Labor Day weekend is upon us. It usually signals the end of summer. Here in the Sonoran Desert it does hang on a bit longer, and I'm glad. I love summer. Human solar cell that I am, I just soak up the sun and read up a storm. One of these days we'll get the pool heated, and then I really will turn into a prune!
 |
| Partial view of the crowd... |
Enjoy the weekend, everyone! I know I certainly will.
Bookish News & Other Interesting Links
I ♥ Lists
Book Candy
- Public libraries in the UK are getting facelifts. It's a political thing.
- A library book is returned 33 years late. It went on quite a journey.
- The British Library partners with NLB Singapore to digitize rare Malay manuscripts. I may not be able to read a word of them, but they're beautiful!
- What's wrong with a little healthy book discussion?
- Authors and readers band together to stop Goodreads "bullying." I'm still at the shallow end at Goodreads. As far as reviews go, I've always found the bullies and wackos to be at Amazon.
- It all depends on how you use it: a study has found that Facebook makes us sadder and less satisfied.
- The human brain has always fascinated me, and now scientists have found the schizophrenia switch.
- How a sea squirt could help you grow new limbs.
- Shades of Jurassic Park: How to bring extinct animals back to life.
- Denis and I always drool a bit when we watch Inspector Morse, and it's all about the car. Did you know that 1960 Mark 2 Jaguar had its own website?
- Big doin's lately in parts of Wyoming: Longmire came to town!
I ♥ Lists
- The top ten books about disability.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald's list of 22 essential books.
- 9 top cities for "detective" travel.
Book Candy
- A bookstore tour of England that begins in Cornwall.
- I may have seen most of them elsewhere on the net, but I never tire of looking at them, here labeled 10 inspiring bookshops around the world.
That's it for this week. I hope you stop by next weekend when there will be a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!
You deserve that cot!!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to feel like it, Kathy! LOL
DeleteWhat a bounty of riches at The Poisoned Pen. I wish it were within a stone's throw of my house. I'd be there all the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd about that cot! Yes. A great idea. A cot, maybe a mini-refrigerator for a bit of food and beverages. You'd certainly have books to your heart's content and events, too.
It would be the only reason why I'd ever consider moving to Scottsdale!
DeleteCathy - Have a great holiday weekend! You really are so lucky to be able to get to the PP. One of these days I'll go... In the meantime, thanks for those links. That story about the Malay manuscripts intrigues me. I love it when our modern digital technology can help preserve writing.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Margot!
DeleteCathy - I had not heard of the Goodreads "bullying" until I read the article linked in your post today. I'd like to make some comments:
ReplyDelete(1) Lots of venon in the Goodreads comments by BOTH sides.
(2) I read lots and lots of Amazon reviews, both UK and US versions, and I have never seen anything like that on Amazon.
(3) Amazon and Goodreads are two very different websites, and I think comparing the two is a bit "apples and oranges". Goodreads encourages the "in 25 words or less" commentary of social networks and back-and-forth dialog like a social network. Actually, I see it as a social network, and hence I am minimizing my own use of the service. Amazon is very different - while allowing for reply comments, they emphasize well done reviews and acknowledge their reviewers when readers tic a review as "useful".
(4) Goodreads seems to encourage author participation, and in my experience those that do seem to fall in the category of 'debut', 'not well established', etc. In their place, depending on the subject material, I might rethink my marketing tactics and avoid participation on Goodreads and on social networks in general. I don't see a more practical solution, and censoring a social network is a bit of an oxymoron.
(5) The biggest negative I have found on Amazon is the occasional unfamiliar author/book rated 5 stars from a cadre of 6 or 7 "readers", each of whom's 2-3 sentence reviews read remarkably alike. Hmmm, friends and family? Let the buyer beware. But I also think that some are quick to find fault with Amazon because of their perceived impact on independent bookstores; I have noted this particularly on the Brit blogs I follow.
Enjoy the holiday - maybe the temperatures will drop into the 90's
Ken
I'm finding fault with-- not Amazon-- but with some of the reviewers there. Yes, comparing the two sites is like comparing apples and oranges because their roles are different. I made the comment due to my own personal experiences as a reviewer at both sites, nothing more.
DeleteWhat a fantastic post. So much information and so interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love William Kent Krueger's books. Can't wait to start reading Tamarack County.
What a great lineup of authors....Louise Penny is one of my favorites too. I am jealous. :) ENJOY...sounds like a great weekend for you.
THANKS for sharing.
Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Blog
Denis enjoys Krueger's books, and I enjoy Coel's. Now we both want to read the other author! Enjoy your weekend, Elizabeth!
DeleteNow that's a great relationship: swapping authors and books.
ReplyDeleteSharing where it matters!
I'm one lucky woman, Kathy.
DeleteFor the list about disabilities : I think Jojo Moyes's novel Me Before You is quite good. I'd have it on his list! Cheers Kathy. http://www.thecuecard.com/
ReplyDeleteOne thing I always like about someone else's list: I can always think of something to add to it. It's impossible to get them all on one!
Delete