Nothing worse than a monster who thinks he's right with God.

Mal ,'Heart Of Gold'


Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.

There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."


Toddson - Jul 21, 2021 2:48:47 pm PDT #26825 of 28079
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"

I find that if I go on Amazon, look up the book and check the sample I can usually figure out if I've read it.


-t - Jul 21, 2021 2:59:58 pm PDT #26826 of 28079
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

Sometimes I can read the whole book again and only when I get to the actual end be sure that, yes, I had read that before. It's pretty embarrassing.

ETA I think I bought 3 copies of All Tomorrow's Parties like that.


DavidS - Jul 21, 2021 3:19:53 pm PDT #26827 of 28079
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

ETA I think I bought 3 copies of All Tomorrow's Parties like that.

Ha! You can always keep a little book journal. I know several people who have a journal they've kept since youth where they simply note all the books they've read in a year.


-t - Jul 21, 2021 3:31:48 pm PDT #26828 of 28079
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

That sounds like something I would enjoy and yet in actual practice seems to be something I would never come close to doing. Just think how many different ways I could lose the journal! Assuming I remembered to make the notes, which is a big assumption. No, no, I will embrace my fuzzy reading history with all its gaps and elisions. Remembering that "oh, yes, I *did* read that AND I have opinions!" can be pretty fun, too, when it happens.


meara - Jul 21, 2021 4:05:49 pm PDT #26829 of 28079

David I’ve managed a couple times to track the books I read in a year….it’s usually over 300 so….yeah, a journal is limited use.


Toddson - Jul 22, 2021 5:54:07 am PDT #26830 of 28079
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"

And if it's a paper journal, how do you organize it? if it's chronological, do you have to go back to the beginning and skim each page? if by author, won't you run out of space for favorite authors? if by genre, the same? unless you get one with pages you can add in as needed (and I often find that they pop open and spill pages all over) ....


EpicTangent - Jul 22, 2021 9:38:22 am PDT #26831 of 28079
Why isn't everyone pelting me with JOY, dammit? - Zenkitty

This here is why I gave up my paper journal and opened a Goodreads acct.


-t - Jul 22, 2021 10:23:51 am PDT #26832 of 28079
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

I am so bad about Goodreads. I think I set some stuff up to happen automatically but I mostly forget it even exists. Which is a shame, because it would probably be useful for me.


aurelia - Jul 22, 2021 3:57:40 pm PDT #26833 of 28079
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.

Goodreads fits the rewards center of my brain. I love checking my stats and having that record of what I read, when.


Consuela - Jul 23, 2021 10:49:34 am PDT #26834 of 28079
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix

I read a ton of Donaldson back in high school, when there was actually not that much FSF to read. Don't read it: the hero is a rapist (this is not a spoiler, he does it almost first thing). The narrative is nihilistic and there's nobody to root for. I have no recollection if the writing itself is any good, but there are far more cheerful things to read nowadays.