First, there’s a lot of terrible stuff going on around the world as far as natural disasters. There’s floods and mudslides and all sorts of horrible things. I have heard from a few readers that Australia, Queensland specifically, faces a horrible cleanup after torrential rains caused widespread flooding. Local papers are reporting that donations have dried up (I presume the pun is intended there), and residents are finally able to go try to salvage their homes and businesses. The Romance Writers of Australia are hosting a book drive to help replenish libraries, schools and community center book collections – as usual, romance community steps up.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re safe, your family is safe, and you’re reading a good book that’s not flood damaged or mud-splattered.
(And yes, the image is a bit of a nonsequitur, but I found it while searching for images of Australia, and had to link – it looks adorable and I totally ordered it.)
Rather than making things clearer, e-readers and computers prevent us from absorbing information because their crisp screens and fonts tell our subconscious that the words they convey are not important, it is claimed.
In contrast, handwriting and fonts that are more challenging to read signal to the brain that the content of the message is important and worth remembering, experts say….
Researchers [at Princeton University] asked 28 participants aged 18 to 40 to learn a set of facts about three fictional species of alien, which were written in different fonts.
Those who read the facts in the easy-to-read Arial pure black font retained 14 per cent less information than those who were given text written in the less clear Comic Sans MS and Bodoni MT.
No word on whether ebooks will now be issued in Comic Sans (please, no).
I find this curious because I wonder how much of it depends on how an individual learns, and how that individual prefers to learn and imprint information. For example, in order to study, I used to have to write down the pertinent facts I needed for a test and learned best by both writing down and reading in my own writing the text I needed. Part of it was reading it in my own writing and part of it was the process of writing it down. I am going to have to think about whether I recall better things I’ve read on paper vs. e-ink, or if they’re equal in measure compared to things I’ve written myself. (No comments on the relative egotism of my learning method. I’m well aware!)
The lovely folks at Jezebel (hi ladies!) AND Photoshop Disasters are taking a critical look at the cover for Nora Roberts’ Happy Ever After, wondering what’s up with the bride’s hand. Now, I think that which they are alleging is a thumb upside down is an awkwardly-braced pinky finger, but the commenter at Jezebel who points out the extremely false-smooth skin tones and the drop-shadow on the bouquet (which doesn’t cast a shadow on the bride’s arm at ALL) may be on to something there. What do you think? Photoshoppery? Dost thou give a hoot? (Thanks to Erin for the link).
And finally, over at Yon Kirkus Reviews, I’m examining what makes a hero alpha, and what qualities create an alpha male hero. It’s a perennial question in romance discussions, particularly as the definition of alpha changes slightly.
It used to be that romance was populated with alphas who were really assholes—autocratic chest-pounders with a tendency toward rape or at the least forced seduction. Alphole heroes still show up every now and again, usually as someone who is too assertive without any humility or honor—they’re not really dominant. They’re really just assholes. Alphole heroes are among my least favorite.
But now, readers are more likely to read about Alpha males with strong moral integrity, a hidden tenderness or the ability to be lethal while consistently choosing not to be—those make for some delicious heroes. Alpha heroes could be anything. They could be the alpha of a wolf pack, a literal alpha. They could be commanders or military officers or police chiefs. They could be lords or, depending on the mythology or theology of the romance in question, The Lord. (Heh—God, the Ultimate Alpha Male, particularly in the Old Testament.)
So, which alpha males rock your world, and why? What are the characteristics of an alpha male hero that you most enjoy?
I wanted to add, that having seen the article, I think the blogger in question is full of baloney.
When I went back to my notes on Dehaene, one of the first things he talks about is visual invariance. That’s our ability to recognize letters and words no matter what font they are in, even if the font or capitalization changes frequently, or changes in size, or in weight (like bolding) etc. Our eyes and brain automatically correct for it. The bibbidi bobbidi boo about dorsal and ventral pathways is unrelated, from what I can tell.
The blogger in question was using anecdotal experience- basically, generalizing. Reading on screen (or reading e-ink, which could be different experiences because of context) vs. reading from the page, don’t have much to do with font. The people who said that the sample for the study mentioned was too small to be statistically significant aren’t wrong- but that doesn’t mean the research can’t still add to the very limited knowledge we have about how our brains work and how we read. It could make a real difference to kids who might otherwise end up failing in school and in life.
Okay. End of soapbox.
