Eric

This is a fairly brief product in terms of recording time, i.e., not much bang for the buck. It's too bad, because I am really interested in all things Mac, but there's a lot of banter on this show and not much in depth reporting.

I wanted to like this book. It was a finalist for at least two prestigious awards. The author, however, can't get past half a sentence without relapsing into ornate descriptions. In my opinion, she hasn't learned how to manage her talent. As a result the story, to the extent there is one, slows to a crawl "like tired drivers snaking cars through the molassas of afternoon streets, bits of dull light flashing off their porcelain eyes..." OK, I made that garbage up, but there's a WHOLE lot of that sort of thing, more skillfully written, but just as tiresome. I don't like to think of myself as chauvinistic, but I found myself saying "So, is this what people mean by a 'chick book'?" "Veronica" is self consiously florid. Read 50 pages if you want, but rest assured, by then you have seen the landscape. If you continue past there, it won't be to find out "what happens next." You will continue only because you, like the author, just can't get enough metaphors and clever language. Turning a phrase is not the same as writing a book.