The Not a Book Club Club discussion
Random Musings..
Kat wrote: "Hi guys,have you seen the discussion about Handbook for Mortals on twitter/social media/blogs?
Here's a link: http://www.pajiba.com/book_reviews/di......"
So remember this post and how Handbook for Mortals was bumped from the best seller list? The drama/conning from this author never really ended but now her book has an influx of 5 star reviews here on Goodreads from accounts all created in February 2018, no other books read, reviewed, or rated. Smells fishy to me.
HT to this twitter thread: https://twitter.com/EbonyMcKenna/stat...
Mod
The author keeps messaging me on facebook, asking for a review.
Rob - I think Handbook for Mortals is marketed as YA so I don't know how much crossover it has with S&L members. Also I've been reading Jenny Trout's blog as she reads the book and tears it to pieces for being so awful. There's very little fantasy or magic in it at all.Kat - No shit? Wonder how many other people she's doing this to. It's a blatant con to get enough positive buzz to get it made into a film with her as the star.
I wonder if Goodreads has any policy about gaming their system to increase their star rating/if they would do anything about it. I doubt it.
Yeah. My own fault, because I messaged her first, wanting to know what she has to say about the plagiarism allegations. She denied everything and offered me a free copy of the book. I declined, claiming shipping costs to Europe (didn't want to say I don't want that piece of shit). Hence she thinks I might be a potential reader.
By the way:Kat wrote: "My dates with Other Rob didn't work out, but I have met a Chris. I need to be prepared in case he asks me for my number."
He asked, I gave him the card. He read it, laughed and put it in his wallet, then wrote down his number and address for me. And yes, it lead to a date. And yes, there will be more dates. He even changed his shopping routine and now shops at my supermarket, so we can do our shopping together.
Best 15 quid I ever spent!
Mod
Nice!
.....aaaaaaand the dates turned into a new boyfriend.*pats her own shoulder*
Kat wrote: ".....aaaaaaand the dates turned into a new boyfriend.*pats her own shoulder*"
Congrats to you both.
Congrats, Kat! New relationships are fun.
Hello Dad.... :-) He's not a keen reader, so.....But: HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
Mod
well, he's talked about a few books he read, so it's not like he doesn't read at all. But the ones he mentioned were mainly German authors from the German bestseller lists, so very mainstream stuff.Among the circles I frequent in the book world most of those didn't get good reviews, and some are actively being boycotted (due to the author being quite racist, which is a big social boo-boo in Germany due to our history), so I only knew the titles in passing.
However, he did not stand and stare at my bookshelves like he'd never seen any before when he was at my place for the first time, so that's good. Given that I know people who only own a single book (and that book being Shades of Grey), that was a good sign.
Also - we passed a bookshop in town the other day, and while I usually had to drag reluctant boyfriends inside, he reached past me and opened the door for me when I stopped outside to look at the windows. Then proceeded to hunt down the English books section with me and looked at and pointed out interesting looking books. And this despite the fact that we had another 3 errands to run and shops were closing in 45 minutes.So whether he reads or not, he likes me being a reader :-)
What a day!Completely non-book related, but so cool:
My friend and I randomly won tickets today to see the Dead Daisies tonight - complete with backstage meet & greet and goodie bags and whatnot. Since I commute 2 hours into the city, I had no time to go home and change, so I just had time to go get dinner somewhere after work, and had to go to a rock concert (and meet the band!) in my office clothes, complete with dorky handbag and shit....
But it was fantastic, the band was extremely nice to us and very chatty, and they gave us posters and stickers and guitar picks and made pictures with us and signed all our stuff and complimented me on my English accent.
The concert was mega - I'm a fan now.
Mod
The other was Breaking Benjamin at a concert. If you bought something from the booth you got to briefly talk to the band and get their autographs on whatever you bought. That was less cool, but still worth it.
I've never had back stage passes before. Glad you had fun!
My dad is a professional opera singer, so I basically grew up backstage - just not at rock concerts. And my husband worked in the music industry (and made me work in it for several years, too) so I did get to meet quite a few cool and sometimes famous people in recording studios and so on.But those guys were REALLY cool, and they looked the part as well.
That's dope, Kat! I've only met "famous" people once - Matt Mercer and Marisha Ray from Critical Role. And they were downright wonderful. Both are incredibly kind and generous. I was able to spend about 5 minutes with them at an autograph signing at a local con 2 years ago. They both left me with great memories.
Turns out, I got kicked out of another group after criticising the admin for trying to milk members for cash by making them sign up for the group's "official" website for a monthly fee.Oh well. It was a shitty group anyway.
Mod
Well, you are kind of a troublemaker ;)
it was a group for indie authors. There was a lot of good information in the discussion threads, about ISBNs, taxes, copyright, you name it.All the threads containing the good information have been deleted, and this knowledge is now dispensed on the website. For 119 dollars a month.
I bet there's a whole pile of people signing up, hoping to become good writers by getting all the useful information the web doesn't readily give up on the first google search.
Lindsay wrote: "Well, you are kind of a troublemaker ;)"I had that same thing typed out!
I mean if it wasn't for the cookie bribes I'm pretty sure Rob would have kicked Kat out of this group a long time ago;)
Hey what do you know? It's raining again....5 straight days.Driving skills in the rain are almost as bad as in snow.
Mod
Driving skills in the rain are almost as bad as in snow."
Yeah. Pretty bad, but not quite that bad. At least where I drive.
I'm an excellent driver. You should hire me to chauffeur you around.
Question:If I stop reading a book during the final chapter, with roughly 10 or 15 pages left - would you count that as read or count it as lemmed?
The author of my last book totally spoilered his own ending a dozen pages from the end, so I had no wish to read the rest. I have made my "lemmed" shelf an exclusive one (like the "read" or "want to read" ones), so I can only sort it in one or the other, but not both.
Am undecided.
Kat wrote: "Question:If I stop reading a book during the final chapter, with roughly 10 or 15 pages left - would you count that as read or count it as lemmed?
The author of my last book totally spoilered hi..."
As read.
Mod
Kat wrote: "I'm an excellent driver. You should hire me to chauffeur you around."Great! I'll need you at the curb 6:30 am EST first thing Tuesday.
I've had the same reaction to a book, where everything was done before the end and the last chapter was meaningless. But you definitely read that book.I feel I've gotten quicker and giving up on books. Not because their bad books necessarily but I'd just rather be reading something I like. Doesn't mean I wouldn't go back to it at a later date
Ctgt wrote: "Kat wrote: "I'm an excellent driver. You should hire me to chauffeur you around."Great! I'll need you at the curb 6:30 am EST first thing Tuesday."
Roger that.
I would skim the last few pages just to feel like I read the whole thing. I'm weird.
Mod
Then I'm weird too, because I'd probably do the same (if not force myself to read those pages anyways)
No, I don't want to read it!The whole book was in third person, and the main theme was that Mafia killers were trying to kill the protagonist. Then we arrive at a big showdown, a team of ten(!) hitman have located the protagonist, they're shooting at stuff..... and then it switches to first person from the protagonists PoV, but not in the present, no, as an extract from his memoirs. His memoirs! Do you think they managed to kill him? D'oh....
Also, the font was switched to typewriter style, which is annoying to read. It was supposed to look like the manuscript for his memoirs.
The end just sucked big time. I plainly refuse to read it.
Mod
Tyson's Crossing. Malcolm and I went.
Mod
Hmm?
The Not a Book Club Club
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