From Huffington Post, A Message to Girls About Religious Men Who Fear You. It's long, but it's well worth reading. The writer, Soraya Chemaly, covers a number of stories that have been in the news of late, with links, from the girl softball player who was made the center of a fuss when a rival school pulled out of the state finals so they wouldn't have to play a team with a girl on it, to girls maimed in "honor" crimes, to investigations of the Girl Scouts, to girls who are stoned for going to school.

I will add, Chemaly says there are globally connected networks of women and men who will help and support girls, but there are also networks of girls, more than ever, who are coming forward to help and advise each other. Communication gives you more power than you have ever had--don't hesitate to use it. Over and over I read of girls and young women speaking out for themselves and each other in all kinds of ways, be they help projects, films, music, and blogs. You don't have to wait for some well-meaning adult to step in (and take the credit).

Chemaly also points out that not all women will support you. You've probably noticed this for yourselves, but it was a hard and honest thing for her to say. Too many adult women side with men, thinking it will earn them status and a place at the top table with the men. Too many girls suck up to guys and bash other girls for the same reasons, thinking this will get them a piece of guy power. It doesn't. Female and male alike, they will attack your looks, your sexuality, your body, your chastity, your honesty, all the things that Chemaly mentions, all out of fear.

I'm not suggesting that you bash other girls. I'm hoping that you'll ask such girls why they're going after their own natural allies, when guys are too well known for dumping them the first time something (someone) better comes along. They may not get it. They may continue to go with where they believe the power and the status is. All you can do is stand up, and keep standing up, for girls and women.

These people who come after you under the guise of religion and caring for your soul? They only care for their own, male, power. Don't let them grind you down. Know that you can change the world in spite of these jealous, fearful people. Take pride in yourself and in each other, and be wary of those who use the language of faith to make you feel bad about yourself.

Does anyone in that area know someone who might want to give a home to one or more of these orange beauties? The story is just heart-breaking. Even if you don't know someone, would you boost the signal? The more people who know, the better the chances are they will find people who will love them!

Did I mention I updated the Beyond Harry Potter list for the first time in three years?

It don't rain but what it pours, am I right?

nth read = the whichever number of times I’ve read it
collection = all stories by one author
anthology = stories/articles by different authors
c = set in our current time
ed(s). = editor(s)
gn = graphic novel/comics
h = horror
hi = historical
alt hi = alternate history
nf = nonfiction
f = fantasy
sf = science fiction


Mainstream—Adult

Aravind Adiga, BETWEEN THE ASSASSINATIONS; THE WHITE TIGER (c India)
Martin Booth, HIROSHIMA JOE (hi)
Kathleen Cambor, IN SUNLIGHT, IN A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN (hi)
Barbara Cleverly: 4 hi mysteries, India, early 1920s: THE LAST KASHMIRI ROSE, RAGTIME IN SIMLA, THE DAMASCENED BLADE, & THE PALACE TIGER
Anita Diamant, DAY AFTER NIGHT (hi)
Barbara Hambly, RAN AWAY (Benjamin January hi mystery, 1830s New Orleans)
Barbara Hamilton (a pen name for Barbara Hambly), two Abigail Adams mysteries: A MARKED MAN and SUP WITH THE DEVIL
Charlaine Harris, SWEET AND DEADLY (mys)
Karen Maitland, COMPANY OF LIARS (hi)
Sharyn McCrumb, THE DEVIL AMONG THE LAWYERS (hi mys in the Appalachians)
Robin Oliveira, MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER (hi)
Robert Parker, SCHOOL DAYS (c)
Jodi Picoult, 19 MINUTES (xth read)
Marge Piercy, SEX WARS (hi, 1890s)
Erich Maria Remarque, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (hi)
Kathryn Stockett, THE HELP (hi, 1960s)
Indu Sundaresan, THE TWENTIETH WIFE (hi, India)
Sarah Waters, AFFINITY (hi, 1880s)
Farad Zama, THE MARRIAGE BUREAU FOR RICH PEOPLE (c, India)

Thrillers—adult

James Lee Burke, IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD
William Diehl, PRIMAL FEAR (3rd read)
Lisa Gardner, LIVE TO TELL, THE NEIGHBOR
John Grisham, RUNAWAY JURY (xth read)
John Hart, THE LAST CHILD
Susan Hill, THE WOMAN IN BLACK (hi, ghost story to star Daniel Radcliffe)
Tami Hoag, NIGHT SINS
Elmore Leonard, PRONTO, RIDING THE RAP, WHEN THE WOMEN COME OUT TO DANCE (collection)—these star Deputy U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens, the main character of TV’s “Justified,” though this Raylan isn’t as handsome!
Chuck Logan, AFTER THE RAIN (xth read), HOME FRONT (xth read)
Robert McCammon, GOING SOUTH (c)

