Comments on: Nothing like being punched in the face by White Privilege.

By: Vida said it, I said it, lots of people are saying it. | About that Writing thing.

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 23:33:10 +0000

[...] know I’ve talked about diversity, over and over and over [...]

By: I lived in the future. 2012 in review. « About that Writing thing.

I lived in the future. 2012 in review. « About that Writing thing. — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 09:13:01 +0000

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By: Bookshelf: Kill It with Fire | theramblingwren

Bookshelf: Kill It with Fire | theramblingwren — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 04:54:51 +0000

[...] Nothing Like Being Punched in the Face by White Privilege– Shannon Barbar [...]

By: BSH

BSH — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 20:04:09 +0000

If it helps at all, her awards were all purchased, she self-published and the positive reviews were almost all from herself and her publicist. There are incredibly few REAL reviews that are positive.

By: Jayle Enn (@Bieeanda)

Jayle Enn (@Bieeanda) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 20:02:39 +0000

“Rave reviews. SO refreshing, so new, so original.”

…for something that reads for all the world like the plot of a ‘Forced to be a Sultan’s love slave!’ romance novel. Excuse me, one that’s been ‘turned on its head’ so the protagonist has to go off in search of her subhuman mate instead of being vigorously kidnapped.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:05:53 +0000

If it helps, I was given a link to a .pdf of the first few pages. The writing is stilted and confusing. I have a master’s degree and can usually do a YA novel in an evening, but there were pages that I found myself having to re-read 2 or 3 times because it was written so badly.

Plot mechanics aside…

There are also a few self made ‘commercials’ on the goodreads site for the book. Which I’m also scared to watch.

By: Shannon Barber

Shannon Barber — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 21:32:37 +0000

If I was doing a book review I would. I based my judgments entirely on information freely made available by the author herself, things she has said herself and what I know about racism and privilege.

A book review is a different thing and I have a copy of the book and might do a straight up review I might not. Based on the available information and promotional material I’m not particularly interested. In the context of what I’m talking about here this book could be amazingly well written but my problems with the premise and treatment of it would stand.

By: RJ

RJ — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 07:25:08 +0000

Shannon, you know me pretty well. We get along famously, and hardly disagree on anything. I can see you point about this book, and agree with you.

However;. Read it. That’s right, I said read it. I don’t care if you buy it, or pirate it. I haven’t read this book, but I intend on finding some copy of it so I can have a more informed opinion about it. Too often have I voiced my opinion about something without knowing precisely everything about the subject.

Please understand, I’m not arguing with you or defending the author in any way. From what I can tell about the reviews and the synopsis, you are dead on about this.

All I’m saying is that there are way too many people who “judge a book by it’s cover”, so to speak.

By: Lydia / The Lost Entwife

Lydia / The Lost Entwife — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 04:51:18 +0000

Hi, I completely agree with you (and am one of those rare white reviewers who had issues with the book). I reviewed the book back in January and I could not understand all the rave reviews – not at all.

By: Arthaey

Arthaey — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:38:01 +0000

I’m white. I find it shocking that the author could possibly think “look at the poor white people being oppressed by blacks” is a great setting that would somehow not be terribly racist. It would have to written nuanced as hell to work, and instead it sounds like the work of someone who has never really thought about privilege.

I’m new to learning about the intersection of race & sci fi — off to read about Racefail and look at your other blog. Looks like I have a lot to learn!