Don’t follow any links if words offend you, because Felicia Day’s new bookclub has a name that just might be controversial. I mean, it wouldn’t be unexpected or controversial if you were to hear the word in a doctor’s office who specialized in obstetrics, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised to see it posted on a placard in a bookstore. (Potentially NSFW)
Felicia Day has started an interesting (or potentially controversially named) new bookclub (so to speak) for people (primarily women) who enjoy “lady-leaning paranormal and historical adventure books. Boys might like them too, but there is a big romance thread for them to qualify for my [book club].” The club’s focus doesn’t seem very controversial; I like a number of stories were the protagonist is female (and is strong, which I imagine is a big part of the “lady leaning” element). I’ve read and enjoyed a number of the books in the subgenre her club reads and discusses (but its definitely a minority).
The biggest question is what does the label of her subgenre mean? I mean, even “lady-leaning”, as Felicia phrases it, is euphamistic. When you look through her Goodreads Bookshelf for Fantasy which is “lady-leaning” it seems that the vast majority of those books are of a certain type (not all though), and one of her Google+ followers (Russel Steen, just scroll through the comments in this Google+ post) described the subgenre as meaning “supernatural smut”. In the same thread, another commentor posted examples: “Vampire Diaries, Secret Circle, Twilight, Being Human… Think every fantasy themed show in the CW lineup.”
In case you missed the hangout being advertised through any number of channels (Google+, Twitter, Felicia’s website, etc.), here’s the direct Youtube link: Felicia Day bookclub hangout #1 (NSFW)
So the questions are;
- What is your opinion of the sub-genre’s name? (Offensive/pleasing, immature/mature, etc.)
- If you were to see this sub-genre on a placard, are you more likely to investigate or less?
I’ll post my answers next Sunday, for now, what’s your answers?
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