Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? (True Adventures in Cult Fandom)
28 journalers for this copy...
Later: I really, really enjoyed this book! And, oddly enough, not only did it remind me of TV, movie, and fantasy fandom, but of BookCrossing; some of the incidents and personalities described here could have been lifted from a BookCrossing convention or a heated forum thread... Even early on, when the author mentions having formed some long-distance friendships via the "Buffy" message boards, such that she can say "Oh, we can stop in Des Moines for dinner; I know a couple of Vampire People there," it reminded me of the many BCers I've met in person after "meeting" them online. [We're the "Book People", though, or in some circles, "those crazy Book People" {grin}.]
There are other tie-ins between the Buffy-verse and BC, too, if one wants to stretch a point. The author befriended one of the "Buffy" writers after chatting with him on the message boards, and sent him a copy of David Sedaris' Barrel Fever - and I couldn't help wishing she'd been a BCer so that the transaction would have been part of that book's history!
While there are many warm, fuzzy, friendly accounts in the book, there are a few dark bits as well, including the chapter on "Munchausen's by Internet," in which somebody fabricates a web personality, often citing illnesses and personal tragedies to invoke outpourings of attention and sympathy from the other folk online. The author describes a few cases, including a notorious one that nearly swamped an online community, as even after the perpetrator was revealed to be a fraud, some members of the community still refused to believe it was all made up, and accused the others of picking on the poor victim. [BC's had its own go-rounds with people who seem to suffer from this syndrome, though - so far - we've survived them!]
The book explores many aspects of fandom and online communities, touching on things like the desire to continue a favorite story beyond the ending that the author (or director) chose for it - hence, fan-fiction, personal fantasies, etc. She talks about trolls, about the fears of internet predators, about the "Save Firefly" campaign, even about personal insecurities - a blend of chatroom/forum conversation with lots of touches of humor. [The chapter about the "Gay Wedding Tree" had me roaring; a group of fans/friends hauled a decorated tree to San Francisco to help celebrate a lesbian wedding during the brief interval when California was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And at one point the author notes that most of the people involved had met each other on the internet, forming friendships there before they ever met in person...]
I found a lot to identify with in this book, and a lot to laugh at as well. Recommended!
[Edited to add a link to this Unshelved Book Club strip about this book.]
Before Buffy, my first real brush with cult fandom was with The X-Files. Shortly after the show premiered I began a regular correspondance with one of its exec producers, and with four other people around the country was asked to run the first X-Files fan club. Eventually my sister and I travelled to Vancouver, B.C. to meet our producer buddy and get a tour of the set. (We met the show's stars and several other behind-the-scenes people, too, and went along on a location scout. We even spent some hours hanging out in Chris Carter's empty office. The whole experience was deeply cool.) And Vancouver is a beautiful city. :)
Anyway, reading this book was really interesting for me, and also (as I said), a bit strange for some reason. Perhaps because several of my experiences - albeit in three different contexts - mirror what the author described. Like GoryDetails, I found some of the parallels between Buffy's online communities and this one (BC, I mean) almost uncanny. (I'm not sure why, as the nature of all message boards is probably essentially the same, whether one is discussing books, a television show, or a passion for perennials.)
My only slight disappointment is the fact that I was hoping for a little more "insider info" on Joss Whedon's creations. It was still a highly entertaining read, however, and that wasn't really the focus anyway.
I'm going to see if I can generate some interest in a bookray for this. I think it would appeal to anyone who frequents the forums here, as well as fans of Buffy, Angel, and/or Firefly.
Please journal this when you receive it, again to share your comments on it, and one more time when you send it on. Once it has finished its travels, the last person listed may do what they wish: give it to another Crosser, leave it at an OBCZ, release it, keep it.
I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did!
Participants:
Aramena (OK) (prefers US or Canada)
mellion108 (MI) (anywhere)
nicolesinger (NC) (prefers US)
UnwrittenLibra (MA)
princess-peapod (CA)
innae (CO)
piggydiva (KS) (prefers US)
BooksnBeer (VA) (prefers US)
weenieheadgnome (CT) (anywhere)
gecko4ever (CA) - wishes to be skipped
sunfi (OH) (anywhere)
VariC (Finland) (anywhere)
AgnesXNitt (UK) (Europe only)
Megmac (UK) (prefers Europe)
chich (France) (anywhere)
mikime (Italy) (anywhere)
tqd (Australia) (prefers Australia)
amberC (Australia) (prefers Australia)
bookworm76 (Australia)
fred45 (Australia) (anywhere)
freelunch (Australia)
lmn60 (Australia) (anywhere)
VeganMedusa (NZ)
Schneefee (Germany) (prefers Germany) - book is here
samulli (Germany) (anywhere)
Scruffykaz (UK) (anywhere)
juliako (UK)
rainbow3 (UK) (prefers Europe)
I didn't realize until now that I hadn't contacted the next person for her address yet, so I'm doing so as soon as I post this!
