Yesterday, I had an email from someone who wished me to give them the One True Reading Order for the Liaden Universe® novels. Usually, I don’t answer emails like this, because it never ends well, but I was thinking that maybe I ought to be a Better Person and answer my email instead of letting it pile up until it gets oppressive.
So I answered my email, explaining that, no, I really couldn’t give them the One True Reading Order by reason of the fact that there isn’t one, and suggested a couple of starting points. You can see the gist of what I said over here.
My reward was a grumpy note indicating that my correspondent wished to read the books in the order that would avoid spoilers and maintain the rush of reading for discovery as opposed to the chore of reading to fill in the gaps.
Now. . .I don’t mind, myself, personally, reading to “fill in the gaps.” In fact, if I’m to be brutally honest, I’m not sure I have ever experienced the rush of “reading for discovery.” Some books are more engaging than others, sure, and I certainly like some novels better than others. And there is absolutely a difference between a first read and a re-read. But I make no such fine distinctions, when I’m reading fiction, between the sensation of “gap filling” and “discovery.”
Obviously, I lack the ability to savor nuance, which is possessed by other readers. For some reason, this depresses me, perhaps only because I was slightly depressed anyway. But, I don’t think I’ll be answering my email for a while.
Round the house news includes the fact that earlier in the week Mozart conspired to help Steve fracture his toe. And they say cats don’t Care.
On the plus side of the injury, Deceiver arrived yesterday, and Steve got first dibs, since he has to sit in the comfy chair and ice his foot. He’s getting to be Quite the Expert in icing-the-foot.
My aged and much-beloved boombox (radio, CD, and a cassette player!) died the True Death, leaving me without a cassette player, which, yes, is a problem. A minor problem, in the scheme of things, but, still…
Also, yes, I know that both this website and the Carousel Tides site are suddenly and without warning Thoroughly Borked for Mac users using Safari. I’m sorry about that. No, I don’t know what happened, and, no, I don’t know how to fix it.
I did do something vaguely useful today on the writing side, and tomorrow I intend to sit down at this computer and rip the guts out of the manuscript in process, which’ll be, yanno, fun.
For those who Ebay, remember that there’s an auction going on until Sunday. Go ahead, indulge yourself.
Hope everybody has a relaxing and uplifting weekend.
