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morrigirlSix weeks ago there were twenty-two books in my "to read" pile. Now, there are only ten :-) I aimed to reduce the size by one-third and wound up cutting it in half. I am very proud of myself. Sure, most of the books I read fell somewhere between "eh" and "please shoot me now" on the enjoyablity scale, but I accomplished what I set out to do so, really, who cares?
The best book from the pile: A Mercy by Toni Morrison
The worst book from the pile: The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith
Now I have a small mountain of books I need to get rid of. I only have enough shelf space in my apartment to accomadate about five hundred. That may seem like a lot, but for a voracious reader like myself that's tiny. Since I can only afford to keep the books I really, really, REALLY love, I'm constantly weeding my collection, tossing books that have failed to leave a lasting impression on me. The current batch mainly consists of romance novels left over from my exploration of the genre, and old new age books I no longer want. I'd post a book grab entry like I used to in the old days but most of these books are so bad there is no way I'd pawn them off on people I like. So, I'm joining all the various book swap websites and seeing if I can pawn them off on strangers. I've been a member of chancexchange for years, and last night I joined Paperback Swap. If I can't move all my books through those channels I'll join Book Mooch and Bookins. And, if all else fails, there is always ReLITNY.
Changing topics, I realized something today. Of the forty-six people on my LJ friends list only thirteen of them still update on a regular basis. The rest have either stopped journaling or they only update, like, once a year. I used to get at least five comments for every entry I posted. These days I'm lucky to get one or two. That is partially my fault. Having filtered and privatized most of my entries I'm not generating much public content, and to most passing visitors it probably looks like my journal has gone dead. I can't generate interest if I'm not posting anything. Not that I plan on changing my posting habits. I'm just saying.
But I miss the community of friends I used to have out here. I miss the conversation. I wish they'd return, but I suppose they've outgrown LJ. It no longer serves their needs. I started keeping on online journal so I'd have a reason to write everyday. I hoped that having an audience would encourage me to do so, and it did. But now, more often than not, I find myself talking to myself out here. And even though there are times when that's exactly what I want to do, there are other times when I want interaction. How do you sustain a public writing practice when you have no audience?
The best book from the pile: A Mercy by Toni Morrison
The worst book from the pile: The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith
Now I have a small mountain of books I need to get rid of. I only have enough shelf space in my apartment to accomadate about five hundred. That may seem like a lot, but for a voracious reader like myself that's tiny. Since I can only afford to keep the books I really, really, REALLY love, I'm constantly weeding my collection, tossing books that have failed to leave a lasting impression on me. The current batch mainly consists of romance novels left over from my exploration of the genre, and old new age books I no longer want. I'd post a book grab entry like I used to in the old days but most of these books are so bad there is no way I'd pawn them off on people I like. So, I'm joining all the various book swap websites and seeing if I can pawn them off on strangers. I've been a member of chancexchange for years, and last night I joined Paperback Swap. If I can't move all my books through those channels I'll join Book Mooch and Bookins. And, if all else fails, there is always ReLITNY.
Changing topics, I realized something today. Of the forty-six people on my LJ friends list only thirteen of them still update on a regular basis. The rest have either stopped journaling or they only update, like, once a year. I used to get at least five comments for every entry I posted. These days I'm lucky to get one or two. That is partially my fault. Having filtered and privatized most of my entries I'm not generating much public content, and to most passing visitors it probably looks like my journal has gone dead. I can't generate interest if I'm not posting anything. Not that I plan on changing my posting habits. I'm just saying.
But I miss the community of friends I used to have out here. I miss the conversation. I wish they'd return, but I suppose they've outgrown LJ. It no longer serves their needs. I started keeping on online journal so I'd have a reason to write everyday. I hoped that having an audience would encourage me to do so, and it did. But now, more often than not, I find myself talking to myself out here. And even though there are times when that's exactly what I want to do, there are other times when I want interaction. How do you sustain a public writing practice when you have no audience?
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Date: 2010-07-25 10:26 pm (UTC)oh, I finally read parts of those and they were cheesy teen romance crap!
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Date: 2010-07-26 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-26 08:58 am (UTC)lol yes! you've also read a LOT since then and seen the same cliches again as well as much BETTER writing. so you're less tolerant of crap. me too!
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Date: 2010-07-26 09:22 pm (UTC)Name one thing you liked in your younger years that you wouldn't be able to tolerate today.
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Date: 2010-07-26 09:54 pm (UTC)I'm rather picky about the SF I read now, because I read SO MUCH of it when I was younger.
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Date: 2010-07-27 12:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 07:45 am (UTC)"Battlefield Earth" by L. Ron Hubbard.
I KNOW!!!! a movie EVERYBODY hated, and he started his own CULT. but I liked the book! It's HUGE though.
since I don't read as much now, and it's been awhile since I read so much, I can't remember a lot.
OH the "Invasion of the BOdy Snatchers" novel. I can't remember the author right now. I got a hardcover of that at a thrift store for $1 awhile ago! it qualifies as horror as well as SF.
I like to read GOOD horror, also... but so many horror novels are silly schlock! Seems to be a medium made more for movies!
I'll add some other stuff if I can remember it, later this week.
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Date: 2010-07-28 09:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 09:56 am (UTC)it's SO hard (heh) to write them without them turning into outright porn.
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Date: 2010-07-29 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-29 09:03 am (UTC)me either! I just don't want to put it in some NON-porn thing I'm writing.
"manhood, and woman's core and making love"
lol, lol, and pft! on those!
"minute rice perfect sex."
better than "Uncle Ben's Geezer Sex".
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Date: 2010-07-29 09:43 am (UTC)Ah, gotcha. But...according to my college English professors any piece of writing is made better by adding copious amounts of sex to it. Could all those PhDs really be wrong? /sarcasm
lol, lol, and pft! on those!
You think that's funny? Dude, you need to read the various LJ posts that contributed to Carla's Sure-Fire (http://morrigirl.livejournal.com/681625.html) Cure for (http://morrigirl.livejournal.com/682569.html) Depression (http://morrigirl.livejournal.com/710768.html). They are pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
better than "Uncle Ben's Geezer Sex"
And that put a smile on mine, LOL.
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Date: 2010-07-28 09:01 am (UTC)The Guns of the South is my favorite!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_the_South
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Date: 2010-07-28 09:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 09:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 09:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 09:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 09:54 am (UTC)2) It IS overrated
3) the book IS different. I mean, you can see they're the same story, but the book is more "thought-out" and not all "hollywood".
go with Man in the HIgh Castle first, it's the best of the 2 anyway.
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Date: 2010-07-29 03:24 am (UTC)1) It's too dim. Half the time I can't see what the fuck is going on on the screen.
2) Everyone mumbles. Half the time I can't hear anything.
And if you can't see or hear anything thing, then what's to like?
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Date: 2010-07-29 08:32 am (UTC)the future is really DARK, you see.
" Everyone mumbles."
it's a Marlon Brando tribute!
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Date: 2010-07-29 09:45 am (UTC)NO! No, I don't see! Because it's too damn DARK! ARGH!!!!!