Edited 5/27/08: Mailed today!
Thanks for sharing!
Paperback, 233 pages
From the back cover:
Allyson Beatrice lives a not-quite-ordinary life...
Almost everyone she knows and even the job she has are all the result of spending too much time on the Internet talking about vampires, slayers and lesbian witches.
Join Allyson, one of television's leading cult fan gurus, on secret missions to house famed producer Joss Whedon's cat, meetings with network executives in dark steakhouses to try to save doomed TV shows and one hastily arranged wedding for two committed Buffy fans.
I usually know that if I read a good book through BookCrossing that involves a vampire, witch, werewolf, ghost, etc., that GoryDetails and/or Guinneth will be the cause of it. Thank you both for supplying me with some damned fine reading over the years.
I love this little book! I, too, started reading, thinking it would be about BTVS and the fandom surrounding that phenomenon. Although that's a part of it, the book consists of essays that Beatrice has written about her experiences as a member/organizer of fan-related websites and in-person events for various TV shows. It's less of an insider look at Joss Whedon's shows than it is a look at how people can come together online for shared interests.
I have to say that I SO wish she and her cohorts could have saved Firefly. I was very disappointed when that got cancelled, even though I think I was one of only about 3 people who apparantly were watching the darned thing.
BTVS and Angel both played such a big part of my life for many years. I had in-person friends who were rabid about the shows, and I got my husband hooked on them as well. I think BTVS and X-Files are the two best-written shows to ever make it on television.
Anyway...
I love Beatrice's essays. She's surly, she's sarcastic, and she seems rather sweet. I laughed through a great deal of the reading, and much of what she has to say about the bonds that can be created in online communities really struck home. I sometimes feel like I "know" the people I've only met virtually better than the ones I see in "real" life. It's amazing to me that the power of electronic communication, when people usually don't even use cameras or microphones, can bring human beings together in real, significant relationships.
Thanks for sharing the book, Guinneth, and let me say that you are my new hero...X-Files is my all-time favorite show. I will be lined up with the other XF geeks for the midnight showing of the 2nd movie next month. ;-)
I have PM'd nicolesinger for an address and will get this little fanged book moving again as soon as possible.
UPDATE: 29 June...I have nicolesinger's address, so this book will be winging its way to the next
Enjoy!
On the other hand, the book is a very accurate look into internet message board culture. I recognized some familiar behaviors in the Munchausen's by Internet chapter, and though I haven't seen it happen, I can easily imagine BookCrossers putting together an effort like the one that brought Nilly to the US in Random Acts of Paypal. (And then today came BC's announcement of restrictions on non-Members Plus-members, and the juxtaposition between that and the transitions the Bronze board went through... well.)
In places, the book felt like a collection of internet posts and blog ramblings tweaked into book format. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but for me some of that style didn't translate well. Maybe I'm just getting old, or more cranky than usual today.
I've PMed UnwrittenLibra for an address and will pass this on as soon as I have it. If PMs aren't working (or available) feel free to email [email protected].
Oh, on fandom: I've never been a member of an internet fangroup, but I was very active in Real Life in the Society for Creative Anachronism for many years. The meeting complete strangers under other personae and having them crash on your floor and not always knowing how to explain to your family how you met... I've so done that. I was living in Michigan when I met my husband in Pennsylvania and a few months later flew to see him in North Carolina... if we'd had the internet available we'd totally have had an online relationship!
Here's my review: I really loved the funky, fresh writing style of Ms. Beatrice. It enlightened me a little bit about the habits of the Internet and the people who "inhabit" it. My favorite chapter was the one where they brought the Israeli girl to the USA...it was extremely heartwarming to see such kindness go a long way. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the quirky real-life adventures of a seemingly average woman .
DC: 0307 1790 0005 1704 2633
well, they both look to be quick fun reads so looking forward to it!
Released 15 yrs ago (8/26/2008 UTC) at avila beach, ca, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases
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I actually finished this a few days ago, but my work schedule was such that I didn't make it to the post office until today! I have to say I agree with alot of what has been written above. It is more about the people she met upon the internet and relationships, than fandom in many cases. Also I have to say that there were chapters I could have skipped entirely( The Internet wants Your Daughters)
Now, having said that I would so be friends with this writer! She has a sweet, but biting style to her that made me smile.
