Green Room - Week 2 - Day 3

[clauderainsrm]

The New York Times released their full list of Best Books of the 21st Century list   www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html

and I'm honored to say that 99 of them were my Idol posts!! I'm not sure how these qualify as "books", but I'm just grateful for the acknowledgement. I'm sure they are busy with all of the editorials about advocating for both Trump AND Biden to drop out of the Presidential race.  I'm glad they haven't asked ME to drop out yet.  Probably because I haven't officially thrown my hat in.... because I only have a couple hats and can't really afford to just be throwing them into rings to get stomped on or lost. 

Perhaps they are busy writing an editorial to advocate for getting me a new hat that I can then throw in... or maybe a used one that's already beaten up so I wouldn't care if it got damaged. That might be better. 

***
I've substituted the Idol posts originally listed with other books in the above link, with other books by up-and-comers that I felt deserved some attention. How many of the 100 have you read? Which ones are now on your "I should check that out!" list based on the descriptions? 

***
Remember that your own deadline is coming up soon - Sunday at noon ET. Still a LOT of people haven't posted yet, so this is going to be a busy couple of days!  therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1143356.html

(or, I guess a massive bye-fest... I guess we will see how that shakes out...) 

Comments

[aggienaut]

Booo you need to subscribe to see the list! I guess there's no way for us to find out WHICH 99 of Gary's idol posts made it. And what the one that isn't his is!

[alycewilson]

I happen to be a subscriber of [INSERT SERVICE HERE], and I can tell you, it's every single one of his last 100 posts, EXCEPT for this one. He was robbed!

[aggienaut]

O: O: O:

[pixiebelle]

I hope I’ll get a chance to finish my entry, I’ve got a lot going on the next few days. Had a medical appointment and then went by the prefecture to see why my residence card is still not ready (it’s been a year) and even though it’s supposed to be the day for those to visit without an appointment, they were not helpful. The guy working gave up and told us all he didn’t speak French (he’d been speaking it just fine before) and left. So yeah, French bureaucracy at its finest 😂

[muchtooarrogant]

Idol posts counting as books? Who knew, huh Gary? LOL

When you posted our writing deadline, I was like, "But wait, didn't the prompt post say it was Saturday?" I almost wrote a response here, but then decided to actually go back and look. Nope, it was Sunday, so I obviously can't read! ... Or wait, unless Gary changed it to mess with me? Yeah, that must be it! (grin)

Dan

[clauderainsrm]

Oddly enough, I originally was going to make it Saturday. But then decided Sunday was more realistic! So you were inside my head for a brief moment. Which explains now why you are so confused! ;)

Being inside my head for even a brief moment is enough to make you need professional mental health counseling!

[clauderainsrm]

I'm not saying people need to storm the NYT Book Review office and set up a gallows to deal with anyone who isn't willing to disregard the votes in install me to my rightful place. I'm just saying that if anyone did that I would wish them luck. I'm sure there are plenty of good people involved.

[muchtooarrogant]

LOL Ah yes, that does explain everything.

Dan

[murielle]

LOLOLOLOL!

[bleodswean]

Paywall. *retch*

Still trying to fit writing my entry into my busy week. And it's HOT. And that is all. *melts*

[banana_galaxy]

When I saw the deadline was Sunday, I decided to put off thinking about writing my entry until Saturday. I just had too much other stuff on in my evenings in the meantime. Like the showcase at my son's summer program on Wednesday night and the stand-up comedy competition I competed in last night (I didn't make it through, but I didn't want to because I'm seeing Taylor Tomlinson the night of the finals next Saturday, but I still felt like I did a good job).

Tonight I'm going to an event for meeting new people called "Skip the Small Talk" which I'm curious to try out and see what it's like.

[roina_arwen]

I got as far as number 96 before I gave up trying. Kept getting that stupid pop up. Argh.

[roina_arwen]

He said he didn’t speak French?? Or did you mean to type English? Either way, boo at frustration with bureaucracy.

[roina_arwen]

Skip the small talk? Sounds up my alley! Let us (or at least me) know how it goes!

[roina_arwen]

I’ve got my entry posted, yay! I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and looking forward to reading the rest as they get posted. I’m just happy it’s Friday! Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to the “Triple Crown Cat Fanciers Cat Show” which a coworker told me about. Should be fun!

[pixiebelle]

No, he said he didn’t speak French 😂 so then I asked if he spoke English and he said no to that too. I tried to hand him something in written French and he said he can’t read. Someone asked if he spoke Arabic as he walked away.

[murielle]

I'm so sorry. How frustrating for you.

[roina_arwen]

Wow. That’s just… yeah, I’ll stick with wow, lol!

[murielle]

Sending cool thoughts, breezes, mad writing skills (no! You have those!) tons of ice, mountain streams, big fluffy lazy snowflakes...that's all I got.

[clauderainsrm]

Our friends at Reddit made an archive file for it. https://archive.is/EtN68#selection-4197.0-4212.0

[clauderainsrm]

Our friends over at Reddit made an archive for it, so people didn't pay to go over/under/around the paywall. https://archive.is/EtN68#selection-4197.0-4212.0

[murielle]

I have read two, Middlesex and The Road. But I found a whole bunch I'll be adding to my to-read list.

Thank you for posting this, Gary, and most especially for posting the Reddit link.

[mollywheezy]

You only need to do a free subscription to see the list, basically give them your email. They try to get you to subscribe to the paid one, but it isn't required.

[nicholewithanh]

Oh man! I might try that at my own job. ;)

Sorry to hear about the stress this week. Sending good thoughts your way.

[nicholewithanh]

Oh that sounds interesting! Also curious to hear how that event goes.

Congrats on your stand-up comedy - even if you didn't make it through. That's awesome!

