Miscellaneous Musings about Books

[cupiscent]

When did World Book Day start being more about dressing up than about actual books?

On the one hand, good point!
On the other hand, I remember dressing up as my favourite character from my favourite book (Kristy from the Babysitters Club, for the record) about thirty years ago...
I think it's mostly about encouraging enthusiasm for books, and costumes are a great way to display enthusiasm in a way that really starts conversations and thus spreads it around. (Especially in kids.)

[Peat]

When did World Book Day start being more about dressing up than about actual books?

Because you can show off how brilliantly you dressed up your kid and you can't show off what you're reading.

Not sure what degree I'm tongue in cheek there and what degree I'm deadly serious.

[ScarletBea]

Wow I really thought it was a recent thing! The first time I heard about WBD was after moving to the UK, after several years here actually

And ok, I get your point too... I suppose the children who read anyway are happy to play around, and those who don't might start just to participate

[Peat]

One of my friends posted this survey on fantasy race tropes and I figured I'd see if people here were interested in filling it out if they haven't already seen it - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIOLh3WcQl6MXKyai--fy8P4V06_PdWv8dYdsC68I_1H3U-g/viewform

[DrNefario]

I just tried to look up World Book Day because I remembered there also being a World Book Night on a different day. It's even more confusing than I thought:

- World Book Day was originally a UN thing, started in 1995, and is on 23rd April

- The first-Thursday-in-March version of World Book Day is a UK & Ireland variation, moved to avoid clashing with other holidays (since 1998, apparently)

- World Book Night is therefore the UK & Ireland thing that happens on the actual worldwide World Book Day on 23rd April

Luckily, I read books every day.

PS: Just reading about the date. The 23rd April is the date that Shakespeare and Cervantes both died. In fact, they both died on the same date - 23rd April 1616 - but not on the same day, because Britain and Spain were using different calendars at the time.

I mean what even is time, anyway.

[ScarletBea]

One of my friends posted this survey on fantasy race tropes and I figured I'd see if people here were interested in filling it out if they haven't already seen it - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIOLh3WcQl6MXKyai--fy8P4V06_PdWv8dYdsC68I_1H3U-g/viewform

I'm so bad! I think I wrote "they don't exist, so they can be whatever the writer wants" in almost all questions

[Peat]

One of my friends posted this survey on fantasy race tropes and I figured I'd see if people here were interested in filling it out if they haven't already seen it - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIOLh3WcQl6MXKyai--fy8P4V06_PdWv8dYdsC68I_1H3U-g/viewform

I'm so bad! I think I wrote "they don't exist, so they can be whatever the writer wants" in almost all questions

You trouble maker   

I think my other response for elves was "Tastes good with BBQ sauce".

[cupiscent]

One of my friends posted this survey on fantasy race tropes and I figured I'd see if people here were interested in filling it out if they haven't already seen it - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIOLh3WcQl6MXKyai--fy8P4V06_PdWv8dYdsC68I_1H3U-g/viewform

I'm now having a LOT of thoughts about the Western-centricity of the expected responses in that "dragons" list. And it's only now that I'm realising how very Asian-dragon Falkor in The Neverending Story is.

[hexa]

Falkor is a luck dragon

[S. K. Inkslinger]

Oh hell, I was just reading a novel that was perfect all the way until just a few pages before the end and boom, what a horrible ending that was. It was like the author just stopped writing and decided to take a crap on their own book. Perfect, really reminded me of that ending to the Night Angel trilogy. It's been 5 years since I read that series and I'm still kinda pissed at it and Brent Week's works in general.

[ScarletBea]

Oh, that feeling when you're reading a book and it's a bit boring and you don't care about it anymore, but because you won it in a competition you feel obliged to continue and find some good things to say about it?
 

I'm just kinda speed-reading it now...

[S. K. Inkslinger]

Oh, that feeling when you're reading a book and it's a bit boring and you don't care about it anymore, but because you won it in a competition you feel obliged to continue and find some good things to say about it?
 

I'm just kinda speed-reading it now...

If I'm really losing interest in a book I'd probably DNF'd it even if I won it off somewhere, hahah. It's supposed to be a past time and not classroom required reading so you should enjoy it I guess.

[eclipse]

Oh, that feeling when you're reading a book and it's a bit boring and you don't care about it anymore, but because you won it in a competition you feel obliged to continue and find some good things to say about it?
 

I'm just kinda speed-reading it now...

After 25% if it’s not working for me for whatever reason I would give up on it.

[DrNefario]

I will often push through a book I'm not enjoying, because there is often some ulterior motive to my reading. It kind of depends how long it is, though. I pushed through a tedious Andre Norton book a few weeks back because it was (a) under 200 pages, and (b) I was reading it for the Reddit Bingo card (and to a lesser extent (c) it was the second half of an omnibus I was "tidying up"). Had it been 800 pages I might have dropped it. Although there's still always the hope it might get good.