tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post1754577445913099456..comments2024-03-20T16:46:13.343-04:00Comments on Marly Youmans / The Palace at 2:00 a.m. / poems, stories, novels: What is a book? The book is a vaseMarly Youmanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-90679680081842394902011-10-18T19:29:03.454-04:002011-10-18T19:29:03.454-04:00Enjoy that!
I'm staying up with the night owl...Enjoy that!<br /><br />I'm staying up with the night owls tonight. Must finish the polish on "Thaliad" and start something else.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-24958960861505718022011-10-18T19:23:24.942-04:002011-10-18T19:23:24.942-04:00And now, it is time for me to rest these peepers.And now, it is time for me to rest these peepers.zephyrhttp://www.thegarden.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-38696027610019321882011-10-18T17:57:24.754-04:002011-10-18T17:57:24.754-04:00zephyr,
Never worry about me taking offense. That...zephyr,<br /><br />Never worry about me taking offense. That's not in me. I was thinking more of the definition of "book" anyway.<br /><br />Yes, serif is almost always more beautiful. But I guess it is a problem on teeny screens, or some of them... Does not bother me on web sites, though.<br /><br />It is hard to rely on what "other people" like, isn't it? Because onemarlyhttp://www.marlyyoumans.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-49858156524845426442011-10-18T15:17:16.089-04:002011-10-18T15:17:16.089-04:00i didn't mean to be critical. Just sharing the...i didn't mean to be critical. Just sharing the fact that sans strains my eyes. Always has. Even when they were younger. <br /><br />The whole font thing is curious...i'm afraid i am very skeptical of research on design issues that tells me "a majority prefer..." because it almost never tells me how many "test" subjects were used. My tiny screen on my unsmart phone is zephyrhttp://www.thegarden.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-79591673352620290402011-10-18T01:26:40.385-04:002011-10-18T01:26:40.385-04:00It is an interesting font--sure. Ask your app-desi...It is an interesting font--sure. Ask your app-designer whether that would work (I think the only issue is whether reduction would make the letters look thick and blocky. But the title should be bigger.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-10731848482246661602011-10-17T23:19:44.425-04:002011-10-17T23:19:44.425-04:00Maybe it would do for the title?Maybe it would do for the title?Robbi N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04881145195435485238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-29013445413669308742011-10-17T20:35:30.305-04:002011-10-17T20:35:30.305-04:00zephyr,
I need a cigar and suspenders: Harumph! I...zephyr,<br /><br />I need a cigar and suspenders: Harumph! I suppose that will teach me to go abstract!<br /><br />I almost always prefer a serif style, although there are some stylish sans serif font.<br /><br />But evidently the people who study such things have studied them and readers and found that sans serif is easier on the eyes online/on screens.<br /><br />Me, I like serif all the same. marlyhttp://www.marlyyoumans.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-26577249812079419992011-10-17T20:31:23.781-04:002011-10-17T20:31:23.781-04:00Robbi,
It is very stylish, as one might expect fr...Robbi,<br /><br />It is very stylish, as one might expect from a typeface based on a Charles Rennie Macintosh design.<br /><br />However, on mobile I believe you would run into trouble with things like the double bar on the letter H, which probably would end up looking like a solid box instead of two cross-bars on some devices.<br /><br />But I don't do apps, so I don't really know for Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-88137428645685329072011-10-17T20:00:29.416-04:002011-10-17T20:00:29.416-04:00i confess that i was confused, until i read into t...i confess that i was confused, until i read into the comments. And, as usual, i'm the odd one. i have a very difficult time with sans serif. Can't read long passages of it.Makes my eyes go all wobbly :^)<br />i will copy and paste into word so i can change it into Georgia, or whatever.zephyrhttp://www.thegarden.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-2340164491037673582011-10-17T18:49:51.573-04:002011-10-17T18:49:51.573-04:00What do you think of ITC Willow?What do you think of ITC Willow?Robbi N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04881145195435485238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-81884534412868490632011-10-17T17:39:09.516-04:002011-10-17T17:39:09.516-04:00Key lime pie.
