Sunday Salon #5 - 20 April 2008

I feel like it has been a productive week, although in reality I haven't made much of a dent in the piles of "waiting to be read" books lying around the house. My tendency to choose, out of order, the next-to- be-read, I sense, must be an intense disappointment to those waiting patiently in line. In reality I want to read them all and some times wish I was a peacock with all those eyes.

I've worked out that, apart from postings to Sunday Salon, I monitor in my RSS reader the postings of about 50 bloggers, many of whom post on a daily basis like I do.

I've written 8 postings this week, so I hope I haven't driven too many people mad.
I have discovered that if you edit your post at any stage after the original publishing, then people who get it as a feed get a new copy with almost no indication of what the changes are. Probably they are correcting small imperfections that I didn't actually notice in the first place. So I try to get it right the first time - proof read carefully, catch typos, preview before posting - all that but of course some dreadful errors get through. Then you just have to decide if you let your readership think you are a dill, or whether you really do have to edit and post again.

Posting Summary for the last week (in reverse chronological order of posting)

• The UK Amazon list - new "stars"
  The latest Amazon UK list top 10 features 3 authors with 2 books each, and R. J. Ellory is still on top
  
• Who should be on THAT list?
  My comments on omissions and what appear to be influential factors of the Times Online list of the 50 Greatest Crime Writers blogged about yesterday
  
• Another attempt to list the best in crime fiction
  A provocative list has been posted by Times Online. I captured the list (and probably breached some copyright guidelines, but I linked all the links back to their site)
  
• Why do you read - tell me!
  This posting was a failure. :-(
  I created a voicethread inviting people to tell me in audio or text why they read. Nobody has used it, so I've had no feedback on whether it works or not. I can't test it because it recognises my computer IP. I don't know whether people have to register with voicethread before they can add their comments.
  
• An update on LCC2009
  Finally did my room booking for LCC2009 in Hawaii next March. There are 8 Australians that we know of attending. Have invited any one attending to let me know by commenting on the post.
  
• What not to borrow, buy or steal
  My comments on dreadful CD set based on a series by one of my favourite authors.
• WORLD WITHOUT END, Ken Follett
  My review of this 14 hour 12 CD set - an abridged reading of the novel
  
• Flattery will get you everywhere
  Barbara Fister, host of Carnival of Criminal Minds, tagged me
  
• Jane Goodall, author to look for
  What's in a name? Jane Goodall, Australian crime fiction author, is well worth looking for, but don't muddle her up with the lady of chimpanzee fame.
  

More personal notes

• The daughter and son-in-law who live in Abu Dhabi pay a flying visit this week to be part of a wedding
• The footy team have a remote chance of winning their first match for the season this afternoon. I keep picking them in the footy pool competition in the hope that my faith in them will push them over the line.
• This week is also Anzac Day (25th April) so its a 4 day working week.
• At the end of next week I'm off to Brisbane for a couple of days.