Gillian Polack's Blog, page 169
July 23, 2012
A reminder (just one)
The reminder is that I have a bag of goodies for the most interesting photo of Ms Cellophane. I just added something very historical and strange to the bag and anyone with an interest in colonial history and Australian literature will covet it. you have until next week to send your pictures to me at Gillian(dot)Polack(at)anu(dot)edu(dot)au
The competition is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, however, if your country has restrictions on sending plant material (eg NZ) I shall replace the evil colonial matter with something else.
I was going to give you more pictures, but I keep getting 'unknown error' messages, so I'll try again another time, or do a web page, or give up and work.
The competition is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, however, if your country has restrictions on sending plant material (eg NZ) I shall replace the evil colonial matter with something else.
I was going to give you more pictures, but I keep getting 'unknown error' messages, so I'll try again another time, or do a web page, or give up and work.
gillpolack @ 2012-07-23T23:08:00
I've mostly unpacked and mostly done the admin things one must do on one's return and I'm mostly tired. I'm also mostly cold. Sydney was warm and my friends were delightful and the contrast with the zero degree temperature outside is quite strong. I don't feel lonely, but I do want to curl up and sleep. Before I do, though, I'll give you your first Sydney picture. This is all about scavenging in central Sydney.
My favourite parts of the weekend included watching much Eureka with three of my favourite people, exploring Sydney Harbour using an array of ferries, teaching, seeing friends, marketing and books. There will be more photos, for I took many (they're downloading right now).
I've ticked off a heap of questions I had about world building and tested a useful new technique for teaching language to writers (combining grammar and editing in a straightforward package). I've checked that friends I was worried about (for too many of my friends are undergoing difficult times) are getting through what needs to be got through. And I am home and snuggled up in my down dressing gown.
My favourite parts of the weekend included watching much Eureka with three of my favourite people, exploring Sydney Harbour using an array of ferries, teaching, seeing friends, marketing and books. There will be more photos, for I took many (they're downloading right now).
I've ticked off a heap of questions I had about world building and tested a useful new technique for teaching language to writers (combining grammar and editing in a straightforward package). I've checked that friends I was worried about (for too many of my friends are undergoing difficult times) are getting through what needs to be got through. And I am home and snuggled up in my down dressing gown.
July 22, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-23T14:52:00
I'm back, after a busy (but happy) weekend. I've much to report, so I'll do it in stages. In between the stages I'll catch up on email. I kept an eye on my email and did the urgent stuff while I was away, but that still leaves me 300 items.
I have my new work clothes (my friend and I have much depleted the clothing bit of the insurance whatever) and a new kitchen gadget. Also books. I visited Galaxy and came out with books. Somehow the single book I was looking for (which the staff at Galaxy found - I was after something good and unexpected that had somehow escaped my attention and I'll report back in due course on whether the book they found me fits the bill) turned into a whole bag full of books. I read the Sarah Pinborough over breakfast: the rest is now waiting patiently for me to catch up on other things.
My BiblioBuffet article this fortnight is a review of Tachyon's new sword and sorcery anthology. Enjoy it while I tackle those emails! http://www.bibliobuffet.com/bookish-dreaming/1805-introducing-sword-and-sorcery-072212
I have my new work clothes (my friend and I have much depleted the clothing bit of the insurance whatever) and a new kitchen gadget. Also books. I visited Galaxy and came out with books. Somehow the single book I was looking for (which the staff at Galaxy found - I was after something good and unexpected that had somehow escaped my attention and I'll report back in due course on whether the book they found me fits the bill) turned into a whole bag full of books. I read the Sarah Pinborough over breakfast: the rest is now waiting patiently for me to catch up on other things.
My BiblioBuffet article this fortnight is a review of Tachyon's new sword and sorcery anthology. Enjoy it while I tackle those emails! http://www.bibliobuffet.com/bookish-dreaming/1805-introducing-sword-and-sorcery-072212
July 19, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-19T20:13:00
Sydney is warmer than Canberra. I have already spent my book money. Trixie is determined to make me pat her. Absolutely normal here, in fact.
The poor staff at Galaxy got me in chstty mood, for I went there via the Chinese garden and had been silent there (mostly - I dressed up Ming and discovered that Ming headdress makes me look like Joan Sutherland, and chatted with the staff during the procedure) and on the bus and during lucnh and, in fact the whole day. This is not strange in itself, but what was strange was being so quiet when I really wasn't doing any work.
