Shirley Dent waxes wroth in the Guardian today about personalised novelty books. It’s not news though. I confessed to being deeply disturbed by this in November 2009.
You know with a download of any classic from Project Gutenberg you could do this yourself. Insert yourself into Catherine’s place in Wuthering Heights or Anne’s in Anne of Green Gables. Does the facsimile cover really make that much difference?
I bet this is the kind of gift no one buys for themselves. You’ll get one of these from good old uncle Bob who knows nothing about you except that you ‘like books’ and your name – which he can’t spell. I’ll probably end up with a copy of Reanne Through the Looking Glass.
If I were going to spend my time on something like this I’d do a self-insertion as a character into the Chalet School novels and Mary-Sue myself to victory. I too could fall off the side of a mountain and be rescued by one or more Maynards. I can make the most money for the school sale. Snarky mistresses would bow before my intellect and wit. Everyone from Betty Wynne Davis to Verity-Ann Carey would want to be my friend…
Ahem. Still, I think the personalised book company has a problem when their product is less appealing than the lowest form of fanfiction!