Thursday, October 31, 2013

Blogvember

So, I brutally failed at Blogtober. Sorry guys! Let's try again. It's November, which many people know as Nanowrimo, but I've decided to do Nablopomo instead. So we're going to do blogvember!

And my first post is ...food! I could use a bakation right now. There are so many things I want to cook right now and not enough time to fix it all! I can cook a quick, healthy and delicious weeknight meal without breaking a sweat, but when it' time to try a complicated new recipe I like to take my time and spread out and make a mess in my kitchen.

In addition to all my experimental shenanigans I am planning I am going to try making another variety of my granola cereal. So far I have only made peanut butter cereal, but I think I am going to try making cinnamon maple walnut this weekend. cereal has turned into my go to snack. I know what' sin it, and I cam make sure it's full of healthy ingredients that I love. Definitely keeps me out of the cookies. :D

Thursday, October 10, 2013

NOOOOO

I forgot that I was doing blogtober! I'm sorry! I have failed you! Grading freshmen assignments ate my brain.

RELATED:

When assessing whether a resource is scholarly or not "seems legit" is not sufficient. Please pass this on to all the freshmen of your aquaintance.

ALSO RELATED:

I think it's cute how many students assess government websites thusly "this is a government website and therefore it must be true".

Look at them! With their faith in the government uncrushed by cynicism and reality! Bless their hearts.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

COME ON.

http://www.unlikelywords.com/2013/10/01/library-of-congress-shouldnt-exist-because-all-that-stuff-is-published-online-bro/

No sale.

Two things.

First:

I don't demand that everyone agree with my morals or my politics. Everyone has a right to their own opinion. Everyone does not, however, have a right to their own facts. So if you want to talk about your politics, that's fine. If you want to post a bunch of bull malarky that you haven't bothered to fact check, screw you.

Second:
If you are going to post those ridiculous, fictional screeds in a space where you are also trying to promote your business, I am going to unfriend/unfollow/unbookmark you and certainly, I am going to choose not to support your business.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Pride and Prejudice 2: More Pride, More Prejudice.

So let's talk about sequels to classic novels and why people should stop writing them.

BECAUSE THEY SUCK, THAT'S WHY.

Wait. Wait. Maybe that's unfair. I'm suere that there are SOME sequels to classic novels written in modern times that are very good. I don't think I've read any, but I'm sure they exist.

But....

Still, stop it.

Jane Austen's voice was unmistakable and it has become often imitated and never duplicated. That doesn't seem to stop people from trying. This year is the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice and the stream of sequels seems to be never ending. The latest is titled Longbourn, by Jo Baker, and apparently details the life of the servants that worked for the Bennett family.

Now. We come to my problem. Longbourn may be an excellent novel (although I'll point out here that in every copy of Pride and Prejudice I own...I won't admit how many...there's an e on the end of Longbourne) but IF it is an excellent novel, why can't it stand alone? Downton Abbey, Upstairs, Downstairs, these stories deal with the life of both the upper class and the underclass and their popularity is legend. So why does Jo Baker need her novel to piggy back on Jane Austen's? Can it not stand alone? Is it merely cheap marketing? This is the core of my issue. Can you not write a novel that stands on its own? Are your characters too weak? Is your premise shaky?

I find this so annoying because I feel like it prejudges authors for me. I look at these books and say "why could I read someone else's take on Pride and Prejudice when I could just read Pride and Prejudice?" Am I missing some great authors? I might be...but if they're so great...why aren't they writing their own books instead of Jane Austen's?

Friday, October 4, 2013

Let me Google that for you

So tonight's pet peeve comes from the comments section of basically every website ever. I know, I know, don't read the comments, but whatever, you can judge me about that later. For now, let's judge everyone else, or at least judge the idiots that are currently bugging me. I hope none of my (I think very few) readers are guilty of this by the way. If you are, it's not too late to NEVER DO IT AGAIN.

What great and terrible sin do I refer to? Posting a comment on an article that is akin to "I don't know who x is, but I love them"  "or, I don't know who x is, but I hate them" OR "I don't know who x is, and I don't care."

I am so happy for you, that you live in a world where you are sheltered from pop culture and therefore cruise through life not understanding any references ever. You are a pain in the rear to everyone you talk to and I would glad you punch you today for the chance to ALSO PUNCH YOU TOMORROW. 

Here's a tip. Rather than bragging about how wicked cool your ignorance is, because man, what is more awesome than being stupid? LOOK IT UP. I will grant you, this may be the librarian in me, but I don't think I have ever stood up and said "I am completely ignorant on a subject, but I'm going to share my opinion anyway, but feel free to tell me about stuff later."

