EP249: Little M@tch Girl

[Talia]

When I feel that way about a story, I just don't comment. *shrugs*

[mbrennan]

When I feel that way about a story, I just don't comment. *shrugs*

As I said a few comments above, I tend to be the same, and I suspect we're not the only ones.  (So I suppose a low-activity comment thread may translate to a chorus of "meh," just silently.)

[Talia]

Oh sorry, didn't mean to make the conversation all redundant. I'm very, very tired today.

I think the concept of a silent chorus of mehs is weirdly very poetic, though.

[Unblinking]

I think the concept of a silent chorus of mehs is weirdly very poetic, though.

Like an unstrung zither. 

[CryptoMe]

But, as someone pointed out in the flash fiction contest, some of the best liked stories also get few comments. So, low comment rate is ambiguous. It can mean "so good, there's nothing else to say" or "meh". How is an author (or anyone else for that matter) supposed to know which one applies in any given case?   

[CryptoMe]

-- a lot of authors support the idea that the story belongs to the readers, in the interpretive sense.  

I used to think that once, too. But High School English beat it out of me.

[Wilson Fowlie]

-- a lot of authors support the idea that the story belongs to the readers, in the interpretive sense.  

I used to think that once, too. But High School English beat it out of me.

Funny, it reinforced it, for me.

[CryptoMe]

-- a lot of authors support the idea that the story belongs to the readers, in the interpretive sense.  

I used to think that once, too. But High School English beat it out of me.

Funny, it reinforced it, for me.

Then I envy you, since you must have had better teachers. 

[Unblinking]

-- a lot of authors support the idea that the story belongs to the readers, in the interpretive sense.  

I used to think that once, too. But High School English beat it out of me.

Funny, it reinforced it, for me.

Then I envy you, since you must have had better teachers. 

It reinforced it for me because the tendency to allow only one interpretation really sucks the fun out of reading and even more so out of after-reading discussion.

[CryptoMe]

It reinforced it for me because the tendency to allow only one interpretation really sucks the fun out of reading and even more so out of after-reading discussion.

And there you have the reason why I quit taking English after high school. I still love reading and discussing books, I just choose not to do it in a formal, judged setting 

[yicheng]

I enjoyed the story.  The social element of different "classes" of society using different drugs was interesting (and indeed reflective of modern society), but was not really explored.  For me this raises the interesting question of the Lotus Eaters from the Odyssey, i.e. if there was a drug that you could take that would make you 100% happy all the time with no down-sides, would you take it?  To me "Flame" sounded like the ultimate Nirvana drug, and I think I would probably take such a drug even knowing the consequences to my physical body.