Traveller’s Comments (group member since Jan 14, 2015)

Traveller’s comments from the On Paths Unknown group.

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: " I just don't see any viable alternatives to GR out there."

Sadly, this is the problem. Before Amazon bought it, GR was the booklover's paradise. Now it's gone steeply downhill, but its still the best of what's on offer... :(

...but putting on adblock is not going to help me customize my feed. In fact, as things were , I would actually have welcomed MORE customization options, not less... :(

Linda Abhors the New GR Design wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "It's easy enough to stay on the discussions page."

But if you like doing anything other than the discussions, you're screwed. Because we can't customize our feed any longer. You e..."

Yeah, I don't understand why they would actually remove functionality: It worked, and now it's broken. And the ability to customize was (is) a biggie.

Goodreads had THE best use interface of any book site I have ever seen; why they would go and break that, is a mystery to me - yeah, I get that they probably want to set the site up in a way that would bring them more sales and statistics; but do they really have to go and destroy the thing that drew people to the site in the first place? I feel some rage at that, I must admit.

Linda Abhors the New GR Design wrote: " I haven't finished migrating my things over, but am likely to leave GR for BookLikes, though I'll miss all of my friends. It looks like many people are already spending less time here. No one has time to scroll through an endless feed, reading stuff about people they don't know/have no connection with..."

Oh, please don't leave! Much as I hate Amazon's shenanigans, I did try to leave before, but these sites have ALL become commercialized, so there's nowhere to flee to, it seems...

Yolande wrote: "I want to put the prescribed books for the course I'm tutoring (Colonial and Postcolonial African Literature) on here in case anyone is interested in discussing one or more of them just because, un..."

Ah, I've read Nervous Conditions, and remember it quite well for the interesting view it gives one on traditional African society. :)

I only saw it now, and all I can say is: OMG how horrible! :(

Moderator issue? Oh dear... looks like I'll have to come back and spend some time to find out what's going on these days. I've been missing you all very much. It's just been seeming a bit overwhelming to try and come back, so maybe I can gradually sneak back in again. :)

Hi John! Not at all! Though sadly you've found us at a time when we're experiencing a bit of dormancy - everybody is out enjoying summer, it seems!
But do post in the "what are you reading" thread, and you'll see we're not entirely dead.
Planning to coax the group into more activity again soon!

Under the circumstances, not selfish at all, Ruth! When shall we set it for? August, or later?

Hi everyone! So nice to see all of you again! :)

It does have a warranty, but it doesn't cover physical damage caused by myself, so... I guess I'll just have to buy a new one.

The incident did cause me to discover, though, that the only thing that had really been wrong with my Kindle, was that somehow the index function showing "newest first" got corrupted, and that I can still get to my books though the "search" function. So I'm back to my Kindle for the time being. It does seem as if these (e-readers in general) have a limited useful life, though.

What's the longest any of you has had use of a single e-reader?

Derek: yeah, I also keep all of my books on my PC and a backup on an external, but I am still sad about the actual device, you know? I barely got it, and it was so nice and light... :P

Ironically, I had it wrapped in bubble wrap to protect it, but the bubble-wrap might have been instrumental in making it fall out and landing skew, making it sort of in the perfect position to break if stepped on... ugh, you just can't beat Murphy...

Hi Guys!
Talking of ebooks, about a week ago, while I was still shopping around for a nice cover for my brand-new Kobo, the Kobo fell out of my bag and I accidentally stepped on it. Now the screen is broken. I kid you not. :(((((

Looks like we hit a certain annual cycle of intense activity interspersed with off periods. Maybe this is a natural thing? Like a hugely stretched out sleep-wake cycle? I guess one gets burnt out on pretty much anything and then you need some time to recharge your batteries.

I simply don't have time for reading atmo, but I have been reading tiny bits of White Noise every now and then, and loving the book.

Guys, we must have a Spring revival! Or rather, a summer revival. I'm going to do my very best to get back into the habit of visiting GR at least once a day, and use that time to work on the group, which has been criminally neglected; my bad.

I've been missing you guys, and thinking about you; I've just not had the impetus to make things more interesting for everyone, but I was thinking polls might be the answer for that. :)

Yeah, I think I've become a fan. :)

No, but here's an interesting article about DeLillo : http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016...

Hey Michele, saw your comment on the new thread, and will quickly throw in some more po-mo identification on this section.

Well, note how Jack and Babette always meet Murray in the supermarket. In this novel, the supermarket seems to be a symbol of consumerism. I think we should be aware that DeLillo does tend to use symbols quite a lot.

..and then the toxic event at the school. A foreshadowing of what is to come later in the novel? ...but note how he mentions everything in our technologically modern consumerist society that can be toxic - quite a list.

Remember that a large part of postmodernist criticism centers around the effects of various aspects of modern technology on society. :)

Here's a link to the next thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I haven't commented yet, but will soon.

Sorry guys.. new thread coming up.

Ah, that must be the automated message that is controlled by each person's personal settings. I must find the setting and set mine to 'on ' as well.

Ok, cool, you're on. I should send a message about that, then. :)

Um..., though I don't think I have a copy of it, so I'd better start looking for one...