::waves::

[truepenny]

A lot of people have added me to their reading lists in the past week or so. So, hi there. Glad to see you. Come in, get comfy. Don't worry about leaving if the conversation gets boring, but I hope you'll stick around.

---

Which leads to a question to all my readership. No obligation to answer, but I'm curious:

So, why do you read this blog anyway?

--or--

What do you read this blog for?

I don't promise that your answers will have any impact on future entries, but you never know. It could happen.

Comments

[redbird]

I read your journal because I know and like you, and you write interesting things.

(I also read a few journals of people I don't know, but who write interesting things.)

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

What do you read this blog for?

Insightful comments on the process of writing, likewise insightful reviews and commentary on existing works, and entertaining and articulate acerbity directed at passing stupidities.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Couldn't put it better!

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

Came by way of the glorious and amazing matociquala. I read many fellow writers, all maunderings on the writing process are useful.

[mmarques.livejournal.com]

Same reason!

[joecrow.livejournal.com]

Likewise.

[underpope.livejournal.com]

Simple. I friended you because you're a Lovecraft reader, and you know the Horrific Truth of Derleth (that he sucked). Most people who claim to know "all about Lovecraft" haven't read a dot of his writing and only know about the Lovecraftian universe through the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. It's nice to see someone who knows what they're talking about.

I suppose you may have other fine qualities as a human being. But for me, it's all about the Lovecraft.

Also, you're a writer, and by all accounts a fairly decent one.

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Lovecraft is very important, and the cornerstone of many relationships.

I came here for the wolf-smut, myself.

[handworn.livejournal.com]

An instinct of some common values, I suppose. An intelligent opinion well-explained. So many journals are "And today I did this ordinary thing, and this ordinary thing, and met so-and-so that you don't know, and we went and did this third ordinary thing," without explaining motivations, characters, feelings, or musings about life. I'm thoroughly in favor of people writing their journals for themselves (it's the only good reason to) but I find that kind of entry tedious, and beFriend those who I believe do them less.

[larryhammer]

You write well about writing. Both halves of that are rare alone. Also, Elizabethan neepery and prolegomenas upon eschatology.

---L.

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

I friended you because of your clear and insightful reviews of Sayers' novels. I keep you around because you're interesting to read. :-)

[cija.livejournal.com]

I think I added you to my reading list around the time you were posting lots of things about C.S. Lewis, not because of that, but because you were interesting & intelligent to read, whatever you chose to write about. It was also (& still is) comforting to read about someone who was doing academic- and novel writing-related activities, only doing them right.

[ckd]

I read it because I met you at Minicon, and looked at your LJ, and decided that it was interesting. (Nothing's changed my mind on that since.)

This was not surprising, since I met you because you were hanging out with other interesting people.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Same here, only a year earlier.

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...I think someone must have recommended you, though I don't recall who (it's been quite a while now). I like what you say.

[slithytove.livejournal.com]

It's the fashion tips.

[lost-romanov.livejournal.com]

i mostly lurk. but i like what you have to say about reading and writing.

[the-monkey-king.livejournal.com]

It's the writing about writing. And the Lovecraft. And matociquala keeps pointing at you.

So finally I said, "As long as I'm going over to truepenny's all the time anyway…"

[touch-of-ink.livejournal.com]

Same here. And the fashion tips.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

We met at Wiscon. BTW, I was able to get a copy of the essay on Jacobean drama that you recommended--thanks!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I started reading you because of your Dorothy Sayers posts. I hope some day you'll write about books again.

[writer-space.livejournal.com]

I read mostly for content about writing -- process, etc. But I enjoy reading anything you post.

[eeyorerin]

People whose journals I read kept linking to you, and the Dorothy Sayers posts caught my eye, and then the dissertation posts, since I was also carrying an albatross at the time, and I just like reading smart people who talk about writing and literature and culture and language and stuff.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I'm reading you because you are Interesting. If I was only keeping ten journals, yours would be one of them.

I like your posts about writing, but I really love your literary analyses.

[mokie]

If I remember correctly, someone linked to an interesting post by nineweaving or papersky, with interesting comments, and I followed from your comments to your journal (and from a few other people's comments to their journals too). :)

[mokie]

Must correct myself, because I'm twitchy that way--actually, I was looking for information on Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising books, found your lovely posts, and then found the other two people through you. Sorry about that. ;)

[kythiaranos.livejournal.com]

The 'why do you read' question is a bit awkward to answer--I can't always articulate why some blogs interest me more than others. Sometimes it's just a feeling of connection and recognition. I found the things you've said about writing very interesting (loved the journey through the tunnel analogy of a few days earlier). I like reading blogs that make me think more deeply about what I'm doing as a writer.

[liveavatar.livejournal.com]

I can't remember whether I came to you through matociquala's journal or whether I came to her through yours. Either way, it was through a friend-of-friend connection. Beyond that, what rysmiel said.

That and the Man from Uncle mood indicators. I'd go further down that road myself, but I have too many fan obsessions already.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Because I like your style.

Like a bunch of people above, I miss the literary analyses but am here for whatever you want to post anyway.

[jmeadows.livejournal.com]

Mostly hoping to learn Stuff.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I started reading for the Sayers analyses and saw no reason to stop.

[heatherkward.livejournal.com]

Hey! *hugs*

I found you via matociquala, and Friended you under both my LJ usernames (this one and heathwitch). I did so because I'm a writer (or trying to be) and I enjoy reading others' writing journals... And because you sound damn interesting! :)

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

I found the Sayers posts via insidedog retrospectively, read them and bookmarked you. You were one of the reasons I succumbed to the siren lure of LJ...

If you've ever been less than interesting, I don't remember it; and sometimes you write something unmissable. I friended you so that when you do, I don't miss it.

And should probably say thankyou more often than I do.

[lesserstorm.livejournal.com]

I think that I discovered your journal when you were making posts on D L Sayers that other people kept linking to. Then I found that your writing discussions were also really interesting and I friended you so as not to need to keep checking back

(And the discussion you have just posted on lit crit is a very good example of why I find your journal interesting.)

Storm

[mariness.livejournal.com]

I initially started reading your journal because you were completing your dissertation, and I was just starting my own PhD. I wanted to know that the process could be survived.

I now read you for your commentary on current speculative fiction. I rarely comment back because most of the time, I can't think of anything intelligent to add.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Other friends kept reccing yoiur think pieces on writing process. After a while skipping a step just seemed more efficient.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the typo. Still getting the hang of my new split keyboard.

[shadguy.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed a couple of your posts via friends' links and/or entries, and decided to read a bit more regularly.

-s.

[firecat]

I just added your blog to my reading list because of the great post you made about litcrit and sf.

[heresluck]

I was going to say "you live downstairs" and then second-guessed because we both live on both floors but then I remembered that for all practical purposes we live at our computers.

So: You live downstairs!

And soon you won't, or rather I won't be upstairs anymore, and that is just going to be weird. I may expect more household minutia a la bugs and kittens to get me through the inevitable transition period.

Also, you are way smart.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

matociquala kept pointing at you. It wasn't until today that I looked at your user page, saw your name, put two and two together and felt *really* dumb. I read several of the people on your friends list and have seen you popping up in comments for literally *years* and never investigated.

Jason (anach) was in the room when I performed this feat of mental arithmetic; he'll probably show up in a day or two.

So the "why?" boils down to "Hey! Long time, no see!"