Thursday News: B&N’s new digital audiobook app, Lemony Snicket comes to Netflix, Laura Mixon on Requires Hate, and Roxane Gay on Lena Dunham
Publishing Newsaudiobooks / B&N / critique / digital books / harassment / live-action / Memoir / Netflix / sexual abuse / SFF19 Comments
I’m sorry the news is late this morning. In addition to a work deadline last night, I decided to update my operating system and it screwed up my computer for a few hours.
B&N ReLaunches Their Audiobook Section With New App for Android – Although the app is still in beta, and is not yet available in iTunes (just Google Play), it may be a good solution for those who don’t want to be under the Amazon umbrella but still want digital audiobooks. Nate Hoffelder notes that the B&N website hasn’t yet touted the new app, but he speculates that the company will update their site within the next few weeks, once the app is ready.
I’ve spent a few minutes playing with the app today. I can’t tell you how many titles it offers, but I spot checked a half dozen prices and found they were usually cheaper than the retail price at Audible.
The Nook Audiobook app doesn’t offer a subscription, and there’s no way to download the audiobook and use it elsewhere (it will probably never have this feature), so you can’t really compare prices to features. But if you don’t mind being locked into a single app then this isn’t a bad deal. –The Digital Reader
Netflix Adapting Lemony Snicket’s ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ As Series – For you Lemony Snicket fans, it may be time to get a Netflix subscription, if you don’t already have one. With its various forays into original programming doing some robust business, Netflix is now going to try its hand at a live-action series adapted from A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Since they are still searching for a director, you probably have time to get your new Netflix subscription in place and make it through all of the House of Cards and Orange is the New Black episodes.
“On the search for fantastic material that appeals to both parents and kids, the first stop for generations of readers is A Series oOf Unfortunate Events,” said Cindy Holland, VP Original Content at Netflix. “The world created by Lemony Snicket is unique, darkly funny and relatable. We can’t wait to bring it to life for Netflix members.” –Deadline
A Report on Damage Done by One Individual Under Several Names – Laura Mixon spent a month tracking down all she could on the Requires Hate/Benjanun Sriduangkaew situation, and I have to say, it’s a pretty convincing indictment. I’ve had an impossible time picking one side definitively, and I still have qualms around the whole controversy, but I do think Mixon’s report is worth reading, if for no other reason than she manages to collect and fit together a lot of disparate pieces of the puzzle.
It’s easy when a controversy like this occurs to shrug and call it fanwankery, or a tempest in a teapot; or to loftily counsel the participants to stop feeding the energy creature and move on. It’s certainly easier to do that than it is to investigate and sort out the actual issues. It’s very complicated; there’s a lot of he-said-she-said; and it’s hard to find direct links for some of the most damning allegations. I’ve already seen calls for everyone to just move on, let the current ruckus die down, and trust that things will eventually sort themselves out with no help from the rest of us.
Bluntly, I disagree. The SFF community matters to me. So does basic fairness. So does social justice, which should not be reduced to a rock people throw at each other when they want to hit harder. I don’t believe we can answer the questions bouncing around about RHB, or decide what (if anything) should be done about her, if the community doesn’t first get a clearer and more complete picture of what has already been going on.
That’s why I’ve been delving into the matter to find out more, trying to keep an open mind and go where the data led me. This is my report on what I found. –Laura Mixon
On Lena Dunham and All That – Warning: Gay addresses the accusations of sexual abuse against Lena Dunham, including the controversial aspects of her memoir.
What I like most about this piece is the way Gay picks through so many of the more explosive issues in the context of judgment, especially of women, with sensitivity, self-awareness, and compassion.
I have been asked about my thoughts on Lena Dunham, so here they are. I am rambling and disjointed here because I am still thinking through all this. I am only speaking for myself and many people are going to disagree with my point of view and that’s okay. We’re not always going to agree but I do hope we’re always going to try and respect where we are each coming from. –Roxane Gay Tumblr
I hadn’t realized how much this feature is part of my morning routine until it wasn’t there! Thanks for providing it.
@Maria F: Agreed!
Also. I have been in disgusted amazement regarding the RH/BS controversy. I’m still quite speechless. And I consider myself lucky that I’ve never entered “fannish” circles – especially considering the fact that SFF is my thing. Lucky for me my circles have all be located at MR, GR & DA.
It’s always amazing how toxic some people can be.
There is another option for Audiobook lovers -I got an email from Scribd this morning they have added audiobooks to the subscription-I haven’t tried out the app yet but they have a decent selection and with a 8.99 subscription it doesn’t look like I will need my audible subscription any more.
Wowsers! Perusing the list of RH/BS’s escapades, one question stands above others. With all that trolling, stalking and assorted toxicity, how does she find the time to write novels? Does she have one of them Harry Potter time turners?
Edited to note that apparently RH/BS writes short stories not novels, but, uh, nevertheless, the question of “Where does she get the time?” remains.
The more and more I learn about this RH/BS situation…the more uncomfortable I am with certain parts of it.
