latest hugo thoughts

[sophia_sol]

I've been working on my Hugos homework some more, and I realised that doing my Hugos homework no longer brings me joy. The way I feel so meh about a lot of what ends up on the ballot each year, and irritated about what wins.... it's wearing. I am losing my fannish obsessive dedication to the process of engaging with the award.

It's cool that the hugos are a fan award that anyone can participate in, but its scope is in practice much smaller than the "world" it promises. It's honestly a pretty niche little group! And the priorities of the majority contingent of voters are different than mine.

I'm still going to continue voting and nominating, I think. But this is the year I move to letting the books on the hugo list be a suggestion rather than a mandate in my life, and let it take up less of my time and energy.

Comments

[sonia]

Stopping by to celebrate taking your time and energy back from something that no longer brings you joy. And condolences for the loss and disappointment that represents.

[sophia_sol]

<3 thank you!!

[gloss]

It really sucks when the joy dwindles away. I'm impressed with how you're adjusting to this realization, though (for what that's worth!).

The narrowness of the Hugo ballots always bugs me. :/

[sophia_sol]

Thanks so much! Yeah the ballots are SO narrow ughghhhh

[silverflight8]

I know, I find the slate sometimes dismaying. They're so weirdly homogenous in outlook, too.

[sophia_sol]

yeah they REALLY are. Says something about the kind of people the hugo award sees itself as for!

[forestofglory]

This seems like a good plan. I still enjoy nominating for the Hugos (its a fun little rec party) but as you say voting just feels like homework, and I've been trying not spend my time reading things I don't enjoy

[sophia_sol]

yeah nominating is I think the best part! the whole world's your oyster! bring attention to lesser known works!!

[cahn]

Haha I'm sort of... in-between? Like, I am not gonna make myself read the McGuire. I will probably at least try the Kowal, despite having bombed out on every other Kowal I've read, but I won't feel like I should make myself finish it :) I have already given up on the Scalzi (sometimes I like Scalzi, sometimes it's like homework).

I'll probably at least try everything except the McGuire, but I've definitely become a lot more lax about actually finishing!

[sophia_sol]

yeah that's very fair as an approach! I uhhhh do not think you're likely to fare well with the Kowal though. I just finished it and I liked it the least of any Kowal I've read, and I have in the past enjoyed Kowal a lot more than you. It just felt very, very shallow.

[cahn]

ahahaha you are right I tapped out a little over a hundred pages in.

[silverflight8]

Oh hello fellow "McGuire never again" reader!

[sophia_sol]

MCGUIRE NEVER AGAIN!

[cahn]

*fistbump*

[pauraque]

That makes sense. I'm glad you're able to recognize it and take a step back.

[sophia_sol]

<333 thank you!

[glitteryv]

That's an excellent way to approach something that's no longer enjoyable. <3

[sophia_sol]

<3 thank you! I did have to yell about it on mastodon briefly first, before I came around to being calm about it, lol

[lirazel]

I am sorry the joy is lessening, but I'm glad you've figured out a way to make it work better for you. Your new approach sounds reasonable.

[sophia_sol]

thank you! so it goes!

[chestnut_pod]

So it goes, I guess! Sometimes, anyway. I think it's very wise to recognize when something is no longer providing joy and step away.

I'm not sure if this is at all your experience, but I remember a great exciting flowering of the Hugo awards for a couple years, complete with antagonist vanquished by really good stuff, and then a kind of stultification that honestly seemed to reach its zenith this year with its list full of repeat-authors.

[sophia_sol]

My experience is related to that! the Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies were visibly active from 2015-2017, and I definitely paid a lot of attention to the righteous battle against them, but I only really got involved with the hugos myself a couple years after the vanquishing was already complete. I was excited that in the wake of the Puppies a lot more people from outside the usual Hugo demographic had been motivated to participate, and it looked like things might be moving in productive directions, and I was interested to be part of the newer more inclusive vision of the hugos to make sure that the movement didn't fall away and end... but the stultification got me. I am only one person and the power of momentum behind the award is strong.

[lokifan]

Sounds like a good plan! Knowing when to stop something is a skill.

[sophia_sol]

thanks! yeah it's an important one to develop