Okay, firstly, I just have to say ‘realise’ is spelt with an ‘s’ and now that I’ve corrected the English of a lolcat… As one generally does… Naturally…
For those relatively new to me, I adore my Baby Brother (aka the BB) and my encounters with him are much fodder for my site. He makes me laugh and he makes me think.
It’s the latter which has inspired this post. In particular, two recent chats I’ve had with him about books or in his case movies because he doesn’t read.
Let’s not go there.
Conversation 1
The BB: I totally broke the code of ‘Moby Dick’ the other day.
Me: You read ‘Moby Dick’!? You????
The BB: *don’tbesofuckingstupidlook* I watched the movie. Anyway, I know what it’s about.
Me: *whydowealwayshavethisdiscussionaboutmealsoknowingwhatthemovieisaboutbecauseI’vereadthebooksigh*
The BB: Don’t bother. It’s not about some guy and a whale and obsession and all that crap. It’s about lemmings.
Me: O.o
The BB: Yeah. The crew members are all a bunch of sheep, who get the chance to jump ship, but follow the psycho back out to catch the whale when it’s obvious they’re all going to die. So, yeah, ‘Moby Dick’ is all about mind control. The blind leading the blind. They’re a cult.
Me: *preparesherselfforadeepandmeaningfulbreath* Alrighty then…
Conversation 2
The BB: Herman Melville.
Me: *notdoingthisagainchangethesubjectquickthought* Mum said you watched ‘The Hunger Games’ the other day. Did you like it?
The BB: It’s a bunch of crap.
Me: Say what?!
The BB: Yeah.
Me: Are you serious?
The BB: I didn’t even watch the first half-n-hour of it, Kris. It was stupid.
Me: Well, you know I prefer the books over the movies anyway. The book was awesome so I’m not sure I really want to watch the mov-
The BB: *shejustdoesn’tgetitsigh* No. The idea of it is stupid.
Me: o.O
The BB: What parent would let their kid go off to die in a game?
Me: *preparesherselfforanotherdeepandmeaningfulbreath* But that was the nature of the world they were living in. They didn’t have a choi-
The BB: *doesn’twantanotherdeepandmeaningfulbecausehedoesn’tbelieveit’sevenworthamomentmoreofhistimeimpatientsound* That’s fucking bullshit. They’re their parents. You always have a choice.
Me: Well.
Yep.
Sometimes all it takes is a different perspective to get you thinking.
*Phrase I totally stole off Aleks Voinov. He’s welcome.
This idea of tapping into sense-memory came up during a chat we had about Aleks and Rachel Haimowitz’s Break and Enter.
I can’t lie. The story freaked me out. Well, that’s not *entirely* true. It was only a certain aspect which gave me the heebie jeebies and here’s the reason why:
I’ve only just now realised what it was. It was how vivid the imagery was re: the gloves. I could not only see it, but feel it. It made me feel nauseous.
I couldn’t work out why, but taking a step back and thinking about it I now understand it was a reaction to a past memory I have when, as a child, I badly burned one of my hands on an iron. The wrapping, the changes of dressing, the healing process, etc.
Fascinating association, but still freaks me out.
Yep, it definitely does.
It was not long after this that I picked up Jenny (‘The Bloggess’) Lawson’s Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. I was having the absolute time of my life reading her story and then…
Her description of what it’s like to have an anxiety attack.
And that was it.
I couldn’t read anything beyond the first couple of lines. It was too real.
So much so that I haven’t been able to open the book again. In fact, as I write this, my heart is pounding at the thought of even attempting to reread this particular section.
As much as I realise it’s not the most rational of responses, it taps into my memories. It reminds me of the thoughts, the feelings and the physical symptoms I had during those experiences.
Two very personal and very intense reactions to two very different books. Interesting, yes?
It made me wonder how many other readers have felt the same thing and so I thought I’d ask. Being nosy and all.
Please only share if you are up to it as such reminders of past events can be extremely vivid and emotional. Something about which I am more than aware.
I know I provided my unique and no doubt – this is me we’re talking about, after all – offensive take on this topic the other day, but I felt the need to offer a few thoughts on the ratings, reviews and online behaviour minefield.
I think in many ways the goodreads controversy was inevitable.
When there is a pervasive, reactive culture in any community such as that in the book blogging world, it is bound to bleed from individual sites to social media networks like Twitter and goodreads. It is also true these places, especially when a so-called considered reply adds more fuel to the fire, tend to exacerbate a situation even further by allowing people to respond instantly.
