Michael’s Comments (group member since Nov 18, 2010)

Michael’s comments from the The Extra Cool Group! (of people Michael is experimenting on) group.

I'm probably guilty of overusing like. A "like" from me means I enjoyed the review enough to read the whole thing, although I'm less likely to like a short review. If I feel like you've said something interesting about the book in a short review, though, I'll like it.

We've been discussing in other threads how we feel about those pesky authors who are out there adding friends just so they can pimp out their own book. As I was reading through updates from my friends, I started thinking about some other types of what might be percieved as pimpin', perhaps dependent upon perspective.

Questions.
(1) How do you feel about reviewers who have book review blogs, and use double-posted goodreads reviews to try and direct more traffic to their blogs? Would you accept a friend request from one? (

2) What about actual, print book reviewers? Do they have a place on goodreads? Is it different from the place of other reviewers? Why or why not?

I'm just curious why you would let over 100 cool people here know that you have a lively and salacious secret group somewhere else?

Because this group is only for extra cool people, and extra cool people aren't also tattle-tales. BTW, what's up with people dissing rhetorical questions in this group? Y'all realize I'm a rhetoric student, right? I'm super offended right now. I'm gonna go tell goodreads on y'all.

Great topic to bring up, Jimmy.

Since I don't pay much attention to the "follow" option, I don't follow anyone except Margaret Atwood. I suppose I agree with Ryan's perception of the word "follow," mixed in with a little of Jasmine's: if I were to follow someone, I would feel like a stalker (even though they KNOW I'm following them), and I would feel like I was telling them I didn't want to really get to know them, just wanted to read their reviews.

When I'm being followed, I percieve it a little differently...I percieve my followers as people who probably won't talk to me and usually don't vote either, but who have liked a review or more of mine. I often take a look at their profiles, but I've only friended my followers on two occasions when they also were people who interacted with me. I usually assume followers want to stay off my radar unless they show me otherwise, so they usually DO stay off my radar.

I used to friend people a lot more frequently than I do now. It used to be based on one or two interesting reviews, but now I usually only friend people who I've both interacted with and enjoyed reviews by. Because I have trouble keeping up with reviews as it is, I'm in no hurry to add more friends unless I feel they're going to be highly valuable friends. However, I only turn down friends who make it blatant that they're just friend-horders or who want to sell me shit.

That's a good point, Elizabeth. After reading one of Aerin's mean, mean reviews of a Heinlein book, that's when I finally decided to read him.

And, experienced authors will also see it this way. There's definitely a little bit of politics involved, though, when you have friends who are both on goodreads and have written books. I don't know what I'll do the first time I read a 2-star book by a goodreads friend, and I don't know if I'll be tempted to water down my opinions. Have you reviewed books by any "friends?"

Now, all of your invites can invite ten more people, and those ten will each invite ten more, and IT'LL BE A LIKE A PYRAMID SCHEME, except nobody gets rich, unfortunately.

Maybe I'm I'm sometimes a little cool, but I'm not extra cool.

Well, your name is extra cool, which gets you bonus points.

I'm genuinely curious about the conflict, not trying to ask leading or rhetorical questions.

What's wrong with retorical questions, Mrs. Mieville?

A femist is a very short feminist. Usually between four and five feet tall.

I only write reviews for Ceridwen to read. If she likes them, then I consider them a success. Everyone else is icing.

And you call yourself a vote whore.

I think some of us are so far in the PSYCHO direction that they make the rest of us look sane, as long as we're grading on a curve. (And I'm looking at you, Esteban.)

Wow, that's exciting. I've seen that happen a couple times, and I'm honestly surprised by how many authors have done this. Which review was it, Rose?

I will create eight. And they will also complement my reviews in the comments sections. TOP THAT, Ceridwen!

I read books that can't be renewed first. Then, I read books that will be jarringly different from what I'm reading at the moment, whatever that might be. (After finishing the thoughtful The Dispossessed by Le Guin, I started the piece o' shite Crabs' Moon because I was ready for some gore and hilariously bad writing.) Yeah, it's mostly just mood for me, unless I'm compelled by unrenewability or a friend guilting me to hurry up with one of their recommendations.

Sheesh... I'm coming into this group way too late. Everybody's already given every brilliant answer possible to this question.

Nope, you've already given some good, thoughtful responses. Even if some ideas are similar to what other people have said, I think that everyone (who wanders into this group) voicing their thoughts will give a better sense of what MOST people do, what SOME people do, and what ONLY THE PSYCHOS do. I won't say where you fall right now...

It's amazing to see how many different ways we perform vote sex work on this website! And like snowflakes, we're all whoring ourselves in unique and special ways! It's kind of beautiful.

You have my blessing. Especially if he came on your threads.

I've judged a lot of older books, but I usually point out that it was read quite a while ago. I don't feel the need to review those books as much, but if I get an idea for a review I usually run with it.

BTW, Ryan, your Wheel of Time reviews have been really interesting, even though I can't stand that book series.

Wow, what was the guy's name? That's hilarious.

Let me know when you're in the neighborhood. It shall be yours.

I hate FB (but I'm on it, so I'm a hypocrite)

Hear, hear. I don't understand how anybody can get hooked on that site. *Continues to ignore essay due tonight in favor of playing on goodreads.*