Does the Wizarding World have a culture?

Rereading Harry Potter (okay, reading fanfics, you caught me), I noticed that the arts and humanities were near-completely ignored in the Hogwarts curriculum. Magic (DADA, charms, transfiguration, etc.) seems to be close to some sort of science, perhaps a fifth discipline of it (chemistry, physics, biology, geology and magic sounds pretty good). Then there are obviously some forms of magic that fall into other parts of science--potions sounds pretty similar to chemistry, herbology seems like a form of biology, and astronomy is pretty obviously physics.

There are only two first-year classes that are not to do with performing magic: flying--like some sort of physical education--and history--though it is Wizarding World-focused. There seems to be no literature, no art, no music (apart from an extracurricular "Toad Choir"). We are told of fairy tales by Beedle the Bard, and Rowling even wrote them. However, what good are these if they are the only literature available? The wonder of fairy tales is that they can be built upon, not that they are complex works of art at their core (Rowling should understand--every Beedle story is based on a real folk tale).

It's easy to get carried away when writing of magic. But what use is magic when there's nothing to support you?

The Vocabulary of ASOUE

I have a theory that Lemony Snicket's adjectives slowly get more complicated. So, let's test this theory out:

1. The Bad Beginning (2)
2. The Reptile Room (8)
3. The Wide Window (1)
4. The Miserable Mill (4)
5. The Austere Academy (10)
6. The Ersatz Elevator (11)
7. The Vile Village (6)
8. The Hostile Hospital (3)
9. The Carnivorous Carnival (12)
10. The Slippery Slope (7)
11. The Grim Grotto (5)
12. The Pentultimate Peril (9)
13. The End

Data was based in how commonly a word was used in English, found through Google Ngram. I disagree with a few of these, but I haven't tampered. 

As the Bauldelaires' journey becomes more uncertain, so does the vocabulary Snicket uses. We are as mystified as the siblings.

Despite this, there are outliers. There's a brief rise in complexity at books 5 and 6. These two books are where the mystery of VFD kicks off, and are quite plot-heavy. This makes them very oblique (though fascinating). With The End, Snicket forgoes use of an adjective. This signifies that, like the Baudelaires, we have no hope of knowing what is happening.  

"Just the same Tip": Gender Fluidity in Baum's Oz

L. Frank Baum's mother-in-law was a radical feminist, and she influenced his work greatly (if you're interested more on this particular aspect, Sally Roesch Wagner has a book on this called The Wonderful Mother of Oz). This contributed to the gender fluidity of his work.

Sad Puppies, Sad Days: An Appendix

Things I couldn't include in my last post.

Sad Puppies, Sad Days: Reactionary Views in Nerd Culture

Nerd culture has taken a swing for the reactionary recently. First it was Gamergate (praise be to Our Lady Sarkeesian), then it was God Gave Comicsgate To You, Shirtstorm, Metalgate (which thankfully never took off), God Gave Comicsgate To You II, a myriad of minor controversies with the suffix -gate mixed in between, and now the Scandal of the Sad Puppies. The Sad Puppies are a group of conservative science-fiction enthusiasts who want science fiction to go back to how it "used to be" and stop being so goddamn progressive. They are willing to do whatever it takes to take the world of sci-fi back-and they have formed a voting bloc in this year's Hugo Awards.

Guts - Chuck Palahniuk

Awful. Just really awful.

Seconds - Bryan Lee O'Malley

Seconds is a delicious treat that left me wanting seconds. If Bryan Lee O'Malley continues in this direction, he has a dedicated fan in me. The book's vivid depictions of food left me ravenous, and what's more, the restaurants were a perfect metaphor for the unrest in Katie's life.

Discworld & Narrative Causality

In Discworld, "stories are important" (Witches Abroad). They wrap themselves around people, play riddles with them, and shape their lives. A witch in a gingerbread house always has an unfortunate ending, a girl skipping through a forest in a red coat always meets. Nowhere is this more evident than in Witches Abroad, a tale of two powerful women fighting each other through stories. An evil queen forces people to obey the narrative, on threat of death.

The Importance of Weird in Discworld

Let's get this straight: to me, weird is a genre that encompasses anything that could not happen in our world (it's straight-up weird that mixes genres). Terry Pratchett used weird in one of the best ways I've seen.

This week in T-POP! News:

[T-POP! News is a new semi-weekly feature I will be running from here on out. T-POP!, of course, stands for The-Person of Porlock, which is semi-similar to the name of this blog, that I run.]

