The Mookse and the Gripes discussion
General Non-Book Discussions
>
Café Quito: 'pub' thread for general discussions
message 1151:
by
WndyJW
(new)
Oct 13, 2022 06:49AM
I noticed that too, Alwynne. I thought maybe GR just hasn’t converted every book page yet.
reply
|
flag
Tracy wrote: "91 of the list for me."91! Well done :)
Alwynne wrote: "Unrelated but how come GR has reverted to old-style book pages? I prefer them as noticed with new ones can't tell if I've already 'liked' a review or not, and also can't work out how to get it to s..."I hope so!
WndyJW wrote: "This is so cool! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-an..."Wow- can you imagine how much time that mosaic took? What a great story, and I hope more world history is saved. And discovered.
I love that it has been so well preserved. ISIS has destroyed too many cultural treasure. I hope they don't get to this mosaic.
Just an PSA for anyone with older parents who use computers: get them cyber security training. My mom and her husband Jim were victims of a hacker last night and did everything wrong. They gave the guy remote access to their computer and clicked every link he told them to click. The computer went wonky while Jim was using it, somehow they ended up talking to a “very sweet guy” who told them he could see 13 hackers were using their system to access child pornography, he told them not to call anyone and tell them what was going on or the hackers could use their phone to get into other people’s systems, and ended by telling them he’d contract their bank and make sure everything was cleared up. My mother didn’t seem to understand that the nice guy she was talking to for hours was the hacker until she talked to me this afternoon!Jim’s daughter spent the day checking accounts, changing passwords, installing new and better security. I told them to shut down Jim’s email and get a new account and tell everyone they know not to open any emails from Jim’s old email and to get fraud protection. I don’t think they’re out of the woods yet though.
I’ve learned that just as we develop reading comprehension as children, we also develop hearing comprehension with audio books, at least that is my experience. I never got audio books because my mind would wander, I’d lose track of what happened or who was talking, but I’m listening to my 5th audio book in a few months (Lolita, Oh, William, Three Rings, Lucy by the Sea,) now The Marriage Portrait, and I find that my mind doesn’t wander any more than it does when I’m reading a book. This is a fantastic development for me!I still prefer to read a book rather than listen to a book narrated and I will always buy books I really want even if I listened to the audio, but more time to consume books and less books in the house.
omg Wyndy that is such a scary story about your mom being hacked, I found out once by accident that my mom had been replying to several emails of the "Nigerian prince" type, luckily she didn't pursue it all the way to the end
WndyJW wrote: "I’ve learned that just as we develop reading comprehension as children, we also develop hearing comprehension with audio books, at least that is my experience. ..."I am trying to train myself with podcasts, but i still find it hard, good to read of your experience, maybe i can still learn this skill!
They were emotionally drained by the experience and embarrassed. I assured them they had nothing to be embarrassed about-these hackers know how to manipulate people. I found listening to podcasts easier because the type I liked were conversational so missing a word here and there didn’t matter. Books took me some time to get accustomed to.
Oh Wendy, how awful for your parents. It's hard to know who to trust online these days. I know I'm not as careful as I should be. I'm glad you are enjoying the audiobooks. They have opened up a new reading world for me. And when I find an audio book I especially like, I often buy a print copy to keep on my shelf and to share with others. In some cases (e.g. Milkman and The Colony), I have three versions of the book: audio, print, and Kindle (easier to search and highlight). Yes, I know that's crazy.
I don't think it's crazy to read a book in different formats - I especially like listening to audiobooks while commuting, but prefer reading at home. The audio of Milkman is brilliant, almost better than the book!
I think the Lucy Barton books do well in audio.I’m listening to The Marriage Portrait and although I am enjoying it, I wish I was reading it because someone with an Italian name will be mentioned once, then again a few chapters later and I don’t remember who they are and can’t flip back and look for the name.
I saw these on bookstrofficial, a bookish Instagram account:Sci-fi is when there is an entire chapter dedicated to describing transportation, Fantasy is when there’s an entire chapter dedicated to describing food.
