Can you help a newbie with some of these blogger mysteries?
10. Whatever happened to Paperbackreader.net? One day it was there and the next day it was g
9. Who is the person who started Snark Underground (Too chicken to link to it. It scareth me greatly.) and why?
8. Who is Dionne Galace and how is she related to a person named “BAM”?
7. I recently figured out that the women who run the busiest romance blogs also have day jobs. So what explains their ability to do it all?
a. Adderall
b. A secret army of Oompah Loompahs hired away (by the promise of higher wages and their eventual return to their native land) from Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
c. They don’t. “They” are actually teams of Brooks Brothers suited men named Mr. Smith who were trained by the patriarchy to taunt all of us average women with their seemingly effortless output. (And if we say anything about it, they shall taunt us a second time).
6. Why are there so many locked or empty fora at All About Romance? Did I miss something really nasty and awful? And why do I actually kinda regret that??
5. Why doesn’t Azteclady have her own blog so I don’t have to chase her reviews all over the place?
4. Which group of romance bloggers would prevail in a wrestling match over their favorite book (if you have a dual membership, you have to choose one)?
a. The librarians
b. The medievalists
c. The lawyers
d. The aspiring authors
3. The Romance Reader says that it is “the only Internet site offering over 7,000 candid reviews of current romantic fiction”, but All About Romance says that it offers “the smartest reviews (more than 7,000 of them!) you’ll find anywhere. Both claims cannot be true. So which one is?
2. Which next book would romance review bloggers be most willing to trade their first born child to get (this one is really four riddles wrapped in a mystery):
a. The next Laura Kinsale
b. The next Lisa Valdez
c. The next paranormal romance (as opposed to urban fantasy) from JR Ward
d. The next Judith Ivory
1. Who is Mrs. Giggles?
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#1 by Victoria Janssen on October 29, 2008 - 9:02 pm
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I don’t have a first-born child, but I would pay hardcover prices for a new Judith Ivory, if there ever is one. *sigh of longing*
#2 by Laura Vivanco on October 29, 2008 - 10:54 pm
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I recently figured out that the women who run the busiest romance blogs also have day jobs. So what explains their ability to do it all?
I haven’t got a clue but I’d have thought you’d know the answer to that, as you have a day job and a blog.
The Romance Reader says that it is “the only Internet site offering over 7,000 candid reviews of current romantic fiction”, but All About Romance says that it offers “the smartest reviews (more than 7,000 of them!) you’ll find anywhere. Both claims cannot be true. So which one is?
Well, the AAR claim is partly based on an opinion (“the smartest reviews”) so it’s compatible with other sites having similar numbers of reviews, just not reviews which are smarter than those at AAR. Similarly, the TRR claim may be true if one accepts that other sites don’t have over 7,000 candid reviews. If other sites have over 7,000 dull/factual/snarky/squeeing/smart reviews it could be argued that that wouldn’t invalidate TRR’s claim to be the only one with over 7,000 candid reviews.
Which group of romance bloggers would prevail in a wrestling match over their favorite book (if you have a dual membership, you have to choose one)?
Perhaps the medievalists could sit this one out, and instead discuss how many reviews can dance around in the head of a single reader?
#3 by Wendy on October 29, 2008 - 11:11 pm
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Paperback Reader essentially folded because a lot of the bloggers behind it (authors mostly) just got too busy with writing “stuff.” The admin person was going to dismantle the blog and house the reviews somewhere else…but she obviously hasn’t gotten around to it.
Dionne and Bam are the same person. She first joined the blogosphere as Bam, but has since gotten published, hence going by her “real” name (and FYI – I have no clue if Dionne is her “real name” or a pen name).
AAR is undergoing a change in management, but not sure if that has anything to do with their forums.
Poor wording on the part of both TRR and AAR – but I can tell you that TRR was really the first online romance review site – with AAR following later.
As for AztecLady – yeah she needs her own blog. But then I think everybody should have their own blog.
As for the books? I personally don’t care – but if I was a betting woman, I’d go with Ivory and Kinsale in a fight to the death.
#4 by Ana on October 30, 2008 - 12:17 am
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“I recently figured out that the women who run the busiest romance blogs also have day jobs. So what explains their ability to do it all?”
I can answer this one: I sleep 5 hours a day, I wake up and I read, I take my lunch hour to read, I read for about 3 hours until I go to bed at night. And I blog and write the posts from work (like now – *ninja cat* )
My house is a mess and my partner complains a lot though. *g*
#5 by Kate on October 30, 2008 - 12:25 am
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My blog suffers greatly for the full-time job – and the contract reviews – and the other contract work – but I have this sneaking suspicion you weren’t talking about me there
I do wonder quite frequently how the Smart Bitches do it.
My dual membership contains b) medievalist and d) aspiring author, but I somehow have this feeling that many of those groups would not wrestle so I’m going with the lawyers, who also may not wrestle but would probably end up winning anyway.
