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The Grey Lines (Binah Serial by EGSchwartz)
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Bundy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 5:19 am
penguin wrote:
Quote:
I bought the Binah this week, and as I was paying I thought to myself, "What am I buying this for? I've got nothing to look forward to this week."
Not fair to Batya Rudell, whose story is keeping some of us on the edge of our seats.


Aaah, bless you Penguin, for these few words of acknowledgement about my serial.

As I was going down the thread reading that "there is NOTHING else worth reading in Binah except Etka Gittel" (who I'm a great fan of too, btw), I felt like switching off my computer and taking a week's vacation in Syria!!

Seriously, ladies, please be careful of making such sweeping statements like the one I mentioned above. There are many Binah writers on this site who, even though they don't have EG's unique style, are worth reading too, and could be quite insulted at such a comment. Take Yael Mermelstein for example? She writes for Binah regularly. Is she to be included in "there's nothing else worth reading?" I can hardly imagine that's the case. And then there's Sara Debbie Gutfreund. There are others writers too; the list is endless.

Binah, like all the magazines, is full of writers with their unique styles, genres and personalities. Hopefully, there is "something for everyone". If the mag is resting on one writer alone, then it's in BIG trouble.

So now I'm going back to slog away on another chapter of False Fronts in the vain effort of providing you dear women with "something" worth reading. If it doesn't meet your standards feel free to throw some rotten pomegramates at me. (Can't you tell I'm in Rosh HaShana mode already?!)

And Scotty, at the risk of being the lone dissenter on this thread, I actually DID like your ending. Not everything needs to be spelled out. It would have been nice to see Caro's reaction to Wolf the first time she saw him but sometimes it's better to leave things to the imagination. The only issue I had was the actual relationship between Wolf and Caro. There's just NO way I can envision those two together, not only physically but culturally, they are literally continents apart. I know that Caro underwent a huge transformation but to have made SUCH a sweeping change to be able to marry a man so far apart from her who is also now missing an arm! Not all, but MOST baalei teshuva seek out partners with similar backgrounds to them so I don't find their marriage that realistic. Secretly, I was hoping Caro would have an effect on Captain Lazaras and he'd do teshuva.

Anyway, that's just my own fictionalizing. Now...back to work!
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 6:30 am
I'm not following this thread as I don't subscribe and I am very much looking forward to reading the book when it comes out (yours too, Bundy).
Humble suggestion: if it's as large as Full Harvest, maybe it should be two volumes? Or really super bound?


Last edited by PinkFridge on Mon, Sep 01 2014, 5:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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amother


 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 7:13 am
Scotty - I know that you have ur own publishing place now, but the binding isn't the great, and if you want your book to be read and reread (which I'm sure you do) - you need a better bindry.

or go to artscroll for distribution. their books don't fall apart at all
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Writergirl




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 7:35 am
Bundy,

I'm glad you chimed in - Personally, I am enjoying your serial very much. I didnt read The Grey Lines - I started reading it but was never drawn in enough to continue. I'm not a huge fan of long sentences and pompous language.

You are so right. There are many writers and readers all with different personalities and when I read that there is nothing left to read in Binah I wanted to say : "what about me? I'm actually looking forward to another serial that I will enjoy reading!"

As evidenced by my screen-name I too am a writer, though with a lot less experience than you have. I've learned over my personal writing journey that there are so many styles and tastes and that of course, we writers better have tough skin.

Keep up what you are doing - I cant wait to see what happens next with Mark and Debbie!
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Mama Bear




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 8:44 am
Oh, we love False Fronts. It's still getting started though; we're not on tenterhooks as we were with the will-they-wont-they trope that EGS was putting us through (grrrr). Let me rephrase: the ONLy thing I open Binah right now is for False Fronts. I also like the new novelette about Williamsburg.
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penguin




