Feeling Better

I haven't posted, mostly because by evening, when my Daily Posts would be made, I am so tired and headachey I can't face making the post. Anyway, I am over the flu and embedded in yet another RaceFail, now with added mammoths.

Positive things do actually come out of these heated online discussions. For example,here is a list of recommendations for Indigenous/Anti-colonialist science fiction books and stories which is chock-full of new things for me to read.

I did just read Nameless by Sam Starbuck, which is a M-M romance (no porn at all) I found enchanting. It's warm and generous and has a strong sense of mythology. Equally enchanting, for different reasons, read a few weeks ago, is Returning My Sister's Face, a collection of Far Eastern based tales by Eugie Foster. I thought every story was as pretty and well-crafted as a Fabergé egg, with much the same jewel-like shiny qualities. Both books are ideal to curl up with on a rainy day.

Anyone who can tell me new things about Gaddi culture(s) is welcome to. I've been google-searching where I can, but what I can't find is stories by Gaddi people, Gaddi myths and legends, and how Gaddi people live day-to-day, either at home or while on pasture. I can get Gaddi Weddings, because they're exciting and easy to film, but not much else. Gaddi people raise sheep in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, the Indian state that creeps up the sides of the Himalaya Mountains. That's a very simplistic overview, by the way - Himachal Pradesh is large and I get a strong impression that the Gaddi are not a monoculture.

Things I have been thinking about.

Today's offering from the world_of_wol Dreamwidth community: Popo-chan, the amazing transforming owl which has to be seen to be disbelieved. I've seen it before, but it was great to go there again.

I learned today about Missing Black Woman syndrome - where the main character is a white male and his two sidekicks are a) a white female and b) a male who is either socially inept or black. The post I linked to illustrated the phenomenon in an amusing way.


I've read lots of recommendations for books by non-white authors where the protagonist, the main character, is not white. I am looking forward to buying some. What are your favourite chromatic books? (I like 'chromatic' as a term). I already recommended Returning My Sister's Face, but I have to also mention having been charmed by The Marriage Bureau for Rich People, an Indian take on the Jane Austen milieu. The link is to a review of the book. I did get the feeling it was written very much with non-Indians in mind, but what the heck. If there's a sequel, I will read it.

I also went out in the very much pouring rain, only to be greeted very quickly by bright sunshine and a large rainbow over the hills. It was well worth getting wet for, as was my eventual tea of a white poppyseed-topped plaited bun, boursin, on-the-vine tomatoes (bought days ago) and a chocolate eclair. *Nom*.