Maxine tells us about a new challenge: tell your bio in 3 sentences of six words each.

Here’s one version of my life:

1. Read, write constantly all my life.
2. Love languages, words, researching, teaching, blogging.
3. So many books, so little time.

Posted by Amy as Fun Stuff at 5:26 AM EST

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Fans of Emily Dickinson will be interested to know that Harvard University Press has published a facsimile edition of her herbarium.

Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium features more than 400 specimans. The blurb for it observes that Dickinson put more work into the collection than most girls her age would have.

This edition appears to be a worthwhile acqusition for Dickinson devotees:

Each page of the album is reproduced in full color at full size, accompanied by a transcription of Dickinson’s handwritten labels. Introduced by a substantial literary and biographical essay, and including a complete botanical catalog and index, this volume will delight scholars, gardeners, and all readers of Emily Dickinson’s poetry.

I’ve only ever had a passing interest in Dickinson’s poetry, but this certain sounds like an interesting book to browse through.

Via Girl Hacker’s Random Log.

Posted by Amy as Authors at 4:55 AM EST

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If you’re a fan of nursery rhymes, you might like to check out Nursery Rhymes: Lyrics and Origins.

This site has information on quite a few rhymes, from the standards (e.g. “Baa Baa Black Sheep”) to some that I’d never heard of (e.g. “Tommy Snooks and Bessie Brooks”).

The explanations for the origins of the rhyme are not always extensive, but readers are invited to send in more information if they know of it.

Via Neat New Stuff On The Web.

Posted by Amy as Nursery Rhymes at 12:20 PM EST

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There’s a very funny article up at Wired. The editors asked writers of speculative fiction to write stories of no more than 6 words, and the result is the list of Very Short Stories.

Here are a few of my favourites:

• Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so. (Joss Whedon)
• Longed for him. Got him. Shit. (Margaret Atwood)
• We kissed. She melted. Mop please! (James Patrick Kelly)
• Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses. (Richard Powers)
• The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly. (Orson Scott Card)
• Kirby had never eaten toes before. (Kevin Smith)
• Dinosaurs return. Want their oil back. (David Brin)

This reminds me of my all-time favourite tabloid headline (7 words):

“Preacher explodes during sermon! Bible remains intact.”

Via Bookninja.

Posted by Amy as Humour at 8:25 AM EDT

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If you wish you had a book that you grew up with as a child, Book Safari is a good place to start looking.

They have books that are well known (e.g. Little Women, the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew) and some that aren’t so well known (e.g. Buff: A Collie).

I remember being very fond of Captain Kitty as a child. Fortunately, I still have it and all the other books my parents bought for me, but if I didn’t, I’d be turning to this book site.

Via Weblog V2.

Posted by Amy as Children's Literature, Readers & Reading at 9:01 AM EDT

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Here’s a useful site: the Double-Tongued Dictionary.

Site creator Grant Barrett explains the purpose of the site as follows:

The Double-Tongued Dictionary records undocumented or under-documented words from the fringes of English. It focuses upon slang, jargon, and other niche categories which include new, foreign, hybrid, archaic, obsolete, and rare words.

Here are a few of the definitions that I found entertaining:

• “death cookie n. especially in skiing, a chunk or clump of ice that makes a sport difficult.”
• “spray and pray v. phr. to indiscriminately aim and deliver (bullets, insecticide, perfume, a marketing message, golf balls, etc.).”
• “bleeding deacon n. a person who believes himself indispensible to a group, esp. a person who becomes so over-involved in a group’s internal management, policies, or politics as to lose sight of its larger goals; (hence) a person with a negative, moralizing character, who acts like the sole source of wisdom.”

This is a great site for anyone who loves watching the twists and turns of an ever-evolving language.

Via kottke.

Posted by Amy as Language, Words at 4:14 AM EDT

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Your Literary Personality
created with QuizFarm.com

Via Centre Of The Universe.

Posted by Amy as Fun Stuff at 3:47 AM EDT

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If you take delight in perfecting the art of rapidly repeating such sentences as “She sells seashells by the sea shore” or “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” check out First International Collection of Tongue Twisters.

