A wonderful children’s author I have known for some time, Cate Whittle, posted on her Substack page about success and failure and trying again. A cooking failure was turned around and she will experiment further to refine her recipe. Read here: https://catewhittle.substack.com/p/having-your-cake
My reply to Cate was prompted by a happy memory and perhaps an old lesson people could use more often. ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.‘ Here is what I wrote on Cate’s July Substack page:
“Lovely, just what I needed to read with my cuppa! Your warming newsletter brought back some lovely memories of my daughter’s first foray into cooking. Initially, her first attempts were not that good and one particular dish was a disaster. I said ‘Oh well, let’s try it again and see what happens‘ and fortunately it worked. She is now an excellent cook and will try most recipes including exotic international dishes which are beyond me. We keep a photo file of my daughter’s greatest triumphs. Recently she told me that ‘Let’s try it again‘ day was a pivotal moment for her cooking skills.
Looking forward to another version of your tea cake, Cate!” Follow Cate’s literary life ‘A Cuppa With Cate’ Substackhttps://catewhittle.substack.com/
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I personally dislike AI on the grounds that it does not enhance knowledge, it takes away incentive to pursue and learn. Anyway, I was scanning my stats and noticed that twice I have been viewed and possibly, hopefully, ‘recommended’ by Artificial Intelligence as a source for two readers. Okay, that’s kind of flattering but what post of mine was viewed/recommended? Who was the reader? Will this offer any benefit to me?
Importantly, have I been acknowledged as the original source?
I guess once I put my work out there, it stands to reason it will be seen and read and maybe used, but we bloggers always acknowledge our source or include a website link especially to anything we re-post.
Artificial Intelligence (like most of the internet) has been launched on the world wide web without workable social, legal, ethical or cultural boundaries. Humankind may melt down into one homogenous mass. Perfect conditions for a maniacal dictator.
Lots of questions need to be answered, especially since an AI ‘borrower’ cannot be traced. At least not by me, so I may never know the source or where my material ends up. How can I truly know where my blog posts end up anyway? Certainly readers can cut and paste anything they like but they are genuine readers. I think a faceless nameless Artificial Intelligence is invasive until proven otherwise.
Ask a human novelist about AI rip-offs and AI non-existent royalties. Meta allegedly used pirated books to train AI. Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, George R.R. Martin and others have filed a class-action suit, still unresolved, alleging OpenAI Inc copied their works without permission or payment. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/20/authors-lawsuit-openai-george-rr-martin-john-grisham
Of course many people will benefit. There are quite a lot of AI sites out there, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, etc, the first being Perplexity AI. Also Character.ai is a neutral (as if!) language model chatbot service. Another human job lost? Of course, there are strong opinions on all of this and numerous disagreements for various reasons.
We humans like shortcuts more than memory retention. Ask anyone studying. Internet users can take a detour but often it can misdirect or misinform, as in the case of a person who used ChatGPT for a literary book club review and gave a dry, soulless analysis of the story. In my opinion, do your own homework.
I like to personally do my own web surfing and pick up interesting and genuinely human stuff along the way – alternatively I read words on real paper. Under my mythical (as in not real) Creepy or Could-be section, I imagine one future day an AI bot will activate a microchip implant in a school student’s brain which will find web logs (blogs) or text books and release classic volumes straight into their grey matter.
The following twelve questions relate to the possibility of starting up a new crime and mystery readers book group here in Brisbane. I have attended many book clubs (reading a variety of genres) but never instigated one. Consequently my behind-the-scenes questions are numerous:
Venue
Time duration
Shared co-ordinator roles
Promoting new Book Group
Number of members – in person
Contacting/accepting members
How to choose crime and mystery books
Each reviewer/speaker timed length
Author talks
Guest speakers
Crime book swaps
Coffee afterwards…
More could be included and it all seems straight forward when written down. Members of the current U3A Brisbane book readers group are all very cordial and polite even when we disagree on the topic and/or the chosen book.
There is tonnes of information online but how to tailor one for the conditions, for example– Book source/transport/accessibility? Coffee shop/library/private home? Drop me a line in my Contact.
At this stage a new book group could possibly be under the auspices of U3A Brisbane or independently in a Brisbane City Council Library. As mentioned I am only tossing around ideas, nothing official yet, or as my old boss used to say ‘Nothing carved in stone’ so flexibility is the key. Research time!
Happy reading whatever your preferred genre, format or comfortable chair.
