SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Sunshine!

Allison wrote: "My greatest joy is waking up late on a weekend, realizing it's sunny out and taking my coffee and my book to a lounge chair..."

Mine too! Although life has not been cooperating lately with my read-all-morning plan on the weekends. I need to re-prioritize.

I'll also take the inside and rain. With a cup of tea and cats on my lap. :)

Allison wrote: "Would you rather read out in the sunshine or inside while it rains?"

Inside while it rains, 100%. It's been raining all day today, so it's been lovely just lying in bed for most of the day, listening to the rain.

Also, I'm very pale and the Australian sun is harsh. I burn.

Outside, on a porch with pouring rain. Bliss!!!

I love the rain, so I’m with Anna and Rachel in that I would prefer to read outside in the rain. I enjoy reading on my covered deck in both sun and rain, but I’m most likely to be lured outside by the rain. If it starts pouring rain while I’m in a store, I’m the one plunging gleefully out into it while everybody else mournfully hovers around the exit. I haven’t carried an umbrella since I was like 12, at which point in my life the main purpose of an umbrella was for twirling around in the rain and making it go inside out.

But if I must follow the rules, I’ll opt for reading inside while it rains. (Maybe with a hole in the roof? Ok, maybe not. Unless I'm at somebody else's house.) If my main goal is to read, I’ll get more reading done inside during the rain than outside in the sunshine. I enjoy reading outside, but I tend to do it in short sessions because I get distracted more easily.

YouKneeK wrote: "I love the rain, so I’m with Anna and Rachel in that I would prefer to read outside in the rain. I enjoy reading on my covered deck in both sun and rain, but I’m most likely to be lured outside by ..."

I think we call "when it rains inside" a "shower" in most houses. ;-)

Cute! I am happy and horrified at the number of you who want rain!

LOL, I guess I could read in the shower, but it’s just not the same!

Inside & rain with a book & strong coffee. Nothing more blissful!

Inside+outside_rain. If it is sunny out, I feel compelled to do something non reading.

Hank wrote: "Inside+outside_rain. If it is sunny out, I feel compelled to do something non reading."

Same.

Rain is a good excuse to sit in and relax, but if it's sunny outside than I often feel like I want to do something a bit more energetic, or that I ought to be doing something more productive than reading.

Of course, that also depends on whether it's actually a nice day outside. Sunny=/= nice day. I have, like, a 10 degree range of temperature where I'd actually consider it a "nice day". Otherwise it's either too hot or too cold or too humid, and I wouldn't really want to be outside, anyway, reading or otherwise.

It doesn't help that I don't currently have a nice covered porch or anything - or else I might read outside on the porch when it's raining, but right now that's not an option for me.

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I'll also take the inside and rain. With a cup of tea and cats on my lap. :)"

You have some very docile cats, if you can have both them and a cup o' tea on your lap at the same time. (hehe.)

This indoorsy type goes for the cat/hot bevvy/rain combo, too.

rain,cats, kindle, wine, bread and cheese for me

Actually, my ideal read would be mid-winter blizzard and a pot-bellied wood stove in the house! That is how I remember my first reading experiences, sitting beside my grandfather on the ranch where I grew up, on winter afternoons in Montana. He also had a cat, but they would fight over who got to sit on the couch directly across from the stove.

Actually, if the 'sun' option includes, on the dock at the lake OR in a private cabana on a nice beach I might take the sun option lol

Rachel wrote: "Actually, if the 'sun' option includes, on the dock at the lake OR in a private cabana on a nice beach I might take the sun option lol"

It sure can! come to the dark--I mean the bright side!

I want both. Like green eggs and ham style. I can read in the rain! On a train! On the sand! While holding hands!

Rachel wrote: "I want both. Like green eggs and ham style. I can read in the rain! On a train! On the sand! While holding hands!"

This!

Haha! That is the torment/joy of WYR. Like the Highlander, there can be only one!

Rachel wrote: "Outside, on a porch with pouring rain. Bliss!!!"

This sounds heavenly!

I read much of Order of the Phoenix, the first time, on my parent's deck while it was thunderstorming.

One thing I miss about living their is the deck. *le sigh*

Oh!! Oh!!

I have a mean one. *Grinch ears twirl*

Would you rather lend someone a book and have it come back dog-eared or spine-curled?

I purposely break the spines of my books - especially larger books that are a pain to hold open. So... yeah... doesn't bother me.

