A Good Thriller discussion
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Happy Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, Tennis Day, and Banana Bread Day!
Wow! I wouldn't like to have to play tennis on the Dog Biscuit and Banana Bread diet!
Janet wrote: "I've just read the following line in the book. "The more I read, the more miserable I feel."
The irony!!! :-\"
Pitch the book!!! Live is too short to feel like you have to read a book, just because you bought it.
Move on girlfriend.
Sean wrote: "I used to always watch the Oscars right through the night, but now I find easy to tape and just run forward"Do you actually still use a VCR, Sean? I thought I was the last one to do that.
Kath wrote: "The word stroppy is so useful. If you're stroppy you can be defined as 'having a strop on.' I assumed it was to do with sharpening razors on an old-fashioned leather strop. ?You can also be 'cobb..."
YES!! Especially British slang. One of the reasons I love Mel Sherratt so much. She just lets it rip! Stroppy and cobby-- love those words, Kath. I have to get to the UK before I die, just to listen to you guys converse, lol.
Interesting to hear you say that, Chris. In my thriller I actually held back a bit on the British slang, thinking it would alienate the US market. Perhaps I should have let it go more than I did.
I agree with Ter'e!!
Lob the book Janet if it's making you miserable!
:)
Lob the book Janet if it's making you miserable!
:)
I agree, Janet.i kept reading Gone Girl, thinking it just HAD to get better...it didn't. Don't waste your time on something you're not enjoying.
I mistakenly replaced one letter with another in 'strop on' and had to wash my mind with strong coffee.My books are increasingly becoming cleaner in language and I am pretty sure I and my readers aren't missing out on anything.
It's all to do with context I guess.
Kimberley wrote: "I agree with Ter'e!! Lob the book Janet if it's making you miserable!
:)"
Preferably at someone you dislike.
So satisfying.
David wrote: "Interesting to hear you say that, Chris. In my thriller I actually held back a bit on the British slang, thinking it would alienate the US market. Perhaps I should have let it go more than I did."I don't know, David. It might be just me. Would any of my fellow Americans like to weigh in on this?
What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence.
Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."I remember you dnf'ed Birdman because of the Brit talk, Ter'e. I am reading Birdman in March and am really curious to check it out--I understand Mo Haydar writes "very British". I have to admit, I am always pleased when a book that catches my interest turns out to be British.
Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."I did that in my book and a couple of people criticised me for it because they thought it wasn't necessary. However, they were Brits so I didn't see how they could judge. I put the glossary in there for people outside of the UK. :)
yes, I did. But I have kept the book. Perhaps I will give it a second try........reading "Let Me Go" (Chelsea Cain) right now........and even tho I am absolutely no prude.........this one kindof closed my comfort line. I found myself saying.....ew......and I don't say ew to much.
I think this book will leave a bad taste in my mouth. Let's leave it at that.
Ew
Ter'e wrote: "yes, I did. But I have kept the book. Perhaps I will give it a second try........reading "Let Me Go" (Chelsea Cain) right now........and even tho I am absolutely no prude.........this one kindo..."
Dump it, TT!!
Heather wrote: "Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."I did that in my b..."
Heather, I am moving your book way up the list.
Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."Appreciate what you're say, Ter'e. I enjoy this kind of thing in reading, where it's written cleverly enough that the context of the sentence/paragraph/situation gives a good idea of the unusal word's meaning.
David wrote: "Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."Appreciate what y..."
I find that the case nearly 100% of the time, but I always use the Kindle dictionary to look for the precise definition. Mel's words make the Kindle dictionary less than half the time though, lol.
Heather wrote: "Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."I did that in my b..."
Atta girl Heather. For those of who "used to blonde" we need a glossary. Now I have to go take a peek at your book!!!!!! I have been slackin with GR.
I guess the level of localism depends a lot on who the author thinks his audience is regardless of the setting of the book and who the characters are.If the audience in mind is the home country and characters are very much home country based then books might end up having much more slang.
what is more important is that they don't detract from the flow of the narrative.
I read an Australian thriller a while back that was jar full of the peculiarisms of language.
One third of the book I gave up. I want a story not a reference book.
Sorry Heather....thats "used to be blonde".
Christine wrote: "Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."I remember you dn..."
I've been finding some definitions on my Kindle if I pull a word up. It has been a great help because I just love the English and Scottish word. I notice some books have more definitions than others though. Sometimes I have to just figure out what fits like when I was a child and didn't know what a word was. Of course I could just Google it.
Christine for stroppy think belligerent
Heather wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Question: When contacted by an author requesting you do an honest review of their book, what would be a respectful time frame to finished?"I second what Ty says and just want to add..."
Do you think that two weeks is to long a time? For example can I finish what I am currently reading or should I stop and put a hold on the book I'm reading and immediately start the book for review.
Lynn wrote: "Heather wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Question: When contacted by an author requesting you do an honest review of their book, what would be a respectful time frame to finished?"I second what Ty says and ..."
Boy, Lynn, shamefully I have had some for months. I tell them though.
