Monday 26 April 2010

Where Is This Ship Going?

I have three bits of what is basically admin to tell you about, and no actual topic. So don't say Learning To Read never treats you like the Prince or Princess you undoubtedly are. (Any real Princes or Princesses reading this: realistically, there's not going to be much in this one for your high tastes. Better to bow out now.)

First, a recap of what this blog has been about so far:

The Book Reviews.
These are the main body of Learning To Read, and pretty much it's raison d'etre. (The Princes and Princesses would have appreciated that little bit of 'le Francais'. Ah well.)
As well as all my new reads, they have started to include a retrospective/best-of series, under the monicker Carroll Classics.
In all of these, the focus is on seeing what works and what doesn't, and boiling them down to content-free but memorable lessons that I can selfishly apply to my own work.

Writing Talk.
Again, these tend to take the form of lessons (I'm always learning) and the search for useful writing principles. But you can also expect general thoughts on the fun of writing, the lifestyle issues of writing, and that Big Scary Thing--the why of writing.

So that's where we are so far. Here's the new stuff:

Blog Friday.
A regular--almost weekly, you could say--feature, in which I talk about blogging, instead of writing. This is the sort of self-indulgent meta-nonsense that blogging was invented for.
It might take the form of what I like and dislike about blogs; lists of my favourite blogs; a specific blog-post from elsewhere I think is important; or simply another go round the Blog Hop.
Note: this sort of post, which is only talking about Learning To Read, would in future happen on a Friday.

Sales Assistant B.
You see, it's not just me and Michael Owen in the Learning To Read offices. Although actually it is, because our other member of staff spends all his time in a bloody bookshop.
Sales Assistant B's irregular dispatches from the front line of the Book War will reflect on the book world at large, as well as occasional rants about his annoying colleagues. Possibly.

Photo Month.
Learning To Read has just bought a digital camera, and it should arrive by the end of the week. I'll be taking a photo a day during May, in the manner of Matto's OMPADC.
I'll post my photos here, every three or four days.


So there we go. A regular feature, an irregular feature, and a one-off project. Literally, what more could you ask for?

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the plug! OMPADC should be good to see.

    Also looking forward to Sales Assistant B. I hope there will be a "silly things customers ask" type bit.

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  2. This blog is already so entertaining, what shall I do with all this new stuff? You spoil us Ben, you really do.

    Sales Assistant B and I should compare notes on smelly old men, the guys who buy book porn, and obnoxious yummy mummys. Oh shop life.

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  3. Yours is by far one of the more interesting blogs I follow. Glad you do more than just reviews and memes.

    Looking forward to your photos.

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  4. thank you all! very kind comments.

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  5. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't visited your blog in ages. But I really like the sound of where this ship is going and the new (is it even new?) template is sexy. I'll definitely follow more closely in the future!

    Oh, and thanks for the comments you've left on my blog!

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  6. it is new, glad you like it! it might suffer a couple of minor changes when i get my camera, but then again it might not.

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  7. Stopping by from the Blog Hop - from the sounds of this, I'll definitely be back! Who doesn't love book reviews, writing talk, and dispatches from a sales assistant?

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