Is the future looking Grimm, brothers (and sisters)?

Image:
http://inkmonster.net/blog/why-ash-maiden-the-original-cinderella-kicks-ass

Our English class is in the process of writing an ebook about using the Kindle, Goodreads, and Amazon. I have chosen to use the 1812 version of Cinderella by Jacob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm to illustrate my ideas for my chapter. Please let me know what you think!

1. To expound on my last post (click here to read), I can discuss the necessity of a bridge between the isolation of the Kindle and the socialization of Goodreads. It is crucial to a reader’s online identity that they know how to review and discuss the books they read. In the Grimm version of Cinderella, the stepmother and stepsisters mock Cinderella for wanting to attend the festival because she cannot dance. Later, when she does attend the ball, she is able to dance with the Prince – three nights in a row. How was this possible? She went from being the dish-washing, floor-sweeping, bird-talking girl to the elegant woman at the festival that could dance the night away with a Prince. When readers enter the online social world without the proper training, it isn’t always charming. Posting a thought online can damage a person’s credibility as a reviewer and tarnish a person’s online identity.

2. When we search something in Google, we leave a cookie behind – a footprint. Google is then able to show us ads based on our preferences. Goodreads is similar with the recommendations feature that is based on the books readers had read and rated. It is important for a reader to be selective in their choices so that they make the best use of this feature – otherwise, books are recommended that they have no interest in. The first two nights that Cinderella runs from the ball, she leaves nothing behind to give a clue for the Prince to find her. On the third night, the Prince pours pitch on the stairs that causes Cinderella’s shoe to get stuck – thus forcing her to leave a “footprint” (Ha!) behind. The Prince is then able to find her so he can marry her. In order to fully utilize Goodreads and Amazon, users must tailor their visits to the site to better the recommendations provided. It is vital that we leave our footprint behind.

Underneath Imperialism

In our class’s study of reviews for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, I have noticed a significant trend in the idea that Conrad’s sole purpose in writing the novel was to portray the evil nature of imperialism. While this is a valid argument, I would argue that Conrad’s purpose was less about imperialism itself and more about how the materialism of the people of England in the 19th century allowed for imperialism to prosper. Conrad shows the materialistic nature of multiple characters: the Swede captain discussing a man who hanged himself as if it's a common occurrence rather than a tragedy, the Doctor who exams Marlow making light of men being changed from the inside rather than the outside when "going out there", the two men plotting to hang a man for the purpose of keeping their positions. For the sake of length, let’s take a closer look at the two main characters, Marlow and Mr. Kurtz.

Materialism: a way of thinking that gives too much importance to material possessions.
Obviously, Dr. Pepper is more important to me than a friendship with my roommate.

As the main character and narrator of Heart of Darkness, Marlow begins his story by speaking of how he came to acquire his position as captain of a steamboat traveling down the Congo. He states that his desire to be captain was so great that he sought the influential help of his aunt in finding the position. When he received news that a position was open – because the previous captain was killed in a fight with a native – he showed no empathy toward the previous captain, but was instead excited to accept the captainship. In his conceit he even states, “I got my appointment – of course. I got it very quick.” Marlow was so enthralled with the mystery and adventure that awaited him in the Congo that he even ignored the conspiratorial feeling that began to pervade his mind when he signed the contract to not reveal “trade secrets”. Marlow’s materialism lands him in the Congo unprepared to witness the terrible on goings that occur.

Mr. Kurtz is a mystery to Marlow and the reader for most of the novel, but eventually we learn that he is a trader that has set himself as a leader over the natives by brutal force. Kurtz’ greed for ivory lead him to act in this uncivilized manner and eventually consumed Kurtz to the point where he suffered death by illness. His materialism is directly linked to imperialism because he becomes the worst sort of man in the “heart” of the Congo by mistreating the natives. Even when Kurtz was dying he said to Marlow, “this lot of ivory now is really mine. The Company did not pay for it. I collected it myself at a very great personal risk.” He spoke as a possessed soul – possessed with the greed for ivory and not a care for how he got it.