My favorite part was Random Acts of Paypal, there was a bit in there that made me think of something my friend said to me last year after doing a rather amazing thing for me.
"That the beautiful thing about a gift is that it isn't earned or paid for.It only goes out one way into the world. And if one wants to honor the gift, then they accept it graciously, and give their own gifts out into the world. When they have an abundance to share."
That is why I love Rabcks : )
hope the next reader enjoys this too...
"A book is a mysterious object, I said, and once it floats out into the world, anything can happen. All kinds of mischief can be caused, and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. For better or worse, it's completely out of your control."
Paul Auster
Anyway, with that said, after the first chapter, I hated Allyson. She was actually someone who has spoken to Tim Minear...and considers him a friend! hate her. But in that good sort of jealous way....further into the book, I was laughing out loud, and seriously could not put it down. This book is spectacular! I may even have to hunt a few copies down to pass out to friends. Thanks for making this a ring Guinneth!
I have piggydiva's address and will be mailing this out soon!
Already PMing BooksnBeer (great combination!) for address in preparation to send it on.
It was a fast read, and it made me want to be friends with her!
Her talk about online communities very much reminded me of the wonderful people I have met and become friends with (electronically) on the internet. I hope I can meet some of them some day too.
I've contacted BooksnBeer, but I haven't heard back yet. I'll give it another try, and if I don't hear back from BNB in the next week, I'll try the next person on the list.
Thanks for sharing!
My one comment - is that the comments make in this book can be said about any of the sites out there which feature communities of like minded people. BookCrossing is a perfect example. I found myself laughing at some of the sections and saying that sounds just like me. I saw a comment recently under someone's screen name that sums up this book. "I love my computer, because all my friends are in there."
Thanks for sharing this - it will be on it's way to the next person this week.
I'm a huge fan of all things Joss Whedon and like others have said in JEs was hoping for more inside look at cult fandom in general rather than one persons experiences. Loved Nilly, though. If I only come away from this book with that quote about the nature of gifts, then it was worth the read.
PM'd gecko4ever so I can pass it on.
Released 15 yrs ago (12/30/2008 UTC) at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Ohio USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Sent off today to VariC, it should arrive in the next few weeks.
The tone of the book is set right from the first page, with a disdain towards academic studies of Buffy. To me, the same attitude was evident throughout the book. It's just a book chronicling events in the Buffy fandom, online and offline. There is little attempt to place the events in a context, to think of them from a more general perspective. And there is definite room for generalizing; there does not seem to be anything in that specific community that makes it much different from many other Internet communities.
The Internet is great for fringe interests. You can find communities dedicated to pretty much anything, to take away that feeling of being all alone, with no one who understands. But this book also shows the downside: a community feeds itself with being somehow special. The more on the fringe the interest, the more it can breed a kind of superiority. “We do this and practically no one else does, so we are better than them.” On this kind of scale, it's usually the sports fans who are at the bottom, despised by everyone else (I was, at times, reminded of Nick Hornby's excellent Fever Pitch, an exploration of aspects of sports fandom).
The chapters “Party Politics” and “The Bronze Is Dead. Long Live the Bronze!” speak to the entitlement that many feel in their Internet communities. Interesting questions come to mind: Who really can speak for the whole community? And to whom do all the comments on message boards and other work belong? The former question is perhaps unfair, but there does seem to be a tendency to lump groups of people into single entities that can speak with a single voice. And if one member says something publicly, that is often taken to be a group view. The latter question, to me, has become important with discussions having moved from the public Usenet to various private spaces, difficult for participants to archive. Having a community's whole multi-year history be dependent on some company's continuing goodwill or existence can be a frightening thought.
The chapter “The Misery Effect” takes a look at fan reactions to different story twists. Here I think Beatrice's treatment completely trivializes the reactions. She finds backup in a quote from Jane Espenson that, to me, says that Espenson must not be a very good writer. TV shows are supposed to be about real people, and people usually know how real people behave. When writers make the characters do something completely out of the blue, that's called bad writing, not a writer's acceptable decision. And it seems like Beatrice doesn't understand the furor over “Seeing Red”; the main reason, as I understand it, was for a show as progressive as Buffy to fall into such a cliché, but she just makes fun of the criticism by picking examples only from the extreme end.
