#How-to and Miscellaneous Bestsellers

[readingtrend]

The Book Of Bill by Alex Hirsch

Find the #1 NYT Bestseller The Book Of Bill by Alex Hirsch from your local library. Click Check on Amazon to read book reviews on Amazon. Click Google Preview to read chapters from Google Books if available. Click Find in Library to check book availability at your local library. If the default library is not correct, follow Change Local Library to reset it. The Book Of Bill by: Alex…

[disneytva]

After one week of release The Book Of Bill becomes The #1 New York Times Bestseller in the "Advice, How To" and Miscellaneous" category ⚠️🌲❓⁉️

Congrats to Alex Hirsch,Ian Worrel,Joe Pitt, Emmy Cicierega and the rest of the art team of the book.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

On SEPTEMBER 24th, I'll be speaking IN PERSON at the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY!

#20yrsago AnarchistU, Toronto’s wiki-based free school https://web.archive.org/web/20040911010603/http://anarchistu.org/bin/view/Anarchistu

#20yrsago Fair use is a right AND a defense https://memex.craphound.com/2004/09/09/fair-use-is-a-right-and-a-defense/

#20yrsago Bounty for asking “How many times have you been arrested, Mr. President?” https://web.archive.org/web/20040918115027/https://onesimplequestion.blogspot.com/

#20yrsago What yesterday’s terrible music https://www.loweringthebar.net/2009/09/open-mike-likely-to-close-out-legislators-career.htmlsampling ruling means https://web.archive.org/web/20040910095029/http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/002153.shtml

#15yrsago Conservative California legislator gives pornographic account of his multiple affairs (including a lobbyist) into open mic https://www.loweringthebar.net/2009/09/open-mike-likely-to-close-out-legislators-career.html

#15yrsago Shel Silverstein’s UNCLE SHELBY, not exactly a kids’ book https://memex.craphound.com/2009/09/09/shel-silversteins-uncle-shelby-not-exactly-a-kids-book/

#10yrsago Seemingly intoxicated Rob Ford gives subway press-conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbcETJRoNCs

#10yrsago Amazon vs Hachette is nothing: just WAIT for the audiobook wars! https://locusmag.com/2014/09/cory-doctorow-audible-comixology-amazon-and-doctorows-first-law/

#10yrsago Dietary supplement company sues website for providing a forum for dissatisfied customers https://www.techdirt.com/2014/09/08/dietary-supplement-company-tries-suing-pissedconsumer-citing-buyers-agreement-to-never-say-anything-negative-about-roca/

#10yrsago New wind-tunnel tests find surprising gains in cycling efficiency from leg-shaving https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/the-curious-case-of-the-cyclists-unshaved-legs/article20370814/

#10yrsago Behind the scenes look at Canada’s Harper government gagging scientists https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/federal-scientist-media-request-generates-email-frenzy-but-no-interview-1.2759300

#10yrsago Starred review in Kirkus for INFORMATION DOESN’T WANT TO BE FREE https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cory-doctorow/information-doesnt-want-to-be-free/

#10yrsago Steven Gould’s “Exo,” a Jumper novel by way of Heinlein’s “Have Spacesuit, Will Travel” https://memex.craphound.com/2014/09/09/steven-goulds-exo-a-jumper-novel-by-way-of-heinleins-have-spacesuit-will-travel/

#5yrsago Important legal victory in web-scraping case https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/09/web-scraping-doesnt-violate-anti-hacking-law-appeals-court-rules/

#5yrsago Whistleblowers out Falwell’s Liberty University as a grifty, multibillion-dollar personality cult https://web.archive.org/web/20190910000528/https://www.politico.com/magazine/amp/story/2019/09/09/jerry-falwell-liberty-university-loans-227914

#5yrsago Pinduoduo: China’s “Groupon on steroids” https://www.wired.com/story/china-ecommerce-giant-never-heard/

#5yrsago Notpetya: the incredible story of an escaped US cyberweapon, Russian state hackers, and Ukraine’s cyberwar https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/

#5yrsago NYT calls for an end to legacy college admissions https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/opinion/sunday/end-legacy-college-admissions.html

#5yrsago Purdue’s court filings understate its role in the opioid epidemic by 80% https://www.propublica.org/article/data-touted-by-oxycontin-maker-to-fight-lawsuits-doesnt-tell-the-whole-story

#1yrago Saturday linkdump, part the sixth https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/09/nein-nein/#everything-is-miscellaneous

The paperback edition of The Lost Cause, my nationally bestselling, hopeful solarpunk novel is out this month!

[wot-tidbits]

James Oliver Rigney, Jr., papers

Do you know that you can check on the collection of Robert Jordan's notes in the College of Charleston website? You cannot read them ofc, but still scrolling through all these boxes and you can realize how huge is the material in the notes.

SOURCE

The collection consists of the papers of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., from 1905 to 2009. The papers document Rigney's writing career beginning with his first published novel in 1980 through the final book in the Wheel of Time series as well as his unpublished works. The collection includes biographical materials, writings, working files, correspondence, marketing and promotional materials, and audiovisual materials. A small series of biographical materials consists of photographs of book signings, assorted portraits and personal photographs, certificates and awards, and memorial materials from fans as well as published memorials, and other miscellaneous personal materials. A series of writings makes up a significant portion of the collection and consists of complete and partial typescripts with handwritten copyedits, galley proofs, book signatures, and born digital materials pertaining to Rigney's novels circa 1979 to 2009. The majority of Rigney's published works are represented in some form with the exception of Conan the Magnificent, Conan the Destroyer, Winter's Heart, and Towers of Midnight of which there is no material present. Rigney's early-unpublished works are also represented including John One-Eye, Morgan, April the 15th and his first novel Warrior of the Altaii. Of particular interest are Rigney's early notes, name lists, and story outlines that provide insight into his early creative process and development of the Wheel of Time world, its inhabitants, and the overarching storyline for the series. Also included are assorted book-publishing contracts and born digital materials consisting of an Apple 3 computer and numerous 5 1/4 inch floppy discs. Born digital materials are as yet unprocessed.

Another significant portion of the collection is a series of working files consisting of office files and hardcopies of computer files taken from Rigney's home computer. Office files relate to book production, promotion, and publicity for his novels and include clippings, bestseller lists, book tour schedules and itineraries, professional correspondence, promotional materials, interview transcripts, reviews, and cover and map art facsimiles. Hardcopies of computer files taken from Rigney's home computer consist primarily of his notes and lists for the Wheel of Time series and for The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time companion book. Materials include descriptions of the various races, countries, and societies of the series as well as character biographies, glossaries, definitions, and numerous lists of flora, fauna, medicines, proverbs, and other subjects related to the series. Scattered throughout is professional correspondence regarding book edits, art placement, and book promotion and production. These files and file materials were grouped as found and, when possible, file titles have also been kept.