The Karma of Reading in a Digital World: You Get What You Give.

I enjoyed the assignment for my English class here at Brigham Young University to discover what makes a good review on social media platforms such as Amazon.com and Goodreads.com.   The posts that had the most appeal to me personally were those done by people who really seemed knowledgeable in their field.  This is a crucial component of a respectable review.  The user should be able to do a quick analysis of the book and explain a bit about it without giving too much away from the story.  For example, when I was reading Heart of Darkness, our assigned novel, I found the reviews that expounded briefly on the symbolism and themes extremely helpful.  Through them, I was able to identify a few points and meanings that I would probably have missed if I hadn’t looked at the reviews.  However, I found that when the users were overly dramatic and either idolized or loathed the book, I didn’t take it as seriously.  The review should have a fairly unbiased tone, simply stating the good and bad points of the work, not being so forceful that the reader feels intimidated to form his or her own opinion.  Another deterrent for me was definitely the length.  Reading a long analysis of the book was something I turned to only in sheer desperation for enlightenment.  The users who were able to be concise and to the point were the ones I found to be most effective.  

  It was interesting to me to see the different reviews on each site based on the different type of users that each attracts.  When I went on Amazon to check out the reviews for our assigned novel, Heart of Darkness, I looked up a few of the things that users had also reviewed.  There was one account that I really enjoyed.  He had a lot of reviews and comments with real depth about some heavy literature, but also showed his playful side by reviewing a fluffy stuffed dog toy that his little daughter had ordered.  This is an advantage that Amazon has over Goodreads.  Many, many people use Amazon for various things, whereas Goodreads is a bit less well-known.  The reviews from Amazon seem to come from people that are more….”real,” I guess you could say, while those on Goodreads have an “English-teacher-esque” persona.

 I felt like my own review on Amazon would go to a broader, more generalized audience.  This made me feel comfortable to write a bit about my own experience with the novel, but also pushed me to keep it short so that it would get more reads.  When I posted to Goodreads, I felt a sense of apprehension because the people there are serious readers!  I worried that I didn’t have the experience or intelligence to be taken seriously on that platform.  But hooray for me, it’s up there anyway!

 

I found myself surprised by the pleasure I found in having people react positively to my posts on Goodreads!  Entering in group discussions made me think harder about the books, but also made me clarify and solidify my own ideas.  It made me want to participate more and get other people’s viewpoints.  Posting my review on Facebook was another big leap for me though.  It was strange to combine my academic, task-oriented self with my online persona as well.  But I think that is a really interesting part of this whole project; combining online identities to discover and round-out ourselves.  Plus, this project has not only affected me!  Now my roommates are actively involved in my reading/posting habits and are broadening their own literary horizons by talking with me about books and commenting on my posts!  

In the digital age, you definitely get what you put out.  As active online reviewers and readers, we can benefit from other people’s perspectives and deepen our own understanding in ways not possible through solo literary consumption.

Ten outta Ten

The future is upon us. Or rather, it has been here for a rather long time and only recently are people jumping on the bandwagon. The voice of the singular man is slowly coming to be on par with the opinions of the great critics, in terms of swaying public opinion.

The only thing standing in their way, is making sure their review is worth reading.

What makes for a good review? I spent a little bit of time looking through and finding reviews that seemed to be well liked by fellow reviewers. They tended to have the following distinct aspects:

• The review included at least a small summary of the book, or at very least its major themes. In doing this, it treats the readers as if they had not read the book already. They avoid bringing up or revealing major plot turning points without fair warning. The review understands that those who are reading it have likely not read the book yet, and may use this review to ultimately make their choice.
• The review was edited for grammar, and presented professionally. The writing is solid and avoids unnecessary repetition. 
• The review is stated not as an opinion, but as an analysis of the book's merits. This means that they rarely use the terms "I liked" or "I disliked" but rather terms such as "Conrad demonstrates skill with..." The review seeks to be more than a simple opinion piece, but a brief analysis of the work itself and what it stands for. From there, conclusions are made as to whether or not the book is worth the time and effort needed to read it. 

