NerdBliss

Saturday 9: My Generation

1. What do you think is the most unique thing about your generation? Born in 1980, I am the very tail end of Generation X. We hold the distinction of being the last group to grow up in an analog world and the first to integrate the digital landscape into our lives. People much younger than I don’t understand writing letters by hand or trying really hard to think of where you’ve seen that one actor before. People much older – for the most part – don’t understand posting to Facebook from a social event or what anyone would want to blog/vlog/podcast for or about. My generation remembers the time before, but isn’t afraid of the new way.

2. Do you speak out as often as you should? No. As a rule, I keep silent unless the need to speak out weighs heavier than my nearly pathological dislike of confrontation.

3. How often are you tough and unreasonable? Does anyone think themselves unreasonable? I try to be tough without appearing hard. For the most part, I am a soft candy exterior with an iron nugget in the middle. No reason to be unpleasant in order to stand my ground.

4. Do you believe that sometimes you learn more from a failure than a success? Me, personally, yes. I do not, however think everyone learns well from failure or the proper lessons. Some people “learn” not to try difficult things or that cheating is the best way to win or to avoid trusting others or a host of other lessons which make subsequent success all the more unlikely. Such a sad thing to watch.

5. Do you feel that you always have to win? No. I am not competitive by nature. I would rather play cooperative games or work in team environments where everyone wins together.

6. Do you think tradition matters? Yes. Although tradition matters, I do not believe tradition should be blindly followed. It is better to analyze traditions for the substance of their meaning and decide wither to keep or discard all or part of each one.

7. Do you tend to root for the underdog? I find the idea of “rooting for the underdog” on principle as baffling as jumping on the bandwagon of the popular guy. Best to, you know, make value judgements based on the value of the various choices, not some arbitrary factor.

8. Have you ever felt that you want to exceed your parents’ successes? Again, not competitive by nature. I am also a very different person from any and all of my parental units, so I can hardly compare my life to theirs.

9. Of all the cartoon characters that you know of, which is most like you? Slightly neurotic and extremely bookish: Twilight Sparkle.

1 Comment | In: egocentric | tags: meme, Pony. | #

Sunday Stealing: The Too Tired to Think Meme, Part 1

1. You have 10 dollars and need to buy snacks at a gas station. What do you get? Sodas and candy bars. Or Hostess Cupcakes and milk if it’s breakfast time.

2. If you were reincarnated as a sea creature, what would you want to be? Dolphin, of course, unless I can be the Humpback whale Spock comes back to the 80s to save in The Voyage Home.

3. Who’s your favorite redhead? Wendy

4. What do you order when you’re at IHOP? With working til 3 am, IHOP is one of the few options available if we decide cooking in the wee hours of the morning just isn’t going to happen. There are a few things I like, but the new Red Velvet pancakes are a requirement. Holy crap, are they amazing?

5. Last book you read? Redshirts by John Scalzi. It was so amazingly good, I’m reading it through again before doing a write up.

6. Describe your mood. A little punchy.

7. Describe the last time you were injured. I burned my… ah… boob self draining pasta a few weeks ago. I’m still healing.

8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with? Kate, of course, which is convenient since she is the friend with whom it is most likely misadventure would lead to being stuck down a well together. Oh and happy birthday, Kate. Let’s agree you’ll stay twenty-nine and I’ll stay eleven months older than you, okay?

9. Rock concert or symphony? Rock. Classical music is best when scoring cartoons.

10. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone? The number? (We’ll just say “hi” – promise.) I’ve got animated bubbles floating around on a blue background. It’s one of the default backgrounds, nothing special. My number? Well, it starts 864.

11. Favorite soda?

Depends: cans or bottles Diet Coke, fountain Diet Dr. Pepper. I also prefer my soda room temperature or slightly cool and order with no ice at restaurants.

12. What type of shirt are you wearing? Pale green with white flowers on the front. There are tiny seed beads covering the flowers. I have a lavender one just like it. Target clearance a couple years ago.

13. If you could only use one form of transportation? Transporter.

14. Most recent movie you have watched in theater? The Avengers. Chris and I are planning to see Dark Knight Rises on Monday or Tuesday. The last movie before that was Captain America or possibly Deathly Hallows Part 2 based on the close release dates, but either way, my point stands: there seems to be some sort of pattern I’ve been unable to put my finger on.

