@pootriarch I would also love to follow that rule. It's been so long since I ordered a physical book, I didn't realize about print on demand.
Though I do know of at least one author whose work I love but who has deliberately been print on demand from the start.
I mostly like physical books for flipping through to find passages I'd like to read again. I prodigiously highlight digital copies, but it's not the same thing.
@pootriarch Are print-on-demand books worse quality? Or is the wait longer? What's the issue with them?
Oof. I looked at [Goodreads] reviews of Wordslut and see so many complaints that it didn't go far enough, that it wasn't comprehensive, that it wasn't scientific -- none of which I felt it promised. I'm sure a publishing algorithm was at play, in part, about its scope, tone, and treatment of the issue.
According to Biobot, COVID in wastewater is rising (at a slow pace), not falling as it has the past four years at this time of year.
And, COVID in wastewater right now is:
1.5x higher than on this date in 2023
4x higher than in 2022
5x higher than in 2021
The NWSS doesn't show a rise, but its data has a longer delay. Biobot data is as of 2/17 and NWSS is as of 2/10. However, the NWSS data is more complete.
@augieray Do you know of a good source for Europe data that you could share? My country of residence stopped collecting data a long time ago, so I am trying to use adjacent-country information to gauge the situation. But those sources are slow to update, and one has gone blank in the last few days. I feel in the dark about what the situation is in Europe compared to the US. Thank you!
"Researchers said they detected a four-fold increase in the level of misogynistic content suggested by TikTok over a five-day period of monitoring, as the algorithm served more extreme videos, often focused on anger and blame directed at women."
An article today asks "Is It a Crush or Have You Fallen Into Limerence?"
"Limerence is a state of overwhelming and unexpected longing for emotional reciprocation from another human, known as a limerent object (LO), who is often perceived as perfect but unavailable."
Better questions:
Is It Limerence, or Do You Just Need Therapy?
Is It Limerence or Just an Excuse to Behave Inappropriately?
@TerryHancock I feel like someone can have a crush and not cross boundaries (as well as recognize the person is human, not "perfect").
This def. of limerence as "overwhelming" indicates that the person feels they have no power over it and may use it as an excuse to say they have no power over their actions. The idea of "perfection" also seems to indicate underdeveloped emotional intelligence. It feels way more creepy to me than what I imagine a crush as.
Two books I loved, part 1: Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda, which is about four entrants in a classical piano competition in Tokyo, and the characters are all interesting and charming but best of all it just has wonderful writing about music -- like the title itself as a description of how a particular player makes a particular piece sound. It's beautiful, and unlike many books with multiple POVs, I loved all the protagonists equally and was never annoyed by a switch at the wrong time. Just beautiful stuff.
@lunalein@bookstodon I finished Honeybees and Distant Thunder a couple of weeks ago! I loved how the characters were all just decent people and how much empathy the writing (and translation) had.
For me, it was an interactive book -- I tried to listen to the pieces described by the writer so I could get a better sense of story.
I had to edit a piece about Mastodon today. Wow, was it clear the writer had never heard of it or used it. The writer thought that Mastodon was called "Mastodon Social," for example. That, or the chatbot they were using did.
@SomeGadgetGuy Indeed! It's refreshing when I see honest grammar or punctuation errors these days. We are human, we are flawed, and it's more beautiful than ever.
@SomeGadgetGuy Yes, and no thanks to search engines, either. But I hope the majority of readers vote with their clicks and some correction starts to happen (too optimistic?)
I do have to say that in reading your Mastodon posts, I was struck by how genuine they feel -- easy and enthusiastic and a reflection of the personality behind them. I think readers pick up on that, even if only subconsciously.