Living in the Nashville area I can imagine what Australia is going thru their flooding being more prolonged than the horrible flood we went through last year.
E-readers…hum…that is interesting, but how we remember things change over time. (Remembers reading a book in college that examined the transition from oral tradition to written, and how the ability of the individual to remember facts/figures decreased with this transition. The whole thing makes sense that e-readers will decrease memory. You have the data easily available external to the body therefore the brain will not work to keep it close. I find I can remember the individual parts of audiobooks better than the books I read in text, perhaps for the same reason? I think this whole area of human memory should be more deeply examined than just assuming the difficulty of the text is the only variant)
Alphas:
Curran: strong man, who wants to protect his woman, but he also knows she can kick the butt of 3/4ths of the world and so also will stand beside her. My examples of this occur in Magic Bleeds:
1. Once they get the whole “we are together” thing down he asks ‘favors’ of her (can I pick you up today when you get off work?) He does not assume, order or instruct. It says I respect her (his SO).
2. When the situation is such he is needed but she is better able to handle it, he explains his reasoning, and they come up with a solution.
3. When she points out to him that his being Alpha to the rest of the Pack does not mean she has to blindly obey him…they negotiate what will work for them.
4. ALL the above happens even though he physically is stronger, and just as bad ass as Kate. Being Alpha is about having strength, and knowing WHEN to use it and When NOT to.
Barrons: And I can not say all the reasons because Shadowfever spoilers would be involved.
There two preternatural Alphas, so I now throw in two non-preternatural:
Roarke: Financially superior, he is physically, intellectually Eve’s equal, but he bows to her decisions when it involves her work. He however holds his own when he disagrees. Again there is a sense of willingness to work with his wife for their common interests.
Russ VanAlstein: I initially had problems with him, because just because a character is an alpha does not mean you have to respect him. But in the last book, I saw such character development. Russ went from “Alpha who would have such an easy life if the damn woman would listen/obey to him” to “Alpha who realizes he is not perfect and two are in this whole relationship thing, (and still wishes the damn woman would at least LISTEN to him!)
I now crave this book. (I also went off on my own tangent for Abraham and God, because talk about an abusive relationship. Abraham should dump his ass and meet a nice young man like…okay, everybody is related in this thing. We have to branch out to other mythology for love interests.)
I was going to say if I’m going to read a story about an Alpha, I like the quiet ones who do what needs to be done but don’t have to throw their weight around or be bowed over or always have the control in the end. Your Covert Alpha, I suppose.
I believe fonts can affect mood, which can affect learning, so I can believe the theory behind the study, but 28 people is way too small to base a study on. When I do personal surveys for curiosity sake, I still do more people than that.
Also known as the Beta hero.
I just finished reading the entire Mercy Thompson series this week so I’m probably still riding that high when I say I love Adam. He gets that Mercy is perfectly capable of looking after herself and in fact has a tendancy to rescue herself instead of sitting around and waiting for him to untie her from the train tracks (figuratively). Mostly though I think I actually prefer Beta-males. At least that what the books on my keeper shelves seem to suggest.
And finally: How great is Wattle and Possum? I love Bronwyn Bancroft. She’s such an amazing artist, and it’s such a cute book.
My alpha of choice is Connan from Gail Carriger’s Soulless. He’s a smart, arrogant aristocrat who is also pack alpha of the London werewolves. See, total alpha! While he is decisive, clever, and sometimes rash, the pragmatic heroine both tempers his impulsivity and calls him on his caveman antics. Love the clash of wills there. Plus he’s Scottish, hawt, and immortal. Yum.
@SylviaSybil said: A cute guy who’s kind of shy, maybe a little unsure of his ability to woo the heroine, but has hidden strength when he needs it sounds absolutely delicious to me right now.
What she said.
I was going to say I don’t like Alpha males at all (certainly not of the Alphole variety), but all the interesting comments have made me realize there are more different kinds of Alphas than I realized.
Basically, it turns me off if the hero is cocky, arrogant, and completely sure of himself. Even if he doesn’t act like an a**hole all the time, just the fact that he’s convinced right from the start that the heroine (and every other girl on the planet) wants him makes me uninterested. I want a guy who is (at least occasionally) shy and unsure.
But he does have to fight for what he wants (=the heroine), and stand up for her against bad guys etc. So in that respect, for me at least, ALL my heroes have to be Alphas. I guess for me at least, then, it depends on the definition…