Morning Thoughts, Evening Thoughts

Morning Thoughts

I am following lucius_fox, harvey_dent, James_Gordon, and _brucewayne, they talk to each other on twitter. It is kind of funny. I am also looking for other accounts on twitter like gothamsfinest.

A whole bunch of graphic novels came in yesterday. I have not looked at them too closely. My previous choices have been doing quite well. People are taking a lot of them out.

I am ordering a lot of books which other libraries are not getting. This is because I like to physically look at bookstores and examine books. It allows me to choose many books which are never reviewed properly. Library Journal, Choice, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly are a near complete failure with certain categories of the most popular books. Craft books and cookbooks are two of the most popular types of books in public libraries, this is not reflected in the review journals.

Also, review journals rarely review books focused on technical aspects of the home like plumbing, heating, and airconditioning, We order lots of books from Sunset, Black and Decker, House and Garden, and similar publishing companies.

This is also true of computer books. People buy them by the imprint from the publisher mostly. The only way for me to properly understand what people need is to visit a very large bookstore, library, or search online through companies like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Strandbooks. The reviews are nonexistent or spotty.

I have always found most book reviews to be about prestige or demonstrating bookish skills. There is very little prestige in reviewing books on tools, do it yourself projects or other practical books. This is actually kind of sad. It is a gaping failure in the profession. Libraries are failing to provide this kind of material at the level which many people want.

There is a belief that fiction and literature are harder on many levels than popular or practical material. I often think serious practical books which are instructional in nature can be far harder to write than fiction because there needs to be much greater clarity and ease of use than a novel. Combining pictures, words, and diagrams in a clear manner must be quite difficult.

Evening Thoughts

I read some more of Ben Yagoda (I'll call him the Yoda of quotes.) The Sound on the Page, Style and Voice in Writing. He describes how punctuation is a major factor in writing style. Punctuation sets the rhythm of writing and where people pause. Different writers often use punctuation in distinct ways. For example Peter Carey uses no commas in his novel, True History of the Kelly Gang. This makes the style very unique.

I am male which makes my writing style different women's writing style most of the time. At least people claim this. I don't know if it is always true. As I read the book, I am learning quite a few things about what makes writing distinctive. One of the best ways to tell if you are writing in a unique style is to read it aloud and see it sounds.

Because Mr. Yagoda uses so many quotes I am include another one from the book:

If any man would write in a noble style let him first possess a noble soul. -- Goethe.