Random Reading Room - Theme Months?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I don't know about anyone else, but I find I'm rather missing the Reading Room discussions (even though I didn't participate in them all...) I've been reading Echo, Broadcast Difficulties and The Cook and the Warehouseman (waah, I'm nearly finished!) over the last week or so, and then I watched the full moon setting as a huge copper disc this morning, and I feel like I might be in the mood for some more Pros SciFi fic, and I was thinking...

...is anyone interested in perhaps a month of "themed" Reading Room discussions? I was thinking of a science fiction theme for the first month, but that's just cos it's what I'm reading - it could be anything: curtain fic, case-based fic, hurt/comfort, bdsm, romance - any theme at all. We could have a quick call out for fic suggestions to fit the theme, maybe a poll to choose four fics out of those suggestions (if there were enough!), and then either someone could volunteer to "lead" the discussion as per the old Reading Room discussions, or we could just open it up to everyone for comments on a particular day of the week - is Thursday still good for everyone? - and chat away? Then, if we were enjoying it, organise a new theme for the next month?

Re the science fiction suggestion - there's a list of some Pros scifi stories here, and I'm sure there are others that aren't yet on that list!

To make it easy for everyone - let's do this as a poll! And of course do comment below, as well, with other ideas/thoughts etc
[Poll #1669588]

Comments

[constant-muse.livejournal.com]

Great idea!

I was just thinking yesterday that I gave up coordinating the Reading Room at just the right time - for me. But now I hardly read fic at all, so clearly I need the discipline.

PS The link to the list of SF fics wouldn't work just then.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I think the palelyloitering host must have been doing some maintenance, cos my banner vanished briefly as well - it's back though, and the link worked for me just now. Let me know if you still can't get through, though...

And yeah - I vary about the "discipline" of reading fic - I'm probably the opposite in that I tend to read far too much (and mostly re-reading, now), but it's nice to chat about it all too, I think... *g*

[constant-muse.livejournal.com]

It works now!

There's also "Of Angels and Angles" by Sarah K in the 2010 Big Bang, I'd be happy to rec that, as that would finally make me read it.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ooh yes, I shall add that to the list when I get home to my software! *g*

[squeeful.livejournal.com]

*glee*

Oh, I think you'll like it.

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

Oh! I recently read the first two you mentioned. I enjoyed them very much. Always nice to come across good sci-fi AU for the Pros fandom!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ellis Ward's great - and Helen Raven is one of my favourite Pros writers, and has written a couple of Pros sci-fi AUs. The Cook and the Warehouseman is my absolute favourite... *g*

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

I read the first few first chapters of The Cook and the Warehouseman, but had to drop it for the time being due to its length and real life business. I did like what I read!

I'm impressed by the effort it must have taken to write such a long B/D story. I wouldn't know where I'd find the time and energy.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It is gorgeously long (and yet not long enough... *g*) - hope you get a chance to read it properly soon!

[potztausend.livejournal.com]

"The Same River" by Helen Raven *sigh* ... it's heartbreaking. It was pure coincidence I read it because I don't read much Pros AU, but it was worth it.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It's gorgeous, isn't it! Helen Raven's writing is just so beautiful...

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

I read that one too ... I knew how it was going to end quite early in the story, but the ending still packed a wallop.

I was rather surprised to find out the author had gotten flames for the story. I didn't think the plot was offensive or flame-worthy in any way.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I was rather surprised to find out the author had gotten flames for the story.
Sadly I'm not surprised to hear that any more - there's a surprising number of people in fandom who seem to think that authors should only write "nice" fic, that fanfic should really only be happy and romantic. Heaven forbid someone should make those readers think, or show them a world that they don't want to see...

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

Yeah, yeah...

Probably that flaming wouldn't have happened if authors would give proper warnings so that readers can decide if they are prepared to - "think" - , or if they are just in the mood to read something fluffy right at the moment... ;-)

(No! I DON'T like flaming!!!)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I'm not getting into that debate with you again - I've done all I can here to satisfy everyone's wishes regarding warnings, and when I tried to satisfy you even more I was the one who was flamed for it. So enough, you and I have talked the warning debate to death, and you're just going to have to accept that people have different ideas about this, that no one should have it forced on them, and that no matter how often you repeat yourself, it's not going to change everyone's mind!

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

Yes ma'am...! :-P

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

... there's a surprising number of people in fandom who seem to think that authors should only write "nice" fic, that fanfic should really only be happy and romantic.

Gah, and here I was hoping that the Pros fandom didn't have that problem. I mean, there are so many angsty stories in the Pros fandom! They seem to be the norm to me, way more than happy, romantic ones.

Where's the fun in writing only one type of story? I've never understood that sort of mindset. I think the reason the Pros fandom has survived as long as it has is because of its diverse stories. There's something for everyone, which ensures a diverse fanbase and an influx of new ideas too.

