Episode 62 features Jeff Quest, who you may know from Spywrite or any number of his spy-related podcasts.
We discuss blogging and collecting, reading and creating, comprehension, memory, and much much more.
Throughout the conversation, we discuss:
- Blogging
- Collecting
- Podcasting
- Reviewing
- Spoilers
- Niche vs. No Niche
- Reading Books
- Running
- Spies
- Comprehension vs. Memory
- Rewatchability vs. Rereadability
- Short vs. Long Content
- Negative Reviews
- And much more
Mentioned and Helpful Links from This Episode
Reading The Meadow 20 years after college adds needed perspective
Music created and provided by Henno Heitur of Monkey Tongue Productions.
–End Show Notes Transmission–
–Begin Transcription–
00:00:00:01 – 00:00:24:56
Agent Palmer
Previously on agent Palmer dot com Douglas Coupland’s characters Speak to Me Beyond Grief and Hey Nostradamus. Similar lessons learned from yet another challenging year. And with two one final question volumes published, I contemplate other possible conglomeration. This is The Palmer Files, episode 62 with Jeff Quest, who you may know from spirit or any number of his spy related podcasts.
00:00:25:10 – 00:01:05:24
Agent Palmer
We discuss blogging and collecting, reading and creating comprehend in Memory and much, much more. Are you ready? Let’s do the show.
00:01:05:29 – 00:01:34:45
Agent Palmer
Hello, and welcome to the Palmer Files. I’m your host, Jason Stershic. Also known as Agent Palmer. And on this 62nd episode is Jeff Quest. Jeff manages spirit, a site dedicated to spy fiction and nonfiction across all mediums, and has since added several podcasts that Jeff either hosts or contributes to. I was actually introduced to Jeff by Mr. Spy himself and my former guest on episode 22, Shane Whaley, because of the spy community.
00:01:34:53 – 00:01:58:45
Agent Palmer
But we overlap in so many areas of interest in creation, and yet we’re very different. This is just one piece of what you’re about to hear. We discussed blogging and podcasting, collecting processes of reviewing book spoilers, staying within a topic versus navigating without one, not being too hard on oneself, and so much more. Yes, including some spy talk.
00:01:58:49 – 00:02:25:08
Agent Palmer
Before we get going, remember that if you want to discuss the episode as you listen or afterwards, you can tweet me at Agent Palmer. My guest, Jeff Quest at Spy, right? That’s spy. Right. And this show at the Palmer Files, you can find Jeff site at spy right.com. Again. That’s spy right.com. And if you go to spy right.com/about you’ll find links to all of Jeff’s podcasts.
00:02:25:15 – 00:02:51:02
Agent Palmer
The ones that he has now and the ones that perhaps he will add to his stable of podcasts in the future. Don’t forget, you can see all of my writings and writings on Agent palmer.com. And of course, email can be sent to the Palmer files at gmail.com. So without further ado, let’s declassify the audio.
00:02:51:07 – 00:03:06:59
Agent Palmer
Jeff, it is not often that I get to talk to somebody who’s been blogging longer than I have, and still does it on a consistent basis. So why have you continued to write?
00:03:07:04 – 00:03:32:13
Jeff Quest
Well, you’re putting me in the hot seat since I’ve fallen off the wagon a little bit there, and I haven’t been as as consistent as I had been. You know, I, it’s hard to say how this all started, you know? I mean, I started out it was just for fun to try and do something kind of spy related because for whatever reason, I got interested.
00:03:32:13 – 00:03:51:08
Jeff Quest
Re interested. Now, I don’t know, this is probably not even the right way to say it. It’s like I, I was looking for something else, write some other sort of creative outlet because I think for me, in college I was, you know, in theater and did that kind of had that kind of creative outlet, even for a few years after that.
00:03:51:13 – 00:04:03:28
Jeff Quest
But then that kind of died down and I needed something else. You know, I think everybody needs to find that kind of something that they can do outside of work. You know, that work only gets you so far.
00:04:03:35 – 00:04:25:45
Agent Palmer
It’s not fulfilling. Like you need that something like, I did this for me, which, you know, you and I are kind of similar in that like, we have these long running, consistent blogs and we’re not making millions. We’re probably not making hundreds or even 50s or whatever.
00:04:25:47 – 00:04:29:04
Jeff Quest
I’m in, I’m in debt from my life, and I’m not making any money.
00:04:29:04 – 00:04:53:53
Agent Palmer
I’m not. Yeah, no, I’m saying I just I didn’t want to make any assumptions, but like, if there is a sense of accomplishment in publish, but when you started different than when I, you started with a, a topic, a subject matter in mind. Did you consider for a moment just doing like, books and collection? Like, you know what I mean?
00:04:53:53 – 00:04:56:40
Agent Palmer
Like not just picking spy.
00:04:56:52 – 00:05:28:42
Jeff Quest
Well, I think for me, I had it, like, I started the blog right when I just barely had started collecting. Really? Seriously as well. So they were kind of almost, separate tracks of my life. And so they weren’t really connected at that point. And so I think for me was I had kind of a initial start where I was posting a lot very regularly, like three times a week, you know, little things about various different spy stuff.
00:05:28:42 – 00:05:48:24
Jeff Quest
And then that quickly became unsustainable. And I just stopped and didn’t do anything for a while before kind of coming back to it. And really kind of focusing a little bit more on the book stuff. And, and, and that’s when it kind of clicked for me and became more fun.
00:05:48:29 – 00:06:13:51
Agent Palmer
It’s, it’s interesting because I feel like anybody who’s done any creative pursuit for more than a year, even if they like Will, are adamant like, oh, no, I’ve been consistent for a year. You know, you have it like there are ebbs and flows like you and I are talking in decades, or a decade. Right. Other people are talking in 4 or 5 years.
00:06:13:56 – 00:06:51:15
Agent Palmer
Sometimes you get ahead of the game, sometimes you fall behind like there are ebbs and flows to the creation process. And I think the, the reason that we get to keep going is because we come back to it like no matter what happens, we end up coming back to this. Does the fact that you have this parallel track of the collection, has that had any impact on the blog in terms of like taking time away because you want to be collecting or vice versa, like you want to be writing, so you’re not collecting as much like or is there a, a yin and yang to it?
00:06:51:20 – 00:06:51:41
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:06:51:43 – 00:07:28:00
Jeff Quest
You know, I think more than that, I’d say, honestly, what’s happened is I for a while I was posting because I felt like I needed to post something so I’d find something to write about. Right. Okay. But it’s changed a little bit in that I’ve been doing a little more, being a little more selective about what I do post and trying to write some longer things, some things that are maybe a little more esoteric, you know, a little more out there, and, and things that just kind of strike my fancy.
00:07:28:04 – 00:07:38:06
Jeff Quest
So that’s kind of where I’ve been going lately. The other part of it is that I’ve just been podcasting so much more that that’s taken up a lot of oxygen.
00:07:38:10 – 00:07:51:49
Agent Palmer
Well, yeah. You only have so much. I mean, we talk about, like, the day job can only fulfill you so much, but you can’t do everything when you get home either. You only have a certain amount of creative space.
00:07:51:54 – 00:08:15:47
Jeff Quest
Yeah, well, and it’s been even less so lately, just with, you know, I had been kind of somewhat remote over the past, you know, year. And it just it’s amazing going back, you know, every day how much time that commute takes. Yeah. And the good thing is, I’m reading a lot more than I had been. So that’s to the positive.
00:08:15:47 – 00:08:30:35
Jeff Quest
But it’s also meant that I haven’t had enough time to do some other stuff. And I don’t know, I’ve, I’ve written posts on my iPhone before, but it’s not a fun experience. So, yeah, I don’t know. It’s it’s interesting you’re.
