"Sign up for your very own table to sale all your goodies at!!" (sell)My inner word nerd will no longer weep in despair, but assume people can learn. So here's a link to Common Errors in English Usage. Now ... do I send them the link? Or not? (Yes, I noticed the "at" at the end of their sentence, but I'd better not comment.)
I'm in the Eastern time zone, so Hour 19 meant 2:00 a.m. That's when I went to bed and to sleep.2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat is nine related short stories, so I was able to read in small snatches between errands and other things I had to do.3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope, it was wonderful, as usual.4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Two, but only completed one.6. What were the names of the books you read?
Both8. Which did you enjoy least?
It wasn't a contest.9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
n/a10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I signed up after the Readathon was already underway, so obviously I'm unable to resist it.
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| Dewey's cat in 2007. |
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| [cartoon by John Taylor, borrowed from OxfordDictionaries.com] |
"23 April, as every schoolchild knows, is probably the birthday, and definitely the deathday, of England’s most famous writer: William Shakespeare, often known simply as the Bard. (We don’t know his exact birth date, but he was baptized on 26 April, and it lends his life an appropriately poetic balance to assume he was born and died on the same day.)"You did, of course, know that Shakespeare is known as the Bard of Avon, right? Anyway, take the quiz and let me know how well you did in choosing whether the words were from William Shakespeare or the King James Bible.
So the history of the towers has not come to an end.Oooh, this resonates with me, and I really really must use it myself. Now. Because E. L. Konigsburg has died, here's how I read those lines.
But the telling of it must.
Here.
Now.
So the telling of stories has not come to an end.And the world is poorer for it. May she rest in peace, even as the stories she published live on.
But stories from E. L. Konigsburg have.
Here.
Now.
Bookends ~ by Liz Curtis Higgs, 2000, fictionWORD NERD
Krik? Krak! ~ by Edwidge Danticat, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995, short stories
My inner word-nerd weeps in despair. Yet maybe it isn't as bad as it seems. Maybe we can blame technology for some (most?) of these word mistakes, based on comments like this one on Facebook, which was followed by its own correction:1. "War is a raquet!"
(racket)
2. "It was my soul income."
(sole)
3. "He road the horse."
(rode)
4. "That rode is full of potholes."
(road)
5. "My rent is do today."
(due)
6. "I need a chain length fence."
(chain link fence)
7. "Does anyone have a wheelbarrel they want to sell?"
(wheelbarrow)
8. "I would have missed the hole thing!" (whole)The next sentence said it all: "Whole ... iPad touch screen and I are on the verge of a breakup!" I find my touch screen annoying, too. Others may have a problem with auto-correct. I wouldn't want a machine to automatically change what I type.
"I would rather read than sit motionless observing the Madonna any day!"That's from page 33 of Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat.
"They say behind the mountains are more mountains. Now I know it's true. I also know there are timeless waters, endless seas, and lots of people in this world whose names don't matter to anyone but themselves."The young man behind these thoughts is at sea, drifting in a flimsy boat away from Haiti. Makes me wonder: How endless are those seas, anyway?
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| Click twice to enlarge |
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?Hour 2 ~ 9:00 a.m. ~ Books Read Database
Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Grapes, chips 'n' dip — maybe even together, since I started the day with a mashed banana on waffles.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Reader, writer, blogger, mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, retired pastor, teacher, friend.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
Different means reading without Kiki. Looking forward to the mini-challenges, even though they take time from my reading.
1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?Hour 13 ~ 8:00 p.m. ~ Cooking the Books
It's been a busy day, so I haven't read as much as I had hoped.
2) What have you finished reading?
Nothing, yet.
3) What is your favorite read so far?
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat
4) What about your favorite snacks?
I'm eating mindlessly, while reading, except when my son had lunch with me today.
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!
I haven't been visiting around much.
Courtney said at Hour 13: "This is Dewey Day and we only get it twice a year."
