ROBUST discussion

I just picked up a book for a quarter.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03...

WOW!

This is today's twenty-five cent deal:

http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Club-A-No...

It's nothing I'd normally read, but I decided what the heck...bought it.

Fight Club was pretty good. I couldn't honestly judge it though because I saw the movie long before I read the book. There are some differences here and there, some minor, some pretty significant.

I will note that I felt the book, thematically, was more dismissive of the self-indulgent nihilism of the Durden philosophy, whereas I felt like the movie glamorized it a bit more.

I saw the movie which was also outside my usual zone of interest. I remember lasting through the whole thing so I must not have hated it.

There is another one, I don't know how long it will last:

http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confide...

By Anthony Bourdain

Thanks, Charlene. I just grabbed it.

That's the restaurant world I'm familar with. LOL

Wish I had a Kindle...

Check B&N. They might be price-matching, too.

No - it's $7 something.

But it looks worth the price.

Here's today's deal, which I just bought:

http://www.amazon.com/Need-Talk-About...

Someone in the Kindle Forum said that psychologically the twenty-five cent books seem like a better deal than a free book. It's odd, but I feel the same way.

I don't know if these special prices will continue past today. I think the original article about it said it lasts only through today.

Thanks, Patricia! I've been wanting to read that for a little while now.

I heard about that book - the kid was pure evil. Weird story!

I snagged that one thanks Patricia.

Here's today's book (one by Nora Roberts):

http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Busi...

I'm skipping this one.

Doesn't look like one of her better ones. She writes good romantic suspense and paranormals.

Angels' Fall is one of her best, IMO.

I'm not into romantic suspense or paranormal stuff. Even though I've been picking up fiction over the past several days, what I reach for when it's time to read is non-fiction. I find it helps tame my wandering focus.

I just bought "Eats, shoots and leaves" and a book on Copywrite law - have yet to read either. Exciting stuff.

Today's twenty-five cent deal is a Newbery Award Winner -- a YA novel for Lois Lowry:

http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Newbery-M...

K. A. wrote: "I just bought "Eats, shoots and leaves" and a book on Copywrite law - have yet to read either. Exciting stuff."

Darn! Been off the fora for a few days and missed Eats, Shoots! I have a copy somewhere in pb, would love one for the Kindle and it's on my wish list, not important enough to pay their asking price. Though I don't necessarily agree with the author. I feel use of punctuation, as long as it makes sense, should be part of a writer's style. (Honest, Kat ).

I bought the DTBs - felt I needed a refresher on the punctuation...really.

I know, I've got a strange style - chatty.

What's wrong with Strunk?

It's not strange, Kat, it's its own, and that's a good thing.

Nothing wrong with Strunk, still very much in use. Eats, Shoots & Leaves (whose name comes from an old joke) is a trumped-up reason for an English Major nazi to write a book on proper use of punctuation and make a jillion $$. I think she succeeded, too, .

Strunk is boring - this book is funny.

I thought you wanted correct grammar. Now it turns out you want to be tickled.

Doesn't everyone?

That too.

Kat said: ...this book is funny.

Yes it is, and probably for that reason much more likely to be read. And perhaps has a smidgeon more chance of reaching those who write signs that read things like, Buy your book's here, or Renowned for it's value, or Johns bookstore... Well, if you live in the Western English speaking world you know exactly why she wrote the book and why it has become a best-seller.

I avert my eyes. The signs at the greengrocers, who in my town all went to a private school, is not good for my blood pressure.

And no one mentioned text speak. The bane of grammar nazis everywhere!

A message I received recently from a woman (child, she's old enough to be my daughter) went something like this - Wl it b ok 4 dd to play? I replied that indeed it would be great for her daughter to come over that Saterday and play with mine. She replied with gr8 c u sn....and then we wonder when our kids can't spell.

It would be harder for me to learn how to write like that, Claudine, than it would be for me to learn some proper grammar.

There was a local company that used to run an ad with this headline:

Let Us Put You In A Pond

I had to look the message up and type it up Patricia. I could never text like that either.

I worked for a time for a printing company, one that did packaging printing. It was my responsibility to make sure that the artwork used was 1000000% correct. There's nothing more humiliating than finding out a plastic coating on a packet of pens is printed with the word penis instead. True story, happened my first week on the job. Not my fault at the time but it taught me a valuable lesson!

Snicker

Claudine, I hear there's a lot of demand for that product.

Not the pencil thin variety those packs were selling.

Moneyball is today's book deal on Google Play, but Amazon isn't price-matching it. However, it's free in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

I have a gripe with Google: They don't notify authors when they make price changes.
I have only one title there (not anything that they would put in the 25 cent bin) and they once reduced it 50 cents from my list price...Naturally, Amazon also reduced it, and my KDP royalties went down until I fussed at Google. They returned the price to what I wanted.
Now I notice they've raised the price by 60+ cents. Don't know when that happened. But since I have yet to sell a book through Google (in 2 years) the price increase is no biggy.
In fact, I'll probably pull the title this week.

I'm just a little player, but I'm tired of the games.

Do they also change your royalty?

Patricia wrote: "It would be harder for me to learn how to write like that, Claudine, than it would be for me to learn some proper grammar."

What do you mean, WRITE like that? I gave up on DECIPHERING it!

Leaves me scratching my head, too.

By the way, Amazon finally got around to pricing Moneyball at a quarter: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005...

Probably expires Tuesday.

I rarely ever text but my kids insist on it sometimes, and when I do, I use textspeak. It's the only way I can be patient enuf 2 snd a txt in the 1st plc. Whr R U? is the most common 1 i snd, lol. (I'm obviously not as gud at it as yr frnd).

Times change, styles change, and we must change along with them. Though I would like for writing styles to stay the same and continue to follow the 'rules' - because I love words and the pictures and sounds they paint - change is inevitable with the instant communication we now have. That communication is further conducted in multiple languages which will inevitably necessitate a type of pidgin English which will no doubt make those of us who love the language insane.

Of course it has always been thus, from hieroglyphics on stone to Olde Shakespeare to today. The difference is we can see the change happen right before our very eyes.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is Google Play? This thread is the first time I've heard about it. I'm totally clueless. Is there somewhere I can find out about it?

It's one more way Google is trying to take over the world.

Forgive me, I'm on a Google rant right now. Forget Paypal, Amazon and even Microsoft, they never pretended to be anything different. Google started out all righteous, announcing they were public domain and always would be, and now one cannot even open their YouTube account except through Google (who bought YT a while ago). Grrr, this could become the hill I am prepared to die on...

But in answer to your question, Chris, Google Play is an android app and book store (among other things). If you have an android anything you are bound to find out what GP is.

This is Google Play, but their quarter deals are over:

https://play.google.com/store

Oh, okay. Thanks.

I'm with Sharon.

Of all the arrogant, grasping shits out there, Google are the most arrogant and grasping. Writers should never, ever forget Google's attempt to bully every writer in the world into accepting $60 for the reproduction right of each of his copyrights, in perpetuity, whether he wanted to sell to them or not.

Google is dishonest, thieving scum, from their Board of Directors down through all their executive ranks. Working for Google, who are openly thieves, in any capacity should be a matter of shame even for nerds. I cannot understand why the Attorney-General is investigating Apple when they let Google off with merely a caution about the copyright theft business. That is inequitable. Google should be urgently investigated for restraint of trade with all the powers and staff the AG disposes of.

I get the feeling Andre doesn't like Google.

Real sensitive of you. You must be a writer.

Doesn't like Google? I must've missed something.

ROTHFL. Just as well it was vacuumed today as I'm wearing black.