Something different -- My reading lists- Contemporary Urban Fantasy

So I finally found a label to slap on the narrow band of fiction that I’m currently reading…Contemporary Urban Fantasy. I figured that there had to be a better way to define it other than saying “the morality plays of paranormal beings struggling with the concepts of good and evil created by our contemporary world.” What set me on the path to label this brand of writing was the Half Price Book Store’s current shelving of Kelley Armstrong and many of my other favorites in the paranormal romance section.

Initially, my anger hinged on suspicion that they’re there because the authors are women. However, after reading literary reviews and comparing works, what I’ve found isn’t necessarily a condescending attitude toward women authors (although that may be part of it), but rather just a misunderstanding of the urban fantasy genre and how it digs into contemporary society’s moral choices through science fiction vehicles that usually feature strong women. Readers and booksellers see the strong female lead on the cover and read the bedroom scenes and think romance, instead of thinking about overall story being told.

What led me to this conclusion is that recently I’ve started reading Neil Gaiman’s works, both Graphic Novels and books such as American Gods. I especially like his strong female characterization of Death and her odysseys through the lives of people who have lost meaning in their earthly existence. The world view themes in Gaiman’s stories like Sandman, The Graveyard Book and Fragile Things seems very akin to Kelly Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld, Laurell K Hamilton’s books, and other authors works currently being thrown in the paranormal romance section. Gaiman’s Death is a very similar character to many of the female players in other books I’ve been reading by Laurell K. Hamilton, Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Charlaine Harris. Jim Butcher’s Wizard in the Dreden Files could easily be switched into a female character who would then be Anita Blake’s doppelganger. And even some of the male protagonists in John Ringo and David Drake books could become strong female leads whose stories maintain a boon of sex scenes while fighting good and evil in our world. All of these other authors are in the science fiction section.

Bringing me to my first conclusion: sex alone doesn’t make the difference in how this genre of book is categorized. Gaiman, Jim Butcher and other male authors have sex in their books, yet they aren’t shelved in the paranormal romance section. I’ll admit that some of the authors that are in the paranormal romance section, such as Hamilton, can write quite the titillating sex scene. Quite possibly their talent at describing physical sex and sexual tension is why bookstores and customers look for their works in a sub-genre of romance. However, just like most TV shows and films sex is only a story teller’s tool for exploring themes about the bigger human condition. Sadly, just as Gaiman’s Sandman, Alan Moore’s The Watchmen, or Bill Willingham’s Fables, are fated to always being shelved in Graphic Novels next to the Comic Books, I fear authors whose main characters are women with secure identities (including sexual self-awareness) will be shelved in paranormal romance.

The truth however, is that all of these authors are part of the Contemporary Urban Fantasy genre. It encompasses Neil Gaiman, Kelly Armstrong and Laurell K Hamilton. Nanette Wargo Donohue wrote a good analysis of this genre at Library Journal.com, entitled, Collection Development “Urban Fantasy": The City Fantastic, 6/1/2008. Wargo states that Urban fantasy as we know it began in the 1980s and 1990s. Charles de Lint and Terri Windling defined this genre in their works Newford, Dreams Underfoot, and Borderlands respectively. Wargo says, “These works introduced readers to the possibility of supernatural, fantastic beings in modern settings, and other authors who contributed to the development of what is now identified as “traditional urban fantasy” included Emma Bull, Neil Gaiman, and Mercedes Lackey….The branch of urban fantasy currently skyrocketing in popularity is “contemporary urban fantasy,” which plays on themes drawn from popular culture, including horror movies, TV shows like cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and lore about such paranormal creatures as vampires and werewolves. This is what your patrons are looking for when they request “urban fantasy.” Common characteristics include tough female protagonists (often with supernatural powers or superhuman strength), stronger distinctions between good and evil, grittier urban landscapes, first-person narration, and sexual tension, often between the female protagonist and a male character who toes the line between good and evil. A pioneer in this subgenre is Laurell K. Hamilton, whose “Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter” novels were among the first to play on these themes.” The rest of Wargo’s article is found at http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6561372.html. Wargo’s article breaks the genre into Traditional and Contemporary Urban Fantasy and is an interesting discussion.

Wargo points in the direction of Locus magazine and Diana Tixier Herald's literary analysis to understand more about urban fantasy. Locus seems to me to be more about general sci fi and not getting to the heart of looking at just urban fantasy and why my favorite authors are in the paranormal romance section.

Herald’s work (Fluent in Fantasy: The Next Generation and Genreflecting Advisory Series) on the other hand, gets right to the heart of my discussion. She evens pulls in the teen urban fantasies like Harry Potter, who have found a place on my reading list with teen focused novels from Kelley Armstrong and Rachel Caine. Herald’s books discuss how genres bring reading groups together to discuss specific topics in society. Just as the adult genre, the teen urban fantasy genre supplies a common vehicle for teens to understand their world by freeing minds from preconceived notions of what is not possible. As all of the contemporary urban fantasies do, these young adult books examine how people make moral choices as they struggle to understand our technologically advanced and spiritually stunted society.