#6 by Janine on October 30, 2008 - 12:31 am
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God, I miss that site! I don’t think I would be reviewing today if HelenKay Dimon hadn’t started reviewing there. So even if are unable to continue blogging, they’ve had a lasting impact on my life. I only hope that romance community politics wasn’t a factor in their decision to stop reviewing.
I don’t know know the answer to that one, either.
Nary a clue. Today’s the first time I heard of it.
Same very witty person. Another author who used to write reviews and if I’m not mistaken stopped.
But readers continue to review on her site (It’s Not Chick Porn).
Jane gets a lot of help around the house from her husband, but I still don’t know how she find the time to do even a third of all she does. Assistant Attorney General, mother of a young child, blogs daily, reads a ton, and she sews too. If only I managed my time half as well!
Jayne is also amazing.
TRR isn’t updated that often, so maybe (pure speculation here) their claim dates back to a time when it was true, but isn’t any longer?
I’d trade a lot (but not my first born) for the next Kinsale or Ivory. Kinsale probably tops my list but Ivory (esp. if she wrote another Black Silk) would be next. BTW, have you read one of her books yet?
#7 by Janine on October 30, 2008 - 12:34 am
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My post got scrambled somehow. “Nary a clue. Today’s the first time I heard of it,” was intended to be my answer to the Snarky Underground question. Sorry.
#8 by MoJo on October 30, 2008 - 12:52 am
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I never heard of Snark Underground before today either.
#9 by Jessica on October 30, 2008 - 2:51 am
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Thanks everyone for the helpful answers, especially re: Paperback Reader (a site I loved) and Bam.
Victoria,
Oh, you can pledge any maternal product, present or future, including not just children, but aesthetic creations, such as, I don’t know, your own novels…
Laura,
Yes, I have a day job (and I include in that category anyone who does unpaid domestic labor full time as well, BTW), but I don’t have a BIG blog. My average is 3 posts a week, many of them little fluff pieces like this very post.
I would count as a “big” blog not just the ones with a lot of visitors and comments but with a lot of steady (daily) good content (so Kate, yours could easily count). It’s just hard to do, which I always suspected but now know for sure.
And is that joke about angels as reviled among medievalists as among its sister professions?
Wendy,
I never would have guessed that birth order for TRR and AAR. Thanks for the background!
Ana,
Blogging from work? News to me.
It’s my reading that is taking a beating from this blog, actually. Thanks for giving me the answer: less sleep.
Janine and Mojo — I don’t know how I found the website that is the subject of number 9, but I assumed it was the result of some blog war everyone knew about that was long over. I would hate to think even by mentioning it I have increased its visibility.
And, Janine, Beast is in my TBR pile. I’m thinking in a few weeks I will get to it. (Famous last words)
#10 by Teddypig on October 30, 2008 - 9:40 am
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Snark Underground is Cindy Cruciger
#11 by Jessica on October 31, 2008 - 6:05 am
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Teddypig, thank you for visiting, and for filling me in on that particular mystery, which is mysterious no longer.
#12 by JenB on October 31, 2008 - 10:37 am
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Holy crackers…that snark blog is scary! Remind me to never piss them off.
I just stumbled upon your blog and now I’m hooked!
#13 by Jessica on October 31, 2008 - 6:23 pm
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JenB,
I agree. Thanks for coming by and posting! The more the merrier!
#14 by Tami on October 31, 2008 - 7:57 pm
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As far as I know, the only locked forums at AAR are the “about” forums – you know, the brief explanations of what belongs in each forum. The rest are open for everyone to read and all registered users can post.
#15 by Jessica on October 31, 2008 - 8:11 pm
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Tami,
I might have worded that wrongly. I should have written “empty.” It’s the most counterintutitive forum format I’ve ever seen!
Thanks for visiting and clarifying.
#16 by Tami on October 31, 2008 - 8:35 pm
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Jessica, I agree aboutt he confusion – I used to visit the AAR forums quite often and still clicked on the wrong link sometimes.
I came across you blog when Teach Me Tonight linked to it, and it’s wonderful (should have said so the first time I posted, of course).
#17 by Jessica on October 31, 2008 - 8:54 pm
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Tami,
Thank you! I think it’s funny, in a way, that the online romance community has flourished via blogs rather than fora. To compare another pop culture hobby of mine, Disney World: I have participated in THE DISBOARDS, a huge online forum for lovers of WDW, since 2002. There, in one place, with 200,000 other people, I do all the things I have to travel to 20 different romance blogs to do: write and read reviews, seek and offer advice, get information about upcoming events, and chat with online friends about our mutual interest in all things WDW. It’s odd.
#18 by MoJo on October 31, 2008 - 10:34 pm
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I do too and I’ll tell you, I wish it were fora. (Better yet, Usenet, but nobody does that anymore.)