The collection also includes a series of correspondence consisting of letters and faxes to and from literary agents and agencies, illustrators, editorial directors, and game developers on such topics as American and European book rights, book production and promotion, illustration edits for The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, promotional product designs, European book tour schedules, and speaking invitations. Also included in this series is e-mail correspondence between Rigney and author Ed Gorman regarding their respective illnesses and treatments at the Mayo Clinic and e-mails from Nancy Sliwa regarding the James O. Rigney Jr. dedication and exhibition in the Daniel Library at The Citadel.

A series of marketing and promotional materials primarily relates to the Wheel of Time series but does include a small amount of material relating to his earlier novels. Materials consist of publicity posters, jewelry, illustrations, advertising and packaging design comps, hardcover and trade paperback book covers, and other assorted marketing and promotional materials. Also included are textiles and artifacts consisting of licensed clothing and sword reproductions based on the series produced by Museum Replicas Limited.

A small series of audiovisual material consists of two televised interviews with Tom Schaad for the Arlington Community Television show Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction from 1991 and 1995 and a televised interview from News Channel 8, Washington, DC, from 1994. Topics include his writing career, writing and book tour pressures, how his military experiences and various religious ideas have influenced his work, the success of the series, the popularity of the books on the burgeoning Internet, and the similarities and dissimilarities between Rigney's and Tolkien's writings. The DVD "3 Robert Jordan Interviews, 1990s" contains all interviews contained on the videocassettes.

Access Restrictions This collection is open for research except for “Contracts, 1980-2019” (Box 65-Box 66), "From the 5 Sisters tale" (Box 56, Folder 10), and selected professional correspondence from "Professional correspondence, 1996-2008, undated" (Box 57, Folder 7) which are closed to researchers except with explicit permission from the donor until September 13, 2037.

Accruals have been minimally processed but are open for research.

Dates Creation: 1905-2012

Creation: Majority of material found within circa 1968-2012

Extent 38.75 linear feet (58 document boxes, 8 slim document boxes, 2 flat boxes, 7 oversize boxes, 1 carton, 13 oversize folders, 12 oversize items, 1 DVD, 2 videocassettes, 106 floppy discs, 1 Apple 3 computer)

Acquisitions Information Materials donated in 2012 and 2022 by Harriet P. McDougal Rigney.

[florasearle]

Penguin's Brand Identity

Penguin's History and Societal Impact:

In 1935 Allen Lane established Penguin. Lane recognised the disportionate accessibility of books. Only wealthy people used to own books and Lane wanted to make them accessible to everyone-a point that reflects their brand message today. As such, Penguin was the first cheap mass market paperback publisher sold at six pence each. Penguin appeared in station book stalls, paper shops and pubs. Nowadays, Penguin sells their books online on their website, as well as through other companies like Waterstones and other book shops all across the world.

"We remain true to Allen Lane’s original vision today through our mission: we make books for everyone, because a book can change anyone".

Reflecting their brand messaging, Penguin has been responsible for the integration of books within food banks, prisons and homeless shelters across the UK.

Penguin also emphasises the importance of sustainability within the brief, and this idea is reflected in their sustainability report. 100% of their paper is sustainably sourced and "in 2019 cut single plastic use within our warehouses by 47%, the equivalent of 37.6 tonnes".

Inclusivity is a key point for penguin and their leadership team stands as equal parts men and women. Penguin also opens up opportunities for under-represented groups via their WriteNow programme.

Their books:

Penguin publish "over 1,500 every year across a wide range of categories and genres, including fiction and non-fiction, adult and children’s, and commercial bestsellers and literary classics." Penguin offers these books in a variety of formats-from e-books to the traditional physical book. Each colour was representative of a genre:

Green=crime

Pink=travel and adventure

Blue=biography

Red= drama

Purple= essays

Yellow=miscellaneous

Orange=fiction

Their mode of address:

Penguin is a brand that evokes compassion, authenticity and excitement for their products and the opportunities that arise from reading. Their ultimate goals can be summarised as three keywords: Inclusivity, Community and Sustainability.

How this impacts my approach:

Penguin's message of community significantly reflects my generations need for connection. Community is the key aspect I wanted to take into my designs-with my bracelet at the forefront of this. This is because a visual display of an interest can spark social connections.

"It's not just about the book, it's about the company as well. And books help with socialising."

Their merchandise:

The current Penguin merchandise is a simple design reflective of the original books. This is effective for those who do have nostalgia for brand, but as they identify on their brief, this won't connect to Gen Z audiences.

Their merchandise products as stands:

Notebooks, tote bags, mugs, umbrellas, postcards, tea towels, book ends, book bench, prints and pencil cases.

Their Classics Collection:

I looked instead to their book designs itself and felt inspired by the detailed covers. This ornamental approach, as also seen in their one book end design, sparked my interest.

How this impacts my approach:

Prior to sketching out my ideas for the brief, I was aware of the clothbound book collection, as I possess some myself. These book designs use visual motifs from the novel, and so I thought to represent classic literature novels within my charm designs. I have only selected classic literature to reflect the trends identified on Tiktok as romanticising classic literature is trending amongst Gen Z. There are communities formulated around this romanticisation, such as 'Coquette' and 'Dark Academia'. I am yet to extend this concept out into my other merchandise ideas, but this is a starting point.

Penguins Audience:

Their brand message is to "make books for everyone", but their goal at the moment is to cultivate more interest amongst Gen Z. YouGov provides the statistics for overall readers in the UK, with only "7% of 18 to 24 year olds" reading. The market is also dominated by women, with 27% reading daily. This correlates with my concept of a bracelet appealing to female audiences, but that is not to say the bracelet can't exist as a unisex item. Merchandise like badges are more likely appeal to men.

Penguin have explored various digital services to connect with their younger audience, including influencers and YouTubers in their Pride Book Club.

Penguin Social Media

Penguin capitalise on the trends of Tiktok to promote their brand. A recent of example of this can be seen here: https://www.tiktok.com/@penguinbooks/video/7195566705282747690

By engaging in trend, Penguin make themselves known to Gen Z audiences and emit understanding of our humour and interests, ultimately conveying themselves as a brand of authenticity.

Penguin also have a large Instagram following at 569K. Their content consists of new book releases and article updates to lead viewers to their site. Their Tiktoks are also shared using the Reel section which is most popular amongst Gen Z. They use a minimalist palette with gradients that could arguably be expanded on.

Brand Guidelines:

Visual elements to consider

[ahtsumu]

-ˏˋ hq masterlist ˊˎ-

last updated: 21 of march, 2021

R E Q U E S T S

are CLOSED and taken as suggestions!

K E Y

[ hcs ] headcanons ; [ im ] imagine ; [ sr ] series ; [ ch ] chaptered ; [ msc ] miscellaneous ; 

[ r ] requested ; [ ts ] timestamp

☂ angst ; ♡ fluff

you can also find me as vogonpoetry on ao3!

M I S C.  D R A B B L E S  /  H C S

#flo goes!

vibes

synopsis: a song and a moment between just you and your man.

