ericsfraga

CuriousMagpie , 5 months ago to bookstodon

I tried reading Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks but couldn’t get more than a few pages in to it. It got great reviews so it’s just not my cup of tea 🫖.
Instead I started The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi and am liking it so far.
#amreading @bookstodon

ericsfraga , 5 months ago

@CuriousMagpie @bookstodon

#amreading

I also failed to get into Consider Phlebas. Have up after 20-30 pages, IIRC. Too many books in my TBR pile to worry about it.

Currently mostly reading short stories & novellas from a number of SF magazines.

Likewise , 5 months ago to bookstodon

Short Stories.

Love ‘em, hate ‘em, somewhere in the middle?

Years ago one of my dear friends (who is a huge bookworm) and I were talking. She told me she hated short stories. I can’t remember why or if she even told me a reason. This conversation has stuck with me, because I struggle with them- why? I have no idea. I have tried different tactics to overcome this. I am s l o w l y reading one now, but I don’t gravitate toward it (not the one pictured, but it’s one I really want to read if I can ever get there).

I’d love to hear your thoughts.
#books #photography #fediverse #shortstories @bookstodon

ericsfraga , 5 months ago

@MikeHar94962844 @Likewise @bookstodon
For science fiction, there are plenty of sources of excellent short stories, e.g. Analog, Asimov's, Clarkesworld, Uncanny, ..., especially if you're OK with epub or PDF.

Of course, sometimes, a long story is what one needs! I like alternating.

bibliolater , 7 months ago to bookstodon

I miss the days when I could just pick up a printed #book and start #reading. At present I have usually to scratch around for my #reading #spectacles; then I have to locate my #reading light. Once all of these 'measures' have been taken, I can start to #read the #book. Usually by this time my initial enthusiasm for #reading has greatly dissipated.

#Amreading #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon

#Image attribution: Borlip, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glasses%26Chart.jpg

ericsfraga , 6 months ago

@Jennifer @peet @Lenin @bibliolater @bookstodon
Kobo ereaders are quite good as well.

andreaslindholm , 8 months ago to bookstodon Swedish

Am I the only person who thinks that kobo.com is clunky when you want to find a book in the store?

@bookstodon

ericsfraga , 8 months ago

@andreaslindholm @bookstodon not great overall but at least the search function usually finds me what I was looking for, unlike some other sites I buy books from.

Helen50 , 8 months ago to bookstodon

when do you abandon a book?
I'm not very good at it, but I might be about to do it again.
#books @bookstodon

ericsfraga , 8 months ago

@Rhube @bookstodon @Helen50 I remember feeling guilty (for some unknown reason) the first time, many decades ago, I abandoned a book. Since then, I realised that I have so many books on my TBR pile that making myself read a book I'm not enjoying was just plain silly. I now quite often (more than 1%, less than 10%) abandon books without finishing them. Life's too short!

ericsfraga , 8 months ago

@Grizzlysgrowls @Helen50 @bookstodon @Rhube Same with me (Kobo). Further, many of my not finished books are borrowed from the library so they're gone completely even from the Kobo after a short time. Those I've bought remain on there but I don't see them unless I really go looking for them (which doesn't happen 😉).

eugenia_diegoli , 10 months ago to academicchatter Japanese

In 2022 I was invited to contribute to an edited collection that was supposed to come out within the year. That obv didn’t happen, and I still don’t have a prospective publication date. I feel so frustrated and I regret not sending the piece to a journal. Anyone else with a similar experience? @academicchatter

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@eugenia_diegoli
I once submitted a (very short) paper to a journal. Reviews came back relatively quickly, I submitted a revised version, and the revised version was accepted for publication. It then took 5 years before it came out in print! The manuscript got lost in the publisher's system somehow. Never fully explained. 🤪
@academicchatter

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@eugenia_diegoli
The funny thing was that, once the manuscript was found, the publisher suggested that the paper be reviewed again as so much time had elapsed. The editor essentially replied that the authors were unlikely to be amused... 😄
@academicchatter

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@aram
That's outrageous. 🤨
@eugenia_diegoli @academicchatter

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@aram
Well, never give up. I've published work that initially got rejected (at least it got reviewed but not very professionally - I'll spare you the gory details 😉) by waiting for the right request for a contribution to a book.
@eugenia_diegoli @academicchatter

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@eugenia_diegoli
I had given up, actually. I was quite surprised when I received an email asking me to check the proofs. 😀
@academicchatter

rabbit_fighter , 10 months ago to bookstodon

@bookstodon I'm looking for book recommendations for an 11yo who reads at a much more advanced level. He likes sci-fi. He has read the Hitchhiker's Guide series and loved them. I think he would enjoy some more 'hard' sci-fi as well. He needs something challenging but without subject matter that is too mature. Thanks for any help! #sciencefiction #bookstodon

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@rabbit_fighter
At that age, I loved all the short stories by Arthur C Clarke. And the novels as well but the short stories were all very accessible and not too "mature".
@bookstodon

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@rabbit_fighter
My son, at that age, loved Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, for something from this century. 😉
@bookstodon

ericsfraga , 10 months ago

@noodlemaz
I very recently read Prelude to Foundation. Almost didn't finish it. Pretty dire. Borderline racist and very poor character development. I have fond memories of reading the original trilogy and the robot novels but I think I'll leave them at that: memories.
@rayckeith @rabbit_fighter @bookstodon