Aussie Readers discussion
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Chat about whatever you like: the weather, good stuff, bad stuff, family or pets!
Colour me green with envy Brenda, what a great night. I love to meet authors and chat with them about their work and experiences. My most fortunate coup was Terry Pratchett - he did a guest lecture at Uni and I was very privileged to be able to speak with him at length afterwards [pays to be nice to your professors, that way they invite you to lunch with really cool people ;) ]And Mark I'll definitely look you up if/when I get to the Lone Star state - we can chat over coffee :)
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Michael wrote: "Don't forget Saturday 11 August 2012 is National Bookshop Day"Yes, I've been invited to come along as one of the local authors to a meet the author morning tea at our local bookshop. Hope people turn up and buy a book or two.
Dale wrote: "Michael wrote: "Don't forget Saturday 11 August 2012 is National Bookshop Day"Yes, I've been invited to come along as one of the local authors to a meet the author morning tea at our local booksh..."
Ah, I guess that must coincide with our National Burn-a-Book Day, on which Fahrenheit 451 is celebrated by Fox News as a utopian novel. Seriously, though, it seems a shame that so worthy a celebration (as one of bookshops, while they still exist) should be confined to Australia. I'd definitely participate (if I could find a bookshop closer than Australia). :) :)
It's terribly sad seeing so many bookstores close down. I know that as an author I should probably be cheering the evolution of publishing but I just can't do that if it means the demise of the local book store.
In regard to the replacement of books by electronic readers (from BtVS):Jenny: Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?
Giles: The smell.
Jenny: Computers don't smell, Rupert.
Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no no texture, no-no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then-then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly.
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Just as some photographers are re-discovering film, maybe physical books will make a comeback.:)
Margaret wrote: "Just as some photographers are re-discovering film, maybe physical books will make a comeback.:)"More smelliness! Down with e-books! (he says, having 700 of them on his phone) :)
Well, it's 1 a.m. here on the bad side of the Acheron, and I'm thinking there must be *somebody* awake in the Antipodes. We do have one surviving bookseller in this town (discounting Walmart's, which in turn discounts books not written in crayon -- though you can buy arbitrarily many copies of Fifty Shades of Execrable): to wit, B&N, though they have shuttered a few of their outlets, and are being propped up, probably, by their attached Starbucks outlets, where you can buy coffee for under $50/cup, an attractive deal. I was in one the other... um, month, and I found all these strange, rectangular artifacts that appeared to be made of processed pulp and ink applied in cryptic patterns. Not sure what they were, though. None of them lit up when I swiped my finger across the top. I find it all very confusing.
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Brenda wrote: "Haha!! I didn't realize B&N had retail outlets? Sounds like our Borders who also had a coffee shop, but they went bust!! I shudder to think that what you say might come to reality in the future, th..."No, in the States, they really do have (large) retail outlets, and they're basically the last major bookstore standing. People come in, buy coffee, get cozy in the armchairs, spill coffee on the armchairs, spill coffee on themselves, wander around vaguely in a daze looking for copies of The Encyclopaedia of Fungal Spores or How to Learn Icelandic in 745 Days, and then they fail to find employees, trip over the chick lit tables, and leave. (Of course, they're usually homeless people, or else they're visitors from Iceland, but B&N continues to put up a brave front.) :)
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Brenda wrote: "You always get more humorous in the early hours of the morning Mark....go to sleep;P lol"Wish I could, Brenda! Too bad all the B&N stores are closed. Perhaps I could spill coffee on myself and find an Oslo telephone directory.
Today is a good day. It was the last day for the last person who was making work harder. Now it's all shiny happy people who want to be there! Yay :)
If you like a aventurous short story,suitable for young people,its Called Turtle Boy rider,set in the pacific.Based on a American boy who is washed up on a remote Island after losing his parents at sea.He grows up with the Island people of Mekamui,and the legend begins to unfold.Google ByronBending Author to buy it.
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Byron, we have an author section for you to advertise your book...go here http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_... and make your own thread, then you are welcome to do all the advertising you like:) Having it in this thread is spam, which we delete I'm afraid. I'll leave it there at the moment:)
Afternoon everyone,I've had a super lazy day today and got nothing done... yippee!!
Work can wait till tomorrow :)
Mark wrote: "(For anyone averse to psychotically stupid behavior -- and who therefore does not follow American politics -- the Tea Party is a group of politicians who fervently believe the 9th century was far t..."Oh Mark, Lol. You had me snorting into my tea!! Love your, um, description! Couldn't have said it better.
Brigitte wrote: "Mark wrote: "(For anyone averse to psychotically stupid behavior -- and who therefore does not follow American politics -- the Tea Party is a group of politicians who fervently believe the 9th cent..."Hi, Brigitte!