00:08:30:35 – 00:08:56:33
Agent Palmer
Writing process just straight up keyboard sitting at a computer or you do you like handwrite notes? Like, what’s the, what’s the process here? Because I’ll, I’ll give you mine. Right. Like, if it’s a book, 99% of the books I’ve ever reviewed for my site have I own or I have physical copies of because I. It’s not even being a collector at that point.
00:08:56:33 – 00:09:19:07
Agent Palmer
I just prefer the feel of a book in my hand. I will romanticize that until I’m dead. But. And and because and I don’t know if this makes me a collector or, like, an OCD person in a different kind of a way. But I will be like, oh, there’s a quote on page 92 about artistic ability.
00:09:19:12 – 00:09:48:53
Agent Palmer
So I will pull out my phone and in a note, go page 95, bottom paragraph, artistic ability. And I will come back to that later, for when I eventually collect all my notes at the end because I refuse to highlight it. I refuse to do anything to the book itself, and then I collect my notes when I’m all done and I, you know, collecting notes from, you know, various, you know, look, some books are a lot more quotable than others.
00:09:48:58 – 00:10:07:04
Agent Palmer
And it’s good that I have those now. I type them up and it reminds me of what I just read in details that I might want to do. And then I sit down at a computer and I just go to town. Right. And then here’s the first draft. Maybe pull a quote here and there and then that that’s that’s my process.
00:10:07:09 – 00:10:21:08
Agent Palmer
I there have been times where I have written something where it’s like, oh, like, no, I have a thought. I have to get this out and I’ll write that on paper. But for the most part, I’ve moved digital, but I, I’m, I’m, I need a full keyboard.
00:10:21:13 – 00:10:46:39
Jeff Quest
Yeah. I mean for me I, I’m impressed with that you that that you have a process and that you use it because I don’t really have any sort of set process. It’s like, it depends on what I’m doing, I guess. You know, like there’s a lot of times where I’ve been, I just I’m on the train and I’m reading and I pull up my phone and I take a picture of the page that has whatever relevant thing on there.
00:10:46:39 – 00:10:49:56
Agent Palmer
I have done that before. I have done that before.
00:10:50:01 – 00:11:11:49
Jeff Quest
Sometimes I read the book and just, you know, after I’m done, I open up my laptop and just hammer something out. And that’s kind of where I’m at. Yeah, it kind of depends. It just, you know, I sometimes I’ve, you know, had little sticky notes. I’m sticking it all throughout. The book that I’m reading to go back to and reference later.
00:11:11:50 – 00:11:25:56
Jeff Quest
So it just, it really does kind of depend on, you know, what I’m feeling about the book, how much I’m going to write about it, you know, if it’s going to be something shorter versus something. I know I’m going kind of more in depth on. It just kind of depends for me.
00:11:26:00 – 00:11:47:22
Agent Palmer
How do you feel about spoilers? Because I am look, I mean, it’s it’s no secret an event like, I’m, I’m at the tail end of my date and read. Right? Like I have, not counting the cookbooks. I have six more to go. I have the three and then the the three in the middle or three towards the end.
00:11:47:22 – 00:12:07:06
Agent Palmer
That’s not a trilogy, I guess. Is, violent word. Me, me and Mr.. And City of Gold. And then then I get the final Samsung trilogy because I guess in published order that I’ve been reading in published order. And I don’t have to worry about spoilers for myself because I don’t read ahead. I don’t look at the cover.
00:12:07:16 – 00:12:31:16
Agent Palmer
I just know this is the next book done right. But you you are collecting and you’re out there. I’ll be honest, there are, I am always amazed when I go, all right, well, I like to keep my reviews spoiler free. What did the back cover give away? And I am always amazed at how much the back cover gives away.
00:12:31:20 – 00:12:47:48
Agent Palmer
Where are you on the spectrum for, like, like reading into the back cover or like, oh, I Jeff, I have a book for you. Just pick it up and read it. You know how how in the know do you get when you’re when you read most of the time.
00:12:47:53 – 00:13:07:31
Jeff Quest
I get it kind of bounces all over. I’d say. You know, sometimes I’ll, But the worst thing that I do, and I do this with television and other stuff, too, is that I will be, like, halfway through. And I’m so into it that I start looking up what other people are saying. And that’s where I get the spoilers, you know?
00:13:07:31 – 00:13:28:57
Agent Palmer
Okay. I mean, I do understand because there are times when you finish something and books are harder than anything else. Like if we, you know, in the height of Marvel in the middle of phase two, right. Like Iron Man two comes out, good luck having a hard time trying to find somebody to talk about that with. Right?
00:13:29:02 – 00:13:41:13
Agent Palmer
But like books, it’s so different that you’re not just going to randomly walk into somebody who’s just finished the same book you’ve just read. So I understand that.
00:13:41:17 – 00:14:00:10
Jeff Quest
It well, and that’s part of why I started doing a bunch of these podcasts that I do, where I can talk to folks who’ve read the book and want to talk about it. You know, I think that’s the best, the best part. And what I hope that, you know, I’m kind of putting out there for other folks is that you’re kind of eavesdropping in on some folks sitting around talking about a book.
00:14:00:10 – 00:14:02:11
Jeff Quest
You just read and loved, you know? Well.
00:14:02:11 – 00:14:08:31
Agent Palmer
And so you have you have three now is that.
00:14:08:36 – 00:14:18:33
Jeff Quest
Well, yes. Let me see. Now I’ve got one, two, three. And then I contribute to spider. So like four kind of regular shows that I’m putting out.
00:14:18:34 – 00:14:28:32
Agent Palmer
So, so not only are you guesting out there, to be able to talk about books, but you’re providing that space for other people.
00:14:28:37 – 00:14:34:51
Jeff Quest
If they’re listening and it’s not just my mom, you know? Yeah.
00:14:34:56 – 00:14:36:09
Agent Palmer
It’s.
00:14:36:14 – 00:15:04:00
Agent Palmer
Do you find. I mean, look, I, I went, you know, every other week for the podcast release because I wanted to keep writing. You have three different shows, plus what you contribute to Shane and Spy Brewery and the blog. You know, your attentions are always divided and you’re still consuming stuff, like, how do you keep that all on track?
00:15:04:11 – 00:15:33:23
Jeff Quest
Almost not very well. It’s not easy. And, you know, I think that’s always been part of my problem, I’d say, for my entire life. Right. I’m all in on something. And then it’s it’s the consistency and keeping up with it. That’s really the struggle that I’ve always had is, you know, I’m super passionate about something. And and keeping that passion going is always the, the trouble.
00:15:33:23 – 00:15:58:19
Jeff Quest
And how do you do that? And I don’t know that I’ve always been super successful at that. But the thing that I found more recently is, especially with the podcasts, you know, one of them I do with a very a good friend of mine, and she keeps me on track and keeps, you know, kind of bugging me so that we don’t fall off, and putting that stuff out there.
00:15:58:24 – 00:16:20:46
Jeff Quest
Yeah, yeah. And, and the other thing I found is kind of changing things up, you know, the podcast that we had been doing, I started interviewing various other folks that have read the books and kind of that has kept things a little more, exciting for me. And so I think that’s the thing that I’ve discovered, especially like I just put out this, this new podcast looking at car race work.
00:16:20:46 – 00:16:45:58
Jeff Quest
And I had had that I had had the first couple episodes recorded since before he passed away. So quite a long time. And I hadn’t put them out because I was trying to get some sort of perfect, you know, I was going to do all the books in order, and it was going to be this huge thing. And at a certain point I realized, I’m never going to get this out there if I am so rigid in what I’m doing.
00:16:45:58 – 00:16:55:32
Jeff Quest
And so I kind of let let that vision go and kind of re imagined what I could put out there. And it’s been really freeing and kind of exciting.
00:16:55:32 – 00:17:09:09
Agent Palmer
So now along those lines, do you have an itch to write about non book or non spy themed things.
