liar's dictionary

This book was weeded from my local library, I assume because they had multiple copies when it first came out. This is the second book/first novel from British author Eley Williams, if I'm understanding the book jacket information correctly. 

'Dictionary' in the title gave me my first clue that this was going to be a book by a word nerd author, and I was right; Williams is definitely a word hound and this book is just busting with them. Obscure, archaic, quirky, and just plain made up words.

The Liar's Dictionary is a story told in parallel, both now and in the past, * and centers on the little known Swansby's New Encyclopaedic Dictionary; which has lexicographers chipping away at words and their varied meanings, and somewhat more importantly, what the words mean to them. But that's not all, there is a little of everything here: love, romance, obsession, intrigue, terrorism, tragedy, mystery, censorship... yeah, everything.

Williams even lets her characters run off with the narrative, spinning away into streams of consciousness, and free associative thought processes, laid bare. That tactic is (thankfully) rare, but it lends a sense of realism that almost echos one's own thoughts while reading. And its funny! In many places, I got a kick out how these characters dealt with the stresses of their complicated, and interwoven lives. This book isn't very big, but there is lot in here. I'll be looking for Eley Williams' next venture.

Read this book.

 

On an unrelated note, invasion of your neighbor, Ukraine, seems like a crummy way to celebrate Defender of the Fatherland Day, or Red Army Day, this February 23rd, Vlad.

* the parallel stories, told now and in the past, and tied together with mystery and modern sleuthing reminded me of my recent reading of The Lost Apothecary, and reading them so close was an interesting contrast. It makes me think that some kind kind of thematic reading series might be fun to work on at some point. Ideas? Leave a comment!

book re^marks

This sweet thing, dear friends is a bookmark/notebook. It is three sheets of thin, fine paper, folded and stapled in the middle to create a very slim notebook for note taking whilst reading. Better than margin notes if you're working on a research project for example, or just don't want to mark up your books, or worse, a loaned book. That's 8 pages for your jots and scribbles, and words that need looking up if you don't have your dictionary handy. Who knows, maybe you're cramming for your physics mid-term, and you sketch out a 3:00 AM, caffeine induced, cold fusion generator. Could happen.

This fun little gift, thoughtfully given by Alyson to support my crazy bookmarker habit, is made by The Sherwood Press. They've got some pretty cool stuff for the geek in you.

Come on; its an astronaut for Pete's sake.

secret of the seventh son

Secret of the Seventh Son, the first novel by Glenn Cooper, was an interesting, fast paced and fun book to read. Cooper's writing is easy to read, mostly. Some of the vocabulary words that sprinkle and dot this book seemed unnecessary. In a fast paced thriller, I shouldn't have to stop to look something up a dozen times. Granted, there are segments of the book where whole tranches [see!] of the vocabulary are outside the everyday language of most readers, but that actually wasn't so bad, as most of those words had enough contextual clues to define them. Others just put the action on hold. Aliquot? Aliquot wasn't even in my dictionary. I mean sure, I know what it means now, and I'll keep it in mind for the next time I'm playing Scrabble--that's a bingo with a 'Q' in it, for crying out loud--but I don't expect to read it in a paperback novel unless its written by Umberto Eco.

So, lots of fuss about the language, but it wasn't bad, really. The characters were nicely drawn, even if we've met them before. And at the end of the book, there's a blurb about a follow up novel due out next summer. If it shows up, I'd read it. And the story arc was different, so that was fun.

my dictionary

My dictionary. I have others (around the house, at work, online) but this dictionary is mine. The one I use when I read. When I'm reading, I keep it next to me. When I put my book away, its stacked up with my dictionary. I read every morning with my breakfast (if I eat alone, which is most work days) and I use the dictionary to prop up my book.

I use my dictionary constantly, I look up words all the time. Some books have me looking things up once per page. No time, you say? How can one enjoy the story, you may ask? In most cases, usage is enough to give the gist and then just keep on reading. No, no my friend, that's not reading. That cramming for a mid-term, or burning the midnight oil before your book club meets, and you can't stand the embarrassment of not having read another one.

If you absolutely don't have the time to stop; if you're in the middle of a cliffhanger, and the falchion is about to fall, or you're on the train and don't have a dictionary, make a mark in the margin, and look in up later. Some folks use a second bookmark to mark what they want to look up, or even a scrap of paper, to jot words and phrases down, to look into later. Don't let these words just go by. Each one is a new toy, a new tool, something you can use. They're just sitting there. According to the book I just read about English, we just use the same few thousand words, over and over again, while the English language consists of hundreds of thousands of words.

I was talking to my brother--he uses a dictionary when he reads too--and he told me he gave a gift to his god-daughter. A dictionary. Her dictionary. And then he told me, it wasn't just a dictionary, it was a forever dictionary. If it ever wears out, goes out of date, or is no longer useful or broad enough, he will replace it. Always. She will always have a dictionary.

I can't think of a better gift.

damp squid

Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare is written by Jeremy Butterfield, editor of the Oxford A-Z of English Usage. Butterfield writes in a scholarly, but natural style that is easy to read, and its clear that he knows the subject. The book is set up in a series of chapters that could probably stand alone as essays on the oddities of English, and how it evolves, contrary to those who would lock the language in a state of dormancy, if they could.

Butterfield bases his reasoning and his conclusions on research. He argues that usage guides and dictionaries can only guide writers and speakers of English, but never restrain them from using language as they see fit to express themselves. There are a numbers of processes by which the language evolves,