Too old for this shit

a warthog is a thog specialized for use in war

I think what frustrates me the most is a lot of people are dismissing writing as an actual art form that requires skill and effort in favor of mindless stream of consciousness wish fulfillment, but they retain the like uncritical bibliophilia thats really popular on the internet? like no actually I don’t think reading thoughtless nonsense makes you smarter or widens your perspective or makes you more empathetic I think those benefits come explicitly from meaningful critical thinking both on the author and readers part actually

I understand the urge to comment on recent trends in which people seem to want increasingly sanitized media compared to the recent past, but when you say things like "people used to just shrug and move on when there were books and movies that made them uncomfortable" it's like...well. actually people used to convict artists of obscenity in a court of law.

Obligatory truck I don’t trust reblog

i saw a tumblr post a while ago that implied that the purpose of book reviews is to help the author get better at their craft by evaluating the book and pointing out its strengths and weaknesses, and i disagree with that so strongly. a book review is not for the author of the book you’re writing about. it’s for potential readers, and readers who want to see someone else’s thoughts on the book. and on a more personal level, it’s for you, the reviewer, to bring your own analysis and your unique perspective to the review. a book review is about the book you’re reviewing, obviously, but it’s also about you, and what that book meant to you, and why it affected you the way it did. a book review can and should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the book, but not for the purpose of instructing the writer how to improve their craft. that’s not your job. the author of the book may read your review, but if you have the idea that you’re writing for them, that you’re their editor or pr manager, then you misunderstand the purpose of a book review, and your review will suffer for it.