[bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses

  • From: "Allison Hilliker" <bookshare_girl@xxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:00:29 -0700

Pratic, How good are you at writing synopses of books you haven't read? That's what I'm working on at the moment. So far so good though. 


Allison
----- Original Message ----- From: "Pratik Patel" <pratikp1@xxxxxxxxx> 
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:19 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
Oh, I am! And, but seriously, I'll be happy to help. After all, I have to 
maintain my genius reputation.



From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of siss52
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 10:07 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses
<lol> Not Allison, but it is so good to have some laughs again! To add to 
what you said, Guido, Pratik very modestly admits to being a genius!!!!



Sue S.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Guido Corona <mailto:guidoc@xxxxxxxxxx>

To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:54 PM

Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: synopses




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> 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 06:08 PM


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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> 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
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[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>

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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