I would be annoyed with the dog-earring mostly because I dog-ear my books to remind me of specific bits/quotes I liked - especially my Discworld books - and I wouldn't want someone else's ears messing up my own.

:P

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I purposely break the spines of my books - especially larger books that are a pain to hold open. So... yeah... doesn't bother me.

I would be annoyed with the dog-earring mostly because I dog-ear m..."

(I do the same with dog ears, but I dog ear from the bottom so people don't ruin my perfect system!)

I don't do those things but also don't get bent out of shape about them (pun intended) if somebody does it to their own books. I also don't care if people make their own books into papier mache or other art. I do notice if my own book comes back in much worse shape than I loaned it, but.. eh, it's just an object, I'll live.

I'll vote "dog-eared" since it seems a little less destructive.

Side anecdote... I lent my dad my copy of Half-Blood Prince and he actually called me to inform me that there was a mark on one of the pages and he did not do it!

(I knew this as I had done it. It was soup. I just thought it was kind of sweet and funny that he was so concerned about it and just wanted to be sure that I didn't get mad about him about it.)

Beth wrote: "I don't do those things but also don't get bent out of shape about them (pun intended)..."


*snort*

Allison wrote: "Oh!! Oh!!

I have a mean one. *Grinch ears twirl*

Would you rather lend someone a book and have it come back dog-eared or spine-curled?"

I'd pick dog eared, because it's not too hard to fix, but I'd be annoyed both ways.

Allison wrote: "Oh!! Oh!!

I have a mean one. *Grinch ears twirl*

Would you rather lend someone a book and have it come back dog-eared or spine-curled?"

Dog-eared - that is but beautiful weathering. Spine damage is exactly that: damage.

I just had to give a shout-out to Sharon's comment about "winter afternoons in Montana" because exactly that's me! Moved up here three years ago from a place that didn't have seasons, and I super LOVE the snow...except for driving in.

But as to the current question, I'd pick dog-eared over spine-curled. With some careful ministrations, I can fix the creases if I'm feeling particularly anal, but I've had too many books with cracked and curled spines that ended up with chunks of pages falling out due to the damage. Just... no thank you.

Allison wrote: "Oh!! Oh!!

I have a mean one. *Grinch ears twirl*

Would you rather lend someone a book and have it come back dog-eared or spine-curled?"

Dog-eared.
Actually, this was easy. Spine-curled is so much worse.

I don't lend books any more - the last three books never came back to me:

1. the borrower was murdered - The Bladerunner
2. drowned in a boating accident - Bloodletters and Badmen
3. their marriage exploded - A Wrinkle in Time and the rest of the series

whenever anyone wants to borrow a book, I just tell the history of my last three loans and they usually don't want to borrow the book any more

CBR, that’s horrible! :o

Omg!

Either pleases. The worst is when I lend someone a book because they've expressed enthusiasm, and then they don't bloody read it. Bent spine; dog eared: Both are signs of true book reading/hugging, and I welcome them all!

Travis wrote: "Either pleases. The worst is when I lend someone a book because they've expressed enthusiasm, and then they don't bloody read it. Bent spine; dog eared: Both are signs of true book reading/hugging,..."

Ooo it pisses me off when they don't read it!

You're team sunshine reading though, right??

Allison wrote: "
You're team sunshine reading though, right?"

No: rain! Though snow, lots and lots of snow, would be even better.

/facepalm

You and me and sometimes Rachel, Jen!

I was going along the same lines as CBRetriever, I am just happy when the books come back! Although if I have already read it then no worries either way.

I love snuggling up with a book on a rainy day. However, considering it only rains maybe 40 days a year where I live, I'd better pick outside & sunny or I'd never get to read! shudder

Hank wrote: "I was going along the same lines as CBRetriever, I am just happy when the books come back! Although if I have already read it then no worries either way."

I often have "loan copies" and "my copies" so that if/when someone makes off with my things, it's just the one I didn't need!

Shanna wrote: "I love snuggling up with a book on a rainy day. However, considering it only rains maybe 40 days a year where I live, I'd better pick outside & sunny or I'd never get to read! shudder"

Wanna switch for a bit? We have another week of rain coming. There's a mushroom in the sunniest part of my yard.

When I read, I'm in that world and experiencing that weather. I couldn't care less what the weather is like in the real world, but since I prefer to read inside, I guess I'll take the rain.

