Be cool, leave a review.
People always want to complain that books cost too much money. I want to tell them to shut up. Because sure, books may be expensive and a luxury good, but they’re worth the price of the read.
And there’s so many ways to read books for free. It takes a few extra minutes, but joining things like Netgalley and visiting the library really work. And now most libraries let you check ebooks out from your house.
So to complain that prices are way too high when you get a full novel for $3.99 is ridiculous. Sure, you don’t “own” the book, you’re only licensing it, but as long as you have that reader or Calibre, you don’t have to worry about the book being taken away. Nobody is going to come into your house and take your ebook away (the jackboots of the officers stomping, and the hobnails of the common soldiers echoing against the stone. Ereaders torn out of the hands of sobbing children to be tossed onto a giant electromagnet, every single one of them reduced to factory settings. The knowledge of an entire people destroyed as garbage for no good reason).
The whole reason you’re licensing the book rather than owning it is to keep you from reselling an already rock-bottom priced item. The author of the piece would like to receive some compensation for all of their work. $0.20 royalty through some sheister companies is no fair. The author should get at least 30% on everything, some percentages being higher.
But old contracts or unfair practices leave a lot of writers destitute. Authors making millions of dollars for some publisher that contracted the rights years ago, and receiving a pittance of a share back. So to pass those books out for free and not even add a “Leave a review for the book” readme file is so rude.
*The author is not getting paid.
*You’re giving their book away for free.
*You read and enjoy the book, sharing copies of it with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people.
*You never leave a review of the book, neither does anyone else.
Those are the steps to a failure to follow through. At the very least someone needs to introduce the request that people share a review on Goodreads or LibraryThing. Give the author something at least, even if it’s just an acknowledgment that the book was read.
I don’t know.
* * *
Sometimes I get to thinking about stuff. Like, I am usually a completely oblivious person, but there are moments that abruptly change my world view.
People literally give me an “Are you a pod person and should I be worried?” look all the time. It’s part of my obscure charm.
There are several things I’ve really come to believe in:
HABO — Help a Brother Out. Seriously, dude, every once and a while you’ve gotta give some habo love to somebody. Otherwise you’re a bit of a turd sandwich. My biggest problem is that I’m oblivious; I don’t see other peoples’ stuff unless it’s mentioned to me. But once I see it, I gotta habo man. That’s my resolution in life.
If you help someone in need, when you are in need someone will help you in return.
Even if you don’t have a dollar, you should still give some free habo back to the world. Even if it’s just for the feel good glow that takes over your chest for a little while. It’s nice to hear someone say your name in a “Thanks for being awesome” way. Take that happy joy and smoke it, that’s good fruit loops.
Write an online review for someone’s hard work. Retweet someone’s stuff on Twitter. Volunteer at the library. Work at a food bank. There are a million free ways to help the world out there, and they’re all at various levels of commitment. If you’ve only got a few seconds, if you’ve got a whole afternoon or series of weekends, there are ways to plan out a full family activity roster.
I believe that kids learn charity at home. When you see your parents or members of your family working hard to do stuff for others, they grow up as people that give back to the world. Being kind needs to be learned, it’s not something that just happens for most people.
Aquaponic farming — This is a kind of urban farming I completely support. A community aquaponic garden is a smart move to me. Grow soy beans and you can make tofu and soy milk, as well as soy sauce, miso, and delicious soy frappuccinos. So many vegetarians and lactose allergic babies would be grateful to get an affordable source of food. Especially since WIC and a lot of other welfare services have been cut recently.
I’m a firm believer in the idea that people deserve to eat. I don’t care what kind of wastrel you are, unless you’re a cold-blooded murderer or some sex-offender, you should be allowed to come around and collect a bag of food from your community garden. It’s for everyone.
There should be community canning stations where people can can their own food. There should be fermentation tanks and mixers to make the strawberry tofu ice cream and the locally brewed soy sauce. There should be areas where the fish are scaled and filleted (no one wants to bring the stink of fish home with them. And fish, while delicious, can be a serious mess, which is why there are fish cleaning stations at good docks) and can be packaged to be frozen. Extra fish can be vacuum sealed and frozen to be sold in the Community Garden Store. Each community would become its own brand, generating money for the inhabitants and feeding the people that need it.
Maybe locals could receive a discount that out-of-towners don’t get. Bring some togetherness and solidarity back into the idea of a community. (These are the people you are going to need to depend on after the apocalypse. Don’t you already want them to think you are cool before the end of times? They need to be primed to help your ass out in case your bug out shelter idea falls through. They are your backup plan in case of emergency; you don’t want them to have the pre-conceived notion that you’re a giant pickle head and you deserve to die.) Earn a bit of love by giving a bit of love.
And the things I love are: spinach (blanched, mixed with sesame oil, garlic powder, green onions, boiled bean sprouts, julienned carrot, and salt. Served cold as a side for rice.), carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers (Korean angel hair noodles, julienned cucumber, green onion, julienned daikon radish, red pepper paste, sugar, sesame oil, garlic powder, all mixed together and served cold with a splash of vinegar), zucchini, sweet potatoes (wrapped in tinfoil and buried in the coals of the fire. Dig them out when the fire burns down, and the skins peel off to reveal sweet delicious insides that you don’t have to add anything to. The sweet potatoes become sweeter as they cook, until they’re perfect creamy goodness in your mouth.), asparagus, brussels sprouts, strawberries, and beans (black beans, pinto beans for chili, kidney beans for chili and soups, navy beans for bean soup, green beans, soy beans).
I found this place => http://www.kitazawaseed.com/all_seeds.html <= that sells all the seeds to grow the ingredients for kimchi; all you need to add is salt. I’m so happy. I’m planning out my aquaponics set up and I’m going to grow me some kimchi. I promise to share pictures 🙂
Anyways, TL;DR, even if the book is stolen (*ESPECIALLY* if the book is stolen!), leave a review once you read it.
I feel terrible about how bad I am about reviewing. I will try to do better in the future. Habo *fist bump*
Title: Allies & Enemies