Monday, April 09, 2007

For the Last Time

I have finished reading PHANTASMAGORIA. Who cares? No one! But this is what I get for "blogging" about books. I feel the compulsion to "wrap things up." I began to differ with the author, Ms. Warner, on a few points as the book went along... but what good is a book with which you agree 100% of the time, am I right, folks? What good is a book that doesn't occasionally prod and poke you? I do feel compelled to mention that a proofreader or someone had let enough typos slide for the lapse to become noticeable. Just small things, a letter or word dropped here or there, a singular that was meant to be a plural, little things. This happens sometimes! Maybe my next book will come out and be packed to the gills with typos! It is no great tragedy! And it can be fixed for the paperback. (Except in the case of my book, which for some bizarre reason which was explained to me, and yet which I cannot recall, is coming out as a hardcover and a paperback at the same time.) Nor does it take away from Ms. Warner's stunning collection and organization and interpretation of mountains of fascinating data! See? This is why no one should "blog" about books. People work hard and then other people come along and "blog." And of course there are no rules, no proofreading, no fact checking in "blogs." If you mess something up, it's quaint and delightful! You're a "blogger"! Aren't you cute? I sicken myself, truly. PHANTASMAGORIA was a fun book to read, not to mention an immense achievement. This time I mean it! No more "blogging" about books! It just brings down undeserved sorrow on everyone's head.