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Issues with Quotes
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Quotation Change Request
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message 1:
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Anne
(new)
Apr 11, 2016 09:13AM
Under Quotations on the Goodreads site, there is a quotation that as been ascribed to author Lloyd Jones: "the men who try to do something and fail, are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.” Lloyd Jones was born in 1955. I found the quotation in my father's WWII diaries, so Lloyd Jones is not the source of quote. How can this be corrected?
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There are several different Lloyd Jones authors; it is probably one of the others, but I have no idea which.
It appears that the Lloyd Jones who wrote Mister Pip is the culprit:http://misterpipeng.weebly.com/
https://books.google.com/books?id=vpV...
http://quotlr.com/author/lloyd-jones
Now, is there any way to correct this misattribution?
Anne wrote: "Under Quotations on the Goodreads site, there is a quotation that as been ascribed to author Lloyd Jones: "the men who try to do something and fail, are infinitely better than those who try to do n..."
That's the one it's attached to currently. Which leaves you back where you started. :-) https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Well, you said you weren't sure about which was the Lloyd Jones author, so I provided a few more sources. Sounds like it IS the Lloyd Jones of Mister Pip, posted on Goodreads. I believe this quote is in his book, Mister Pip, and Lloyd Jones did not create the quote. Apparently, he has plagiarized the quote without providing a reference, and Goodreads is contributing to the problem. Now what?
My local library stocks this book. If it would be helpful I can check if he thanks another source for providing him with this quote. Won't be till tomorrow though.
OK I have done some digging. Firstly, I can't find anywhere that Lloyd Jones claims this as his writing including on GR. Lloyd hasn't claimed his GR profile & the quote was added by a GR reader.
I'm from NZ & Lloyd Jones is a well known writer over here. My library had in stock, Mister Pip, Paint Your Wife, Hand Me Down World, The Man in the Shed, We Learn to Dance & A History of Silence. A couple have acknowledgements at the front, a couple have dedications but nothing about this quote.
It could be as Abcdarian suggested that another author named Lloyd Jones wrote this & it has been erroneously assumed that the best known writer of that name wrote it.
Anne, if Rivka or a more experienced librarian than me doesn't comment here, I would email support AT goodreads DOT com. Put a link to this thread in your email.
Good luck!
Carol, thank you so much for taking the time to address my question and for checking Lloyd Jones sources. I believe I did see the quote in one of his books a year or two ago, but right now, I can't verify it. I understand that reusing a quotation isn't always intentional, but it seems to have taken on a life of its own on the web. If I don't hear anymore about the subject, I will follow your suggestion to email support. A postscript: I'm not TOO far away from you, as I live in Hawaii. I think NZ would be a fascinating place to visit!
Anne wrote: "Carol, thank you so much for taking the time to address my question and for checking Lloyd Jones sources. I believe I did see the quote in one of his books a year or two ago, but right now, I can't..."That's quite OK! :)
