The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

How about adding book descriptions to the title? Stuff like:

Wuthering Heights: A slow burn friends to lovers romance with a shocking twist!

I know these are authors (or publishers) trying to game the system and I hate it.

On the topic of 'slow burn': fanfic authors who don't understand the meaning of it and have the love interests making out in the first chapter.

[catsknit]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing that's annoying is when legitimate eBooks are available from some countries but not others. Such as The Mary Stewart's Arthurian Legend and Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall (Dragonriders of Pern) books being in the UK but not the US .

I read all of both of those series years ago and are definitely ones I'd like to have as ebooks now to re-read.
Unrelated, but I've recently been borrowing all of Mary Stewart's non-Arthurian books, mostly gothic romance/mysteries, which have been pretty good.

[ekbell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Or how about stop treating us like we are stupid. I think we know what a novel is. We do not need to be told that your book is a novel aka Some Book: A Novel.

I find the Some Book: A Novel format to be very useful when I'm searching for books on a particular topic. It tells me that I do not need to check out that book.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ekbell

I find the Some Book: A Novel format to be very useful when I'm searching for books on a particular topic. It tells me that I do not need to check out that book.

Useful? Not a chance. Plus, I know what a novel is. I don't need to be told that this book is a novel. I'm not a child and I'm not stupid.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Useful? Not a chance. Plus, I know what a novel is. I don't need to be told that this book is a novel. I'm not a child and I'm not stupid.

Not useful to you, then. But ekbell explained why it’s useful to her and even the slight implication that she’s either childish or stupid is unfortunate. And I’m in that childish and stupid camp, as it happens. I have a lot of non-fiction interests and there’s a world of difference between The Great War: A History and The Great War: A Memoir and The Great War: A Novel and in a list of titles it’s very useful information indeed.

Where did I leave my lollipop?

[Dr. Drib]

I have enough for everyone!

Piping hot! Come join me!

(Now, for a nice reclining chair as I read my novel.)

Uh-oh: I found it under the sofa!

[Quoth]

Certainly you can't trust web site categories or the physical bookshop location.
Likely if you want actual Napoleonic War history book, neither "The Infamous Army" (Heyer) or Temeraire (UK title, Novik, some versions "His Majesty's Dragon") is what you want. Though the Heyer "Romance" does really have things the people involved with Waterloo wrote and is relatively historical on the battle.

Temeraire was real ships https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Temeraire

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Useful? Not a chance. Plus, I know what a novel is. I don't need to be told that this book is a novel. I'm not a child and I'm not stupid.

Did you read the post past the first 12 words

[Bookstooge]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Did you read the post past the first 12 words

Does he ever?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Did you read the post past the first 12 words

I just feel that adding A Novel to the title makes it seem that the author/publisher thinks I don't know how to tell that the book is a novel. The way to tell if a book is a novel when looking online at a shop is to look at the genre(s).

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just feel that adding A Novel to the title makes it seem that the author/publisher thinks I don't know how to tell that the book is a novel. The way to tell if a book is a novel when looking online at a shop is to look at the genre(s).

It would be better not to insult those who do things differently. An explanation of “why it doesn’t work for me” would make all the difference between colossal rudeness and possible enlightenment.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just feel that adding A Novel to the title makes it seem that the author/publisher thinks I don't know how to tell that the book is a novel. The way to tell if a book is a novel when looking online at a shop is to look at the genre(s).

With P-books, you can get the idea of its length by its HEFT.

All my e-book weight the same. Without drilling down into the MODIFIED metadata??? A Novel might be a hint (but I usually delete that from the title in Calibre)

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just feel that adding A Novel to the title makes it seem that the author/publisher thinks I don't know how to tell that the book is a novel. The way to tell if a book is a novel when looking online at a shop is to look at the genre(s).

And if the publisher miscategorized the genres?

[Dazrin]

They would never do that. They're just being extremely broad in their genre definitions....

/s

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

And if the publisher miscategorized the genres?

The Crystal Singer (McCaffrey) is one of top Arthurian titles on Amazon. Maybe someone confused it with Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave (which is part of her Arthurian trilogy). I could be misremembering but The Crystal Singer is SF (though sprinkled with Irishy place names).

The Big Publishers are as bad as some mad self pubbers now!