Like others on the list, I found the Best 100 Hardboiled
Characters vote a mixed blessing. Although it did rather
dominate the discussion for a while the Characters vote did
liven things up & in particular it brought quite a few
lurkers to surface. It was nice to see several women lurkers
announce themselves - we blokes tend to dominate discussions,
etc & I feel that it's not always our fault- it would be
nice to have our sisters (& the other lurkers) make their
presences felt more often. From the votes it's apparent that
these folks are widely read in the genre, even if they may
feel intimidated by the knowledgeability of many of the
regular contributors. There'll always be someone who knows
more than you do & conversely someone who knows less
& one of the refreshing things about this list is that
people don't make you feel small if you make a mistake or
you're not familiar with particular writers/works being
discussed. Perhaps people are worried that they'll say
something foolish or incorrect? Don't worry. It hasn't
stopped me (or miker) from jumping right in & nobody has
bitten us yet. The water's fine & the only sharks
cruising are either toothless or vegetarian. It's time to do
the Swim. (Cue the band & turn up the guitar reverb to
11).
Rene
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