Posts by Jolisa

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  • Busytown: A good read,

    wouldn't join any group that would have people like me as a member.

    Oh, we wouldn't have to have people like you as a member. We could just have people not feel particularly strongly one way or the other about you as a member. Would that work?

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Busytown: A good read,

    I notice, too, that the paper of record keeps inadvertently misspelling the title of the novel. That will surely mess up any future googling on the subject.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Busytown: A good read,

    though I hope it will do Chris Knox and the family a lot of good.

    The Herald was interested in my views, but mysteriously did not end up using my reply about how delighted I was to see this renaissance man and complete original (Mr Knox, I mean) finally recognised at the highest level. But then good news is no news :-)

    WTF a "$50,000 no-strings attached donation to celebrate their past achievements and invest in their future" is

    Modelled on the MacArthur Genius Grant, I'd wager, although smaller monetarily by a factor of ten. Good stuff, though - I'm quite fond of that kind of whopper-scale American-style drive-by philanthropy. Although you might run out of recipients faster in NZ. But that's probably why they only do 5 at a time.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Busytown: A good read,

    While no one else is looking, group hug for Philip -- unless that's too cliquey :-)

    And yes to short books, magazine articles, and colouring in. I do think we should reserve the right to wank on about other books other people might not have read, though - that's how I find out about what to read next.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Busytown: A good read,

    What kind of turnaround do you have in mind?

    Infinite. Rolling. Overlapping. Centuries rather than weeks.

    In other words, readers' pace. The threads wouldn't disappear and could be returned to ad infinitum.

    Slow thinkers, re-readers and late bloomers welcome, because I am all of the above.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Busytown: A good read,

    a popular derailing

    derigailleur, then? Which is a very useful word, because derailing is practically de rigeur round these parts, and we do it with the smoothness of a well-tuned Shimano.

    (Also, derigailleur, n. 2. what you wear to de graduation ceremony).

    Re-derigailling things: Giovanni spent his weekend crafting this reliably subtle take on things, Philip's revamped post on the subject is a gentle masterpiece of form following function, and the property seminar gurus at the Paepae have weighed in with another angle altogether.

    Also see US academic Margaret Soltan on the subject. (NB while we're being genealogical, it was via her site that I discovered the link to this graphic graphic.)

    Switching gear once again: if I started a PA book club, would anybody come? We'd have to meet in the ether, alas, but the good news is, no bookings or babysitting required, and nobody has to vacuum up the crumbs afterward.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Busytown: Less is more,

    Not a Mark Danielewski fan, then?

    Not yet - ta for the tip!

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Southerly: A World First of the Second Kind,

    Or you could just get hold of a bell and a candle (since you've got the book already).

    I can vouch for the contents of the book. Sick, sick, sick. And very funny.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Busytown: A good read,

    Oh, Ian D, "... a personal space of dappled meaning," indeed. A lovely clearing in which to meet.

    Related (at least tangentially) and delicious reading in the UK papers this weekend:

    Who to praise or blame in theatre, when a play goes right or wrong?

    A stunning review of Zadie Smith's new book about books

    And, speaking of owning authorship, Belle de Jour comes out.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

  • Southerly: A World First of the Second Kind,

    Also, I did spot one significant way in which the Annual is unsuitable for children, with respect to historic annuals (Beano, Whizzer, Girls' Own, etc).

    It does not come in hardcover, so is completely useless for the following purposes: hollowing out to hide sweets in; standing on to reach lolly jar; whacking sibling or dorm-mate with. And others I have not attempted recently.

    On the other hand, it can be read easily with one hand.

    And it does wipe clean.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report

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