I did much photography of a fairly daft variety and may do a picture entry later. Right now I just want to remind myself that I'm allowed time out. Time out still surprises me.
The poor staff at Galaxy got me in chstty mood, for I went there via the Chinese garden and had been silent there (mostly - I dressed up Ming and discovered that Ming headdress makes me look like Joan Sutherland, and chatted with the staff during the procedure) and on the bus and during lucnh and, in fact the whole day. This is not strange in itself, but what was strange was being so quiet when I really wasn't doing any work.
I did much photography of a fairly daft variety and may do a picture entry later. Right now I just want to remind myself that I'm allowed time out. Time out still surprises me.
July 18, 2012
Review requests (again)
My current sub-section of the to-do list is emails. The biggest subset of emails I have to deal with are "Would you please review my book" requests. To all but one of those, I'm giving a polite 'no.' For every single one of these polite rejections, there is but a single cause: I have never given any indication that I review books about these subjects, whether the subjects be uncovering the inner workings of the CIA or making one's own harnesses to leap out of planes or learning how to smile when telling someone that their watch is wrong.*
This is the opposite to the too-frequent queries I got last year about when the essay would appear. The big publishers all go through the BiblioBuffet owner and then email me especially when we have a working relationship and they have something they want to ask me***. With anywhere else I review for (except here, which is a special case) it all goes through the owner or review editor of the site/zine/whatever.
Because I look at a slightly wider range of topics than some reviewers/essayists and because it's dead easy to send BiblioBuffet an email telling me about a book, I get a lot of requests. Most of them don't cover my sort of book** and most of these are just a statement about the book. No "Dear Gillian" or "Dear Dr Polack" or even "Polack, you, over there - pay attention."
So many writers take their sales pitch for the book (sometimes the blurb from the back, sometimes material from a PR package) and paste it into an email and trust that it will be wonderfully convincing and that someone like me will instantly feel a need to see that book. It just doesn't work that way. Before I had a queue of books, I'd sometimes take a work and review it regardless of the approach, especially if it came from small press. This became tiring very quickly. I still do this from time to time, but the book has to be utterly tantalising.
I don't mind form letters, what I object to is an email that consists of nothing but dump from the book's PR - it doesn't convince me to read it if the book isn't in my area and it certainly doesn't convince me that I should put the book early in my queue. The book itself has to work much harder once it reaches my clutches if you make me work to overlook the lack of etiquette.
We take so much care in sending our manuscripts off to publishers. It would be nice if even 1/1000 of the care was taken by this minority of writers in identifying potential reviewers. Read what the reviewer writes about, have a polite cover letter and don't treat reviewers as potential recipients for bookspam. I want this engraved somewhere. Putting it in bold will have to do instead.****
I rather like it that writers like my work enough to solicit reviews. I just wish they'd be more courteous about it and maybe do a little homework. And I have a few more "I'm sorry" emails to send. I so hate sending these. I wish I could write about everything.
*These examples are invented.
**When they do, I say 'yes' except when I'm impossibly bogged down and then I decline, but with sorrow - unless the subject is one I am likely to be vile about, like a study of why the author hates Jews, in which case I will decline politely and wish I had never seen the email. That last example was not, alas, invented.
***I had to decline a book by Sean Williams! They were just asking if I was willing to take an eversion and I had to say "Yes, when necessary, but I can't review Sean." Sorry, Sean. I will read it anyway, I promise. Just not as soon and I won't get to review it.
****The footnotes are intentionally evil today. This is because I really hate writing these emails. It's so tough to tell other writers that no, I won't be reading their work instantly.
This is the opposite to the too-frequent queries I got last year about when the essay would appear. The big publishers all go through the BiblioBuffet owner and then email me especially when we have a working relationship and they have something they want to ask me***. With anywhere else I review for (except here, which is a special case) it all goes through the owner or review editor of the site/zine/whatever.
Because I look at a slightly wider range of topics than some reviewers/essayists and because it's dead easy to send BiblioBuffet an email telling me about a book, I get a lot of requests. Most of them don't cover my sort of book** and most of these are just a statement about the book. No "Dear Gillian" or "Dear Dr Polack" or even "Polack, you, over there - pay attention."
