I am not a robot

Dear bloggers,

Please stop it with the stupid "type these words to show you're not a robot" thing if you already have comment approval set for your blog.  If you have to give approval for it to be published anyway, you are going to be able to see if it is a robot or spammer or whatever.  (And a friend of mine says they can be encouraging or hilarious sometimes.)  Rather than keeping robots from posting pointless spam in your comments section, what you are doing is making sure no one but the most persistent people out there ever comment on your blog.  All you do by adding the extra hoop is make sure most people who want to comment give up because they can't read the stupid words with their weak, human eyes.

Sincerely,
A commenter who isn't always willing to try five times to get a comment to publish

an excellent explanation of memoir

"And it’s because there is this misconception about memoir: you write because you’ve had some kind of unusual life. You write a memoir because you are Somebody or because Some Big Thing has happened to you, and this is how we end up with tomes by the Kardashians and…Snookie.

"But the truth – the thing I love about the genre – is that in its purest form, it’s exactly the opposite. I tell my story not because it is particularly thrilling, but because if I tell it right, it will tap into your story, into the collective story that we all live in.

"The whole truth is in the details, the landscapes, the parts of myself that hide in the shadows of my memory. To dig for these pieces is an act of faith all its own; to assemble them into art, into story, is an act of healing."

-Addie Zierman

I love the story Addie blogs about, too.  A poem about it figured very prominently in my thesis and still does in my life.  If only I could touch His robe's hem and be rid of this (comparably minor) pain and finally start getting solid sleep again . . .

The Quotable Rothfuss

Hey, fans, if you've read NotW or WMF, drop on by the blog o' Rothfuss and read everyone's favorite quotes and post some of your own. 

Are all bloggers fakers?

Hooray for the internet because it lets you sort-of-interact with some of your favorite authors. Patrick Rothfuss makes a good point about the public blogging persona that people can easily create. 

"There’s a difference between putting your best foot forward and subtly misrepresenting yourself."

"But the truth is, the thought of maintaining that sort of professional persona makes me distinctly uncomfortable. Given the choice, I think I’d rather be too honest and have you like me a little less. I’d much prefer to look like a bit of an ass, because… well… I am a bit of an ass."

In the interest of presenting himself more fully as a person, not just as An Author, he shares some things he's not proud of.  It's interesting to think about. 

In this hyper-marketing, self-promoting cutlure, is it wise to be so transparent, or is it something only seriously famous (or seriously obscure) people can get away with?

Another Reason to Love John Scalzi

This is classic.   Be sure to read down to his paraphrase of the letter in question.

My favorite line:

"So, despite the fact that you’ve made science fiction a foundational part of your life, follow and support the genre, and are grown-up, accomplished people who are on average both smarter and better read than the average Joe, you are somewhat full of FAIL."

I wish The Vorkosigan Companion had won the Hugo for Best Related Book, but I am obviously completely biased, so congrats to Scalzi for taking that trophy for 10 years of "Taunting the Tauntable" in Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008.

Another Reason to Love Donald Miller

His new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, is about people, stories, and the power of story.  Check out his incredible blog post about truth, stories, and the lies we tell ourselves here.

This post made me think of all kinds of current events like political shenanigans and the debate about health care and other things it's hard but important to find the truth about.  "Seekers find."  I like that, even though it may not be true in the case of politics in a broken world.

Storytellers, take heart.  Seek truth.  Speak truth.  Don't settle for less.