Just as any fantasy and urban graphic novel will always be found in the comic books, and strong female leads with paranormal abilities will be in the paranormal romance shelves, these urban fantasy books with young lead characters will be in the young adult section.

For now readers will have to search each bookstore section to gather the contemporary urban fantasy books into one collection. However, they’ll be rewarded by fun science fiction books that provide an interesting examination of our urban society and relationships as they are projected onto a fantasy tapestry.

It seems to me in the final analysis however, that there’s no reason for any of the contemporary urban fantasies discussed I’ve discuss in this rant not to be shelved within the larger genre of science fiction. It seems that publishers and booksellers default to the cover art and printing style of the book rather than really categorizing the book by its true genre. This policy may sell more books, but it does a disservice to the genre and the authors.

Nascar and the Fan Walk.

We went to the Speedway on October 4th for the Sprint Cup Challenge and did the Fan Walk. Call it a Fan Marathon. The Kansas Speedway lets fans walk under the track to visit the crew areas in the center of the raceway. My husband and I got the fanwalk tickets with our Sprint Challenge Cup tickets. He won the Nascar tickets through a raffle at his work. Great seats, fourth turn. For those of you who don't know what that means, the fourth turn is where the cars go from Pace Car speed to RACE speed. Intense.

Video Below.

When my husband won the tickets, we decided it was a once in lifetime thing because we would never spend that much money for tickets. Pricey little tickets they are.

The speedway is a local great tourist attraction and we were really excited about going to see what Nascar is all about. We buffed up on race facts and watched the Nascar 101 videos on Nascar's website and packed our lunch for the 12 hour day. Yea, we're that cheap.

What we didn't know was the amount of walking involved. Holy Moly. From our car to the Stadium, then you tour all these booths collecting cool trinkets for FREE. So of course, we had to go to each one.

And then the fan walk --

(around the stadium from our seats, down five flights of steps, through a tunnel, up several flights of steps, walk around the cars and drivers, then down several flights of steps, through the tunnel, UP five flights of steps, and around the stadium back to our seats). Totally worth it.

Watching them test the cars to see if they meet specs before the race. Watching all the highly involved fans. A completely different sub-culture in our backyard that we never witnessed before.

Many sore muscles and much sunburn later, we have lots of fun memories. So glad I've been losing weight or I NEVER could have done it.

It was FUN! Another thing that losing weight has helped me be able to do.

These videos are taken from our seats. Zoom Zoom.

And the winner was Number 14, Tony Stewart. Here's the final line-up on the tower. Jeff Gordon was second and Greg Biffle was third. All three turned in a great competition to the finish line.

Long Weekend is Over

Ah Columbus Day. Another Federal Holiday come and gone. I worked long hours (10-14 hour days) at the end of the Fiscal Year (September 30), so I really looked forward to the Columbus Day weekend to recoup. This year I'm especially happy because I'm using the time to get ready for my vacation to Europe. I haven't had a multi-week, honest to goodness, not checking in to work, not dropping by the office, vacation since before my cancer surgery in 2007. Bill and I have had long weekend or 4 day trips, but that's been the biggest breaks.

I've been getting ready with packing lists and by getting in shape. Not as far along as I'd like, but it's OK. Been walking and eating a little better,but I've lost ground that I won in a hard fought battle in August. How?

During the end of the fiscal year in September, I worked such long hours that I didn't eat right. An old habit that I just hadn't broken or figured a way around came back to haunt me. I nibble when I work, especially data-entry type work. Baggies of carrots and celery didn't help. Added to my lack of will power, the branch where I'm rotating has a full-food support policy during the last week of the fiscal year. It's a way to show support to co-workers who are so busy that they can't leave their areas for lunch and then have to stay late and miss dinner. Give em food. Lots of food. I so appreciated the team spirit and goodness from which this tradition was offered that I partook of it a bit too much. Read that as I pigged-out without any thought of points. Seriously, it's the first time since I started WW that I didn't even count points. Yikes.

I guess that I should be glad that I didn't gain so much of my weight back that I'm sick. It was kind of scary how fast weight piles back when I returned to my old eating habits. In two weeks, I gained 15 pounds. 15! Whoa. Now if I lost 15 pounds in two weeks, people would say that's not healthy. You can better believe that gaining it in that short of period isn't healthy either.

It was probably a good experience to see what falling off the diet completely would do to me. Sure didn't want to learn it right now though. Of course, when does anyone want to learn hard lessons?

I'm back on the points plan and trying to do good. One thing that really gave me encouragement was a particular co-worker. She said that I was an inspiration to her and she started eating this breakfast roll-up thingy that I "invented." I was really stunned that my actions could impact someone so much. It really humbled me to think that she was trying to be like me, when I was busy ruining the progress that I'd made. Gee, my brain just can't figure any of that out. However, between her faith and another friend's direct encouragement to exercise, I'm pulling myself back in line with a healthy eating plan and exercise.

October is here. My diet is doing better and I'm walking again. The scale is actually going back down again. I'm down to 90 pounds lost again, but sadly I don't think that I'll make the big "100 Pounds Lost" before my plane lifts off the runway headed for Holland at the end of October.

However, I don't want to diet so extremely that it slides back on the instant I take one bite of Belgium Chocolate. Europe has so many wonderful tastes to offer in addition the architecture, history, culture and people. I plan to enjoy it all.

Moderation in all things, right?

Admission: Exercise and Healthy Food is a Requirement for Losing Weight --Even on Weight Watchers

Two weeks ago, the scale at the meeting was way off from my home scale. I had stuck to my points and exercised everyday for two weeks before that weigh-in. The meeting scale actually said that I'd gained two pounds. I ran home and weighed myself again and it was the same as before the meeting (2 pounds down). For quite a while my husband and I both have felt that one of the scales at my meeting site was off, but being long time members we found it difficult to blame the scale without proof. To me, this was the final proof. I didn't weigh for a week, and today, two weeks later, I weighed in on a different scale. Yup, it matched my home scale exactly. 97 pounds lost and weighed-in at 214. (I always round the number to the closet whole number.) Yet still I was irritated that I wasn't seeing more progress for adding intense exercise back into my daily routine.

For over six months I've been losing and gaining the same five pounds that left me fluctuating in the 220s. In anticipation of a trip to Europe that will include lots of steps and tight quarters, I decided to really be honest with myself and try to figure out what I was doing wrong. Bottom line? Too many 2 point carbs. Weight watcher treats, ice cream, processed food, desserts. Never going over my total allotted points, but my metabolism was hijacked by the carbs. In four weeks I've dropped 8 pounds, more than I've lost in six months (consistently) because I finally admitted to myself that I'd strayed from my original WW plan and was 2 pointing myself to death. For two weeks, I’ve eaten a low carb and sensible WW diet within my points. Note that WW sweets are bad, but must be moderated. I am also back on the exercise band wagon.

I feel strong again and back in control. Hopefully next week will be the BIG 100 pounds lost mark. I can't wait for the washer, for the thrill, and to know that my journey is past the half way mark and I'm lower in weight than I've been in ten years. There's just something about hitting 100 pounds down that can't be underestimated. It's a number everyone understands. It's weird how 90 pounds, just isn't the same. I'll still have 70 pounds to lose to get to my goal, but that feels so much more doable than it used to. It used to seem so silly to be this really obese person and say that my goal is to lose 180 pounds. People just kind of nodded their heads. However, now I can say that I've come so far and I can go the rest of the way.

It will be tough and get tougher. I'm not an idiot. All around me at meetings, people have such a tough time going from 150 to 120 pounds. I realize that the lower the weight, the more difficult the challenge. Heck, that's why I was stuck in the 220s so long, it was much easier to lose weight closer to 300 pounds. When you weigh 310, you can walk to the refrigerator and earn points. Now walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes only gets me a point. Erck. So I walk longer and pick up the speed. I use the Nike trainer on my iphone. Last night I carried two five pound weights on my walk. If I have to do all this now to lose weight, it will be a hella challenge at 150 pounds, but I can't wait to do it.

Test blog post

Relay for Life this Friday

This Friday (July 17th) is my third Relay for Life walk as a Survivor. If you'd like to donate, please go to http://main.acsevents.org/goto/DebbyWhite

I've lost 85lbs and gained an entirely new person since my Adenosarcoma diagnosis. I take nothing about life for granted anymore. It's too bad that we have to survive a battle with a killing illness to appreciate what we had all along. I was lucky. My cancer was discovered early and treated with surgery and radiation. Too many people don't find their cancer until it's too far along, or they're diagnosed with a cancer that can't be treated. The American Cancer Society (ACS) raises money to fight cancer through events like Relay for Life.

I'm not pushing anyone to donate, but if you'd like to help in the fight against Cancer this is an organization that really does help. Not only do they fund research, but I found comfort in counseling, medical information and financial advice through ACS when I was first diagnosed. It was a scary time, made worse by having a rare and usually fatal type of sarcoma of the uterus. I know first hand that they really do what they say they do.

Ups and Downs

We went to a Royals game Friday and it was great. The steps were no problem. No struggling to fit in the seat, no fighting to climb the steps. Losing 85 lbs was the best thing I've ever done. My life is so my better. Visited my family's graves last week and walking around the cemetary was no big deal. I thought about them, not about my inability to visit all of their graves. All this success is what has me captured at this plateau. I need to see all of the things that I still can't do because I still need to lose one hundred pounds. I realize this plateau is of my own making. To know the problem isn't to neccessarily conquer it.

Yesterday was my lowest weigh-in, 225lbs. I'm trying mobile posting to improve my reporting. Let's see....

85 Pounds down in 11 months.

This was a fast weekend. Last week I missed several days of work because of a flu bug. The only good thing about being sick is that it helps me lose just a little more weight. Lost 3 pounds this week, so my total loss is 85 lbs. I'm still hoping to push that up as much as possible by March 19 which is my one year WW anniversary.
Come Monday morning I'm sure I'll be feeling better and back to work and back to dieting (eating that is). Weird how that works: Eat more, lose more. WW is truly a miracle program.
Of course, I'd rather be healthy and outside enjoying the sunshine while earning activity points. This week is supposed to be warmer.......let's all hope winter ends soon.