If you aren't paid, it's your hobby...or you just volunteer to do so 
Larry Send a noteboard - 25/08/2010 10:29:59 PM
Larry Send a noteboard - 25/08/2010 10:29:59 PM
Well, I'm not getting paid, come to think of it, so "job" is probably the wrong word.
I ask this surprisingly serious question (not being in the mood for serious discussions lately) because I've seen here and on two other forums over the past few days several people making a comment along the lines of "I haven't heard of these books" when it comes to awards large (WFA) and small (here 
).
). I hardly ever buy entirely new books. There are too many older ones still left to explore.
I do both. Of course, there is a frontlist/backlist argument on some blogs right now, which adds a layer of bemusement to the proceedings
I've always been one of those people who like to investigate those works I haven't read and I hear some mention of in awards finalist shortlists, but it seems to me that there are some that just pose that "I haven't heard of them" as a sort of "they aren't worthy of my attention," as if ignorance is not just bliss, but a privilege.
I rarely read anything because it is on an awards list. The only book I can remember picking up because I had seen it on an awards list must be Byatt's Children's Book. And that was because I had been planning to read Byatt for a while. I feel awards take much of the fun out of the exploration.
Well, that seems to be a contrarian position!
So I pose this question in regards to the books listed in the RAFO awards: If you haven't read them/are familiar with those authors' works, are you going to try and "read and find out," or are you just going to sit on your ass and complain whenever you see an awards shortlist because it doesn't contain what you've read?
Isn't it a bit tricky to get up on that pedestal?
I wouldn't know. Would you?
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
Do you ever really "read and find out"?
- 25/08/2010 10:14:37 PM
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Hey hey hey I already said I would check them out *grumbles* *NM*
- 25/08/2010 10:22:00 PM
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I kind of figure there are too many classics and older good books I haven't read yet, I guess.
- 25/08/2010 10:47:04 PM
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I could have saved a lot of time by just agreeing with all this. *NM*
- 25/08/2010 11:01:03 PM
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*NM*
i checked out those awards book on amazon and what seemed interesting i've added to my wishlist
- 27/08/2010 12:12:01 AM
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