Comments on: Chided

By: res publica

res publica — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

You should come over to my blog. Our motto is “Blogging means never having to say you’re sorry.” Or maybe “Totally Irresponsible Since 2003″.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

I just love your blog, Twisty, and entries like this one reinforce my admiration of your considerable rhetorical talents. I think Jim’s just jealous.

By: res publica

res publica — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Okay, I just read your original book-killing post. First of all, you said “superannuated”, and that makes me heart you even more. Second, I, too, enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel, but I was a bit perplexed by the ending. It sort of felt like I just fell out the back-end of the book, or my copy was missing the final chapter or something. Was I just trippin’?

By: WookieMonster

WookieMonster — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Uh-oh…I like Jim Butcher’s books (really I like most any book you put in front of me, except Stephen King). And Steven Segal movies (cheesy action with a decent message, I mean “environmentalism is cool!” “don’t be racist!” “women aren’t just sex toys!” and such seem to be pretty much SS standards). Am I a failed feminist?

By: alphabitch

alphabitch — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

I read very fast, so it’s rare that I don’t finish reading a book, no matter how much I dislike it or how angered I am by it, and I’m not given to hurling things about (although once I threw four wine glasses at a white wall, and three of them still had red wine in them — mine was, ahem, empty — and it was very satisfying indeed and I really thought I would want to do more of that kind of thing but keep forgetting to do it), but I have been known to tear pages out of certain publications and put them in my shredder where they can do no further harm. Or to render them otherwise unreadable and less menacing. So I am totally in support of your actions described in previous posts. One does have to take a stand. I feel rather badly for Mr. Butcher though, as I have had work published and subsequently criticized both on its merits and in disagreement with my position (in one case in the form of a vaguely threatening letter to my employer) and it can feel very icky; however, when one publishes one’s work, one has to live with the reality that others are free to respond to it.

By: Twisty

Twisty — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Hey Res P, I totally admire your motto, and generally adhere to it myself, but in this case I think I was definitely a knucklehead. I stand by my original assessment of Mr. Butcher’s novel, though.

I am reminded of my former life in the rock’n'roll biz, when we had this adjective, “NGBB,” which stands for “nice guy, bad band.” Because so often you would meet some really nice musician fella, only his band sucked shit through Hefty bags, but of course you couldn’t tell him that because, like I said, he was so nice, and consequently whenever you hung out with him you’d essentially be living a lie. So you’d blame the club owner for allowing the bad band to be inflicted on the world and putting you in this awkward position.

Ever alert, I have sensed a similarity here, and my current thinking is that Jim Butcher, like many nice guys, has written a bad book, and while you may wish for a world in which bad books are never written, the fact is that people write them even though they never set out to, and you can’t really fault him for following life’s young dream. What people can do is not publish bad books. Thus I blame Storm Front’s publisher, the party who is actually responsible for the bookal carnage that took place that fateful day here at the Twisty Bungalow.

And thanks, Miranda, for the lovely compliment.

By: mimbreno

mimbreno — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

I hadn’t read the excerpt you linked to previously, but I checked it out today and I frankly don’t see how he could rebut your criticism. Ugh. On behalf of your eager readers, you should put up a disclaimer notifying dissidents that you maintain the right to publish all email. Please!

By: ripley

ripley — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

I’m eager to see it too.. especially because I don’t see what he’s complaining about, because, hello, he published a book. If he doesn’t want anyone to criticize it, which often becomes, by extension, him, then maybe he should just hold off on the mass release under his own name, huh?

I know this is the argument that gets tossed at bloggers (including the Great Nanny Debate of 2005), but here we have a) no clear power relation between this blog and the book, and in fact all the societal power systems seem to point the other way, and 2) expectations of privacy for blogs are still a little unclear, but expectations of privacy for PUBLISHING A BOOK?

in other words, word, Alphabitch.

By: StealthBadger

StealthBadger — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

*de-lurk*
As often as “I” is used, it read like a “what I did on my summer vacation” essay. It was stilted and painful. On the other hand, criticism of your writing hurts. But it’s necessary, or you don’t get better.

By: alphabitch

alphabitch — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

what stealthbadger said…. I welcome criticism of my work; when it’s addressed to me personally, I’d prefer useful and specific critiques to name-calling and snarkiness, but when it’s not addressed to me personally? Let them say what they like. As my mama always says, “fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke.”

Oh, and thanks, Twisty, for the puppy pic fix.