Egad ... What a monstrosity!

I finished reading Tracy Porter's Tarot Companion last night. I was determined to read the whole thing because I bought it new and paid good money for it. Unbelievable!

Okay ... so she is trying to cram an immense amount of information into a smallish book. I understand that and did not expect any depth. However, I object to books which present information as fact, when it is just one take on the cards, or their correspondences.

I have to wonder, also, whether anyone bothered to proof read it. Not only were there sentences that made no sense ... and not because we are dealing with profound information .... but because they had additional words in them that were pure error.

Another error was the diagram of the tree of life ... yesod and malkuth were reversed. No ... she was not presenting an alternative view of the ToF. She made correspondences to just about everything that crawls ... I could go on, but I won't. I might get nasty. Grrrrrr! (Nastier!) It was a real teeth-grinder! And I can't, in all good conscience, sell it on. I don't want to be responsible for speading the mess.

I figure that it was written with good intentions in mind ... but the road to hell .... and all that!

Okay ... being a bit harsh and nit-picky, but as I read it ... with all its un-proofed errors, and its lack of acknowledgement that it was written from the author's perspective only ... (and she is of course, entitled to write from that perspective ... I believe though, that this should be acknowledged), I thought of all those people out there who are new to tarot ... who are looking for THE answers, and believe that they have discovered them in a single book. It's a worry.

As an idea ... it's great ... as a reality, it leaves way too much to be desired, which is a pity.

Anyone else have any comments on it?

mythos

Oh no!

I just recieved this book today in the mail! Now you have me interested enough to go start it, just to see...hehe...sorry you had such a bad experience.

Gosh ... don't let me put you off. If you read with a critical-thinking eye, which we should do anyway, it is interesting and readable. I think that I was one of those strict and terrifying teachers, whom we have all met, in a previous lifetime ... and its rubbed off.

mythos

Make notes and contact the publisher.

When I bought 'The Everything Tarot Book' I was shocked at the ommissions, errors, and typos that existed! Paragraphs that began in mid sentence, notes that were inconsistant, etc.

Be sure to quote page and paragraph number; say 'the sentence reads " XXXXX" and there are extra words that do not make sense,' or whatever the problem is. Be specific!

Complain that these errors should have be caught by the editor and proofreaders, and how they have hindered your appreciation of the author's work.

Good move Tarotbear ... yep, they should have been picked up, and I guess that the only way to be certain that quality becomes the norm, is to make the publishers aware of the problems.

Will do!

mythos

The Beat Goes On The Road

Living in a belfry eating cornhusks, Tracy had a vision:
Tarot Companion begun and ended in 3 short weeks...

Could she stand the pace, would there be any rewards,
what about proofreaders and (her fond wish) an index?

"That which is above is like that which is below
and that which is below is like that which is above,
to achieve the wonders of the one thing."

Tracy's book was born of that great fantastic impulse known
as ready or not here I come, and she's still coming on strong.

Read it and weep ~ or laugh with all The World besides.