There are 2735 tongue twisters here in 108 languages, from Acholi to Zulu.

Here are some English ones that I hadn’t seen before:

• A quick witted cricket critic
• Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
• Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards

For a warm-up, though, you can repeat the first sentence of this blog post.

Via Ursi’s Blog.

Posted by Amy as Fun Stuff, Language at 3:48 AM EDT

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Blogger Kelly at The Written World has been reading Alberto Manguel’s The Library At Night–a book that’s at the top of my wish list (but I’ll wait for the cheaper, paperback version).

She was intrigued by the book and stopped partway through to ask her readers this question: What Is Your Dream Library?

Gosh. A dream library.

If I suddenly, magically, had a house with a large, large room available for a library, a room big enough to hold my 3,000+ books, here’s what it would look like:

• silent—no T.V. or music or telephone in it
• comfortable arm chairs that you could sink into and comfortably sit in for hours (with a foot stool)
• a couch to stretch out on
• animals hanging out (cats especially seem very appropriate for libraries, but there’s something snug about a curled up sleeping ferret)
• bookshelves of real wood (medium-dark) and medium-dark wooden flooring
• books floor to ceiling with very safe step-ladders to get higher
• magically, no need to dust (or, if I win the lottery, a cleaner to do it)
• splashes of burgundy for an accent colour (cushions)
• no window—because a) looking out the window is distracting and b) it takes space away for bookshelves
• a computer with internet access tucked discreetly away in a corner (because however much I love them, they still don’t feel right in a library)
• a collection of all the classics in all the fiction genres that I love (children’s, literary, mystery, speculative fiction)
• a comprehensive collection of poetry (including classical and international works and with complete collections of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval English)
• lots and lots of literary non-fiction, especially including all the non-fiction by Sharon Butala, David Carpenter, Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Joseph Epstein, Pico Iyer, and Alberto Manguel
• reference books, reference books, reference books on all the subjects that interest me (food, spirituality, etiquette, words, history . . . .)

As I’ve been writing this, it occurs to me that I’m halfway toward creating my ideal library as it is. Our house is overrun with books, almost all of them mine, and periodically my patient husband builds more shelves in the space that we’ve somehow found.

Now I just need that dream house to provide the physical setting for the books.

Posted by Amy as Libraries at 2:51 AM EDT

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Well, here’s a fun site: Cool Stuff For Real Writers.

At this CafePress Shop you can get T-shirts, mugs, buttons, and so forth that have slogans for writers.

Here are a few samples:

• I write therefore I am broke.
• Carpe Edim. Seize the editor. Then choke him for ruining your story.
• I’d like to write a bestselling memoir, but my mom told me never to lie.
• Please do not annoy the writer. She may put you in a book and kill you.

I love the writer’s teddy bear muse.

Via Truth Universally Acknowledged.

Posted by Amy as Gifts For Readers/Writers at 6:35 AM EDT

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Apparently there’s a new book for bloggers out there; Margaret Mason’s No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog.

I read about this book on the terrific Finslippy, and I was interested, as she was, by the suggestion that you list archaic words or phrases that you’d like to see current again.

Here are a few I’ve come up with:

• lemman (medieval word for “sweetheart”)
• piffles
• avast, ye scurvies
• thee, thine
• “that is so five minutes ago” (I know that’s not archaic, but it cracks me up)

I was surprised to find that the readers of Finslippy voted for certain words (like conniption) that I use all the time. I had no idea I was so out-of-touch.

Posted by Amy as Language at 11:30 AM EDT

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Here’s an interesting site: the Library Use Value Calculator.

The good people at the Maine State Library have put together mathematics and computer wizardry to show us, concretely, how much our local library is worth to us per month.

I’m Canadian, but assuming that the calculations are relatively close for my library, it’s worth US $299.00 per month to me.

I don’t doubt it.

Via Rebecca’s Pocket.

Posted by Amy as Libraries at 5:49 AM EDT

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Here’s an extensively researched website about writing systems: Ancient Scripts.

This site is so thorough that it’s hard to know where to begin when describing it. It tells us that there are different ways to group languages; we can choose by types, families, regions, or A-Z.

