Jaimie did not send us a picture, but our in-house archivists uncovered this photo of her conversing with an unidentified Star Fleet officer.
Is it wrong for me to call out bloggers who say unflattering things about my books? Probably, but sometimes it’s fun to do things that are wrong, like speeding and poaching and setting my enemies on fire. Yesterday my attention was drawn to the blog Jaimie on Whatever. The eponymous Jaimie posted about how she was not especially enjoying The Coffee Trader. Now, there is nothing wrong with this in itself. As the blogger herself speculates, David Liss sometimes does not finish books he starts. We can see her reaching the obvious and inevitable conclusion: if David Liss does it, it must be okay. That’s the code I live by.
However, she then goes on to confidently assert that it’s not like David Liss would be reading her blog, and since I was, in fact, reading her blog, I posted a snarky little comment. All of this is fine, expect she wrote back to me this morning asking me to do an interview on her blog. So, the big question is: should I take the time to produce original material to post on a blog authored by someone who doesn’t like my books? Perhaps somewhat crassly, I asked her for her hit count data? I’m just that kind of guy.
In other news, tonight I head off to the Institute of Texan Cultures for the University of Texas at San Antonio fundraiser: UTSA: Great Conversations. There I will be leading a table in a conversation of my own prior choosing. Other participants include San Antonio’s mayor, San Antonio’s former mayor, and my rabbi. I ought to have looked at a list of the previous year’s topics before choosing mine. Some people are leading conversations on “Handicapping the Oscars” and “The Science of Poker” Mine is on “The Evils of Unregulated Capitalism.” I hope there will be free booze. I don’t think it is yet sold out, so if you want to pay money to talk to me, click here.
Oh my goodness, that picture! I thought I’d burned every copy. … I hadn’t been to the salon for a long minute. Is it wrong to have call out snarky bloggeres? I’d go with no. I’d go with: what’s the point of a blog if it doesn’t start a conversation? I’d go with, your snarky little comment was delightful. And David, for the record, I haven’t put the book down yet. Instead I’ve read about half of it. That I’ll finish it within the week is inevitable.
I think you should go for the interview. You both have this really, really odd, annoying energy that would surely fuel nothing short of entertainment.
Even if blogs are outlets for creative personal expression, some guidelines should still apply. Would Jamie talk this way to your face? (And put words in your mouth you never said?)Or is virtual anonymity a protective shield to hide behind that allows all manner of snarkyness to assume an unwarranted life.
I think Jamie will never be a book critic I turn to – she has to finish the books first.
As to being her guest interview? I think not. Time is precious – no?
“Or is virtual anonymity a protective shield to hide behind that allows all manner of snarkyness to assume an unwarranted life.”
Two way street, lady. Jaimie is allowed to publish, on her personal blog, about a book she did not finish. David is allowed to comment about a new blogger screwing up the pingback system. They’re both allowed to be snarky.
And I’m allowed to call you out on your attempt to be a troll.
David, I just wanted to say I enjoyed both your talks for GeminiInk’s Autograph Series and the San Antonio Writer’s Guild. Your advice was helpful and your humor entertaining.