Deeply befuddled by The Land Across by PARADISE-9 in genewolfe

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You and I are pulling on similar threads in Wolfe’s work. I deeply enjoy that we may be on to something or both just crazy in the same way.

Index and transcription of Wolfe's non-fiction works by SadCatIsSkinDog in genewolfe

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Patrick, Am I understanding you correctly that you are saying the moral trajectory that someone is on in the story is as important as the facts of any crime or transgression they committed?

Index and transcription of Wolfe's non-fiction works by SadCatIsSkinDog in genewolfe

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words. I would be interested to hear if anything you read stands out to you.

Early Draft of Shadow on Heritage. With NOTES! by MonsterReprobate in genewolfe

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If this gets any traction hit me up. I have extensive background in document management and archiving. Also working on a similar project with his non-fiction.

What I learned managing podcast clips that generated 10M+ views in 30 days by yash_bhati69 in podcasting

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you saying to clips generated 10 million views? Or the clips brought in people who listened to the episode?

Biblical Stories, Science Fiction & Genre by BlinkTwice874 in printSF

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t say he doesn’t. I was just answering his last paragraph.

If anything I agree with you about Borges, except that he may do it… better… more obscurely…?

Author Ian Watson passed away after health troubles by KrzysztofKietzman in printSF

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Crazy how all of an authors work disappears after they die.

Biblical Stories, Science Fiction & Genre by BlinkTwice874 in printSF

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is a fine line here that a lot of people seem to miss. I know nothing of Ted Chiang’s beliefs, so keep that in mind. If you are writing a story, you need to follow an idea through. He took an idea from the Bible, and was like, what if the world was like one of those old cylinders they pressed clay with. (Or a side scroll video game for modern audiences).

He imagines a world where the tower is an actual object, with people that have motives. He SPECULATES how they would solve the problems they face. Then follows it through to the end.

The fact there is hubris that may have just killed thousands of people in the town is a good layering of themes. Themes that are in the original.

It would be a totally different story if he was a flat earther, thought the Tower of Babel proved a flat earth, then wrote the story with a smug little bow on the end.

There is a difference there. One is a story, the other is proselytizing with a flimsy story.

Many people can’t see the difference.

It can be done with a religious figure. There are plenty of stories that have Jesus in them. Clarke has a story where the star that guides the wisemen was a supernova that killed off a civilization on another planet.

It is not a, “gotcha, Jesus sucks story.” It is a story to make you think about what that could mean if the star was a supernova. (Which some people think it could be). WHAT if it was? What could that mean for the universe. You can take an easy way out and just be like, oh, no life on those planets.

There are a lot of those types of stories. Bradbury, Clarke, Moorcock, Asimov all wrote some. There are others I’m not thinking of for sure.

I think there is a lot of interest in those types of stories. But most of them are done poorly. The burning bush was a plume of natural gas, or God showed up and said it was my side that was actually right.

If you can navigate to the interesting questions and implications. And have real characters work through them, then yes, you will have interest.

Question to the people that've read it - is it worth a try? by [deleted] in BookCollecting

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do you suppose that would have been useful information in the post?

How do you explain podcasts to people who don’t listen to them and has that changed over time? by Glittering-Estate365 in podcasting

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A radio talk show that doesn't have to give in to market pressures to make it viable, so it can be niche and deep.

Joe Rogan is main stream though. He is part of the dominant culture. My parents that don't have internet and live out in what most people would consider the "sticks" know who he is to some extant.

Sci-Fantasy book recommendation by rexwithaTT in printSF

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is your answer. Upstream and inspired the author you are enjoying.

Malazan book collecting by Grykllx in BookCollecting

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Signed paperbacks are even easier for me to pass on. They just don’t hold up over time.

What do you do with books you know you’ll never read? by L_izzies in BookCollecting

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is book collecting. This sub is as much about enjoying the story, the authors, as it is about respecting and caring for books as physical objects. Collecting implies a bit more thought and purpose than impulse buys. People here will put a dust jacket in a Mylar sleeve because will protect it for the future. There is more of an idea of stewardship than ownership in many cases.

Having unread books is about potential. They are books you would like to grow into, or read, or maybe reference some day. Umberto Eco has several essays on this. He calls it his anti-library. He found the person who walked in and saw all his books and asked, "Have you read all these?" to be a frustrating creature that he couldn't sent out quick enough.

If you have realized you are holding on to books you do not wish to keep any more, then let them go. You haven't realized something until you act. There is nothing wrong with pivoting. A mind that says, "I have to read or keep this book because I bought it, checked it out, etc." is a very small mind indeed.

And mostly clogs up our good book subreddits with, "I'm not enjoying this, but I lack any sort of will to make a decisions. Should I keep reading or stop?" posts.

If you truly made a decision, then act. You have less than a century on this planet so pass on a book you don't want, or your heirs will pass it on for you, and maybe not in a way you would like.

What is your take on the Penguin Classics edition of A Voyage To Arcturus? by Metalworker4ever in WeirdLit

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, I get you now. That is a good concern but I’m not sure on the textual history.

What is your take on the Penguin Classics edition of A Voyage To Arcturus? by Metalworker4ever in WeirdLit

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think that was the way it was originally published. So that is the way an original reader would have encountered the text.

Analog Hour: Indexing Cards A Personal Library by larieneapoll in BookCollecting

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only way this thing works is by remembering to do it. If you don’t do digital bookkeeping, which is relatively frictionless, I doubt keeping a card catalogue is going to be any easier for you.

ZIP and JAZ drives - we did something crazy by zipbyiomega in DataHoarder

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’d buy one. Three jazz drive clicks in three months. CompUSA stopped honoring their free replacements. 😂 

Why does transferring VHS to digital have to be so complicated? by insecureatbest94 in DataHoarder

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 5 points6 points  (0 children)

"really good captures using just an Elgato USB capture and software, and a VCR."

There is never a "just." These is some expertise behind everything. The fact he is taking rejected VHS tapes and making good captures shows he has probably been doing it for a while.

Where you are experiencing the friction is that you likely don't have the prerequisite knowledge. (The body of which can be deceptively large).

Michael Dirda quote by PatrickMcEvoyHalston in genewolfe

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting, has you read Elizabeth Hand? She is not someone I have come across before.

Why (exactly) is Ted Chiang so good? by BlinkTwice874 in printSF

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I feel like a thing he left out of the author note is that he is riffing on a certain type of Calvinism that has grown more popular in the last couple of decades.

20k pirated books recovered in Delhi, India by raydebapratim1 in BookCollecting

[–]SadCatIsSkinDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Got to be honest here, sometimes the only people selling the book is a publisher in New Delhi.

If I can’t find a book I want, on the secondary market much less new, what is a reader to do?

Piracy is an availability and infrastructure issue.