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 8:48 am
So shall we start a spin-off where we speculate about what's going on in False Fronts? And will Bundy throw us an additional clue or two, or would that not be fair to non-imamother-readers?
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 10:08 am
Bundy, I really like your serial! The characters are really interesting and a little different, and I'm curious to see what happens with them. I was totally into Grey Lines but it is insensitive to imply that there's nothing else worth reading. I actually read most Binahs cover to cover eventually. I just turn to the serials first because they compel me to find out what happens next. But no offense to the other articles and their writers, which often leave me with not only much enjoyment but also good ideas and food for thought! Just because they don't have me at the edge of my seat doesn't mean they lack value.
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Bundy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 11:47 am
[quote="Mama Bear"]Oh, we love False Fronts. It's still getting started though; we're not on tenterhooks as we were with the will-they-wont-they trope that EGS was putting us through (grrrr). Let me rephrase: the ONLy thing I open Binah right now is for False Fronts. I also like the new novelette about Williamsburg.

Aaaaagh...no...that's just it. I think a person has to be careful when saying they ONLY open up Binah for one thing whether it's my serial or Etka Gittel's. There are so many other good Binah authors out there who are on this thread and reading this, who could get rather hurt. Even if one thinks it, maybe it's better not to say it? Just a suggestion. Smile
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Bundy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 11:51 am
penguin wrote:
So shall we start a spin-off where we speculate about what's going on in False Fronts? And will Bundy throw us an additional clue or two, or would that not be fair to non-imamother-readers?

Go for it! And if you're nice to me I might (just might) drop you some clues. Wink
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Bundy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 12:00 pm
seeker wrote:
Bundy, I really like your serial! The characters are really interesting and a little different, and I'm curious to see what happens with them. I was totally into Grey Lines but it is insensitive to imply that there's nothing else worth reading. I actually read most Binahs cover to cover eventually. I just turn to the serials first because they compel me to find out what happens next. But no offense to the other articles and their writers, which often leave me with not only much enjoyment but also good ideas and food for thought! Just because they don't have me at the edge of my seat doesn't mean they lack value.

Smile Smile Smile
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sunny90




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 12:49 pm
I think that by the end of Grey Lines everyone was so on the edge of their seats every week to find out what was happening next that they miss that kind of rush of adrenalin when you frantically flip to the Grey Lines page to see if Wolf and Caro are going to meet, already. (And I still don't think it's fair that it wasn't in the story.)
This is kind of like how I felt when the last Harry Potter book came out. Smile
But your story is great too. I just don't feel as "close" to the characters yet because it hasn't been going on for as long. It's the first thing I flip to in Binah now.
And Mark creeps me out. By the way. So if you're aiming for that, it's working. Wink
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penguin




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 3:01 pm
Actually, we do have a thread about False Fronts. So c'mon over, y'all.
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Mama Bear




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 7:51 pm
Batya, like many women, I buy the magazines for the serials, and also as a by-the-way, read the feature articles. Hey, I'm a Binah writer myself from time to time! But no, I hardly believe people buy it just in case there's a great piece by one of the regular feature writers. We just enjoy what else is in there as a side dish to whatever serial is hot at the moment Smile
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Zehava




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 8:59 pm
Batya I usually don't get so into novels because I've read so many of them from a young age, but you've really got me speculating what in the world mark and Debbie are hiding. Secret agents? Mafia? Kidnappers?
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 10:51 pm
Seriously? Do many people really buy a magazine weekly for the serial stories? for about $20 apiece you can just buy a book and read it one chapter at a time if you can summon the self-control! Reading Grey Lines in the magazine must have cost at least $150!

I personally don't buy the magazine at all (my mother does, and she passes it to me when done, though I peek at the serials before then...) but if I did it would be because I appreciate the total experience. I wouldn't buy it JUST for the features either, but because I enjoy having a little of everything to read. It's a shame the recipes are not usually my style but I enjoy the stories, the series like the digging out of debt one, the shmoozy-inspirational columns like the one that always appears near the beginning and also near the end (the lighter one near the end, the more mussary one near the beginning) and the features also are often interesting and enjoyable though of course some will interest me more than others. I also like the little informational tidbits, again there is a page of little tidbits near the beginning and also a full page about some random fact-thing near the end. Nothing I couldn't have found online but they're well written and well picked and it's nice to see them when reading through the magazine. Like I was saying, for me it's about the total experience, not any one component.

