A myriad fragments of roleplaying?

"... to adjust to other people’s expectations." This sounds so much better than lying, I'll start to use this sentence.

Victor

There is a small Madoff in all of us.

The last four sentences are a perfect summary of my life.

Veerle

I was wondering, what is your job?

job

Most of the time counter clerk in a bank, the famous (lol) ex-Fortis Bank...but I hope to quit after summer if they don't fire me before.

Veerle

You should become a character in a novel.

Wow, if one could be come a character of a novel, although it has probably been done before, that would be quite interesting. If I were a character, I would try or maybe request to be a ruler in one book, and a slave in the other. This way, I would get a chance to really identify with both sides and run away afterwards. Unless the writer would decide to kill me or do something equally unpleasant. Then the tears would be endless.

Ah, my friends Zelig are on the move again. Good luck old chaps.

you're too kind, Mr. arnon

I like to be what they want me to be

Arnon,
In some circumstances I am even prepared to let
people humiliate me. You?

Can we turn this page, I am not following any of it? Arnon, I am sure you will have a wife and a son some day, just don't do it to make Nicole's waiter happy.

I've been in hospital from thursday to friday and filling in the admission form they asked me if I lived alone or with a family. I had to say "alone" because they wouldn't accept a partner as family.

Juliane

Forgive me for asking, but did you have an abortion?

Arnon

No, I didn't have an abortion (and I'm not pregnant, either). I went there because of acute gastro-enteritis and circulatory collapse.

Juliane

Isn’t gastroenteritis caused by stress?
Should I feel guilty?
I told you I want you to carry my child and two days later you are in the hospital with gastroenteritis?

Arnon

Since writing my master thesis isn't too stressful yet, I assume you are indeed the cause for my suffering. Thus, feel guilty for the night I didn't sleep because of nausea. For the times I got entangled in the tube of the infusion during those hours. And for the rubbish I told my doctor after the gastroscopy while still being under the influence of the sedative.

Juliane

What kind of rubbish?
Why does your girlfriend call me "Lockenboris"? Is this an allusion to Boris Becker?
About what is your master thesis?

Juliane

I too would like to learn more about your master's thesis.

Arnon / Oscar

That's the thing: I don't remember what I told him. I told him something, he said "Come again?" because I must have murmured. I repeated what I said and he laughed.

She calls you "Lockenboris" because you have curly hair. Male given names occur quite often in colloquial German e.g. "Sich zum Horst machen." (to make a fool of oneself) or "Seinen Wilhelm unter etwas setzen" (to sign something).

The title of my thesis is "Die veränderte Stellung des Buches im Mediengefüge unter Einfluss von Internet und Digitalisierung". So it's all about the future of the book debate.

"That's the thing: I don't remember what I told him. I told him something, he said "Come again?" because I must have murmured. I repeated what I said and he laughed"

oooh . das idd wel redelijk vernederend

franz

No, probably not. But I am curious what it was he laughed about since the probability of me uttering witty remarks while being sedated is quite low. There is a chance that I complained about not having received one of their outrageously fancy mesh knickers for the procedure.

"no, probably not"

:-)

like your positive attititude towards yourself !

i lost it somewhere over the past 10 years ...

whish II could get it back !

Juliane

Is "Lockenboris" the equivalent of "Goldilocks"?

Oscar

No, it's not. I originally used it as a slightly mocking term of endearment but it has become more pejorative over time.

Juliane

So what's the future of the book and what's the future of the debate on books according to your master thesis?

Arnon

I'm halfway through now and at this point there's nothing worldshaking about my findings.

Concerning the question what will still be printed and what won't, novels will, for the time being, remain printed books since the outer appearance has an influence on what the recipient expects from the text and how they experience it. Some scholars say that this might be habituation and that the following generation probably will get used to reading bare texts. I don't agree but I can't prove it since there aren't any decent studies, so far. Non-linear texts, e.g. scientific articles or monographs, will be offered in digital format as the dissemination and retrieval of information, which clearly stands in the foreground here, is much easier and faster that way. A vast amount is already offered that way, already, of course. E-Book readers are rubbish, at the moment, since scanning texts for relevant information is still quite a slow process and reading a novel on them is not very pleasant, either.

When it comes to the dissemination, the internet has a positive influence on the position of the printed book. Searching and finding is much easier. According to the literature I read print-on-demand makes the production of books more efficient since there are no problems with unsold copies. I haven't read any studies on how successful books on demand providers are, so far. They are not exactly standing for quality. When you buy a printed book that carries the name of a known publishing house, you know that it has gone a long way from an idea in the author's head to the thing that sits on the shelf in the bookshop (value chain). Moreover the internet provides the possibility for recipients to exchange opinions in communities or via reviews and thereby get information and/or foster their love for books/reading.

I'm struggling with the position of the digital author at the moment. What changes when somebody publishes their book exclusively online and isn't already a known author? Since the value chain of production doesn't act as a gatekeeper when it comes to digital texts quality must be proven otherwise. That's certainly easier for scientific texts as access is more regulated (searching via scientific databases). After that I will turn to the position of the publisher.

I guess, the debate about the future of the book will remain the same for a while.
Some prematurely nostalgic book lovers will continue to whine that they won't take electronic devices to bed to read and fear for the loss of the book ignoring that not every printed book is a leatherbound volume that carries the knowledge of the world between its covers. Others will continue to call the printed book an outdated, inefficient waste of money ignoring the fact that often form affects meaning.

Juliane

Thanks for this elaborate answer.
Do you have a kindle or anything that resembles a kindle?

Arnon

You're welcome.
I don't own a Kindle, a Sony reader or something similar. On the latter texts definitely are comfortable for the eye but the handling is just slow and awkward (I tried one out at a bookshop in Frankfurt). But then, I'm used to the feel of printed books.

Juliane

So am I.
This article may be of interest to you:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/technology/internet/01google.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

Veerle

'You should become a character in a novel. '

Is this a promise or a threat? I am certainly looking forward to it.
She has a beautiful name for a character.

@Juliane_thesis

Another interesting article, perhaps...

http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i39/39b01001.htm

Arnon / Bert

Thanks.

the great kindle swindle

interesting developments:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html?_r=1