Welp, I haven't heard a peep out of the BookLife Prize. They haven't updated their website with a new date for announcing the quarterfinalists, so I guess I'm waiting.
Smooches! Sometimes rehearsals can get tedious. Ours sent well last night on the whole, bur I'm put out at our director. I brought in a new lady recently whom i went to school with and who had recently moved back in the area and was interested as she gives lessons and such. She really us good. But she's unreliable and has proven to be so in the time she's been here already. And he gave her the big solo. He's enamored with her new sound.
Heh. I don't mind other people getting solos. We always try to split them fairly. But this galls me a bit.
Ugh, how annoying that the unreliable person is still being rewarded. Sadly, that happens a lot. There was a guy on my school's foil squad who blew off practice and was a jerk to everyone, but he was still allowed to be a starter because he was one of our stronger fencers. At least until he tried to punch our assistant coach, and then he was finally kicked out.
Here's hoping the shine will soon be off the new soloist without coming to blows. :D
Ah, what a bummer about the BookLife Prize! But... as you say, not terribly surprising in a world where the same stories are told over and over again in rather similar ways.
Seriously. The critic's reports varied a lot in terms of telling you what the books were actually about, so I looked at the project pages to see what was what. First of all, several had appalling promotional copy (I get it, it's hard to write, but still!), but there was maybe one (the one about political organizing) that I thought I'd like to read. The others were just variations on things I've already read: here's how I got out of an abusive situation. Here's this amazing story about one of my relatives. Here's my inspiring story about going to a foreign land/the land of my ancestors. This isn't to say these stories aren't important or worth telling, but it really brought home that my book is not those books by any stretch. :D
I was just reading Lincoln in the Bardo, thinking to myself that it was a bloody miracle that anyone bothered to publish it. I mean, the piece itself is a wonder, but if Saunders weren't already famous, I can't see anyone touching that thing with a ten-foot-pole.
When I see trends like this in memoirs, I kind of wonder... WHY are they so popular? Why are we content with reading the same story over and over and over again? We (usually) know the ending.
* Here's how I got out of an abusive situation.= I survived, stronger than ever. * Here's this amazing story about one of my relatives. = I found meaning in a place I had overlooked it before. * Here's my inspiring story about going to a foreign land/the land of my ancestors. = I understood myself better now after my journey.
I mean, I know all the theories about how there are only seven kinds of stories in the world and all that jazz, but... really? Can't we tell more stories in a different way?
It seems like a combination of trying someone else's adventures and experiences on for size and trying to walk a mile in their shoes. I'm really glad people read these kinds of books because I think we learn compassion for others by reading their stories. Yet the bulk of bestselling memoirs are by people who are already famous (or infamous) telling all (or selected versions of "all").
But yeah. I'm glad I didn't write a memoir like that. I wrote the one that only I could write :D
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Smooches! Sometimes rehearsals can get tedious. Ours sent well last night on the whole, bur I'm put out at our director. I brought in a new lady recently whom i went to school with and who had recently moved back in the area and was interested as she gives lessons and such. She really us good. But she's unreliable and has proven to be so in the time she's been here already. And he gave her the big solo. He's enamored with her new sound.
Heh. I don't mind other people getting solos. We always try to split them fairly. But this galls me a bit.
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Here's hoping the shine will soon be off the new soloist without coming to blows. :D
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When I see trends like this in memoirs, I kind of wonder... WHY are they so popular? Why are we content with reading the same story over and over and over again? We (usually) know the ending.
* Here's how I got out of an abusive situation.= I survived, stronger than ever.
* Here's this amazing story about one of my relatives. = I found meaning in a place I had overlooked it before.
* Here's my inspiring story about going to a foreign land/the land of my ancestors. = I understood myself better now after my journey.
I mean, I know all the theories about how there are only seven kinds of stories in the world and all that jazz, but... really? Can't we tell more stories in a different way?
Reply
But yeah. I'm glad I didn't write a memoir like that. I wrote the one that only I could write :D
Reply
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