Good morning! It's been a frustrating week for those of us on Blogger. We experienced radio silence much of Thursday and Friday as Blogger entered 'read only' mode. Evidently Wednesday night's scheduled maintenance uncovered some data corruption, so all posts and comments published Thursday were removed. Unaware this was happening, I spent Thursday afternoon working on a review of Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym, saved it as a draft, and planned to hit the publish button Friday morning.
The Giveaway:
Jane and Prudence was every bit as enjoyable as my first two Barbara Pym novels. It was the perfect beginning for our recent Florida vacation. Pym's novels are difficult to find in the United States, so I'd like to share the love by giving away my gently read copy.
If you are in the US and would like to read Jane and Prudence, let me know in the comments. I'll choose a winner next Sunday morning. If my draft reappears (or if I have time for a rewrite) the complete review will appear later this week. Grrrr, Blogger!
Today's reading:
After attending a Confirmation Brunch for my cousin's son, I hope to finish A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates by Blake Bailey. There are just over 100 pages to go (it's a 600+ page book), but this is the best literary biography I've ever read. A trip to the bookstore for more Yates novels is definitely on my agenda this week.
What are your plans for today? Did the Great Blogger Debacle have an impact on your week?
I hope your draft posts come back -- mine did. I love Barbara Pym and encourage those who haven't read her to enter the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI know the pain of losing a draft. I hope yours returns.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, not being able to use Blogger like I wanted to forced me to relax and read a book.
I'm going to count that as I little gift from Google. Thanks, Google.
I love Barbara Pym even more now after reading about how she was such a lovely support to Elizabeth Taylor when she was feeling insecure about reviews of her novels.
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating to lose your hard work, JoAnn! Thomas wrote what would have been a fabulous post about a Whipple novel that disappeared as well.
I'm a WordPresser, thank goodness. But I was horribly confused when I saw posts I thought I had commented on reappear in my Google Reader.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to lose your work.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky as I had not posted anything since the Wednesday.
I was aware of the probs before doing anything on Thurs.
Since it was mentioned on a blog many months ago, I do save a backup of my blog every week or so.
So glad to have blogger back. The guys at Blogger must have been stressed to say the least.
carol
carol
It was a frustrating couple of days with blogger, but then I've been too lazy to blog or read much it seems. Hooked on scrabble...lol
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in giveaway..thanks so much
Bibliophilebythesea at g mail dot com
Don't even get me started on blogger! Grrr! What a farce the end of the week was. Luckily I didn't lose anything, so apologies that you did. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.
ReplyDeleteOne of those times I don't mind paying for my blogging services on Typepad. Sorry for the headache! And I would love to enter the draw please. I have yet to read a Pym title but would love to! Many thanks for the offer and happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThe Great Blogger Debacle made me crazy as well! I am starting a really tough academic program tomorrow and was hoping to get ahead on Thursday and Friday so I wouldn't have to think about blogging this week. Oh well. I hope your draft comes back; that is one of the most frustrating feelings to lose something you've worked so hard on!
ReplyDeleteI've never read Barbara Pym but I would love to give her a try! Please enter me into the giveaway. :) My email is lorrenrichelle(AT)gmail(DOT)com.
Oh how annoying! That has happened to me before and it is so frustrating - hope blogger restores those lost drafts!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear your thoughts on the Yates bio - I agree, the best literary biography I've read.
I used the Blogger meltdown as a way to unwind and relax. I figured eventually they would get all things replaced, but my comments never did come back so I fished them out of the email trash and pasted them in myself. I'm sorry that you lost your review..that's frustrating for sure. Overall, though I'm staying with Blogger. This is the first problem I've ever had with them.
ReplyDeleteI would so love to read your copy....thanks for your generous giveaway!!!
I'm lucky I didn't post anything on Thursday. But the whole debacle did remind me to back up my blog to my hard drive. I've heard horror stories of people losing years and years of work.
ReplyDeleteI recall a tweet or two expressing Blogger frustration on Friday, but otherwise, this is the first I've heard of it. How frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI adore Pym, but I will pass on the contest.