15. Name an actor/actress/singer you have had the hots for. Typically, my “hots” are more character driven than actor driven. I loved/love Spock, not Nimoy or Captain Jack, not John Barrowman, Indiana Jones, not Harrison Ford. I know that doesn’t seem like much of a distinction, but it is very different. An actor is a real person who I know little if anything about. A character is fictional, but I know them as well as the program or film allows. One notable – slightly embarrassing – exception was my early teenage years’ huge crush on Chris O’Donnell.

16. What’s your favorite kind of cake? When I was growing up, Mom would make a coconut cake with chocolate frosting and maraschino cherries on it for my birthday. The combination of flavors is my favorite though a good homemade cake of any flavor is welcomed.

17. What did you have for dinner last night? Hamburger patties and fresh tomatoes.

18. Look to your left, what do you see? My purse, Kindle and cell phone piled atop the three ring binder containing my notes for work.

19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Nope. I wear mostly slip on shoes anyway. My sneakers get unties when I go to put them back on.

20. Favorite toy as a child? My Cabbage Patch doll, Lisa, was the most beloved, but my favorite toy to this day is Barbie.

21. Do you buy your own groceries? I am present for most of the grocery shopping. Chris paid for far more of them than I since we’ve lived together, but now we’re making about the same amount of money, so we’re paying for expenses more evenly.

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back? I have known of a few cases of people talking behind my back, but I suspect it’s not happening too much these days. I do everything I can to steer away from the drama mongers who enjoy that sort of thing. If anyone still does, they’re missing out on far more interesting topics of conversation.

23. When was the last time you had gummy worms? It’s been long enough, I don’t remember. I prefer the German gummi bears in the gold packaging on the rare occasions I crave gummy candy.

24. What’s your favorite fruit? I love citrus in the winter when they are in season. I’ve eaten tons of apples in the past few months thanks to this little lady:

Applejack

25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel? To my knowledge, I have never performed a successful cartwheel. If you see any such pictures of me, rest assured, they are Photoshopped.

2 Comments | In: egocentric | tags: meme. | #

Saturday 9: I Saw the Light

1. Has something ever made you “see the light”? I hope everyone answers yes. I am, sad to say, often a hard study when it comes to anything important enough to qualify for a “see the light” experience. When a course correction is required, it is most often my subconscious and my body’s stress indicators that clue me in. I get anxious, suffer insomnia, digestive issues, headaches or menstruation troubles often before I am aware of problems. If I pay attention to the signals, I can take stock of my personal life, work situation, and other areas to figure out where I need to make changes before my health and sanity are impacted.

2. Do you believe you have any control over your luck? Yes and no. I hold both that hard work is the primary factor in success and that factors beyond a person’s control can make success more or less difficult. The main outside factor everyone contends with is upbringing. For better or for worse, our family situation is the foundation upon which we build our lives. The positive end of those outside factors is what we call “luck.” I feel like much of what looks like luck past childhood is closer to serendipity or at least it seems true in my life that much of my luck is happy accidents.

3. What is something you have had difficulty rising above? See answer number two. In all seriousness, I was diagnosed with CP in my left side around the time I started crawling. I went through all kinds of physical therapy and wearing leg braces or being in a cast to stretch my Achilles tendon. I had surgery when I was in kindergarten to lengthen that tendon and spent what seemed like forever in a cast from my toes to my butt. All this was going on while I was a military brat being regularly uprooted and I was small by genetics along with socially awkward.

4. Would you want to be rich? Heck yes! For me, being rich would mean no longer needing to trade my time for money. Since time is the one commodity it’s impossible to replace, the hours I spend doing things I wouldn’t do for free never feel like a fair trade.

5. Tell us about a current or old song that helps you “face the world.” Lately, I’ve found happiness and comfort in a couple tracks: Splendid by Professor Elemental and Art of the Dress (Trance remix) are two off the top of my head.

6. Has any dream of yours come true? More than one, but a fond one was my dream of attending science fiction or Star Trek conventions. It doesn’t seem so long ago that each year when the internet was abuzz with news from San Diego ComicCon, I would long to be there. At the time, I didn’t see attending as a realistic possibility for a handful of reasons. Now conventions are a regular part of my year and I love every second of the experience. Some of my favorite bits I didn’t even imagine before Chris took me to my first con, Trek Trax 2011. I adore my fandom friends, working on costumes, and even sharing hotel room with our little band of roommates. It’s all beautiful and exciting and exhausting.