Sci-fi is when the robot has a soul, Fantasy is when the tree has a soul, Literature is when you wonder if you have a soul.
Sci-fi is when your currency is called credits, fantasy is when it’s called coin.
Sci-fi is when your depressed about the future, fantasy is when your depressed about the past, literature is when you’re depressed about the present.
Sci-fi is when the big dirty city is called Fallen Star, fantasy is when the big dirty city is called Fällėnstâr.
Sci-fi is when the bar is called a cantina, fantasy is when the bar is called a tavern.
My daughter and son-in-law had parent teacher conference and were told my 6 and 9 yr old grandsons exceed expectations in every area of reading including reading aloud with inflection, the 6 yr old had highest reading grade in class and reads above his grade level, both exceed expectations in writing with the 9 yr old writing with no incomplete or run-on sentences and both have a better than average vocabulary. I’m proud of them, of course, but I would be if they got the lowest grades. What I am is excited and thrilled for them. This love of reading will continue to be enriching and rewarding for them for many, many decades, until they are too old to read anymore.
WndyJW wrote: "My daughter and son-in-law had parent teacher conference and were told my 6 and 9 yr old grandsons exceed expectations in every area of reading including reading aloud with inflection, the 6 yr old..."Congratulations! That’s always good to hear!
Yes that is a wonderful start in life as you say in terms of the love of reading
Starting them young is definitely the way to go!
The 9 yr old is the one that told me a few years ago he didn’t like to read because he liked to have fun. It was his discovery of scary short stories that drew him in. Which shows that for a lot of reluctant readers it’s a matter of finding the right genre.
Wendy, it's so great to read about your grandsons’ ability and love for reading. That's a lifelong gift that they have. I’ve been following a series of podcasts by journalist Emily Hanford of American Public Media where she’s been covering the way reading has been taught in American schools for the past generation – not a happy story at all. Sixty-five percent of fourth graders are not proficient readers. These are not children with reading disabilities. These are kids who just haven’t been able to learn to read by following the agreed upon method for teaching reading.
This series is called
Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong
https://features.apmreports.org/sold-...
Quote from the webpage:
“There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn't true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended.”
The podcasts are an eye opener, to put it mildly. Some of the reporting appeared in the NYT over the summer so this may all sound familiar. Basically, well-off parents who figure out early on that their child is not reading either teach them to read themselves or they hire tutors to work with their children. Kids from poorer families are not always so fortunate.
Public schools in the US has been educating kids the same way for almost 100 years: 20-30 kids sit quietly in rows of desks while information is told to them. I know there are innovative creative teachers, but unless a child goes to a Montessori or private school, it’s all basically the same.Thanks for the podcast link, Janet, I will listen to it this week.
Wndy in this case I think the problem is less the sitting still issue than not teaching kids phonics, which is a major literacy disaster.
Public schools here are more about being taught to rule a now non-existent empire than learning to read
Emily wrote: "Wndy in this case I think the problem is less the sitting still issue than not teaching kids phonics, which is a major literacy disaster."Yes, Hanford talks alot about failure to teach children phonics and what a disaster that's been. Publishers and consultants have had and continue to have a vested interest in producing material that teaches by "cueing" not by phonics. Things have gotten pretty messy over the years.
Is cueing the term for whole word reading?
Cueing is where children are reading a story and are given cues like, for example, an illustration that gives them a clue to guess what the meaning of the word is. They are told to look at the first letter of the unknown word and to guess the meaning based on the visual clues. This strategy can only take them so far, and doesn’t give them the skills to sound out a word to discover its meaning. Even if the child really can’t pick up reading skills over the school year they are often passed on to the next grade level and risk getting more and more behind, unless there’s some kind of intervention. I’m old school, (actually just old) so I’m not familiar with the whole word approach
Whole word reading is where students memorize words by seeing them repeated. The Dick and Jane books use that method.
