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From: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: thriller?
Message-ID: <1818@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Dec-85 12:48:41 EST
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1818
Posted: Wed Dec 18 12:48:41 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Dec-85 03:42:18 EST
Reply-To: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster)
Distribution: na
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 31

In article <8056@ucla-cs.ARPA> reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (Peter Reiher) writes:
>
>A recent book along these lines that I would recommend is Tom Clancy's "The
>Hunt for Red October".
>"The Hunt for Red October" has been a best seller for some time now, and isn't
>yet out in paperback.

   It's a book I enjoyed as a break from my usual diet.  So as not to
be so ill-mannered as to post merely a one-line agreement, I have a minor
correction and a major flame.  Firstly, the paperback version has been swamping
area bookstores (chain variety) for at least 6 weeks now, so you can get it
cheaply if you want to.
   The other item on my agenda is the TERRIBLE spelling and/or grammatical
errors in the book (and in more and more books in general these days).  Can
publishing companies no longer afford proofreaders?  Is the output from a
word-processing program being accepted as is because it professes to correct
spelling errors?  It seems that way to me, and I (at least) am severely
distracted when I encounter these errors while reading.  When I want to
be immersed in a book, I read a book; when I want to take the time to 
puzzle out words and meaning, I do crossword puzzles (or read Proust :-).
The examples from this book are too numerous to list, but one sticks in my
mind.  It went something like "he was teached at the University...".  Now,
what does that mean?  Was it "he was *taught* at the University", or
was it "he was *teaching*..."?  Or maybe something else entirely?  I can
just see the chapters churning through the word-processor's spelling-
checker.  *Churn-churn*... HE... *churn-OK*...*Churn*...WAS...*churn-OK*...
.. TEACHED... *chug-churn-OK*... well, you get the idea.  Does anybody else
notice these things (and get as annoyed I as do)?
   Well, enough raving for today.

 - Joel ({allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster)