The Book Lantern

Bored graduate who likes books. I write about YA and all related topics at The Book Lantern. Other literary interests include politics, LGBTQ literature, drama and the odd romance. I also co-host the podcast Anglo-Filles and write theatre reviews for FemaleArts.com and The Skinny.

Presenting Bloodsucking Feminists!

So one day I decided I wanted to do a podcast on feminism and vampires, so I asked Catherine, my Bibliodaze co-editor, if she would do it with me and she said “Can we call ourselves The Bloodsucking Feminists?”

 

And lo and behold, we did a thing!

 

So Bloodsucking Feminists is our new venture; a monthly podcast dedicated to a semi-academic/semi-fangirl orientated analysis of our favourite undead creatures through a feminist perspective. We'll cover everything from the classics to the obscure and the toe tapping fun within (yes, vampire musicals).

 

So head on over to download our first 2 episodes (the first is an intro and the second - our official first episode - is dedicated to Carmilla).

 

Enjoy! 

Stop Asking “Is It Feminist?”

I am so damn sick of reducing all pop culture feminist analysis to the loaded & unfair question of "Is it feminist" & here I explain why. 

The Hugos, Sad Puppies and the Fallacy of the Apolitical

On the lie of "keeping politics out of sci-fi" in relation to the Hugo Awards. There's a picture of my dog in this post. 

5 Terry Pratchett Books You Must Read

To mourn the passing and celebrate the life of one of the greats, our lovely Eva has put together a short list of the 5 Terry Pratchett books everyone should read. 

“Completely Ignorant Of All Things Woman”: On Andrew Smith & The Othering Of Our Gender

If you see the anger of those women as a bigger affront than Smith’s comments then you’re the one with the problem. Allyship is not conditional on the perceived politeness of the oppressed. You don’t just relinquish your support of marginalised groups because you felt like they’d been a bit mean to you. If you want cookies then go to a bakery. The increasing toxicity of online discourse, particularly pertaining to issues of misogyny, has made it a veritable minefield to navigate. Many decide not to write about such things at all because they know they’ll be attacked viciously for it (we probably will too). A lot of women will probably be ‘punished’ more for this than Smith will be for making the sexist comments in the first place. It doesn’t take much to earn the ire of misogynists. Existing is all it takes to set them off.

Review: “Not Otherwise Specified” by Hannah Moskowitz

There are few writers out there with the talent and focus of Moskowitz, and Not Otherwise Specified is a vibrant and fully realised portrait of a woman who is complex, prickly, ambitious, scared, self-deprecating, brave and altogether entirely human. Character pieces this beautifully done are hard to come by in any category of fiction.

 
Read the full 4.5 stars review at Bibliodaze.
 

 

John Green Plagiarised: Why This Matters

"Make no bones about it – John Green, whether he intended to or not, stole someone else’s content. He plagiarised. He took credit for that which was not his on the assumption that it must be because the internet says so. At no point in the process of making products with that quote did Green or anyone else stop to check he’d actually written it because the privilege was so blinding."

 

 

Read more at Bibliodaze (and wish me luck because Nerdfighters terrify me). 

If Male Auteurs Directed “50 Shades Darker”

With the speculation growing that Sam Taylor-Johnson may not direct the 50 Shades of Grey sequels due to her frequent and increasingly bitter clashes with author EL James, the chances are that future directorial duties will fall to men, as was the case with the Twilight movies following Catherine Hardwicke’s success. Given the studio’s eagerness to promote the prestige of an award winning and critically adored artist like Taylor-Johnson working on their film, the chances are they’ll try to clinch a similarly acclaimed auteur for the job. I, a great lover of film, decided to take it upon myself to offer you all a glimpse into the potential directors who could bring that extra something to the material.

 

Review: "Stranger" (The Change #1) by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith

Catherine reviews a damn good book. This one deserves your attention.

Review: “The Raven” by Sylvain Reynard

Boy, this book was bad. 

Hate Out Of Ten: The Pros & Cons Of Review Scores

What do you think of review scores and star ratings? We discuss the pros & cons.

Anne Rice & the Imaginary Gangster Bullies

If Rice’s intentions were sincere, if she were truly determined to help tackle online bullying, then there would be a discussion worth having, but that has never been her objective. If it were then she would never support stalking or promote a website that doxed and harassed multiple people for no better reason than their bad reviews of a book almost nobody read. This also isn’t about wanting ‘honest’ book reviews or a ‘cleaned up’ blogging community – it’s about Rice wanting more cheerleaders, of which she has plenty.

 

Happy 1st Birthday, Bibliodaze!

Hurrah, Bibliodaze is now 1 year old! 

What We Know (And What We Don’t know) About Harper Lee & Her New Book.

The book itself is not the only part of the story readers have questions about. Why would Lee, who by all accounts was not especially eager to publish a second novel, do so now and after such a long time and at the age of 89? Lee has been in the headlines sporadically over the past couple of years with reports of ill health and lethal battles too, so the circumstances relating to this news are not particularly positive ones.

 

BookCon, YouTube Celebrities & Giving Racists Book Deals

"This year, BookCon will feature a panel of YouTube celebrities who are all publishing their respective books through Atria Books’ Keyword Press. On that list is Shane Dawson, who is described as being a comedian by some. Dawson is a big fan of blackface, having used it several times in his videos to ‘portray’ women of colour such as Nicki Minaj and Wendy Williams, and has used the N word on more than one occasion.

 

This is not okay."

The Bibliodaze State of the Book Survey

Book blogging is ever changing and we're interested to hear your thoughts! Take our survey and be as brutally honest as you desire. 

Currently reading

The Flamethrowers
Rachel Kushner
Avalon
Mindee Arnett
Progress: 20 %
The Bone Season
Samantha Shannon
Progress: 13/480 pages