A Reason for My Morning Reading

Here we go - I found the article on Slate where Dahlia Lithwick explains her book project and sets her parameters - where she's thinking about engaging chick-lit conventions, where she refuses to go, her acknowledgment of the debate between serious and non-serious literature (something near and dear to my own academic heart and my recreational impulses), and her time limit (she goes back to reporting on the Supreme Court beat October 1, so the book ends then whether it's truly finished or not). You can read her description here.

Morning Reading

Since I'm not yet comfortable enough in my new office to hold private dance parties when I don't feel like working, I tend to take to the Internet. This morning, I was spending my time with Dahlia Lithwick's real-time romance novel, Saving Face, on Slate.com. The novel itself is a good read so far (with only two installments down, it's kind of hard to tell, but I already like the characters I've met so far, so that's a good sign) and it's an interesting Internet experiment. Lithwick is writing in one of Slate's short formats, which tends to work well for commentary in general and she's taking reader advice from Facebook. So, in some senses, it's in real-time and collaborative. What's even more interesting is that she gives readers credit where it's due. Little plus signs give us readers' information and suggestions that Lithwick has used to help shape or improve her story. Also, at the end of every post, Lithwick gives us a general idea of where the next installment is going and solicits reader feedback; so, she's got the plot skeleton, but she knows the experiment will be more efficient and the finished product more interesting if many minds help shape the novel.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to join her Facebook page as soon as I'm done writing. I'd like to get more information about the genesis of the project and Lithwick's general vision for what she sees the project doing (or maybe that's the writing teacher in me coming out). The fact is that this romance novel experiment is a well-written, smart, collaborative piece of writing about the love lives and neuroses of professionals in a college town has me somewhat intrigued. So, obviously, I'll be needing to know more about it.

Vampires and Class

In an attempt to heal my brain but provide myself with a good story, I've been reading through the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. (Full disclosure: I've also been reading them to get hints of what happens on True Blood. Even though I know the show departs from the books, there's still enough in common that I can smugly watch the series and look for all the things that I know are going to happen. That would bother some people, but knowing what's coming makes me enjoy my television all the more.)

Anyway, back to the books. Harris's vampire mysteries are not exactly the most complicated or hard-to-unback books on the market, but they do do something extremely interesting - they engage in a relatively long discussion of social and economic class as they relate to Sookie Stackhouse. While there are plenty of things Sookie overhears about herself in other human (and sometimes shifter) brains that pass judgement on her morals, her friendships with vampires, or her looks, the one thing that really seems to rub Sookie the wrong way is the frequent judgement of others about her occupation - barmaid - and how that must make her both no-count and stupid.

That's fascinating. While Sookie is relatively used to being called "crazy" for her ability to read minds and her relationships with vampires (and her body) make people pass judgements about her sexuality, class judgements and the ways in which people decide who's worthwhile and who's not is one of the most pronounced themes throughout the series. I mean, class is important to Sookie, too - she can't help but let readers know when someone is really trashy or when they're putting on airs - but there's a keen awareness in the books that these judgements are wrong, or at least, rashly made.

This is why I think Sookie likes the vampires so darn much - aside from the whole "she can't hear their thoughts" thing. Vampires think that they're better than most humans, especially those humans who think they're better than Sookie. But in the end, Sookie wins out in this social heirarchy, since the vampires (and all their supernatural friends) think Sookie is probably the only human who matters.