The Picoult book is killing me! She's changing font for different voices, chapter by chapter. I can figure things out pretty well with just a character name at the beginning of the chapter, thanks.

Oh, that would drive me batshit. I've come across things like that in fanfic, though not in actual books before. Aside from disrupting the flow, it makes me feel like the author is either a) unable to adequately differentiate the characters through, oh say, the writing, or b) assumes I lack the ability to pick up on those distinctions without some sort of clue. Feh. I'm sure that's not always the intent, but by that point they've pretty much lost me.

She's changing font for different voices, chapter by chapter.

Ugh. Is she insecure? Did Adobe bribe her to showcase their latest version of Garamond? If she can't write well enough for us to know what character is speaking without fancy font stuff, why is she being published?

The layout folks must despise her.

Katherine Blake (aka Dorothy Heydt)'s Interior Life uses different fonts for its main storyline about a 70s Berkeley housewife, the fantastical quest world she is either imagining or psychically linked to, and for [spoiler]. I think it adds a lot to the book, not least allowing her to shift from character/world to character/world mid-sentence, which gives a sense of the worlds interpenetrating and affecting each other while still being understandable.

I'm also fine with different fonts used to indicate letters, newspaper articles, telegrams, etc., especially in "false document" narratives. (I still think the larger category should have a cool name, like "epistolary novel," damnit.)

Aside from that, not so much. And I HATE funky ink colors with a passion. Black is default; I don't notice it; I notice the words. Other colors distract me.

I really hate reading anything longer than a few words in italics. It screws up the shapes of the words and makes it take twice as long to read. There have been a whole bunch of books that everyone tells me are great, that I just haven't read because they've got pages on end in italics, and I know I wouldn't be able to read it.

I think the fact that Owen's dialogue was all in ASSCAPS is a big part of what made me dislike A Prayer for Owen Meany.

That's the thing- until now she's been a perfectly enjoyable writer. I finished the book, and while its not my favorite, its decent. There was no need to resort to gimmicks. She showcased her astonishing font trick for a brief segment near the end, with each character getting a page, talking about how its raining (yeah, it wasn't great.) The font changes so quickly there it is IMPOSSIBLE not to notice. It's like the book is standing up on a chair, waving its arms at me, saying "Look! I'm clever!".

I think it adds a lot to the book, not least allowing her to shift from character/world to character/world mid-sentence, which gives a sense of the worlds interpenetrating and affecting each other while still being understandable.

Yep. When you're dealing with the fantastic, some separation is needed. And in those circs, I think it not only helps the story, but is necessary.

But totally with Micole, on the otherwise, not so much thing.

I finished Oryx and Crake last night, by Margaret Atwood. I found it a really interesting book. Anyone else read it? I generally like her novels (I think I've read 4 or 5). This one is much more like The Handmaid's Tale then The Blind Assassin or Alias Grace.

I listened to Oryx and Crake on books on tape and loved it. It reminded me of A Brave New World more than The Handmaid's Tale. Handmaid's Tale was distressing, in the same way A Thousand Acres was distressing. It left me feel wrung out and disturbed, and in the case of HT, really, really angry. O&C on the other hand, and BNW for that matter, just made me think and the stories were enjoyable to read. Does that make sense?

eta: I've been thinking of reading another of Atwood's books. What do you recommend? Something more like O&C and not like HT, please.

Oh, god. A Thousand Acres slayed me. It probably didn't help that I didn't know anything about it, and had only read (I think) Moo by the same author, so I was not prepared AT ALL.

My favourite Atwood is and probably always will be Cat's Eye. It's not one of her dystopian books, but it deals with children's cruelty to each other, so if that's a hotbutton issue for you you might not enjoy it. (Personally I think that's one of the reasons I love it so much - it's like picking at a scab, painful but irresistible.)