So many writers take their sales pitch for the book (sometimes the blurb from the back, sometimes material from a PR package) and paste it into an email and trust that it will be wonderfully convincing and that someone like me will instantly feel a need to see that book. It just doesn't work that way. Before I had a queue of books, I'd sometimes take a work and review it regardless of the approach, especially if it came from small press. This became tiring very quickly. I still do this from time to time, but the book has to be utterly tantalising.
I don't mind form letters, what I object to is an email that consists of nothing but dump from the book's PR - it doesn't convince me to read it if the book isn't in my area and it certainly doesn't convince me that I should put the book early in my queue. The book itself has to work much harder once it reaches my clutches if you make me work to overlook the lack of etiquette.
We take so much care in sending our manuscripts off to publishers. It would be nice if even 1/1000 of the care was taken by this minority of writers in identifying potential reviewers. Read what the reviewer writes about, have a polite cover letter and don't treat reviewers as potential recipients for bookspam. I want this engraved somewhere. Putting it in bold will have to do instead.****
I rather like it that writers like my work enough to solicit reviews. I just wish they'd be more courteous about it and maybe do a little homework. And I have a few more "I'm sorry" emails to send. I so hate sending these. I wish I could write about everything.
*These examples are invented.
**When they do, I say 'yes' except when I'm impossibly bogged down and then I decline, but with sorrow - unless the subject is one I am likely to be vile about, like a study of why the author hates Jews, in which case I will decline politely and wish I had never seen the email. That last example was not, alas, invented.
***I had to decline a book by Sean Williams! They were just asking if I was willing to take an eversion and I had to say "Yes, when necessary, but I can't review Sean." Sorry, Sean. I will read it anyway, I promise. Just not as soon and I won't get to review it.
****The footnotes are intentionally evil today. This is because I really hate writing these emails. It's so tough to tell other writers that no, I won't be reading their work instantly.
July 17, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-18T13:53:00
I have students on Sunday and course notes are done. I now get a break to run messages and then I'm back to my list. That list is down to 18 items, which is a much better state. And I have dinner! Well, I have dinner plans. I shall steam rice in home made beef stock, with spinach and then add lemon and tabasco and maybe artichoke hearts at the end. I might eat it with duck eggs, or hen eggs, for I seem to be a bit short on protein. Anyhow, it's an easy meal.
And now I must brave the bitter sunshine. Except that it's almost nice outside today. Something went wrong with winter.
And now I must brave the bitter sunshine. Except that it's almost nice outside today. Something went wrong with winter.
gillpolack @ 2012-07-18T11:46:00
I'm reducing my day to a tolerable size. My finger, you see, is my augury. If it hurts and swells, I must do less. No library visit this afternoon and no meeting tonight and only the housework that has to be done (none of this trying to fill in waiting time by doing useful stuff, for that's the main reason the finger hurts today). I have my lists of things that must be done and if I have time beyond that, I may only do easy things.
When I've finished this degree, I"m taking a holiday. I have no idea what kind of holiday, since I'm not very good at holidays, but I'm taking one.
When I've finished this degree, I"m taking a holiday. I have no idea what kind of holiday, since I'm not very good at holidays, but I'm taking one.
gillpolack @ 2012-07-17T23:49:00
I have given up on my 2000 words. The trouble is that I can't find them. I have twenty-five hooks to hang an article on and I only need one. When I found myself wittering about all the different things I could write and filling up many words with no content to speak of, I realised that the book will just have to wait. I don't want it to wait. I love this book in many ways. It's perfect for my next slot. But it's a choice between something quite appallingly written and something tolerable, though, and so there is no choice.
I need something non-SF for that slot and I need it by tomorrow night, since obviously tonight is just not going to happen. The only other books that are all ready for writing up are speculative fiction. In fact, only one other of my current review books isn't speculative fiction of some kind. How did that happen?
I shall write about something else entirely. Tomorrow. Tonight I shall wander through my library until I find that something else that needs writing about. There are always books that need writing about - it's just that mostly they don't need searching for so very hard. If I had known, I could have searched while I did all that put-away stuff, earlier.
I think the world is signalling me I need an early night and that I need to instruct my dreams to remind me what books I put on my mental "I want to write about this someday" list. If I had an extra day or two, it would be the Abbey Girl and their surprising Fabian connection. One day I shall tell that story.
Tonight, sleep beckons.