7. What would you change if you became “the king or queen” of your country? I would enforce my number one fashion rule: Leggings are NOT pants. Same goes for “Jeggings” and any other “ggings” they invent. Either a long tunic top, dress or skirt must be worn over over them. I don’t care how thin or fit a women is, it’s unattractive to show off the intimate details of the anatomy through skin tight fabric. Frankly, I’d rather see a naked person walking around.

8. How do you feel about LGBT rights? I’m for marriage equality and any other equal protection under the law regardless of sexual orientation or any other criteria.

9. Have you ever been disappointed in yourself? Anyone who is remotely self-aware would have to answer yes to this question. I am most disappointed when I don’t follow through on things I want to do. Sometimes my expectations are too high. I find myself, for example, making a to-do list for my day off which is plum unrealistic and then I’m disappointed at the end of the night when I haven’t completed my tasks.

2 Comments | In: egocentric | tags: meme. | #

It’s Friday as I start my response and will likely be Saturday when I publish it in addition to being the Monday of my workweek, yet I have an answer to share for Booking Through Thursday, so here is the question:

My ideal preference is for related books based in – to borrow a science fiction term – the same universe yet with each book a self contained story. I like meeting old friends again or peaking behind corners I wasn’t privy to in another book, but I prefer not to need additional reading to complete the story.

I can name several sets of books I love which fit the standard of “companion” books.

Madeleine L’Engle, my favorite author since I first read A Wrinkle in Time, had interconnections in nearly all of her novels. In most editions of her young adult works, you’ll find a family tree linking her characters. When I first saw it in the copies of the Time Quartet, I poured over it. I spent the next several years acquiring each related title and read them all into dog-eared familiarity.

At the other end of my taste in books, Rachel Gibson often writes romances for supporting cast in previous books or slips in a situation where an old friend can make a cameo without making it a series.
She wrote a bunch of stories featuring the fictional Seattle Chinooks Hockey Team in one way or another and books set in a rural Idaho town and a Texas town. The closest she comes to a true series is her quartet of friends each of whom are writers in a different genera and have completely different approaches to romance. Even those are stand-alone stories even though it’s obvious each woman will eventually get a book of her own. Being romance, they can be read out of order because the formula of girl meets boy, conflict keeps them apart, conflict is resolved, happily ever after ensues is a given. All that is revealed in reading out of order is the name attached to the inevitable spouse.

If truly choosing between a series or a stand-alone book without the option of companion books, I would have to go for stand-alone books. I often feel, especially with modern writers, a story is split into “trilogies” or more simply for financial reasons. If it’s not a literary device, I would rather a writer tell me the story in one volume. Even Tolkien wanted Lord of the Rings to be one book, so I do suspect the vast majority of decisions to serialize comes from the publisher rather than the writer.

It is not just my inner cynic, however, preferring one book over many. The list of books which I count not just as favorites, but as life impacting includes so many titles without sequels or companions. Many of them leave little room for addition except in the reader’s imagination. I can’t fathom a book to go with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Girl With Pearl Earring, or The Red Tent. Or A Handmaid’s Tale. Or Nightfall. Or To Live Again. I could go on for days listing titles.

I go back to the original when I want visit with my friends who live in that world. I know them intimately, yet each time I see the book a new way. I believe there is a C.S. Lewis quote regarding the necessity of reading a book more than once to really understand it, but I haven’t been able to find it. Even if he didn’t say it, I do. Certainly, a book well loved is different each time it is read if for no other reason than the personal growth in the reader which occurs between readings.

It seems in my own reading, the more books about a character, the less depth the subsequent readings provides. One book is like a single painting or photograph. A series is like a movie. When you look at a single stationary object of art over a period of time, the meaning comes not from seeing things you haven’t seen before, but from seeing the same things in a different way. Of course, the experience exists in any artistic form, but is seems to me the more brevity in the work, the more room for seeing this way. Short stories or poems work better than novels, I think, and single books better than series.

With all that being said, sometimes a series is necessary to the story or format of the stories. Detective tales lend themselves to series as do closely related police procedural novels – and yes there is a real difference between those two types of books – because each crime faced is a new story no matter who is solving it. I can’t imagine The Chronicles of Narnia being one book instead of seven. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy could have been one book, but it could not have been a single book telling all the stories of the five books in the trilogy.

The bottom line becomes simple: The story itself ought dictate whiter the format is a single book, companion books, or a series.

