tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post2922436840686417340..comments2024-02-27T04:35:19.394-08:00Comments on and another thing...: On Books, and Being a Blurb WhoreJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08700441634700745541noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-88109652363400718832009-01-13T16:07:00.000-08:002009-01-13T16:07:00.000-08:00@Eamonn....Call me cynical, but three paragraphs l...@Eamonn....<BR/><BR/>Call me cynical, but three paragraphs lauding this wonderful book journal!? I think you might find that lilacsky IS Rachelle Knight or is in some way affiliated with said journal. Correct me if I'm wrong....<BR/><BR/>I completely agree with your point though; I too abhor 'Top 100 Books' lists and the like. A hefty chunk of the satisfaction of adding a new book to your collection is the excitement of searching for and finding it. To me it usually sweetens the deal that little bit more if it's a book that you've never heard of, and have uncovered in some dingy little charity shop or market somewhere, that turns out to be phenomenal... thus alerting you to a new author that you would have never before been aware of due to the lack of his or her presence on some shite 'best of' list! Incidently, this is how I discovered John Connolly (although I am fully aware, John, that your name appears, on many of the afore-mentioned 'shite book lists!') My point is, that while many of these guides or lists do indeed contain some of our generations best writers, isn't it more thrilling to discover them by yourself?<BR/><BR/>Masybe I'm slightly idealistic, but there's just too much out there to be blinkered by what a list recommends. May I tentatively suggest taking the same tack with your music searches!!SheenaLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15348786741481516896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-17003282486804987492008-11-03T05:12:00.000-08:002008-11-03T05:12:00.000-08:00I'm not sure I agree with LilacSky. How does some...I'm not sure I agree with LilacSky. How does someone decide on "the right books"? If a book wins a Pulitzer then that must feel great for the author, but it would mean little to me as a reader. I don't want a list of books that I should read, I want to make up my own mind. I want to discover things for myself, yes time is short and life doesn't last forever but I want to take a chance on a book that I've chosen for myself. I don't agree with tags such as 'literary fiction', and find that it is unnecessarily snobbish behaviour. A book is either well written or it is not, and the decision about that is a personal one. I don't mean to start an argument, but if someone handed me a list of books I 'should' read I would crumple it into a ball and bounce it right back at them. However, I know that some people will disagree, which is fine, of course. Bookclubs and readers groups work well, but I think that is different. If wondering what to read next is a problem then it is a good problem to have. If I HAD to define what is a 'right' book, I would have to say that the 'right' book is the one that hit you straight between the eyes when you are at an age for maximum impact. If so, then the right books for me started with Peter Straub's 'Shadowland' and S.King's 'Salem's Lot', back when they came out. Some books still grab me by the throat, but they work best when they sneak up on you and stab you in the heart before you've even smelled their breath. They don't announce their coming on a booklist, but lope like a shadow from Whitechapel with a cold blade. Can I undermine my entire argument by saying that the 'winner of CWA Dagger' sticker on a book does tend to snag my attention! ACTONUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15120451875282655709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-60557303767205486362008-11-02T19:54:00.000-08:002008-11-02T19:54:00.000-08:00I agree with you completely about the joy of buyin...I agree with you completely about the joy of buying books. I have also vowed, at one time or another, to stop buying books and read the ones on my shelf, or better yet, use a library if I want to get new ones.<BR/><BR/>But, whatever people say, and for all libraries are great and wonderful places, it's just not the same. There's <I>so much</I> choice at a library - all these books that you can have and read for free - that I, at least, find myself plucking them willy-nilly off the shelves and piling up a far too ambitious stack. Which I will inevitably take home, probably read one of, and then let sit until they're overdue and accruing late fees.<BR/><BR/>There's something about going into a bookstore with thirty or fifty dollars, and thinking <I>I have enough for one or two books. Which ones will I choose?</I> And having selected them and paid for them above scores of others, I find myself much more likely to read them.Angiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17909644462025984107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-57901417286149231812008-10-31T08:25:00.000-07:002008-10-31T08:25:00.000-07:00The problem lies in taking one for granted. Once s...The problem lies in taking one for granted. Once started, you never stop.TomHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12805041866275759669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-58734361540634621322008-10-15T02:51:00.000-07:002008-10-15T02:51:00.000-07:00I've recently secured a publishing deal and found ...I've recently secured a publishing deal and found myself blabbering to my editor about how cool it is to be in the same house as some of my favourite thriller writers. When she offered to send some new releases my way, I think I was more pleased than getting a contract and an advance. <BR/><BR/>All the best.