Radio gaga

     Until today, my only experience of the broadcast media was being interviewed by John Humphrys when he was a young reporter and I was eight years old (and when done my little bit wasn't shown)! But Cornflower has moved on from the cutting room floor because your blogger has just been a guest on BBC Radio Scotland's Book Cafe.
    I joined the professionals to discuss the place of book blogs vis-a-vis the newspapers' review pages, and my conversation with Stuart Kelly, literary editor of Scotland on Sunday, and writer Richard Havers, creator of The Great Bookshops Blog, was ably chaired by Clare English and was a very enjoyable and stimulating one.
   I did tell my children that I would try to pull out the plug at the BBC so that their mother would not be heard, but I'm told that it all went fine (it was live but will be broadcast again) and thankfully my nerves didn't let me down.
    My thanks to my hosts and fellow guests for making the whole procedure painless and very pleasant!

Comments

[Rebecca]

How very thrilling Karen, well done you.

[Mog]

Listening to you now, very well done. Hurrah for bloggers!!!

[Nan]

I just listened, and you were great, great, great!! I loved it. I'm going to put a note up on my blog to draw people to it. Lots of food for thought there.

[Claire]

Just listened whilst cooking supper. Congratulations - very well spoken. Of course, there's room for paper reviews and blogs.

[Zoe]

Great news - listening as I type. You come over very well. Fantastic.

[Mr Cornflower]

Well said and well spoken - what a star!

[Richard Havers]

Karen, it was great to finally meet the person behind such a great blog. It's just a pity there aren't more programmes on the radio about books. Until the next time...

[Your Mother]

Karen, what can I say ? I know I'm somewhat biased but you still never cease to amaze me ! the last place I expected to hear your voice was on the radio. You came over very well in your usual articulate way and no sign of nervousness. Well done! and as usual made me very proud.

[carole]

That was so good Karen, I see more broadcasting ahead for you, you sounded so calm and put over the point so gracefully. I think I would have been spitting at the critic. I found myself silently cheering the bloggers on, with their excellent spokesperson.

[tea and cake]

Hey, I've only just seen this (at 1.05 am) so, will listen on iplayer, tomorrow. Well done, anyway!

[serenknitity]

Just off to listen on iPlayer, too. Just to say the Queen song of your title was on the radio a few days ago and it has been in my head every since. I thought I'd shaken it out but now it's back again, with a vengeance!

[Barbara MacLeod]

Thanks for pointing this out! I managed to catch it on iPlayer today. (Isn't this wonderful technology!)

[Carole]

I listened to this on iPlayer - if I may say so, I agree with your Mum and the other Carole, I think a future in broadcasting beckons - if you can find the time amongst all the other things you do!!

[Lindsay]

Well done, you spoke very well (I'd have been gibbering with nerves, unable to get a word out!). The real point, it seems to me, that came across, is that all (sensible) discourse about books is enriching. If people are careful not to mislead, and avoid abuse (sadly common in the blogosphere, though not, God be thankit, on Cornflower or any of the blogs I read), it doesn't really matter how expert or otherwise bloggers are - readers can judge that themselves. The other major issue is that bloggers, as you said yesterday, are not confined to this week's books - they can cover bestsellers or out of print or classics, which is great for the general reader. Well done!

[Lisa W]

It was nice to hear you speak. Well done, Karen!

[Lisa]

That's great!

[Susie Vereker]

Left a comment on your other blog by mistake. Well done again. As Lisa said, it was nice to hear you. A voice is part of somebody.
By the way, your main blog remembers my details for comment purposes but this one doesn't.