I'd rather have my book returned with dog ears, but neither would upset me. I would just want the person to read the stuff promptly.

mmm reading on the porch while it rains would be difficult as I just love watching rain. If it there is lightning all the better. If it is cold and drizzly then inside with a heater, a wine and my book

sunny weather I read on the porch, not really into garden stuff.

As to lending books, I am given a lot of books from a niece and nephew who buy a lot and then pass them on to me. After I read them I give them away so don't really care what state they are in.

However I have a book collection of my favs, I am a re reader, so I don't lend them. Once I was caught out and the books came back dog eared etc. Those books are now, like Alison's idea, in a shelf to be lent.

I especially get mad at people who return anything not in the condition they borrowed it, to me that is disrespect . So of my two sisters only one is allowed to borrow books, the other doesn't return them in the condition they were lent, so no more books for her

This is a question that I pondered recently and I would love to get thoughts on.

Would you rather..

Remember everything you've done in your life (conversations, activities, etc)

Or

Remember only the basic things you need to get by day to day. (How to do your job, where you live, etc)

I see benefits and drawbacks for both.

Please let me know what you think.

HMM!!

Mentat or spotless mind...

I already do forget just about everything, so maybe I'll try knowing everything I've ever done a la a Witness from Stranger in a Strange Land for a bit.

Brendon wrote: "This is a question that I pondered recently and I would love to get thoughts on.

I’d rather remember everything I’ve done in my life. While not every memory is a good one, I think the things we experience earlier in our lives help us deal with later experiences. More importantly, I try to learn from my mistakes so I make better decisions in the future. I couldn’t do that if I didn’t remember them.

YouKneeK wrote: "Brendon wrote: "This is a question that I pondered recently and I would love to get thoughts on.

I’d rather remember everything I’ve done in my life. While not every memory is a good one, I think ..."

Very true, but I wonder what affect it would have on someone's psyche. Would it drive someone insane remembering every single meal they ate, or the words of every conversation they had?

Would they dwell on past events constantly?

Ignorance is bliss as they say.

It would depend on how much control an individual had over their own thoughts, I think. With mundane memories like meals eaten or uninteresting conversations, I don’t see that as being too problematic. There wouldn’t be any temptation to think about those things and, if something triggered the memory, we’d just dismiss it like we do normally when we remember something uninteresting or irrelevant.

I think the most traumatic memories and the most pleasant memories would be the more problematic memories that people would be tempted to dwell on, and remembering those things in more detail would surely add more difficulties. But I also think those are the types of memories that we’re most likely to retain normally, if not in perfect detail, so we’ve hopefully already learned some coping mechanisms from our lifetimes of experience with those types of memories.

Also, I don’t know how other people’s brains works, but I definitely don’t have my memories in real time. If something reminds me of a certain experience, even if that experience took place over hours or days, then it’s just a figurative flash in my head and I’ve “seen” all of the relevant details and felt all the emotions. I can intentionally review those memories more slowly and in more detail if I want to, but I choose whether or not to indulge in that.

But my memory is completely and totally unextraordinary, so maybe I would find the reality quite different if I could remember everything. This conversation kind of reminds me of the main character in Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun series who claimed (repeatedly) that he never forgot anything. And that in turn reminds me that having a perfect memory would allow me to remember books I’ve read in the past better, which would be a great benefit! Assuming of course that I had enough control over my thoughts to avoid dwelling on the bad books.

YouKneeK wrote: "It would depend on how much control an individual had over their own thoughts, I think. With mundane memories like meals eaten or uninteresting conversations, I don’t see that as being too problema..."

Also very true, a person's preference would be driven by their individual experiences.

Someone who has only experienced hardship probably wouldn't mind forgetting it, while someone who has known nothing but clear skies would like to remember.

I think we are both agree that is better to remember regardless.

But I'm curious what life would be like for each individual.

For example,

Would they experience time passing differently?

Brendon wrote: "Would they experience time passing differently? "

I would imagine their perception of time passing while they’re in the moment would still be affected by how well they’re enjoying, or not enjoying, whatever it is they’re doing.

On the other hand, they’d probably have a different perception of how they spent their time since they’d remember what they did in more detail. After a particularly hectic whirlwind of a work day, sometimes the only thing I can confidently remember is that I sure was busy doing something. If they remembered all the details, they might feel better about how they spent their day even though they didn't accomplish what they had originally intended to do. Conversely, if they frittered away their day doing stupid stuff, they'd probably be more bothered by it when they took stock at the end of the day.