Why is no one critiquing anything?

On the front page of the boards, in the upper right hand corner are ads for published books written by the members of this community which are quite likely to be less than 50 years old. Perhaps you could purchase some of them as a show of gratitude for the tremendous assistance you've received here.

 

I'm not sure what trap you're talking about but okay.

 

Okay. I will look into that.

 

Try beat poetry. I think you'll like it.

EDIT: actually, now that I think it through, you'll probably hate it. But read it anyway. It'll be massively instructive. Start here. Keep going.

 

The trap where I recommend a book and you say, indignantly,

"I'm not reading a..."
"I looked at the Amazon preview, and that book has no cadence, and I'm afraid that it will ruin my writing..."
"I can't find a first edition and I only read first editions..."
"What if I spend hours reading that book and my writing isn't better?"
"I emailed the author and he wouldn't respond, and what's the point of reading a book that I can't talk about?"'
"I'll read a book as soon as I find a book club to join."
"I chose a book but then I asked the librarian for a recommendation and she didn't recommend that one and which one should I read?"
"I can't choose a book until I find an app that displays New York Times reviews on my phone for when I'm in the bookstore."
Etc., etc., etc.

That trap.

 

And why are we talking about one book?

 

Oh, Howl is a fine poem. I and Wreybies had a discussion about it, say 6 months ago, on some lost thread on this forum.

 

Well, based on past history, five years from now there will still be some reason for not reading even the first book...

 

Okay, everyone, the show is over.