Monday 31 January 2011

Your Wall is Made of Holes

I start this post by admitting I wanted to title it - There's a Hole in Your Bucket - but I was kind of afraid that everyone would wonder why the content of the post was so different to the title.

After reading Anchored last week, it brought to mind something I'd read on one of the romance forums. (I have the feeling I may have posted about this before, so sorry if I'm repeating myself).

There was a discussion on this aforementioned board about a certain series, and someone posted that they'd really enjoyed the series and how solid the worldbuilding was, until they realized that the wall of this 'solid' worldbuilding was actually made of holes*. As soon as they realized this, they could no longer read the books because they no longer held together for them.

I think this is something different from 'jumping the shark', which is something that can happen very quickly:-

You read something in a story - OMG! - and the next sound you hear is the crash as the book hits the wall.

I think the 'wall made of holes' situation is something that can creep on you much more stealthily whilst you're reading. It can be a series of things that niggle at you and then just one too many tips you over the edge.

What's interesting is that those books which have jumped the shark for me - usually by killing off a character I was particularly attached to - I still have strong feelings (generally of hatred) for.

But the ones where I've realized that there's actually no substance holding them together for me - just complete apathy.

So has anyone out there had similar feelings about a book? Or are you more the 'I either love it or hate it type?'. I have a copy of Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett, to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number on Friday.


* - and I've realized whilst writing this post that hole is one of those words that if you say it more than five times, it loses all sense of meaning.

Friday 28 January 2011

Winner of the...

Under the Influence giveaway is...

DL

She posted second and the number chosen at random.org was 2. I have a copy of Practical Demonkeeping waiting to be posted to you.

Monday 24 January 2011

Under the Influence

Last week, or possibly the week before...okay the week before, geez it's been a while since I posted...DL posted on the DIK blog about how she'd been inspired by the BDB series to learn American Sign Language. You can read that post by clicking here.

It got me to thinking if I'd ever been inspired to try anything or learn anything that I'd read in a book.

For some reason I had this niggling feeling that I had.

:blushes:

Then I remembered. I wish it had been something as interesting or as worthy as learning ASL, but it was not. In one of the Weather Warden books Rachel Caine wrote this yummy description of the Omnia perfume by Bulgari. I think she might have used the word chocolate. Of course, Omnia isn't sold in any of the local shops, I think in the end I tracked a bottle down online. I think it has a very nice smell but a bit heavy, not one I'd recommend if you're prone to migraines.

I still have this feeling though, that there's something else I've done/tried/attempted and failed at, after first reading about it. But I've obviously scrubbed the experience from my memory and replaced it with something less traumatic.

Anyway just wondering if you'd ever been inspired to try anything from what you'd read in your favourite fiction? I have a copy of Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore to give away to one poster to this thread. Winner to be chosen by random number on Friday.