If you are talking on the internet, you are ALREADY ON THE INTERNET. The information is right there. You can use the Googles. The power is within you.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Rank and file.

So, as has been long established, I am a cranky person. And I have been ACCUSED of being especially cranky when it comes to my book reviews. This is a totally harsh and unfair accusation, y'all. My rating system is totally based on merit and most books just don't merit that much.

So let's break it down, are you an author angry about your rating? Are you a crazy fan of an author angry about your rating? Here's how you got there.

If you got a one:
You have offended me. Your book was bad, and you should feel bad.

If you got a two:
Your book was not very good. Did it need an editor? Did it have a hard to follow plot? Maybe it was just painfully mediocre. Maybe it was almost good but went horribly astray. Either way, unlike with the people who get ones, I am not poking voodoo dolls and hoping your career fails.

If you got a three:
Now here's where I feel like there is a flaw in the goodreads.com ranking system. Most of my books are rated threes, and I wish goodreads would fine tune their system to allow for half stars. Because my threes cover a pretty wide range, and this is also wher eI end up comparing authors to themselves. Jim Butcher has become one of my favorite authors, but not all of his books are equally good. An okay Jim Butcher book might rank the same as a really good Jayne Ann Krentz book. To me it's the difference between going out to a fantastic restaurant and getting a good meal and a meal from McDonalds. The so so meal from the Melting Pot is still amazing, but Mcdonalds satisfies in a different way. A so so book from a great author is still great, but a great book from a consistent author may never break into my top books, but I still enjoy them and go back to them time and again. This is where goodreads faisl me a little bit. If I could give half stars, I would. If the number range was broader it would have more flexibility. This is why so many books end up as a three.

If you got a four:

I really really liked it and will certianly recommend it and wouldn't rule out rereading it in the future.

If you got a five:

I have probably already read this book six times or sixteen). It is a childhood favorite I return to constantly. It is a book that changed my life, changed my reading habits, introduced me to something I had never thought of. I recommend this book to everyoen and then follow them around asking them what they're waiting for. I have contemplated proposing to the author.Have you looked at my goodreads? You should. Sort them by rating. Read the 5s. Let me know what you think. Hurry up.

And that's it...that's why I rank books the way I do. I am a terribly cranky person and I hold books to a high standard. I only have so much time and I want the books I read to feel like they are worth it. When they aren't? Yes.Absolutely I will get cranky. Some of the books I love are great. Some of them are terrible, but for whatever reason, they clicked for me, and that's what I'm always looking for.

(and check out my goodreads profile here: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/124964-carrie)

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Terrible books are terrible.

Today, instead of writing a cranky post, I am going to link you to what I think may be the angriest book review I have ever written, and I once refused to give a book any stars at all. I would have also given this one zero stars, but that makes it go to the bottom of the page where no one will see it  - and frankly, I feel like people need to see the badness. So. Without further ado: At What Cost, also known as the book that almost made me throw my Kindle.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

TTFN

Good news, kids! I am back, and I am going to complain about things that I find annoying, Andy Rooney style, and then I'm going to tell you to get off my damn lawn.

So what's the deal with abbreviations on the internet? Or, I suppose, as kids today would say, ABBVS in the INT? I hate this. Like, I get it, you want to LOL with your BFF. Fine. Standard abbreviations and acronyms exist for a reason (and that reason is people are lazy), but there comes a time, son, when you need to USE YOUR WORDS. When I amr eading a website and I have to Google what everyone's damn acronyms mean and it turns out they don't mean anything and the only result is Urban Dictionary suggesting it has something to do with either penises or calling someone a ho', which is frankly, rarely implied by the context of the article or comment in question.

Clearly, the internet is filled with lazy people who don't want to type out whole words and all I have to say to that is I don't care what you want. If you want me to keep reading your stupid blog, you're gonna need to use real words. I know you think you have a rapport with your readers and they all understand whatever you're saying but unless you have planned to never have any new readers, that is stupid and you should quit it.

This is kind of like how Rachel Ray calls extra virgin olive oil EVOO and then has to stop EVERY TIME and explain that EVOO is extra virgin olive oil. If your acronym or abbreviation requres continual explanation, it's a bad one to use, and you should feel bad. Presumably most of you have learned to read and write to at least some degree and you should be proud of that. SO USE YOUR DAMN WORDS.

And get off my lawn already.