Such snobbery, my dear!

    I am an English snob!  No, not the high tea, chauffeured in my limo on the wrong side of the highway type snob..........a real ENGLISH snob.... the grammar, punctuation and spelling kind. I know that's not news to most but the snob part came out in full bloom last night as I began reading a new novel.  I read...a lot!  If I'm into the story by chapter two or three, the author "had me at hello"..so to speak.  If not, it's garage sale for a bookshelf book or delete for my Kindle!  I generally only read books from known authors that have pleased me in the past.  My favorite, by far, is James Patterson.  Others I enjoy are Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Nicholas Sparks, Janet Evanovich (occasionally), Danielle Steel (her repetition of late has me pretty bored and disappointed), Mary Higgins Clark and Sidney Sheldon.  I'm not a re-reader but I am returning to Sidney Sheldon's books as he was the author who piqued my love of reading.  He has since passed and I can no longer look forward to something fresh from him. I have read several biographies and a few random, local authors if they offer me something I'm overtly interested in....either a connection to someone local, someone in sports or to someone I know..ie: Andy Rooney.  ( I didn't actually know Andy but he and my Dad were great college pals that stayed in touch. He would sign his books for Dad and I would read them before gifting:)
    Back to my snobbery debacle.  I'm reading a new book by a new author who just happens to be a dear friend (and relative.)  I am so proud of her ambition and so envious that she has done something (6 somethings to be exact) that I have longed to do forever. Her books are offered on Amazon.  The closest I have gotten to Amazon is subsidizing their profit margin!  She has never professed anything less than she needs a good editor in her camp.  I concur! Enter snob.  I'm only in the middle of chapter three of the first in her second series.  Thankfully, I am reading on my Kindle or my red pen would have been near empty.  Content gets exemplary grades but I find myself constantly drawing mental circles on poor punctuation and awful grammar......and then I feel bad. (btw-fyi, it's not badly as you do not add the ly if the adverb describes a sense!  Thank you Shirley, my English Saviour.)  I just need to get past the point of ending a sentence in a preposition, word placement and punctuation.  I will make that happen and put my grammatical haughtiness behind me and my sheer joy for her talent and success in front of me.  See, I am truly a snob!  Unfortunately, theses issues are preventing me from enjoying, what I know will be a story I will love.  I see so much of the author in every sentence and every scenario and her skills at putting pen to paper and capturing a great story with her personal experiences intertwined are marvelous. Then a grammatical error throws on my anti lock brakes.  I don't want to stop but the slope gets slippery and it's caused my mind to skid... CRAP!  I will continue once I've salted the path because I want to know if there's a future for Brody and Emma.  That in itself proves she can write!
Congrats M.J. for having the guts and fortitude to do what I only seem to complain about...You ROCK!♥