Hi, Evan, as a matter of fact, if there was a pun, it certainly was unintentional on my part. Maybe I should have said that two psychopaths in one book was more like gilding the toadstool (in this case, I would say "gilding the lily" would not have served in this instance.). I should probably be much more precise in my language. I promise you I'll try harder in future to be precise in my utterances. Very good call on your part Evan. I'm glad you got a good laugh out of it. Regards, Kim. -----Original Message----- From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of EVAN REESE Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 7:39 AM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: I have a question please and thank you. Hey Kim, Two psychopaths in one novel is overkill? Was that an unintensional pun? It made me laugh. Thanks. Evan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim Friedman" <kimfri11@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 3:00 AM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: I have a question please and thank you. > Hi, Gwen, giving book recommendations is tricky at the best of times. If > you > object to sex and violence in books, you must ask why you find them > objectionable. Do you find the sex in a particular book gratuitous? Do the > characters act uncaring toward each other? The same goes for violence. > Personally, I know people who like James Patterson's books, but I have > problems with his work. When I read Along Came a Spider, he had two > psychopaths in one novel. To me, that's overkill. Sex and violence are in > this world. You can't make babies without sex, and I don't mind reading > about a caring relationship where two people are enjoying each other in > bed. > My problem is with the uncaring and gratuitous way violence and sex can be > handled in books. I think if a character is a louse, he or she will be > uncaring in his/her relationship with others and this case, I would say > this > is part of the story and might be deemed necessary. The thing is, Gwen, > you > are a grown-up and intelligent person. If you download a book and you > dislike it for whatever reason, you know you can delete it from wherever > you > are reading it. There are people writing today who tell a good story. That > being said, opinions will differ on what constitutes a good story. What > I'm > saying is that there are no hard and fast rules here. You like what you > like, and maybe you'll come across a book you never thought you'd ever > like. > Reading is an adventure, isn't it? You never can tell what you might find > to > peak your fancy. I read a couple of novels by Dostoyevsky and I'm glad I > read them. That being said, however, I concluded that while I don't regret > reading those novels, I couldn't understand his characters for the life of > me. What made them react to their lives in the way they did? I couldn't > understand their psychological motivation or their culture. So now you > know > something about what I think about book recommendations and the use of sex > and violence. I hope you weren't scandalized. Regards, Kim. > > -----Original Message----- > From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Soronel Haetir > Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 9:27 PM > To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: I have a question please and thank you. > > Once more I am in agreement with Roger. If your sensibilities are that > tender it should be up to you to take whatever steps you require to find > something you can enjoy. Asking others to cater to you at that level is > simply too much. > > On 9/8/09, Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx <Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx> wrote: >> Some time ago I recall Pavi saying that the dictionary that algorithm >> uses was reviewed and that it was laughable when they saw some of the >> words that were in it. Supposedly that was corrected, but I very much >> suspect that I would still consider it laughable. Honestly, I was once >> telling someone something another person said. I mentioned that the >> person had said that another person was pissed off. I do not >> ordinarily use that phrase myself, but since I was relating what >> someone else said I did that time. I was angrily accused of being >> obscene. It never even occurred to me in my wildest speculations that >> anyone would consider that to be obscene and if I had found it in that >> dictionary of prohibited words and phrases I would have found that >> laughable. >> Nevertheless, someone did consider it obscene. That is why I tend to >> think that the person who is offended by so-called "adult" words has >> the problem, not the one who utters them. >> >> >> "The end may justify the means as long as there is something that >> justifies the end. >> " Leon Trotsky >> >> The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder > Press: >> http://www.pathfinderpress.com >> Granma International: http://granma.cu/ingles/index.html >> _ >> >> table with 2 columns and 6 rows >> Subj: >> [bksvol-discuss] Re: I have a question please and thank you. >> Date: >> 9/8/2009 10:48:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time >> From: >> cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >> Reply-to: >> bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >> To: >> bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >> Sent from the Internet >> (Details) >> table end >> >> Evan, I've wondered about how that algorithm works too, because of the >> children's books I've proofed that were erroneously marked as adult by >> the algorithm. I'd bet part of it is based on Bookshare useing a >> dictionary of words that can be considered adult (with some contexting >> built in, I'd guess). The final designation of adult comes about by >> using a weighting of the number of times words/terms/phrases appear >> factored against the total number of words in a book. So if you have >> a children's book with very few words, and one of the 'suspect' words >> appears, although it could be in a totally innocent context, bam! The >> children's book is going to get rated as adult. I had that happen a >> few months ago with a board book I was proofreading! >> >> Just guessing here, of course. smile. >> >> Judy s. >> >> EVAN REESE wrote: >>> What determines adult content is ultimately the proofreader. >>> Bookshare's computer can mark a book either Adult or not, using some >>> secret algorithm that staff refuses to divulge to us, but the >>> proofreader can change the Bookshare computer's choice if he/she >>> feels that a change is justified. It used to be either the submitter >>> and/or the proofreader, but Bookshare took that choice away from >>> submitters and seems to have no inclination to give it back. >> >> To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to >> bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >> put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a >> list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject > line. >> >> > > > -- > Soronel Haetir > soronel.haetir@xxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to > bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list > of > available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 4408 (20090908) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 4408 (20090908) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 4408 (20090908) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to > bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. 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