I used to be a literature snob, bragging that I preferred writers who died before the 20th century ever rolled around. There were few exceptions, most notably Willa Cather and Harper Lee. Recently, I’ve found myself craving a different kind of story. Rather than life lessons, I read for distraction. An uncomplicated girl meets girl romance is a recipe for a successful, cozy afternoon/evening.
Taking it to a whole new level, I’ve recently developed a disturbing addiction to fanfic. Specifically Buffy/Faith fanfic, from the wonderful world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The writer in me feels the need to justify my obsession with the chosen two. I mentally catalogue the benefits of reading/writing fanfic. For example, it’s a great study in character development. These characters are established and well known. If the writer gets it right, she can put them into uncharacteristic situations that become believable because the reader believes the character. That takes some pretty impressive manipulation of character traits to make that happen.
I don’t see myself ever delving into fanfic (never say never), but I bet the exercise would be beneficial. Am I good enough to take someone else’s character and get it right? Hell, I have to fight to get my own characters right. I’d mangle the crap out of someone else’s.
On this fine Monday morning, I leave you with some recommendations for my all time favorites.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Harper Lee’s classic novel of a lawyer in the deep south defending a black man charged with the rape of a white girl
One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. Most recently, librarians across the country gave the book the highest of honors by voting it the best novel of the twentieth century.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Set in a small Alabama train stop town in the 1930s, this gem of a book almost could have been shelved as just another light romantic comedy. Various women’s voices tell anecdotes of Whistle Stop, as the chapters jump back and forth through time. We hear from Mrs. Threadgoode, reminiscing fondly from her nursing home in the 1980s, and the chatty Dot Weems, editor of the gossipy town newsletter (1929-1969), and then listen in on spirited dialogue set in the town of Whistle Stop itself. The storytellers never find use for the label “lesbian,” nor do they see fit to take us behind closed doors, but this is nevertheless the irresistible story of a fierce and true love between two women, Idgie and Ruth. After Idgie saves Ruth from an abusive marriage, these two friends become partners in running the Whistle Stop Cafe, where no one, “not even hobos and colored,” is turned away for inability to pay. Readers are set down in the corner booth to eavesdrop on the comings and goings of an array of eccentric, ragtag characters who drop in for buttermilk biscuits, Big George’s barbecue, and, eventually, news about their own hometown murder mystery. Among revelations big and small, Fannie Flagg mixes direct and empowering confrontations with racism, sexism, and ageism with the colorful and endearing language of the depression-era South and the cafe’s recipes for grits, collard greens, and, of course, fried green tomatoes.
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
“The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman,” writesWilla Cather in O Pioneers! The country is America; the woman is Alexandra Bergson, a fiercely independent young Swedish immigrant girl who inherits her father’s farm in Nebraska. A model of emotional strength, courage, and resolve, Alexandra fights long and hard to transformher father’s patch of raw, wind-blasted prairie into a highly profitable business.
A gripping saga of love, murder, greed, failure, and triumph, O Pioneers! vividly portrays the hardships of prairie life. Above all, it champions the belief that hard work is the surest road to personal fulfillment. Described upon publication in The New York Times as “American in the best sense of the word,” O Pioneers!celebrates the men and women who struggled to build a nation that is both compelling and contradictory.
Broken Wings by L-J Baker
In a magical world where being different is the norm, why must Rye Woods fear for her life if the truth about her hidden identity is revealed?
When Rye Woods, a fairy, meets the beautiful dryad Flora Withe, her libido, as squashed and hidden as her wings, reawakens along with her heart. But Rye is a poor builder’s labourer with a teenage sister to raise, while Flora is a wealthy artist-celebrity with a tree-top condominium and a sporty, late-model flying carpet. If those aren’t obstacles enough to the scorching attraction that rapidly develops, Rye lives under the pall of a dark secret that has made her a fugitive in the very land where she sought freedom. The more Rye reveals to Flora, the more vulnerable she is to her past catching up with her. Can she and Flora find their way to loving one another in the face of their social and cultural differences while struggling with the dark forces that threaten Rye?
Mine by Georgia Beers
What happens when you’ve already given your heart and love finds you again?
Three years after Courtney McAllister loses her partner in a car accident, she’s finally trying to move forward. She’s even dated halheartedly over the past year, but no one is able to penetrate her emotional barricades until she meets aggressive real estate broker Rachel Hart. Despite Rachel’s cool façade, Courtney is drawn to her—when she isn’t furious with her. Still, despite an undeniable attraction, Courtney has given her heart once and doesn’t have room for that kind of love in her life again. Rachel isn’t looking for love, especially not with a woman who belongs to someone else, and taking second place has never been her long suit.
Maybe Next Time by Karin Kallmaker
Sabrina Starling always believed in maybe next time . . . until now.
Sabrina doesn’t need love. She has fame as a brilliant violinist and unlimited options for female company. Nothing can shake her — except the memory of her very first love. Knowing that neither the teenaged nor adult Jorie will ever return her feelings, Sabrina has escaped into her music and the arms of other women.
When injury leaves her temporarily unable to perform, Sabrina finally finds the one woman who could free her forever from the memory of those stolen Hawaiian nights with Jorie. There’s one problem. The object of Sabrina’s desire, Diana, is deeply in love with Pam, the woman who has shared her life for the past eighteen years.
A family funeral calls Sabrina home to find that Jorie may want her, after all these years. But now the painful memory of Diana has left Sabrina certain that next time won’t be any different.
And the list wouldn’t be complete without links to my favorite fanfic sites: http://buffynfaith.net/fanfictions/index.php
http://www.oralfxatn.com/updates.htm
Happy reading, folks!
Women and Words
Jove Belle
Andi Marquette
Clifford Henderson
Georgia Beers
Sandra Barret