Christine
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I've always wondered what makes a story 'good.' What ways do you think would make a story 'good' (that is, why would people choose such a story over others)? Do you think they would say because of the author's excellent writing skills or maybe simply the message?
Lois McMaster Bujold
"Good" (which I don't think is really a very useful word, when talking about books) is a quality that does not actually lie in the book, though most people unthinkingly or carelessly assume it does. It actually describes an emotional response on the part of the reader to the text in question, and is thus a transactional event varying with each reading and reader.
So asking the text (or its author) why a story is good aims the question in the wrong direction. You have to ask each reader, since it's only inside their heads that the experience(s) of "a good read" lies. Now, what people will say when asked will depend heavily on how the question is framed.
In general, I think anyone with the nous to see "message" incoming is right to duck, but maybe that's just me.
Ta, L.
So asking the text (or its author) why a story is good aims the question in the wrong direction. You have to ask each reader, since it's only inside their heads that the experience(s) of "a good read" lies. Now, what people will say when asked will depend heavily on how the question is framed.
In general, I think anyone with the nous to see "message" incoming is right to duck, but maybe that's just me.
Ta, L.
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Sybal Janssen
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Lois McMaster Bujold:
As a lover of all of your books, I also read most of the books that you recommend as well (and like them very much). I am wondering if you have read these books which I treasure: Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin, and the Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brian? The first is a complex fantasy; the second may be well outside your area of interest as it concerns the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars .
A Goodreads user
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Lois McMaster Bujold:
In Mirror Dance, the gang encounters a growth-accelerated clone who's been surgically altered to have large, exaggerated breasts and hips. Mark (or maybe it was Miles? I think Mark) reasons that the clone must be a sex-change case. Can you explain why he came to that conclusion? I don't understand the connection.
Starsreader
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
So, I usually download kindle and audible files on amazon, but with the Orphans of Raspay, I can only get the audiobook through the amazon US website. It doesn't let me do that trough my local (currently German) page, which tells me there is no audiobook (i.e. https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07VFPQ711/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o06?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Any idea why?
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