We almost all do it. We see a picture taken from someone's bookshelves and we make a preliminary judgment of that reader/blogger by those photos of what s/he has received/bought recently and/or what s/he values most as a reader. Keeping that in mind (and leaving aside these are all from a single collection), what are your reactions when viewing each picture individually? Would, if you saw these photos on three different sites, think different thoughts on each one? What would be your snap decision about that reader's tastes if s/he displayed these books in photos on his/her blog/site?
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This is fun!
1 - Uninstall, delete, wash hands, forget. I could send the link to ReqHate first, if the blog is lulz worthy.
2 - This could be extension of mine, oh, brother weirdie. I have different Kunderas and different Vandermeers. Why two of The Weird? (I had two Curiosity Cabinets until very recently.)
3 - This is the hardest to classify, although feminist inclination is obvious. I'd stay to take a closer look.
1 - Neckbeard detected. But at least he reads M. John Harrison, so it's not all bad! (And yeah, it's almost certainly a 'he'.)
2 - This person's got good taste but they also might be a little pretentious
3 - Dry and stuffy and literary... where's the fun stuff?
1) I actually own almost every book listed here.
2) I also own several books from these authors.
3) Alas, I only have one book from this shelf, but I have several that would fit in.
As for my thoughts:
1a) Your average blogger/forum-goer. Probably thinks Martin is the best fantasy writer outside of Tolkien. OR fantasizes about meeting Bakker in a bathroom stall at a convention, has Rothfuss books enshrined.
2a) Not your average blogger/forum-goer. Knows what prose is, cares about it. Recognizes bloat. Fantasizes about meeting VanderMeer and Evenson in a toadstool townhouse populated by self-amputees and geckos.
3a) Most likely to be referred to as a pretentious ass by the person who owns shelf 1.
1. Clomping Nerdism vs. Pattering Cool Dudeism
2. ALERT: MEDIA TIE-IN WRITERS PRESENT
3. Blogger in question most likely uses the word "indeed" several times throughout every review.
- Zach H.
Ha! I thought there might be some good responses to this :D
I actually own three copies of The Weird (the third is the UK e-book edition). The e-book was sent to me for commentary purposes back in November, while the first of the two print editions is a damaged contributor's copy that I received back in late December/January as a joke from Jeff (it is autographed by his alter-ego Mord), since it was unsuitable for mailing out to contributors. The second, undamaged print copy I received earlier this week after Corvus mailed a second set of contributor copies to the VanderMeers for distribution to US-based contributors. I will also own a US hardcover edition later, but that'll be a purchase just so I can have all print editions. Silly, I know, but not too often does one get to own copies of things in which one's work appears within, no? :D
If I had taken more pictures of other shelves, doubtless an even more convincing argument for reader-possessing-multiple-personalities would have emerged :P I have wide-ranging interests, even if some of them might be the literary equivalent of "slumming it," I suppose ;)
I knew there would be a story behind two copies! I was agonizing for months - Corvus now or hardcover later, and then ended up waiting for the hardcover. I love it to pieces, but I think when it comes to actual reading, I'd rather have an e-copy.
I definitely have multiple reading personalities - one for the good stuff(90%), another for wish-fulfillment(5%), and yet another for the buzz books(5%). I'd say that for me it's the purpose that invokes new 'reading personality', not the subject matter or interest range.
Books like The Weird make me thankful that I have large hands and strong wrists! :P There is some aesthetic pleasure to the print layout (with its two columned, oversized format), but if I want to read a singular story, the e-book edition is much easier for me to use when writing my occasional Weird 101 author commentary pieces (speaking of which, I need to submit more of those for editing next week).
1) epic fantasy hype stuff, but at least some quality
2) emo/alternative hype stuff
3) literary fantasy hype stuff
and the person(s) are readers, not photographers.
Impossible to judge on these small amounts, especially since I tend to sort my books by style/subgenre myself.
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