"Ah, you like reading"

"Ah, you like reading. Have you read "Fifty shades of grey"?" someone asked me while I was perusing a Romanian book in a lounge.

What does one answer to that? I have truthfully stayed away from this book and anything related to it, like I do with all fads that smell fishy. I have gathered from some of my friends though that being asked if you read it is like being asked if you saw some very popular porn movie.

Well...

What did I answer? I said "nah, I only read sci-fi". I guess that is satisfactory enough for most people whose opinion of you is never going to be based on anything other than shallow observations.

I do read sci-fi. I gobble it up like chocolate truffles. It is, after all, my favourite genre. There are plenty of brilliant books that inevitably make you think. The authors not only speculate about science and technology, but also about society.

But I don't only read sci-fi. I also read fantasy (I know I heard a few laughs here and there; yes, science-fiction without the science part) and a few good books by good authors, very few and they have to be very good.

Some people only read what is "in fashion" at the time. Really, kids, reading is not the same as wearing fancy jewelry (neither is carrying a dog with you, perhaps in your purse). Try to think for yourselves a bit too.

My poetry book has been published

Good news, I have finally published my poetry book! It took a lot of hesitation on my part and a lot of encouragement from my friends. I was about to give up, when my fiance said "You have everything, right? Just go ahead and publish it." He helped me with the cover and so, it's out in the world: "The relativity of a corroded mind".

 
Here is how it all happened...

I have over 100 poems typed up on my computer, written over the years. I have posted a few of them here and there on the internet and I have received generally good feedback. Last year, I decided to publish some of them on the internet on one of the self-publishing sites.

After an unsatisfying experience with one site, I chose Blurb. It looked professional and their book making software was very easy to work with.

I had the poems, I had the means to publish the book, my fiance would help me with the cover... All I needed was the courage.

So, one day, I decided to make the book, working my way through all of my poems and choosing the best ones. Since I could add my own fonts, I used a nice elegant one I had on my computer. I liked it so much, I redesigned my blog with it, as you can see.

The cover image is an old drawing of mine, which I had edited in Gimp. My fiance helped me with it, fixing some technical problems (the nose was too big and the eyes askew), added the title and author name and, voila! I had a cover.

I must admit, putting the book together meant a nice trip down memory lane. I was sometimes amazed at how interesting some poems were and how bad others sounded. I asked myself if my readers would enjoy them, if they would understand. I hope they will.

I want to thank everyone for all of their own contribution, in one way or another, to the making and publishing of my book. I might not have done it without the support and kind words of my friends and occasional readers.

"Come with me into my Train of Wonder,
The only one that comes from Nowhere
And leads back into Void."