Released 15 yrs ago (1/19/2009 UTC) at Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Mailed to AgnesXNitt.
Loved the chapter that ended with the Board members clubbing together to bring Nilly over from Israel to the USA for a whistle stop tour with people she'd only ever met online, would be poisoners of the Bronze online, sitting at the controls of an freedom fighting intergalactic space ship with no more seasons to go onwards boldly in and the bit about how its perfectly acceptable for people to dress up in homage to their sports heroes but us Sci-Fi fans get publically ridiculed for dressing as our heroes in the wider world. Frankly, if I could pull off the Abby Scuito look I would. But my hairs too short for pigtails and I need surgery on my inner thigh for that short a miniskirt... Besides which the chapter entitled 'The Internet Wants Your Daughters' made me nod endlessly in agreement. I met Vamperstein8782, my very dear friend, faithful beta reader and wingchick online in a forum about 'Sue Thomas F.B.Eye' and neither of us have ever been axe murderers. Well, not in *this* incarnation anyway ;)
Basically, loved and adored this book in a *very* special way. Though now I'm going to have to back track and rewatch BtVS in order to try and enjoy it all over again :)
Will be PM'ing Megmac right after this and get this brilliant book on it's way again.
Many thanks to GoryDetails for hosting this ring and to VariC for posting on to me.
Happy Travels!
As a member of several 'fandoms' including Buffy and Firefly, I am looking forward to reading this and probably cringing lol
Thank you for sharing :-) I have pm'd Chich
Released 15 yrs ago (2/20/2009 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
posted to Chich today, enjoy!
Thanks so much for sharing this Guinneth:o)
I already have mikime's address and will be sending her the book tomorrow.
Miki
I'll send it on to tqd as soon as I get her address.
Miki
Thanks mikime for passing the book along!
But I think I was expecting something more about the whole Buffy fandom community, but with the infighting that went on with the parties, it didn't make it something I wanted to be part of. Okay, and maybe I am a *tad* jealous that she got to hang out with Joss (even if he never remembered her name) et al. Fandom in Australia never brings you that sort of rewards, and I think that's where this book failed for me. The stuff about the fandom just read as yet-more-stuff-I-cannot-participate-in, and while I am a great lover of online communities (and spend far too much time in them), this was more about her online community, tales of how spiffing her friends are, how beautiful they all are, how wonderful everyone in her gang of friends are.
Well, so are *my* friends (a large number of whom I did meet on the intarwebs first), but you'll never catch me writing about it for public consumption, because, frankly, I'm more interested in my friends than in her friends and I assume this goes for others as well (that they're really not all *that* interested in my mates). (Did anyone else want to gouge out their eyes during that interminable email lovefest to bring Nilly to the States? It was a lovely gesture from the online community, but she could have chopped out that entire verbatim quotation section.) Shame, because she does have an amusing writing style, so even while I was a bit "oh, ho hum" about the content of the book I was amused at the same time.
I'm just disappointed that the content wasn't up to scratch with her writing.
Okay, and I'm very jealous that she got to meet Joss.
I do have AmberC's address already, but Mr TQD has expressed an interest in reading this first. If he doesn't have it finished by the end of the week, I'll wrestle it away from him and post it on. Thanks for starting the ray, Guinneth!
* And they *so* deserved it.
Thanks for the extra stay as Mr TQD read this book! He mostly agreed with me: some funny writing, but what he calls the "goldfish syndrome" where people (in this case, the author) thinks that everything is new and never ever happened to everyone else. (Think of a goldfish swimming in a bowl, going "ooh look! a castle!" on each circuit of the bowl.)
Personally, I think he's a bit harsh with the whole "goldfish" idea, but I love the way he says "ooh look! a castle!". :)
Happy reading!
I will post it as soon as I have an address.
Released 14 yrs ago (4/29/2009 UTC) at Darwin, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
On it's way to bookworm76
Sending this off to the next person on the ring
I enjoyed this book, I'm a buffy The vampire slayer fan, and loved the talk of IM chat throughout the book, I've always been more of a lurker in bookcrossing forums than a main corespondent.
It was an nice easy to read story but slightly disapointing, I think the author narked me a little. Overall enjoyable.
Hope the next reader enjoys it.
Released 14 yrs ago (6/4/2009 UTC) at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases
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Posted to freelunch today.
Hope you enjoy it
I have a couple of bookrings ahead of this one (don't we all?) so it may take me a month or two to get to it
I knew going in that it was more about Internet/fan communities than the 'Jossverse' and was surprised how similar some of Allyson's stories were to my own experiences helping to run an Internet forum/community in the late 90s/early 00s, though as Guinneth suggests above the same may be true of many long-running online communities.