00:17:09:13 – 00:17:11:50
Jeff Quest
You know.
00:17:11:55 – 00:17:14:36
Agent Palmer
Like I’m not trying to put you on the spot. I’m just.
00:17:14:41 – 00:17:38:26
Jeff Quest
You know I it’s interesting because you know if you’d asked me that a few years ago, I might have said something different. I might have been more more about that. I’ve had a few ideas. It’s it’s kind of just random stuff. I’d say it’s nothing like, you know, I’ll have an idea. And I’m like, oh, that would be kind of interesting to write about.
00:17:38:27 – 00:17:46:56
Jeff Quest
But it’s nothing that I have some sort of huge, grand plan on something that I’d really start writing about, I guess, you know.
00:17:46:58 – 00:18:28:09
Agent Palmer
No, I mean, I, I because I can’t imagine, despite the fact that I’ve written a lot about spy spies, you know? Period. Right. Like between the movies and the books and I’m sure I’ll get to other things. Within that, it’s just I write about everything and, like, it’s just I can’t imagine being niche now. I understand also, like the the dirty word for all creators of marketing, that it’s easier to market when you only have that topic like, you have to appeal to me as a spy fan.
00:18:28:13 – 00:18:48:24
Agent Palmer
I have to appeal to you and then try and hold your interest until the next time I write about a spy thing. Unless you happen to also care about the things I write about in between. Right? And so I do kind of envy you in that regard. Not the three podcasts. I don’t know if I could handle that.
00:18:48:24 – 00:18:56:51
Agent Palmer
That might be too much for me. But you know, that that central theme, I kind of, you know, I do envy it a bit.
00:18:56:56 – 00:19:18:34
Jeff Quest
Well, you know, the interesting thing is it has offered some opportunities that I never would have imagined. Right. You know, I there is I got to write a little article that ended up in in-flight magazines that went all over the world. Right. And that’s just because I wrote about a bunch about John Le Carr. And so it kind of fell in my lap.
00:19:18:34 – 00:19:36:10
Jeff Quest
And so that that was really a cool thing, you know? I mean, one of the reviews I wrote ended up as a blurb on the back of somebodys book. You know, I mean, I’d write underneath, Alan Moore and above the BBC. So, you know, I mean, that’s kind of like, funny. That’s really.
00:19:36:10 – 00:19:36:53
Agent Palmer
Good company.
00:19:36:53 – 00:20:01:47
Jeff Quest
Yeah, it’s just kind of funny. It’s the things that you look at and you’re like, wow, that’s kind of crazy. So it’s just, it’s for me. The whole thing has been a bit of, you know, just a lark. You know, it’s it’s not something that I’m trying to do to get anything back from, I guess, which is also kind of it lifts a little bit of the weight.
00:20:01:47 – 00:20:16:33
Jeff Quest
You can kind of give yourself a little bit of, grace when you don’t hit, you know, that deadline or whatever else you’re doing. You know what I mean? And as much as I try and try to do that, if I don’t, it’s I can’t beat myself up over it.
00:20:16:38 – 00:20:44:39
Agent Palmer
No, that makes sense, because I think we as creators, and I, I don’t say that lightly because I feel like it doesn’t matter that we’re not creating our own fiction. Or even if we are, we’re not doing it a lot. But, you know, we’re creating something and we’re adding to the space and it’s okay that you didn’t publish anything today, right?
00:20:44:39 – 00:21:16:34
Agent Palmer
Like, and I, I see all these people come up and look, you you and I are like the old men, like of of blogging. Like there aren’t a lot of people that are still doing it, that I at least that I know of. This started out around our time, and part of it is because they did put that pressure on themselves and they couldn’t hold up under it, because that an immense amount of pressure to hold yourself to like, yeah, I mean, I, I’m on a very good streak right now, knock on wood.
00:21:16:34 – 00:21:46:43
Agent Palmer
I haven’t missed in a few years, but I can’t say that I was publishing perfect posts every, you know, whatever I wanted to be the schedule on the dot for the last ten years like that? No, like that wouldn’t have been possible. That’s crazy, because I need to take the time to get like I do. Enjoy the reading part and the research part and all the other things that come with it.
00:21:46:48 – 00:22:05:38
Jeff Quest
Yeah, no it will. And I found to like I also like for me, especially when I’m working on some bigger things like I want to get it just perfect, but then at the same time I need to just let it go. You know, it’s just like a you just need to push the, the boat off the dock and let it, let it drift away.
00:22:05:38 – 00:22:12:23
Jeff Quest
And whether it’s got, you know, a couple of leaks that you might need to, just overlook. That’s okay.
00:22:12:28 – 00:22:43:41
Agent Palmer
Yeah, I mean, it. I mean, I have a note in my house that I used to stare out a lot more often, which is, perfect is the enemy of good. And you know, it, and it it is, I, you know, I have some fans. Most often. It’s my father, you know, calls me. I’m like, you you got a comma or like, oh, you missed, you know, you misspelled or, you know, the things that, like spellcheck just won’t get like, you use the wrong there.
00:22:43:41 – 00:23:03:07
Agent Palmer
So, like, well, I was, I don’t know, half asleep at the wheel when I was editing it. What? I don’t thank you for letting me know. Right. But like, it it happens. I’m human. I’m not an AI. Like I’m not. I’m not trying to craft the perfect post. Like, it’s just this is what I think. This is a good book.
00:23:03:08 – 00:23:37:31
Agent Palmer
You should check it out too. Done. Right? Like, but you have, over the course of the last ten years. I know you’ve read a lot, but you’ve also been watching, whether it be television or movies. The the spy space has changed, in the last ten years a bit. I mean, it’s definitely not what, just bond and, you know, assorted, you know, Palmer movies, etc., etc..
00:23:37:36 – 00:23:48:15
Agent Palmer
Were in like the 60s, 70s and 80s. Do you enjoy the direction we are headed with all of this by? And I say collectively because obviously there’s some outliers.
00:23:48:15 – 00:24:12:16
Jeff Quest
But yeah, well, I mean, it’s it’s interesting because there’s so many spy shows right now. I mean, if you’re looking at television, every streaming service decides they need their own spy show, right? And so they’re going to put that out there. And some have been really good, some not so good. But, I’m all for putting a lot of stuff out there and seeing what’s going to get some traction.
00:24:12:20 – 00:24:20:44
Jeff Quest
And a lot of times you’re surprised by what you see, because everybody’s got a little bit of a different kind of take on things, and that’s the part that’s fun.
00:24:20:49 – 00:24:23:53
Agent Palmer
Do you prefer, series or a movie?
00:24:23:58 – 00:24:43:33
Jeff Quest
Well, you know, I think for me, I, I think for spy, I mean, it depends on the kind of spy thing that you’re interested in, right? If you’re looking for an action kind of spy entertainment, then movies are going to be where you want to go because they have the budget for it, right? Mission Impossible or James Bond or whatever.
00:24:43:38 – 00:25:11:45
Jeff Quest
If you’re looking for that more like high risk, kind of, slow burn spy drama, then you’re obviously going to be better served in a television show because they have the time and, you know, and the money, the lack of money doesn’t hurt you in that case necessarily. Right? If you got three people sitting around a table talking, that can be just as interesting for a spy situation.
00:25:11:50 – 00:25:14:25
Jeff Quest
As, you know, somebody hanging off a helicopter.
00:25:14:30 – 00:25:43:38
Agent Palmer
I’m, I’m, I’m going to put myself here first. I, I’m old enough to realize I don’t want any part of it. I enjoy watching it. I enjoy reading it. I do not want to. Like, I don’t picture myself in the bond or the Palmer or the smiley or the Samson role. They are now characters that I watch from afar, and I enjoy it right?
