The Reading Room

BESW

00:08

from THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE by the great Beverly Cleary, who is 101 years old today https://t.co/VCCpNRFDcH

Tweeted by saladinahmed on April 12, 2017 at 5:26 PM

BESW

00:25

BRAM STOKER: I wrote this 64-page story about a vampire EDITOR: It’s good but can you add 300 pages of vampire hunters tracking a shipment

Tweeted by therealeatwood on April 12, 2017 at 2:20 PM

Rand al'Thor

00:43

@BESW Been there. IIRC, it has the first and second largest bookshops in the world. I remember the second largest as being much more impressive: your classic old building with plenty of nooks and crannies and loads of cramped book-filled rooms connected by narrow passages. (I may be partially conflating it with places I've only been to in dreams.)

Actually, that should probably be first and second largest second-hand bookshops. Foyles (which I've also visited many times) must be bigger.

Ooh, now I want to rename this chatroom.

BESW

Hmm, Powell's claims to be the World's Largest Independent Bookstore.

Rand al'Thor

Foyles has been all reorganised these days. It's much more confusingly laid out now, making it harder to find things. I've only been there once in the last several years, but it used to be much better before that.

Or in other words, "Ooh, they've redecorated. I don't like it."

Bookworm

01:56

0

Q: Who is "Reported Missing" addressed to?

Anna Keown's poem "Reported Missing" is addressed to a World War One soldier by a first-person narrator who is desperately hopeful that he isn't dead. Here's the poem in full: My thought shall never be that you are dead: Who laughed so lately in this quiet place. The dear and deep-eyed hu...

Mithrandir

08:54

Your avatar is slightly creepy now, @Gallifreyan...

BESW

09:47

I'm going to try starting a regular read-aloud session with my folks.

Gallifreyan

11:03

@Mithrandir Didn't ping me for some reason o_0

Why is it creepy? I think it's a beautiful face.

Mithrandir

@Gallifreyan probably because of the ellipsis.

@Gallifreyan dunno. It just is o_o

Gallifreyan

5

A: The many avatars of SFF.SE

My sixth avatar is Desire of the Endless. I didn't pick it because I like the character (and I do, as with all characters in The Sandman), but because I find this particular rendition breathtakingly beautiful. Not only is it gorgeous, it also maintains the perfect balance between male and female ...

You might not want to click that link to the artist's website, though. It's NSFW

in Mos Eisley, 16 hours ago, by KutuluMike

@Gallifreyan maybe suitable for work

DVK-on-Ahch-To

@Gallifreyan Thereby of course ensuring everyone will now click.

Damn HNQ is useless. I ask a dumb question on SFF that is just a throwaway thought from a fanfic. Instant HNQ. (highly undeserved, imo)

Gallifreyan

@DVK-on-Ahch-To rubs hands with evil sneer

in Mos Eisley, 17 hours ago, by Valorum

@KutuluMike - Artsy farsty nude women

DVK-on-Ahch-To

11:22

@Randal'Thor Marriage is all about tax avoidance.

@Randal'Thor Challenge accepted (I'll ask sometime in next 12 months)

Gallifreyan

@DVK Sorry I didn't get to add the translations in your answer - wild week.

Rand al'Thor

11:41

@Gallifreyan First you looked like Candied Mango, then you looked like Jeff Atwood, now you look like Kylo Ren. You're always making me mix you up with someone else :-)

BESW

"Hi, I'm Petey the Papyrus, and I'm here to tell you all about the delicate and vital work of papyrus conservation!… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/852565132119085057

Tweeted by john_overholt on April 13, 2017 at 4:52 PM

Rand al'Thor

@DVK-on-Ahch-To I already posted two Stevenson questions :-)

Fairly easy ones too, I think. Should be low-hanging fruit for anyone who wants to have a go at answering.

Gallifreyan

@Randal'Thor Ok, I'll try something else next time :) But seriously, Kylo Ren? I get the first two, but the colours and croping are entirely different between me and him.

Rand al'Thor

@Gallifreyan When I look properly, I can see the difference (thankfully). But a quick glimpse, at thumbnail size ...

Gallifreyan

@Randal'Thor Ok, I'll post at least 3 consecutive messages so that people can recognise me :)

Rand al'Thor

11:47

Just

split

your

messages

enough

:-P

Gallifreyan

Don't like polluting the space.

Still haven't had a chance to start reading Neverending Story

But I may ask some Martin Eden questions.

I've tried to put together a Goodreads profile, but their category system is weird.

in Mos Eisley, 4 hours ago, by Gallifreyan

Weird. Why would "Gay and Lesbian" be a separate genre for Goodreads? Are those books about homosexuality, or do they feature homosexuality?

in Mos Eisley, 4 hours ago, by Gallifreyan

Would Sherlock Holmes stories fit that genre? :D

Rand al'Thor

17:15

Now that the poop talk has stopped ... any thoughts on whether this answer is actually bounty-worthy?

Hamlet

@Randal'Thor is it OK if I move the poop talk to another room?

Rand al'Thor

@Hamlet Sure! I was actually considering doing that too.

There's just 2 messages in that whole conversation which are worth leaving here rather than the "Ankit's Poop" room.

Hamlet

40 messages deleted

→ 40 messages moved to trash

Rand al'Thor

Well, that works too.

repost

Wow, 6 questions bountied here and only 2 on SFF. Lit is getting busy.

DForck42

17:32

@Randal'Thor lol

@Hamlet but... but... now no one's gonna know about our glorious discussion :(

2

Gallifreyan

18:52

There goes my Martin Eden question.

Rand al'Thor

Only our second jack-london question!

Huh, I wrote this question as an attempt at a better and more answerable version of this one, but now the newer one is closed and the older one isn't!

Time for some reopen votes, perhaps?

Gallifreyan

IMO, if one is closed, so should the other.

So I cast a reopen vote to restore the balance

Rand al'Thor

Thanks :-)

@Riker?

Bookworm

19:09

0

Q: Why did Martin Eden live at night with the gods in a colossal nightmare?

Re-reading Jack London's Martin Eden for my project, I've come across this passage: Martin had ascended from pitch to pitch of intellectual living, and here he was at a higher pitch than ever. All the hidden things were laying their secrets bare. He was drunken with comprehension. At nigh...

meaning jack-london martin-eden

Gallifreyan

Where is @HDE? Haven't seen him in a while.

Ankit Sharma

@Randal'Thor I am not reposting my reply :p

Riker

20:27

@Randal'Thor what reopen where who why

I've vtr-ed the lewis carroll one

Shokhet

21:52

@Gallifreyan Is this still true? I don't recognize your avatar

> My avatar is Dream of the Endless, King of the Dreaming, the one we know as Morpheus, Oneiros, or Sandman.

(From your SE bio)

Gallifreyan

@Shokhet Yeah, I have to update that, or just cut it out and link to that meta answer of mine.

5

A: The many avatars of SFF.SE

My sixth avatar is Desire of the Endless. I didn't pick it because I like the character (and I do, as with all characters in The Sandman), but because I find this particular rendition breathtakingly beautiful. Not only is it gorgeous, it also maintains the perfect balance between male and female ...

And I'm going to sleep now. Good night everyone!

Shokhet

@Gallifreyan Gnite! :)

Bookworm

22:10

0

Q: Interpretation of a Churchill quote

This isn't quite literature, but a quote from Winston Churchill: History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. Is he referring to the fact that he will be writing a history of the time he lived in (as he was a prolific writer of history)? Or, more that his actions will dictate the h...

history-of-literature

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