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   Hello George Pope!   
      
   ** On Friday 15.04.22 - 10:53, George Pope wrote to August Abolins:   
      
    GP> Another mut read #1 first is "A Spell for Chemeleon"; the   
    GP> first in Piers Anthony's epically long "Xanth" series   
    GP> (they can be read in sets of three after you'veread that   
    GP> one, or sets of nine -- he wrote them in trilogies   
    GP> containing  three trilogies each. Publisghuing, of course,   
    GP> one novel at a time!   
      
   I believe you mentioned that here before. Thx.  I have a copy     
   of that one at the ready.   
      
   My first Xanth novel was "Board Stiff".  I loved the opening     
   chapter.  The puns were exellent.   
      
      
    GP> I like Piers -- he personally connects with the reasder..   
    GP> ..his puns in Xanth gets lame & expected  after awhile,.   
    GP> but his attachment & 4th wall usage in using them is   
    GP> funny.   
      
   4th wall?   
      
   In Board Stiff, he made the punnery part of solving the mystery     
   that the character encountered. That was clever.   
      
   I still get a chuckle at this part at the beginning:   
      
   "... I'm actually a smart girl who would make any man an   
   excellent wife. But no man sees that. No man is interested in   
   my mind or personality, just my whatevers. So here is my wish:   
   I'm board stiff. I want Adventure, Excitement, and Romance."   
   Now the ripples made her reflection shimmer. She definitely had   
   the wishing well's attention. "I searched all over for a   
   suitable offering," she continued. "It occurred to me that how   
   you look is governed by the sand on your bottom. It is frankly   
   sort of dull. So I found a pretty colored stone that should add   
   interest. Here it is: my offering, and I hope you like it." She   
   brought out the stone, which was like a faceted blue diamond,   
   sparkling all over. She dropped it into the well. Something   
   happened. A sudden whirlwind surrounded her, lifting her up and   
   ripping off her clothing. She was changing, somehow. Then she   
   fell flat on the ground. Literally. She had been transformed   
   into a flat, stiff board with two knotholes for eyes."   
      
      
    >> I keep a small printed list of titles sorted by pubdate.   
      
    GP> Most of your customers just ask for recommendations & you   
    GP> can point out when  the stories are stand-alone?   
      
   I havent read them all.  But most people tell me that that they     
   can enjoy them individually. Sometimes they like to seek out an     
   earlier publication to fill in the gap; they tell me it's still     
   a good reading experience.   
      
      
    >> It was simply one of those "necessity is the mother of   
    >> invention" moments. I got tired of "looking" across two   
    >> shelves for a Jack Reacher title.  But when laid out in   
    >> title order, I know which one's I've got or not.   
      
    GP> You don't have a computerized index/db of your stock?   
      
   It's is MUCH easier to just look at the shelf and see what is     
   missing.   ;)   I *can* usually tell what title I still have in     
   stock on the computer, but I can only do that one title at a     
   time.   
      
      
    GP> Hollywood really ought to start reading more than just   
    GP> comic books!   
      
   LOL.   
      
      
    GP> The movie based on "One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich   
    GP> really missed on the  characters & castying -- none looked   
    GP> right except Joe Morelli, maybe.   
      
    GP> Ditto "50 Shads of Grey" -- none looked like they do in   
    GP> the novels, IMO.   
      
   Did not see that one. I thought the premise of sadomachism is     
   too dark for me.   
      
      
    GP> But maybe today's gen of movie watchers would recognize   
    GP> them just fine, or  don't care as they don't read. (had an   
    GP> adult lady friend once tell me "I don't  read" (that was   
    GP> the beginning of the end for me)   
      
   I find that people who say that they don't read CAN be made     
   interested in non-fiction: biographies, history, politics,     
   books on medical topics, cookbooks, etc..   
      
   Same thing with kids. Kids who can't seem to bear struggling     
   with Harry Potter, can be fascinated by the Guiness World     
   Record books, encyclopedias, game manuals, field guides, maps.   
      
   --   
     ../|ug   
      
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