Talk:A Pickle for the Knowing Ones

Possible delay
I am a little uncomfortable with the draft, as the bulk of it is about the author. Only a relatively small amount is about the book and I don't see where the article shows how it's independently notable of the author. There's no information about its impact, just really the content and a brief line about some complaints he received. The sources also look to be predominantly about the author as well. This information is already summarized in the main article so what we need here is more information that isn't - ie, its legacy and impact, reviews, and whatnot. I'm not against it having its own article, but it doesn't seem to have won any awards and looks to more or less be known because of its author and his response to criticism. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:12, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Can you help with this? Basically, I want to make sure that it's safe against AfD if someone were to come across it. I'm not opposed to moving it, but well, books tend to get raked over the coals at AfD and I don't want someone arguing that this isn't independently notable. Personally I think if a book is above a certain age and was made (comparatively) widely available it should be considered notable (200+ years ago for example), as printing back then was expensive and widely enough sold books would be pretty rare (although vanity printing existed even then) and literacy levels were of course lower than they are now, but I don't think there are any guidelines on this at present with NBOOK. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:19, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * @ReaderofthePack Oh sorry, I totally missed this beforehand. I think that's a pretty fair concern as yeah, AfD is not particularly kind to books. I feel like it arguably makes WP:THREE when it comes to WP:GNG with the current refs, but it's not a sure shot. I can do some work on the draft myself to shore it up. TartarTorte 16:22, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks! Definitely let me know if you're interested in working on that proposal to have a guideline added for older books. I don't think enough people appreciate how fairly rare it is for a book to meet that criteria without there being at least something to shore up additional notability. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:24, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * IE, that the book has some level of discussion and so on, but maybe not enough to fully satisfy the other criteria as cleanly as some would want it. Basically, what's going on here. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:25, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * I do agree with you that before the advent of at the very least the steam powered press in the early 19th century, any book that was widely printed and is known about today should be considered to be inherently notable. It's highly unlikely there would exist multiple sources for a book with a total of 50 printed copies unless that book was particularly important to history. TartarTorte 16:30, 5 January 2023 (UTC)


 * I've tried arguing for something to be added around these lines, but to no avail. I believe my suggestion was more or less what I wrote above, but with the coda that if it was reprinted since then by a major publisher (especially academic ones) that shows the book's lasting notability. If you'd be interested in reviving that proposal with me on the NBOOK talk page then I'd be much appreciated. I'm not as on as frequently nowadays due to work, unfortunately, so I can't really monitor a proposal for an addition. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:22, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * I found mention of this in a PhD dissertation, specifically the salting remark, if that helps any. It's not particularly in depth, though. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:29, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Looks like there's also some discussion in a 1930s essay by W.H. Blumenthal, per an article about the essay in the NYT. It looks like there's a rather entertaining quote in the NYT from the 20s. That one I'd consider to be kind of a review of sorts: "It has been likened to Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac"; but this is grossly to overrate the work by the Newbursport Sate. One great usefulness, however, it has: as an exercise book for those learning the touch system of typing it cannot be surpassed, for the student cannot allow his eyes to stray from the text to the keys and make a successful copy. If this be stuffing a crack with a dead Caesar, let Dexter's biographers and extollers make the most of it. As a vastly entertaining study in egotism, Mr Marquand had to hand material which would have satisfied a Ben Jonson. Except in Jonson's comedies, and in their Latin prototypes, the like of Timothy Dexter will not be found." ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:38, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * On a side note, why is there not a movie about this guy?!?!?! He's a mixture of fool and sheer dumb luck. This would make for a great comedy, shame Leslie Nielsen is dead because he would have been fantastic as Dexter. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:42, 5 January 2023 (UTC)


 * I was honestly so taken with all of this that I did some quick research (as seen above) and I think that the quote I found plus the Blumenthal bit would be enough to keep it safe from AfD. Any further expansion you can give it would be great, though. ReaderofthePack (formerly Tokyogirl79)  (｡◕‿◕｡)  16:51, 5 January 2023 (UTC)
 * @ReaderofthePack, Sorry I was away from the computer a bit for an unexpected other obligation. A few remarks, first off, wow thank you for doing so much research. Second, I would absolutely love to see a movie about Dexter to be perfectly honest. I have a running list in my head of historical events and people that somehow have not have movies made about them, and this is definitely being added to it. Third, I will definitely add to the article more over the next few hours, although it seems like you already did a fair bit of expansion to it. Thanks so much once again! This has been fascinating to learn and read about. I think the NYT pieces push it over GNG without question. Thanks so much again. TartarTorte 18:13, 5 January 2023 (UTC)