<BR/><BR/>JJJJ Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14815381664636047854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-69972806128641915132008-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:002008-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.TomHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12805041866275759669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-12656067583258391922008-10-06T14:50:00.000-07:002008-10-06T14:50:00.000-07:00Taking a sabbatical from what one usually reads, i...Taking a sabbatical from what one usually reads, is like spending a good vacation exploring a strange and wonderful new place. I just finished a very quick charming animal lovers' book titled "Dewey:The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World" By Vicki Myron. Sweet read.<BR/> As far as not buying anymore books before I read what I already own, I realized the futility of this vow long ago, it's like asking any addict to abstain from their substance of choice. I'm the numero uno founding member of Bookaholics Anonymous or as I call it BAA. Books are my drug of choice.<BR/> One option that I've considered, is only reading dead authors, but I'd be salivating the next time a John Connolly bk surfaced and I'd be off the wagon in no time flat. As it is, I made a friend in Ireland, send me a copy of The Reapers, the day it was released over there as it was going to be another month before it was released in the U.S., and I couldn't stand the wait. I have no willpower where books are concerned. <BR/> I recently picked up a book by an author that is new to me, Stieg Larsson, called The Girl w/the Dragon Tattoo. It's new to the U.S. and I understand that it was big in Europe....the most attractive thing about reading this author, beside the fact that the book is very good, is that he is dead and there are only two more books coming out by him. When book three is published, I know that I'm done, that I've read all that I can read of this writer.<BR/> My nightmare is that I would get to heaven and there would be no books or dogs. I could see myself saying to St. Peter, "Ok, if there are books and dogs in hell, change my itinerary." <BR/> Alas,Too many books and not enough time. What is a book junkie to do?Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15810256670247966838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-54020253099891164062008-10-05T05:57:00.000-07:002008-10-05T05:57:00.000-07:00I recently attended the New England Booksellers co...I recently attended the New England Booksellers convention in Boston and that is essentially an airplane hanger filled with people who want to give you free books - ostensibly so that you will write about them, chat them up, and oh, yes, buy them for your bookstore. I was there to give away ARCs of my own book, which I now know better than to ask you to blurb, but since the book was late, I walked around and picked up free books. <BR/>You could spot the first-timers...they came with wheelie suitcases..people who'd been to the show before were more discriminating. I picked up <BR/>The 19th Wife, The Given Day, All the Living, and In Hovering Flight. It was almost as good as shopping but I didn't have to hand our my credit card.Rosemary Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033747422699443024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-16302764276117956002008-10-04T18:03:00.000-07:002008-10-04T18:03:00.000-07:00I have vowed to do the same thing, like you and ro...I have vowed to do the same thing, like you and roberta here, to not buy another book until I've finished what I've got! And believe me, I've got plenty!<BR/><BR/>I've actually started reading books from this book journal called "Read, Remember and Recommend" by Rachelle Knight -- it solves the problem "what do i read next?" (link: http://www.bibliopages.com) It's a spiral bound reading journal with Awards Book Lists including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Los Angeles Times Award for Fiction and National Book Award for Fiction), Notable lists (BBC’S Top 100 is included) and Author Pages.<BR/><BR/>There's also a space for you to write down your personal favorites, list down the books you loaned, and write down insights you may have about books you've read. The best thing about is the book suggestions -- the book selections are awesome and will help any book lover read the right books.<BR/><BR/>It really helped organize my book reading because of the tons of lists that it has. Highly recommended! If you ever have gone through all the books you have, and are looking for your next literary conquest, this book journal will help you out loads.lilacskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05916320620629784548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22537743.post-16473025273536820442008-10-04T10:23:00.000-07:002008-10-04T10:23:00.000-07:00I agree with you fully about the aspect of buying ...I agree with you fully about the aspect of buying your own books...I too once vowed no to enter a bookstore before I've read all the books I still have to read. The temptation always proves too large for me though!<BR/>I'm Roberta from Malta, 19 years old and I read The Book of Lost Things not long ago. I loved it. I know you don't write in that genre much but you should. It kept me glued till the end and I thank you for it! <BR/>I too love writing...a mixture of historical fiction and fantasy. have you ever experimented with those genres? I find them oddly satisfying! All the best from Malta!Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14829697007293384067noreply@blogger.com