SBD: still more typos
Feb. 8th, 2010 04:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksNeither rain nor sleet nor snow shall keep me from posting for SBD!
Actually, all the snow gave me a valid excuse for doing nothing but reading and watching DVDs all weekend, in between bouts of (futile, Sisyphean) shoveling.
I read a historical romance by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon (a/k/a KateR of the SBD), which was pretty good. I may even get organized enough to tell you more specifically what was so good. I mean,other than in addition to the writing, the plot and the characters and the setting. Really, you should just read it and see for yourself. If I could figure out a good (legal) way to share or gift ebooks, I'd offer to give a copy to a random commenter.
Anyway, I also attempted to read a contemporary anthology. DNF. Have reached the point where I have to wonder about the perception of the reviewer who praised this book. Taste is variable, which I'm cool with. But how on earth did s/he *not* notice the typesetting problems? The grammar? The outright WRONG words used?
Some examples:
And so on.
Also, in terms of word choice and usage: there is no such thing as a "vice grip", although a "vise grip" is a handy thing to have in a workshop. And "whelp" may be a noun meaning young canine or a verb meaning to give birth; it is not a sound. Perhaps yelp or whine would have been more appropriate. One last thing: how does one snarl up one's lip? Is that short hand for saying he turned up his lip in a snarl?
The typesetting...well, the wonky pagination could be a function of the Kindle. But I've never seen typesetting this bad on the Kindle before. It leaves the FL problem of last week in the dust. No paragraph breaks in dialogue, single words on a line for no apparent reason, etc.
I've begun a mental list of ebook publishers that seem to have little or no editing. This is not the first book I've bought from this publisher with poor editing, so it's being added to the list.
I might've been more tolerant of the poor presentation if I'd been engaged by any of the characters. But no.
Also for SBD, since it's Valentine's Day between now and the next potential SBD: what is up with the Lyric Opera having Bizet's Carmen as its show on Valentine's Day? Yes, it's a passionate love story of sorts, but, hello, Don José kills Carmen in the end. What message does that send? That it's okay to kill a woman when she dumps you? I have a love/hate relationship with this opera that dates back to the first time I saw a film adaptation of it, Carlos Saura's Carmen as part of his flamenco trilogy (see also Boda de sangre and El amor brujo). ( My favorite lines of the film are mentioned here.) Carmen is a not-entirely admirable character, but she owns herself and her sexuality, which I appreciate, so killing her in the end because she has chosen another bothers me. A lot.
Actually, all the snow gave me a valid excuse for doing nothing but reading and watching DVDs all weekend, in between bouts of (futile, Sisyphean) shoveling.
I read a historical romance by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon (a/k/a KateR of the SBD), which was pretty good. I may even get organized enough to tell you more specifically what was so good. I mean,
Anyway, I also attempted to read a contemporary anthology. DNF. Have reached the point where I have to wonder about the perception of the reviewer who praised this book. Taste is variable, which I'm cool with. But how on earth did s/he *not* notice the typesetting problems? The grammar? The outright WRONG words used?
Some examples:
- feeling "self conscience" instead of "self-conscious" (twice!)
- missing direct address commas fairly regularly...but making up for them by inserting random commas elsewhere
- referring to a "gallop" poll, rather than Gallup poll
- use of possessive pronoun "your" and "their" when the sentence actually needed the subject and verb contraction "you're" or "they're"
And so on.
Also, in terms of word choice and usage: there is no such thing as a "vice grip", although a "vise grip" is a handy thing to have in a workshop. And "whelp" may be a noun meaning young canine or a verb meaning to give birth; it is not a sound. Perhaps yelp or whine would have been more appropriate. One last thing: how does one snarl up one's lip? Is that short hand for saying he turned up his lip in a snarl?
The typesetting...well, the wonky pagination could be a function of the Kindle. But I've never seen typesetting this bad on the Kindle before. It leaves the FL problem of last week in the dust. No paragraph breaks in dialogue, single words on a line for no apparent reason, etc.
I've begun a mental list of ebook publishers that seem to have little or no editing. This is not the first book I've bought from this publisher with poor editing, so it's being added to the list.
I might've been more tolerant of the poor presentation if I'd been engaged by any of the characters. But no.
Also for SBD, since it's Valentine's Day between now and the next potential SBD: what is up with the Lyric Opera having Bizet's Carmen as its show on Valentine's Day? Yes, it's a passionate love story of sorts, but, hello, Don José kills Carmen in the end. What message does that send? That it's okay to kill a woman when she dumps you? I have a love/hate relationship with this opera that dates back to the first time I saw a film adaptation of it, Carlos Saura's Carmen as part of his flamenco trilogy (see also Boda de sangre and El amor brujo). ( My favorite lines of the film are mentioned here.) Carmen is a not-entirely admirable character, but she owns herself and her sexuality, which I appreciate, so killing her in the end because she has chosen another bothers me. A lot.
