About

Clare TumblrQueer lady geek Clare McBride was raised by French wolves in the American South. Exposure to toxic levels of VH1’s I Love the 80s, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 as a preteen mutated her into the woman that we know today as “The Literary Omnivore”; an entity all about fandom, feminism, pop culture, speculative fiction, queer history, and any other way those words can go together. There is no cure for her addiction to run-on sentences.

The Literary Omnivore posts a book review on Wednesday, a film review on either Monday or Friday, and a link round-up on Sunday every week. Saturday Morning Opinions is a very occasional but nonetheless present feature.

You can also find her over at Lady Business from time to time.

The Literary Omnivore was established on September 29, 2009.

56 thoughts on “About”

  2. My first book, MACBETH’S NIECE, is a romantic historical with Tessa’s story unfolding in the foreground as Macbeth rises and falls. Kidnapped and taken to England by spy Jeffrey Brixton, Tessa struggles against the English army, the predictions of three witches, and the whispers of her own heart.

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  3. What, I get no co-author status on the Unofficial Guide to WDW, Clare? Ouch. 😉

    Let me know if you have any questions about the book. And thanks for reading it.

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  10. Not sure if these are already on your reading list but I REALLY think you should give these ago..:

    Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugeunides
    Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
    The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

    All amazing!

    Enjoyed reading some of your reviews!

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  11. You refer to yourself as ‘literary critic in training’. Certainly I’m impressed at the quality of your posts in my first glances through. Is literary criticism something you’re planning to do professionally?

    I started blogging last year, purely in self-defense when I got sick of trying to remember which books I had or had not already requested from the library. This is SO much harder to do than I had realized… I started with only myself as the expected audience, just putting in reminders about plot points or character names that I had liked or disliked… but now I am starting to rank books so that people could pull up a list of what I really recommend.

    Do *you* have a particular audience in mind?

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    • I seriously doubt I’ll go into academia (although I wouldn’t mind writing for any publication as a literary critic), but I’ll always look critically at literature—it’s just what I do. I call myself that because that’s exactly what studying literature at my college is training me to do; whether or not I follow through isn’t up to them, though! 🙂

      As far as an audience, I think I write for the general audience of the Internet, as I’ve gathered from years in fandom—a space that tends to be, more or less, dominated by more liberal Western women (though I try not to assume anything about a potential reader). And, of course, myself, and I like to read entertaining reviews that praise the good and eviscerate the bad without idolizing or demonizing the author. Hopefully, I’ve accomplished that!

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  12. Great critique on The Devil in The White City! I stumbled upon your piece while searching for online reviews for an AP Language and Composition Term Paper concerning the validity of Erik Larson’s work. I plan on using and sourcing your work into my piece. I hope my teacher accepts this piece as being from a credible source, one you surely appear to be, based on the extent, as we as high level, of reviews submitted to your site.

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  13. Great site you have here. Kind of funny how the internet works, I live less than 45 miles from you but I found your website by visiting the website of a guy who lives in Scotland!

    I like the way you have your reading list laid out, It’s given me a bit of inspiration to try to get back to work on mine. I also am glad to see I’m not the only one who makes notes of what is and isn’t available in the PINES system.

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  14. Pingback: Versatile blogger award goes to… Bibliophage’s Buffet? « Bibliophage's Buffet

  17. Hello Claire,

    This blog is AMAZING! Oh, we’re so proud of you and all you’ve accomplished here. We will definitely be back when we have time to meander.

    My name is Rae Loisel and I am the Mother of El Presidente, Gabi Loisel 😉 of the ASC Film Depreciation Club. Gabi has shared much about you and the other girls, she loves and enjoys you so much. I would like for you to check your fb message (from Stephanie Worrell, Aunt & Mother #2) for a secret missive concerning Gabi’s 21st birthday.

    Thanks so much, dear. And keep up the good work.

