Reading Wednesday

[sabotabby]

 Just finished: Nothing, still reading bricks. I don't know how anyone managed before e-readers.

Currently reading: Maej by Dale Stromberg. About halfway through, and the myriad plotlines are converging and it's all very cool. The detail and complexity is just *chef's kiss*.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville. We have a whale sighting! And Ahab continues to be a horrible old man.

The chapter is a digression in many ways but it's also just absolutely beautifully written. Dizzying prose. Like:

It was while gliding through these latter waters that one serene and moonlight night, when all the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver; and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude; on such a silent night a silvery jet was seen far in advance of the white bubbles at the bow.

Pure poetry.

In other news for some reason the whale-weekly tag on Tumblr has been invaded by cryptocurrency bots. Like. Why??? what do the scammers believe will be accomplished by this? stay out of my whale posts.

Comments

[greylock]

I don't know how anyone managed before e-readers.

Ugh. Ereaders suuuuuuuuuck.

[sabotabby]

Me and my spinal fusion love them.

[greylock]

I'm not going to lie, I know what you're saying, but I don't understand.

I'm trying to read a 1000 page graphic novel so... can't relate.

As long as they work for you.

[sabotabby]

Oh, I can't read comics on an e-reader. Or on screens of any sort. The integrity of the page layout is critical for me.

But I am currently packing a suitcase with a number of print books (a.k.a., mine) and one e-reader and I have a definite preference.

[greylock]

You're GOING somewhere?
I can, and did read comics on a tablet, but it wasn't ideal ('70s mostly, so ideal) but it never felt real.

I reckon with 'experimental' layouts (Steranko and beyond) it'll not work at all.

[iampoesraven]

Tumblr is being invaded by bots period.

[sabotabby]

Yep, but like, different kinds. I normally get pornbots.

[iampoesraven]

Ugh.

[dissectionist]

I feel you on the e-readers. I literally only read print now if that’s the only format I can access something in. About 99% of my reading is e-reader now.

[sabotabby]

Same. Which is a little sad as, well, I'm a cover designer. And I appreciate the book as an object. But I tend to only buy physical books if I know the author/made the cover or if there's no other format, and for library books I definitely prefer e-readers.

[dissectionist]

When browsing for my next library read I “shop by cover” (then by title, then description); if the cover doesn’t grab me then it’ll never make it into my basket. So covers definitely still play an important role for me in whether I read a book or not, even as an e-reader.

[rydra_wong]

In other news for some reason the whale-weekly tag on Tumblr has been invaded by cryptocurrency bots. Like. Why??? what do the scammers believe will be accomplished by this?

Maybe they were confused by that comment on the modern translation of the opening chapter saying that Ishmael sounds like he's about to explain crypto to you?

[sabotabby]

Wait I can't tell if that's real or a Tumblr in-joke. I only get the emails.

[rydra_wong]

I was thinking of Feather explaining that Ishmael is just fucking Like That:

https://findingfeather.tumblr.com/post/701646211089940480/its-incredibly-important-to-understand-that-this

[sabotabby]

Ahhh yes.

[greylock]

In other news for some reason the whale-weekly tag on Tumblr has been invaded by cryptocurrency bots.

Apparently Reddit has the same issue. If I understand, they repost highly rated comments for karma and then spam crypto links.

[sabotabby]

Huh. I haven't seen it, but the mods in the subreddits I'm on are pretty on top of that kind of thing.

[greylock]

I've seen it as deleted comments.
I don't engage in Reddit, so....

[firecat]

I'm listening to an audiobook of Moby-Dick right now. The narrator is great because he reads it with exactly the right tone to convey "slightly naive, over-excited, slightly tongue-in-cheek" and that's my impression of Ishmael to a T.

[sabotabby]

OMg yes. I can’t really do audiobooks but that’s the vibe.