Seriously, Try It

Gather round, my friends, and I will tell you a tale of woe, a tale so incredibly terrible that it should never have happened. It was an occurrence of such horror, such unbelievable evil and terror that one hesitates to consider the consequences should it have been allowed to continue. I must confess, loving and (hopefully) forgiving individuals, that it was all my fault. I was the one to blame, the evil infidel, the outsider who refused to even consider a possibility. The one who just wouldn't listen.

What was my crime, you ask? What nearly unspeakable crime was I willing to commit in my ignorance? What could possibly have been this bad, especially coming from your fun-loving, word-spreading Jimbo (full of Jimbosity and many other good things)? Simply this:

I almost refused to have anything to do with The Hunger Games. I very nearly missed one of the best stories of my time in two separate genres (those being Speculative Fiction and Young Adult. And honestly, J.K. Rowling may have created the YA genre, but it was Suzanne Collins who cemented its existence.) because I heard something: That it was just like Twilight with the whole love triangle thing and therefore something no dude would have interest in. 

Then, a weird thing happened: I separated from my now ex-wife. I got a Nook with some student loan money. They were offering a free e-book version of any one of the books from the Hunger Games series. Even then I took a copy of the first book but figured I'd never read it. Then another weird thing happened: I ran across a female person who wanted to see the first movie and didn't have anyone to go with her. I was lonely. She was pretty. Do I need to draw you a picture?

So I told her I'd go with her just to see if I could get her interested in me. It didn't work out, but the movie was awesome. By the end of the following week I had bought the other two books and read all three. I loved them. Who wouldn't? They were full of action and intrigue. They had a powerful heroine (and I love a strong female protagonist) who liked to hunt. I've hunted also. She was a bad-ass who hated the government. I too think government needs to be put back in its place. Just being real, this was a story I could get behind.

And I almost didn't read it, because someone told me it was about a love triangle like Twilight. And, well, both stories do feature a love story. Also, for the record, yes I did try Twilight. I read about the first hundred and forty pages and it went against the wall. I gave my copy (yes, I bought a copy in Dead Tree Format) to my sister who gave it to Madison, my niece (or was it Jordyn, her little sister? It's been a minute.) So, I mean, you're not going to like everything you try. That's okay. (And listen, I'm not here to dog Stephanie Meyer. Chick has sold a whole bunch of copies and made a whole bunch of money, and some movies and I think some merchandising, so she's obviously a good author, she's just not for me.) The point is to get out there and try something. And honestly, I think the problem was more Bella and less Meyer. Where Katniss was everything I taught my daughters to be, Bella (whiny little bitch that she was) is everything I have taught my daughters not be: Passive, Whiny, and dependent on a man for her self-esteem. I can't read a book when I can't stand the main character.

Think about it: How many times have you heard some random Mundane, a total freaking normie, sitting around ripping on something you love and just thought, "I bet they've never read/watched/played it. What an @$$hole." I get it, I've been there. Here's the thing: If you concentrate really hard, you can probably come up with a time when you've acted the same way. And, if you're a fannish type, that just might be related to either "The Sportsball" or a fandom one of your friends/acquaintances really loves. And folks, I know The Sportsball isn't for some people, but have you tried it? Sports have as much of an intellectual level as any first-person shooter or turn based strategy game. I would know, I've done both.

Another true story: Once upon a time a much younger Jimbo was talking to his father. Dad suggested that I read a novel about how the South won the American Civil War when some dudes smuggled in a bunch of AK-47s. I laughed in his face. Less than a week later he was gone, his life claimed by a boating accident. Now, I had no way to know that was going to happen. But here's the thing: I missed a chance to bond with my dad over something we both loved. I also almost missed one of my favorite authors: I picked the book up after my dad passed. It was called  Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove and it was my first foray into Alternate History. That dude can write.

I've often wondered if some of the false dichotomies in fandom are caused by what I like to call "The Broccoli Effect." Remember when your mother used to put some icky vegetable on your plate and you refused to taste it? Yeah, some of those sucked. Some were really good though. It was your own stubbornness that kept you from figuring it out. By the same token I've always wondered if some of the not-so-friendly rivalries were caused by people who wouldn't just shut up and try the thing they were hating on. Why take sides in the Trek vs. Wars debate? Dude, I love both. I grew up on Trek and I saw Jedi in the movie theater during its initial theatrical release in 1986. I've loved them both my whole life. Of course, the only thing worse than Trek vs, Wars was TOS vs. TNG in the late 80s, early 90s. Most of that seems to have gone away since the release of the Star Wars Special Editions though. 

I almost missed reading David Weber's work too. (and by extension Eric Flint, John Ringo, Michael Z. Williamson, Sarah Hoyt, I could go on) Why? Because I didn't trust the taste of the guy who was telling me about Weber. He was a co-worker and we didn't read any of the same authors. But then, one night, I was at the mall with my now ex-wife and went into the bookstore to avoid following her into the shoe store...

And there was nothing new from any of the authors I was always looking for. So I walked up to the counter and asked the woman working there if she knew anything about this Harrington series and which one was the first one...

Apparently she wasn't a fan, but her father and brother were, so she led me back to the shelf and placed a copy of On Basilisk Station in my hand. I've been reading him ever since. 

Of course, now I'm going to have to take my own medicine and go read some N.K. Jemison and find out if it truly is basically just a mess of hate rhetoric (directed against people like me, which means the Left will support it) like I've heard it is, or if she can actually tell a story. I will say that I've never met a person who has read her work who can tell me WHY they enjoy it (and that's where I focus my reviews if you hadn't noticed) so I'm not overly optimistic but it does seem to be put up or shut up time for the Jimbo. I'll do what I have to do, I suppose.

And that's the point here: Go out and try something you ordinarily wouldn't. Try some game-lit if you've never read that. Try that one author you heard about and never bothered with. Play a new game. Come roll some dice with me if that works for you. Do whatever it is that you haven't tried. You may find out that you like it. You may give it to your sister who gives it to your niece. Either way, you've experienced something you wouldn't have otherwise and that, in and of itself, is a good thing. 

Bottom Line: Be like a shoe: Just do it. 

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