As we all know, nothing falls out of fashion like fashion. History has relegated thousands of adornments to the ash bin, from togas to bustles to turbans. Yet, somehow these "glad rags" always manage to stage comebacks, sneaking into our modern wardrobes in various guises. Once-fashionable words, on the other hand, have far less comeback savvy. Once a word or phrase is regarded as passe, it usually stays on the "Don't" list forever, with little hope for redemption. It seems dreadfully unfair, but as our grandparents used to say, "That's just the way the cookie crumbles."That's the opening paragraph of this book. The sub-subtitle of this book is "A Collection of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful Words, Phrases, Praises, Insults, Idioms, and Literary Flourishes from Eras Past." And here's part of the online description of the book:
From all-overish to zounds, the vintage vernacular collected here will make any reader the cat's meow among friends, relations, and acquaintances.Book Riot asked people to share the good old-fashioned words and phrases they would want to bring back into common use. Can you think of others to add to this list they collected?
bee’s kneesHuh! I'm so old I'm still using some of these. Didn't know they were extinct — or nearly so. I'm not extinct yet, but today IS my 73rd birthday. You whippersnappers should respect your elders and be nice to me, at least for today.
betwixt
caddywompus
cat’s pajamas
druthers
fiddlesticks
flibbertigibbet
fop
gadzooks
guttersnipe
hither
hootenanny
hot diggity
huzzah
noddycock
persnickety
poppycock
pulchritude
tomfoolery
untoward
vittles
you’re darn tootin’
whippersnappers
zounds!
The Stranger ~ by Albert Camus (1942)I added dates to the books on today's list so you can see how old (or new) the books are. Other lists: In 2008, I shared a list of 100 new classics from Entertainment Weekly. The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels is actually two lists, one from the Board and one from the Readers.
The Plague ~ by Albert Camus (1947)
The Brothers Karamatzov ~ by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1880)
A Tale of Two Cities ~ by Charles Dickens (1859)
Time and Again ~ by Jack Finney (1970)
On the Beach ~ by Nevil Shute (1957)
Possession ~ by A.S. Byatt(1990)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ~ by Mark Twain (1876)
The Secret Life of Bees ~ by Sue Monk Kidd (2002)
The Trial ~ by Franz Kafka (1925)
Cold Mountain ~ by Charles Frazier (1997)
The Giver ~ by Lois Lowry (1993)
A Thousand Acres ~ by Jane Smiley (1991)
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| E. L. Konigsburg holding The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place in the dust jacket she painted. |
"I Prefer Not To." That's Margaret Rose Kane's response to every activity she's asked to participate in at the summer camp to which she's been exiled while her parents are in Peru. So Margaret Rose is delighted when her beloved uncles rescue her from Camp Talequa, with its uptight camp director and cruel cabinmates, and bring her to stay with them at their wonderful house at 19 Schuyler Place. But Margaret Rose soon discovers that something is terribly wrong at 19 Schuyler Place. People in their newly gentrified neighborhood want to get rid of the three magnificent towers the uncles have spent forty-five years lovingly constructing of scrap metal and shards of glass and porcelain. Margaret Rose is outraged, and determined to strike a blow for art, for history, and for individuality and — no one is more surprised than Margaret Rose at the allies she finds for her mission.
In his characteristic heartwarming style, Patrick McDonnell tells the story of the young Jane Goodall and her special childhood toy chimpanzee named Jubilee. As the young Jane observes the natural world around her with wonder, she dreams of "a life living with and helping all animals," until one day she finds that her dream has come true. One of the world's most inspiring women, Dr. Jane Goodall is a renowned humanitarian, conservationist, animal activist, environmentalist, and United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), a global nonprofit organization that empowers people to make a difference for all living things. With anecdotes taken directly from Jane Goodall's autobiography, McDonnell makes this very true story accessible for the very young — and young at heart. This is a Caldecott Honor Book.
In kitchens and living rooms, in garages and labs and basements, even in converted chicken coops, women and girls have come up with ingenious innovations that have made our lives simpler and better. Their creations are some of the most enduring (the windshield wiper) and best loved (the chocolate chip cookie). What inspired these women, and just how did they turn their ideas into realities? From Sybilla Masters, the first American woman with a documented invention (although the patent had to be in her husband's name), to twelve-year-old Becky Schroeder, who in 1974 became the youngest girl to receive a patent, this book tells the stories of the obstacles these women faced and their remarkable victories.