Thanks Christine and Ter'e. The couple of people that criticised me for using a glossary said it wasn't necessary because you could understand the words because of the context of the sentences. However, I thought it would be an added interest to people if I put one in anyway. There is a good slang dictionary at: http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/c.htm. I haven't been able to find any words that aren't listed there. We tend to have a language all of our own in the North and I've worked with people from the South who are confused when we use words such as mither (verb: to fuss/bother/pester, noun: a complaining or persistently bothering person). That's the definition in the slang dictionary but we also use the noun to mean hassle or bother. :)
Heather wrote: "Thanks Christine and Ter'e. The couple of people that criticised me for using a glossary said it wasn't necessary because you could understand the words because of the context of the sentences. How..."Heather, how interesting. Thank you. I will bookmark this. Mither, that's a new one. I like it.
Thanks Christine, I've done the same but let the author know. This time I wrote an email to the author and something happened and it disappeared. The joys of the electronic age. Anyway, I was pissed about the email and said screw it :). So I finished the two books I was reading and I just started the book. Should be done in a few days, so I didn't bother rewriting the email. Total time frame will be less than two weeks. I need to stop throwing a tantrum when I spend the time writing an email and then it is lost. I should act my age. 10 lashes with a wet noodle. If it was going to take more than two weeks, I would have rewritten the email to the author.
Lynn wrote: "Thanks Christine, I've done the same but let the author know. This time I wrote an email to the author and something happened and it disappeared. The joys of the electronic age. Anyway, I was pisse..."I believe most authors would be thrilled with 2 weeks. Authors, correct me if that is not true.
Heather wrote: "Thanks Christine and Ter'e. The couple of people that criticised me for using a glossary said it wasn't necessary because you could understand the words because of the context of the sentences. How..."Heather, that is a fantastic site!! Interesting the US shares a few of the same words.
I love to listen to BBC Radio and watch a lot of Brit Coms which is great way to learn them.Two of my favorite terms: "dodgy" and "sexed up"!
Mithering is a great term. As a child, when I nagged for something I'd be told to 'give over mithering' - give over meaning stop.British dialect varies from place to place. Starved means hungry in many places but in Lancashire you were starved if you were cold, and clemmed (or fair clemmed) if you were hungry.
I would consider two weeks a great turnaround, Chris. Even four weeks I'd consider very reasonable, but I am generally patient anyway.
Kath wrote: "Mithering is a great term. As a child, when I nagged for something I'd be told to 'give over mithering' - give over meaning stop.British dialect varies from place to place. Starved means hungry in..."
Do most Brits know these different meanings of the same word and the different words with the same meaning from these different locales, Kath?
Glad you like the site Chris. Yes, mither is a great word Kath. I love dodgy too Kirsten. My iPad doesn't like mither. It keeps auto correcting it to mother, hehe.
Kath, to get it absolutely 100% correct, it should be "give over mithering, woman".Funny though, someone just had a strop on in the book I am reading. The Venus Trap. We also say "got a monk on" as well, which means the same thing.
One of my mums favourite sayings though was "its a bit black over Bill's mother's", which translates as "there are dark rain clouds on the horizon".
My take on the question you just asked Kath, Chris, is that people who live in the middle of the country tend to know more of the widespread colloquialisms. Some parts of the country seem very insular and only use certain words with people of their own region. Some words are used on TV dramas, reality TV and sitcoms and are spread in that way.
for something like a strop we would say huff but know in some areas its called getting a cob on. we call heads tumshies scarecrows are bogles slippers are baffies
often in a fit of sarcasm you would tell someone to away and boil their tumshie :)
Jean wrote: "I agree, Janet.i kept reading Gone Girl, thinking it just HAD to get better...it didn't. Don't waste your time on something you're not enjoying."I did that too and regretted it - I could have been reading something I enjoyed...8:D
Mod
VCR 20 years ago !!
On Sky Plus television.
I tape all the series I watch on Sky Plus then run forward , no commercials !!
Mod
Some accents can also be hard to understand
Sharon wrote: "for something like a strop we would say huff but know in some areas its called getting a cob on. we call heads tumshies scarecrows are bogles slippers are baffies
often in a fit of sarcasm you ..."
Taunting the Dead has a lot of UKisms-most under understandable in context. Out of curiosity I had to look up Panto season, though :)
Sean wrote: "No ChristineVCR 20 years ago !!
On Sky Plus television.
I tape all the series I watch on Sky Plus then run forward , no commercials !!"
Don't you just love it! I would never get to see any TV if it wasn't for MySky (NZ)! Am currently watching The Last Detective which I recorded last year, and loving it.
Mizzling is another word I just love......
David wrote: "Ter'e wrote: "What about a glossary (glossary, right?) with an explanation of the British slang??? I know it turns me off when I do not understand the context of the sentence."Appreciate what y..."
That's what I find in most British books I read. I can figure out what the word means from the context. Sometimes, though, it doesn't matter. I like the use of some British slang in books. It adds flavor.
One word I came across was "yob" and I thought it was a typo for "boy." The author used it again later on, though. In that case I just Googled it.
Sandra wrote: "Mizzling is another word I just love......"@ Elaine: What does mizzling mean?
@David, are you in the center somewhere?
@Sharon--that is funny stuff!! So is Scottish slang different or the same as English slang? Give me a good Scottish reading suggestion, Sharon.
A Good Thriller
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You can also be 'cobby' and have a cob on. Connected, I think, with a male swan which is the stroppiest bird in the world!
Don't you just love words? ;)