As many other internet go-ers, I stumbled over the concept of buying things over the internet.
As I was looking around, I noticed how the values of a book is graded. When you buy a book from a store you usually pay around 7 British pounds for it, or 100 Swedish crowns. After that book has been read once, if it is a pocket-book, it will re-retail for around 3 British pounds.
Isn't that crazy? We pay so much for a new book, and after one read, it is barely worth anything.
And even though it might sound a bit weird, I get a bit emotionally attached to all my books. Recently I decided to sell my Hunger Games trilogy through the Swedish Ebay "Tradera" against better judgement.
I thought it wouldn't be so bad, since I did not enjoy the series particularly much. But when it came down to it, I do not want to send them off! I read them, cried over the protagonists, and hated the antagonists. Now someone else will put them in their bookshelf. The only comfort is that the series had clashing colored covers and did not fit in well with the rest.
All that is left is to package them, and then ship them away...
So I ask you, dear reader; how do we value books? It is not so much about their story after the first read. We hand them off to a new pair of hands to grasp them, and cling to the pages, ripping their hair out over the plot twists, just like you did the first time you read that exact, same passage.
How do we know they do not just become a pretty addition on someone else's bookshelf?
And why do we care?
By Yours Truly,
ETBlogsHome 2013-12-07
Showing posts with label question. Show all posts
Showing posts with label question. Show all posts
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Okay, so I lied!
I didn't update as planned, but who ever does? I did however spend a lot of time thinking about my novel. It's such a long way until November, but still it's just around the corner and there is so much to do! Let's make a NaNoWriMo check list of what needs to be done (okay I just really want a good reason to postpone actually developing the idea at this point because usually that's where things get messy, untidy, and unclear)
Things a novel need:
- A title. A strong, poetic, special, non-cliché title. This does not necessarily need to be in place as writing begins.
- A setting. Work with geographical, historical and social. You can be ambiguous about one of three when writing, but choose wisely otherwise you'll end up being the bed-headboard-book-equalizer because you so uneven in yo language not even IKEA could assemble you straight.
- A main character. Or many, I mean let's be honest, isn't dual-narratives becoming a real thing lately? But be careful, or you might end up with half-naked characters (figuratively speaking).
- A plot. At least something that remotely resembles it. There are different types of novels, character based, plot based or setting based. (I made the last one up completely, it sounds awful, but the idea is there nevertheless) What did you start out with? It will be obvious to the reader what was there first; plot, character or setting.
Things I need:
- Lists. Of everything that could/would/should/might/will happen.
- A cover. I want to imagine the world and DO I wish I could draw. I have the hand-eye coordination of a one-winged seagull. Of course, they don't have hands at all... Poor things.
- Caffeine. Coffee is fine. Red Bull is better.
And what of this do I have as of this moment? Nada. Like literally nothing. I mean literally, as in there is so little substantial material written down right now we might as well not. Fret not. The day will come when ideas start coming to me again. Until then, I will blog selflessly in denial of the passing of time.
By Yours Truly,
ETBlogsHome 2013-10-06
Things a novel need:
- A title. A strong, poetic, special, non-cliché title. This does not necessarily need to be in place as writing begins.
- A setting. Work with geographical, historical and social. You can be ambiguous about one of three when writing, but choose wisely otherwise you'll end up being the bed-headboard-book-equalizer because you so uneven in yo language not even IKEA could assemble you straight.
- A main character. Or many, I mean let's be honest, isn't dual-narratives becoming a real thing lately? But be careful, or you might end up with half-naked characters (figuratively speaking).
- A plot. At least something that remotely resembles it. There are different types of novels, character based, plot based or setting based. (I made the last one up completely, it sounds awful, but the idea is there nevertheless) What did you start out with? It will be obvious to the reader what was there first; plot, character or setting.
Things I need:
- Lists. Of everything that could/would/should/might/will happen.