K A R A S U N O

–– daichi sawamura

[ hcs ] his type

–– kageyama tobio

[ ts ] 7:32 AM ♡

N E K O M A

–– kuroo tetsurou

[ hcs ] ceo!kuroo x personal assistant!reader ♡

[ ts ] 11:59 PM ♡

[ sr-hcs ] idiosyncrasies ; haikyuu!! college!au hcs

[ im ] the mystery of love ♡

synopsis: kuroo tetsurou does not believe in soulmates. he believes in science, himself, and sometimes other people. but that doesn’t mean he can’t believe in love.

[ hcs ] his type

A O B A  J O H S A I

–– oikawa tooru

[ im ] 目送 ☂♡

synopsis: you spend a lifetime watching him go, sometimes with your stomach tied in knots, sometimes with tears in your eyes, but always with love.

[ r-hcs ] slow dancing ♡

[ r-hcs ] childhood crush!reader being asked out by another ☂

[ ts ] 2:03 PM ♡

[ ch ] thaw ☂♡

synopsis: one-time new york times bestselling author you (24) are suffering from a debilitating case of writer’s block. two-time olympic figure skating gold medallist oikawa tooru (26) is secretly falling out of love with the sport and apart on the inside as he trains for the ISU grand prix. paths cross, personalities clash, things go wrong. and most importantly, love blossoms. (in more ways than one.)

[ hcs ] his type

[ s-ts ] 5:3666 AM ♡

[ s-ts ] 4:44 PM ♡

–– iwaizumi hajime

[ r-hcs ] childhood crush!reader being asked out by another ☂

–– hanamaki takahiro

[ hcs ] his type

S H I R A T O R I Z A W A

–– tendou satori

[ hcs ] as your boyfriend ♡

[ r-im ] the grey area ☂♡

synopsis: tendou thinks you need to live a little. you think he’s the devil incarnate.

[ ts ] 10:33 AM ♡

–– ushijima wakatoshi

[ ts ] 11:03 PM ♡

[ im ] again and again and again ☂♡

synopsis: every august 13th, a void opens in your chest. the universe is one sick bastard.

[ ts ] 10:02 PM ♡

I N A R I Z A K I

–– miya atsumu

[ r-hcs ] slow dancing ♡

[ im ] atsumu: 1, kevin: 0 ♡

synopsis: miya atsumu realises that he’s tired of keeping your relationship “low-key” with a little help from an overzealous fanboy.

[ im ] miss me? ☂♡

synopsis: with you gone, maybe he does need memories.

[ hcs ] college!au hc-dump ♡

[ hcs ] hot things miya atsumu does

[ sr-hcs ] idiosyncrasies ; haikyuu!! college!au hcs  

[ im ] boxer!miya atsumu ♡

[ im ] even if happy is him (i’m happy for you) ☂

synopsis: you break miya atsumu’s heart and get yourself engaged to oikawa tooru.

[ hcs ] his type

[ hcs ] what he smells like

[ im ] cupid’s chokehold ♡

–– miya osamu

[ im ] long shots ♡

synopsis: miya osamu is the teacher’s assistant for food chemistry i. you can’t stop thinking about him.

[ hcs ] his type

[ im ] vignettes from a simple and good life ♡

synopsis: a year in review.

–– suna rintarou

[ hcs ] hot things suna rintarou does

–– kita shinsuke

[ hcs ] his type

F U K U R O D A N I

–– akaashi keiji  

[ r-hcs ] slow dancing ♡

[ r-hcs ] childhood crush!reader being asked out by another ☂

[ ts ] 9:05 AM ♡

O T H E R

–– sakusa kiyoomi

[ ts ] 12:10 AM ♡

[ hcs ] his type

[ im ] pictures of you ♡

–– daishou suguru

[ r-hcs ] his type

M U L T I

[ msc ] what your haikyuu!! fave says about you

[ hcs ] how the haikyuu boys fall in love ♡

[ hcs ] the haikyuu boys as asian fuckboys

[ hcs ] the haikyuu boys as “kissing my best friend” tiktoks ♡

[ hcs ] clothes shopping with the haikyuu boys ♡

[ hcs ] insecurities

[ hcs ] the voicemail he leaves you after you break up with him

[ hcs ] one thing you’re getting from your haikyuu man for christmas pt. 1

[ hcs ] one thing you’re getting from your haikyuu man for christmas pt. 2

[ msc ] what type bitch you are based on your haikyuu man

[ r-hcs ] most likely to braid his gf’s hair successfully 

E V E N T S

c0wisland’s first milestone event

cOuNtRy BoY i LoVe YoUuU (collab)

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

The Wizard of Oz: Facets of Filmmaking

While The Wizard of Oz is often remembered as a magical experience, the making of this masterpiece was anything but.

Nothing went smoothly.  Not screenwriting, not directing, not shooting, not casting, not even costuming went well, made even worse by the end result of box office bomb when it was released.  It’s hard to imagine a timeless classic coming out of a production as big a wreck as this was.

You guessed it, today, we’re unpacking the behind-the-scenes story of The Wizard of Oz, taking a look at a brief history of events with plenty of trivia.  Buckle up, this one is going to be rough.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

The problems in production started immediately with something rather important: the screenwriting.  While there are three official writers, (Noel Langley, Edgar Allen Woolf, and Florence Ryderson) there is a whopping total of fifteen additional writers that remain uncredited.  Everyone was contributing their own ideas and the end result had to be trimmed down considerably to be anywhere close the film we know now.

First, let’s talk about Noel Langley.

A writer of bestselling novels, it didn’t take long for Langley to get a job in Hollywood.  By the time he was chosen to work on The Wizard of Oz, he already had multiple scripts under his belt.  As scriptwriter, his other job was to adapt the original novel, and in so doing contributed some of the major changes that would go on to help define the film, such as the ruby slippers, the dream ending, and the idea of the Kansas Kounterparts.

Unfortunately, he also contributed a lot of other things that were decidedly less helpful, introducing new elements and characters that didn’t fit well with the overall story, such as the Cowardly Lion being originally a man turned into a lion.  Other changes included adding a princess, prince and dragon, the Flying Monkeys being heroic, Aunt Em being a cruel, hard woman who was responsible for wanting Toto put down, and worst of all, a severe trimming of Dorothy’s screentime.  (?!?)

Convinced he was finished, Langley turned in his script in June of 1938.

MGM had other plans.

Cue the damage control team: Edgar Allen Woolf and Florence Ryderson. Their job: cut away the weird stuff in Langley’s script, while retaining the dialogue.

Did it work?

Mostly.

Apparently Woolf and Ryderson got a little carried away with their editing, ending with another incongruous mess of a script.  Getting desperate, MGM called Langley back to edit the edit of his original script.  Langley immediately began to pull out as much of the Woolf and Ryerson edits as he possibly could before MGM announced that it was finished.  The script was taken out of Langley’s hands again, and turned over to production.  Revisions took care of the rest, slowly working the script into the story that we know and love today.