There are TONS of male writers who are absolutely pure dicks. They are nasty, predatory, liars, etc., but we still allow them to publish. They still go on to fame and fortune (or at least fame). When MZB’s husband was still alive (and not in jail), the SFF community actively protected him even though he was pretty widely known to prey on children.
So now we have RH/BS. She is a horribly nasty character that I would never want to meet or interact with…but it feels as if the biggest thing SHE did is to dare to be this extremely nasty character and female at the same time.
I’m sure I’m not saying this in the most articulate way – and I mean no disrespect to those who have been harmed by this very nasty character – but would we have the repeated calls for “revenge” if this nasty character was a male? For some reason I don’t think so and that’s the part that is bothering me.
I just read a blog post that touches on that a bit: http://www.kameronhurley.com/on-becoming-what-you-hate-redux/
I have no idea what to think about the RH/BS controversy, but I do want to warn those who follow that link [TRIGGER WARNING] that it doesn’t take long for the comment thread to start speculating on mental disorders, diagnoses, and treatments (!).
@MrsJoseph:
” it feels as if the biggest thing SHE did is to dare to be this extremely nasty character and female at the same time.”
To me, the issue is not why do we take RH to task, but why do we let so many other people get away with it?
You can’t excuse an abuser by the existence of other abusers. Other abusers have been soundly taken to the woodshed, and RH brought this on herself. So did her appalling enablers.
The way this is a issue of race and sexism is that RH used her gay, female, WOC status as cover to be an asbolute shit to people, and ruin lives. This isn’t about a spat between a harsh reviewer and butthurt authors. Her targets were mostly people as vulnerable or more so than she is. And people made excuses for her out of a fear of appearing to oppress a woman of colour. That woman of colour – if that’s what she really is – was laughing at their naiveté and using it to abuse.
@Ann Somerville: As I said, I may not have articulated my feelings well but I’m surely not excusing her behavior. I guess I’m flabbergasted at the outrage for this person in comparison to others who have done just as bad if not worse. Why more outrage here? Am I missing something?
Take her to task? In what way? The calls for reprisal I’ve seen include all sorts of “she shouldn’t be allowed within our community, people should take away her publishing ability.” That’s not the same as “I refuse to work with/read/deal with this person due to behavior.” One seems to be a call for “revenge” and the other is a consequence. I’m fine with consequences – it’s why I gave away all my MZB and I refuse to read Card. I’m not fine with the other.
I’m not looking at this as a spat between butthurt author and snarky reviewer – that wouldn’t cause a blip on my radar – I’m thinking of the tone of the concern I’m getting from commenters I’ve seen on other blogs. A lot of that tone reminds me of the shit Blythe Harris got when Hale went stalker on her: the insidious tone of shutting a woman up.
I’m going to stop apologizing for not being the most articulate after this – because the issue I’m concerned about doesn’t lessen the hurt of RH/BS’ victims nor does it detract from the very real destruction that RH/BS has done- but that doesn’t stop misogyny from creeping into the discussion.
@MrsJoseph: I’ve been struggling with some of the same issues you articulate in your first comment, and I think part of the problem is that you have woman on both ends of this — as the harasser and as the victims. So when you take the most recent MZB abuse issue with her daughter, and all of the people who don’t believe the daughter, it’s like all the victims of RH who aren’t believed, in part because, as Mixon notes, RH deleted a lot of the worst stuff before it was generally witnessed.
OTOH, when you compare her to someone like Vox Day, it seems he got away with his crap for a much longer time. Of course, he’s now been ejected from SFWA, and it was Mixon’s husband, Stephen Gould, who wrote that letter (it’s on Day’s site, of course). But on that count it seems like more of a double standard.
Although one of the things Mixon’s report points out is that the BS was writing for quite a while, while she was also operating independently as RH, so she did have a pretty long history of this, even though it wasn’t made public until recently. And some of the folks she went after were other authors — and by “went after,” I don’t mean give a negative, even harsh review, but, well, you see from Mixon the various strategies.
@Robin/Janet:
“it seems he got away with his crap for a much longer time.”
No? He’s never been mainstream, and his supporters live in an echo chamber. The only people who take him seriously are fellow right wing fools. It’s not like he was defended as speaking truth to power the way RH was. I’ve been aware of him for years and the entire time, people have spoken of him with contempt.
Whereas, even now, people who were actually damaged by RH feel obliged to defend her right to review and speak out about issues of importance.
They’re both toxic as hell but VD was never respected for his body of work as RH was (qua RequiresHate, not so much winterfox.) She was tolerated and indulged well beyond what VD ever was.
@MrsJoseph:
“Why more outrage here? Am I missing something?”
The outrage is that people have had to endure both the abuse and the gaslighting from her supporters, being victimised twice, and even now is being defended by people who should bloody know better. The same people who raised holy hell over Racefail, for instance, and over Vox Day, and Jim Frenkel and so on.
It’s not more outrage. It’s just more coverups and gaslighting means the uncovering has to be very very thorough to cut through all that.
If you were to look back over past anger at various abusers in SFF, you would see the same level of outrage. This is just the most recent, and perhaps because of Gamergate and so on, much more pertinent to current issues under discussion.
