A Cornucopia of Geekery

Friend of the blog Nightwing17 posted a list of things in comics he’s grateful for. You can check it out here. Geeks can sometimes be a bitter and demanding lot so it’s nice to focus on what we appreciate about the things we love. Here’s a few geeky things I’m thankful for:

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To Read or Not to Read: The Parenting Question

A friend of mine sent this article my way. It’s a parent’s reflection on another parent’s choice to censor Harry Potter as she reads it aloud to her five-year-old son.

http://bookriot.com/2013/11/11/folly-child-proofing-harry-potter/

I highly recommend checking it out because this article brings up some excellent points. First off, if you find yourself so concerned about the material in a book (or anything else) that you have to constantly edit it, don’t read it. Give it a few years. Harry Potter will still be there when the child in question is six or seven or even eight. Secondly, the article points out that this is not about the child’s discomfort, but the parent’s.

To the Victor Go the Spoils

My Squishable Fire Dragon was a fan of the title

THE DEFENDANT: Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins

THE VERDICT: The Hunger Games Trilogy was the third most frequently challenged book of 2011, according to the ALA. It is unclear if Catching Fire has been banned or challenged on its own or just with the series as a whole.

THE CHARGES: The series has been widely banned or challenged for “anti-ethnic”, “anti-family”, “occult/satanic” content, as well as “insensitivity”, “offensive language”, and “violence” (see above link). Many of these issues were previously discussed in my review of the first book and the charges specifically targeted at The Hunger Games could all likely be said of Catching Fire as well.

Star Wars as an Icelandic Saga: The Entire Saga (in English) in One Blog Post

Friends, it is a dark and stormy night with the chill of winter already in the air. Thus, I bring you a story worthy of a cozy night in as you mull mead over the fire and read aloud to any friends, housemates, or kinsmen who may gather for this epic tale. This blogger, this mad, beautiful, legendary person, has retold the entirety of Star Wars as an Icelandic Saga, complete with antiquated storytelling conventions, patronymic names, and Icleandicized awesomeness. If ever the word epic were earned, it would be here.

I could give some spiel about the politics surrounding cultural history, academic snobbishness towards epic/oral literature and mythology, and similar attitudes towards genre fiction to justify how this relates to intellectual freedom or banned books, but screw it. Epic needs no explanation. Enjoy, good readers. I leave you with this:

Ek em Jéði som mín faðr áðr mig.

Set Fire to the Screen

As we seem to be on a Military power/anxiety, child soldier, PTSD theme this week, I bring you a new trailer for Catching Fire I found on The Mary Sue.

The music is weirdly upbeat but Katniss looks suitably traumatized. As Catching Fire is banned along with the rest of The Hunger Games Trilogy, I’ll be reviewing both the book and the movie. If you need a Panem fix before then, you can find my reviews of the first book and movie here and here.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

The War Stories Anthology Interview with the editors and publisher

An interview about the War Stories anthology currently on Kickstarter and what exactly Military Science Fiction means. Like most subgenres, you’ve probably already read plenty of it, you just don’t realize it.

the Little Red Reviewer

Something especially interesting was kicking around the twittersphere last week. Something about a new military science fiction anthology edited by the very talented Jaym Gates and Andrew Liptak, and published by Apex Publishing.   you know how sometimes you catch something out of the corner of your eye, and you just have to see what it is, you just have to learn more? The War Stories Anthology is that thing.  And what better way to learn about it than by chatting up the editors and the publisher?

Not sure if a military scifi anthology is for you? Chances are you’re already reading Military Science Fiction, you just don’t know it. Enjoy Ender’s Game? How about Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga? How about Max Brooks’ World War Z? Dune by Frank Herbert? John Scalzi?  Ever play Mass Effect? or Halo?  see? you’re already a fan!

Jaym and Andrew have already talked extensively…

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Space Balls (Or Lack Thereof)

Hello, Bound and Gagged readers! I will be your guest poster this week and have I got a treat for you! You see, I just got back from watching the movie Ender’s Game, and I have a very severe thebookisbetterthanthemovie rant to share. I cannot say for certain that I believe elements of the book were censored due to being objectionable, but I can say for certain that the movie took out a lot of things that make Ender’s Game a potential target for censorship and the world has been made poorer for it. Spoilers and profanity ahead, be forewarned!