(no subject)

So I was linked to this Good Housekeeping report on a one-day room makeover* by an HGTV designer.

You readers will understand my horror: the (small) built-in bookcases were "improved" by (1) reducing the number of books on them, because "you should be able to see the back of the case" and (2) removing the dust jackets of the books to reduce glare and make the books less distracting.**

Sorry, dear, my bookcases are working bookcases, not decorative ones.



* Bit disingenuous, that. They started a week before.
** To be fair, if I were styling the house for selling, it looks like a good idea: you want the house to look attractively bland so people can imagine themselves in the space. But not for living.

(no subject)

Random thought ... am I correct in thinking there seems to be a dearth of books (at least in genre fiction; I don't read much literary, if at all) set right around college age (in our world, at least)? High school, yes: YA books are pretty much aimed at that age group and slightly below, so it makes sense, but once your protagonists hit that 18-22 range, I can't think of many, especially ones set *at* college.

Is this true, or is it just that I'm not encountering them, so have a cognitive bias?


(I'm sort of hoping for #2, as it means lots of you will post to tell me I'm wrong and today's sort of a boring day.)