Interested in hosting a Welsh blog post, holding the Reading Wales dragon standard high? Consider compiling, coordinating and hosting an annual event started on WordPress by Book Jotter aka Paula Bardell Hedley. Then read ‘Time to Say Hwyl’…
Oh, Paula, such a bitter-sweet blog post but so very understandable! Life is full of changes and challenges and new things. Your Dewithon will live on in the hearts and minds of all who participated each year and the personal touch you gave to the literature of wonderful Wales.
Totally surprised by this information from Goodreads. Yes, I do read a lot but when I saw it all laid out like this, well, it was a pleasant shock to read the stats.
I did not realised that I had read such a varied collection of good books over one year. Perhaps many other Goodreaders were sent a similar result? Maybe we should form our own book group? Either way it is nice to think the algorithms ‘liked’ me enough to let me know.
In the back of my mind I am torn between being happy and being dubious about having my reading habits logged so meticulously when only a handful of books were absolute standouts for me. Only a few are loved unconditionally!
Gretchen Quote: ‘Books are the Three E’s, Entertainment, Education and Enlightenment.’
Just could not go past these two new children’s books without buying them! I am sure many younger and older readers will enjoy reading them too. One is fabulous fun with fine furry friends, and the other is an exciting adventure with intrepid young orphans in the big city. Read on…
A truly delightful book from start to finish. In ‘Hazel’s Treehouse’ author Zanni Louise has created adorable characters and oh so wonderful dialogue between a young girl Hazel and her four Australian bush animal friends. The treehouse is a snug place from which stories unfold and adventures begin. There are lovely little kindness explanations from Hazel when things go awry or plans go askew. She is like the older sister with rambunctious siblings, the one who peps things up or calms things down by showing a different way of looking at situations; particularly taming the dark before bedtime. But not always, as in ‘Small Pants Friday’ the rainy-stuck-inside-day when everyone gets a bit grumbly.
Then there’s Kevin, their new neighbour who has a continent-sized smile but a troubling agenda which causes Poky echidna to turn a bothered colour of grey. I’ll let you find out how that turns out. In ‘Hazel’s Treehouse’ the creativity, seasonal indoor and outdoor fun are beautifully rendered by Judy Watson, her joyous illustrations enhance the story and my favourite character is Odette, an active pademelon wallaby. When a little burst of reading happiness is needed, it is well worth having this gem on your kidlit bookshelf. Also suitable for a little bit of inspiration on those long lazy summer holidays. GBW 2024
Totally besotted with this book! I have read and adored previous books by author/illustrator Judith Rossell, featuring intrepid Stella Montgomery, and loved the stories so much I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a hardcover copy of ‘The Midwatch’ featuring unwanted orphan Maggie Fishbone and her adventures in what I think may be a parallel universe; although disconcertingly similar to early twentieth century America.
Maggie is banished to the notorious Midwatch Institute for Orphans and everything happens from there. Immersive, detailed and beautifully illustrated this is so unlike the world I inhabit yet similar at the same time. It is a story of fearless kind brave clever young characters speaking in the vernacular of that time, ready to face airships, scary monsters and villains. What does the ritzy Tiergarten Hotel hold..? A wardrobe but no lion, something far more ferocious. Then humour pops up at unexpected times.
Chapter 14, in the city library, is one of my favourites. “Nell’s eyes were shining. ‘I never knew there were so many books,’ she whispered. ‘Imagine reading them all. You’d know just about everything in the world, wouldn’t you?” As the story evolves, Maggie and her cohort have so much to investigate, a valuable brooch, a kidnapped friend, leading the reader not only with words and deeds, tension and suspense, but through the superb visualisations, and the occasional odd tip like “How to Escape from Quicksand”. I think this book is the bees knees for middle grade school readers looking for something different featuring engaging young adventurers. Good gravy there is even a chocolate cake recipe! GBW 2024
Rich dark chocolate cake baked by Dot Bernet from ‘The Midwatch’ recipe by author/illustrator Judith Rossell 2024
About Me: Reader, Writer, Reviewer, Blogger. My book reviews cover many genres and I don’t believe in writing one side of my reading experience. There are chunks of praise and criticism. Favourite books are Crime, Quirky, Mystery, History but much more.
What is it with the anonymous people who give a one-star rating on Goodreads without having read the book? I call them Bad Goodreaders. They don’t even pretend to know the author, the contents of the book or the country of origin. How foolish they appear to real readers by giving a well rated new book a one-star rating for no reason whatsoever.
