned!

Also, reading is fun.

The Friendly Bit

So, anyone else review the books they read? Why/why not? If you're a writer, do you find it helps your writing?

We Are Not All Black Swans: Ballet in Popular Culture and the Media, Part 1: Introduction to the Issues

I just have so many feelings about this that I can barely be coherent, so I apologize in advance.

Ballet is one of my great passions - I've loved it for as long as I can remember. I loved it first for its beauty and its grace, its boundless energy and athleticism, its lyricism and its romanticism. And when I started to dance myself, I loved it for its discipline and demands, its perfection and its imperfection.

I love it for the indescribable combination of joy and fear that leaps up in me when I step out on stage. I love it for the incredible range of emotions that dancing or watching dance evokes in me.

I even love it for the blisters and blood and late nights and early mornings...most of the time.

And that is why I am so, so torn about the depiction of ballet in popular culture.

On the one hand, I am glad that there is interest, and exposure. Ballet has a -somewhat unfair- reputation of being "boring", or "elitist" or "only for old people". Perhaps not as much as opera, but the feeling is still there. In this day and age, where accessibility is emphasized above all else, where you can tweet a celebrity and the people on TV are "just like you", the dancer is something of an anomaly.  The intense, long-term training, the separation of audience and stage, the price of the tickets (although this is changing) and at the most basic level the use of objects (pointe shoes) and movements (eg, turning out) that are completely foreign to the 'normal' experience, all conspire to put distance between the general public and the world of ballet.

So I'm glad that there is awareness of, and renewed interest in, ballet as an art form as a result of recent aspects of popular culture and media. And yet, at the same time, I wonder if these portrayals are doing more harm than good. There is a line between "any press is good press" and negative portrayals hurting the art form. I don't think we've crossed it yet - hopefully - but we're certainly headed in that direction.

It's not that I'm advocating a universally positive view of ballet. It's true that its nature lends itself to certain challenges. For example: ballet is an aesthetic art form in which the body of the dancer is the instrument - this necessitates a certain physique. You have to be athletic enough and strong enough to actually dance - and that's hard work, people, it's not just twirling around with your hands above your head - and you have to look pretty doing it. Of course, when taken to the extreme you have dancers - natural perfectionists - obsessing over their weight and appearance, possibly leading to eating disorders or depression or a myriad of other issues. And there are certain companies or directors who, intentionally or unintentionally, contribute to that sort of thing. Dance puts a lot of pressure on the dancer, and it's hard.

So I'm not saying ballet is perfect.

But there seem to be an awful lot of people who associate ballet  or ballerina with anorexia, bulimia, eating disorders, conceited, snobby, elitist, girly, (and with it the eternal girly=less valuable/worse), gay, restrictive, socially stunted...

Why does the art form that makes my heart sing evoke such responses?

Review: Relic by Renee Collins

Relic is a fantastic, fun read from a talented new author, Renee Collins. The plot is fast-paced from the first page, and there wasn't a moment that dragged. For the most part the characters are vivid and realistically written, and the dialogue was western-flavored without being overwhelming. In fact, it was a serious contender for my best-of-2013 shelf.

One of the strongest aspects of Relic was the setting. The Western spin is an angle that's not too common in fantasy, and it provided a rich backdrop for the action of the novel. I loved the atmosphere of the book - Collins did a great job.

I was also glad to see a premise/magic system that hasn't been done before. The idea of Relics (bones of magical creatures) providing people with magical abilities is - as far as I know- unique. Considering how much they featured in the plot, however, I would have liked a little more explanation as to how exactly they worked - it seems to vary based on what's needed for the plot. Individual relics seem to work on contact, or by ingestion, but there are also guns which are somehow powered by relics, and that's never really explained at all.

Considering he was the major love interest, I would have liked to have seen more of Landon. I also would have liked him to be a bit more involved in the investigation of the burnings/mystery of the unknown relic/something! There's a scene were he chastises Maggie for getting caught up with Alvar and life at the hacienda, but it's not like he's doing much of anything either...plus, his relationship with Maggie felt a bit rushed.

There were a few hints that Maggie might see Yahn as a potential love interest as well, which I thought was silly and unneeded, but that's probably just my bias (I strongly dislike multiple love interests).

I liked that I couldn't figure Alvar out - one moment he was kind, the next entitled and demanding. However there were some moments where I felt his characterization was a bit too inconsistent...and the explanation felt like a bit of a cop-out.

I prefer my villains not to be 'evil'...to have some sort of motivation, however twisted, for what they are doing. That doesn't appear to be the case for the ultimate antagonist of this book.

Despite these nitpicks, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Relic, and if there is a sequel - the ending seems well set up for one - I will certainly read it!

Full disclosure: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rabbit Rabbit

You may have noticed a lack of posts last week. I decided to take a week's vacation, to spend my last days of summer with my family. Now I'm all moved in to my dorm and the school year is looking shiny and bright! It's a feeling that will last all of two weeks, and then I'll be desperate for summer again.

Considering the inordinate amount of things I will be doing with my time during the fall (1. School 2. Nutcracker 3. Heading up a club 4. MCATS 5. Writing 6... Put me out of my misery, already!) blogging will be reduced to once a week. Posts will go up on Fridays. When I have Princess news to share, I'll post updates on Mondays. Hopefully that will be every week or almost every week, but realistically it will likely be less often.

And yes, I'll update the sidebars...eventually.


EDITED to add: There will be one more post before I start with the new schedule - I was given an ARC in exchange for a review and I want to post it right away. So that will go up later.