I have lmn60's address and shall post the book on by the end of this week.
I'm looking forward to this one - though have a couple of other books ahead of it.
More when I've actually read this one!
I'm a big BtVS fan - just started watching the series again from the beginning - and was really looking forward to this book. Sadly... Allyson's egocentricity and, let's face it, rather mediocre writing skills meant that I was doomed to disappointment.
She had some interesting things to say about online communities - but nothing that couldn't have been said better by another writer.
I could write a few more caustic comments - but I'm so moritified at delaying this ray that I shall bite my tongue and parcel it up ready for the next reader. I have Veggie's address and will ship this one off tomorrow!
PS. Hubby and I recently started watching Buffy again too (on Season 3 at the moment). :)
Some essays were better than others. Saving Firefly was great, Imposter not so. Random Acts of Paypal didn't do a lot for me - a nice thing for them all to do, but I didn't need to hear quite so much praise for the saintly Nilly.
I was never part of the Buffy phenomenon, as it was on Pay TV here. We eventually caught a couple of episodes and then started buying the DVDs, which was after it had all ended. So it was kind of interesting hearing about the online Buffyverse, but I could have done with less gossip about her online friends and more info on Joss-related stuff. :)
Anyway, I went through most of the book thinking that it's mildly amusing and she seems like a nice enough person, if somewhat self-absorbed. But then I got to Imposter and her comments about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (you don't get to have a syndrome just because you're tired). That's when I began actively disliking her. Maybe it's just ignorance, but that's not really an excuse to belittle suffering people and she obviously doesn't give a toss about anyone or anything outside her little group of friends and her own experiences. (This is also a good reason for America to give up the misleading name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and call it ME (Myalgic encephalomyelitis) like the rest of the world.)
FYI for Guinneth, she has given her parents' address (as hers is not safe - parcels left on doorstep, etc) and is only there every 2-3 weeks. So don't worry too much if there's no journal entry for a while. :)
It gave me a hard beginning - I loved Buffy as well as Angel and so my Wednesday evenings were sacred (no other dates possible than meeting my friend Sonja for watching TV together) - but I never was into any community, nor even thinking about fandom as described here, so I couldn't quite identify with what I read. But! It's written so funny and loveable that I just didn't stop reading.
Thanks for sharing, it can travel further next week.
Released 14 yrs ago (1/7/2010 UTC) at
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those vampire people! They're already leaving
It wasn't quite what I expected - as many others have mentioned I had hoped for more Joss-content and less of Allyson's private memoirs. But nevertheless I liked her writing style and I think I would get along well with her in person. I love that she admits to being a jerk sometimes and that she likes to push people's buttons and despises all this boring, polite political correctness crap in favor of a good flame war. So do I.
I am kind of jealous that she is friends with Tim Minear (but that's one of the perks of living in L.A. instead of halfway round the world, I guess) and I was a bit taken aback that Joss seemed to never remember her name. I wouldn't have pegged him as that kind of guy. But what do I know? That she wasn't a Firefly devotee from Day One kind of irked me (I think Firefly is Joss' best creation to date and I can't understand how one can be a fan of his work and not like Firefly), but that she led the campaign to save the show anyway was great.
All the stuff that she wrote about online communities in general rings very true. I loved that she mentioned Whedonesque and TelevisionWithoutPity.com, since I am a member of both. But I am also a member of a lot of other places on the net and most of them have a lot of things in common with what she tells about The Bronze. Most of the people I call my friends I have met only online so far and I don't think that is strange in any way. Even though I have never actually seen them, they are as real to me as any person standing right in front of me. And sometimes just as annoying.
I especially loved the last chapter (Together, Alone) where they all rented a house together for a holiday and then sat around with their laptops much of the time. Many people would call that dysfunctional, but I would have felt right at home there.
All in all a very nice read. Thanks everybody for keeping it traveling. Since Scruffykaz has disabled PM's and says on her shelf that she wants to be skipped on all rings and rays, I have contacted the next person on the list (juliako) and will send the book on asap.
Edit 15.01.10:
The book is now on its way to Great Britain.
I got this book earlier this week - thank you!
I loved the title and the cover and started reading immediately. As a Joss Whedon fan and someone who has been and is a member of a variety of online communities for about 13 years this should have been right up my street, however, I'm afraid for me it felt like too much criticism and sarcasm. Perhaps I ought to persevere as I see that people say the chapters vary in quality, but I've decided to pass it on to someone who might appreciate it more than me so have pm.ed rainbow3.