00:25:43:43 – 00:25:47:23
Agent Palmer
Are you there or do you still kind of want to do it?
00:25:47:28 – 00:26:09:21
Jeff Quest
Well, I mean, is there a part of me that thinks that would be totally wild? I mean, I was the kid that was running around his backyard with his friend, you know, and their water gun Uzis and having adventures, you know, of course, there’s a part of that that appeals. I also know that I would be terrible at it.
00:26:09:26 – 00:26:32:15
Jeff Quest
But, you know, I don’t know. I think there is. I could see myself in the analyst role. I think, you know, I mean, if you look at the CIA, you know, you’ve got your operatives who are out there recruiting agents, running agents, and then you’ve got the analysts they’re reading, they’re writing reports, they’re thinking about the world.
00:26:32:20 – 00:26:54:29
Jeff Quest
I could see myself doing that. I mean, I love doing the research part of things. And so, you know, I got my master’s in library science, right? So I that that part of it is appealing to me. That’s probably why Three Days of the Condor is, one of my favorite spy movies. Right? It’s all about a CIA agent who just sits around and reads books all day.
00:26:54:34 – 00:26:57:11
Agent Palmer
So, are you a librarian?
00:26:57:16 – 00:27:05:29
Jeff Quest
No. Okay. No. Yeah. That was. Yeah, something I did. And then life took a whole different side direction.
00:27:05:38 – 00:27:13:13
Agent Palmer
Now does does does the Library of Science degree help you in any way with your collection though?
00:27:13:18 – 00:27:22:22
Jeff Quest
I was, you know that. No, not really. All right. I don’t really I’m not that kind of, librarian, I guess.
00:27:22:26 – 00:27:51:33
Agent Palmer
No, it’s I mean, because your collection is. And I know you write about it on occasion. Your collection is amazing. Because I just tried for, like, a collection of the closest I could come to first edition Dayton’s with a few special editions, and that’s what’s behind me. Okay, you can’t see it. It’s below the camera, but it’s what’s behind me.
00:27:51:38 – 00:28:17:49
Agent Palmer
And, you know, I did all of it digitally. And I feel a little bad about that, with the exception of, spy hook and spy line. Spy hook and spy line. I actually bought in a store somewhere. It’s it. That’s it. Though. Everything else was digital for for me. Is am I cheating?
00:28:17:54 – 00:28:36:57
Jeff Quest
No, I you know, I’ve bought a ton of stuff online that’s in my collection. You know, and I don’t know, I, I’ve, I’ve talked to a number of collectors. A collection is really only worth what it’s worth to the collector.
00:28:37:02 – 00:28:38:45
Agent Palmer
I see that, see, you.
00:28:38:45 – 00:29:03:39
Jeff Quest
Know, I mean, it’s if if I could be collecting, you know, porcelain figurines and it could give me just as much pleasure as what I’m doing here. And I could have bought them all online. And as long as I, take pleasure in what I’ve got, then that’s what really matters. You know, I nobody should go into collecting thinking they’re going to make a bazillion dollars, because more than likely you’re not.
00:29:03:44 – 00:29:05:22
Agent Palmer
No, you’re going to spend that much.
00:29:05:27 – 00:29:22:50
Jeff Quest
Yeah. You’re going to spend a lot of money. And maybe, you know, there’s the rare time where you get lucky and there’s the one thing that you have that ends up being worth something, but you probably want five times as many things that cost just that much. And, you know, there’s you should not go into collecting to try and make money.
00:29:22:55 – 00:29:38:23
Jeff Quest
That said, there’s a lot of fun and joy of the hunt that can be had with it. And I don’t know, I, you know, there’s always going to be some collector out there who has a better collection is the other thing. There’s somebody who’s going to have.
00:29:38:32 – 00:29:49:13
Agent Palmer
Say, is that true? Is it really true, or are we talking like grass is always greener? Like, that’s, you know, that’s just, slightly different, like different variations.
00:29:49:18 – 00:30:14:41
Jeff Quest
I interviewed somebody who has they’re probably the biggest, one of the biggest luxury collectors out there. And, you know, he he has every edition of luxury, you know, pristine. His thing is he’s always focusing on the condition. So his collection is a whole is worth a lot because it’s in the best possible condition you could have.
00:30:14:41 – 00:30:15:50
Agent Palmer
Right. Sure. Yeah.
00:30:15:54 – 00:30:37:04
Jeff Quest
And even he told the story of beating another luxury collector who is, you know, has all of the same kind of stuff. And yet, you know, he he’s talking to him about the time that he got one of his books signed by luxury at a signing. And this guy is like, oh, yes, I have that book signed to.
00:30:37:04 – 00:31:01:35
Jeff Quest
I got it signed by him over lunch the other day, like they were literally having a he was having lunch with the guys. So, you know, I think that was a great story. Just proving that there’s always somebody who’s going to be a little bit more, on, on their game than you, you know, I don’t know. So you gotta you gotta find the joy in what you have versus being jealous over what somebody else has.
00:31:01:35 – 00:31:03:13
Jeff Quest
I guess that’s what I would say.
00:31:03:17 – 00:31:15:33
Agent Palmer
Now, do family and friends try and help out? Like, do they like either? Do they scout for you or like in the beginning they were like, oh, here’s a book.
00:31:15:38 – 00:31:39:21
Jeff Quest
No, you know, I, I it’s really just this my own kind of thing. My they’ve kind of learned I think that it’s not worth it to try and bother doing that. You know, I’ve, I’ve got my own and they have no clue really about it either. So, about what I’d be looking for. So I don’t think that, you know, sometimes I’ll put something on a wish list or something like that.
00:31:39:21 – 00:31:40:13
Agent Palmer
Okay?
00:31:40:18 – 00:31:45:24
Jeff Quest
But most of the time it doesn’t show up. It’s not that, like the right thing or something. And then so.
00:31:45:29 – 00:32:04:19
Agent Palmer
Is is there a Jeff Quest part of your life that’s not spy themed, like not your day job, but like, that’s just, you know, I sometimes I put the book down and I watch this or I do this like or is it, this is my thing.
00:32:04:24 – 00:32:32:34
Jeff Quest
I would you know, it’s funny because I don’t. Well, I love spies and collecting and doing the podcasts and that stuff. I don’t know that I’d consider myself as big a spy fan as some of the other people that I know. You know, I feel like there’s other people out there who are way more knowledgeable than me about this stuff and, and are are the people who live and breathe it.
00:32:32:34 – 00:32:52:56
Jeff Quest
And that’s like their thing. I don’t know that I maybe put myself in that category. That part of the reason I talk to so many people in these podcasts and stuff is because I don’t know very much. I’m, I don’t think I’m very smart on this stuff. That’s why I talk to people who are smarter than me.
00:32:53:01 – 00:32:57:43
Agent Palmer
Would, you know, would you consider yourself well-read in the genre, at least?
00:32:57:48 – 00:33:13:36
Jeff Quest
Yes. Although again, you know, I think talking to folks is a humbling experience because I realize how much I don’t know and how much I haven’t read well and how much I need to. And like my, my list of to read books is like a mile long.
00:33:13:36 – 00:33:36:54
Agent Palmer
And I mean, that’s that’s the curse of being a reader. But I think, I think one of the things so originally, when you and I were starting out and this is for all creators, we have that, imposter syndrome. Right. And you, you you don’t always get over it, and sometimes it creeps back in, but you’re like, I people are reading me.
00:33:36:58 – 00:34:11:11
Agent Palmer
They probably read me. Right? Like or or listing. Why are they listening to my podcast, you know, and we get over that. But I think that when it comes to and we’ll, we’ll talk about the spy genre, the people that you interview and the people that Shane interviews and the discussions that we have therein. Right. I think it really what it boils down to is, number one, we’re all fairly well read and and it goes back to what we were in high school like.