[mollywheezy]

I like Taylor Tomlinson! I haven't ever seen her in person, though.

Skip the Small Talk sounds promising . . . I hope it goes well! :)

[banana_galaxy]

Looks like you're not the only person who's interested! I'll try and remember to share in the next green room. I could see it coming up as something to write about for an entry, but probably not this week's prompt!

[banana_galaxy]

Thanks! I'll try and remember to share something about the event in the next green room.

[banana_galaxy]

I got to see her tour in a much bigger venue last year, but I'm super excited about this one since it's a more intimate venue and she'll be trying out things for her next tour. As an amateur stand-up myself, it's cool to see how the pros try out their new tours. I got to see Sarah Silverman in the same circumstances a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks!

[pixiebelle]

Right? I find it hilarious now 😂 I’m used to the absurdities. My poor friend got very upset though.

[pixiebelle]

Thank you, but looking back, it’s more absurd than anything else.

[pixiebelle]

Right? I’ve thought about pretending I didn’t speak English back in the U.S., when people were trying to push religion or whatever, but I never actually tried it. It’s absurd here at times.

And thank you, it’s not really stressful (today was just another day in French admin), a lot of positive things. I’ve been hanging with friends a lot more too. I have a social life for the first time in my life.

[pixiebelle]

I also thought it was Saturday at first.

[pixiebelle]

Skip the small talk sounds like my kind of event! Also curious to hear about it.

[banana_galaxy]

They have events all over the country and other parts of the world so I looked up the website to see if Paris was one, but it doesn't look like it. They have some online events though.

I'm not a fan of small talk so I am hopeful for how this is going to be, though I am also kind of in a shy state right now. Even when I've gone out and seen people I know, or other people who are introducing themselves to new people (see: the stand-up competition last night), I've not been very forthcoming. I think it's just because I'm feeling internally motivated and wanting to focus on my memoir at the moment.

[pixiebelle]

I’m really uncomfortable with small talk as well. I also tend to be shy in groups with new people, and I don’t talk much. I’m bad about avoiding things like that sometimes but I’m trying to go out more. I’m sure it would be possible to set something like that up here too, especially within the immigrant/“expat” community.

[mollywheezy]

That's really cool!

[halfshellvenus]

The NYT is seriously pissing me off right now. It's a lot of shit-stirring that feels like they just want to be more outrageous than anything. And all of their issues with Biden are manifest in Tr*mp in a much more extreme way (not to mention all of the other serious things wrong with Tr*mp as a candidate), but they're not saying that. I've heard the NYT CEO is a Tr*mp campaign donor, which might explain a thing or two. :( :(

I haven't looked at the full list of the 100 best books of the 21st century, but I looked over their top 20 as well as the Top 10s of several other "literary luminaries." Between all of those, there are several books that I've read, and a couple that are "aspirational" for me and/or rayaso (namely, Lincoln In The Bardo and Demon Copperhead).

NON-aspirational is This Is How You Lose The Time War, but I'd have to remember to put a hold on it.

Just wading through the Kazuo Ishiguro recommendations, I rate Klara And The Sun higher than Never Let Me Go (not a popular opinion, but Klara is haunting and has all the feels), and The Buried Giant and The Unconsoled (both tagged in my Goodreads collection as "Abandoned Mid-Read") as a solid Meh.

And you know, I WANTED to like Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange And Mr. Norrell, but it dragged and there was injustice, whereas the book I really DID love was her Piranesi. \o?

[halfshellvenus]

Try being down here in the stupid valley. Gah!!!

[murielle]

Aww! I can relate, though we're getting a bit of a reprieve.

So, I'm sending you cool thoughts too...Ice cream, floats, mountain lakes for swimming in or just dabbling the toes, cool breezes from the ocean, soft slow lazy fluffy snowflakes, long cool drinks that last forever.

((cool hugs))

[tonithegreat]

Ah, Demon Copperhead was so so good!! I have got to get my hands on Lincoln in the Bardo at the right moment- I’ve been meaning to pick it up forever.

[halfshellvenus]

It's always sounded intriguing to me, and I'm not even the Abe Lincoln fanboy that my husband is!

The other one that I keep wanting him to read (because he would appreciate it more than I would) is "The Ocean Was Our Sky," which is a Moby Dick retelling from the POV of whales. I mean, come on!

[halfshellvenus]

Our reprieve is to have it be only around 101 tomorrow, instead of the 110 it was today. But I will take it! :)

[erulissedances]

Argh, paywalls. So I followed your Reddit link (which worked quite well, thank you), and started down the list. I got bored about 10 books in. While these may be well-written books, none of them are anything I have interest in reading. I guess I'm just not the audience they are writing for. (Nor, come to think of it, do I WANT to be the audience they are writing for.)

Still polishing what I'm posting - hopefully I'll get it up this afternoon.

- Erulisse (one L)

[murielle]

😮

[tonithegreat]

I keep meaning to get to Middlesex, also. I almost grabbed a used copy just a little while ago, but I'm trying to cut down on the book purchasing and I already had a stack. . .

[murielle]

It was part of Oprah's book club many many years ago and that's when I bought it and read it. Now The Road is one of my favorite books. I'm a McCarthy fan. I love his books.

[reidharriscooper]

As there's no NEW green room.

I haven't looked at this list, but I don't need a newspaper whose opinions on most things are shit to guide me. I get newsletters from all the major publishers, as well as read Publisher's Weekly, Library journals, etc. There's more books to read then there is time. I have books (and movies) in my collection I've barely touched simply based on being told they should be in your collection.

Anyway. I see a bunch of us got our entries in last minute and a bunch of us took byes. I don't know... I just read and write and write read ready set go.

[murielle]

I do too, in spurts. Read comment, read comment. Do something else. Read comment, read comment. ;-)