Thanks! It's actually somewhat consoling to get a positive reaction for stating the truth of the matter. (I was actually recently castigated on another group, which shall go nameless, for having made a remark that might be construed as "political." (My thought was: and one can discuss books without discussing ideas... how?) Thankfully, everyone here on AR is much more relaxed about such matters. :)
Yes! we love our pollies here Mark, love them fried, baked, roasted, boiled etc, trouble is 99% of them are on the gravy train & too fatty....LOL!!!
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I think you got it right there in a nutshell Dave;P
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Today is a very big day at Goodreads as we pass an important milestone. I am slightly awed to announce that we are now 10 million strong. Yes, there are now 10 million of us discovering new books, discussing what we are reading, and sharing book recommendations. That's a whole lot of book loving going on!
Pretty mind boggling!
Brenda wrote: "An interesting piece of trivia...I just received an email from Goodreads (as a librarian) to say Today is a very big day at Goodreads as we pass an important milestone. I am slightly awed to anno..."
It is awesome, not to say unexpectedly encouraging! Who'd have thought there were ten million people on the planet who actually liked to read?? (My previous estimate had been 37.) :)
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Today is a very big day at Goodreads as we pass an important milestone. I am slight..."
Haha!! Well, there are more than 37 members of AR for a start Mark...I noticed this morning that it's 1900, so very close to the 2000!!! :D
But it is wonderful to have so many lovers of reading out there:)
It's now a big banner on the front page which takes you to a big thank you and some very interesting stats - as I guess you all would see by now as you log in, so maybe I am stating the bleeding obvious :)
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Ha! No I haven't seen that Sally:)
EDIT: Just went and had a look...awesome!
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Brenda wrote: "Well I thought that a few weeks ago Michael, but the way the numbers are going up, we could have 2000 well before years end!!!"In fairness, Brenda, I think you (and the others, of course) deserve much of the credit for your relentlessly friendly and attentive moderating.
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In fairness, Brenda, I think you (and the others, of c..."
Thanks Mark:) Appreciate your words...it's always good to know what we are doing is working!
David wrote: "Yes! we love our pollies here Mark, love them fried, baked, roasted, boiled etc, trouble is 99% of them are on the gravy train & too fatty....LOL!!!"Hi, David! I never advocate violence against anyone (or bad recipes), but I do have to observe that the proposed policies of certain of our pols are in themselves sufficient to cause acute indigestion. :)
This actually provides some fodder for statistical rumination. If the average goodreads reader reads, say, 30 books a year (no reference will be made to how much wood he or she might chuck), and if only 25 of them are clones of Twilight or Fifty Shades of Cr*p, then how many real books are in existence to divide into those 50 million reads to determine the average number of readers per actual book. And if four readers can finish 27 books in 72 hours, then how many gorillas will it take to stage a production of Hamlet with limited funding?
Have you been reading 'Mary Poppins' lately? Sounds like a question from one of P.L. Travers' stories.:)
Margaret wrote: "Have you been reading 'Mary Poppins' lately? Sounds like a question from one of P.L. Travers' stories.:)"Heh! No, I just used to write lots of math exams. :) (Oddly, though, I can't recall one that involved gorillas reenacting Hamlet. Inadvertent omission, I'm sure.) :)
Mark wrote: "David wrote: "Yes! we love our pollies here Mark, love them fried, baked, roasted, boiled etc, trouble is 99% of them are on the gravy train & too fatty....LOL!!!"
Hi, David! I never advocate vio..."
Hehehe!!..well let's attempt to forget about pollies, I have been known to cook a mean lamb shank in guinness stout broth....(-:
Hi, David! I never advocate vio..."
Hehehe!!..well let's attempt to forget about pollies, I have been known to cook a mean lamb shank in guinness stout broth....(-:
Mark wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Well I thought that a few weeks ago Michael, but the way the numbers are going up, we could have 2000 well before years end!!!"In fairness, Brenda, I think you (and the others, of c..."
That's lovely :) thankyou Mark
Tried to do homework; saw this, watched the whole set. TIme is not wasted if I enjoyed it: http://www.moshcam.com/the-jezabels/e...
Brenda wrote: "An interesting piece of trivia...I just received an email from Goodreads (as a librarian) to say Today is a very big day at Goodreads as we pass an important milestone. I am slightly awed to anno..."
That's a lot of readers and a lot of people here sharing their reading tastes.Good to hear.
Legal Studies assignment due tomorrow. Time to commence working on it.
Organizational skills ftw!
Aaah internet, how I have missed thee :)
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Hail to thee, blithe packet-switched, transmission-control-protocol-based data-access network!
Actually, for whatever reason, practically nobody seems to be active in the goodreads enclave of the 'net tonight. (It's night where I am, though afternoon in Australia, so whither all the Aussies?) Is something (other than the usual unending parade of Apocalyptic events) happening in the world, to keep people busy? Or are goodreaders actually out there... um, reading? That seems frightening.
It's been almost a week net free. A day off work means time to get a new modem and then scrub the house down!
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What a good excuse to buy some more books. Will have to visit our local. :D