Casting didn’t go much better.

After failing to get Gale Sondergaard or Edna Mae Oliver as their Wicked Witch, MGM turned to Margaret Hamilton, who was an enormous fan of the original book.  Hamilton, as a single mother, was concerned about working hours, and got into an argument with the studio over guaranteed work time, accepting the role of the Wicked Witch three days before filming was supposed to start.  Her original contract of five weeks of work turned into a long, arduous three months, during which she suffered severe burns during the Wicked Witch’s fireball exit from Munchkinland.  (Watch the scene in the movie, the smoke is a little early and the trapdoor a little visible; it’s the rehearsal footage.)  After her recovery, she refused to do any more stunts. As a result, during the ‘Surrender Dorothy’ scene, her stunt double was seriously burned herself.  On top of that, Hamilton couldn’t eat in costume due to the copper in her makeup, and her skin was tinged green for weeks after filming.

The problems didn’t stop with the villain.  The original casting for the Scarecrow and Tin Man wasn’t easy either.

Buddy Ebsen was the original choice for the Scarecrow, and Ray Bolger was initially cast as the Tin Man.  Bolger, a huge fan of the Scarecrow (Fred Stone) from 1902 stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, asked to trade roles. This went fine for Bolger, (clearly) but Ebsen?  Not so much.

It turned out during filming that Ebsen had a severe reaction to the aluminum powder used in the makeup, landing him in the hospital.  MGM scrambled for a new Tin Man and, after re-designing the makeup using less dangerous metallic greasepaint, ended up with Jack Haley.  Even so, it was still a struggle.  As the scenes were all shot on MGM lots in Hollywood, (not a single outdoor shot in the film!) it was beastly hot due to the intense stage-lighting, which also caused problems with costuming.  Bolger, while being able to eat (liquids) in the makeup, had to wear a rubber mask that cut off moisture and air, causing his skin to crack and bleed.  The mask left a pattern on his face that took over a year to fade after filming.  Bert Lahr’s lion costume (made of real lion skin) was a problem as well.  Costume designers made two identical suits for him due to the extreme heat; while he soaked one in sweat, the other suit was being dried. In-between shots, he had to remove his entire costume to stand in front of a fan just to avoid heatstroke.  On top of that, he couldn’t eat anything except through a straw, as anything more involved would have meant more time in the makeup chair to work on the face appliances.  Meanwhile, Jack Haley, their replacement Tin Man, was unable to sit down due to the makeup, being forced to lean to rest.  He also suffered an eye-infection due to the makeup.

Even the main lead had it rough.  MGM went through a few names before settling on Judy Garland (Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin).  16 year-old Garland not only had her chest bound painfully tight to appear as a pre-teen girl, but also originally was put into a frumpier dress than seen in the final film, as well as being blonde for a short period of time.  During production she was also put into tacky baby-doll makeup that was thankfully changed, and perhaps most unfortunately, the iconic ruby slippers were extremely painful to wear, to the point where Garland only wore them in shots where they would be visible.  The rest of the time, she wore black shoes, which not only cut down on her pain, but also protected the slippers from wear and tear.

This was all made worse by the fact that hours were from 4 AM to 8 PM on a short day.

If you think that was a mess, wait until you hear about the director problems.

So The Wizard of Oz was obviously a little different than usual behind-the-scenes, and that extended to its director, or in this case, directors. During the course of production, MGM assigned no less than five total (main) directors to this movie.  Let’s start with the first one, announced in June of 1938: Norman Taurog.

Taurog was a former child actor turned director, winning the Oscar for directing Skippy in 1931.  He knew the game and how to play it, being the youngest man to ever win an Oscar for directing, and having over 180 movies to his name.  He seemed like an obvious choice, right?

He was out in two months.  During this time, the crew finished initial casting and set-construction, but no actual shooting was done.  Taurog was replaced by a man named Richard Thorpe, under whom shooting began. Twelve days later, Thorpe was out too, and everything filmed during his tenure was scrapped and reshot later. (He was the one responsible for Judy Garland’s ludicrous baby-doll makeup.)

Next on the scene was George Cukor, whose job it was to get the film’s look closer to what we’d be more familiar with later.  Cukor was a very famous and successful director with MGM, good with both musicals and adaptations.  He re-designed Dorothy’s appearance, told Garland to ‘just be herself’, and was promptly removed from production after one week, sent to work on MGM’s other big project: Gone with the Wind.

Enter the best-known and most often credited director for this film: Victor Fleming.

Fleming was an experienced director, and turned out to be exactly what this movie needed to keep afloat.  Despite the fact that most of the cast accidents happened during his three-and-a-half month tenure, Fleming miraculously calmed the storm, shooting from November 1st in 1938 to February 17th of 1939, until he too was shuttled off of the production: being moved to finish directing Gone with the Wind after the departure of former Oz director George Cukor. Fleming remains the only director credited on the actual movie itself.

Only the scenes in Kansas were left.  Last, but not least, director King Vidor stepped up to the plate, filling in the remaining months until showtime.  Vidor, another well-known Hollywood director with almost eighty movies under his belt, joined the team for the final stretch.  He was responsible for the brown-and-white sepia look for Kansas, and in a way, having another director for those scenes worked out pretty well, as the sequences in Kansas and the sequences in Oz were supposed to be very different.  (Miscellaneous other scenes were directed by producer Mervyn LeRoy, whose idea it was to make this movie in the first place.  All total, we’re looking at around five or six directors for this movie.)

In the end, Fleming got the credit for both The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, despite the revolving-door directing that both films experienced, but then again, that was a part of MGM.

In the 1930s, MGM was the undisputed king of the movies, and The Wizard of Oz came along at their peak. In fact, being made by MGM was probably the only thing that saved it.  With a tagline like ‘More stars than there are in heaven’, they could afford to put rising star Judy Garland in center stage among an all-star cast. Their specialties were big-budget extravaganzas, movie experiences that often used the brand new way to make the visuals pop: Technicolor.  

MGM was not only used to wowing audiences, it was good at it.

In the era of the Depression, escapism at the movies was the way to go, and this studio in particular knew how to use their methods: glamourous films filled with glamorous people, whose problems, if they had any, were far, far away from the problems actually dealt with by people at the time.  The formula worked, and the studio generated film after film like this.  With a decent success rate, MGM could afford to shuffle directors and screenwriters around.  Only through MGM was The Wizard of Oz even possible.

In the end, despite the hardship and the close calls (Somewhere Over the Rainbow was almost cut from the final film!), The Wizard of Oz was released in August of 1939, and went on to be one of the most famous and well-loved films of all time, and deservedly so.  Originally greenlit to try to follow in the footsteps of the first animated success at a little company run by Walt Disney, The Wizard of Oz became the most iconic movie of all time, standing on its own for eighty years.  Not bad for a box office bomb and production nightmare.