Dick and Jane worked. Not very realistic, even in the 1950's, but they worked. "See Spot run."
WndyJW wrote: "Happy birthday, Robert!"Thanks :)
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. Happy Thursday to those who don’t.
What David said. Thankful for this group!
I’m also thankful for this group and wish all who celebrate Thanksgiving a lovely day. For those who don’t do Thanksgiving it’s still a good excuse to contemplate the things we’re grateful for during a time of struggle for so many.My husband and I have a quiet day ahead. No kids, no grandkids!! WooHoo! They all had plans with their other side of families so my DH has a day of football (American style) and I have The English Understand Wool on tap. After that The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner which I read a little of last night and found quite funny.
Courtesy of the TLS:Q: How many Goodreaders does it take to change a lightbulb
A: NA - none of them can do it. But if you change it, they will write a review explaining exactly what you did wrong.
Bit harsh I feel.
I find the industry snobbery against Goodreads quite distasteful. Then I remember I move in my own little GR world where everyone is well read and discusses the books civilly and fairly.But honestly I'd be more likely to say the problem is the site is awash with five star sycophantic reviews, rather than people telling authors what they did wrong.
To be fair the TLS actually made the joke against themselves - it was "book reviewers" - and the TLS is the worst for that in terms of pointing out egregious errors in a footnote on page 437.I turned it into GR so blame me!
Wonder if we should have a book joke thread....
Like Emily's experience, my GR one seems confined to really intelligent, passionate readers, but I've seen a lot of comments complaining about Goodreads (mainly from new or self-published authors who probably just want exposure/positive reviews vs. invigorating book discussions, in general; and mostly these comments are on Twitter).A book joke thread---sounds like it could be quite painfully punny, but I'm all for it!
Which author could have written the current World Cup script with it's muted political protests, corrupt financial shenanigans, host country culture clash, and bizarre FIFA pronouncements? Feels a little Don DeLillo-ish, but I don't think that's quite on the mark...
The world cup would be perfect Don DeLillo fodder!
I would say Sheehan Karunatillaka would be an excellent choice since the entire situation seems ripe for satire!
I found Shelfari then Goodreads in a Ron Charles video review in which he joked about Shelfari members talking about books so much they didn’t have time to read. Before that I had never heard of Shelfari and was so excited to uncover a world of readers! So let them joke if it draws attention, but publishers and authors should all be singing the praises of book sites because they draw attention to new books. Although I do wish we could move our entire group, with all of our discussion threads to a non-Amazon site, like LibraryThing or whatever it’s called.
LibraryThing owned by Abe books who are owned by Amazon you mean?
It’s getting hard to get away from multi billionaires ecosystems - which is why they are multi billionaires I guess. Watching the Apple-Elon Musk spat this week was a bit like watching Spurs play MK Dons - who do I dislike more? You hope for a draw with lots of red cards.
(This is where GY points out I turned up at his house on Sunday in my new Tesla, having arranged to meet up via iPhone messages.)
David and Arun, I'd read it if either DeLillo or Karunatillaka took it on!Elon Musk puts a lot of stock in those Twitter polls he posts...
Is Librarything also owned by Amazon?! Good lord, we really cannot get away from Bezos can we?
There is a newer site called Storygraph: https://www.thestorygraph.com/ but they’re not set up for groups yet.
It would be a big deal to leave GR and not everyone will want to, so I won’t either. I’ll just continue to be a hypocrite so I can do what I enjoy while lecturing others not to use Amazon.
Ha! Do you actually lecture others about not using Amazon, Wendy?
Mod
The Mookse and the Gripes
Books mentioned in this topic
Woman in Blue (other topics)The Others (other topics)
How I Came to Know Fish (other topics)
The Mussel Feast (other topics)
Winterberg's Last Journey (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Margarita Liberaki (other topics)Ota Pavel (other topics)
Raül Garrigasait (other topics)
Birgit Vanderbeke (other topics)
Jaroslav Rudiš (other topics)
More...