I found Laura Mixon’s time line very clear, after hearing lots of confusing she said/she said for weeks. Thank you. That said, the fact that RH/BS has numerous pen names make me feel that they (she?) was trying to hide her poor behavior. A bully who is self aware? Yucky. Blogs closing down to avoid her? Really horrible.
Just look at the table of her victims. It is more than vile and disgusting. Her enablers should be ashamed of themselves. She attacked viciously mainly POC and WOC. Those that are trying to minimize her actions or defend her are just rubbing salt into the wounds of her victims. She attacked N.K. Jemisin and Karen Lord. Both such talented authors.
Wow. I just got through reading Laura Mixon’s report and the following comments. Requires Hate is one scary individual, and Mixon is very brave to speak out against her. So are the commentors (including one posting as “Minor Victim” who was targeted by Requires Hate after posting a First Page here at DA– [[[hugs]]] to Minor Victim if she or he is reading this). Her abuse was far-reaching and damaging.
@Michelle: Mixon points out that some members of Requires Hate’s inner circle privately reached out to Mixon and provided her with details. Mixon says that they feel trapped and want out but are afraid. She describes them as essentially being held hostage by someone they initially trusted.
@MrsJoseph: @MrsJoseph:
I understand your feeling, and I don’t want my post to be seen as an attack on you, but I have seen this sentiment one too many times and I need to speak up about it.
The thing that is driving me nuts about this whole situation is the fact that her constant harassment and abuse is still being minimized and defended, often times by well meaning people who can’t see past her gender and race. When Orson Scott Card comes up there is a large group of progressive people who agree that he is homophobic and that’s that. When this child molester comes up, everyone agrees that he was a child molester, and what he did was horrible. (Clearly this was not the case in the past, but right this minute how many people who are talking about BS’s abuses are minimizing those of MZB’s husband? Answer: 0) Yet when people talk about how bad Winterfox was, we are still getting a chorus of “buts.” But, she’s Asian! But, she’s a woman! But, she’s queer!
When I see this happening, it makes me mad. I’m Asian, I’m female bodied, I’m queer, and yet somehow I have managed to never publicly fantasize about committing an acid attack on someone. Somehow, many queer WOC, including those who were the direct targets of RH or have suffered under this current wankstorm, have managed to work productively towards social justice without terrorizing any of their fellow WOC. That’s actually not a hard thing to do.
When people say things like, “She wouldn’t be getting this if she were a man.” or, “What about [insert asshole here].” or, “But, oppression!” What they are effectively doing is saying to the very real victims of this person, “Sorry, your suffering doesn’t matter as much because your abuser is special.” That’s why there are people, including me, who are pissed off right now, because we are seeing in real time the sort of closing of ranks that made past abuses possible, and I, for one, don’t get how people who are otherwise quite progressive don’t see how when they equivocate they do real damage, protect abuse, and cultivate a hostile atmosphere for new, minority voices.
I read recently a very pertinent quote. It was originally about systematic sexual abuse, but can be applied in other ways. It went something like this: It is in those groups that are the furthest beyond reproach that one will find the most deplorable behavior. For the SJ crowd, that means those of us who “tick the boxes,” so to speak. We cannot be immune to the consequences of our actions. Particularly when in this case the “consequences” are as benign as “people now know that you’re actually an asshole.”
If criticizing an Asian woman concerns you, focus on sympathy and support for the victims, but please do not add to the damage by insinuating that Benjanun should get away with something. You are not helping anyone. You’re certainly not helping WOC in the industry. In fact, the only person you are helping is RequiresHate and those of her ilk who will follow.
I know you mean well. Righteousness is not easy. Denouncing someone’s behavior while also understanding that they live with certain oppression is not comfortable. But if we are going to make any /real/ progress towards inclusiveness and diversity, it must be done.
What RequiresHate/etc… did to many people was unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Full stop.
The blackmail is the part of Winterfox’s story that’s new to me (I’ve been in the parts of fandom where she operated for much of the time she’s been active), and it takes things to a whole new level of horror. I thought she was one of those people who have trouble perceiving the humanity of the person she attacks because they’re just words on a screen or a page, or someone who so thoroughly internalized the worst, most vicious parts of internet culture that she really came to believe that anyone who couldn’t take what she dished out was too weak to deserve sympathy. But instead, she actively abuses and manipulates people who try to be her friends, using good-faith overtures against them to terrorize them into silence and compliance. So much for her claims that she never threatened anyone.
@GQ: Thank you for your comment. I’ve been thinking about what you, Ann, and a number of other people have been saying about this. When you talked about how RH/BS’s behavior is excused, it has a lot of parallels with the way Kathleen Hale’s behavior was defended on the basis of *alleged* and *assumed* mental health issues. I know that the dynamics are different here in a circumstantial sense, but your point about so many of *the victims being POC women* whose victimization is being denied and subordinated by people who don’t want to condemn a queer POC woman as abusive is critical, I think (and I know Ann has made this point, too). And I guess that’s the dynamic she counted on when she undertook that behavior, which is even more troubling, because it seems even more intentionally exploitive.
The whole thing is just a clusterfuck of awful.