With this in mind, I went to Goodreads and posted my own review. See it here.

I then went on to post a link to my review on my Facebook, which I won't be sharing for personal reasons. However, I will note that my review gathered a small amount of attention, mostly in the form of "likes." Most of my friends aren't particularly avid readers, and so I only got comments from two of my friends who are intense readers. They disagreed with some of my thoughts, but that doesn't particularly bother me. Everyone who reads the book will have a different stance by the time they get to the end. Getting their opinions about my review was valuable, however.

I found that people on Goodreads are a little more willing to talk to you than people on Amazon or Facebook. This is likely because the site is much more focused on books. Much like you would be more likely to get interaction about your movie review on Rotten Tomatoes than on Facebook. 

The internet is changing the way that reviews work. We have broader options to choose from than just the expert critics and those of our friends who have consumed the media in question. We can now read and enjoy the opinions of individuals around the world. We can make decisions about what we want to read based on reviews made by those who share a similar passion to us. The only caution to take into account, is that the most common reviews will come from those who have a strong opinion. Most of the readers will read the book and never bother to leave a review of it. This can cause things to skew either highly in favor of a book or highly out of its favor. I will admit that I review things very rarely, simply because I hardly ever feel strongly enough about a work to put in that much effort. By contrast, I tend to look at the reviews of a product before I purchase it. So perhaps I am hypocritical in this regard. 

Venturing into the Woods of Reviews

When I finishing Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad on my Kindle app on my phone it forced me to write a review before I could easily access the last page! I hurried and wrote a short review because I wanted to read the ending of the book without delay…

However, I felt as if the review I wrote was quite cliché and could be improved, but this was the first time EVER that I had rated a book publicly. So to see what could be improved of course I looked up others reviews to get a few ideas of what it takes to have a helpful review.

I was surprised to see that someone had already rated my short review helpful before I revised it on Amazon! So I took that as one of my criteria, a review on the shorter side. No one wants to read a novel of a review to find out if the novel is readable. The review also should be semi-personal but not biased; it should have a good balance. I shuffled through so many reviews that were also too short like, “was alright” or “a must for any bookshelf.” I did not find that either of these did justice for the novel if they hated it or loved it, I did not know why. They needed to back up their opinion. I also enjoyed hearing about methods that others used to enjoy the book; maybe they had read the reviews, or reread it several times. 

So with those observations I took a stab in the dark of writing my own review, and then even publishing it online for my Facebook friends to see!

So here it is:

“Finely written novel with a theme of imperialism. The two main characters Marlow and Kurtz are interesting and thought provoking. It is a dark novel that takes no empathy for the loss of human life. At some points the racism and sexism demonstrated by the characters is painful; however, this portrays very explicitly the historical context and the author Joseph Conrad's own voice. I did not fully understand the book until I understood to the context of why it was written. Reviews and Spark Notes helped me understand and get lost in the book that initially made me cringe at its darkness. The novel is thought provoking, and well detailed, but leaves reader with a dark impression.”

So obviously I kept it pretty short. I discussed the theme of the book, but also showed how initially the book was hard for me to read, until I understood Joseph Conrad, both expressing my opinion with facts.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed to not receive too much of a response to my post on Facebook about the review. I know my friends read, but maybe they use Goodreads for books and Facebook for socializing? Any tips on getting more of a response on Facebook? 

However, while interacting on Goodreads and Amazon through reviews I was surprised to find so many others who were able to appreciate Heart of Darkness as I had. I needed to first understand Conrad to truly get lost in the book, and a few other reviews discussed that! I looked at their other reviews and one of my favorite ones was actually on Amazon, and she rated mostly books! It was entertaining to see what other things people have rated like guns and knives and then Heart of Darkness. I feel like it could help identify me with the person or completely differentiate. It was a fun experiment!

I still feel pretty amateur and that I am venturing lost in the dark woods of the review world, so what does it take to have a well-written review for you?