Within the “types” section, we can see how languages are sub-divided in the following categoires:

• logographic
• logophonetic
• syllabic
• consonantal alphabetic
• syllabic alphabetic
• C&V alphabetic

I also learned here that numerous cultures believed that writing was invented by the gods. Here’s one such theory:

In ancient Egypt, for example, the invention of writing is attributed to the god Thoth (Dhwty in Egyptian), who was not only the scribe and historian of the gods but also kept the calendar and invented art and science.

There’s also an overview of phonetics, a section on historical linguistics, a list of reference books, an extensive list of terrific looking links, and more.

Definitely check out this site.

Via Weblog V2.

Posted by Amy as Writing Systems at 2:13 AM EDT

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As I was researching today’s entry for my other blog, I came across a site that lists Otters In Literature.

The books featured encompass both non-fiction and fiction.

It had never occurred to me that this was a big enough sub-genre to warrant a list, but apparently I was wrong.

Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 1:33 AM EDT

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I have to confess I’d never heard of Edward Gorey until I stumbled across a Quizilla test.

But I checked him out on Wikipedia, and I learned that he was “a writer and artist noted for his wry, macabre illustrated books.”

To learn a little more about him, you can go to Goreyography.

You can also find out what kind of Edward Gorey death you will die by taking the quiz below.

What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?

You will be smothered under a rug. You’re a little anti-social, and may want to start gaining new social skills by making prank phone calls.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Posted by Amy as Fun Stuff at 3:26 PM EDT

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People frequently try to loan me their books. “Take it,” they urge, “you’ll love it.”

It’s kind of them, but often the book in question is something that I would not only not love, but not even like.

Apart from that, I read books in my own time—I don’t read them until I’m in the mental space to do so. Sometimes I can be in the grip of mysteries and I don’t want to read anything else for weeks—maybe even months—at a time. Sometimes I read one Dickens novel after another and segue from them to Trollope, and I have no interest in reading anything from a different genre or time period.

But there’s another, subtler reason that I don’t like to read a borrowed book, and I’m relieved to find that no less a person than Alberto Manguel, in his A Reading Diary, has articulated it for me:

I feel uncomfortable having other people’s books at home. I want either to steal them or to return them immediately. There is something of the visitor who outstays his welcome in borrowed books. Reading them and knowing that they don’t belong to me gives me the feeling of something unfinished, half enjoyed.

That’s exactly how I feel.

Manguel feels the same way about library books, and I sympathise—when I buy a book that I’ve read first through the library, it just isn’t the same until I have read it several times, getting to know the feel of this edition’s paper, the smell of the ink, the look of the font.

Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 2:09 AM EDT

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If you’re working on polishing a fantasy novel—or if you’re about to sit down to write one—check out the advice given on the web page 6 Steps To Writing a Fantasy Blockbuster.

Here’s one of the tips:

Never, ever explain why your villain is so set on destroying/ruling the world. Explanations are for wusses. The Fount of All Evil does not explain.

The suggestions here are tongue-in-cheek, but they’re no less valuable because of that.

Via SF Signal.

Posted by Amy as Speculative Fiction, Writing at 2:07 AM EDT

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Here’s a site devoted to a project that celebrates comic books: Comic Book Literacy Documentary.

The brief intro to the project explains the connection between comics and literacy:

The Comic Book Literacy Documentary (no, that’s not the official title) is an independent documentary film project currently in production. The film showcases comic books as a way to inspire a passion for reading in both children and adults. Comics have received a lot of bad publicity in the past and it is the goal of this film to shatter the negative stereotype of comics as “junk food for the brain” and to show them in a new light.

You can read more about it here; filmmaker Todd Kent is looking for people to interview about comics (those who create them, read them, or recommend them—such as teachers, librarians, or booksellers).

Posted by Amy as Comics at 2:04 AM EDT

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Here’s an interesting site: 4,000 Years of Miniature Books.

Browsing here gives you the opportunity to look at tiny books from Europe, Great Britain, America, and the East.

