Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing The World, One Correction At A Time (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I picked this book up for the title. I loved it but am now slightly afraid to write about it because I can't spell worth a darn (thank you computer for the lovely red line that appears whenever I truly misspell a word). But it frustrates me when people don't care enough about what they put out in the world to look at it twice before releasing it to the public. Back to the book: I enjoyed the story involved as much as the need to correct the typos, but I think what really made the book fabulous to me was the evolution of the mission. We are all besieged by doubts at times, and that the authors agreed to share their doubts and the evolution of the mission based on expressing and exploring those doubts, took the book beyond a recounting of someone's adventure to the deeper exploration of how people respond to criticism of their environment (not them, just their environment). It can be difficult to police yourself, you know what you are trying to say so even when rereading you can unconsciously forcibly correct it as you read. I hope I haven't embarrassed myself here, I am, at this precise moment, SUPER paranoid about my grammar and punctuation use. THE GREAT TYPO HUNT was definitely a fun little nerdy read. I mean, two guys ride around the country with a bag of white-out and sharpies, ready to fix grammar and spelling errors on signs and billboards everywhere?! Yes, please!Alongside the tales of craziness and adventure from state to state are musings from the author concerning the nature of language and of his quest to correct the typos of the world - which adds a nice philosophical twist to things. By altering small town window displays, are our authors destroying a hint of classic charm or are they leveling the playing field when it comes to keeping up with the big dogs in advertising? Should historical errors be taken as pieces of nostalgia and history or should these too be subject to the wrath of our great editors?And what happens when typo corrections -- at the Grand Canyon, of all places -- ends up being a matter of national security, resulting in a typo hunt in court?Although the story got a teensy bit repetitive near the end, this was an overall amazing book that gave loads of entertainment as well as a few interesting gem about travel, history, and (of course) language.While I totally understand that this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, THE GREAT TYPO HUNT will certainly find an audience with fellow book nerds and grammar police everywhere, I know!
What do You think about Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing The World, One Correction At A Time (2010)?
So far, so good. Will let you know more when I'm past the first chapter.
—Edwin