Server: "Hey, you ever see a $2 bill?"He comes back to me and says, "We don't take these. Do you have anything else?"
Manager: "No. A what?"
Server: "A $2 bill. This guy just gave it to me."
Manager: "Ask for something else. There's no such thing as a $2 bill."
Server: "Yeah, thought so."
Manager: "Doesn't he have anything else?"The manager approaches me and says, "I'm sorry, but we don't take big bills this time of night."
Server: "Yeah, a fifty. I'll get it, and you can open the safe and get change."
Manager: "I'm not opening the safe with him in here."
Server: "What should I do?"
Manager: "Tell him to come back later when he has real money."
Server: "I can't tell him that! You tell him."
Manager: "Just tell him."
Server: "No way! This is weird. I'm going in back."
Guard: "Yeah, Mike, what's up?"Security Guard walks over to me and......
Manager (whispering): "This guy is trying to give me some" ... (pause) ... "funny money."
Guard: "No kidding! What?"
Manager: "Get this. A two-dollar bill."
Guard (incredulous): "Why would a guy fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager: "I don't know. He's kinda weird. He says the only other thing he has is a fifty."
Guard: "Oh, so the fifty's fake!"
Manager: "No, the two dollar bill is."
Guard: "Why would he fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager: "I don't know! Can you talk to him and get him out of here?"
Guard: "Yeah."
Manager: "It's fake."The security guard and I both look at him like he's an idiot, and it dawns on the guard that the guy has no clue and is an idiot. So, it turns out that my burrito was free, and the manager threw in a small drink and some of those cinnamon thingies, too.
Guard: "It doesn't look fake to me."
Manager: "But it's a two dollar bill."
Guard: "Yeah?"
Manager: "Well, there's no such thing, is there?"
"A kid's headboard perhaps with children’s illustrated books."So do you think this whimsical headboard is a path to sweet dreams?
Mary Wrightly is the best-behaved little girl around. She always politely says please and thank you and even “I’m sorry” when something isn’t her fault. But when a shopper comes between Mary and the blue elephant toy she wants to buy for her beloved baby brother, will Mary just let the woman walk away with it? Speak up, Mary! The charming illustrations capture the spirit of this gentle look at how asserting oneself is not rude — and is even occasionally out-and-out necessary.
"The first decade of the twentieth century was not a great time to be born black and poor and female in St. Louis, Missouri, but Vivian Baxter was born black and poor, to black and poor parents."This is Maya Angelou's most recent book about her life, this time telling us about her relationship with her mother. Read more about the memoir in my Sunday Salon post.
Ashley Judd found her calling: as a humanitarian and voice for those suffering in neglected parts of the world. As she worked with suffering women and children in Asia and Africa, she realized that she was struggling with her own emotional pain, stemming from childhood abandonment and abuse.I started this post about a month ago, when I learned that Ashley Judd (her blog) might run against Mitch McConnell for his Kentucky U.S. Senate seat in 2014. I wanted to know more about her and was impressed by what I found.
"A familiar, gnawing emptiness haunted my days and nights. I could feel the trapdoor underneath me opening again. I was having trouble modulating my behavior; I'd swing back and forth between being paralyzed and overdoing whatever I undertook. I might be able to confidently lobby archconservative Senate majority [*] leader Mitch McConnell in his chambers, but I couldn't seem to manage the simple task of finding a comfortable chair for my writing desk. ... I could become irritable and unreasonable without knowing it and was unable to place things in their proper perspective" (p. 163).Because the subject is heavy, reading was slow. I would take long breaks in between reading chapters or even sections of chapters. For that reason, I rate this book 7 of 10, a good book. It made me think, and I do believe she would make a good senator. Since she lives in Tennessee (my state), maybe someday she'll run for office and I can vote for her.
* Actually, according to Wikipedia, Mitch McConnell "has been the Minority Leader of the Senate since January 3, 2007."
