Restricted Section: Term XXVI - Read, Reading, To Read

[sanalith.livejournal.com]

Activity: Read, Reading, To Read
Points: 10 points for your initial comment, 2 points for every substantial response, max 30 points
Deadline: August 30 @ 11:59PM UTC (Timezone Converter)

Details: Since this will be my only activity of Term XXVI, I wanted to both do something relatively simple AND take the opportunity to get to know you guy, so we're going to have a discussion post about our recent reading habits. For your initial comment, write at least 150 words talking about books you've recently read, are currently reading, and/or what you plan to read next. You can talk about any aspect of the books you wish, but some ideas would be why you selected the books, what you liked/didn't like about them, whether you'd recommend them to others, etc. For your responses, you'll need to write at least 50 words. Make sure you're saying something more than, "I read that book and liked/hated it!" Try to open a dialogue about what was good or bad, or even why you chose NOT to read it. Anything goes, as long as there's substance to it.

If you have any questions, direct them to the appropriate thread. As always, don't forget to sign each comment with your name/house or a sigtag.

Also, do remember that I wiped the roster clean, so if you have bonus items, make sure you register them HERE as soon as possible to earn your extra points. I won't be giving grace periods, so please double-check that you're good to go!

Comments

[meredith44]

I have a tendency to get obsessed when I'm reading. The two things I've been reading most recently are a testament to that.

First, I read Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs. It is set in an AU where fairies and werewolves have announced their existence to the world. (Vampires and other supernatural creatures also exist, but they are still not known to everyone.) The main character is Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson, a mechanic who also happens to be a coyote shapeshifter, and who also happens to be married to the Alpha of the local werewolf pack. The story was interesting and the characters were intriguing enough that I then went on and read all of the other books in that series.

And, not being content with just that, I then read all of the books in her prequel series, Alpha and Omega. Overall I didn't care for that series as much, but I liked the set up for things that would happen in the later series, such as character choices and the like. I think my main problem with it was that it was so much focused on the love story between the Alpha Wolf, Charles, and the Omega Wolf, Anna. It seemed like basically every outside plot still mentioned constantly something about their relationship or something about how special/exotic Anna was as an Omega. And I thought that made the story drag some. But if you like love stories, perhaps that might be a plus.

The other recent obsession I have started when a friend convinced me to try a comic book. I'd read a couple of comic books in the '80's, but they never really interested me, and I didn't care for the art. She had me start with Astonishing X-Men, because that series was written by Joss Whedon, and I like Firefly. I loved the first ones and liked the next couple. And then I was hooked. There's just something about some of those characters and outlandish plots that makes me want to read more. In the last couple of months I have read every recent-ish X-men title I can get my hands on. I've read New X-Men, House of M, a Daken and X-23 title, The Magneto Testament, and more. I just checked out another library's stock of titles, so I have about 20 more books to go through. I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of titles at my library as A) this could be a very expensive habit and B) I love being able to just run right through them without having to wait for the next installment!

(I'm totally willing to discuss any books that I've read, and I'd adore more recommendations. Typically I read fantasy, generally urban fantasy, but also high fantasy. In the last couple of years I've read The Lightbringer Chronicles by Brent Weeks, The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, all of Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire's stories, The Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones, the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka, and many, many, many more.)

[meredith44]

It's not Alpha/Omega as in ABO universe that people do for fanfic. This is her own universe with her own rules.

In this universe, Alpha wolves are dominants who have strong desires to lead and protect their packs. Most wolves are Alphas, although only one at a time can lead a pack. (The most dominant among the Alphas. They will fight for this honor if they perceive weakness.) Betas are wolves who have no desire to be anything other than submissive. They do not fight for dominance, nor do they have any power in the pack hierarchy. Omegas have the same strong desire to protect the pack that Alphas do, but they have no desire to be dominants. Their power comes through the ability to soothe and calm the others. Alphas can usually use their power (especially the lead Alpha of a pack) to make wolves less dominant do what they want; Omegas are outside of that and don't follow anyone's orders. They have their own power.

Usually pairs are an Alpha to an Alpha or an Alpha to someone outside the pack, as Betas and Omegas are so rare. Everyone is free to pick their own partners, there is no compulsion, as there is in ABO fanfic verse. Sometimes someone's wolf will call to someone else's wolf and they will want to be paired before the humans involved do (each werewolf tends to think of their wolf as a separate part of themselves), but, again, it is totally consensual.

It's not so much a factor in the Alpha and Omega series, but in the Mercy Thompson series, there is even a love triangle through the first books. Mercy has to decide between Adam and Samuel, both of whom are incredibly strong Alphas. (And she, being a coyote, is completely outside the Alpha system.)

Oh, and there is none of the kinkiness from the ABO fanfic verse. There is no knotting or going into heat or Mpreg. (Werewolves actually can generally not get pregnant. As they feel forced to change into a wolf at the full moon and the change into a wolf causes female wolves to miscarry babies.) And the sex is never really fully described. It is much more about the stories (even if it is more of a love story in the A/O verse) than about the sex.

Meredith // Hufflepuff // 1

[wasureneba.livejournal.com]

So, if female werewolves generally can't carry babies to term---is this a world where most of the wolves are made and not born? I've always liked the "made wolf" dynamic. Most of the werewolf fic I've read has so much focus on born werewolves, and a very separate werewolf culture, and I really like the idea of people just sort of... falling into it and not knowing how to deal.

Anieclaw

[meredith44]

Werewolves are pretty much all made. Only one werewolf has been born (although he is the main male character of the Alpha and Omega series). The female wolf of the Alpha and Omega series has only been a werewolf for a few years and is fairly unknowledgeable about how it all works and is still trying to figure it out. Mercy, the protagonist of the other series, is a coyote, but she is dealing with werewolves, as that is her world, and she is also trying to figure out all the dynamics. A lot of both series deals with people who have been wolves long enough that they have different issues other than "falling into it and not knowing how to deal", but there are elements of that in the series as well.

I, personally, preferred the Mercy Thompson series, but I think Alpha and Omega might have more of the dynamic that interests you.

Meredith // Hufflepuff

[queer-theory.livejournal.com]

The expense is the main reason I haven't been able to get into reading comic books too. My library doesn't have the best collection, though that's changing. One of my sister's college friends is a librarian in our local system and she's trying to get more titles in. She also runs a club through the library for reading comic books, though that's slow to start. She only has a few loyal members at this point.

Heather/Hufflepuff/2

[meredith44]

It really varies in my library system. The one by my house and the one by my work have basically nothing. The one by where I babysit had a few. There are three libraries in the system that seem to have a decent number. I visited the first a couple of months back and visited the second a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of titles at the library. I'd love to support the comics I like by buying them, but that just so isn't financially feasible at the moment.

Yay for your sister's friend. I love it when librarians branch out from traditional materials. (Even though I adore traditional materials, don't get me wrong.)

Meredith // Hufflepuff // 4? I think?