Month: June 2006

Oh, you nutty kooks with your silly genre writing. The New York Times Book Review thinks you’re just so adorable!

First it was science fiction, with Dave Itzkoff’s supposedly* regular column, which puzzled over why “contemporary science fiction [has] to be so geeky”.

Now the Times turns its attention to horror:

BECAUSE most right-thinking — i.e., literate, educated, professional-type — people consider horror fiction repulsive, juvenile or plain stupid, it’s probably a good idea for me to acknowledge from the start that the genre’s respectability deficit is fully deserved and even fundamental to its nature. The emotion horror stories strive to evoke — fear — is one that civilized folks are inclined to think of as low, primitive, animal. And it is, just like hunger, thirst and sexual desire. These are impulses that in most religious and many intellectual traditions derive value only from being controlled in the pursuit of piety or reason or whatever higher ideal of human behavior you happen to aspire to. Horror is, it’s fair to say, pretty determinedly nonaspirational, which is perhaps why it appeals so strongly to teenagers, slackers and fatalists, and hardly at all to normal, functioning adults, who are busy keeping the more pressing everyday anxieties — disease, financial ruin, loss of love — at bay and who may fail to see the benefit of adding vampires and zombies and poltergeists to the list.

See? They love horror because it’s so dumb, so low, primitive, and animal. Isn’t it just the craziest?

* It hasn’t been back since that first one in March. The angry backlash from science fiction publishers and fans might have been too much for the Times.

I think many readers were troubled less by what Itzkoff had to say about David Marusek’s novel Counting Heads, the book he was ostensibly reviewing in his column, than by the complete lack of understanding of the genre reflected in his online reading list. Whatever the merits or faults of the books on the list, it’s hard to argue that it isn’t out-dated and overly narrow.

Linkpharm (video):

The Friday Random Guess 10:

  1. Are you weary as water in a faucet left dripping
    “Swing” by Ani DiFranco, guessed by Glen
  2. Why don’t you tell me who’s on the phone?
    “Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac, guessed by Betty
  3. They’re pounding sixteen penny nails
    “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweakers” by Primus, guessed by Eric
  4. I’ve seen you sometimes on your own and in crowds
  5. You got red lips, snakes in your eyes
    “Body Language” by Queen, guessed by Kim
  6. Meeting a man from the motor trade
    “She’s Leaving Home” by the Beatles, guessed by Betty
  7. Last night I slept in your arms again
  8. Grab a pack and hit the trail
    “Holiday” by Jimmy Buffett, guessed by Betty
  9. Wacka wacka doo doo yeah
    “Albuquerque” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Rob
  10. The more I think about it, old Billy was right
    “Get Over It” by the Eagles, guessed by Eric

Each of these are random song lyrics from my iPod playlist. Guess them, be the pride and joy of all who know you. As always, good luck!

Also, I’ve posted the answers for last week (here), the week before (here), and the week before (here).