Well, it’s almost time for curtains on our analysis of The Wizard of Oz.  Join me one last time as we take one last look at this classic film: combining the facts with the feelings.  Next time it’s our final thoughts.

Thank you so much for reading! Don’t be afraid to drop an ask, and I hope to see you in the next article!

[writerswritecompany]

At the beginning of every year we post our Top 42 Writing Posts from the previous year.

(There was no special reason for the number 42 in 2013 when we started, but we’ve kept up the tradition.)

These were the posts you most wanted to see on this website in 2019.

The most viewed post with 68 000 views was 106 Ways To Describe Sounds. It was the most popular by more than 25 000 over the second placed post, 75 Words That Describe Smells. In third place overall was Writing A Memoir? Narrow Your Focus

We have divided the posts into categories for you to explore subjects that may interest you.

The Top 42 Writing Posts Of 2019

Writing Resources Posts

106 Ways To Describe Sounds 

75 Words That Describe Smells 

32 Ways To Write About Fear

204 Words That Describe Colours 

7 Online Writing Courses That Could Change Your Life

140 Words To Describe Mood In Fiction

101 Fantasy Tropes For Writers

29 Ways To Write About Happiness

A Complete Glossary Of Terms For Fantasy Writers

101 Sci-Fi Tropes For Writers

17 Pretentious Words & What to Use Instead

A Complete Glossary Of Terms For Science Fiction Writers

What Literary Agents Want From Authors Of Fiction

Writing Advice Posts

Writing A Memoir? Narrow Your Focus

7 Ways To Create A Spectacular Magic System For Your Novel

Why Method Writing Makes You A Better Author

20 Fun Ways To Find Ideas For A Plot

Use These 7 Gaslighting Phrases To Make Your Antagonist More Manipulative

7 Deadly Rules For Creating A Villain

3 Truly Odd Protagonists & Why We Really Really Like Them

10 Description Mistakes Writers Should Avoid At All Costs

All About The Romance Writing Genre

How To Write The Tragic Love Story – A 10-Step Formula

9 Ways To Bring The Funny In Your Fiction

3 Things Authors Of The Golden Age Of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Did Better

What J. K. Rowling & Other Bestselling Authors Know About Setting

Scaring Your Readers 101: 8 Tips For Writing A Great Horror Story

Why All Aspiring Novelists Need A Vision Board

The 7 Qualities Of Compelling Character Motivations

How Your Characters’ To-Do Lists Can Help You Plot Your Book

The Secret To Writing A Great Plot Twist

The Least You Should Know About Your Protagonist And Antagonist

How To Write The Perfect Flashback

Miscellaneous Posts

Harry Potter And The Not Very Good Writing

Welcome To The 12 Short Stories Writing Challenge For 2019

Fantasy Book Title Generator

Creative Block

To Be Written

Things Writers Google

Welcome To The 12 Poems Challenge For 2019

Tips From Famous Writers

Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules For Writers

27 Gems On Writing From Ernest Hemingway

These were your favourite posts from previous years:

The Top 42 Writing Posts Of 2018

The Top 42 Writing Posts Of 2017

The Top 42 Writing Posts of 2016

The Top 42 Writing Posts of 2015

The Top 42 Writing Posts of 2014

The Top 42 Writing Posts of 2013

[prongsmydeer]

Ayesha Liveblogs Tiger King 

“I think it would be fair to say that Carole is the Mother Teresa of cats” now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear

“I’d never been a person who had friends” statements like this always perplex me because surely there had to be ONE other person in however long you quantify childhood that you identified with. Like not one whole ass person? You’re not the only person who loves cats Carole

The juxtaposition between Carole Baskin’s “Animal Print for Animal Rights” and Joe Exotic’s “Tiger King underwear is our bestseller” is poetic cinema

Okay this isn’t a reflection of my opinions on this man but I Saw a Tiger is a good country ballad there I said it 

“When I first met Joe, I was like a month out of high school” well that’s not good

[Joe Exotic voice] Some people have tigers to cope

Doc Antle has only been on screen for 30 seconds and already he has made himself memorable by directing the film crew

Is Bhagavan Antle Indian in some way or did he just have a really intense Eat Pray Love journey with his guru

Also is he really a doctor orrrrrrrrr

“I am out there in the forefront so known of being this guy that is in love with big cats and has them love him back” please don’t tell me this guy does anything weird to his animals

“People only care about saving what affects them” 

“You can’t put a price on holding a baby tiger” but you did and apparently it’s $625 

The fact that multiple tigers have had albinism is probably a sign of major inbreeding practices at these zoos

You know, even if I ate meat*, there is no way I would be able to handle any kind of early prep stage of it bc seeing these cow carcasses is A Lot

*If u r reading this I don’t care if u eat meat leave me alone

“Animals just wasn’t enough, okay? So then I started adding magic” well that took an unexpected turn

I don’t know if it’s for real fair to criticize every person who has brought a big cat out in a public venue/talk show because I know at least like Dave Sal/moni is always going “THESE ANIMALS MAKE TERRIBLE PETS” 

As a sidenote from what I understand this Saff person keeps being deadnamed/misgendered throughout this documentary and I do not appreciate it 

“I grew up a professional cowboy in a family of professional cowboys” every sentence on this show is a journey

WHO is letting their ONE-YEAR-OLD lay on top of a tiger cub I know you’re at a zoo but BRUH

“It’s going to be a small Waco” to say this ON THE NEWS

This 2 minute stretch of episode is all the PSA anyone ever needs to never own a gun

Well I think we can all agree that PETA is a fucking mess

God this is like battle of the people who are terrible at doing anything good for animals

“What do you carry that gun for?” “People” AHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!!!!?!?

“I sleep with an AK-47 under my mattress, loaded, ready to roll” WILL SOMEONE HELP THE U.S. OF A

I was warned about this show and yet I was still not prepared for the level of UNHINGED it would be 

How in the FUCK does a place like this not have an on-site medic

“Why don’t you come back on another day” he said, after telling the public an employee had his arm taken off 

“I am never gonna financially recover from this” SURE JOE THIS IS ABOUT YOU

To go back to work a WEEK after getting your arm amputated... BRUH

“Any law that you think’s unfair or unjustice, it is your obligation, it is your responsibility to stand up against that bullshit law” well Thomas Jefferson was a slaveowner so clearly the injustice thing was relative for him

Traditionally don’t drug addictions fuel people choosing extreme paths with their life rather than the other way around? 

JKHGKJHGKJH this whole exchange:

Interviewer: What kind of doctor is he?

Maria: Mystical science.

Interviewer: Mystical science?

Maria, nodding: Yeah.

