Our own Sultan of Stats, ingres77, takes a turn.
How many times have you participated in CBR?
As a reader, writer, and all-around word person, I am suspicious of/impressed by your skill with numbers. How did you get into the whole stats thing? Are you one of those lucky (ahem, weird) people who can use both halves of their brain?
I don’t know that I’m particularly proficient with numbers. But I’ve always been fascinated with information, in all its varieties. I used to troll through baseball statistics, and I’ve always made databases of things I collected or was interested in. In college, for instance, I wanted to construct a database of all life, past and present, so I could get a better idea of how organisms evolved and promulgated across the globe.
It probably goes without saying that that particular venture was a little too monumental for one person toiling away in Excel in his free time. After joining CBR, it only seemed natural to start building a database of everything we’ve read. And, thankfully, MsWas gifted me with the reviews for CBR6 and 7, making the process monumentally easier.
Now I just to curb the expansion of the database (I’ve already added information about the authors, like sex, nationality, and year of birth and death, and Goodreads information, like rating, vote totals, page count, etc) and finish inputting CBR2-5. Its a process.
I want to somehow make it all available, but Google docs doesn’t seem like a great solution to me.
Has being a participant changed the way you read? If so, how?
Absolutely. I not only read more often, but I’m reading books I never would’ve glanced at before. I’d spent so long reading science and history books, that I’d almost stopped thinking of novels as a viable source for pleasure. Most of what I read that first year were history books, but I’ve drastically altered my habits since then.
And I’m reading a lot more women. There’s really no excuse to not do so.
What’s the first book you recommend to new friends?
Oh, I’m terrible at recommendations. But I try to cater them to whatever the other person likes. And I try to avoid the books that everyone has heard of. “What do you mean you haven’t read Crime and Punishment? Everyone should, at least once in their life.”
Rainbow Rowell to everyone. John Scalzi for science fiction fans. Christopher Moore, Patrick Rothfuss….my last review really knocked my shoes off, so I’ll probably be recommending Colleen Oakley’s Before I Go to a lot of people (who can handle the weighty topic).
If you were to get a book-related tattoo, what would it be? (Or if you already have one, what does it say?)
I could never get a tattoo. I’m far too flighty and indecisive. I briefly thought about being a tattoo artist when I was younger, but figured no one would want a tattoo from a blank canvas.
You get the same food question as yesknopemaybe, as I still have visions of deep-fried Twinkies dancing through my head: what’s your favorite fair/festival food?
I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I’ve never had fair food. Not even cotton candy.
My wife did talk me into eating what I think is called an “elephant ear” at a Renaissance Festival a couple years ago, but I don’t remember what it tasted like. It was some kind of doughy confection.
I have to rethink everything I know about your reviews knowing that you have never eaten cotton candy. But I’m from the South, home of deep fried Oreos and, yes, deep fried butter, so…
These interviews remain my favorite things.
Lol. Fair enough.
Funnel cake!!! You should try some. Also, corn dogs dipped in mustard AND ketchup. Mmmmm.
Let’s just talk about food all day long.
Yes! That’s it.
Funnel cake is the best fair food. I look forward to having one every summer. :)
Funnel cake keeps coming up in conversation. I’m going to need to get some soon. I haven’t had any in decades.
Go for it! Fried dough with powdered sugar… what could be better? :)
Fried dough with cinnamon and powdered sugar.
As usual, you are correct. I will pack my own cinnamon to take with me to my funnel cake pilgrimage this summer.
Not being an American, I have not eaten fair or festival food either. Although I have eaten cotton candy as a child, and I lived in Scotland for six years, where they will happily deep fry pretty much anything you could require.
These interviews are the best. I love finding out more about my fellow Cannonballers.
One of my mother’s favorite anecdotes is about the time someone at, I believe a circus or basketball game, bought badkittyuno and I a cotton candy cone after enjoying watching us eat a bag our parents bought us at the beginning of whatever we were watching
No fair food ever?! Holy moly, that’s impressive. I recommend starting with the basics like corn dogs before progressing to the hard stuff like deep fried twinkies and snickers :)
Wait, do corn dogs count as fair food? I’ve totally had those.
But I was thinking of food that’s specific to fairs and festivals. Like deep fried butter and elephant ears.
Corn dogs used to be only available at fairs, so, yeah. I’d say they’re fair food.
Also, one must find Australian Beer-battered Potatoes if one can. They’re slabs of potato sliced lengthwise — not into fries, not even into steak fries but actual potatoes sliced the long way at about a quarter inch thick and then batter fried. So delicious. So unhealthy.
Also, also, something I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole but my family seemed to enjoy were the deep fried jalapenos.
Corn dogs you get at fairs are soooo much better than they are elsewhere. They’re usually bigger for one thing. But also, fresher? I mean, if you can call a hot dog fresh in any sense of the word.
So much better! It’s the only place I’ll really eat them anymore.