Bring on more stories that make people think, I say!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Judging from old letterzines and zine debates that I've seen, as well as contemporary chats and discussions on lj and various other groups, Pros has pretty much the same issues as any other fandom when it comes to tastes in fic - some people only want happy endings, other people want the adventure of not knowing, other people want to choose specifically sad stories sometimes - the whole human gamut! Personally I'm with you about loving the variety in Prosfic - I suspect we're very lucky to be an "old" fandom which has grown and matured and explored all sorts of directions in the last thirty years, it means there's so many more thoughts out there! *g*

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

You know what I'm grateful for in regards to the Pros fandom?

No insane wanking over ships ala Twilight. *lol*

(Tell me there's no such thing going on ... please?)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Eeeh, d'you know I'm not even sure what you mean by "insane wanking over ships"... d'you mean your actual ocean-going vessels, or...? And how insane does such wanking become?! *is hideously slightly intrigued*

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

*rofl* Your reply has already made me very happy.

But, yeah, what I meant was flame wars over various relationships in the fandom. (Like, just for example, Bodie/Doyle fans warring with Bodie/Murphy fans, etc.) It's very common in massive fandoms with many 'ships. I'm gonna guess from your reply that it doesn't happen in the Pros fandom.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

*vbg*

I've seen a little bit of wank over pairings in Pros, but I suspect it's little and far between because B/D is overwhelmingly the main relationship in the eps. Some people defend B/Cowley to the ends of the earth, and there's a little D/C fic too, but not much done seriously... There's been Cowley/other pairing too, but... mostly I think people are here for B/D, so there's not much wank can occur, from that pov. Interestingly, I've seen more hey-who-can-we-pair-up-next fic in the last year or so than I had in my previous 4-ish fandom years, but even so it's not much. And I tend to ignore it, cos I'm personally here for what I saw in the eps, rather than looking in the eps to see what I can find... But nah, what wank I've seen in Pros tends not to be along those lines! (You watch, someone'll do it now, just for the fun of proving me wrong... *g*)

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

I await with bated breath for the great war between Bodie/Doyle shippers and Bodie/Swiss Roll shippers!

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

Have you ever heard about the B/C ship and the way it was received back in time?

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

Although I first read Pros fanfiction years ago, I've actually yet to come across a Bodie/Cowley story. Then again, I've mostly stuck to Bodie/Doyle so far, so there's that.

About Bodie/Cowley, I'm ... gonna guess there was lots of, uhm, disagreement?

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

There used to be a small community of devoted B/D shippers, long before my time. I took over from them after I happened to find, completely by chance through the random button of the Circuit archive, the foundation story (with "Cage" by Grey): "Lest These Dark Days" by Jane Carnall, whose B/C works ("The Wolf and the Fox Trilogy") are now available on Proslib, here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proslib/files/Long Stories/Long Stories (over 64k) rich text format/A

I also recced all the main B/C stories in crack_van quite recently, in November. Have a try, if only to know if and why you dislike it.
I'm currently writing one by the way, and not too easily (five chapters in two years!!!)

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

The link was broken, try this:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proslib/files/Long%20Stories/Long%20Stories%20(over%2064k)%20rich%20text%20format/

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

Bring on more stories that make people think, I say!

Hear! Hear! I always wondered why, given the background of CI5, and so many plots in the episodes, there aren't more Pros fictions dealing with social, moral, political, philosophical issues. That's the main interest of the show for me, and the reason why I favour the character of Cowley.

Personally I am fed up and sickened with romantic love stories, with or without happy endings.

[gideonbd77.livejournal.com]

From my recent experiences in fandom, 99% of it seems to be simply about pairing up your favourite characters and writing/drawing them doing the horizontal mambo. *lol* Thus I'm not surprised that such issues are not written much. That and, well, if someone were to tackle any of those subjects, they'd have to do a job as good as that of the show's writers, or better.

As for Cowley, he is indeed a great character. The Professionals would not have been the same without him or Gordon Jackson playing his role.

Personally I am fed up and sickened with romantic love stories, with or without happy endings.

I love 'thinking' stories, but I also love romantic stories, angsty stories, adventure stories, etc. To me, it's all about the story written well and believably, and the characters staying in character. If all that's in there, I'm down with it. *grin*

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

This was my position for many years and still is, mostly (if the story is really thrilling, original and done with style and wit) but the saturation about the exclusiveness of the love interest is getting overwhelming.

Reading Room

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

Am but an intermittent participant, but will always read! And re sci fi, considering how utterly of their place and time B&D are in canon, it's always interesting to consider which AUs work and which don't - and what it takes to make an AU work as well as some of them do (and I suppose you don't get much more A than the U of a spacefaring or even interstellar-travelling society *g*)

Re: Reading Room

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I've been very intermittent myself in the past - ha, maybe that's what I should have on my tombstone. Intermittent... *g* - but I do rather miss it!

And I've got to admit to being surprised myself that not only any AU Pros story Pros SF can work so well, in the hands of a decent writer!

[starlite876.livejournal.com]

Having a themed month is a great idea.

I use the random story generator at the Circuit and at the Automated Hatstand when choosing stories to read, but found that if it was a particular theme that I know I would normally not read I would skip to the next story, or if I get a story that I dislike, I would avoid stories from that author completely. So having a themed month would provide an incentive to look at stories that I normally would not read!