“How many wives does Doc Antle have?” I didn’t expect this but somehow it tracks

I’m gonna bet none of these people with subcontinental names have a single bit of South Asian heritage like okay “Moksha” and “Rajnee” did Bhagavan name you

On a more serious note: It’s really fucked up that these men keep meeting literal teenagers, making them their employees, and then also get into relationships with them. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough THIS IS NOT GOOD OR HEALTHY

It’s pretty weird that Doc Antle keeps emphasizing so frequently that one of his partners is Italian 

“I’m gonna go be a yoga animal trainer” ah, white people bullshit

“Goodbye. Don’t fall in love with your boss.” Good advice, Dad

I was not expecting all this subcontinental imagery to get under my skin this badly but what’s your problem dude can’t u be normal for like a second 

“You’re this garbage person, but if you listen to me, I’ll make you great” again this tracks but gross

Again, on a more serious note: if a partner ever talks to you this way please call a domestic abuse hotline 

Not that India is at all in a good place right now but I personally ban Doc Antle from ever entering India. Banned. Forever. I will not be accepting constructive criticism at this time

“I didn’t really know any better” is a really good way of summarizing what all of these younger partners have been through

Wow Carole is really explaining this abuse issue succinctly 

Antle’s indignation at being implied to be a cult leader despite the fact he is most definitely a cult leader

Joe’s story in his documentary is constantly “is this going to be a humanizing moment PSYCH it’s still terrible”

HOW IS THIS LEGAL PAY YOUR WORKERS A LIVING WAGE

Why is this husband-killing thing JUST A FOOTNOTE AT THE END OF THIS EPISODE OH MY GOD

We have deviated so far from the tiger thing oh my god

Why is the only man in this documentary who is faithful to his spouse the man that smuggled drugs inside of snakes

Every time I learn a new thing about a person in this documentary I have to reorient myself

This whole episode has been about this murder and I’m concerned that its title, “The Secret,” hasn’t even been revealed yet

GOD I take back what I said about I Saw Tiger, the concept of this song/music video for Here Kitty Kitty is so disturbing that this man deserves no credit whatsoever as a musician 

CAROLE WHY ARE YOU GIGGLING ABOUT THE MEAT GRINDER IT’S NOT FUNNY

Well I don’t have much to say about this episode other than yikes

I guess if you’re really out to spite someone stealing their brand and posting exactly the opposite of everything they stand for is an effective if weird and petty way to do it

Do you think the whole throne footage moment was a “Frankenstein realizing what he has wrought” kind of thing for Kirkham

This is really like watching a sports game of two teams you can’t stand except the sport is murder and other miscellaneous crime

If we’re all being real with ourselves the documentary filmmakers themselves MUST have had some issues going on to be able to walk into this situation and not do anything about it

This series really seems to present a compelling case for why every major figure in this documentary has potentially committed at least one terrible crime

Ah there’s the judgment from the woman in Florida I guess it’s two crimes with one stone

God these poor animals they do not deserve anything happening to them

While obviously people are enticed by the prospect of someone they’re into having an animal JUST GET AN ALREADY DOMESTICATED ANIMAL LIKE DOMESTICATED CATS AND DOGS EXIST OH MY GOD DO NOT USE EXOTIC PETS AS DATE BAIT

 It has been so long since we heard about Travis ngl I already forgot about him 

Why is every single person in this show SO OFF THE WALLS I mean I know why but also WHY

This documentary is also a treatise in the flaws of the U.S. prison system and how it sets up people up to fail or re-offend upon release

Take a shot every time a middle-aged man in this show mentions that he casually bought himself a big cat as a teen

“Joe was the entertainment director.... by title” I don’t think this was meant to be a burn but what a burn

I am almost certain I WATCHED that Last Week Tonight episode during that election and if u told me that 4-5 years later I would be rewatching that clip in a documentary about this man’s journey to being convicted for murder then I cannot say I wouldn’t be surprised but I would probably believe it 

Also I have to wonder what John Oliver thinks about being part of this 

[“Beyonce?” voice] Shaun Majumder?

Sidenote: Until this exact moment I thought of Shaun Majumder as Ben Mulroney even though Brian Mulroney is white as hell I guess I have faceblindness but only for Canadian talkshow personalities

I have been aware of this before now but the fact you can buy a GUN at a Walmart what in the FUCK is U.S.A. doing

Man does this campaign manager really want to take ownership of anything Joe Exotic has ever done

Ngl I was wondering why someone who had at one point clearly had a lot of money seemed to have such poor dental care access but meth certainly does explain it

I mean people can be attracted to both men and women (hello) but since Joe was fuelling their drug addictions since they were teenagers attraction is at best a null factor and at worst an added layer of terrible to this whole mess

It’s hard to even respond to this in a meaningful way because this is so fucked up. Don’t own guns.

“That was a big fucking mistake,” he said, right after someone explained that he was driving large groups of people in an enclosed space in a busy city with wild animals that could maim or kill them

Padlock penls piercing really does not seem like a first date bombshell

“We went to dinner and he never went home” well if that doesn’t set you with a sense of foreboding

TWO MONTHS AFTER WHAT IN THE HELL OH MY GOD also I hope Dillon is okay

“It wasn’t about the animals anymore” you THINK

“It was sort of funny when they started but it’s gotten really dark” how meta

Of all the reasons Joe could’ve abandoned his zoo, I really didn’t think embezzlement would be what pushed him

“He won’t tell anyone where he’s at, not even me,” said Dial, with no acknowledgement of the fact that Joe is also theoretically still married and would maybe tell his husband???

Oh Dillon spotted??? Yikes get out dude

Take a shot every time a white person who really doesn’t understand where the word “karma” comes from starts talking about karma as if it is the Law of Revenge

The fact this man brings a film crew out with him while he’s on the run evading a federal investigation..... incomprehensible

“Joe just wanted to put it in somebody’s name and continue to be the tiger queen, I mean king,” really REALLY of all the reasons to object to Joe you’re going to choose homophobia wow

Is this about an attempt to have someone murdered or does something happen to Baskin it is very unclear

This documentary has an interesting format of switching focus from crime to crime to crime 

“I’ve never been as proud of being married to anyone as I am being married to you” It’s weird to compliment your husband by comparing him to all your other husbands

How is the lesson for Jeff Lowe in this “let’s build another zoo” surely at that point it’s better to just cut your losses

[Garretson voice]: You should pay me for being a bro, dude

“I’m a libertarian, so technically, fuck the Feds,” I’ve never heard an intonation that better suits a conservative millennial 

I mean I don’t think it was advisable but honestly why are people surprised Joe took the stand isn’t delusions of grandeur kind of his thing

Sometimes it’s just that they’ve added in other moments to break up the awful immoral crimes with just run of the mill douchebaggery like the nanny/gym thing huh

I guess the silver lining in this is that potentially these big cat zoos will shut down but like where do these animals who have been raised in captivity go??? I don’t trust anyone in this documentary to not exploit them in some way ugh 

“Not a single animal benefited from this war,” correct, Saff

“I was wrapped up in having a zoo,” not really an excuse but ok

[readingtrend]

