Happy #NationalBookLoversDay everybody! But are you really a book lover, or just a book flirt?
Luckily I have a handy quiz to help you out...
A friend buys you a book 'they know you'll love!' but you already have it. Do you:
a) ask for the receipt
b) accept it, but re-gift it later
c) shout "Woo-Hoo! More books!! MORE BOOKS!!!"
In a bookstore you and another customer both want the last copy of the same book. Do you:
a) let them take it
b) toss a coin for it
c) rip out the last page and scream "You'll never have it! NEVER!!!"
You see an attractive person in a bookshop browsing the Modern Fiction section do you:
a) admire them from afar
b) strike up a conversation with them about modern fiction
c) secretly admonish the books for looking at someone other than yourself
You visit your local public library. How does the librarian greet you?
a) "Hello, can I help you?"
b) "Nice to see you again."
c) "FFS! Do you not know what a COURT ORDER is? Miriam, release the hounds!!"
How do you like to arrange your bookshelves?
a) in alphaberical order
b) by genre
c) by priapic response
Do you consider yourself:
a) a bibliophobe
b) a bibliophile
c) a bibliobimbo, as your most recent tattoo - "613.96" - confirms
So how did you do?
Mostly As: you're a book prude and should stick to watching telly
Mostly Bs: you're a book voyeur at best and probably just like to look at the covers
Mostly Cs: congratulations - you are a book lover and today is your day!
Happy reading...
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Happy #808day everybody! And as we're celebrating the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer I make no apologies for sampling one of my favourite previous threads.
This is the story of digital synthesised music...
In the 1940s Musique Concrète introduced the idea of sampling and sound distortion into musical composition - often with the help of audio tape splicing.
It was all very avant-garde, but it was limited by the available technology.
However by 1957 the massive experimental RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer had shown composers how an analogue synthesizer could be paired with a programmable sequencer to play music too complex for human musicians to manage.
JX Williams was an alias used by many writers who knocked out cheesy sex pulp for Greenleaf publishing. At least 20% of each novel had to be sex scenes with the other 80% titillation, voyeurism or padding.
As a result Greenleaf plots were somewhat thin affairs: sexy sensationalism was more important than character arcs or the niceties of the three act drama.
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"
And today it's a Queen-Sized Gothic special...
'Queen-Size' is a polite way of saying large print, which is a format that has a lot going for it. For a start it's much easier to read!
However for years the standard size for a paperback book was the dimensions of a coat pocket. Paperbacks were meant to be read on the train or bus, so they had to be compact. The US term for them was 'pocket books.'