rife with non sequiturs

[rainous]

"...rife with non sequiturs too random even to qualify as red herrings."

Could someone tell me what on the earth this line means?

This is too good and beautiful English for me. I can't understand it.

[SoothingDave]

Did you look up "non sequitur" and "red herring"?

[Barb_D]

There are a lot of non-sequitors. A lot of them. Look, a squirrel! And they are very off-the-wall. I hear there's going to be a meteor shower this week. Even if you were thinking that the author may have included them as red herrings, that doesn't seem likely, because they are so random. Hey, did you see the ball drop on New Year's Eve?

Now, if you know what non-sequitors and red herrings are, you'll be all set to understand the passage.

[rainous]

Did you look up "non sequitur" and "red herring"?

Yeah. I looked up both words. But I can't just seem to make out the meaning when I fit them together.

[Barb_D]

And did you read my post? Would it be easier if I took out my non-sequitors?

[rainous]

Hey, did you see the ball drop on New Year's Eve?

No I didn't
Is that another example of non-sequiturs?
because I have no idea why you brought up balls dropping.

[SoothingDave]

A non sequitur is a statement that "does not follow logically" the statements that precede it.

A red herring is a statement meant to distract someone (lead them away) from the truth.

This statement is saying that there are so many non sequiturs that appear so randomly that it is NOT an attempt to deliberately distract from the truth.

[Barb_D]

If you have to ask, then I wonder if you really know what a non-sequitor is. It has as much to do with the rest of the passage as my comment about the squirrel and the meteor shower.

[rainous]

Thank you both for taking the trouble to help me.

It's still a bit confusing but it has gotten much clearer.

[Barb_D]

There are a lot of non-sequitors. A lot of them. Look, a squirrel! And they are very off-the-wall. I hear there's going to be a meteor shower this week. Even if you were thinking that the author may have included them as red herrings, that doesn't seem likely, because they are so random. Hey, did you see the ball drop on New Year's Eve?

Now, if you know what non-sequitors and red herrings are, you'll be all set to understand the passage.

Read only the bold. Omit the non-sequitors.