Thanks for sending this round.
Meanwhile, on only short acquaintance, up to page 50, my feeling is that this is a very self-involved creation, and that the title would be more apposite twizzled around to read True Adventures in Cult Fandom: Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? Though perhaps not quite as arresting I think it would be more indicative of the subject focus.
And some off topic questions: what is Fresca? With reference to some front cover puff “Refreshingly crisp and tart-like a Fresca in a book form.” A cold drink of some sort?
And what on earth are spectator pumps, page 13*? Shoes I presume. I’m wondering if maybe this is a framing reference, like boring shoes a sad creature who is watching “real life” being lived by others might wear? Or am I pushing this analogy thing way to far?
* “… it’d difficult to imagine where I’d be. Maybe riding a desk in the home office of a widget factory north of Boston, wearing spectator pumps and bleaching my hair platinum, with a kid in daycare and a bored husband in someone else’s bed.”
Re: intriguing - I felt the writing was patchy some of the content had real 'warts and all' blow by blow reporting feel, but that didn't make it good writing that was an insiders direction in cobbling together factual accounts in attempting to make a coherent tale. There is a large element in this format of the writer narrating and reporting on a period in time and in so doing this has the quality of journal entries. It did mean that the aspects of relating how online communities communicated in the 90s/00s felt spot on from my memories of viewing these briefly at the time. I suspect that in terms of contemporary social commentary it has real clout.
Being a huge BtVS fan I had, like others, hoped for much more information relating to Joss Weldon but as mentioned the focus here was the online communities and Beatrice's direct involvement, both online and off line, in them. The Firefly information more or less went by me as I never had the opportunity to see Firefly other than catching a couple of episodes - I dont' have a TV [I know odd, eh?] I tend to read my Sci-Fi. By chance however, being a film and Sci-Fi fan I did attend the UK Premier of Serenity, at an Edinburgh International Film Festival. Enjoyable film, though I presume I missed a lot of join the dots moments not knowing Firefly inside out. What an experience though, the auditorium was colossal and I had the feeling many of the audience were tracking the dialogue. As if they knew it already, that was weird! Probably there was a preponderance of online community geeks who had actually been discussing the plot and dialogue for months and months.
Appreciating why many felt Will the Vampire People... was amusing, some of it certainly was, doesn't over-ride for me the writers exhaustive use of sarcasm with its mean-minded thrust which left me unhappy.
Over all this was disappointing in that I had assumed there would be more information relating to Joss Weldon and the mean-mined tone over others shortcomings or disabilities left me cold and conflicted. An overwhelmingly superb book title though!
Re: on the move again - tried to get a Book Ray on the go for this in 2010 by emailing & PM’ing some likely suspects, no joy. [Small aside I've just realised that this has not, until now, been marked as 'Available' on the BX site, smacks hand to head - hoping someone will now PM, quick as a bunny rabbit, to acquire it!] Books taking up way too many spaces in my wee flat are prompting me to give the book ray idea another go via BCUK Yahoo Group. Maybe someone will desire this as a BX Halloween gift!
Now this March I've decided to have another go at finding another BookCrossing reader. Any thoughts gratefully received, cheers rainbow3
Released 9 yrs ago (4/21/2014 UTC) at -- Wild Released Somewhere In Edinburgh 🤷♂️ in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Off this goes travelling out into the world under the BookCrossing flag of friendship.
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You are celebrating International BookCrossing Day – Monday 21 April 2014 – by finding a BookCrossing book! If you aren't familiar with BookCrossing – WELCOME! BookCrossers LOVE books, and we enjoy more than anything setting books free for other people to find and enjoy.
I hope you revel in this surprise book find and make a little journal entry! You can leave notes anonymously. When you are done with it, perhaps you will send it on its way. Check out bookcrossing - it's a fun community of readers! HAPPY READING
PS And if you find yourself liking the idea of BookCrossing, Edinburgh has an active group of BookCrossers who meet monthly (first Thursday of the month) at Hemma, a Swedish bar near the Scottish Parliament in central Edinburgh on 75 Holyrood Road, EH8 8AE Come join us! For more information, see our Meet-Up Group: http://www.meetup.com/bookswapedinburgh
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ADDED: left today on a shelf in the Elephant House, Tea & Coffee Shop, Geo. IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EN (One of JK Rowling’s writing venues while working on the Harry Potter Book Series) - HAPPY READING