A blog to discuss books and writing. There will be lots of other discussions, too, so enjoy!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday Mail Call
This was a slow mail week for me. That's not so bad, though. It gives me a little bit of a chance to get caught up on some of my reading!
Two items in my box this week:
1. The Lie by Fredrica Wagman
and
2. I'm Not Weird, I Have SID by Chynna T. Laird (this is a children's book)
Wednesday Word Skills ... on Monday
These really were some interesting words and I'm glad I took the time to look them up in the dictionary.
I hope you enjoyed them, too.
Fantods = a state of extreme nervousness or restlessness; the willies.
Orrery = an apparatus for representing the positions, motions, and phases of the planets, satellites, etc., in the solar system.
Ponce = a pimp; a campily effeminate male.
Excrescence = an abnormal outgrowth, usually harmless, on an animal or vegetable body; a normal outgrowth, as hair or horns; any disfiguring addition.
Fealty = fidelity; faithfulness.
Plinth = a square base or a lower block, as of a pedestal.
Praxis = convention, habit, or custom; a set of examples for practice.
Golem = In Jewish folklore, a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life.
Glaive = a sword or broadsword.
Cosplayer = One who takes part in cosplay, which is a subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu and video games and, less commonly, Japanese live action TV shows, fantasy movies or Japanese pop music bands.
Aeruginous = bluish-green; like verdigris.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Wednesday Word Skills ... on Sunday
Here is the next set of words from "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman!
Disquisition = a formal discourse or treatise in which a subject is examined and discussed; dissertation.
Persiflage = light, bantering talk or writing; a frivolous or flippant style of treating a subject.
Bumptious = offensively self-assertive.
Limned = to represent in drawing or painting; to portray in words, describe.
Dysphoria = a state of dissatisfaction, anxiety, restlessness, or fidgeting.
Sine = a perpendicular line drawn from one extremity of an arc of a circle to the diameter that passes through its other extremity.
Meerkat = A small, burrowing, carnivorous mammal (Suricata suricatta) of southern Africa, related to the mongoose and having grayish fur and a long tail, which it uses for balance when it stands on its hind legs.
Poniards = small, slender daggers.
Babel = a confused mixture of sounds or voices.
Arugula = a Mediterranean plant, Eruca vesicaria sativa, of the mustard family, having pungent leaves used in salads.
Munificent = extremely liberal in giving; very generous; characterized by great generosity.
Scrim = a cotton or linen fabric of open weave used for bunting, curtains, etc.; a piece of such fabric used as a drop, border, or the like, for creating the illusion of a solid wall or backdrop under certain lighting conditions or creating a semitransparent curtain when lit from behind.
I'm a Daisy!
|
"You are just a sweet person. When a friend needs a shoulder to cry on, you are happy to offer yours with a box of tissues as well. Once in awhile, you wish you could be a little more dramatic but then sensibility sets back in and you know that you are perfect the way you are."
I'm not sure if I agree with the description -- although I guess I could be described that way. LOL! Some people may say that about me, but I'm sure there are others who would just roll their eyes. Oh, well.
Anyway, click on the link and try the test for yourself.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Interview with Ben Tanzer
"This is a story about relationships, between father and son, friends, and most importantly between two newly formed couples. Following the lives and thoughts of four people in their mid-twenties, already experienced in dating but starting to wonder if that one person is out there. Taking a look inside the thoughts and conversations on both sides of the fragile world of romance and pain, friendship and fear, and life in New York."
Gosh, how to describe this book. Fun, interesting, fascinating, sad and frustrating -- perhaps.
This is the story of four young people, but the focus seems to mainly be on Jen and Geoff. They are both leery of relationships. Jen's father left the family when she was just becoming a teen. Geoff's mother also left when he was a boy.
Needless to say, they both know whoever they become involved in will eventually break their hearts. To compensate, they set up their relationships for failure. They look for clues that the other person isn't happy and offer them an easy out.
But now, they've met each other and are beginning to wonder if things could possibly be different this time.
This really was an enjoyable read. In fact, I had it done in one day because I just couldn't put it down until I found out what was going to happen to these kids. There were times I wished I could have knocked some sense into them (that's obviously the mother in me) and other times when I would have liked to be able to warn them not to treat the other the way they were (that's obviously the wife in me).
Ben Tanzer has given us a great read and one that teaches several lessons for life, love and relationships.
That said, I give this read four books.
And now, I'd like to welcome Ben to my blog. He has kindly agreed to visit with us today and I know you'll enjoy meeting him. He has a marvelous sense of humor that I find very appealing!
Welcome, Ben, please start out by telling us a little about yourself.
Talk a little about your book.
Are the characters in your book styled after anyone in particular?
Why did you become a writer?
How did becoming a writer change your life?
Who has influenced you the most in your writing career?
And thank you, Ben, for taking the time to visit with us. I really enjoyed it!
Wednesday Word Skills ... on Saturday
Some of them are so interesting, I almost believed Lev made them up himself. But, no! These are actual words and I was able to find them in the dictionary!
Of course, I did have to look in more than one dictionary to find some of them!
Do you have some favorites? I'm kind of partial to "nimbi." I like the meaning and it's sort of fun to say!
Corporeal = of, for or having the nature of, the body; physical; bodily; not spiritual. Of a material nature, perceptible by the senses; tangible.
Declension = a bending or sloping downward; a falling off or away.
Didactic = used or intended for teaching or instruction. Morally instructive or intended to be so. Too much inclined to teach others; boringly pedantic or moralistic.
Excoriate = to strip, scratch or rub off the skin of; flay, abrade, chafe, etc.; to denounce harshly.
Glassine = a thin but tough, glazed, nearly transparent paper used as for envelopes.
Golem = a human being artificially created by cabalistic rites.
Gonfalon = a flag hanging from a crosspiece instead of an upright staff, usually ending in streamers.
Madrigal = a short poem, usually a love poem, which can be set to music. An often contrapuntal song with parts for several voices singing without accompaniment, popular in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Loosely, any song, especially a part song.
Naiad = any of the nymphs living in and giving life to springs, fountains, rivers and lakes. Any of a family of submerged, fresh-water plants having linear opposite leaves. The aquatic nymph of certain insects, as the dragonfly or mayfly.
Chitinous = mutinous, tenuous.
Nimbi = a cloud or aura surrounding a person or thing; halo.
Faun = one of a class of rural deities represented as men with the ears, horns, tail, and later also the hind legs of a goat.
Susurrus = a soft murmuring or rustling sound; whisper.
Palimpsest = a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text.
Verdant = green with vegetation; covered with growing plants or grass; of the color green; inexperienced, unsophisticated.
Subpar = not measuring up to traditional standards of performance, value, or production.