I’m not saying everyone does do this, but in highly emotional charged settings? Well, we all have a ‘fight or flight’ instinct. It’s natural, it’s understandable, and it’s the kind of position any one of us can find ourselves in and can therefore relate to.
Should we react? To launch a counter-attack and starve the bastards out with a siege or not to launch a counter-attack and starve the bastards out with a siege? That may be the question; however, it really comes down to the personality of an individual.
An individual who might feel empowered and protected by the anonymity of the internet. An individual who might feel they have built relationships with authors and other readers and who, as part of their ‘role’, believe they should stand by them and/or defend them.
An individual who might also feel a sense of investment in what might be the subject of the contention. Maybe someone like an author?
Or perhaps even a reviewer??
Now there’s a thought.
The bottom line for me is this: We all have a responsibility for what we do, but what we aren’t responsible for is how people react to it. Similarly, we can’t control what happens, but we can control the way we behave to it.
Yes, we may have contributed in some way to an event that has occurred for which there may be consequences. Yes, we should take ownership of these. We are not, though, some form of deity who knows and sees all and who can predict what happens at any given moment.
Crazy, I know.
I do wonder if it might be time to take stock.
To think about why we became involved in this online community in the first place.
To remember that we all just fucking love to read.
“Our job is to show members those reviews, and not show reviews that we deem to not be appropriate or a high enough level of quality.” (Source: GR Review Guidelines.)
Well, I’m totally fucked.
The end.
Written, sold and published within 24 hours.
And they said it couldn’t be done.
So very true.
For me anyways. Still.
What about you? Is your POV something you’ve always felt about book covers or has it changed?
And, no, that’s not an euphemism.
I know I’m only catching the tail end of the copyright issue which has arisen in relation to posting images on blogs, but, redundant or not, I feel the need to pull my soapbox out.
Side note: No doubt this will come as a total shock to those who know me and think me the shy, retiring type. My apologies for shattering the pedestal.
What’s stirred me from my usual lazyarseness has been the extreme reactions to the news bloggers may be in breach of copyright. Some seem to have issued a ‘c’mon, I dare you to sue me, motherfuckers’ and others have offered a thousand apologies, not to mention their first-born, while rushing to delete every single picture they have posted over the last who-knows-how-many-years they’ve had a blog.
Bloody hell.
Look, I’m not a lawyer – as I’ve no doubt will be pointed out by all those who don’t agree with what I’ve written here – and am not providing any kind of legal advice on this matter.
This post is based on the experiences I’ve had dealing with copyright and intellectual property in my working life. Yeah, experience doesn’t make me an expert. I know that. The damned soapbox is screaming at me though, and since I’ve got enough voices in my head…
Kris’ Copyright and Intellectual Property Reality Checklist
1. It exists. Get over it.
2. It’s very bloody important it exists. Apparently. Or maybe there’s another reason for all those pesky laws, policies, international agreements, etc, etc.
3. Considering a lot of reading blogs are all about anti-piracy and plagiarism, the fact some people appear to have been unaware of this potential infringement is absolutely astounding to the point of ridiculousness (ie, you’re a clueless idiot).
4. Unfortunately for you ignorance is not bliss. Unless you’re living in the US and who the fuck knows how the legal system works over there. Law and Order can only explain so much.
5. So, yeah, it can be the scary monster which, despite you thinking it was hiding under the bed waiting to get you, is going to take you to court for a gazillion dollars for keeping it against its will.
6. BUT it can also be the Beast who dresses up like a Regency hero, reads books with you and twirls you around a ballroom while a teapot sings. I’ve heard this happens so it must be true.
7. Just as you’ve got a responsibility for being a twat so to do the owners and administrators of the intellectual property. A responsibility that is, not the being a twat thing.
8. In other words, they’ve got to tell you when you’re being a dickhead before they paint a target on you.
9. Unless of course you’re making big bucks associated with the infringement of copyright stuff. If that’s the case, you’re totally screwed. Good luck with that.
10. Now for fuck’s sake go and put a disclaimer on your site saying your psychic powers are not fully developed yet so someone actually needs to tell you if you’re on your way to the Big House at which point you’ll politely thank them for putting you on the path of righteousness and delete your ways.
The end.
Dear Teacher,
HA!
In. Your. Face.
Yours sincerely,
A former student who wasn’t quite the smart arse you said she was when she asked ‘but how do you know what the author actually meant? were you there when they wrote it or something? wow, you’re way old.’ and therefore didn’t deserve that extra homework.
Or the yelling.
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Kris + Books = Good. *Sometimes*. 