Bad good-reader, bad Linkedin-er!
From time to time, I am reminded by friends and
colleagues that I am a sorry practitioner on goodreads. I am perfectly willing
to use the site to my advantage—checking out writers that I am unfamiliar with,
sometimes borrowing quotations—but never do I contribute. Never.
My defense? I’m still talked out on books. The result
from teaching high school English for 31 years. Yep, that’s the sum total of my
excuse.
To my credit—and it’s not much—I have a number of times
posted on Facebook that I keep a running list of books read since October 2009.
Okay, more than once. Maybe fewer than 3 times. Just titles and authors, and cleverly
an (F) if the work is fiction. No ratings, no commentary, no quotations.
Helpful, huh? Interested in the list? Curious about my
tastes? Ask for it via the comments section for this post or send me a message
via Facebook. Yes, I will cull the nonfiction titles for you if you prefer.
Helpful, yes?
In a fit of guilt this past week, I did rate a few novels
on Amazon. A minor fit. More of an impulse. Less than an urge. Just something I
did in the moment.
Like now—last four novels read, with comments:
The Queue – Aziz: Egypt, dystopian, disheartening,
shrewd
The Association of Small Bombs – Mahajan: India, terrorism, families,
shrewd
The Sympathizer – Nguyen: Vietnam, double agents,
violence, shrewd
Gould’s Book of Fish – Flanagan: Tasmania, wit, wisdom,
shrewd
Beach
reads? No. Good reads? Yes. By the way, I think the Flanagan novel a work of
whimsical genius. And that can’t be a good sign for the other 99% of the
population. My mother’s theory is simple: If I like it, it’s doomed, and when I
don’t, it’s a winner.
Now
as for being linked, or not, it does trouble me that of late the folks at
Linkedin are asking via email if I know myself. Usually a list of someone I do
know, someone I don’t know, and then there I am. Do I know myself? Oh, they
really don’t want to go there with me.
And
how is that someone that I am fairly certain I don’t know is touting my
leadership skills? Like leading my dog on a leash during the daily walks? It’s
an office of one here, People! Okay, and the dog.
As
for connections, yikes! Some of these individuals have real jobs in real
workplaces where people keep track of stuff like productivity, sales quotas,
medicines, or cost overruns. Me? I’m just hanging out with a dog on a nice
piece of property and doing some reading and less writing.
When
I do help friends or family, usually I am driving a load of stuff to the dump,
or working as unskilled labor, or moving a piece of furniture. The jobs that
are sent from Linkedin to me based on my skillset are utterly fantastic as in
no basis in reality. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
I
run a limited media presence here at Camp Reflection. No, I don’t snap or chat.
Yes, I use Facebook—mostly just pictures and chitter-chatter.
No
need to read between the lines. Tag me among the reading unskilled. Happily so.
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