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Find the #1 NYT Bestseller Atomic Habits by James Clear from your local library. Click Check on Amazon to read book reviews on Amazon. Click Google Preview to read chapters from Google Books if available. Click Find in Library to check book availability at your local library. If the default library is not correct, follow Change Local Library to reset it. Atomic Habits by: James ClearFind in…

[mydorkycreations]

curious: do you have any specific aus you'd like to ramble about? any aus you have specific hcs for??? i'm curious, because any and all aus are the BEST AU

YES AUs are so GOOD!!! I’ve been putting off answering this one just because. So many. My fandom interactions are generally “make OCs for the Thing” or “make AU for the Thing” so. There are a LOT of kooky AUs

Okay, so uh. For miscellaneous things/hcs that are just everywhere:

In the “everyone knows everyone” AU, Mark seeks out Winter because the doctors don’t know if being made of goo will affect how he ages and that scares him. He ends up becoming Candace’s weird uncle figure

I had a bit of a fairy tale AU going for a while, but Jasper and Friday kept fighting over who got to be the prince/princess in need of rescue

There was an interesting thing going on for a while where Forest was a manipulative asshat but it sucked and didn’t stick because Winter may be trash but he deserves better, dammit

On the cooking competition AU, they’ve recently done a special season where all the contestants and challenges are gluten free (by means of multiple fans and previous contestants requesting justice for Jasper) and Jasper has had the time of his life with it

The Grandpa Winter AU with Tiffany and Candace’s kids is. So good. I cry. He’s such a good grandpa please don’t ask me why this is an AU instead of canon you won’t like the answer

In the Kekkai Sensen world, where Jasper still pops over to chill, he now runs a bakery/coffee place and Steven goes there a lot

I have decided that Zombie Shawn becomes a famous romcom director

For specific AUs:

Star Wars AU- I’m not 100% sure what it is or what it’s doing but it’s great. Hiroki is a gray Jedi who dabbles in both sides of the Force, but leans heavily to the light side. His best friends are a family of smugglers (the Allen fam) and he ends up getting asked to protect two kids they found on a wrecked ship because they picked a fight with some nasty people (slightly aged down Jasper and Friday). Turns out Jasper is, like, super Force sensitive so he’s just like “welp. guess I should teach him how to control that.” Meanwhile Friday has the Force sensitivity of a rock and doesn’t give a shit. Why use the Force when you can just shoot things? There are Many Shenanigans and Quests to Find Family and The Occasional Reminder That Hiroki Is Badass Jedi Not Just Stressed Uncle Of Two Teenagers. Also crossovers with Winter stuff (Winter and Candace are almost closer to, like, witches. They use the Force, but not really in Force-y ways)

The Normal Life AU: Jasper is in culinary school. Scott starts out as a writer, then after writing a bestseller takes that money to hire a bunch of animators to make a cartoon out of the characters he used to tell bedtime stories to Mark. He just posts it on the interwebs and it’s a smash hit. Mark is a marine biologist. Georgie is an engineer. Hiroki is still an English teacher, but with less trauma. It’s literally nothing but slice of life, except with even less plot

In the Hiroki Marries Thor Thing (AU??? idk what to call it sjkfsahkgafdskfhsl): Loki is offended that he was invited to the wedding because how can he crash his brother’s wedding if he’s invited? How dare they invite him. Don’t they know anything? Elects to crash it anyways by refusing to RSVP and then show up anyway. In disguise. For the Drama. Hiroki panics when he reveals himself to try to stab Thor and throws him through a window. Becomes as famous for being the guy who threw Loki out a window as he is for being Thor’s husband (ironically, Peanut Butter adores Loki. More than she likes Thor. Hiroki can tell when he’s lurking about because Peanut Butter is ignoring them, and finding him is easy because she’s usually following Loki around demanding attention (read: screaming at the top of her lungs until she is picked up))

[fanfictalk]

Hufflepuff Story Updates

The Badgers have been hard at work posting new stories and chapters to the archive! Below is a list of stories that have been updated!

Imperio to Kittens by aelaia 

Yaxley had always considered himself lucky to be where he was in the Ministry. Gaining the position of Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement wasn’t easy, nor was succeeding in placing the Imperius curse upon the Minister himself. He loved his job and position in life but all is about to change when falling asleep places him in someone else... that someone being Dolores Umbridge.

The Skull Beneath the Skin (M) by esmeraude

Fifth year’s barely over, but the future is all everyone wants to talk about. Regulus is determined to outshine his brother. Walden’s planning a marriage that’ll never happen. Tibs wants to be a politician. Becoming the next Bellatrix Lestrange is my goal, and the only one that seems achievable. Yet with the Death Eaters falling like flies, the future looks bleaker than ever. In five years’ time, we’re all going to be dead.

Shards of A Badger's Heart by HufflepuffBookworm1990 (@littlebitofheavenwithawildside90)

Fifth year at Hogwarts is hard. Everyone knows that. There are OWLs to sit, first crushes to experience and younger siblings to keep an eye out for. For Abby Albright, things become much more complicated than that, when her parents are killed in a car crash and she has to adjust to a full Muggle lifestyle overnight. Fortunately, she has her doting sister April, and an adorable little brother, Jason to keep her company. And, surprisingly, Lee Jordan too? Abby doesn't know what's coming, but it's going to be nothing like any of her previous years. So much is uncertain.

Her Sister's Future by Phoenix Potioneer

Eliza witnesses something extraordinary.

A Collection of Fortuitous and Serendipitous Events by WriteYourHeartOut

Do you determine your fate, or does fate determine you?

A Boy Called Blunder by magpie

Edmund “Blunder” Blundell has a crush on James Potter...and James Potter?Rejected Twin, Quidditch Towel Boy, and quite possibly the Worst Potions Student Ever, Edmund escapes the daily humilities of his life through his sketchbook. But when a drawing of James Sirius Potter (who is Most Definitely Not His Crush) falls into a potion and conjures a clone of him, things get double complicated.

The Shopping List by esmeraude

The shopping list pinned to the kitchen door of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, reveals far more about the Potter children than their parents would like you to know.

Albus Potter and the Chosen Four by Phoenix Potioneer

Albus Potter begins his second year at Hogwarts, where he and his friends, Rose Weasley, David Haid, and Art Gambeski, shuffle through newspapers and read information on a mysterious new type of dementor. It seems to be moving north... but why would it want to come to England?

A Latte Love (M) by sihaya

Albus needs coffee to get through his gruelling days of healer training. It's only an added bonus that the coffee is served by a very cute Scorpius Malfoy.

The Life and Lies of Albus Potter by esmeraude

As the recent scandal surrounding the Boy-Who-Lived’s middle child sparks unprecedented interest from the public, Rita Skeeter has named Albus Potter as the star of the latest instalment in her ‘Life and Lies’ series, set to be released on 31st March, 2022. The Daily Prophet Press are expecting the most sensational bestseller of the century, as Skeeter digs into the secrets of the anti-social Potter and his best friends: a juvenile delinquent, a Quidditch star, a heartbreaker, and a genius. Prepare for an exposé that will answer the questions on everyone’s lips: How did a boy like Albus end up in Hufflepuff? Why do the Potters work so hard to keep him out of the limelight? And who is the mysterious stranger he was seen kissing on New Year’s Eve?