Right, well, I got other things done on Thursday and Friday, and luckily didn't lose any work because I decided to be lazy on those days. Still I did lose all the comments on my Thursday post. Pooh.
ReplyDeleteI heard about the Blogger outage on Twitter. I'm just thankful that I'm no longer using this site. I'm sorry to hear about your lost post. Hopefully it won't happen again.
ReplyDeletePlease, please enter me in the drawing! I read my very first Barbara Pym this year, Excellent Women, and I just loved it. I need to read all her books.
ReplyDeleteI was a blogging slacker this week but I guess I picked a good time to do it! I am sorry to hear how so many people lost their blog posts. How frustrating. I shall wait and see how many people migrate over to Wordpress or some other blog server.
Losing a draft is very painful and frustrating. There was no way I could create my original again when it happened to me. (Mine was my own negligence, not Google's fault.)
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Excellent Women right now. I was surprised when I found a couple of Pym's books at the library. Please enter me in your giveaway. I want to read more.
Beth F - Still no return of the draft, so I may just rewrite an abbreviated version tomorrow :-(
ReplyDeleteC.B. James - I'm thinking about taking one blogger-free day every week. Reading was fun;-)
Darlene - Reading your comment makes me want to get to my first Elizabeth Taylor novel right away, but I'm taking a Richard Yates detour...
Softdrink - I've been giving Wordpress some serious thought...
Dizzy C - You picked a good time to be away from your blog! I need to figure out how to back mine up. It can't be too hard.
Diane - It was a good time to be playing scrabble. Your name is in the hat!
Viv - Not many of us have good things to say about blogger these last few days. You're lucky you didn't lose any posts.
Frances - It just goes to prove you get what you pay for!
L.L. - The draft never came back,so I may try to do an abridged version tomorrow :-( Your name has been added to the hat.
Rachel - I finished the Yates bio last night (in tears!). What an amazing book...don't even know where to begin a review. I bought two more of his novels today.
ReplyDeleteStaci - This is the first real trouble I've had with blogger, too. I'm not making any moves just yet.
E.L.Fay - I need to back mine up, too. I'm sure there are some simple directions somewhere on Blogger.
Care - Very frustrating, indeed! Glad to know you are a Pym fan, too.
Sandy - I'm thinking a blogger-free day each week may be good for us all ;-)
Vasilly - Yeah, I'm still disappointed that it never reappeared, but there are far worse things that could've happened.
Margot - I'll look forward to your review of Excellent Women. Have entered your name in the draw.
Karen K. - I'll be reading all of her books eventually, too. Your name is in!
I've been thinking about moving to Wordpress soon and this latest Blogger mishap probably decided it for me. I have several issues with Blogger frequently sbut this really irritated me.
ReplyDeleteI love the Jane and Prudence cover and I've read so many great things about Barbra Pym and her books but sadly I've yet to read any. I appreciate the opportunity to win your copy. Please enter me in your giveaway!
Thank you JoAnn :o)
~ Amy
Aimala127@gmail.com
i wuold love to read that book! and, did you eer get your draft back? my post came back and i was really glad that i didn't have to rewrite it! :D have a pleasant rest of the week! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm in for a new author and good read. The debacle didn't get me as I'm so far behind in posting, but did get my mom's blog. I spent way too long trying to get her post back together.
ReplyDeleteI do hope your draft arrives - in some form you can use.
I would love to be entered for the giveaway! The book sounds fascinating :)
ReplyDeleteI lost a post as well! Talk about frustrating when you spend so much time drafting them up. :(
ReplyDeleteI've actually seen this novel somewhere online, and I would love to check it out. I'm always a sucker for Jane Austen remakes! mjmbecky(at)gmail(dot)com
Amy - You're in!
ReplyDeleteStephanie - No, it never came back :-( I've entered your name in the drawing.
Midlife Jobhunter - Well the draft hasn't reappeared, but I have entered your name :-)
Read the Book - Your name is in the hat!
Becky - Definitely frustrating! I've added your name.