Welcome to bookchat where you can talk about anything...books, plays, essays, and books on tape. You don’t have to be reading a book to come in, sit down, and chat with us.
A nice blend of prediction and surprise seem to be at the heart of the best art.
Wendy Carlos
And it is very sexy as well: somebody says I'm taking you on a surprise date, you don't know where you are going and you can't see and then you put your hand out and there is a tiger. Amazing.
Emily Watson
http://www.brainyquote.com/...
I am here tonight because I thought last week that I would not be able to do Bookflurries on Wednesday. Circumstances changed and I went ahead on the proper night. But I worried that some readers might wonder what happened so I decided to do two diaries this week just in case.
Surprise and serendipity are fun especially when applied to books. If we find a new author to enjoy who has several books out, we are happy to dive in. If we find some great books at a used book store, serendipity happens.
The happiness involved with finding a character who is wonderful or a whole series built around that character is also serendipity.
We think of surprise endings in books, too. They appeal to us, but if the author does not prepare us for a sad ending, it is not fair. We need foreshadowing so that we understand. Just using a surprise ending to shock us is terrible. I feel that is cheating. An unusual twist is good for the brain, though. I respect the authors who can do that.
Sometimes a book is so full of surprises that the reader says, "What next?" That can be good or bad. A crazy quilt of things thrown together is not a good thing, but interesting characters whom we empathize with and who get into novel situations keep us reading.
An author may do something so unusual that we ask ourselves if he/she will be able to maintain the set up. There are some very creative writers out there who manage to surprise us into "that willing suspension of disbelief" as Coleridge called it.
Many fantasy writers are very good at that. Introducing us to alien worlds and the aliens who live in them takes a great deal of creativity and purpose. My mind delights in them.
Think of a whole city that is green and glowing with emeralds.
Imagine an empire of thousands of worlds held together by one great lord.
Imagine a hero who may destroy the world to save it, a colossus who defies the insanity growing in him and the prophecy of others.
Talk with a dragon that is sensitive and intelligent.
Think of a space ship captained by a whale and sentient dolphins.
Consider a world where huge terrifying worms must be ridden across a desert landscape.
Ride beneath a large eagle that has chosen you as master.
Listen to the voice of a small turtle in a garden.
What are your favorite books? I declare tonight an open thread. (It always is, but tonight it is more so.)
Diaries of the week
Write On! What do they want?
by SensibleShoes
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Thursday Classical Music OPUS 17: Intervals and Chords
by Dumbo
http://www.dailykos.com/...
"Dis-Continuity"
by Rimjob
http://www.dailykos.com/...
The Best Antihero?
by Rimjob
http://www.dailykos.com/...
To Tell the Truth: Summaries and Non-Fiction Candidates
by Word Alchemy
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Write On! It was the way he said it.
by SensibleShoes
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Thursday Classical Music OPUS 18: Cadences, Tonality, and Knock-Knock Jokes
by Dumbo
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Friday Night at the Movies: Psycho With Live Strings
by Friday Night at the Movies
Tonight's FNatM is by chingchongchinaman.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Writer Arundhati Roy May Be Arrested For Sedition After Kashmir Remarks
http://www.npr.org/...
NOTE: plf515 has book talk on Wednesday mornings early. Watch for extra editions on Sundays!
sarahnity’s list of DKos authors has grown so much that she has her own diary.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
sarahnity says:
It turns out that we have quite a few authors hanging out here who have published books in the real world. A while ago, I started keeping a list of books by Kossacks, former Kossacks and Kossacks-once-removed. I was posting it each week to the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries, but the list has grown long enough, that I've decided to turn it into a diary and post it as a weekly series on Tuesday evenings.
Not all Kossack authors may wish to lose their anonymity, so I am only including the author's UID if he has outed herself here (gender confusion intended). If you'd like to be included on the list, or if you know of an author who is left off, please leave a comment or email me.
(sarahnity@gmail.com)