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New game: find the logic

A newly married woman in her late thirties says, “Now he can’t leave me.”

A woman in her fifties about a coworker who’s looking for a second job, “I thought she married him so that he would support her.”

A woman in her twenties complains that she’s not making enough money. She gets a promotion–far more responsibility, $0.25 cents more per hour (that’s about forty more dollars a month, before taxes). Next thing she does? Get a new car–new as in this year‘s model, directly from the German cars dealership.

From a group of women in their mid-thirties, over lunch, “… and I finally realized that all the awful things that were happening to me were the result of my lack of obedience.”

A woman serving herself coffee on a cup from the competitor next door, “You are out of decaf, are you bringing more out soon?”

A group of women has been sitting at a table for about four hours. One of them gets up and asks, “At what time do you close?” “We closed ten minutes ago, ma’am.” “Oh. So we can still order, right?”

Reading the menu while placing an order for lunch, “Oh man, I didn’t know that had so many calories! Well, give me the (lower calorie count alternative) instead. Can I have an extra piece of bread with that?”

A woman in her early forties, “I just don’t understand how is it that he can’t see just how perfect I am for him!”

A woman in her late thirties takes a job serving drinks at a strip bar. She’s been told that she can make up to $300 a night. She explains how she had to go get new underwear because the ‘uniform’ consists of a black corset/cincher and really short black shorts. After the first night on the job she quits, shocked  that some of the customers grabbed her ass.

A woman in her mid-thirties, “Could you look in the trash for me? I can’t find my cell phone.”

(All these have been overheard by yours truly, by the way)

And the fun, it never ends.

Over at Dear Author there is some noise over Red Rose Publishing and the alleged issues the company has with authors, editors, etc. The fun started here, followed by this tidbit, and it’s currently going strong here.

The quick and dirty summary: Dear Author reported some shenanigans; anonymous authors came out; sockpuppets followed; RRP’s owner wants all blog content related to the company taken down; Dear Author pretty much ignores the noise; lawyer-like threats follow; Dear Author pretty much still ignoring them.

The moral of the story: be careful who the fuck you threaten with legal action over the internetz–they may just be real lawyers who not only won’t be cowed by your barely coherent threats but who will actually know the law.  (In simpler terms: be careful you don’t bite more than you can chew.)

I admit it, patience is not my long suit.

I get frustrated when I see the same old bullshit brought up and touted as truth, the whole truth and the absolute truth. Honestly, how many time must these things be debunked for it sink in?

“A review that points out anything negative about a book is a bad review.”

No. A bad review is a review that doesn’t say anything about the book. Examples of bad reviews:

“This is the best book EVER!”

“Highly recommended!”

“You have to buy this book!”

“Don’t buy this shit.”

“It’s obvious the author can’t write, don’t buy his/her work.”

None of these tell the reader anything about the book, regardless of whether they praise or berate it. As reviews, they are useless. Useless review = bad review.

“A good review must contain constructive criticism. “

Not only no, but hell, no. Reviews are for readers, not for authors. If authors want constructive criticism, they should get beta readers and/or critique partners.

“Free speech protects authors as much as it protects reviewers.”

First, free speech is a protected right in the US–check your country’s law for other takes on it.

Second, what the hell does that have to do with a reviewer’s reaction and/or opinion on a book?

Third, while authors have every right to their feelings and reactions, common sense (that most rare of all senses) tells me that it behooves them to be careful with their professional image.

“There is no need to be ‘mean’ when reviewing.” “Why go out of the way to hurt the author’s feelings?” “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything.”

A good review needs to be well articulated and factual; the rest is style–the reviewer’s style. The rest of the above admonishments are bullshit intended to silence opinions that differ from those of the people uttering them.

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(Most of KKB’s readers know what brought this up; the few who don’t can check here and here)

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In other news…

I’ve been reading like crazy. Seriously, who needs sleep when there are books to be read?

Now I need to sit down at the computer for more than three minutes in a row and write reviews for at least a few of the two dozen books I’ve read in the past ten days…