Buffy/Angel non-fiction material

[gumgnome]

Hi everyone, I don't really read this thread much, but it seems to me that the bulk of the chat is about the fictional literary asides to the series' that we know and adore. I was wondering how much people had read with regards to the non-fiction surrounding the shows as cultural phenomena/morality guides etc.

I see that there has been a thread to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale which is more an introductory text for amateur philosophers than a serious piece on the show (although enjoyable to a degree!).

Aside from this, I was wondering if anyone here reads Slayage: The International Journal of Buffy Studies. I discovered this about 6 months ago and have been slowly making my way through it. Written by whoever decides to send an article their way, but dominated I believe by professors of modern cultural/tv and film studies, the articles vary in their content from highly illuminating papers on themes from the show (there are some particularly inciteful articles on the generation divide in Buffy), papers on the underlying mythology and papers on the impact of the show itself on modern culture. If anyone here is looking for an in-depth dialogue about Buffy, this is a good starting point.
Slayage can be accessed for free here:
slayageonline.com/

Then there are the printed books surrounding the Buffyverse along a similar line to Slayage. The two that I own are Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Rhonda Wilcox and Seven Seasons of Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Write About Their Favourite Show by various authors. The Wilcox book was a letdown for me. Although she explores many aspects of the Buffyverse, she does so with meagre writing prowess and really very little clear structure. Rather the text meanders from one topic to another, and nothing ends up being addressed satisfactorily. The Seven Seasons book, on the other hand, is remarkable. Comprised of roughly 20 essays on the show by different people, the structure is clear and each essay sparkles with wit, opinion and incite. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Buffy.

Now for the point of the thread - does anyone else read this stuff? And if so, can you make further recommendations/review the literature you have read thus far? I'd like to get more books before they inevitable go out of print, but would like to know where the gems are so I don't waste my precious and limited funds.

[Skytteflickan88]

You have to buy the watcher's guides vol1-3. They're filled with fun facts, excerpts from original scripts, episode guides, interviews, essays, color pictures, etcetc. They're great.

And I heard the Angel Casefiles are pretty similar.

EDIT - The trivia book(called awesome trivia-something) is also a great read, filled with, well, trivia.

I think I tried reading why buffy matters(might have been another book) but it got to heavy for me with the psychology terms and such.

[gumgnome]

Ooooh yes - the ep guides are good. I have access to two of them, but need to get them all in.

[dusk3333]

I read Slayage. Dr. Lavery is one of my favorite people and he encouraged me to look into it a few years ago. A lot of the stuff on there is really interesting and it takes a scholarly approach to Buffy and the Whedonverse.

IF you are looking for more scholarly books that discuss the show's themes and characters and the likes, then I recommend a book entitled Fighting the Forces.
There is also a book similar to the Seven Seasons of Buffy book for both Angel and Firefly. They are both really good as well. And a new book, that just came out last year I believe, called Buffy Goes Dark looks really interesting. Its on the final two seasons of Buffy.

Also there are several others, so if you want a recommendation of this sort, pm me.

And if you want something fun, that appears scholarly to read, google "Spike Thesis." I couldn't find the link or I would have posted it here for you. Its from the episode checkpoint when Lydia, one of the Watchers Council members tells Spike she wrote her thesis on him. SO, from there, several professors of pop culture got together and actually wrote the thesis. Its pretty cool. I just wish I could have found the link to it.

[CourtneyDax]

I have been really interested in Buffy non-fiction but I haven't been able to buy any of them because I don't want buy a book that has some writer who doesn't know the series spewing nonsense.

Could anyone tell me their favorite Buffy non-fiction work so far? I want to start with the really good ones first.

Oh, I saw about the fictional thesis and I found people talking about it on several sites, but the link is either broken or the site has gone down permanently.

The actual thesis is found on www.channelingboards.com/SpikeThesis/index.html But as you can see, its not working...

[dusk3333]

CourtneyDax,

yeah, that is where I tried to look up the thesis too. But it wasn't up any longer, which really stinks, because the thing is great.

Personally, I would recommend anything that David Lavery has a hand in. He is amazing and his knowledge on Buffy is awesome (because he's also a fan). He is one of the ones who started Slayage. And he has written/edited many books on Buffy and various other shows. He's a really cool guy.

I think that is a good place to start, in my opinion. If you wanted to try a specific book, then I recommend Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer which I recommended above.

There are also several articles in various books that are good, but I would hate to recommend buying a whole book for just one article on Buffy.

But if you would like, I'll look at my books when I get home and make a few other suggestions. Most of my books contain scholarly essays on the show because my academic research is focused on Female Action Heroes in film and television. So, that may not be what you are looking for. But let me know if you want other suggestions



Also, has anyone read Buffy Goes Dark ? I want to buy it, but would love to hear someone's feedback on the book first.

[El Diablo Robotico]

Apr 9, 2010 1:26:26 GMT -5 CourtneyDax said:

Could anyone tell me their favorite Buffy non-fiction work so far? I want to start with the really good ones first.

I really liked Seven Seasons of Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Write About Their Favorite Show. A couple of the essays in there are duds, but it was mostly a very good read.

[AngelFaith]

There are a couple of unofficial books that I love that are very good reads.

The Complete Slayer by Keith Topping is an unofficial guidebook that spans all seven seasons and has all sorts of trivia, episode reviews and little essays. It's a fantastic read.

Then there's Reading The Vampire Slayer (can't remember who it's by) which is an analysis of the first six seasons of Buffy and the first four seasons of AtS. It's a very intelligent read and has some interesting theories about the series and characters.

[wenxina]

Buffy Goes Dark was a LOT better than the BtVS and Philosophy book. Mostly because it was more naturalistic, instead of trying to jam the show into one philosophical school of thought or another.
There are a few really good essays in there, including one on Andrew.

[dusk3333]

Apr 13, 2010 23:31:20 GMT -5 wenxina said:

Buffy Goes Dark was a LOT better than the BtVS and Philosophy book. Mostly because it was more naturalistic, instead of trying to jam the show into one philosophical school of thought or another.
There are a few really good essays in there, including one on Andrew.

Excellent! There hasn't been a lot of character work done on Andrew. Or a lot of the characters for that matter. I'm happy to hear its a good read. I'll have to look into getting it. Thanks for letting me know.