3 Comments | In: books | tags: book, booking through thursday, L'Engle, meme, science fiction, ya fiction. | #

The Employment Enjoyment Meme

1. What kind of work do you do? I work in a call center doing technical support for various clients of the clients who pay the company that pays me. When people call the IT Help Desk for their organization, they get me and often don’t realize I’m not only not an employee of said organization, but I’m at least a few states away.

2. During the course of your lifetime, which job or career has been your favorite or most fulfilling? The short time I was a receptionist for an OB/GYN was the most fulfilling. Unlike selling someone something or helping with wireless bills or logging into websites, I was a small part of caring for the patients health and pregnancies. It was easy to express genuine concern and compassion in a way other customer service positions don’t inspire. And babies! Can’t go wrong with a steady stream of newborns to cuddle and coo over.

3. Do you think it’s necessary in your life to have a day-to-day “career” that is meaningful and service-oriented or do you function better in “just a job” with a steady paycheck? So far I’ve been on the “just a job” end of the employment spectrum. As long as I am respected by management for the job I’m doing, I’m pretty content being a cog in the machine. I find meaning in my personal life and hobbies. Work needs to be pleasant, but ideally, it is left at work when I clock out.

4. Was there ever a time in your life when you wanted to stay home with your children instead of working, even if it meant less money in the household? First of all, I don’t have children. If I’m lucky enough to have a child or children in the next few years, I would like to be in the position to not have to work full time. If we can afford it, I would consider a part time position to get myself out of the house a few days a week. I’d spent the last nearly two years working part time up until a month ago and while I kept busy at home, I got stir-crazy for lack of regular human interaction. Two days in a row wasn’t bad. Three or more was horrible. I can’t imagine, say, four years of not having a regular place to go. On the other hand, I would prefer not putting my child in daycare for forty hours a week. Scheduling opposite shifts from Chris so one of us is always home isn’t a pleasant thought either. I covet the time we have together even now. It is certainly difficult to say for sure what our needs and options will be when the time comes. I know it will be a challenge, but a wonderfully rewarding one.

5. Tell us your worst boss story. My second manager at Payless Shoe was awful. I still don’t know what the heck he actually did around the store. We would have two weeks worth of shipment still boxed up in the backroom no matter how hard I worked. He didn’t like me because I didn’t think his flirting was cute like the girls he liked to hire did. After I moved away, one of my part-time girls put in her notice and reported him for sexual harassment.

6. Have your ever been the boss? Do you like this this role? I held the title of assistant manager most of the seven years I worked for Payless Shoe which simply meant I had most of the responsibility and none of the privileges of being as store manager. If the manager didn’t want to do something and the part-timers couldn’t, I was stuck with it. It was like being in the valley of the saying “shit rolls down hill” getting crap from both sides. At one point, I was “acting manager” of my store while my manager was out on maternity leave. It was hard because I still didn’t have access to everything a manager did and would have to get managers from other stores to help me. The worst part for both of those positions is the fact it’s so difficult to motivate people who don’t have work ethic in the first place. You don’t have to do much at all for those who come to the table with a work ethic. I had a girl who complained every night about what we called “straightening” shoes. All you do is ensure each pair is in their proper place. It’s tedious, but it’s what you get paid for and we would always work back to back in the store so we could keep each other company. Whining about it simply made it that much more unpleasant.

7.  What is your dream occupation? I always assumed I would write for a living. I never doubted I would be a novelist, because journalism didn’t appeal to me. Today, I don’t know if I have fiction in me. I have personal writing and commentary along with an occasional poem, but I’m not sure about anything else. I don’t have a drive to make money writing, but I am open to the idea. I am happier when I simply keep up with blogging. I guess, when it comes right down to it, my answers to questions 3 and 4 have more to do with the reality of my dream “occupation” or work/life balance and what I choose to invest myself in.

6 Comments | In: egocentric | tags: meme. | #

Saturday 9: Forget You

1. Have you ever felt you needed to just forget an ex-lover? It seems the more desirable forgetting would be, the less healthy it would be to forget. Forgetting a fling or someone dated causally wouldn’t hurt anything. Forgetting someone who who impacted enough to hurt or haunt one’s memories would be forgetting part of yourself and how you came to be. Forgetting the bad stuff leaves a person open to repeating mistakes in future relationships. Forgetting the good is holds as much danger in different ways. What I do think is an important goal in moving on from an ex is coming to a point where memories are packed away and don’t pop up without provocation.

