Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Short-Lived Nirvana
Deirdre Foley-Mendelssohn posted this little bit in one of the cubbyholes of The New Yorker, titled, "The Trouble With Recommending Books". She is dead on, as she notes that when ..."friends recommend books—but usually based on their tastes, not yours, and then reading can feel onerous, like a book report crossed with a blind date". She links to a site, Biblioracle, set up by one John Warner, who provides a suggested book based on five books that you list. Unfortunately, a lot of folks liked this idea and Mr. Warner closed up shop on this enterprise. I did not include the link to his site as I became stuck in the Sargasso Sea of the Internet when I first clicked on the link. Treat this as a warning; unless you're running on a T1 (or faster) connection, you will be waiting a get-up-get-a-cup-of-coffee-bake-a-cake time before your screen unfreezes. His recommendations as well as some of the books listed by the folks asking for his recommendations were quite intriguing, if not downright mysterious. Just a shame that he ran out of fuel so quickly. His internet server of Biblio-Nirvana simply crashed.
It's a great idea, though and I'd suggest (as suggesting, as opposed to doing, is my strong suit) that Mr. Whisky Prajer consider taking on the role. He is a well-read kind of guy and a well-spoken opinionator of all things musical and literary. I've read some of the books that he has recommended and would most definitely rate highly his reviews of the tomes he's plowed through. Since he's across the border in Canada, he is out of reach of possible litiginous American readers who may sue for theft of time based on his recommendations. So, how about it WP? Ready to receive lists of the Last Five Books Read and render your opinion on the next book that should follow? I think you're more than up to the task!
It's a great idea, though and I'd suggest (as suggesting, as opposed to doing, is my strong suit) that Mr. Whisky Prajer consider taking on the role. He is a well-read kind of guy and a well-spoken opinionator of all things musical and literary. I've read some of the books that he has recommended and would most definitely rate highly his reviews of the tomes he's plowed through. Since he's across the border in Canada, he is out of reach of possible litiginous American readers who may sue for theft of time based on his recommendations. So, how about it WP? Ready to receive lists of the Last Five Books Read and render your opinion on the next book that should follow? I think you're more than up to the task!
Labels: 2010: Are We Recovering Yet?
Comments:
<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
Nudging me back onto the bookstore floor, are you? Just a word of warning: that sort of customer service always worked best as a "team effort." Once customers find themselves buying the same five books every time they visit, they may approach you for the refund.
Yes! The floor-team is complete. Now all we have to do is agree on the five books we'll tell everybody to read when they visit.
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<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