I need something non-SF for that slot and I need it by tomorrow night, since obviously tonight is just not going to happen. The only other books that are all ready for writing up are speculative fiction. In fact, only one other of my current review books isn't speculative fiction of some kind. How did that happen?
I shall write about something else entirely. Tomorrow. Tonight I shall wander through my library until I find that something else that needs writing about. There are always books that need writing about - it's just that mostly they don't need searching for so very hard. If I had known, I could have searched while I did all that put-away stuff, earlier.
I think the world is signalling me I need an early night and that I need to instruct my dreams to remind me what books I put on my mental "I want to write about this someday" list. If I had an extra day or two, it would be the Abbey Girl and their surprising Fabian connection. One day I shall tell that story.
Tonight, sleep beckons.
Minor grumbles only
Today has been a long slog trying to deal with my computer and the internet and my internet connection. It was especial fun when they all disintegrated at the same time. It lost me so much of my working day that I may have to skip tomorrow night's CSFG meeting. It all depends on how much I catch up between now and then, I guess.
When things went too peculiar and needed settling time, I tried working on the netbook (which sometimes helped and sometimes made things worse, because a component of my curious day was obviously my ISP having a bad day) and then I gave up and did more of the sorting of strange sections of my flat. I was looking for the missing power cord for my cassette player, but it still hasn't appeared. A lot else has, though. Not even the burglar got as far into my lost possessions as I managed, today.
All this excitement was in lieu of other things. I only wrote 1500 words. I need to do another 2000 before bed, and then I can face tomorrow. Tomorrow will still be busy, but it won't be quite as impossible. The problem is, of course, that I didn't achieve much today, but I spent a lot of energy in the process and I want time out for good behaviour.
Today, all in all, was a bit of a mystery to me. Part of the mystery is how all this housework can result in a flat that's just as messy as before. Other people do cleaning that results in the things being cleaned actually looking nice, why doesn't that work for me?
What I want to do is go to my storeroom and take out all my Abbey Girl books and read them in bed for three days, while drinking much tea. At least I can manage the tea. And if I write my 2000 words quickly I can possibly watch some Dr Who.
When things went too peculiar and needed settling time, I tried working on the netbook (which sometimes helped and sometimes made things worse, because a component of my curious day was obviously my ISP having a bad day) and then I gave up and did more of the sorting of strange sections of my flat. I was looking for the missing power cord for my cassette player, but it still hasn't appeared. A lot else has, though. Not even the burglar got as far into my lost possessions as I managed, today.
All this excitement was in lieu of other things. I only wrote 1500 words. I need to do another 2000 before bed, and then I can face tomorrow. Tomorrow will still be busy, but it won't be quite as impossible. The problem is, of course, that I didn't achieve much today, but I spent a lot of energy in the process and I want time out for good behaviour.
Today, all in all, was a bit of a mystery to me. Part of the mystery is how all this housework can result in a flat that's just as messy as before. Other people do cleaning that results in the things being cleaned actually looking nice, why doesn't that work for me?
What I want to do is go to my storeroom and take out all my Abbey Girl books and read them in bed for three days, while drinking much tea. At least I can manage the tea. And if I write my 2000 words quickly I can possibly watch some Dr Who.
July 16, 2012
gillpolack @ 2012-07-17T16:46:00
I am causing the insurance jeweller case manager much grief, for I can't say "I want a necklace that looks precisely like this." I did that when I was 21, and that was the pendant we're replacing and I find I can't pull out the perfect image in my mind's eye this time. I tell her I like Art deco and Art Nouveau, but not always.
I've sent through pictures of things I like and even of a Paris museum (for I was running short of ideas) and hopefully it will help. In the meantime, you might like one of my Paris pictures. It has me in it. (And if it's sideways, then you might have to tip your head to see it, for my whole day is sideways and I am merely communicating it effectively.)
And now for my next amazing feat I shall stop the download issues that plague me and I shall get those ferry timetables! I shall, of course, do this while writing 2,000 words. This is not multiskilling, it's pure patience.
I've sent through pictures of things I like and even of a Paris museum (for I was running short of ideas) and hopefully it will help. In the meantime, you might like one of my Paris pictures. It has me in it. (And if it's sideways, then you might have to tip your head to see it, for my whole day is sideways and I am merely communicating it effectively.)
And now for my next amazing feat I shall stop the download issues that plague me and I shall get those ferry timetables! I shall, of course, do this while writing 2,000 words. This is not multiskilling, it's pure patience.
