Why I'm not sorry I missed Readercon

[msmemory_archive]

Someone IRL asked me about my opinion of Readercon, and whether I was sorry to miss this year's due to a date conflict.

Here's a lot of the reasons, much more articulately expressed than I can do:
http://coffeeandink.dreamwidth.org/1021385.html

You might think that since I am white, local, with a Seven Sisters education and more than 30 years reading SF, that I would fit right in. But I don't. Readercon is intimidating, because of its focus on pretentious literary criticism. I feel marginalized as a woman, and for my youth (under 50). (Somehow, after all this time, there's still a vibe "isn't it sweet that you young ladies read books about rockets?") There's no place to sit and smof, except the bar, a complaint I also have about Arisia.

The hucksters' room is important to me, because I like to buy books and I like being able to discover smaller press things or those personally recommended by some specific booksellers. I like the Kirk Poland competition for its silliness. I like running into old friends. Usually, I get to one or two panels. Are these features worth the price, both in dollars and time? I'm thinking lately "not really." Next year, I think I'll sit on my own deck, three miles away, and read a good book.

Comments

[cimeara.livejournal.com]

Well, gotta admit I'm over 50, but I didn't get the rest of those vibes at all. (Women authors seemed to outnumber the men, for instance.) I looked over the linked article without reading it in detail, but what I read had a lot of "this is where I didn't get exactly what I wanted." The full panels don't take much/any input from the floor. I didn't expect them to. The readings didn't include time for discussion. I didn't expect them to. The smaller panels/presentations that did include audience discussion, sometimes got sidetracked well off the topic. I would expect them to, that's what happens when a group of intelligent peopld (geeks) start talkinga about anything. Could they have more free-for-all things scheduled in? Sure. But it was a very full schedule. So I guess count me as "it gave me what -I- wanted."