Sunday Salon, 3 May 2009

Hello everyone.
I hope your Sunday is going well. I've lots to pass on to you today.
There's a new poll to take part in, and a book give away for you to enter.

This week's posts

• Win a copy of DEATH MESSAGE, Mark Billingham
• How often do you write a blog post?
• April's Books, Posts & Headlines
• Thinking about.. THE WRITING CLASS, Jincey Willett
• Forgotten Book: THE WATCHER IN THE SHADOWS, Geoffrey Household
  
• Review: BLACK OUT, Lisa Unger
• The dangers of reading crime fiction
• Brunetti's Venice
• And the winner is... THE IRON HEART, Marshall Browne

Project: Collaborations in Paradise

The project is still continuing. Join nearly 20 people writing a short story collaboratively. The story is meant to be crime fiction, has opening lines written by last year's Ned Kelly Award winner, Michael Robotham, but various authors have contributed some really quirky bits. However there is nothing to stop you from introducing romance, a vampire or two, a car chase, a bit of history etc. You get my drift?

• Collaborations in Paradise - The Story - Latest version
• Contribute your bit
• Listen to the mp3 version

Breaking News

• Malice 21 Agatha Winners
• The revival of the exclamation mark!
• Edgar Winners Announced
• Nordic Glass Key Nominees
• Alexander McCall Smith on light hearted mysteries
• 16th Book Review Blog Carnival
• The Moral Riddle of AJ Raffles
• Writer's Rooms: Kirsty Brooks
• Brian McGilloway's top 10 modern Irish crime novels
• Branagh+ Wallander = BAFTA
• 2009 Nebula Awards
• Venice Panoramas for those who read Donna Leon's books
• Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winners

Last week's poll: When do you abandon a book you don't like? had 21 participants

at 20 pages - 1
at 30 pages - 4
at 40 pages - 1
at 50 pages -3
rarely - 7
rule not listed - 5

The comments
We really are a tolerant lot who try to do the right thing by our authors. We tend to believe it is our fault if we can't finish a book.

• I really struggle when it comes to giving up books. I really don't like to do it.
• I don't like to give up on books either. I have several started ages ago that I keep intending to get back to, so I can't say that I've abandoned them.
• Life is too short to read books I'm not enjoying and I do give up on some but have no rule about how many pages.
• I rarely give up on a book. Although, if I can't finish it, I might put it aside and finish it at another time.
• I have no time to waste on a book I'm really not interested in. I will abandon a book around 50 pages.
• I think there are too many books I will love out there to struggle with something I'm not enjoying. 40/50 pages and if I'm not hooked I'm done.

This week's poll: How often do you write a blog post? This is one everyone can participate in.

Currently reading:

• now - THE WRITING CLASS, Jincy Willett
• next - THE POISONING IN THE PUB, Simon Brett
• in the car - A PALE HORSE, Charles Todd

Weekly Projects I belong to:

• Weekly Geeks: this week's challenge is about Book Review Policy and Guidelines.In the right hand column I have a portlet titled Join weekly Geeks.
• Sunday Salon: this now has 375 participants. Thank goodness we don't all post every week.
• Friday's Forgotten Books: A project run by Patti Abbott where people talk about books that they read a long time ago. There's a block in the right column. See Patti's archive.