What I've been reading etc

[alias_sqbr]

What I just read:

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker: All about dangerous situations: how to recognise them, how to avoid them, and how to stop being hypervigilant when it serves no purpose. Very interesting and informative, also a quick read and entertainingly written. I was warned the chapter on Domestic Violence was victim blamey so skipped it, also I would have really liked some exploration of, for example, the way intuition can be warped by stereotypes about black men being dangerous etc. It's not aimed at readers with anxiety/panic attacks but I still found it helpful and not anxiety-triggering (lots of non detailed discussion of rape etc but my triggers don't work that way)

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters: I liked the last part more than the first, but never entirely took to the main character, she was so utterly willing to treat anyone she wasn't interested in like crap for the sake of love and lust. Still, lesbian novels with a happy ending are thin on the ground and parts of it were good.

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan: (a novella) A governess refuses to stop demanding reparations from her upper class employer. His upwardly mobile working class fixit man is sent to Deal With Her but the two end up forming a bond. I quite liked this, and not just because I got it for free!

What I just watched and played:

The pilot of Teen Wolf. It was ok, so far it feels like a more male focussed less enjoyable version of Buffy or Vampire Diaries without any humour or subversion which...woo, but I'll give it until the end of the disk to win me over.

Versu: An interesting little AI-based interactive storytelling engine that lets you poke at scenes from multiple characters' points of view. I have only tried the tutorial and Mr Collins proposal scene, when I feel like paying enough attention I'll try the murder mystery. Currently free, but only available on iPad and no developer tools yet.

What I'm reading:

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, with (quite cute) illustrations by the author: two girls are transported to UnLondon and discover one of them must Defeat A Great Enemy etc, like a cross between Harry Potter and Neverwhere. A bit slow and the "boy this alternate London sure is surreal!" worldbuilding hasn't quite captured me, I would probably enjoy it more if I had been to London or was more into YA. Still, female protagonists! One of whom is a POC! And I am enjoying it more than I did Railsea.

What I'm watching/playing:

Teen Wolf episode 2. Apparently there is subversion and interesting female characters? I was promised this but am still waiting.

Chihayafuru Episode 1: I just started this and Crunchyroll crashed, sigh. Seems ok after 5 minutes! Afaict it's a "sports" type manga about a bunch of teenagers playing a traditional Japanese card game, not my usual sort of thing but my tumblr dash kept squeeing about it and it's on Crunchyroll so I thought I'd give it a go. EDIT: Reloaded, watched one and a half episodes, am hooked! It's a game about MEMORISING POETRY, why didn't my school offer that?

No Mass Effect til next month, the PC is broken :( :( (We are keeping a large amount of free space on the credit card in case of unexpected hotel pre-billing shenigans at Swancon)