The Future of Reading: Goodreads, Take Me With You!

I’M NOT TIMID IN REAL LIFE, SO WHY AM I ONLINE? 

That is the struggle. This is the twenty-first century, get with it, Lauren! I'm trying to stop resisting the future of reading, and it's working! 

I've never been one to post reviews or comments on general online. I'm an avid observer, but I've never felt comfortable interacting with people that I don't know personally. It is completely out of my comfort zone to "friend" someone who I've never seen in real life, so my insides are churning just thinking abut interacting with new cyber friends. Over the course of the past couple weeks, I've slowly grown more comfortable with interactions online...especially online communities like Goodreads that are more academically focused. While perusing the book reviews on Goodreads and Amazon (as well as film, etc. on Amazon) I found a few common themes among the reviews that seemed most helpful, which seem inherit in the subject matter of the website and the people who are attracted to it. 

My favorite reviews are those that incorporate their honest opinion into an unbiased, brief analysis of the book or movie with just a little bit of summary, if any. People who have given intelligent thought to a work but aren't writing just to sound smart are the ones I want to listen to. A couple of weeks ago, I started following a few people on Goodreads who I didn't know before. I appreciate that they give honest opinions and write about the literary quality and personal relevance the the work. I noticed that they didn't rate every single classic book as four or five stars. If they don't like a book, they aren't afraid to say so, but they support their opinions with evidence or thoughtful reasoning. I'm most prompted to follow people who have thoughtful reviews on a myriad of books, don't write sarcastically or ironically, and don't seem pretentious. I can go to other sources to find those kinds of reviews! 

I also feel comfortable "friending" people on Goodreads who have read similar books to me, and rated them similarly. The comparing ratings feature is extremely helpful with that. I was fascinated to see how many random strangers have similar opinions to me, and where we varied. I found many people who had read many of the same books as me, but given wildly different reviews. With one girl I decided to follow, I noticed that I give Diary of Anne Frank 5 stars while she gave it 3, I gave In the Time of the Butterflies 2 stars while she gave it 3, and we both gave Of Mice and Men 4 stars. I imagine that people who generally like the same books that I like will be a good place to find new books to read that I will actually enjoy. There is definitely a danger of the "echo chamber" effect here, but as I get older, I have less and less time to read for myself and I want to spend my precious reading time on books that I will really enjoy. 

THE HARD PART: MY TURN

When it came time for me to start writing reviews, I decided that I wanted to keep it brief, fair, and based on my personal experience with the book. There are so many resources to read plot summary; when people put summaries into their reviews, I tend to skip over it. For my Goodreads review, I wrote just slightly more about literary elements that I enjoyed, because I think that more people on Goodreads are looking for those qualities. For my Amazon review, I focused more on the product of the Kindle Reading experience, because Amazon is clearly more consumer based. My Amazon review was also a little trickier for me to navigate because I share the account with my family. I felt a lot more comfortable writing a personal review on Goodreads than I did on Amazon under my father's name. 

After writing my review on Goodreads, it automatically popped up on Facebook, and a few of my close friends liked it (probably out of some bizarre moral code of liking anything I post even though they may have not read the book), and a few random people who I haven't connected with in a long time liked it as well! That was a fun surprise and an intellectual way to reconnect. 

It was difficult for me to engage with people on Goodreads about Heart of Darkness; it doesn’t seem that very many people are talking about it right now. I’m trying! Engage with me! I decided to write my own discussion question to see if anyone could provide insight or answers that would intrigue me and lead me to friend someone. No one has yet to respond, but I’m actually excited about it and will be sure to report if anyone does respond on a comment below...if not, I guess only my Goodreads friends will see the shame of my unanswered question. 

Basically, I had way too much anxiety about becoming an active reviewer and interacter on Goodreads and Amazon. I’ve been taking way too much advantage of other people’s thoughtful reviews to not contribute some of my own. Here’s to the future of literary consumption! I want to be a part of it!