The Reading Room

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4:06 AM

In the process of writing a question out the answer has become obvious to me - if it seems too obvious, is there a point in posting it?

(The question in question is about orthographical conventions in The Kane Chronicles, but when staring at the two categories of text side-by-side a clear difference emerges which perfectly answers my original confusion.)

Mithical

Sure. I've definitely posted "easy" questions where the answer seems obvious; as long as it provides an opportunity for an interesting or educational answer, there's nothing wrong with posting it.

You can also write a self-answer and post them together.

bobble

But would anyone but me care about usage of [] vs. ()?

My sister certainly doesn't

(The answer is one is used to address the reader, while the other is used to address the fellow narrator)

Mithical

Up to you. It's not like SE isn't generally oriented towards people who care about minute details :)

Bookworm

4:32 AM

Q: What is the difference between parentheses () and square brackets [] when enclosing real-time interjections in the Kane Chronicles?

The conceit that each of the books of the Kane Chronicles is a transcription of an audio recording allows frequent interjections from current-time Sadie and Carter, commenting on the past events or on each others' narration. These interjections are always enclosed in parentheses () or [] brackets...

4 hours later…

Bookworm

8:16 AM

Q: Were new illustrations made for the "SCRAM" picture in translations of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator?

In Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, the Vermicious Knids first appear as five blobs in elevators, which then contort themselves into letters: S, C, R, A, M, respectively. The original book includes an illustration of their warning to the humans: “But if they’re so fierce and dangerous,” Ch...

translation roald-dahl charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory

11 hours later…

Bookworm

7:30 PM

Q: What was Slothrop doing in London during the first Blitz?

Early in Gravity's Rainbow, in the first section where we're privy to Slothrop's stream-of-consciousness, he muses: A lot of stuff prior to 1944 is getting blurry now. He can remember the first Blitz only as a long spell of good luck. Nothing that the Luftwaffe dropped came near him. But this la...