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mephistia

attempting obscurity

I mess around with writing, but deep down I'm pretty sure I'll never actually get published because I treat it like a hobby and not a passion -- I write when I have time, instead of making time to write.

 

When I read, I prefer YA sci-fi/ fantasy as my go-to fiction reads. I tend toward this genre because I read fiction as an escape from the daily drudge of life. YA sci/fi-fantasy usually has more upbeat/ hopeful endings, while adult fiction of any genre (except romance) tends to have more depressingly realistic endings. Sometimes I read romance novels, but I really prefer the type with plot/ character development between sex scenes, and I don't like having to hunt for them.

 

In non-fiction, I prefer history, biographies, psychology, gender studies, social/applied sciences, and law/ public policy.

Currently reading

Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps -- And What We Can Do About It
Lise Eliot
White by Law: The Legal Construction of Race
Ian F. Haney López

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré The way Ms. Rowling finally started to flesh out the Slytherin's and give them a more rounded personality was cool. The way she finally (finally, after 5 books!) fleshed out Ginny, the obviously intended love interest for Harry, was just irritating.From Book 2, anybody could tell that Harry + Ginny = meant-to-be in J.K. Rowling's world. I don't know about anyone else who read the series, but I was second-guessing myself about that by book 5. Not because of Cho or any other obviously temporary love interest, but because as a character, Ginny was not fleshed out at all. It's possible that Ms. Rowling just wanted the reader to "see" Ginny through Harry's eyes, and therefore didn't flesh her character out until she was ready for them to get together. Whatever her thought process, it was . . . not the best way to go. By keeping Ginny a fairly one-dimensional character through most of the series and then suddenly introducing her as girl-fantastic (Hi, I'm Ginny! I can do impressions! And play Quidditch like a rock star! Also, I beat up Slytherin's and mock them cruelly! I rock at magic, too! And I'm funny and beautiful with lots of boyfriends!) J.K. made Ginny a complete throw-away character.Which, interestingly, Harry does. He breaks up with her to go fight a war that he takes her brother (his best friend) and Hermione on -- so what, he loves his friends more than his girl? He's willing to allow them their independence and decision to fight with him, but orders Ginny to stay away? What a jerk. And then, of course, when it's all over -- hello, Ginny, how nice, you waited for me! Life is predictably perfect!Sorry, this was actually a great book. Just don't read book 7. Harry kills Voldemort in an obvious Christian parallel. That's about it.