The introduction explains the background to miniature books:

Miniature books, most of which are less than three inches tall and some of which are smaller than a penny, have delighted readers for centuries. Popular because they were easily carried or concealed, these historic books range from tiny “Thumb Bibles” to illustrated nursery rhymes.

I’ve had a couple of miniature books in my life, but nothing as interesting as what’s in this collection.

Via Shopiere.

Posted by Amy as Books at 2:02 AM EDT

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Writers of literary non-fiction don’t have as many “how-to” books and articles out there as fiction writers do. However, I found a very interesting article by Robert Root called This Is What The Spaces Say.

The article talks about the use of space in an essay—how the sections of writing may be separated by asterisks or simply blank spaces.

Here’s a short section from Root’s wonderful piece:

The segmented essay is like an oratorio or a concerto. The spaces are like the intervals of silence between the separate elements. Sometimes the segments of prose in an essay can be recitative, aria, duet or trio, chorus; they can be allegro non troppo, allegro appassionato, andante, allegretto grazioso.

Too many fiction writers critiquing literary non-fiction find the use of spaces annoying and/or incomprehensible. As a non-fiction reader and writer, I find it indispensible, and I’m glad to finally see an eloquent defense of it.

Posted by Amy as Non-Fiction, Writing at 1:59 AM EDT

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Well, this is refreshing: a blog called Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels.

Their “about” section tells it like it is:

A website that reviews romance novels from a couple of smart bitches who will always give it to you straight. No bullshit. No gushing–unless the author really deserves it.

They review books (romances, naturally), raise money for charity, diss sexists, and generally have fun.

They’ve just run a contest in which readers were invited to write a piece of up to 100 words that was both awful and alliterative. They will be posting the entries and you can vote on them, so I’ll keep you current.

I don’t even read romances (unless Pride and Prejudice counts), but I’ll be revisiting this site just because it’s fun.

Note: there are strong opinions and blunt, sometimes vulgar, language on this site, so consider yourself warned if this is an issue for you.

Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 1:55 AM EDT

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Here in Canada it’s Thanksgiving Day.

I’m thankful for many things, but books rank very, very high on the list.

There are all kinds of books that I enjoy: books of poetry, literary novels, cookbooks, speculative fiction, comic books, books full of spiritual advice and comfort, mysteries, books of myth and fairy tales, biographies, books on HTML coding, books of word usage and etymologies, children’s books, historical timelines, and any one of a hundred other categories.

This quotation from Alberto Manguel’s A Reading Diary has a particular resonance for me today:

There are books that we skim over happily, forgetting one page as we turn to the next; others that we read reverently, without daring to agree or disagree; others that offer mere information and preclude our commentary; others still that, because we have loved them for so long and so dearly, we can repeat word by word, since we know them, in the truest sense, by heart.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, even if you’re not Canadian!

Posted by Amy as Books at 1:35 AM EDT

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R. Crumb, the underground comic phenomenon, is well known to those who like comics.

What I didn’t know was that he had a brother who is also a skilled artist: Maxon Crumb, who was featured in Terry Zwigoff’s 1994 film Crumb.

In the film Maxon Crumb was shown to be poor and deeply disturbed (sitting on a bed of nails, living in squalor), his adult life no doubt a result of the beatings and emotional abuse he received from his father.

SFGate.com has published an update on Maxon Crumb: ”Still In The Shadows, An Artist In His Own Right”.

He is now earning money from his work and seems to have a somewhat better life, although it is still one that few people would choose to adopt.

Via Information Junk.

Posted by Amy as Comics at 2:31 AM EDT

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Here’s a quote for the day that you can remember the next time you’re contemplating the worth of a book or a television show/movie:

Since this tale nor anything else can be made to please everyone, nobody need believe any more of it than he wants to believe. All the same the best and most profitable thing is to listen while a story is being told, to enjoy it and not be gloomy: for the fact is that as long as people are enjoying the entertainment they won’t be thinking any evil thoughts.

A contemporary pundit? No, the author of Göngu-Hrolf’s Saga (aka A Viking Romance)–something from hundreds of years ago.

The more things change, the more they remain the same, hmm?

Check out some more great quotations from this saga at The Bitter Scroll.

Posted by Amy as Books,