- A cover. I want to imagine the world and DO I wish I could draw. I have the hand-eye coordination of a one-winged seagull. Of course, they don't have hands at all... Poor things.
- Caffeine. Coffee is fine. Red Bull is better.
And what of this do I have as of this moment? Nada. Like literally nothing. I mean literally, as in there is so little substantial material written down right now we might as well not. Fret not. The day will come when ideas start coming to me again. Until then, I will blog selflessly in denial of the passing of time.
By Yours Truly,
ETBlogsHome 2013-10-06
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
I guess the world doesn't actually end...
if you fail high school.
"Oh no, but without an education, you don't have anything!" I've really come to realize how boldly overstated that phrase is. Sure, things were looking, to say the least, like sh.t when I got my results. Didn't pass math or chemistry. Cried some (this on the other hand is a bold understatement), tried to snap out of it (a very lean attempt it was, but an attempt nevertheless), and then entered limbo (this is the phase where you simultaneously feel like a huge failure and want to do it over again, and being generally mad and saying things like "To -bleep- with high school, I'll just live on pasta for the rest of my life").
About a week after I'd gotten my results and some really good advise from my ex-mentor everyone in Sweden got their University application results. Turned out, I still got competence enough to get into my second choice of uni. I also landed a secondary replacement place for my primary uni; I thought that was quite an achievement (which it really was, and allow me to boast for a second *drumroll* done.)
Once August finally rolled around I had prepared myself for everything. Not really, quite the opposite. There were too many ways things could go. I'd already gotten into one university, which I could choose to enroll in. I wouldn't know until the sixth if I'd gotten in on my first choice, which would mean going there but the odds of that were so slim. Or, if I got really lucky I might get a continued contract with IKEA. That would according to me at the time, be my best choice. And then August sixth came.
I couldn't believe it when I saw that I got in to molecularbiology in Lund, with two failed IB subjects! Great, now I knew what I was going to do.
That was until the 16th. This was a Friday (just before Saturday and Sunday). Finally I was going to get turned down from IKEA. But then of course that didn't happen for God knows things shouldn't be easy! I got offered a full time contract until February. At least I had the weekend to think about what I was going to do.
That I did. You cannot count the amount of times I wanted to change my mind about everything! Work for a year, earn some money, relax a bit, and just have a general study break. Or jump right back into school. In the end, with the help of the best person in the world, I decided.
University can wait. It turns out, the world can be lenient with you as long as you manage to stick to your gut about something.
I'm not advising everyone to not go to university, but in a worlds where more people have Bachelor degrees than ever, they become interchangeable. Employers require work-life experience!
So here I am, with the first grown-up decision ever. I think it's going to be one good year.
By yours truly,
ETBlogsHome 2013-08-21
"Oh no, but without an education, you don't have anything!" I've really come to realize how boldly overstated that phrase is. Sure, things were looking, to say the least, like sh.t when I got my results. Didn't pass math or chemistry. Cried some (this on the other hand is a bold understatement), tried to snap out of it (a very lean attempt it was, but an attempt nevertheless), and then entered limbo (this is the phase where you simultaneously feel like a huge failure and want to do it over again, and being generally mad and saying things like "To -bleep- with high school, I'll just live on pasta for the rest of my life").
About a week after I'd gotten my results and some really good advise from my ex-mentor everyone in Sweden got their University application results. Turned out, I still got competence enough to get into my second choice of uni. I also landed a secondary replacement place for my primary uni; I thought that was quite an achievement (which it really was, and allow me to boast for a second *drumroll* done.)
Once August finally rolled around I had prepared myself for everything. Not really, quite the opposite. There were too many ways things could go. I'd already gotten into one university, which I could choose to enroll in. I wouldn't know until the sixth if I'd gotten in on my first choice, which would mean going there but the odds of that were so slim. Or, if I got really lucky I might get a continued contract with IKEA. That would according to me at the time, be my best choice. And then August sixth came.
