Earlier this week, having read several cautiously approving reviews, I picked up a copy of James Frey's addiction memoir A Million Little Pieces. When I got it home and opened it, however, I was distressed to see that there are no paragraph indentations in the book at all.
Hey, I don't mind a little experimentation with typography. I don't even mind the book's ragged right margin, which after all is how most books appeared until this century. But no paragraph indentations? How the hell is the eye supposed to keep track of where it is?
I'll pick it up again eventually, but right now the thought of reading a book that willfully confrontational makes me feel weary. I just can't imagine getting through it right now.
Author
Hugo and Nebula Award nominee. Creator of Proper Manuscript Format, Spelling Bee Solver, Tylogram, and more. Banned in Canada.
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