I was passing time with a fellow reader this week, waiting for books to arrive for processing and our conversation wandered as most readers do to books: what we’re reading, what we’re looking to read and pet peeves. This time it was two biggies; where do they get these “weird” character names and electronic book devices. We’ll let the devices linger for the future but concentrate on the character names. Now, I’ve read my share of books with totally unpronounceable (for me at least) names but it usually doesn’t bother me because I just give them a nickname. For example, Iphiginia Bright in MISTRESS became “Ippie” to me throughout the entire book. I was so entranced by the story I didn’t let an unfamiliar name bog me down. On the other hand, when there are too many “s” or “p” names in the same book, I give up and start to skip scenes for one or the other “S” character. Not sure if it is a deep-seated personal problem or if it just clashes too much in my head for me to continue. I can’t remember the name of the book but it had a Steve and Stephen in it….