I couldn't believe it when I saw that I got in to molecularbiology in Lund, with two failed IB subjects! Great, now I knew what I was going to do.
That was until the 16th. This was a Friday (just before Saturday and Sunday). Finally I was going to get turned down from IKEA. But then of course that didn't happen for God knows things shouldn't be easy! I got offered a full time contract until February. At least I had the weekend to think about what I was going to do.
That I did. You cannot count the amount of times I wanted to change my mind about everything! Work for a year, earn some money, relax a bit, and just have a general study break. Or jump right back into school. In the end, with the help of the best person in the world, I decided.
University can wait. It turns out, the world can be lenient with you as long as you manage to stick to your gut about something.
I'm not advising everyone to not go to university, but in a worlds where more people have Bachelor degrees than ever, they become interchangeable. Employers require work-life experience!
So here I am, with the first grown-up decision ever. I think it's going to be one good year.
By yours truly,
ETBlogsHome 2013-08-21
Saturday, July 13, 2013
*silent sight* Here's the deal,,,
One of the hardest questions but also most interesting questions I find myself faced with in recent times is one that many others are asked everyday too. It may be asked of a friend, family, companion (thank God not animals), or anyone close enough to speak to you. It's not a personal question, but it is a private one.
It's a question I HATE to the deep depths of my so-called-soul and all the way into middle earth, hell or whatever lies beyond.
If you've been reading some of my recent posts, I have mentioned where I am in life; just after high school.
So here's the question I dread:
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
*shivers down spine* Ugh. Where do I begin. I want to be successful, have an amazing progressive career, with opportunities in many countries, have a partner, and at some point (maybe) "offspring". I will not settle with being a housewife. Mostly because of television shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and its ever-present stream of new editions.
I want to be a scientist. Now the actual question is how do I get from here, to there?
The constant "from point A to point B" approach seems to be as old fashioned as toothpaste in a jar. Whatever happened to trial and error experiments in basements that won Nobel prizes?! Oh that's right, there never was such a thing.
What I have in mind is a simple, old-fashioned approach. The educational system however has another thing in mind. First you have to compete for a place to get an education. Then once you get in, the things in university are basically the exact same things you learnt in high school. So you become in debt, and lazy, and then you are free to move on. Next step is finding a job. Oh wait, you can't get a job without five years of work experience!
Great. I love when the government and companies get to screw with my life, but touch my fluffy little clouds of dreams, and things will get messy.
*sight* Now what? Complaining certainly won't get you anywhere! Better get back to bending over backwards to please the system.
Thought by yours truly,
ETBlogsHome 2013-07-13
It's a question I HATE to the deep depths of my so-called-soul and all the way into middle earth, hell or whatever lies beyond.
If you've been reading some of my recent posts, I have mentioned where I am in life; just after high school.
So here's the question I dread:
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
*shivers down spine* Ugh. Where do I begin. I want to be successful, have an amazing progressive career, with opportunities in many countries, have a partner, and at some point (maybe) "offspring". I will not settle with being a housewife. Mostly because of television shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and its ever-present stream of new editions.
I want to be a scientist. Now the actual question is how do I get from here, to there?
The constant "from point A to point B" approach seems to be as old fashioned as toothpaste in a jar. Whatever happened to trial and error experiments in basements that won Nobel prizes?! Oh that's right, there never was such a thing.
What I have in mind is a simple, old-fashioned approach. The educational system however has another thing in mind. First you have to compete for a place to get an education. Then once you get in, the things in university are basically the exact same things you learnt in high school. So you become in debt, and lazy, and then you are free to move on. Next step is finding a job. Oh wait, you can't get a job without five years of work experience!
Great. I love when the government and companies get to screw with my life, but touch my fluffy little clouds of dreams, and things will get messy.
*sight* Now what? Complaining certainly won't get you anywhere! Better get back to bending over backwards to please the system.
Thought by yours truly,
ETBlogsHome 2013-07-13
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