mark’s Comments (group member since Nov 22, 2010)

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

oh my God, i wish i could read that one right now!

thanks for the clarification; i did feel that i was missing a lot!

reading that john/christie/michael thread above was interesting. not so much because of the insults or the weirdness from that one guy, but because it may made me realize that a lot of you function as a group of friends: chatty, loyal, shared jokes, etc. its not just interesting, it is sort of adorable actually. book friends! ah, it makes me feel happy to see you guys coming to each other's defense. another interesting thing occurred to me after that: it doesn't look like many of you know each other irl. i guess i've never seen GR as a real social/networking/community space, but it is clear i've been missing out on much of that during my years here. i've made plenty of GR friends of course, but reading that thread was like reading the transcript of a conversation between folks who seem like they've been comfortable with each other for years. interesting, interesting.

when you picture me, if ever, you should definitely picture the sneering guy from 300. exact same torso.

Jessica wrote: "mark: Petra must have deleted her comment. I don't know what it was, but my email tells me she posted one. Perhaps yours disappeared with it? although, I didn't know such occurred..."

nope, mine's still there, message 52, in all of its vainglorious glory.

even when i've made what seem like GR enemies, i refuse to consider them my enemies. the very few enemies i've had in real life, well, i've wanted to cause some damage because they've damaged me. and they are few & far between.

now on the other hand, GR enemies...hell, if its about books, i'll take anyone out for a beer and talk it over, if it comes to that and if it were even possible. anyone who has a passion about books can't be all that bad, right?

well that last part is patently untrue, but i like to delude myself by thinking it whenever i'm annoyed in GR.

i've mentioned my favorite review, but there are also a few reviewers who make me feel really enthusiastic whenever i get an update....can a person get a crush on a review? if so, i have many crushes.

one reviewer is a gent from the philippines who manages to be passionate and often bitter & cutting without resorting to easy snark; another who puts both her personal passions and her considerable knowledge in service of her reviews in a way that is almost intense to read; two others are ones who only review horror/scifi/fantasy, and whose incredibly informative & motivated reviews are ones i'd pay to read:

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16...

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10...

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/24...

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/21...

i just really enjoy their points of view and the way they communicate their interests and ideas. the love they have for reading is palpable and my life is made richer by reading their reviews. awww, how sweet.

i'm no friend to constant snark or overly self-conscious attempts to be creative...but as i've mentioned before, i've come to look forward to the often-snarky reviews of this group's creator. and now those of my new buddy mariel as well. they get lots of points for making me laugh, without overdoing it and by still keeping a very real voice that has both substance and style. there's snark there in both places, on a regular basis, but i've been finding their voices to be really enjoyable, very personable, its almost like we're talking about books over some beers. well in michael's case, its almost like i've gained access to his private dream journal at times. sometimes i have to look away, its too private!

not my kind of reviews! at least not usually. they often annoy me because they seem so easy and so, well, undergraduate i guess. i like to save the easy barbs for real life, on co-workers, neighbors, friends, family, and the like. there is also often a feeling of pretension i get when reading many too-snarky reviews, and that sorta makes me want to heave. i like it when reviews are passionate, real, well-informed, etc.....too much self-satisfaction and too many jesters can make the world an aggravating place. Humans Off Earth Now!

Down with Snark

the post from petra that i responded to above seems to have disappeared! perhaps i am hallucinating posts again.

you defended both republicans and democrats? you must be european...bravo! personally, i like to degrade both parties equally. but not on GR.

"enemies" is such a strong word. i have had many disagreements on GR, even some that got ridiculously personal, but i'd hesitate to call anyone an enemy.

i mean seriously, this is a book site! there are few enough readers in the world as it is. the idea of true enemies being made because of opinions on books is, to me, a sad and sort of laughable thing. but i guess people will be people, and people like to fight and they like to defend their precious egos.

Goodreads is all about pure enjoyment to me. reading and reviewing books are not complicated endeavors to me either. folks who get all wound up about enemies, genres, top reviewers, best reviewers, how absent or lame GR editors are, vote whoring, etc...well although it is sort of fun to read all the issues, it is hard not to see it as trifling either. i'm passionate about books, not the rigamarole surrounding them.

just received a kindly course correction: the review of Charlotte's Web that i adore so is from "ceridwen". a wonderful review, already linked to by brian in this group.

my advanced years make it hard for me to tell all you young turks, top reviewers, best reviewers, and assorted other whippersnappers apart!

David wrote: "In THEORY -- please note that I said IN THEORY -- the best reviewers list is meritocratic, but who the hell cares about the top reviewers?..."

i've noted that this is a theory! in my way of thinking, there is not too great a difference between best and top reviewers and the labels can't really be seen as more than a fun thing for GR members - rather than a true sign of 'quality', whatever that even may mean to the individual reader.

for top reviewers, obviously it is about quantity. for best reviewers, it may appear to be purely about quality, but that theory goes out the window when (1) considering that YA & PNR have the most energetic fanbases on here and reviewers who post there are going to get votes no matter what, and to a lesser extent, (2) taking into account the number of active friends a reviewer may have.

that said, i'm one of those people who enjoys checking out the top 10-20 top reviewers from time to time. there are many excellent review writers in there and i've gotten a lot of great suggestions from reviewing their shelves and their reviews.

i've been on here since 07. i suppose that gives me the right & duty to judge, dismiss, pout, and sulk at will and with impunity. 'tis a heavy cross to bear!

good thread. i think my favorite review on GR is one that i just read about recently in this group, a review of Charlotte's Web by, i think, ceridwen. or caris? anyway, it was just so lovely and fragile, a moving and personal little piece.

i enjoy reviews in general from the GR friends that i talk to in groups, mainly because i enjoy their voices in the group and a review is like hearing them talk without any distractions or other folks chiming in and annoying me. it is getting to know them better.

as far as non-group-friend reviews go, i like the reviews that are either personalized, passionate & thoughtful about the title/author, or really well-informed...or, ideally, a combination of all three. i usually don't enjoy "funny", gimmicky, or self-consciously creative reviews. but that's not always true i guess. michael from arizona writes those kinds of reviews, i usually love them, and hey i friended him because of it. i guess there's always exceptions.

Miriam wrote: "Mark wrote: i actually get pretty insulted when a friend request is ignored

As long you aren't like a couple guys I've had send me a friend request and then within 3-4 hours (before I've made it ..."

i prefer a nice cold sulk instead. once burned, twice shy, etc.

i am deeply in love with her writing. although admittedly she can be hit or miss. her short stories are great and that may be the ideal format for her. i love the stories in Haunted, Heat, Museum of Dr. Moses, Female of the Species, etc.

every time someone says something cutting about JCO, an angel falls crying from heaven. she's the best!

Joel wrote: "but my real favorite in the "probably funny only to me" category is the mysterious affair at styles...."

this is a wonderful little review! i disagree completely (i'm a fan of the author) but what a pleasure to read. if reviews are children, this is an adorably cheeky one whose cheek i'd have to pinch.

Michael wrote: "Or Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Poetry as Insurgent Art."

i really liked this review. revisited it a few times since. it even inspired me to write a poem in response to your poem, critiquing your poem, and critiquing ferlinghetti as well. but then i became suddenly shy and deleted it before posting. who am i to critique ferlinghetti? or michael from arizona? but oh, all those lost words!