Albom: 'Bron Voyage

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/COL01/706030722

 

Nice read.

Now, before I settle on that rating, someone needs to confirm seeing him there.

 

Right out of the Albom playbook.
Find a seemingly witty phrase, repeat it, throw in some observations, repeat, come up with another mantra....


And the sheep love it.

 

I stopped reading at the second "bron voyage.

Guy is the literary equivalent of nails on a blackboard.

The Rod McKuen of sportswriters.

 

But more importantly, he will disappear for the better part of the next two months until the local NFL club comes into camp.
No more Pistons, no more Wings, Tigers are fading....
I smell book tour...

 

I smell another 128 page piece of Candy Floss.

 

Lesson to potential book writers:
Find your niche audience of sheep and concentrate on selling your product specifically to them
Finally, count your money

Not everyone is as introspective and "on the inside" about Mitch and so many other journalists as we here seem to be.

 

No joke. People still rave over his books. One of these days, maybe I'll find out why.

'Bron Voyage. Nice headline, maybe worth using once in a story. But its usefulness has already been driven into the ground. Thanks, Mitch.

 

First sentence. "As the pass came loping..."

Was it "loping" in the paper, too? Or was it "looping?"

Is this simply a transcription error made when the story was posted to the website? Or does Mr. Albom - and his copy desk - not actually know what the word means?

We went through this a couple weeks ago on "epithet" vs "epitaph" as well.

lope (lōp)
intr.v., loped, lop·ing, lopes.

To run or ride with a steady, easy gait.


Mitch Albom: Victim of circumstance? Or enemy of language?

 

Well, it WAS a Saturday night, same as the Final Four, so those doubts are well-placed.

 

I guess what bugs me most is that Mitch's books seem so, well, "market oriented" rather than genuine pieces of writing.

Now, before anyone misinterprets this, every non fiction writer has to have a clue about the market he/she is writing for. Doesn't mean you have to pander to them.

Mitch is the ultimate best-selling author.

A simple message delivered in short sentences that require no thought.

 

If Mitch typed "looping" and a copy editor changed it to "loping" then there's a desk opening in Detroit.