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cindywho's review against another edition
2.0
Most of these essays are on the silly side, intentionally or not. The only writer I'd actually read before was Sarah Zettel and I liked her essay that made some sense of the difference between the high school seasons and the post high school seasons - why the latter didn't work as well. I haven't been watching reruns, but it will probably be fun in a few years after memory has faded. (January 17, 2005)
taschima's review against another edition
4.0
You can find more reviews @BloodyBookaholic
Are you the kind of Buffy fan that declares that Buffy was the ultimate T.V. Series? Are you the kind of Buffy fan that bought the series and watched it over and over and over again? Are you the kind of fan that discusses with your fellow Buffy mates various points of the series? Like what went wrong, what went great, and things like that? If you answered yes to any of these questions then this IS the book for you. This book will give you plenty of things to ponder long after you finish reading it. The essays will stay with you for days, even the ones that annoy you because they just don't think like you think. And at the very least I can asure you that after finishing it, or heck even while reading it, you will go to your special DVD space, pick up that beloved yet used up box set and sit down to watch it all over again.
The Smart Pop books are not like normal books. Smart Pop books are basically a bunch of essays put together that deal with a specific main thing in pop culture, literature, etc. This book in specific deals with a pop culture phenomenon that is very close to my heart, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. How much of a vampire slayer geek am I? I love it with every fiber of my being. The show, the characters, the romance, relationships, bonds, Spike, Spike, Spike, everything! And speaking as a Buffy Geek I can tell you that it was fun to read various different ideas when it comes to Buffy. Some of these essays went against everything I believe in when it comes to the Buffy universe(like one essay discusses how Willow and Tara's relationship is not the healthiest relationship in the entire Buffy Universe -I think it is-, and Spike not being the ultimate mate for Buffy -which he totally is and I could write my OWN essay listing the reasons why) and some others had me screaming "YES!", "Exactly!", and "I am go glad you pointed that out!".
Some of my favorites:
Is That Your Final Answer...? by Roxanne Longstreet Conrad
The Meaning of Buffy BY MARGUERITE KRAUSE
Love Saves the World BY JEAN LORRAH
Dating Death BY JENNIFER CRUSIE
A Buffy Confession BY JUSTINE LARBALESTIER (It was a good essay even if the ending sort of screw it up a bit)
There are a LOT of essays. So because of this these book won't go by in the blink of an eye like if it was a normal fictional story. You have to take your time and not hurry yourself through it because if not you will not completely enjoy it. That's my advice. What I found interesting about the essays is that I enjoyed the essays written by people that I basically know nothing about, but the people I do know something about (Charlaine Harris, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Scott Westerfeld) I didn't enjoy as much.
There is definitely a little of everything for everybody. A lot of different interesting opinions. Like I said if you love Buffy and love talking about it and discussing it read this book. It's totally for you.
PS; something that disappointed me is that no one tackled the question of who is in reality the better man, who is gooder (if that is even a word), Angel or Spike? This question is one me and my fellow friend talk about a lot. We think Spike is the better man, more good, for many many reasons.So, disappointed nobody tackled that, but maybe I will take the time sometime to tackle this in an essay on my own free time.
Are you the kind of Buffy fan that declares that Buffy was the ultimate T.V. Series? Are you the kind of Buffy fan that bought the series and watched it over and over and over again? Are you the kind of fan that discusses with your fellow Buffy mates various points of the series? Like what went wrong, what went great, and things like that? If you answered yes to any of these questions then this IS the book for you. This book will give you plenty of things to ponder long after you finish reading it. The essays will stay with you for days, even the ones that annoy you because they just don't think like you think. And at the very least I can asure you that after finishing it, or heck even while reading it, you will go to your special DVD space, pick up that beloved yet used up box set and sit down to watch it all over again.
The Smart Pop books are not like normal books. Smart Pop books are basically a bunch of essays put together that deal with a specific main thing in pop culture, literature, etc. This book in specific deals with a pop culture phenomenon that is very close to my heart, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. How much of a vampire slayer geek am I? I love it with every fiber of my being. The show, the characters, the romance, relationships, bonds, Spike, Spike, Spike, everything! And speaking as a Buffy Geek I can tell you that it was fun to read various different ideas when it comes to Buffy. Some of these essays went against everything I believe in when it comes to the Buffy universe(like one essay discusses how Willow and Tara's relationship is not the healthiest relationship in the entire Buffy Universe -I think it is-, and Spike not being the ultimate mate for Buffy -which he totally is and I could write my OWN essay listing the reasons why) and some others had me screaming "YES!", "Exactly!", and "I am go glad you pointed that out!".
Some of my favorites:
Is That Your Final Answer...? by Roxanne Longstreet Conrad
The Meaning of Buffy BY MARGUERITE KRAUSE
Love Saves the World BY JEAN LORRAH
Dating Death BY JENNIFER CRUSIE
A Buffy Confession BY JUSTINE LARBALESTIER (It was a good essay even if the ending sort of screw it up a bit)
There are a LOT of essays. So because of this these book won't go by in the blink of an eye like if it was a normal fictional story. You have to take your time and not hurry yourself through it because if not you will not completely enjoy it. That's my advice. What I found interesting about the essays is that I enjoyed the essays written by people that I basically know nothing about, but the people I do know something about (Charlaine Harris, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Scott Westerfeld) I didn't enjoy as much.
There is definitely a little of everything for everybody. A lot of different interesting opinions. Like I said if you love Buffy and love talking about it and discussing it read this book. It's totally for you.
PS; something that disappointed me is that no one tackled the question of who is in reality the better man, who is gooder (if that is even a word), Angel or Spike? This question is one me and my fellow friend talk about a lot. We think Spike is the better man, more good, for many many reasons.So, disappointed nobody tackled that, but maybe I will take the time sometime to tackle this in an essay on my own free time.
macshibby's review
3.0
A few of the articles were spot-on, in my opinion, and a few missed the mark, but in that way that I can respectfully disagree with. So why didn't I enjoy it more? I guess maybe it hasn't aged well, I don't know, but I found myself skimming more articles than I usually would.
booksandbosox's review
3.0
Pretty hit or miss collection of essays about BTVS. I would have liked it more if all the essays had the more scholarly slant that only some possessed. Did not quite fill my BTVS void.
leahjanespeare's review
4.0
It's not often you find an anthology (non-fiction, still called that?) with 90% good essays. Highly entertaining read for between books, and now I want to go watch my favorite episodes again. :)
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