I know this anonymous deceit is done, and done frequently throughout the Goodreads website. I have a very old volume of ‘King Anne’ written by Ethel Turner, pseudonym of Mrs. H.R. Curlewis, a well-known Australian children’s author in early 1900s. It is a hardcover book with illustrations, owned by my great-aunt and her sister who was my grandmother. It was bequeathed to me when I was a teenager and I though nothing about it until many years later.
I believe the ‘King Anne’ book has been out-of-print for many many years; perhaps it will never be republished but rare copies are available. There is a blank bookcover on Goodreads but I posted the real bookcover with my review.
This book has attracted a couple of genuine star ratings and, without a shadow of doubt, two random one-star ratings from two anonymous people. It would seem to me that they did not know the author or the age of the book. It is not a contemporary story. Come on, one hundred years ago, guys! Of course, it may not be thrilling reading for today’s young readers but it’s part of the Australian classics and there is no need to give it a worthless rating just because you feel spiteful. Move on if you don’t know anything about it.
Are these Bad Goodreaders hiding behind anonymity because they are unhappy, bitter ex-readers who cannot bear a book to be successful or popular or well liked? Perhaps because they themselves are not liked? Are they lashing out with their single click because it represents the only meanness or passive/aggressive behaviour available to them without repercussions from social media or cyber police? There is no government body assigned to prosecute a non-reader, or issue a fine for a rating from an anonymous person who gives a single star reflecting their malcontent with life and literature.
Could these non-readers be resentful of devoted readers and perhaps authors they have met who are successful when they themselves have received publishers rejection? That seems feasible because we all know our own work is best. However, all the more reason to give another author a helping hand because “what is given is given in return”.
So next time, One-Star Reviewer, unless the book is actually terrible or one you hated as a child, why not pass over that random book you are about to give a poor rating and get involved in computer gaming instead? Battle it out with something animated, something virtual that can at least challenge you.
All in all, the Goodreads website may be clunky but it’s about the best book reader website surviving on the world wide web today. Just don’t get me started on spoilers or huge tracts of a book sometimes reproduced without acknowledgement or consent from the original author.
In closing, Dear Reader, we can differ in our opinions. But just so we see both sides of the page, be aware of book reviewers who are known to give too many stars to boost their favourite author. This is also misleading for readers who are looking for a good book.
Be fair, be honest, you may gain more followers by giving a genuine rating and review from what you have actually read.
Public libraries are a privilege, the right of everyone to freely borrow, read and return books. In my opinion readers do not have the right to eat or drink over a library book.
It doesn’t happen regularly but I don’t want to see a smeared thumb print, a coffee stain, toast crumbs or bath water-wrinkled edges of carelessness. Food blobs or drink spills are not acceptable and are downright contemptuous, showing no respect for the book, the author of the book, the library staff and ultimately all other library patrons.
A definition of cruelty is to crack the spine of a new book. What arrogance the reader of a new book must have to think they possess the right to break the binding? The self-entitled recipient of a new library book must believe that, because the books cost them nothing, they have the right to fracture the binding which marks the spine of the book inside and out and weakens the support of the pages.
Then, adding insult to injury, they have the audacity to fold the corners of a page to mark their place. Some of these book-bullies think they are discreet, they will fold a tiny portion of the page corner as to be almost unnoticeable – so they think. Often exploited is a small rip in the page. Instead of using a flat bookmark, a random piece of paper or library checkout slip, they weaken and deface the pages for future readers.
Borrowing books written from throughout the world, every genre for every age group, is a wonderful service but a grubby-fingered book is not wonderful. Keep it clean for the next reader. Of course, if you read e-books or listen to audio-books this does not apply. Should a mishap occur (e.g. your budgerigar nibbled ‘War & Peace’) please draw it to the attention of library staff. Even a note inside the book will assist the librarian in discard or damage repair.
A level of care and thoughtfulness applies to all items including magazines and DVDs borrowed from any library. Remember, it’s a no-no to initial the back page of a book to indicate you have read it. Oh, and don’t forget to remove your bookmark especially if it’s a favourite. Many backroom library walls are papered with beautiful bookmarks which nobody claimed. Happy reading!
Planning an overseas holiday? This looks perfect for book lovers!
A yearly event: The Day of Books and Roses will be celebrated in Catalonia, Spain on Wednesday 23rd April 2025. This day is traditionally known as Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George’s Day) in Catalan. On this special day, love and literature are celebrated throughout Catalonia, and books and roses are exchanged. In Catalonia on 23rd April 2016 more than 1,580,000 copies of 45,267 book titles were sold, and a percentage of those were in the Catalan language.