19 Years (M) by marauder5

What happened during the nineteen years we never got to see, between the Battle of Hogwarts and the epilogue? Follow along the story of how our golden trio recovers from the war and rebuilds the lives they fought so hard for.

Miscellaneous One Shots/Drabbles by Dojh167

Various things I've written (mostly for House Cup events) that I don't want otherwise clogging up my AP

Burn Scars and Open Hearts (M) by HufflepuffBookworm1990 (@littlebitofheavenwithawildside90)

Felicity Kowalski has finally returned home to England. Her time spent teaching at Ilvermorny definitely taught her a few lessons of her own. How will her family cope with what she's brought home with her, especially once a certain red-headed dragonologist re-enters the scene?

The Art of Surviving by esmeraude

When survival comes at a cost, the safest place to hide is behind enemy lines. Once a tight-knit group of friends, ten Hufflepuffs are now divided by the Dark Lord's rise to power and the mortal peril they face. Like a stick of Blackpool rock, loyalty is at their very core – until treachery becomes the price for staying alive.

[lunaslittlelibrary]

Yes, I used The KonMari Method on my books.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about then let me start with introducing Marie Kondo. She is a tidying expert, bestselling author and star of Netflix’s hit show “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo”. I did not know anything about her until “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo” dropped on Netflix and I decided to watch it. From there I read two of her books, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story* and learned all about The KonMari Method™

Most tidying methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever.

The KonMari Method™ encourages tidying by category – not by location – beginning with clothes, then moving on to books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and, finally, sentimental items. Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy. Thank them for their service – then let them go.

Source: konmari.com

I’ll go through my thoughts in regard to The KonMari Method™ as a whole a little later. The reason for this blog post is this quote by Mari Kondo went viral in bookland: “Ideally, keep less than 30 books”.

Gut reaction?

Probably similar to what my social media feed looked like. Basically NOPE.

Here’s the thing The KonMari Method™ main message is “Keep only those things that speak to the heart” so if you love books then it overrules the 30 recommendation. Most book bloggers I know are passionate about their collections. Those books mean a lot to them. They love books in a way that a lot of other people don’t.

BUT I did KonMari my books. Because as passionate as I am about books I think it’s too easy to hoard. There are (now were) over 2500 books in my home – so many of them are unread. Lost because I don’t know what I have anymore. And new books arrive all the time.

So I went through them. Slowly. Cataloging.

I “let go” books I’d read but didn’t feel I would read again.

I “let go” unread books that I knew would be unread forevermore.

I “let go” unsolicited review copies that I’d piled up because I might get around to it, but really, they just weren’t my thing.

I “let go” books I’d bought because everyone was talking about them, that must read book. Yet for me these hype books rarely work out

I “let go” books were I couldn’t remember why I had them

(I found new homes for all the books. From friends and donating for fundraising.)

The result is strange to explain. My books can breathe. There is space (not much) on the shelves. The books are no longer crammed so tightly that you can’t get one out without moving all the others. It makes things feel calmer.

I know my books better.

I’ve found plenty of books I need to read.

I look at them differently.

I’m a Book Blogger and I KonMari’d my books and it worked.

    * I’d recommend the Manga if you want to read about The KonMari Method for yourself.

The KonMari Method as whole:

I do not wholeheartedly embrace this approach to decluttering. The insistence for not diverting from Marie Kondo method or adapting it to suit is a problem. It excludes those of us who physically can’t move everything into a single pile and sort it.

I have used Marie Kondo’s method for my clothes (by breaking the rules and adapting it) and this has turned out to be a positive. The folding does take time but once you become used to it is worth it.

Other categories/areas of my home have also benefited. There is a better order in my kitchen and boxes in drawers and cupboards is useful.

There are helpful things in The KonMari Method and I can see how people benefit. My problem is that it’s not designed to work for people like me, who physically can’t move things into piles as instructed. I could only work through one drawer of clothes at a time. Or one bookshelf. There is an insistence in the books that this is wrong, and people are not to adapt The KonMari Method, this is exasperating.

Personally, I am happy using “Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy” as a guide, along with a practical approach of what you are required to have regardless of whether it sparks joy.

I’m a #BookBlogger and I #KonMari’d my #books... Yes really. #MarieKondo #TheKonMariMethod #SparkJoy Yes, I used The KonMari Method on my books. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then let me start with introducing Marie Kondo.

[theemptyquarto]

Free books

I’m purging out my shelves which were overflowing, and thus have a ton of books to give away.  Before I haul them off to charity I thought I’d see if any of them could find homes with any of my followers.  They will be for free, but I will ask you to pay your own postage.  I live in the continental US so if you do not I suggest it’s likely to be prohibitively expensive for them to be sent.

All are in good or very good condition except as noted.  There are several popular bestsellers as well as some miscellaneous crap.  First come first serve, message or ask me and we’ll figure out how to get them to you.  Below the cut:

Fiction:

“V.M. Straka’s ‘Ship of Theseus,’” J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst (HC, boxed, extras)

“Song of Years,” Bess Streeter Aldrich (PB)

“The Heart Goes Last,” Margaret Atwood (PB) some minor water damage

“The Birth of Venus,” Sarah Durant (PB)

“The Pillars of the Earth,” Ken Follett (PB) some minor water damage

“Star Trek Into Darkness: The Official Novelization,” Alan Dean Foster (PB)

“The Russian Concubine,” Kate Furnivall (PB) some damage to cover

“The Poisonwood Bible,” Barbara Kingsolver (PB)

“The New Annotated Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula,’” ed. Leslie S. Klinger (HC)

“The Namesake,” Jhumpa Lahiri (PB)

“This Census-Taker,” China Mieville (PB)

“Ceremony in Lone Tree,” Wright Morris (PB)

“Bright’s Passage,” Josh Ritter (HC)

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” J.K. Rowling (HC)

“Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand,” Helen Simonson (PB)

“Breakfast of Champions,” Kurt Vonnegut (PB)

“Salvage the Bones,” Jesmyn Ward (PB)

Nonfiction:

“Star Wars Origami: 36 Amazing Paper-folding Projects from a Galaxy Far, Far Away,” Chris Alexander (PB)

“My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-up,” Russell Brand (PB)

“Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine,” Adrian Miller (HC)

“Hamilton: The Revolution,” Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter (HC)

“The Bookseller of Kabul,” Asne Seierstad (PB)

“The Actor’s Book of Movie Monologues,” eds. Marisa Smith and Amy Shewel  (PB)

“Who-ology: Doctor Who, The Official Miscellany,” Cavan Scott and Mark Wright (HC)

“Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” Michael Wolf (HC)