00:34:11:16 – 00:34:37:29
Agent Palmer
I will be honest with you, if it weren’t for writing those reviews, I wouldn’t remember half of the things. And I’ll go back. And even though it’s spoiler free, by the time I get to the next the last Samson trilogy, I have to read, and I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to have to read my last review to figure out where I was.
00:34:37:29 – 00:34:55:12
Agent Palmer
Right. Like, and I think that that’s where it goes back to like where you were in school because in, in high school, specifically in middle school, at least in this, you know, United States, it’s all about regurgitating that information and memorization. And some of us have it and some of us don’t. And I’ll never forget, like, I don’t know what it was.
00:34:55:12 – 00:35:17:01
Agent Palmer
It might have been like more middle school where I read a book for, I don’t know, sixth or seventh grade English. And the teacher asked what the teacher thought was a simple question. Now I read the book. There were times I lied, but this time I had read the book and but I could not. It wasn’t a detail I picked up on.
00:35:17:08 – 00:35:44:11
Agent Palmer
It wasn’t a subpar shot that made it like that. I cared about whatever it was. It was not quite like that obvious thing. And because I didn’t remember it, I was accused of not having read the material like, no, I just didn’t pick up that piece. And I think that’s one of those things where I fall into this category all the time of like, I know I’m well read, I don’t pick up on everything.
00:35:44:15 – 00:36:04:00
Agent Palmer
And so I can you and I can have the same reading background. We can have read the same. The last 20 books we read could be exactly the same. You and I are going to have a very different discussion when we start going through all those books, because of what you remember and what you retained and what I retained, and I, I think that’s part of it.
00:36:04:08 – 00:36:27:47
Agent Palmer
It’s not really like imposter syndrome, but it is, because the moment somebody else remembers more, you go, wait a minute. Did I miss something? Like, did I, I don’t know what’s going on. And I’m going to put that on just memory. And what else are you reading? Right. Like, you know, you read 50 articles for work today.
00:36:27:52 – 00:36:51:08
Agent Palmer
You read a thousand emails, and then you came home and you read 50 pages of a spy novel. That’s very different than the guy who read that book on a beach. And read 50 pages in an afternoon. So, like, I think I feel like you are, you know, I’m trying to build you up. You are definitely more well read than you give yourself credit for.
00:36:51:13 – 00:37:10:11
Jeff Quest
Well, I think there’s a difference between well read and having that kind of analysis of books. Right. You know, I can read a ton of books, but there’s some folks that are really good at just getting to the heart of some of the themes and things like that. And that’s the thing that I love talking to. It’s like that.
00:37:10:11 – 00:37:26:19
Jeff Quest
I mean, I guess it goes back to to school for me and sitting in a class with that professor who has such great insights into a work that you hadn’t read. And that’s the thing that I love. About talking to folks.
00:37:26:24 – 00:37:37:10
Agent Palmer
I could see that. I also wonder too, like, let me let me ask you this before I go on. How often do you reread a book?
00:37:37:15 – 00:37:43:18
Jeff Quest
I try if I’m talking about it with somebody, I’ll be rereading it generally.
00:37:43:18 – 00:37:44:12
Agent Palmer
Okay.
00:37:44:17 – 00:37:59:15
Jeff Quest
If I’ve heard it, because most of the time I’ve read it before, and so I want to have it fresh. If it’s just if I’m reading, it’s like, I’m like, I’m, I’m already like, I’m only got so many books in my life left, so I’m not going to go back and reread a book unless I need to.
00:37:59:16 – 00:38:22:01
Agent Palmer
Okay. Because I, I and I’ve said this before on the show, like I’m embarking on reading every book in my house just because I. I only have so much. We may only have so many books to read in our lifetime, but I only have so much space in my house for so many books. So I and I refuse to just donate a good book.
00:38:22:01 – 00:38:37:57
Agent Palmer
I mean, I’m not going to throw it away, but like donate. So one of the books that I was like, I’ll read it, and if I don’t like it, I’ll get rid of it. And I guess I must be more well-rounded than I thought because, like, there are some books I’ve read that I’m like, oh, this was amazing.
00:38:38:01 – 00:39:14:41
Agent Palmer
Also some of these books, no idea how they got in my house, or in my collection, I guess. But one of those books was The Meadow, which was a novel that was assigned to me in a nature and literature class in college. And I, I, I have lost touch with almost every professor I ever had. But I just know that when I read this in college 20 years ago, give or take, I did not understand it at all.
00:39:14:46 – 00:39:39:59
Agent Palmer
And now it I, I like, I get the relevance of it and I it makes me now think like oh, like, what am I missing from the books I haven’t read? Like from what am I missing from all those other books? Like, especially the ones for pleasure. This was one that was forced on me, and I didn’t get it when I was trying to.
00:39:40:04 – 00:40:05:03
Agent Palmer
And I just pick it up and it in magically makes sense now. So how much of that is life experience? How much of that age? And that? Look, I’m not going to just start rereading books because, again, there are so many more that I want to experience, but I am a little more inclined to pick up a book and go, all right, well, I haven’t read this in a decade, or I haven’t read this in five years.
00:40:05:03 – 00:40:31:22
Agent Palmer
Like, I’m in a different place now. What’s like, what am I going to get out of it now? I think movies are a little bit easier with that. Because, you know, you we don’t experience them in the same way. Like, very rarely are we going back to the theater to experience it again. And then we see it in syndication for a little bit or, you know, you see, you know, okay.
00:40:31:22 – 00:41:05:53
Agent Palmer
Yeah, I’ve seen all of From Russia With Love maybe five times in the last ten years on various channels, across different plot points and whatever, but not all of it. I haven’t actually sat down to watch all of it in a long time. And I wonder, like, Will it hit me? Well, I, you know, like if I rewatch every bond to do a countdown for the movie that came out last year and I didn’t, but like, if I had, would I would I treat all of would I have a different favorite bond like I and I wonder how time now plays with all of those things.
00:41:05:57 – 00:41:32:04
Jeff Quest
Sure. I mean, I think definitely with books, you’ll see. Yes, different where you are in life is going to change what your view of the book is potentially. I think with movies, it’s the interesting thing is you can be there’s not only that aspect, but the fact that you could be watching it with different people and you have that immediate like kind of interaction, right, where you can talk about it.
00:41:32:13 – 00:41:53:48
Jeff Quest
Yeah, and have a completely different view of it. I so that I put movies and television in almost a whole separate thing as far as rewatch ability, because the experience can be so different versus a book where you’re it’s solitary, right? You’re reading it on your own and you’re likely not going to finish it, as you said before or at the same moment somebody else did to talk about it.
00:41:53:53 – 00:42:13:56
Agent Palmer
Yeah. I mean, the closest that I think I would ever come to that would be scheduling a podcast, like, okay, you and I are going to read this book over the next month, and in a month we will talk about it. I think that scheduling it like that, like rigidity, would be the closest I could ever come to being like, all right, well, I finished that.
00:42:13:56 – 00:42:35:33
Agent Palmer
Now I get to talk to somebody about it. This is amazing. Yeah. But I want to go back. What what what are you what is what is not by Jeff doing. Like, are you watching sports? Are you playing video games? Are you, like, listening to music? What’s going on?
00:42:35:38 – 00:43:01:05
Jeff Quest
Yeah, well, I mean, I, I love sci fi, you know, that’s the other thing that I really enjoy. So reading science fiction and watching sci fi movies, that kind of stuff. I love running and I’ve kind of really focused on that over the past, you know, eight months or so is getting back into that regularly. That’s been a really good thing.
00:43:01:10 – 00:43:03:23
Jeff Quest
So and I know you’re a runner, right. So.
