tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post8432663530605708319..comments2024-03-29T09:18:31.897+00:00Comments on More than Writers: Do Books Matter by Fiona Veitch Smithauntyamohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08213728883228063200noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-74592730876043275892016-02-27T18:59:59.075+00:002016-02-27T18:59:59.075+00:00Teasing :)
Teasing :)<br />Mel Menzieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05026959995814159600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-73443633238561995022016-02-27T14:40:57.869+00:002016-02-27T14:40:57.869+00:00A fascinating list! And yes, good old Melyvyn for ...A fascinating list! And yes, good old Melyvyn for fessing up to the Bible. But Antonia Fraser reading Our Island Story when she was only 4 and a half? Me thinks she's telling porkies.Fionahttp://fiona.veitchsmith.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-16650040317748076532016-02-27T14:23:11.025+00:002016-02-27T14:23:11.025+00:00What a lovely thing to hear, Lynda. Makes it all w...What a lovely thing to hear, Lynda. Makes it all worthwhile.Fionahttp://fiona.veitchsmith.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-80447868574207482202016-02-27T14:19:59.374+00:002016-02-27T14:19:59.374+00:00No Mel, your book is still on my shelf. It will no...No Mel, your book is still on my shelf. It will not be the next book I read but it will be the next novel I get to. I am still in the middle of the novel I said I was reading when I told you yours would be next. It's likely to be a month or perhaps more before I'm finished that. I'm not a fast reader.Fionahttp://fiona.veitchsmith.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-78310454742063437932016-02-26T18:15:21.438+00:002016-02-26T18:15:21.438+00:00Great post, Fiona, and certainly something to make...Great post, Fiona, and certainly something to make us think. Hope my book, Time to Shine wasn't among the 200 or so you've culled as 'never read'? :(<br />Mel Menzieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05026959995814159600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-40752435988297855062016-02-26T17:14:41.692+00:002016-02-26T17:14:41.692+00:00I found this article online about books that chang...I found this article online about books that changed authors' lives. I guess that's one way in which books really can change people ... they say, don't they, (whoever 'they' are) that the more we read the better our writing will be? Melvyn Bragg's contribution is telling! http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/may/26/hay-festival-book-changed-life<br /> Fran Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07935088780461825341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-61111600836192711852016-02-26T16:23:40.422+00:002016-02-26T16:23:40.422+00:00Great post. I loved all the stories. It means so m...Great post. I loved all the stories. It means so much when we know someone has really got something from one of our books doesn't it. The individuals and their stories are so important.<br /><br />I can remember getting a message from a stranger just hours after the Kindle version of my second book, Being Known: My journey to freedom from food addiction, was released. The person had already read a couple of chapters and said "I have just downloaded your new book and read 2 chapters. It may prove life changing for me...bless you." Followed by "I think that your book is a clear answer to prayer...Currently weeping". I wept at those words. The work to produce the book was worth it just to read those words.Lynda Alsfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12260944221255162533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-24203917734667528272016-02-26T12:37:48.982+00:002016-02-26T12:37:48.982+00:00Or perhaps even more important. And how about the ...Or perhaps even more important. And how about the writers whose book literally saved someone's life? I love that story.Fiona Veitch Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09149126168135123118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-56161206976248627552016-02-26T12:36:30.491+00:002016-02-26T12:36:30.491+00:00Thanks Lucy. I can't take the credit for the p...Thanks Lucy. I can't take the credit for the pic. That was Wendy Jones - she posted this because I ran out of time!Fiona Veitch Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09149126168135123118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-46776740540154876622016-02-26T12:26:53.557+00:002016-02-26T12:26:53.557+00:00I have been a voracious reader in the past but fee...I have been a voracious reader in the past but feel in the last couple of years my book reading has slowed, more than I would like. Partly because my brain is getting more accustomed to skimming and zipping...but there are still books which grip and hold me, even in that state. I loved 'The Writing Life' by Annie Dillard, and was utterly transfixed by 'Help, Thanks, Wow' by Anne Lamott recently. Sometimes a book can make you feel 'I'm not the only one' which is so releasing. I'm still working on getting my fiction fetish (!) back. I think these days a book has to be really good to keep my attention, so the books I read end up being the 'books that matter' rather than just another book I'm zooming through (I'm a fast reader, although trouble with my eyes makes it harder these days).<br /><br />Lovely picture (and selection) of books, by the way...!Lucy Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346977682747924108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643092331729126387.post-8940540104386153522016-02-26T12:06:24.774+00:002016-02-26T12:06:24.774+00:00Well said, Fiona! It's tempting to measure our...Well said, Fiona! It's tempting to measure our success in terms of numbers of books sold or articles published (and so on) and forget that our words will be read by individuals, each with their own needs and difficulties. I'm sure that - in God's eyes - changing one person's life through our writing is just as important as maintaining a presence on the best-seller shelves.Fiona Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01803986871462903904noreply@blogger.com