Slowly recovering...

Belated happy Turkey Day to all who stop by.

Am slowly recovering from the massive amounts of food and wine consumed yesterday. The gravy? Excellent. The strawberry-rhubarb-cherry pie? Outstanding.

What can one do while lying on the couch, feeling stuffed to the gills, afraid to move for fear of bursting? Well, watch football. (Check.) And read. (Check.)

First on the reading list was Bill of Wrongs by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose. I was familiar with most of the examples they shared in their mapping of how the executive branch under the shrub has been stomping all over our civil rights since January 2001. But their writing style and voice are so matter of fact and so accessible that I think everyone who believes that the NSA surveillance, waterboarding, and rendition are acceptable in the "War on Terror" should read this book. It clearly illustrates the individual and broader scope of what we are losing.

Next on the reading list was Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave. Meh. I should've read Jane's review first. I agree with pretty much everything she said, but for one thing. ( Spoilers. Be warned. )

Dear Borders Promo Department

Dear Borders Promotional Department,

Thank you very much for periodically issuing a little pamphlet of Romance Top Picks. I appreciate having release dates for the coming month's books, even if they aren't all books that I'm looking for. I have one little quibble -- does NO ONE proof read this? 'Cause I'm thinking that maybe someone should, since presumably many, many of these things are distributed to your stores.

In the current pamphlet (November 2007) I found no fewer than five author names with typos and one title. What makes it worse is that two of the authors appear on multiple folds of the pamphlet, so the names are spelled correctly in one place but incorrectly elsewhere.

Kim Harrions instead of Harrison
Jeanniene Frost instead of Jeaniene -- this typo right next to a copy of the cover, where the name is spelled correctly
Constance Obanyon instead of O'Banyon
Sara McCarty instead of Sarah
Suvannah Russe instead of Savannah -- this was a pick of the month, but it was still misspelled when listed by release date
Scandals Daughter instead of Scandal's Daughter

One missing apostrophe, or even two, wouldn't bother me...but five misspelled author names? That just smacks of carelessness. Not the impression you want to make with your promotional materials, I think.

Very truly yours,
jmc