SF&F—Adult

Joe Abercrombie, BEST SERVED COLD (h)
Daniel Abraham, THE DRAGON’S PATH (f)
Sarah Addison Allen, GARDEN SPELLS, THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON (c, f)
Ilona Andrews, BAYOU MOON (f)
Galen Beckett, THE MAGICIANS AND MRS. QUENT (f)
Beth Bernobich, PASSION PLAY (f)
Holly Black & Ellen Kushner, eds., WELCOME TO BORDERTOWN (anthology)
Edgar Rice Burroughs, A PRINCESS OF MARS (sf/f)
Mike Carey, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (2nd read, f)
John Connolly (I re-read all of his Charlie Parker books one week this year): BAD MEN; THE BURNING SOUL; EVERY DEAD THING; NOCTURNES; THE DARK ANGEL; THE DARK HOLLOW; THE KILLING KIND; THE UNQUIET; THE WHITE ROAD
Rowena Cory Daniells, THE KING’S BASTARD, THE UNCROWNED KING, THE USURPER (f)
Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds., THE COYOTE ROAD (anthology)
Kate Elliot, COLD MAGIC (f)
Pamela Freeman, BLOOD TIES, DEEP WATER, FULL CIRCLE (f)
Neil Gaiman, AMERICAN GODS (xth reading)
Barbara Hambly, BLOOD MAIDENS (h, vampire)
John Horner Jacobs, SOUTHERN GODS (h)
N. K. Jemisin, THE BROKEN KINGDOMS, THE ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS (f)
Diana Wynne Jones, DEEP SECRETS (F, 2nd read)
Alma Katsu, THE TAKER (f)
Stephen King, 11/22/63 (time travel), THE RUNNING MAN (sf, xth reading)
Michael Koryta, THE CYPRESS HOUSE (h)
Mercedes Lackey, FIRE ROSE (f)
George R. R. Martin, A Song of Fire and Ice: A CLASH OF KINGS, A FEAST OF CROWS, A GAME OF THRONES, A STORM OF SWORDS (2nd read, f)
Robert McCammon, BOY’S LIFE, MR. SLAUGHTER, MYSTERY WALK, THE QUEEN OF BEDLAM, SINGS THE NIGHTBIRD (f)
Elizabeth Moon, KINGS OF THE NORTH (f)
Rachel Neumeier, LAND OF THE BURNING SANDS, LAW OF THE BROKEN EARTH, LORD OF THE CHANGING WINDS (f)
Daniel Polansky, LOW TOWN (f)
Michael Stackpole, TALION REVENANT (f)
Mary Stanton, ANGEL’S ADVOCATE, DEFENDING ANGELS (c, ghost, f)
Michelle West, THE HIDDEN CITY (f)


Nonfiction, graphic novels/comics, poetry

Karen Abbott, SIN IN THE SECOND CITY: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America’s Soul
John M. Barry, RISING TIDE: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
Holly Black, Bill Willingham, Alisa Kwitney, Louise Hawes, Todd Mitchell; ill. By Rebecca Guay
A FLIGHT OF ANGELS (graphic novel)
Martin Booth, GOLDEN BOY (autobiography)
Frank Cammuso, KNIGHTS OF THE LUNCH TABLE: The Battling Bands (graphic novel)
Robert Graves, GOODBYE TO ALL THAT (autobiography)
Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones, eds., DEAR BULLY: 70 Authors and Their Stories
Eric Larson, IN THE GARDEN OF THE BEASTS: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
Deborah Lipstadt, THE EICHMANN TRIAL
Lyn Macdonald, ed., ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH: Poets of the Great War
Daniel P. Mannix, MEMOIRS OF A SWORD SWALLOWER (autobiography)
Cameron McWhirter, RED SUMMER: the Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America
Daniel Okrent, LAST CALL: the Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Better late than never? Yeah, that's what I thought. The adult list follows.

