[bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
- From: Guido Corona <guidoc@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:54:31 -0600
Believe me Allison, I understand about being sick and tired of a long
validation. Next time you are stumped by a short synopsis , just post
the long thingie right here and ask Pratik -- the one who never sleeps
anyhow -- to carve a real good short one out for you. He can do it
without probs while listening to "The Rise And fall Of The 3RD Reich" with
One ear, and "Problems Of Industrial Adhesion" with the other ear.
Guido
Guido Dante Corona
IBM Research,
Human Ability & Accessibility Center, (HA&AC)
Austin Tx.
Phone: 512. 838. 9735.
Email: guidoc@xxxxxxxxxxx
Web: http://www.ibm.com/able
". . . Maybe it was only those who were most certain they were right who
were guaranteed to be wrong. And that maybe, just maybe, those who
questioned the most were in the end those who came closest to being wise."
[David Poyer, The Command]
"Allison Hilliker" <bookshare_girl@xxxxxxx>
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[bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
LOL Guido, then I'm afraid I am one of those rude/glib/lazy submitters you
label below. Although I don't really think so. I often use the see long
synopsis line because it makes my
life less complicated, especially when I'm submitting esoteric textbooks
that I've only skimmed through. I try for both types of synopses, but
sometimes life can't be compacted into easy little segments. I do however
usually use the technique in which I'll say something like... anthropology
textbook, , see long synopsis. Or historical romance, see long synopsis.
I
feel that at least gives the reader a clue as to what it's about. But
honestly, I'm not a great summarizer. Somehow I got a college degree
without obtaining that skill. Perhaps I missed that day. <smile>. I
figure
that what I put in the field about looking at the long synopsis is often
better than my mangled and fragmented attempts at a short synopsis.
However, I'll try to do it less in the future if it really bothers people
that much. And I am having a lot of practice in synopses writing as I'm
submitting this pack of textbooks I have here.
Thanks for your input,
Allison
----- Original Message -----
From: "Guido Corona" <guidoc@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:58 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
> True enough Allison. However, when I read the sentence:
>
> "see long synopsis",
>
> my immediate and only reaction is that the submitter or validator is:
>
> 1. Glib.
> 2. Rude.
> 3. Lazy.
> 4. Has no pride of ownership.
>
> At this point I feel that -- as a customer -- I am being told to 'eat
> cake'. I then routinely ignore completely the book in question and
move
> on to a book prepared by a more responsible submitter/validator. If a
> submitter/validator is capable of creating a long synopsis, they should
be
> able to extract/summarize a fragment appropriate for the short synopsis.
>
> G.
>
>
>
>
>
> Guido Dante Corona
> IBM Research,
> Human Ability & Accessibility Center, (HA&AC)
> Austin Tx.
> Phone: 512. 838. 9735.
> Email: guidoc@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Web: http://www.ibm.com/able
>
> ". . . Maybe it was only those who were most certain they were right who
> were guaranteed to be wrong. And that maybe, just maybe, those who
> questioned the most were in the end those who came closest to being
wise."
> [David Poyer, The Command]
>
>
>
>
> "Allison Hilliker" <bookshare_girl@xxxxxxx>
> Sent by: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 01/17/2008 10:58 AM
> Please respond to
> bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> To
> <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> cc
>
> Subject
> [bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Pratic wrote:
> ">I would also suggest staying away from short synopses that say "see
long
>> synopsis." There is no need to state the obvious."
>
> Actually Pratic, I think the statement about long synopses is a good
> thing.
> If a book has nothing in the short synopsis field, then I am unlikely to
> go
> looking for a long synopsis and usually don't end up downloading the
book.
> But if it tells me to read the long synopsis, then I will do that.
> Similarly, if the short synopsis field is especially short, I won't take
> the
> time to go look at the long synopsis field as I will assume it's equally
> vague. Also,
> some newer members may not realize that the synopsis field on the page
> they
> find when they click the title, if they take the time to read it, is
> actually longer than what they found when
> they first saw the book. I hope that makes sense.
>
> Best,
> Allison
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Pratik Patel" <pratikp1@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:51 AM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
>
>
>>I would also suggest staying away from short synopses that say "see long
>> synopsis." There is no need to state the obvious. It's a waste of
>> character space and helps no one.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Grandma Cindy
>> Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:02 AM
>> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
>>
>> I thought the rules specifically said not to express
>> opinions in synopses. You're right--a review is the
>> place for that, and I've submitted quite a few of
>> them. smile
>>
>> G.Cindy
>>
>> --- Meka <mekawh@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> This is not picking on anyone in particular because
>>> now I don't even
>>> remember the books where I have seen this. Hooray,
>>> fully functional memory!
>>>
>>> I hope that as submitters/validators, we can steer
>>> clear from the synopsis
>>> that is consistently more like a book review.
>>>
>>> For example, I read a short synopsis that basically
>>> said 'if you are wanting
>>> some useless fluff, this will be a good book.' One
>>> person's useless brain
>>> fluff is another person's enjoyable book, hence why
>>> I think there's a better
>>> way to do it. I think that we could use the
>>> review section (does that get
>>> used anyway?) for that. Or synopses that have book
>>> spoilers.
>>>
>>> I know it can be hard not to do this. I write book
>>> reviews with my friend
>>> for a blog that we both share and it's really hard
>>> to do some good book
>>> griping without spoiling important parts of the
>>> book.
>>>
>>> This is not a gripe, just a suggestion, and one that
>>> I want to follow as
>>> well.
>>>
>>> Meka
>>>
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>>
>>
>> WISH LIST (called Requested Additions To The Bookshare Collection)is
>> available at
>> http://people.delphiforums.com/jamiecalton/Book_Requests.htm
>> http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/
>> http://studentpages.alma.edu/~07jmyate/book_requests.htm
>>
>> www.jbrownell.com for miscellaneous and useful threads
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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