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

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

And, I think the threads that follow reviews add a dynamic that doesn't exist in most other places. Reviews are often more of a conversation STARTER than an attempt to encapsulate all the important parts of the book.

very true. and why I like goodreads.

really? wow.


I look now and then. like about every 3 months...when I think to do so.

eewww, spamming authors
yeck.

well, not entirely true. they keep tweaking things. I've been on the site for a number of years and there are many more features now that seem FB-influenced than there used to be. Many of us oldies have complained...But, the site has stayed true to its original design, for the most part, which I find pleasing to the eye. Also, as has been said, GR is remarkably open to listening to/taking in/acting upon its users' feedback, quite unlike FB.

I want to know the story behind this match btwn author & reviewer:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


(have asked to see the "offending" review)

do you, Paul?
you're #16 I see!
Congrats.

Once (for one week) I was #24.
But I don't review enough.

That is the prescription for today.

adverbs should only be used sparingly.

Seriously (oh god, how do we get away from them?), verbs are the real muscle of the sentence. Nouns are important too...adjectives much less so...adverbs should be avoided when possible.

No! I haven't read that! Want to.
I do know Spanish--studied it, and lived in Mexico for 4 years in the 80's (how I came across Gallo). I even teach beginning Spanish. But I still prefer to read (most things/most of the time) in English. An exception would be poetry and short stories. Novels are just so...long. anyway, got to run to class, more later!

especially

oh, yes and: books by Ian Rankin...I've read a ton now. police procedurals.
I like Ruth Rendell too for her pyschological depth and use of setting, but many of her newer novels have these romantic endings...about halfway through I feel like i'm reading a romance novel...which is not my cuppa.

Paul wrote: "More on votes : I resent the fact that some throwaway reviews of mine including a couple of one or two-liners have got more votes that a monster review which encapsulated several of the great truth..."

There are good one-line reviews, but that is not one of them (despite the vote count). The grammar of it bothers me, seems wrong:

Nothing happened in this book. Especially editing.

Really it should read: ....especially not editing.
Or: particularly not editing.

You get my point.

Just plain wrong!


;-)

Jimmy wrote: "Yeah me too, I know plenty of people in real life who have read Cormac McCarthy. The problem is, I'm more interested in discussing Elena Garro..."

Elena Garro!
You're the first person I've 'met' on Goodreads who's heard of her!
I have several of her books, but only in Spanish. It's been a long time since I read her too. I also ahve a short story of hers in a collection I love (also in Spanish)...Discuss away!

indeed. the only one that isn't.

maybe less weird. It's a family get-together + eating holiday (homemade foods usually), most of all.

Paul, it just means clicking on 'like' at the bottom of review. Doing so constitutes a vote. :-)

(Clicking a second time unvotes...should one want to do that).

I agree. and they don't always get paid!
A friend wrote a forward to Samuel Delany's novel that came out with FC2, and he was not paid. At least with independent presses this is often the case.

you know I always think that's a good sign in workshop, when I teach Creative Writing: a division of opinion, those who love the work and those who hate it.

If it's really good, really original, doesn't it often evoke that kind of response in a group of random readers?

This one, not necessarily a favorite of mine, gets the most comments or votes out of the blue:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I don't know if this is the one I'm most proud of, but it came after a spell of falling deeply in love with Graham Greene (but why kid myself? I'm in love still) and having read several* of his novels, this is one of my very favorites:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34...

*I've now read almost all of them.