Opening and closing song of MK

[Fieneke2]

NO, the Dutch are the LOUD ones, and the FRIENDLY ones, I know for sure, I have plenty of them in my book store every day...

And the Dutch people generally speak better English than almost all other Europeans I came across - apart from the English spoken people of course..
ahm... you get my point...

LE

Ooohhhh LE, that is so sweet to say, THANK YOU!  

Quote jbaent: Anyone understood anything I said?  

Yup I understand completely, thanks!  

Well talking about questions to Guy! I have been 3 times on little vacations this year and although I am still young...."Uuuhhhh according to my 2 adult sons I am old"...I had some bed problems! ........Ooohhh no people I am not talking about that kind of problems, but about my back and legs!

One morning when I got out of bed, I thought what about Mark, Guy and the rest of the band members who have to sleep for 3 months or more in different beds on different mattresses during a Tour! Especial last year when Mark had his back problems I can imagine he needed a good mattress to sleep on! ....For the not English people, I am talking about a mattress and not mistress!! I wonder if they have special mattresses in their trucks or do they order the hotel to have a special hard, medium or soft mattress in their beds?

Well what do you think? I would like to know, ........but can I ask Guy?  

Fieneke

[vgonis]

I think its something related to the latin character, and its something very difficult to control, specially for some people. It happens to people of some South american, Spain, Italy and probably other countries with latin roots. We are warm people, and speak very straight, direct to the point and sometimes using a vocabulary that can be considered as rude, but its not intended to be rude, an example:

You see a friend and you wave him like this: "Whats up, son of the b*tch?" And its not you are insulting him, is just like saying "what a great guy are you, whats new?" I know it sounds strange, but its true 

As a spanish, I learnt how to control my manners when writing and talking in english, as its important to learn that english is generally speaking a more polite language, and generally, non latin people are more polite as well. Thats what happens with brasilians, for example, they go straight to the question and with manners that are considered as rude to the rest of the people, but sometimes is not rudeness, its just the way they talk. I see it in many questions sent by many spanish fans, some of them are asking in the direct way, putting them on risk of being rude, and some learnt how to write in a more polite way, thinking not in you as the "writer" but in the "readers" of your message.

Anyone understood anything I said? 

Yes, I got it alright. Same here in Greece. Malakas is the most common word among youngsters and the ones that refuse to grow. I guess you all know this word no need to translate.  It can be used  effectively meaning friend or replacing the other person's name or as a swearing. It is all in the tone and situation.

[vgonis]

NO, the Dutch are the LOUD ones, and the FRIENDLY ones, I know for sure, I have plenty of them in my book store every day...

And the Dutch people generally speak better English than almost all other Europeans I came across - apart from the English spoken people of course..
ahm... you get my point...

LE

LE i didn't know that you worked in a bookshop. That you actually own one. I have been working in bookshops and publishers for the last 15 years. How are things over there? Here we are going from bad to worse but it is the crisis that inflicts the most painful blows.

[Love Expresso]

Oh no, just working, not owning... I was lazy about exact describing obviously. Only a small store, 250 qm, no chain, independently owned. Not much to complain, but that's what this line of business does the best, complaining. There's obviously a lot of competition from online stores and e-books and all those other things (young) people do in their lazy time instead of reading, but a book is a perfect gift above all it seems, who cares if it ever will be read by anyone. Only last week we learned about the sale figures of the complete e-book-domain until now and it turned out that it was less then half of the sale volume that only one book, the (in)famous and controversial book of Mr. Sarrazin did in Germany last year (please spare me from exlaining what that was about) - so there's much ado about nothing at the mo. But if Germany will ever loose the privilege of fixed book price, things will get worse I am sure. But we are positioned well.

I still love my job after 15 years now and I am always astonished when I see how often all those planned and exactly laid down PR campagnes doesn't work and other books get up the bestselling lists only because the writer was at the TV and there was nothing on on the other 51 channels so everybody seemed to have seen him or her there..  And there is still a thrill in the air for me when my favourite writers have released new stuff and I have the privilege to read it months before release date... (Robert Harris has a new one out, in Germany we will have it in November, about some money market mechanisms, and I love Joshua Ferris for example, hope there will be a new one from him soon...)

Dreaming of selling the biography of MK one day though, "Memory Lane", 1000 pages with lots of new unreleased pics and a bonus DVD inside the first signed edition... 

And, to get on topic again, with a foreword of Bob Dylan of course...

LE

[vgonis]

Oh no, just working, not owning... I was lazy about exact describing obviously. Only a small store, 250 qm, no chain, independently owned. Not much to complain, but that's what this line of business does the best, complaining. There's obviously a lot of competition from online stores and e-books and all those other things (young) people do in their lazy time instead of reading, but a book is a perfect gift above all it seems, who cares if it ever will be read by anyone. Only last week we learned about the sale figures of the complete e-book-domain until now and it turned out that it was less then half of the sale volume that only one book, the (in)famous and controversial book of Mr. Sarrazin did in Germany last year (please spare me from exlaining what that was about) - so there's much ado about nothing at the mo. But if Germany will ever loose the privilege of fixed book price, things will get worse I am sure. But we are positioned well.

I still love my job after 15 years now and I am always astonished when I see how often all those planned and exactly laid down PR campagnes doesn't work and other books get up the bestselling lists only because the writer was at the TV and there was nothing on on the other 51 channels so everybody seemed to have seen him or her there..  And there is still a thrill in the air for me when my favourite writers have released new stuff and I have the privilege to read it months before release date... (Robert Harris has a new one out, in Germany we will have it in November, about some money market mechanisms, and I love Joshua Ferris for example, hope there will be a new one from him soon...)

Dreaming of selling the biography of MK one day though, "Memory Lane", 1000 pages with lots of new unreleased pics and a bonus DVD inside the first signed edition... 

And, to get on topic again, with a foreword of Bob Dylan of course...

LE

Nicely said in two paragraphs. Maybe we will get the chance to discuss about it somewhere else. A new topic maybe.
By the way have your store tried selling through special sites such as Alibris or Abebooks or Amazon?
Cheers.