Book I: The 12th Planet, 1976
Over the years, startling evidence has been uncovered, challenging established notions of the origins of life on Earth — evidence that suggests the existence of an advanced group of extraterrestrials who once inhabited our world. The first book of the revolutionary Earth Chronicles series offers indisputable documentary evidence of the existence of the mysterious planet Nibiru and tells why its astronauts came to Earth eons ago to fashion mankind in their image. The product of more than thirty years of meticulous research, this book treats as fact, not myth, the tales of Creation, the Deluge, the Tower of Babel, and the Nefilim who married the daughters of man. By weaving together the biblical narrative with Sumerian and Babylonian clay-tablet texts, it challenges the established notions of the origins of Earth and mankind, and offers a compelling alternative history and prehistory of both.
Book II: The Stairway to Heaven, 1980
Where did mortal man go to join the immortal Gods? Was the immense and complex structure at Giza an Egyptian Pharaoh's portal to immortality? Or a pulsating beacon built by extraterrestrials for landing on Earth? Sitchin unveils secrets of the pyramids and hidden clues from ancient times to reveal a grand forgery on which established Egyptology is founded, and takes the reader to the Spaceport and Landing Place of the Anunnaki gods — "Those Who from Heaven to Earth Came."
Book III: The Wars of Gods and Men, 1985
Thousands of years ago, the Earth was a battlefield. Those wars would shape our destiny — terrible conflicts that began lifetimes earlier on another planet. Parting the mists of time and myth, Sitchin takes us back to the violent beginnings of the human story, when gods — not men — ruled the Earth. In a spellbinding reconstruction of epic events preserved in legends and ancient writings, he traces the conflicts that began on another world, continued on Earth, and culminated in the use of nuclear weapons — an event recorded in the Bible as the upheaval of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Book IV: The Lost Realms, 1990
In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquerors came to the New World in search of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. Instead, they encountered inexplicable phenomena that have puzzled scholars and historians ever since: massive stone edifices constructed in the Earth's most inaccessible regions, great monuments forged with impossible skill and unknown tools, intricate carvings describing events and places half a world away. Who were the bearded "gods of the golden wand" who had brought civilization to the Americas millennia before Columbus? Who were the giants whose sculpted stone heads in Mesoamerica still mystify to this day? Sitchin uncovers the long-hidden secrets of the lost New World civilizations of the Olmecs, Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas, and links the conquistadors' quest for El Dorado to the extraterrestrials who searched there for gold long before.
Book V: When Time Began, 1993
They came to Earth thousands of years ago to usher in mankind's first New Age of scientific growth and spiritual enlightenment. Under the guidance of these ancient visitors from the heavens, human civilisation flourished — as revolutionary advances in art, science and thought swept through the inhabited world. And they left behind magnificent monuments — baffling monoliths and awesome, towering structures that stand to this day as testaments to their greatness. Sitchin draws remarkable correlations between the events that shape our civilisation in millennia past — pinpointing with astonishing accuracy the tumultuous beginning of time as we know it, and revealing to us the indisputable signature of extraterrestrial god indelibly written in stone.
Book VI: The Cosmic Code, 1998
Many thousands of years ago, a group of extraterrestrials from another planet guided the evolution of life on Earth — determining the existence and nature of humankind as we know it today. How did the master builders from the stars construct the miracle called man? Is the DNA that is at the core of all life in the universe a "cosmic code" that links Earth to heaven and man to God? Sitchin unveils writings from the past to decipher prophesies, and reveals how the DNA-matched Hebrew alphabet and the numerical values of its letters serve as a code that bares the secrets of mortal man’s fate and mankind’s celestial destiny.
Book VII: The End of Days, 2007
Sitchin shows that the End is anchored in the events of the Beginning, and once you learn of this Beginning, it is possible to foretell the Future. Sitchin presents compelling new evidence that the Past is the Futur — that mankind and its planet Earth are subject to a predetermined cyclical Celestial Time. In an age when religious fanaticism and a clash of civilizations raise the specter of a nuclear Armageddon, Zecharia Sitchin shatters perceptions and uses history to reveal what is to come at The End of Days.