00:43:03:23 – 00:43:48:18
Agent Palmer
Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, we’re it’s, you know, we’re recording this in quote unquote the, the cold season. So no, I’m not a runner. But when the temperature goes above 65 again I will be a runner again. So I’m just I, I got soft I got soft I mean I can tell stories about like in high school running cross-country and, having a, a biology teacher as an assistant coach who was a wannabe psychologist who would be like, you guys are not wearing sleeves and you’re not wearing tights and you’re not wearing gloves, you’re going to psych out the other team, even though it’s snowing like, and you’re like, I don’t know, you’re young
00:43:48:18 – 00:44:14:24
Agent Palmer
and dumb and you’re like, okay, that yeah, let’s do that. Like, you know, I’m not that kid anymore. I it’s cold. I’m staying in so slightly like that. But all right, I mean, science fiction is another one too. I’m with you there. Although, for me, I’ve just started to get back into it. Movies I think have always been there.
00:44:14:24 – 00:44:43:54
Agent Palmer
That’s the easy bit. I think. Books. It’s harder. But I, I and I’m obviously reading books in my house. I have some Clarke and some Asimov and some Bradbury. And like, I haven’t touched these things, and I, I’ve moved them many, many times. Haven’t touched them in a long time. I don’t know if they’re going to resonate anymore.
00:44:43:59 – 00:45:14:51
Agent Palmer
And that’s kind of it’s kind of like taking an inventory of my book collection, but I’m not actually counting, except I’m reading them. And in that regard, it’s very slow. It’s a very slow process. We have other things. I can’t just sit down and read 24 seven. But it has been forcing me to read some things that it’s like I, what?
00:45:14:59 – 00:45:23:03
Agent Palmer
Why do I have this? Oh, this is really good. That’s why I have it. How did I get it again? No idea.
00:45:23:08 – 00:45:41:15
Jeff Quest
Yeah, well, that’s the thing that I love about books, right? Is that you’ll buy something or you’ll have it sitting on the shelf, and it can sit there for a decade, and you’ll pull it off and you’ll read it, and it’s just as good as it was when you put it on the shelf and and left it there.
00:45:41:17 – 00:46:03:48
Jeff Quest
Right. I mean, it’s like there there’s the you just waiting and there’s nothing wrong with that. I think, you know, most of the books that I have on my shelves that aren’t part of like my official quote unquote collection, right? Yeah. Most of those books are books I haven’t read, because once I read a book, I tend to, you know, give it to somebody else to read or, you know, donate it someplace.
00:46:03:50 – 00:46:13:44
Jeff Quest
I don’t keep a lot of, I don’t have a ton of things that I’ve already read. It’s mainly stuff that I haven’t read yet that I keep. Okay. I need to get do I.
00:46:13:59 – 00:46:41:45
Agent Palmer
I just I have a hard time parting with them. I really do. Even the I mean, I’m starting to build author collections, which is. I guess I can blame Dayton for that one. Because it was Dayton. And then I rediscovered Douglas Copeland and went, oh, like, I really like, okay. Like, okay, let me, let me read the next one.
00:46:41:50 – 00:47:09:34
Agent Palmer
All right then the next one. Oh, okay. All right, all right. Fair enough. And I was already fan of Klosterman, and I’m a fan of Clive Barker. Like, I’m starting to hoard by author. And and I think, Look, there’s no going back. You can’t undo this, right? Like, you fall in love with an author. You fall in love with an author.
00:47:09:39 – 00:47:34:02
Agent Palmer
I could have picked some less prolific authors, like. I mean, you wouldn’t have known that, but, I, you know, the. And, of course, I’m starting from behind the eight ball. All of these authors have been fairly prolific that, you know, we’re talking at least ten more, oftentimes 20 or 30. And I don’t even own all of them.
00:47:34:02 – 00:47:56:30
Agent Palmer
I mean, that’s kind of the still the fun, is like, I owe like, I, I skipped a book, but I’m, I’m a stickler for reading it in publish order because I feel like it tells you a little bit more about the author. That’s just me being, I don’t know, a bit OCD with it, but like, I, I think it is interesting to put it in time and place.
00:47:56:35 – 00:48:24:36
Agent Palmer
This was written before this, and then when I read this, which may or may not be related to oh, okay, okay, like because I’ve, I think if I had picked up the Samson verse, I wouldn’t have picked up that like there have been three times in the Samson verse. Then Bernard Samson sits down with someone and a bottle of Palmer as a brand of wine or a vineyard was put on the table.
00:48:24:48 – 00:48:49:04
Agent Palmer
That’s not by accident. That’s just happenstance. Right? But because I read these things and order it, you know, it builds off of it. I think all authors do that. I’ve done that I don’t even like. I could probably be better at linking, interlinking all my blog posts and stuff, but I’m sure subconsciously I’m always building on what was written before.
00:48:49:09 – 00:49:07:15
Jeff Quest
Sure. Well, and, you know, I think and that’s what everybody does. You know, you, you’re you’re always looking at what you’ve done before. And even if you don’t realize it, even if it’s subconscious, right? You’re you’re improving or changing or moving forward with what you’ve done.
00:49:07:29 – 00:49:32:31
Agent Palmer
Well, you say that. And now I’m going to put a hypothetical to you, which happened to me. Oh. I have I have been quoted to myself once or twice by people who have like read an article of mine, especially older ones, but they don’t tell me they’re quoting me. They’ll they’ll just give me this paragraph or this line and they’ll be like, this is really good.
00:49:32:31 – 00:49:34:48
Agent Palmer
I’ll be like, it really is.
00:49:34:53 – 00:49:35:55
Agent Palmer
Who?
00:49:36:00 – 00:50:01:10
Agent Palmer
Who wrote that? And they go, you did. I’ll tell you what, man. I, I am still amazed at how good I have been because I can’t remember half of it has. Has anyone ever quoted you to you and you didn’t know it, or is anybody been like, this is a really good article. And you were like, oh, I wrote this.
00:50:01:15 – 00:50:18:22
Jeff Quest
I haven’t had that happen, but I have gone back to look at some of the stuff that I’ve written. I’m like, I don’t remember doing that, but that actually is pretty darn. I like I can’t believe you wrote that, because that is really pretty well done, you know? And isn’t that a great feeling, though? Like, I mean, it’s gotta feel good, right?
00:50:18:22 – 00:50:29:26
Jeff Quest
I know what it did for me is like when I look back and I’m like, yeah, that’s not bad even. And not remembering writing it, I think adds to that because you can look at it with fresh eyes.
00:50:29:31 – 00:50:49:36
Agent Palmer
I, I, I, I waffle, I waffle because they’re a part of me. The part of me is like, it was great. How come I don’t remember it? Because, look, I’m. I’ll be the first to admit, like, ten years. I’m sure some of that stuff’s not like. I’m sure I put everything I could into it, but what I.
00:50:49:36 – 00:51:14:59
Agent Palmer
What I put it when I put everything into today may not be as much or half as much or double the amount of what I put it in yesterday or tomorrow. Right. So there’s different levels to putting your all in like, oh, I, I had a great day at work today. So this is the post, you know, or I had a crap day at work and this is the post and you never know.
00:51:14:59 – 00:51:24:58
Agent Palmer
So I just go and like, I should remember the great stuff, you know, like that’s the thing. I feel like I should remember the great stuff.
00:51:25:03 – 00:51:43:50
Jeff Quest
Well, but you’re you also don’t have that perspective yet. You know, I think the reason it seems good is because you have forgotten it. You don’t remember doing it right. You’ve got the perspective. You’ve had the time away from it. When you’re in the middle of writing something and looking at it, but you don’t have any of that perspective.
00:51:43:50 – 00:52:08:10
Jeff Quest
You don’t know, right? I mean, I think that’s true of every writer that I’ve, I’ve heard, you know, it’s all about the editing and going back and leaving it and coming back to it later. And, and I think it only gets easier to look at it fresh when you come back to it after a long time away and it’s put to bed and you don’t have to think about it anymore because it’s already that horse is already out of the barn, right?