Pale Fire - Vladimir Nakobov

Before I start, I'm going to admit it: reviewing Pale Fire makes me feel like a fool. What do my prettied words mean when the whole book was against prettied words?

Rating: six stars

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is ostensibly a book about one kid, born on the reservation, but now leaving it to go to a better school. However, it is also about how Indians fit into the wider world (in his school, "the only other Indian is the school mascot"), and life on the rez (alcoholism, casinos, education, pretty much anything). This was the first book I read where one story is in the middle of another, larger story, and it's probably the one that's done it best so far.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about Charlie, a boy who would rather fit in than stand out, and his friends. Well, it's not really fitting in either. Maybe blending in would be a better phrase. Charlie's friends range from Patrick (a flamboyantly gay guy with a closeted boyfriend) to Mary Elizabeth (a hipster who runs a Rocky Horror Picture Show 'zine).

God Save The Queen - Mike Carey & John Bolton

God Saves The Queen is a high concept story about fairy heroin, a mythic revolution and the 70s punk scene (well, it's supposed to be about the modern punk scene-but really, the author didn't have time for any research). Unfortunately, its concept falls flat on its face. This is partly due to Carey's writing, and partly due to Bolton's illustrations.

The Animals of Farthing Wood - Colin Dann

[This review is part of my 30 Day Book Challenge - a book that reminds me of someone]

The Animals of Farthing Wood is an epic. An honest-to-god lengthy-narrative epic poem, except without the poetry part. Which maybe defeats the entire purpose of calling it an epic poem. In any case, it feels like an epic. It's to do with a bunch of animals, foxes and badgers and mice, having to relocate from one park to another. That makes it sounds really simple, which it isn't. It's an epic.

Lyra's Oxford - Phillip Pullman

[This book is part of my 30 Day Book Challenge - a book that reminds you of somewhere]

I don't remember much of Lyra's Oxford no matter the different techniques I try (so far I've tried prenatal and tantric yoga, fasting and Ouija). I can't imagine I had a particularly high opinion of it, unless it laid off the religious stuff (I felt that it deteriorated in quality as it went along-much the same way I felt with The Chronicles of Narnia, though with Chronicles it was just that it became boring-too much seafaring-and with His Dark Materials it was its preachiness).

The Islands of Chaldea - Diana Wynne Jones & Ursula Jones

[This is part of my 30 Day Book Challenge - a book that successfully builds a world]

The Islands of Chaldea is a bittersweet little book-mostly because it is Wynne Jones' last. It was published posthumously, and it wasn't completely when it was found, and thus it had to be completed by her sister, herself a children's author. It takes place in an alternate universe Great Britain, where all the countries are separated by water-but water is not the only thing that separates them. Culture does too-and a magical barrier put up by Logra (England) ten years before. It concerns a quest involving the heir to a powerfully gifted (in magic, of course) family named Aileen, and her companions-Ivar, a prince of Skarr (her Scotland), Aunt Beck, her aunt and a powerfully gifted wise woman, and Ogo, an stranded Logran-to take down Logra's barrier. Well, originally. They also pick up passengers from the three islands they visit in the meantime (Bernica, her representation of Ireland, Gallis, her representation of Wales and Lone, maybe a representation of Orkney and the Isle of Man).

Becoming Bindy Mackenzie - Jaclyn Moriarty

[This book is part of my 30 Day Book Challenge - a book that made you cry]

Becoming Bindy Mackenzie is the first book that made me cry (that I can remember, anyway- perhaps The Cat in the Hat was a real tearjerker when I was young). This was probably for a variety of reasons-most importantly, that it was very early in the morning when I read it. It's not a good book to cry to-it's a funny book with small smears of sadness, about a socially awkward girl who gets put in a class she didn't want to be in.

iZombie - Chris Roberson & Mike Allerd

[This review is part of my 30 Day Challenge - a book that made you laugh out load]

[This is a review of the entire series]

iZombie is a quirky supernatural romp, that had me laughing at several points - especially the introduction of Spot/Scott as a wereterrier. It starts off with the introduction of Gwendylon "Gwen" Dylan (and yes, I'm fairly sure that is meant to be an awful pun-I was hoping that would be brought up at some point, but it was just taken at face value).

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

[This review is part of my 30 Day Book Challenge - a comfort read]

While I'm tempted to say Fire & Hemlock as my comfort read just for the laziness, I have to admit a better comfort read is Fangirl. Fangirl is a short and sweet read, and it quickly drags you into its world, where sweetness reigns and struggle is rarely seen.