Always learning: This is a part of the world I have never visited and I had no knowledge of this beautiful celebration. Catalan’s Sant Jordi Day really is commemorated with books, roses and love. Since 1997 the official slogan of the day has been ‘A rose for a love, and a book forever’. Perfect!
Love is in the air: The rest of the world awaits Valentine’s Day to celebrate love, Catalan’s most romantic day of the year is Sant Jordi, which also coincides with World Book Day on 23rd April. A day dedicated to ‘literature and love’, and of course books and roses are the main attraction.
‘Rose and Book’ Public Domain image by George Hodan
Tourism: Visitors and locals can stroll through stalls full of books and red roses. You can visit any Catalan city and soak up the festival’s atmosphere in and around the city’s central streets. Librarians take their books outside and set up stalls with the latest must-reads and some old classics. Flower vendors display thousands of red roses. Both make a brisk trade. Also, there are small tables of illustrators and authors selling and signing their books. I wonder if the patisseries (la pastelería) bake cakes and pastries shaped and decorated like books?
Culture: Although being part of Spain, Catalonia’s culture is quite different. They have their traditions (such as Sant Jordi Day) public holidays, and the language is Catalan. Sant Jordi is celebrated throughout Catalonia, so no doubt where you are, you’ll find a red rose and an excellent book. Some of the older buildings are decorated with red roses, the photos look amazing!
The legend of Sant Jordi: Catalans celebrate Sant Jordi’s Day to commemorate the death of Saint George in the year 303 AD. He became the symbol of Catalonia during the 19th century when the cultural and political movement known as the Renaissance reclaimed the signs of Catalan identity.
Modern-day Geography: Catalonia comprises most of the medieval and early modern Principality of Catalonia (with the remainder northern area now part of France’s Pyrénées-Orientales). It is bordered by France (Occitanie) and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, and the Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the south.
World Book Day: The book tradition on this day doesn’t come from Saint George himself. It comes from the International World Book Day which started in Spain in 1923. The date coincides with the death of two world-famous writers, Spanish Miguel de Cervantes and English William Shakespeare in 1616. In 1995, UNESCO declared 23rd of April as the UNESCO World Book & Copyright Day. In 2017, a group of Catalan publishers, booksellers, florists, and other professionals presented an application to UNESCO to have the ‘Day of Books and Roses’ recognized as Intangible Heritage. Extremely special things to celebrate!
On Friday I received this exciting email from Hawkeye Publishing and now want to share their encouraging information. Read and get writing!
Hawkeye Publishing is thrilled to announce they are opening for submissions at the end of June 2024. Please read their guidelines below to ensure your submission includes everything required. They can’t wait to hear from you!
Also, if you have read and enjoyed a Hawkeye book recently, please consider leaving a 5-star review on Goodreads. You can find many of my reviews there too. It’s hugely helpful to their authors as it helps them to connect with new readers.
Hawkeye Publishing is opening for submissions.
Attention writers! Please read the submission guidelinesbelow—
Hawkeye Publishing invites you to share your literary creations with them. They are seeking fresh voices and captivating stories. From gripping thrillers to heartwarming romances, thought-provoking non-fiction to enchanting children’s tales. They accept submissions across various genres and styles.
Hawkeye Publishing accepts—
Creative non-fiction (junior reader and adult); Faction (fiction based on a true event); Serialised YA or junior reader fiction; Fiction: romance, mystery, crime or popular; Self-help; Market-sought Memoir; Picture books (they accept author/illustrator submissions).
Whether you’re a seasoned or aspiring author, Hawkeye welcomes your submission. Take a good look at the guidelines below and send your pitch.
In your pitch email, please include (in 200 words) your—
Title; Genre; Word count; If the manuscript has been professionally edited and by whom; Any award credits on the manuscript; Any award credits the author has received for prior work; Author’s marketing reach; Author bio; Elevator pitch—please also include a 300 word synopsis. Hawkeye Publishing asks that your pitch email does not exceed 500 words and that you do not attach any part of the manuscript.
Submissions OPEN at 9:00am AEST Monday 24th June 2024 and CLOSE 5:00pm AEST Sunday 30th June 2024. Note: Outside this time-frame Hawkeye will not be accepting submissions. Send email to:editor@hawkeyepublishing.com.au
Hawkeye Publishing will acknowledge receipt of your pitch, and then request the first three chapters of your manuscript if you are successful in the initial stage of review. If successful in the second stage, they will then request your full manuscript.
There you have it, the ins-and-outs of taking your writing seriously and getting yourself noticed.