00:52:08:10 – 00:52:13:57
Jeff Quest
It’s running down the run down the road. There’s there’s no way to put it back. Back in the box.
00:52:14:05 – 00:52:44:48
Agent Palmer
Now, speaking of that, I did want to ask you. You did talk about earlier that you you do enjoy these, lengthier posts at times. And you, you and I have both in that regard, written lengthy posts and short posts. If you if I had to put you on the spot right now and you you could only write short little bursts or long lengthy posts and it would be like and we would adjust everything in the universe accordingly.
00:52:44:48 – 00:53:01:43
Agent Palmer
Right. Like if you’re going to do lengthy posts, it’ll be like, you know, maybe fortnightly, you know, or if you’re going to do short posts, you can stay weekly or whatever, like do you have a I mean, obviously each book or post or movie has its own, you know, speaks to you for what format it’s going to be.
00:53:01:47 – 00:53:18:31
Agent Palmer
But do you have a preference? Just, you know, I’m going to give you a topic. I mean, I’m not, but like, I’m going to give you a topic, but before I do, you have to choose a bunch of short posts or one really long one. Do you have a preferred, I don’t know, style?
00:53:18:36 – 00:53:39:30
Jeff Quest
A I, you know, I’m not going to give you a great answer here. I think it’s going to be it depends on what it is. Right. You know, I think for me, I like if I have a something that I can do a lot of research on, I can pull a lot of different facts and that nobody’s ever really pulled together in that specific way.
00:53:39:35 – 00:53:58:42
Jeff Quest
If it’s something I can be kind of a little funny with, too, I that’s the kind of the thing that I love to do is those longer ones. But there’s other things that I like putting out there. You know, if it’s a book review that it doesn’t need, you know, if you 2000 words, you know, I just put that out there and let folks.
00:53:58:42 – 00:54:24:53
Jeff Quest
Because the other thing is, I love putting out reviews of books that folks might not pick up otherwise. Right. And so if that helps people look at a book, it doesn’t need to be, you know, some intense, you know, analytical piece of writing that goes on for, you know, 50 pages talking about the book. It can just be this is why it’s worth picking up and reading.
00:54:24:57 – 00:54:37:36
Jeff Quest
Okay. The other thing is, I hate the part of the reviews that I’m terrible at because I hate it is the like kind of regurgitating the plot back. That’s the part that I despise trying to do that I.
00:54:37:36 – 00:55:05:29
Agent Palmer
Usually, I usually I’ll yeah, I usually quote the inside dust jacket or the back cover or up or a piece of it. Right. Because again, I’m that guy who hates some of the stuff they give away on those things. But I’m with you. I, I if if there was a way to write a review, even spoiler free with just being like, it’s great, there’s lots of action, there’s witty dialog, you’ll love it.
00:55:05:29 – 00:55:15:44
Agent Palmer
And maybe a few quotes. That’d be great. I don’t I why do I have to tell you something you can easily find on your own?
00:55:15:49 – 00:55:21:59
Jeff Quest
Yeah, I find it well. And for me, it’s like, find a new way to say something everybody else has already said. Right. You know.
00:55:22:10 – 00:55:23:35
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:55:23:40 – 00:55:30:00
Jeff Quest
Versus giving more of kind of my thoughts on the book. That’s that’s my thing.
00:55:30:07 – 00:55:56:17
Agent Palmer
Now, negative reviews. I’ll be honest, I’ve, I’ve written one. And I think I’ve gotten lucky, but for the most part, if I ever have a negative review again, I probably just won’t write about it. Have. I’m not. I’m not going to ask you. I’m not going to put you, like, on the spot. But have you written negative reviews?
00:55:56:22 – 00:56:02:59
Jeff Quest
Yeah, but it was a long time ago, and it was a book that I really just really, really did not like.
00:56:03:07 – 00:56:03:39
Agent Palmer
That was my.
00:56:03:39 – 00:56:28:42
Jeff Quest
Excuse, you know, it was just it was your. But anymore, I just it’s not worth the energy for me, you know, and and most of the time I’m self-selecting out of books that I’m going to hate anyway. Right. You know, I’m not, you know, force myself to finish something that’s just terrible. And most of the time, I’m not picking up books that are terrible anyway, you know, because I’ve heard good things about them.
00:56:28:42 – 00:56:33:18
Jeff Quest
So. And I, the ones I hear bad things about, I just don’t read.
00:56:33:23 – 00:57:13:19
Agent Palmer
I will say having a community of readers around you is the best safeguard against a bad book, because you can blame somebody. Like if it does happen to be a bad book, you can just turn on somebody. But why? Why did you suggest I read this? Or why did you give this a glowing review? Right? Like you have a built in like mechanism for dealing with the angst of this not good experience versus for the most part, I think people are fairly I only want to give you a good thing to read.
00:57:13:23 – 00:57:14:11
Agent Palmer
I think.
00:57:14:15 – 00:57:38:57
Jeff Quest
You know, it’s it’s it’s one of those things where I feel like it’s not worth crapping on. Somebodys enjoyment of something is the other part of it, because, you know, and yes, there are just truly bad books out there. And I don’t mind people writing legitimately negative reviews of stuff I don’t. That’s part of what criticism is and should be right.
00:57:38:57 – 00:58:05:07
Jeff Quest
You need to be able to tell your opinions, whether positive or negative. What I don’t like and what you see online sometimes is people like just throwing out, oh, that’s crap. You know, it’s not worth, you know, anybody who reads that, they just terrible taste, that kind of a thing. You know, it’s like if somebody’s getting enjoyment out of this thing, if I don’t like it, well, it’s no skin off my nose.
00:58:05:07 – 00:58:19:50
Jeff Quest
Don’t I like it? But you don’t need to make other people feel like garbage for enjoying it, you know? And and that’s just an online culture thing, I think, more than anything, because, when people are in front of you, they’re a lot less likely to do that.
00:58:19:50 – 00:58:43:35
Agent Palmer
But I think part of it is, a post I’ve not written yet that I might someday, but I don’t have the meat to it, because right now it’s just a tweet that I feel like it needs more. But right now I can summarize into a tweet that there somebody likes everything, even even the books you and I hate.
00:58:43:39 – 00:59:09:12
Agent Palmer
Somebody out there loved the movies. We don’t like the albums. You don’t like the comic books, the characters, you name it. If you don’t like it. And it was made and not by you. Somebody out there likes it. That’s just that’s just how it works. So I feel like there’s more to that. I don’t know why, but that’s, you know.
00:59:09:17 – 00:59:28:42
Jeff Quest
That’s. Yeah, it’s it’s it’s, you know, it’s one of those tight ropes you gotta walk. Right. Because it to not allow people to have criticisms or to critique things because other people like it isn’t isn’t a good response. We need to be able to talk about those things in a way that isn’t nasty.
00:59:28:55 – 00:59:29:26
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:59:29:31 – 00:59:48:46
Jeff Quest
So we can have those discussions about why we do or don’t like something. But I think the problem is so often it’s easier to be nasty than not. Right. And so that’s that’s the problem.
00:59:48:51 – 00:59:53:55
Jeff Quest
You.
00:59:54:00 – 01:00:25:00
Agent Palmer
We didn’t really focus on collecting, but it did come up. And I’m glad Jeff said a collection is really only worth what it’s worth to the collector, because it makes sense that, well, not all of the collections that inhabit my house are worth real money. They are all worth something to me. Some of it could be financial. The $20 magic card I bought 20 years ago, when $20 was a lot more money to me than it is now, or just the small piece of art I picked up because I had a conversation with the artist.