2. Spring picnics and cookouts are here! What would you want to have on your plate as you head back to the table? Good quality sausage or bratwurst with ketchup and brown mustard, potato salad, baked beans, and a huge hunk of watermelon.

3. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th! Do you celebrate? Drink Green Beer? Go out? Chris and I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Alex’s church. They do a corned beef dinner, sell beer in green mugs and have a Celtic folk trio preform. Last Saturday was what we affectionately dub “Beer in Church” and it was lots of fun. Today was a typical Saturday.

4. Did you remember to wear green today? I wore a green t-shirt with Happy St. Patrick’s Day across the front in tiny gold dots, but for work I be covered it in a sweater vest of work approved color and had green sleeves for the day, plus shamrock earrings.

5. What phrase or saying do you over use? I do find myself saying “it’ll be okay” or “it’ll have to be good enough” pretty darn often.

6. If you could (or could have) change(d) something about your relationship with your parents, what would it be? I would have wanted them to encourage me to *do* things especially activities which would have gotten me out with my peers. I’ve never had an easy time feeling like a part of a community and I suspect it’s in large part because outside of school, I never participated in any kind of group extracurricular activity.

7. If the NCAA Men’s or Women’s Final Four basketball tournament was played in your hometown arena or within easy driving distance from where you live, would you try to attend one of the games? I couldn’t give two shits about college basketball. I doubt I’d go even if offered free tickets.

8. No matter what’s going on in your life, what always makes you smile? Oh, there is a goodly list. I’m the smiling sort even when I’ve got troubles. Chris coming home after his work day always has me smiley and excited. Talking to my niece, Sabrina, even though it reminds me how much of her childhood I’m missing, I always smile at how smart and articulate she is and am thankful being away hasn’t killed her desire to talk to her Aunt Tina every so often.

9. We’ve asked this before: What else is on your mind? Go ahead and rant. What’s on my mind? Tonight, I’m just tired. I woke up tired this morning which has been happening to some degree nearly every day for a while now. Best case, I simply need a new CPAP machine. Having my sleep apnea treated the last couple years has been wonderful. I had no idea it was possible to wake up fully rested. I’m waiting for the plan year to turn over on my health insurance before taking any action about it and even then the deductible is scary. I worry about both quality of life and health ramifications of all this and I hate the blood brain fog and chronic headaches.

No Comments | In: egocentric | tags: meme. | #

Forgive any formating weirdness on today’s SPS. I’ve just now downloaded the WordPress app for my spiffy new Andriod phone. I’m hoping having easy access to my blog on the go will allow me to use those little moments of down time to post or at least open drafts when I have a brillant post idea.

Today, I’m at work earlier than I have to be. Such is life without a car of my own. It doesn’t happen often and if I use the time to read or write, I’m perfectly happy to spend a few hours in the breakroom, drinking coffee.

My portrait is yet another Klingon wedding project photo. This time, the sash is for our friend Alex, who’ll be serving as a sort of best man. There is a Klingon word for it, but as I’m not at the computer, I won’t trouble with looking it up now. Maybe blogging from my phone is the best idea ever. Fewer distractions and more typing away.

The sash took more effort and thought than it looked like. I’ve got a layer of interfacing and a layer of muslin between the satin front and cotton liner. I first sewed the interfacing to the lining and the muslin to the satin so I only had two pieces of fabric to handle. Then I sewed the wrong sides together, creating tubes, turned them right side out, before sewing the front and back together. In writing that out, I wish I’d taken pictures of the process. Ah, well. There will be other sashes, no doubt. Klingons are big on honor sashs.

No Comments | In: crafts and creations | tags: Alex, Klingon wedding, meme, self portrait Sunday, sewing, star trek, trek trax. | #

First, I freaking love dresses. It’s no more effort to wear something people assume is fancy. My collection is growing and I have no intention of stopping. Clearance racks are my friends.

I got this sweater dress before Christmas at Ross. The ruffle at the neck line makes me happy. The color is unusual and flattering. It’s warm and comfortable. Sleeves and a modest length made it an obvious choice for today since we’ve getting winter temperatures for the first time in a long time. I picked up the belt and new tights a few days ago. While you can’t see them in the small version of the picture but if you click to enlarge you can see the tights have polka dots. I love polka dots. I didn’t used to like belts for decorative purposes, but I now own three, plus the one I wear with khakis for practical purposes. With something solid like this dress, it feels like I need something to break up the solid block of color, but I am ever vigilant not to break too many visual lines thus making myself appear shorter.