    Rae & Stephanie

    P.S. I (Stephanie) am just starting my own blog, awomanandhergod, here. It’s still private right now, but when it’s time for my big reveal, I’ll definitely invite you over! 🙂

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  19. Hi Clare, I just saw your response to my post about the Sci-Fi Book Club edition of The Lord of the Rings. I have a photo for you. What would be the best way to get it to you? If you want to give me an email address without posting it publicly, feel free to stop by my blog and leave it in the comments somewhere, which I moderate. I won’t post it, I’ll just use it! 🙂

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  21. Clare,
    Thank you for sharing your blog’s address with me. I just read your review of the Muppets’ Christmas Carol, long a favorite of mine, and am looking forward to catching up on earlier reviews.
    Paul

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  23. I really love that you have a schedule for such a brilliant and absorbing hobby, Claire. It’s obvious you make books a huge part of your life…I look at my reading..and writing, and like most things, feel I am just playing at it. Bravo to you! Now I really must attend to my own blog!

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  25. Clare,
    Thank you for all of your help in the past. If you are ever interested in hosting a Q&A or a guest post, please let me know via email. Take care.
    J.J. Hensley — author of Resolve

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    • It’s Clare without an i, actually! My MST3K-style comedy troupe in college called me “Eyepatch” for that very reason.

      Thank you so much! I sadly won’t be able to do the meme, but thanks for thinking of me! See you at DPI!

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  27. Hiya!
    I’ve been subscribing to your blog via RSS for ages (currently using feedly as my reader) And after coming back from a blog reading hiatus, I noticed something strange: only two stars of your rating actually show up on my feed. When I saw your review of Captain America 2, I was this close to unsubscribe, because why would I want to read someone who does not recognise that Cap 2 was a great movie *flail, scream, stab in my fannish heart, etc* and then I read the review itself and figured something must be wrong, cause that was not a two star review. So then I checked your other posts on my feedly and sure enough, regardless of the actual rating only two stars show up – sometimes full sometimes not, I think it might be the third and fourth, or maybe second and third, but I’m not sure. I checked on feedly in both Firefox & Chrome with the same results. So, yeah I don’t know if it’s a problem with the rss feed on your end or feedly on my, but maybe worth checking out? Otherwise I’m very relieved my fannish honour doesn’t demand I stop following you, because I very much enjoy your reviews. ❤ Carthl

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    • Well, I’m glad you read the review and realized I was all about it! 🙂 I went ahead and checked it in Feedly and you’re quite right: Feedly only shows the first two stars on all of my review posts. The little stars are individual images, so it’s not picking up the next three for some reason. I’ll look into fixing it, but I think a fix might require generating ten different images including all stars instead of my three image system. Boo! But thanks for the heads up!

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  28. Ballantine Second Edition

    The Hobbit, Ballantine Books, 1973, Paperback
    The Fellowship of the Ring, Ballantine Books, 1973, Paperback
    The Two Towers, Ballantine Books, 1973, Paperback
    The Return of the King, Ballantine Books, 1973, Paperback
    (Available as box set)

    Is There any possibility of finding copies of these to buy.
    Downside is Im in South Africa

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    • The easiest (but most expensive!) route is to check US and UK eBay constantly. Search with general terms and double check the edition visually. For instance, searching “lord of the rings box set paperback” got me a listing for what you’re looking for! This listing is going until Sunday. As you’ve no doubt discovered, shipping internationally is a pain in the butt. (Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I see how much shipping anything to my grandmother in France is.)

      The cheapest (but most difficult!) route is to try and find it in your area at secondhand stores, thrift stores, and used bookstores. You’d have to be very patient, but it can sometimes pan out. I tend to have okay luck finding these in thrift stores here in the United States, but I obviously don’t know the lay of the land in South Africa.

      Good luck with your quest! Let me know if you manage to get them!

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  29. Good morning Clare! I just want to let you know that I tagged you for the Summer Reader Book Tag. I know you are pretty busy, but I would love to see what books you picked for this tag if you have time!

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