Earlier this month, the podcast Fated Mates, by Sarah Maclean and Jen Prokop, had an episode with genre romance legend Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle, she of the many pseudonyms, queen of “reinventing herself under a new pen name as circumstances warranted”, as part of a series of Romance Trailblazers interviews.
I have been thinking about it a lot, just…not very happy thoughts.
A few days ago, I had a conversation with a friend about politics, sexism, authoritarianism, and more. At one point, he mentioned that he despises the way privilege is often deployed to shut people up.
Which is a fair criticism, as we’ve all seen cries of “privilege” used to police what other people say and how they say it.
On the other hand, privilege exists, most people have at least some in one area or another, and it shields them from other people’s experiences and suffering.
Thing is, people rarely see their own privilege, however limited it may be, and therefore tend not to be receptive when it’s pointed out to them.
Like, say, people who have the privilege of choosing what they engage with, and how. Another form privilege manifests is in what we even see happening in the world around us.
"A review is at its heart the expression of the reviewer’s opinion–in this case, my opinion. Regardless of how the book in question ended up in my hands, I will not insult your intelligence by assuming that you will blindly buy any book I like, or that you’ll avoid reading any book I don’t like. Instead, I’ll give you credit for making up your own mind, and buying and/or reading whatever you think you’ll enjoy."
Please be aware that some of the books I review, talk about, or plain mention in passing, in this blog, have been given to me by the author, or someone else on behalf of the author, with the express purpose that I review them. (Those reviews are tagged ARC or review copy.)
Her Hands, My Hands 