That definitely dragged my attentio...Key lime pie.<br /><br />That definitely dragged my attention away!<br /><br />Like this, Dale. Only now I will be dragged away by the need to go pick up my football boy.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-18096218627763884202011-10-17T16:50:52.564-04:002011-10-17T16:50:52.564-04:00But you know, the container is only a gesture. Wha...But you know, the container is only a gesture. What makes the difference is the intimacy, and the constancy, of -- on the one hand the writing; and on the other the reading. It's the commitment to following the the thing, wherever it goes, all the way to the end.<br /><br />And actually our attention dribbles away all the time, on both sides. We set the book down to work a sudoku. We stop Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14523194846272870013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-65442191992049438492011-10-17T15:47:22.535-04:002011-10-17T15:47:22.535-04:00Robbi,
Yes, I meant a shape created by the mind. ...Robbi,<br /><br />Yes, I meant a shape created by the mind. (And that's why I left out the avant garde because there are various ways of evading choosing shape.)marlyhttp://www.marlyyoumans.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-53024423775099997132011-10-17T15:44:56.218-04:002011-10-17T15:44:56.218-04:00Sans serif fonts seem to be recommended for screen...Sans serif fonts seem to be recommended for screen reading, and serif fonts for reading on paper.<br /><br />"True type" fonts can be embedded in a digital app (or whatever) and remain the same when you move them to different machines.<br /><br />Letters that look great on a bigger screen can look very different on a small one.<br /><br />I believe Trebuchet is well-regarded as a font Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-19195717518390252032011-10-17T15:07:28.303-04:002011-10-17T15:07:28.303-04:00RE: the "vase" container of a book, I th...RE: the "vase" container of a book, I think you and Gary are still talking about two different things. He is thinking something material; you are thinking something conceptual. The book has to have a shape, or it is just a bunch of miscellaneous junk. Even an anthology or a collection of pieces by the same person has, or ought to have, a shape. Where that shaped object eventually Robbi N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04881145195435485238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-32326642501518195132011-10-17T15:05:37.265-04:002011-10-17T15:05:37.265-04:00More comments! What fonts do you like best in your...More comments! What fonts do you like best in your books? I have to choose fonts for the app being made from my yoga book, and I was at a loss. I think I finally said Trebuchet, but I don't know what to say.Robbi N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04881145195435485238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-53722301539195184762011-10-17T13:37:05.851-04:002011-10-17T13:37:05.851-04:00Paul,
But I really don't think it's an ei...Paul,<br /><br />But I really don't think it's an either/or situation.<br /><br />I think that a beautifully made book of poems, say, is a whole different thing from a CD in a breakable jewel case! Right now we are plotting on "The Foliate Head," which will have beautiful prints on good paper (and I think art best on paper)and when closed will have a beautiful cover. And that marly youmanshttp://www.thepalaceat2.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-31300457496451279732011-10-17T13:12:30.617-04:002011-10-17T13:12:30.617-04:00A book is made, a poem or a novel is written.
Boo...A book is made, a poem or a novel is written.<br /><br />Books are nice to hold and to read from, but they MULTIPLY! It is so easy to be surrounded by these vessels, and then the vessels take on an importance that is only loosely connected to the communication it holds.<br />This is a problem I have with tangible books. <br />I have favorites, and those ones are favorites only because of the Paul Digbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-27809916597030294292011-10-17T12:49:27.566-04:002011-10-17T12:49:27.566-04:00Bemused. Got my first LinkedIn comment about a blo...Bemused. Got my first LinkedIn comment about a blog post from the ever-busy Robbi... I'm used to Facebook and Twitter comments but never even thought about how the blog also runs through LinkedIn. Can you tell I don't go there often? I'll have to just wave for now. Must get back to work!Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-48818963638826713152011-10-17T12:11:18.940-04:002011-10-17T12:11:18.940-04:00Oh, certainly.
New times make new forms. It has a...Oh, certainly.<br /><br />New times make new forms. It has always been so, just as it has always been interesting for people to revive old forms in entirely new ways...marlyhttp://www.marlyyoumans.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-86486176991942444782011-10-17T11:36:36.504-04:002011-10-17T11:36:36.504-04:00Marly,
Fair enough!
May a book always have a &q...Marly,<br /><br />Fair enough! <br /><br />May a book always have a "container." But may other forms of fiction gush forth and break barriers and fill the cracks between the other content on the internet. Even if those forms shan't be called a book.<br /><br />And may we all always be open minded enough to see new forms of art and creativity arise that may not fit our Gary Dietzhttp://www.6by7reports.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-51778809550984026412011-10-17T11:02:15.841-04:002011-10-17T11:02:15.841-04:00Hugs, Robin!
Oh, I prefer a book with paper pages...Hugs, Robin!<br /><br />Oh, I prefer a book with paper pages, myself. <br /><br />Except I believe that there are many trashy books that don't deserve trees.<br /><br />Except I think children shouldn't be carried 60 pounds or more on their backs by middle school. They should be slipping a reader into those packs.<br /><br />And so forth.<br /><br />But yes, there is nothing like a Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-47215519566382336882011-10-17T10:05:10.879-04:002011-10-17T10:05:10.879-04:00Oh, to get to the purist form of something...may b...Oh, to get to the purist form of something...may be a never ending search.<br /><br />Miss you, Marly. Hope you're well.<br /><br />This post has got me thinking again about the difference between a story and what holds the story. Of course I'm a die hard book fan (hardback preferably...and stinky and old, if possible), but I've got no good logic to argue my love for the pages and my Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08726479896006514225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-1476252509292777242011-10-17T09:49:41.237-04:002011-10-17T09:49:41.237-04:00Gary, either you are misunderstanding me or I am n...Gary, either you are misunderstanding me or I am not clear enough. <br /><br />The book is a metaphysical shape that holds words. Good enough? But if it is not held--not a vase--the contents spill.<br /><br />I don't care how you hold the content. But it needs to be a wholeness, not scattered in bits and pieces, not indistinguishable from the mass of words around it.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-20784822468083678172011-10-17T09:46:43.795-04:002011-10-17T09:46:43.795-04:00I did not say it couldn't be digital--just tha...I did not say it couldn't be digital--just that it must have a shape, and if it is indistinguishable from the internet, there is no longer a shape.<br /><br />A blind person with a screen reader experiences a beginning, middle, and end, perhaps more sharply than those of us who are not in some sense alone in the dark with words.<br /><br />Does the "album" have a shape? Is it Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.com