Books are Young Adult/Teen unless marked otherwise
Series books are in alphabetical, not publication, order


YR = Young Reader/Intermediate/Tween
nth read = the whichever number of times I’ve read it
collection = all stories by one author
anthology = stories/articles by different authors
b = male lead character/theme
c = set in our current time
ed(s). = editor(s)
gn = graphic novel/comics
h = horror
hi = historical
alt hi = alternate history
nf = nonfiction
p = paranormal
f = fantasy
sf = science fiction
v = novel in verse

Mainstream YA

Tara Altobrando, DREAMLAND SOCIAL CLUB (c)
Laurie Halse Anderson, FORGE (hi, b)
Olivia Bennett, THE ALLEGRA BISCOTTI COLLECTION (c) & WHO WHAT WEAR (c)—YR (so what if they’re silly?! They’re fun and they’re about fashion!)
Esther Friesner, THREADS AND FLAMES (hi)
Nancy Garden, ENDGAME (3rd read, c, b)
Gail Giles, DARK SONG (c)
Mary Downing Hahn, STEPPING ON THE CRACKS (hi)
Eva Ibbotsen, A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS (2nd read, hi)
John Klassen (writer & illustrator), I WANT MY HAT BACK (picture book)
Kimberly Marcus, EXPOSED (v)
Kathy Ostlere, KARMA (v, c)
Cheryl Rainfield, SCARS (c)
Trent Reedy, WORDS IN THE DUST (c, set in Afghanistan)
Todd Strasser, GIVE A BOY A GUN (3rd read, b)
Mo Willems, DON’T LET THE PIGEON STAY UP LATE! (picture book)

Fantasy/SF—ya

Pam Bachorz, DROUGHT (sf)
Paolo Bacigalupi, SHIP BREAKER (sf, b)
Beth Bernobich, FOX AND PHOENIX (f)
Kendare Blake, ANNE DRESSED IN BLOOD (h, ghost story!)
Eric Buchanan, SMALL MAGICS (f)
Meg Cabot, CODE NAME CASSANDRA & WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES (first of the 1-800-WHERE-R-U series; 2nd read)
Sarah Beth Durst, DRINK, SLAY, LOVE (para); ENCHANTED IVY (f)
Alison Goodman, EONA (f)
James Gurney, DINOTOPIA (b) (a new release)
Mary Downing Hahn, LOOK FOR ME BY MOONLIGHT (f)
Jackie Morse Kessler, HUNGER and RAGE (f)
Caitlin Kittredge, THE IRON THORN (f, a female engineer)
Sophie Littlefield, BANISHED (thriller)
Melissa Marr, THE GRAVEMINDER (c, ghost story)
Melinda Metz, GIFTED TOUCH & HAUNTED (1st of the Fingertips series, 2nd reading)
Mike Mullin, ASHFALL (sf, b)
Sharyn November, ed., FIREBIRDS RISING (2nd read, anthology)
Delia Sherman, THE FREEDOM MAZE (time travel, f)
Sarah Smith, THE OTHER SIDE OF DARK (ghost)
Maggie Stiefvater, THE SCORPIO RACES (f, b)
Patricia Wrede, ACROSS THE GREAT BARRIER (alt hi)
Moira Young, BLOOD RED ROAD (sf)

Remember my jeweler e-friend Adelheide? Well, she's having a sale at prices you won't believe, so check her out!

I hope so, because here he comes, to our regret and with our thanks. He was, and is, proof that you have to be pretty darn smart to write for kids.

edited to add: I've been told that come ignoramuses are saying really vile things in the comments on the LJ Staff post, so you might want to avoid reading those. Here's to karma, eh?
back to the original post:

Originally posted by ginmar at Help Us Support Planned Parenthood

The Oklahoma Supreme Court have stricken down the state's new "personhood" ballot initiative that was supposed to be voted on in November as unconstitutional.

In fact, the Oklahoma State Constitution says: "It is not acceptable to propose amendments that are ‘repugnant to the Constitution of the United States.’"

The Oklahoma justices were unanimous in their opinion.

This bodes very ill for all other "personhood" ballot initiatives and laws once they are challenged in court--and they will be. Even if they manage to pass on the state level (and judges really hate to be overturned on appeal), their chances of succeeding on the federal level, where it's all about the Constitution, are very bad.

Back to doin mah Snoopy Dance!

From AlexLidell:

Pens for Paws
We at the Lucky 13s (a group of YA/MG authors debuting in 2013) are supporting Pens for Paw, where we are donating writerly things like critiques, ARCs and swag for an auction in on May 7th. The funds will go to support Fat Kitty City, a no kill, no cage animal rescue. They mostly have cats, but also find foster homes for doggies.



From Tammy:
It's worth checking out--get something good from a future famous author!