The Week in Womble aka Will I Ever Be Satisfied?
Helloooo!
Hope you’re well? So an interesting mixed week/ Minor health scare for a parent - happily all sorted. Woken up in the night by various pictures falling off walls so either ghosts or rubbish glue on those wall hangers! New job started and although all stuff I’ve been working on a while it went well. I’m over the halfway part of another year and it has been one unlike any other. July has a few goals for me on this blog
- Subjective Chaos – finish the last rounds of Short Stories and Science Fiction
- Hugos – a few to finish off in the main categories I’ll be voting on
- Readalongs to resume
- Reading schedules - I want to both sort through some ARCS and also improve balance on the blog regards having more non white authors . Having been reading a few things on this subject my previous aim to try and match or just beat UK demographics for the last few years isn’t enough. I’ll work on the overall target in the scheduling, but I shall commit to one book by a person of colour a week on the blog (that will not include the already in progress Octavia E Butler readalong). First job is for me to do better then lets work on the wider community getting its act together. My wider thoughts on what the genre is doing badly on both cons and diversity is here
What did I watch?
Hamilton! A show I discovered through Titter, fell in love with once I heard the soundtrack and unfortunately never saw live with the original Broadway cast. That though is sorted through Disney+ and damn its better to watch than listen to. Key difference I picked up on is the cast’s acting through the songs. Guns and Ships is even more energetic than it sounds; Its Quiet Uptown is even more tragic and the finale oh my that finale. This is worth a look and quite frankly with my musical fan heart I can say those songs are genius.
Of course, people have to reassess anything and it is valid over time to say was the big hype of a year still valid now? Some are rightly questioning some of the historical issues the musical doesn’t talk about. Valid points but I think Hamilton has two key facts going for it that I think means it will be around the culture for a long time. On a material level the idea of a musical that gives people of colour key roles that traditional musicals and shows have often didn’t is on its own quite important. When you watch this, I question anyone to say anyone in that cast doesn’t deserves to be there and hopefully that opens some doors for future casting in other productions. One issue I’m picking up on is white audiences and producers/publishers only accepting people of colour in/telling certain stories or roles; only recently a diverse cast in a production of Shakespeare was criticised for being too diverse in the Times. That isn’t enough. To start opening up casting should hopefully find More great actors and actresses that are not getting the lead roles they are more than capable of just because of their skin colour.
The other point I would note is Hamilton isn’t just flag waving at the concept of America even though that it part of it. It doesn’t end with the British defeat. It examines Hamilton’s fall from grace and eventual destruction. There are other characters who arguably are more heroic in the show. The show looks at power, how it can consume the arrogant and ruin lives; how sometimes you need to learn to give it up. It also warns us to be wary of those seeking power just for power’s sake. They’re the ones we really need to watch. A lesson we have still yet to learn. To badly paraphrase the General revolutions are easy creating a viable system of representative democracy for everyone is harder….we aren’t there nearly 250 years later but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying.
Book-Tempting To The Max
A quick summary of books received last week is here to tempt youI'm kind
What have I been reading?
The Outside by Ada Hoffmann – an impressive debut with an autistic main character in a huge space opera tale of AI gods and cosmic horrors. Review here
Sparks by Kit Mallory – the excellent conclusion to a fantastic UK dystopia.review is here
Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard - review tomorrow but an excellent novella about a dragon and his husband a fallen angel investigating a murder
Oh and just to be extra helpful here are my top recommendations for 2020 to dateALL THE BOOKS HERE
What am I reading?
Firewalkers by Adrian Tchaikovsky – an SF novella from one of the best out there – count me in
Steel Frame by Andrew Skinner – this Subjective Chaos SF nominee has giant mecha!
Velocity Weapon by Megan E O’Keefe – This Subjective nominee has spaceships
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – one of my increasingly favourite authors
Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay – a great horror author so I’m intrigued where this story goes
Have fun!!