01:00:25:05 – 01:00:43:53
Agent Palmer
Collections could be of anything. As mentioned, I have a library and collect books by authors, but I have a massive collection of Magic The Gathering cards, as well as a few other assorted collectible card games. I have a collection of art and posters, much more numerous than the space I have on my walls, and I have other things as well.
01:00:43:57 – 01:01:10:02
Agent Palmer
The point is, these things mean something to me, either because of what they are or what they meant to me in acquiring them. I did not realize Jeff doesn’t keep all his books that he reads. It’s just not something that occurred to me. But we all collect differently. And part of that is because, as we discussed, collecting is expensive either in time, money, or space.
01:01:10:07 – 01:01:30:58
Agent Palmer
We all only have a finite amount of time. We all only have a finite amount of money, and for sure, we all only have a finite amount of space to house our collections, even if they’re digital. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. If you’re collecting, it must be worth something to you, and that is all that matters.
01:01:31:02 – 01:01:52:18
Agent Palmer
So share with us what you are collecting and why it means something to you. And if you haven’t thought about why you are collecting something, perhaps now is the time to understand just why that is. Thanks for listening to The Palmer Files episode 62. As a reminder, all links are available in the show notes. And now for the official business.
01:01:52:23 – 01:02:18:24
Agent Palmer
The Palmer Files releases every two weeks on Tuesdays. If you’re still listening, I encourage you to join the discussion. You can tweet me at Jim Palmer, my guest Jeff Quest at SPI. Right. That’s SPI right. And this show at the Palmer Files you can find Jeff site at SPI right.com. Again that’s SPI sitcom. And if you go to SPI right.com/about you’ll find links to all of Jeff’s podcasts.
01:02:18:29 – 01:02:43:19
Agent Palmer
The ones that he has as this is released and perhaps any he adds to his stable of podcasts in the future. Email can be sent to the show at the Palmer Files at gmail.com. And remember, you’re home for all things. Agent Palmer is Agent palmer.com.
01:02:43:23 – 01:02:51:29
Unknown
You.
01:02:51:34 – 01:03:04:01
Unknown
See?
01:03:04:06 – 01:03:13:42
Unknown
Me.
01:03:13:47 – 01:03:19:54
Unknown
See.
01:03:19:59 – 01:03:22:28
Agent Palmer
All right. Jeff, do you have one final question for me?
01:03:22:41 – 01:03:31:37
Jeff Quest
I do. I was wondering what you have on your keychain and why.
01:03:31:42 – 01:04:00:45
Agent Palmer
Okay, so, car keys, key fob, whatever. Okay. And a key, actually, because I have an older car, so I still have the key fob and the key, because it’s not push button. Okay. I have a key to my house. My friends apartment. Oh, no. Two keys to my friend’s apartment because he’s had an outer door and an inner door.
01:04:00:50 – 01:04:03:33
Agent Palmer
And I’m the, like, we’re basic.
01:04:03:33 – 01:04:06:55
Jeff Quest
Like a well, what safety thing? Well, we’re the plants.
01:04:06:57 – 01:04:39:30
Agent Palmer
We’re we’re basically family. But, like. Yeah, if he ever lost his keys, I’m a couple blocks away. We’ve been best friends for, like, 30 years, so it it works out. And then I have, two keys to my parents house, and, a leftover from one of my last jobs is a Windows 10 USB boot drive.
01:04:39:35 – 01:05:19:56
Agent Palmer
Which is a, like, a really small form factor USB that I always forget is on there. Until I like, until it’s raining and I go, is this going to get wet when I take it out to open my car door or something like, oh no. And then, and this I have the. So in college, I had one of those lanyards for keys that everybody seems to do in college, and it had the, little like clip, so that you could take off the, the lanyard part, I guess.
01:05:20:01 – 01:05:40:10
Agent Palmer
So the, the clip, the part you clip it into is still on my keys. And it’s been that way for 17 years now since I left campus. There are occasions when I do clip the lanyard back in, although.
01:05:40:14 – 01:05:43:29
Jeff Quest
I mean, so you still have the lanyard? Yeah, I just don’t have a clip that I.
01:05:43:29 – 01:06:06:57
Agent Palmer
Just don’t have a clip on. Yeah, that’s I think because my keys aren’t on me. I mean, that’s the other thing, being home so much over the last little bit, like, I, you know, I barely carry my wallet on me, like, the whole, like, if, if I was going to leave the house immediately, I have to make some stops.
01:06:07:02 – 01:06:28:03
Agent Palmer
Whereas like in the before times, I think I always had my keys in my wallet on me. You know, you’re in, you’re out, you’re going places. And now we haven’t been. So it’s like, I think my keys are where I usually leave. I, my wallet might be wherever I made my last online purchase.
01:06:28:08 – 01:06:30:04
Agent Palmer
I don’t.
01:06:30:08 – 01:07:09:32
Agent Palmer
I but but but no, actually, I might have one keychain. I don’t know if it’s still on there. But I had a keychain that was the Hebrew for the Jewish Traveler’s prayer. But I do know because it was it’s, it’s one of those, I guess, glass keychains with the little metal clasp. And I do know at least once in the last ten years, I have had to get pliers out and tighten the metal that was, you know, kind of loosening its grip on the plastic.
01:07:09:37 – 01:07:21:33
Agent Palmer
And I haven’t actually looked to see if it’s still there. I mean, I could lose it along the way, I wouldn’t know. I think that’s what’s on. What’s on yours.
01:07:21:38 – 01:07:30:52
Jeff Quest
Well, you know, I got key to the car, and it’s it doesn’t have any buttons on it, so it’s just we we duped out.
01:07:31:01 – 01:07:31:20
Agent Palmer
Okay.
01:07:31:35 – 01:07:40:22
Jeff Quest
Hey, as the bonus one writes that I’m. I’m the the backup car key, guys. So I’ve got the the 901.
01:07:40:22 – 01:07:48:30
Agent Palmer
That’s I have my partner’s car key fob on as well. So I have two now.
01:07:48:34 – 01:07:50:42
Jeff Quest
They’re double double loaded ready to go.
01:07:50:46 – 01:07:52:50
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
01:07:52:55 – 01:08:12:39
Jeff Quest
Yeah. So I’ve got I’ve got a car key I’ve got house keys key to the garage. Key to my parents place were keys key to I like our office. And then also other office. Okay. What do they work? Too many, you see.
01:08:12:42 – 01:08:21:58
Agent Palmer
And it’s funny. I mean, if you had asked me years ago, I would have had a work key. Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll ever have a work key ever again.
01:08:22:03 – 01:08:32:09
Jeff Quest
Yeah, well, I mean, it’s it’s interesting that, you know, who knows, so many people are working remotely now that you don’t you may not even that you go in anymore anywhere. Right. It’s crazy.
01:08:32:09 – 01:08:35:56
Agent Palmer
Who knows? Yeah. So. So no keychains.
01:08:36:01 – 01:08:56:39
Jeff Quest
I have a Johnny Quest. There is, the 90s cartoon show. They released these, the logo as a keychain. And I bought that at Great America back when I was in high school. Okay. And it’s JC, stylized G.
01:08:56:42 – 01:09:00:36
Agent Palmer
Now, how many people called you Johnny?
01:09:00:41 – 01:09:04:33
Jeff Quest
Well, I nobody calls me that, but everybody brings it up.
01:09:04:38 – 01:09:05:29
Agent Palmer
Okay.
01:09:05:34 – 01:09:11:43
Jeff Quest
And my and so here’s the thing. My middle name is John.
01:09:11:48 – 01:09:15:53
Agent Palmer
Okay. All right. I can’t.
01:09:15:58 – 01:09:24:11
Jeff Quest
So it’s like a family name. And so they were my parents were kind enough to not make it my first name. So I guess I owe them a debt of gratitude owed.
–End Transcription–
This transcription was processed by PalmerTech 3.1 and may contain errors for HUMINT (human intelligence).