Friday 12 June 2009

A Spell of Swallows

I recently bought this book by Sarah Harrison having seen a few excellent reviews about it and wasn't disappointed. I thought I'd take a few moments after work yesterday to sit quietly and read. I couldn't put it down, and although I'm now nearly blind, I've just finished it. Damn good it was too.

The only problem was that I reached page 26, and instead of a page 27, the book started again from the beginning up to page 26 again, then straight on to page 59. Now, the sensible part of me thought I should send it back and ask for a replacement, however, the impatient part of me won, and I just read on, hoping that I didn't miss too much.

I've just gone upstairs passed one of my bookcases and noticed this book, The Nightingale's Nest. I read the back, and it appears that one of the main characters in A Spell of Swallows, is also in this book too. So, I'm about to start that now.

Grumpy had his short back and sides today, and is presently sulking in his bed. I'm sure he'll cheer up once he's got over his traumatic experience of being clipped.

21 comments:

Lane Mathias said...

I think I'd have been too impatient to send it back to!

I'm sure Grumpy looks very smart - and all set for the hot weather, if we get any:-)

Melissa Amateis said...

Oh! Those look like books I might like! Off to check out Amazon.com now...

Queenie said...

Sounds like a seriously big snafu on the part of the publishers, or maybe the printers, or possibly the typesetters. It's a complicated business, isn't it?

Tamsyn Murray said...

I'd go nuts if I found that in a book I'd written. As a reader I probably wouldn't worry about it though!

claire p said...

That happened to me once, bloody anoying!

Poor Grumpy, but he'll thank you when the hot weather finally arrives!!!

DAB said...

Missing pages from a book! I wonder if that is where the word MIS READ comes from? ;-) Hope Grumpy cheers up soon TFx

Troy said...

I think you've just learnt how to pad out a book which is short of words - ask the printer to put the first section in twice.
I'm becoming seriously concerned that Jersey might sink under the weight of all your books!

Michelle said...

Poor Grumpy, but it will be a relief for him when all the hot weather returns soon...won't it?

Michelle
x

HelenMWalters said...

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover - but I love the cover of The Nightingale's Nest. Very atmospheric. I look forward to hearing what you think of it.

Jenny Beattie said...

I like the cover too. I think I would REALLY upset by the page problem... particularly if hooked already.

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

lane - well, at least he's ready for the sun, if it ever comes back again to stay.

melissa - they are both great books, I can heartily recommend them.

queenie - you can say that again!

tam - it must be a pain, especially if it's happened to an entire batch of books.

claire - it happened to me too once before, but it was the end of the book that was missing, so I popped to a book store and had a quick read through. Frustrating though.

tf - ha, very clever.

troy - if only it was that easy, I'd give it a try.

Thankfully we're based on granite, so hopefully the island should be fine, for a bit anyway.

michelle - it will. Bless him, he's really not impressed at all.

helen - there's a painting described in the book that is very like the cover, so I think that's where they got the idea from.

jj - it was a bit of a pain, but I don't think I missed anything too vital to the story.

Carol said...

I'm astonished no-one noticed!!! You would think that it would be checked before the final print run!! Still, I'm glad it didn't ruin your enjoyment ;-)

Awww, poor Grumpy...he'll thank you once the hot weather is upon us!!

C x

Amanda said...

Sound like great books, Debs. I would have been frustrated by the page problem though!

Flowerpot said...

I'm a great fan of Sarah Harrison's books. Her writing just gets better and better - her most recent one, Rose Petal Soup - was excellent, as was the Red Dress (or something like that).

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

carol - at least the missing pages weren't at the end, I've had that before and it was dreadful.

G is slowly cheering up now.

amanda - it was a fab read, but that was a bit of a pain, I have to admit.

flowerpot - I'll definately be buying more of her books now.

Kaye Manro said...

Both books sound good, but that is odd about the missing pages.

Forgive my late arrival, I've been away for a few days and just catching up. :)

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

kaye - I've had the same thing happen a couple of times before, and it was so frustrating.

I hope you had a good time away.

Chris Stovell said...

Hi Debs, I've been away so I'm just catching up. Well done for doing the Race for Life - shame the weather turned on you at the end, I know the feeling! Good news about Victoria's book - I must order my copy, she's such a sweetie too. And now I'll have to look out for Sarah Harrisons' book which must be unputdownable if you can press on after a printing error. Too much temptation, Debs! When I am going to find time to write with all that to read!

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

chrish - Hope you had a great time away. RFL was fun, but nothing like the marathons you do.

Victoria is lovely, I'm going to read her book next, can't wait. I hope she does well with it.

Cait O'Connor said...

I like the title A Spell of Swallows, will look out for it, thanks.

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

cait - it's a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.