Before I spend to much more time rambling about my all important fashion life, let me tell you about my day.
Finding I had a rare Sunday free and clear from work-type obligations, I’d made plans with Chris‘ parents since I hadn’t seen them in a while. I tagged along to the evening service and Valentine social at their church. Pro tip: Southern Baptists know how to throw a pot luck. “Not a full dinner” was an abundant feast. I think there were four kinds of meatballs and lots of other goodies. My lovely practically-mother-in-law, Sandi, organized a version of The Newlywed Game which she renamed Trulyweds since they didn’t have anyone newly married to pick on. Maybe I’m biased, but the questions she wrote were clever and creative, not to mention in the style of the old game show. It was a hit and all the participants had fun. I had fun and got my parental unit time in, always important, and a reasonable excuse for not having the mock up for my dress done for today’s self portrait as intended. There’s always tomorrow.

2 Comments | In: photography | tags: fashion, meme, self portrait Sunday. | #

My dear blog-buddy Cass has resurrected Self Portrait Sunday, a weekly tradition of posting a photo of oneself taken during the last week. Since I appear to be partially responsible, it’s only fair I play along. We just need Jennifer to start back up and maybe Skeet to be just like the old days.

Unfortunately, I didn’t plan ahead, so I came home from work, got comfy and snapped a picture on my phone.

For better or worse, I tend to fish one of Chris’ shirts out of the laundry to wear around the house. Can’t go wrong with Sci-Fi Janitors. I have my own, but it’s not nightgown sized, ya know, but fan-girl sized.

No reason to dirty something to sit on the couch, fix food, and maybe play Just Dance 3.

I’ve made a deal with myself that I cannot shower unless I exercise at least a little. Work doesn’t count, nor does housework. I might make an exception for whole apartment vacuuming, but considering how much I dislike vacuuming, it’s unlikely I’ll test the idea. On the rare occasions I walk home from work, I’ll count the walk. Mostly, I’ve been making a fool of myself in the privacy of my own living room. Chris has instituted a rule for himself, also. No Netflix unless he’s used the elliptical. So far, we both kept our rules even though we both had a nasty cold early this week. Sure, they were feeble attempts, but keeping up the habit was the point, not trying to workout while down and out.

Hopefully, I’ll be up to dancing at least one song. My body and I don’t always agree on these things, but I like to think I know better when it want to do nothing and I think we should move.

No Comments | In: egocentric | tags: meme, self portrait Sunday. | #

What’s more important: Good writing? Or a good story?
(Of course, a book should have BOTH, but…)

Would you rather loose an arm or a leg? Sight or hearing?

Both things are equally important in different ways.

But not answering is a cop out when it comes to hypothetical questions.

I can honestly say, I have finished reading more books with poor writing and good stories than I have finished beautifully written but dull books.

Sometimes I find writing distracting. It can be a style issue or something my high school creative writing teacher would have sent back on my work in red ink. Mr. Brush was legendary. His criticism pushed my writing. Other teachers had given me the A and allowed me good-enough work. He made the effort to pull out the best in me like a good editor should.

When I see things in published work like telling instead of showing or using the same words throughout so many times it breaks the trance of the story. Showing not telling was my pet peeve with the few Danielle Steele I read years ago. She would say point blank x character has y and z personality traits instead of showing x behaving in ways demonstrating y and z. Twilight tended towards redundancy in word choice, a criticism I haven’t often heard, but one of the things which drove me bonkers when I read them.

Still, I finished the Twilight books and read more than one Danielle Steele novel. Why? Even, oh dear God, why?

The concepts were better than the execution.

It happens with movies, too, sometimes. The basic premise is sound, but the end product is bad.

If the plot is something I find compelling, I can overlook flaws or taste issues with the writing simply to find out what happens. Like most lifelong readers and connoisseurs of film and television, seeing how the elements of storytelling (there is nothing new under the sun) are used is a primary motivator for picking up new books or watching new movies and shows. Otherwise, I’d be perfectly happy to experience stories I’d read and seen over again. At my age with all the books I’ve read and enjoyed, coupled with my limited time for reading, I could keep myself happily busy with rereading for the rest of my life if not for the draw of experiencing a fresh take on those ages old ideas. Well done is best, but even done badly, I can enjoy deconstructing the treatment of the old-as-Methuselah plots and concepts often with an eye for how I would have handled the same material. Naturally, I’d do much better.

8 Comments | In: books | tags: booking through thursday, meme. | #