tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post8113847827220738029..comments2024-03-29T02:40:16.271-05:00Comments on Charlotte's Library: When is a small thing big enough to make you walk away from a book?Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-9490508620221557362016-05-03T13:54:56.487-05:002016-05-03T13:54:56.487-05:00So, I typed "corn in Kansas" into Google...So, I typed "corn in Kansas" into Google (I'm just curious that way) and this was the first result http://kscorn.com/ - the website of "the Kansas Corn Growers Association and the Kansas Corn Commission"<br /><br />By looking deeper I discovered that "The 2013 Kansas Corn Crop was the highest valued crop in Kansas - $2.31 billion"<br /><br />But I do understand the frustration. I was born in Idaho and, while we do grow it, we're not the corn state either. Not that I want people to only think of potatoes when they think of Idaho. When people try to pin a single tag on an entire state, it's usually a bad sign.<br /><br />And Charlotte, I think it is OK to put down any book for any reason. There are too many books I will never get to read, simply because I don't have enough time, for me to feel bad when I DNF one.<br />Got My Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14504371573041967671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-50122256791824061202016-04-11T04:50:31.411-05:002016-04-11T04:50:31.411-05:00I couldn't say you're being too picky beca...I couldn't say you're being too picky because I'd feel the same. If you're pulled out of the book by such an error you're naturally going to wonder whether it'll happen again and you're going to loose a bit of that trust you started with. Most recently I read a book that contradicted itself on character details within paragraphs and whilst I finished it I'm not sure I'll read another book by the author if things like that can be missed.Charlie (The Worm Hole)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00675899182238415718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-34779199610833929532016-04-07T15:52:33.494-05:002016-04-07T15:52:33.494-05:00I think for me it depends on how engaged in the bo...I think for me it depends on how engaged in the book I am otherwise. Like Sage, I'll forgive errors if I really want to read a book. But sometimes I'll take any excuse to stop. The one that bugged me most recently wasn't even an error - just something I found implausible. There's a book set 20 years after a plague-driven apocalypse (which took place in present-day US), and the survivors are still muddling along without any electricity. Um... solar panels, anyway? Find a book about fixing electrical systems? I did finish the book, but it bugged me the whole time. Jen Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10343476550309656223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-14996675547775677702016-04-07T10:08:23.939-05:002016-04-07T10:08:23.939-05:00Seems like a revision error. In an earlier version...Seems like a revision error. In an earlier version the author might've had it as an apple tree, then perhaps switched to an oak for reasons of rhythm or symbolism, but forgot to do cleanup on the fruit detail. I think we all make errors like that all the time, but then catch them over hundreds of revisions...<br /><br />I just finished rereading THUD! by Terry Pratchett. In the climactic scene, Sam Vimes tells Cheery Littlebottom to take a message to his wife, who is ten miles away. Exit Littlebottom stage left. Then the next page, she joins in the conversation. Oops. But I keep reading because it's Terry Pratchett. (Who at that time was turning out several books a year... no time for those hundreds of rereads.)<br /><br />For me I guess it comes down to how I feel about the author. And I certainly think you can put a book down any time for any reason without feeling guilty.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sage Blackwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10847897945969895906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-8138011718391651872016-04-04T19:19:14.233-05:002016-04-04T19:19:14.233-05:00I think -- if you're in love with a book apart...I think -- if you're in love with a book apart from the oak tree error, you'll be less likely to put it down. And if you put it down because of an oak tree error, you probably weren't that into it to begin with. But that is okay! I am in the camp that it's completely fine to ditch a book any time for any reason, and trust that bloggers will bring it back to you if it needs to be brought back to you. I've done that a few times and found the book still wasn't for me; and I've done it a few times and found the book to be awesome. You just never know!Jenny @ Reading the Endhttp://readingtheend.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-49584063087922209722016-04-04T16:27:32.515-05:002016-04-04T16:27:32.515-05:00Yeah, I have to agree with Liviania, depending on ...Yeah, I have to agree with Liviania, depending on how invested I am in the story would determine if I would finish. I actually had a really hard time with two books in particular last summer, with some writing style and subject matter that I was just not going for..yet I felt compelled to trudge further, and I have to say...they BOTH panned out to utter surprising perfection! So, I don't know if three chapters is enough, that's a personal choice...would a fruiting oak tree turn me off...yes, it would really bother me, however, everyone can make a mistake and if the story was holding me in other ways, I'd go further...but that's just me.Thornton Berry Shire Presshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14594091410654495227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-86803438429479211012016-04-02T23:37:31.203-05:002016-04-02T23:37:31.203-05:00Hahaha, I know that feeling...but then why are the...Hahaha, I know that feeling...but then why are there are books I find obviously, mind-blowingly bad (Girl of Fire and Thorns for example), yet other readers and critics adore them? It's not possible to eliminate the subjective element from reading entirely, do what we will.Loryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08519976394732029323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-19853117047525785512016-04-02T22:38:50.681-05:002016-04-02T22:38:50.681-05:00For me, it depends. Something like that, especial...For me, it depends. Something like that, especially early, would be enough to kick me out of a book that hadn't given me a reason to be kind to it.<br /><br />The closer a book aligns to my interests, the more little errors I am willing to let go.Livianiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10479932701589363306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-1390713835813797822016-04-02T22:11:26.873-05:002016-04-02T22:11:26.873-05:00Oh, Char - oak fruit!?