Its interesting how my reading habits have changed in the past 12 months. When I first started reading Pros stories I avoided the AUs and sci-fi stories, but then I read Suitable Gravity by DVS and Echo by Ellis Ward and completely changed my mind. The only AUs I avoid these days are the elves stories... *g*

Would The Blue Figurine by Courtney Grey be considered as sci-fi? I always thought alternative timelines stories as part of sci-fi. Over at the Hatstand, however, The Blue Figurine is classified as a supernatural story!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what happened to me, reading in Pros! There are still tons of stories I've not read at Circuit, cos I'd random and if the story didn't impress me, as you say, I'd eventually avoid the author completely if she came up again. And the same with AUs - I couldn't see the point of them for ages, now I adore them! And I don't actually mind elf fic, as long as it's good fic to start with. Good writing comes first to me, theme comes afterwards! There's actually very few, if any, themes that I avoid completely... it's more to do with the writing...

I'd call The Blue Figurine supernatural myself - I think of it more as a wish-story gone wrong than as science-showing-them-alternative-timelines... I guess I grew up with fairystories first, and then moved onto science fiction when I was a bit older, so perhaps that's my first thought when I start a story... unless I know it's alternative timelines... There's one by... Felicity Parkinson?... where they end up in an alternative universe, and I just think of that as a story... Maybe I'm just a more traditional science-fiction-ist, I tend to think spaceships and galactic exploration = science fiction! Though time travel does too... but it sort of depends on the reason for the time travel... Oooh, interesting think-y thoughts!

[etain-antrim.livejournal.com]

Some of the Pros SF AUs are among my all time favorites, like Echo. I just wish that more of the stories on your list were available electronically. But I always like an excuse to read and have really enjoyed most of the discussions, even though I rarely have the time to contribute.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, which ones can you not get hold of? I think most of them are online... The ones that aren't are often paper-only by request of the authors, of course, or written so long pre-internet that it was never an option, and now the author can't be contacted for permission... But I think they're worth listing anyway, so that people know they're out there. And you know, this is just what loiteringpalely is for - finding copies of paper-only stories and zines! It's been quiet over there (though I gather there's exchanges going on in the background!), I should really make an effort to post there more, especially now that I seem to be waking up a bit again! *g*

[etain-antrim.livejournal.com]

When I went by this morning, I probably focused on those I didn't already know, all of which were not available except in zines -- like Jane's and Wally's stories, Ashley George's, and one of Stews, among others. But I'm very happy with those that are available or where I own the zine, so I'm not really grumbling, just being greedy. The very next zine I buy will be the Larton with the 5th story, which I've never read. Which reminds me, I think I deserve a treat soon -- I must order it!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ah, I always think of those people as Jane's Nuthatch writers, though I'm sure they must have been writing before Nuthatch, if you see what I mean... *g* There's one of Stew's that I really like - Bronze Metal Lover, and I don't often like her writing (I should clearly try more of it!), but the other authors you mention I'm less keen on... Wally's Hostage to Peace is what Helen Raven rewrote as The Cook and the Warehouseman, and I'm so glad she did, cos it's glorious...

But yeay Larton with the fifth story - you must order it! *g*

[etain-antrim.livejournal.com]

Bronze Metal Lover was exactly what I was thinking of. I was disappointed in Wally's Hostage to Peace, but probably only because I read Helen Raven's version first. Otherwise it's a light but enjoyable story. But before I worry about any of these, Larton is first!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

To be honest I've never been able to get through Hostage to Peace, but maybe I should try again...

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

I'd be very interested in joining in with this! If you tell me what would be involved in "leading" the discussion, I might be persuaded to volunteer?!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh excellent - it'll be just like any of the other Reading Rooms held here, in that the "leader" is simply the one who makes the first post about the story, to which other people respond with their own comments - so in theory the leader would probably respond to all those comments, as in a conversation, but not necessarily all of them. Basically it's just being happy to talk about the story in question! And the story post can be as simple as you like - "The story we read this week was B/D Go To The Moon, which I mostly liked - what did you think?" or it could be an in depth analysis, or a mixture of the two, or... anything you like, really! If you look back through ci5hq you'll see a variety of styles that people have used for this sort of post, and it's whatever you feel comfortable with, really.

In a little while I'm going to ask for suggestions for science fiction AUs that we might read, and then post a poll (probably tomorrow) if there've been more than four suggested. Once the four have been chosen, I'll post asking for volunteers to "lead" the discussion, and then (I think next Thursday) the person who volunteered for the first story will make their post about it, and the discussion/chat will begin! How does that sound? *g*

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

Sounds great! I have a "snow day" off work today so I will dig through Pros stories to find a few to suggest!

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I was agreeing with the SF theme and proposing a specific one; didn't read attentively the question.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

No worries - and I shall add your suggestion to the list, since we've only had one other so far! *g* This first post was done in rather a rush - I didn't think to put a closing time for the poll, but when it seemed that there was enough interest, I figured we might as well go ahead with it anyway. Hope you'll be able to join in!