Anyway, I think one reason we were more into Grey Lines is because it was there first and we had time to get attached to it. So no offense to false fronts, give it some time. But also I think we were able to sink more deeply into Grey Lines because the chapters were longer. I appreciate that Binah devotes at least a somewhat respectable amount of space to both serials, but 3 pages is a bit tight to really get into things. It's better than other magazines which only give 2 including the cover graphic, though - I find that pretty annoying and must be challenging to the writers too.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 5:23 am
seeker wrote:
Seriously? Do many people really buy a magazine weekly for the serial stories? for about $20 apiece you can just buy a book and read it one chapter at a time if you can summon the self-control! Reading Grey Lines in the magazine must have cost at least $150!


There's a Binah offer that looks tempting as it's never been that cheap. But I'm going to come in the middle of serials, which will be frustrating, and my subscription may stop in the middle. I can't set myself up for that. OTOH, waiting for some of these to come out in book form isn't easy ;-)
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Bundy




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 7:25 am
Mama Bear wrote:
Batya, like many women, I buy the magazines for the serials, and also as a by-the-way, read the feature articles. Hey, I'm a Binah writer myself from time to time! But no, I hardly believe people buy it just in case there's a great piece by one of the regular feature writers. We just enjoy what else is in there as a side dish to whatever serial is hot at the moment Smile


That's very interesting. I mean, I knew that serials were a big selling point for a magazine but never imagined that for some people that's the only reason they buy a publication. Then there are those who NEVER read serials or fiction for that matter.

Gals, I really didn't chime in on this thread in order to get feedback on FF, just to stress being sensitive to other authors, that's all. But thanks a bundle for your responses anyway. And yes, Mark is not meant to be likeable. Hey, he creeps me out too and he's my character.

Scotty, keep up the good work. You really are truly gifted!!
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chocolate fondue




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 4:50 pm
stem wrote:
That is not a fact, but your own opinion. I respectfully disagree.


No problem Stem. We can agree to disagree. Just wondering; who do you consider to be the best Frum writers of fiction? (If you meant non-fiction; I agree with you; there are many talented writers.)
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Mama Bear




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 5:49 pm
oKAY oKAY okay of course I read the entire magazine. I get all 3 magazines. Smile and I will still read eveyr magazine even when the serials will end. I guess I exaggerated a little.

But the point is, I dont buy the Binah because I'm dying to read a feature article - I buy it for everything, especially the serials. I enjoy the suspense that you don't get with a book.
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Terri




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 6:39 pm
The Binah has many excellent writers, and as a voracious reader I enjoy so much of it. Off the top of my head, some columns I regularly enjoy: Sara Debbie G, Yael Mermelstein, Peshie Needleman, Sheva Shapiro, Dr T and ? Lebovics, the serials of course, and more. I agree with Batya Ruddell's points above. I have clipped and saved many articles and stories over the years. (Parenthetically, while I really enjoyed this novel, it took me weeks of yawning through descriptions of the fashion of the times to finally get into it. It was a marvelous read, though, in general.)

The two things that bother me about the Binah are the graphics and the unhealthy recipes. I also wish they'd be more inclusive of the various types and stripes of Jews; I sometimes feel only a narrow segment is represented in the tone and content (as well as a lack of depth/"realness." Oversimplification? Not enough raw honesty? Not sure.) But I've been a loyal subscriber for years (and have gotten others to join) and do plan to iy"h continue.
Mishpacha's graphics are so much easier on the eyes. It seems that Binah uses exactly one font, from the cover through the recipes through every article. Argh. And the recipes are typically loaded with sugar and margarine. Even the gluten free column usually contained lots of sugar-laden recipes. It's a pity.

Otherwise, it's fantastic, has much to offer and is doing a tremendous service by offering frum reading material to fill our minds and hearts.
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