If nothing else, this shows...Oh, Char - oak fruit!?<br />If nothing else, this shows the lack of a good proofreader... and yeah. Maybe not a dealbreaker entirely, but definitely that would get my antennae up. The NEXT thing I found would be the dealbreaker, whatever it was... and doubtless, there would be SOMETHING. I agree with Karen: if it doesn't work...tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-40957750086236442322016-04-02T20:52:51.491-05:002016-04-02T20:52:51.491-05:00I guess Iowa is close enough to make importing cor...I guess Iowa is close enough to make importing corn feasible.....Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-42185338259029004282016-04-02T20:52:20.421-05:002016-04-02T20:52:20.421-05:00goodness, that sound disturbing. Like they are ag...goodness, that sound disturbing. Like they are aging in horror movie timelapse ways!Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-59831026024847554852016-04-02T20:50:49.417-05:002016-04-02T20:50:49.417-05:00Possibly I was hungry when I got distracted by Fla...Possibly I was hungry when I got distracted by Flanagan's food.Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-83957130433115508362016-04-02T20:49:59.953-05:002016-04-02T20:49:59.953-05:00I always wonder, though, when I can't forgive ...I always wonder, though, when I can't forgive a trivial mistake, if maybe somehow it is my fault for not being in "the right mood" to appreciate all the verve and humor that other readers might be seeing...and so I press on, often regretting the time spent after the fact. I find it very freeing to read a book that is so Very clearly certainly bad that I can be sure it is not just me and it is indeed bad.....Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-32250706556945747042016-04-02T20:47:03.955-05:002016-04-02T20:47:03.955-05:00Yeah, I don't think there can be a hard and fa...Yeah, I don't think there can be a hard and fast rule (though I think the age consistency problems would be a deal breaker, and the corn rule seems fairly straightforward. I will try to remember to follow the Corn Rule from now on!). But like Karen said, there will almost certainly be more problems to come, preventing the reader from relaxing.Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-70252745576956464542016-04-02T20:29:47.176-05:002016-04-02T20:29:47.176-05:00It's hard to make a definitive rule -- a mista...It's hard to make a definitive rule -- a mistake like that would drive me crazy, and yet there are certain books and series with terrible consistency problems that I still love. I think it has to do with the tone of the book as a whole. Does the verve and energy of the storytelling carry it along in spite of some factual errors or inconsistencies? I would probably forgive those lapses. Or does the fact that the author has not bothered to accurately observe some basic phenomena fatally weigh down a narrative that is already uninspiring? That's a sure DNF for me.Loryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08519976394732029323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-78816551506831161022016-04-02T19:59:42.054-05:002016-04-02T19:59:42.054-05:00I'll put down any book that has Kansas growing...I'll put down any book that has Kansas growing corn. We don't. Do your research. So, I think you're totally justified. Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00217383813263874657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-86859867189486785482016-04-02T19:58:26.096-05:002016-04-02T19:58:26.096-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00217383813263874657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-34642699653256561952016-04-02T16:54:39.587-05:002016-04-02T16:54:39.587-05:00I don't think it's too picky. When somethi...I don't think it's too picky. When something hits you as false, and you can't shake it, it's time to quit. Age continuity errors bother me the most probably. (This is a typical problem in romance novels I've found.) Not as much time has past in the books as has past in real life yet the characters are aging in real time. Brandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12105770016693038906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-82784952129503552402016-04-02T15:43:32.192-05:002016-04-02T15:43:32.192-05:00A certain very popular author drove me NUTS as a c...A certain very popular author drove me NUTS as a child, because the ages of her characters never matched up with their grades in school. If you don't know that much about the kids you are writing about, why should I believe you know anything else about them?Amihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04191114596338482173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-352613841931330602016-04-02T13:58:03.978-05:002016-04-02T13:58:03.978-05:00If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. That ...If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. That said, I've had countless conversations with my students about the food in Flanagan's work, and they aren't at all bothered by butter on the trail and such. Not knowing the fruit of the oak... There will be more problems, later, to be sure!Ms. Yinglinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com