Stacy’s Book Reviews

“A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire)”, by George R.R. Martin
“Spider-Touched”, by Jory Strong
“The Lovely Bones”, by Alice Sebold
“New Moon”, by Stephanie Meyer

Just out of curiosity: Do you ever read more than one book at a time?

I Remember Ireland

I would search for my Ireland
clothed in green, the grass I well remember,
yet not an eye is found, clear of tear
and smile to match an Irish heart that lives
within its shores and without fear.

She is gone, tumbled into the mist,
my memory a blur of peaceful days once seen,
so quill will write her epitaph, in words
to so fair a name, only found on Irish lass
and not on English cur.

A lilt of melody I still possess,
to hear in voice of tenor softly sung,
in straw thatched inn of peasants random
now gone with ships, of coffin sails
to die beneath the fathoms.

Her sweet and distant beating heart I seek,
to return the laughter in the meadow
where serf and gentry meet in caress so tender
and rebellion is forgotten tongue
in the Ireland I remember.

by Cheryl Harvey
(Cannonsfire)

Paperback: 240 Pages
Genre: Reference, Humor
Series: N/A

“ZOUNDS!”
“A Browser’s Dictionary of Interjections“

by Mark Dunn.

Back Cover Summary:

Often thought of as unnecessary verbal fringe or simply linguistic decoration, interjections (ahem, howdy, mamma mia, pshaw, tally-ho, whoop-de-do) may well be the most overlooked part of speech in the English language. ZOUNDS! A Browser’s Dictionary of Interjections focuses the spotlight on this most deserving (and sometimes most demented) grammatical group. A lighthearted look at more than five hundred interjections, ZOUNDS! explores the origins of these essential words and highlights the contributions of these previously unheralded parts of speech.

Perfect for both word lovers and the casual reader, ZOUNDS! brings together the linguistic talents of Mark Dunn, author of the award-winning novel ‘Ella Minnow Pea’, and the graphic hilarity of Sergio Aragonés, the legendary cartoonist and contributor to Mad Magazine, for a delightful romp through grammar, culture, and the English language.

Excerpts:

imbars bidbib

This has got to be one of the strangest interjections I have encountered. It was used by British soldiers during World War II, and is acronymic for “I may be a rotten sod, but I don’t believe in bullshit.” One would be foolish to risk insubordination by uttering the phrase in the presence of military superiors (especially the ones dishing the bullshit); otherwise, the interjection was expressed freely.

hell’s bells!

This interjection, which connotes impatience and irritation, has nautical origins. Back in the 1800′s it was part of the even more lustrous seaman’s imprecation hell’s bells and bucket of blood! Lost to us is what any of this meant at the time, although it is possible that the phrase simply sprung totally uncogitated from the lips of some very ticked-off sailor. Whereas pirates are generally limited to the growly gar and argh when displeased, legitimate seamen have always exercised a respectable command of the King’s English, notwithstanding their preference for sauce and color. Hell’s bells! is a fine example.

But how the expression got from salty sailor to salty-tongued irascible old ladies, I do not know.

Stacy’s Review:

From bah to en garde! and Gadzooks! Oy, veh! To Shalom, shanté and zoinks! This book shows you interjections like nothing I’ve ever read before!

There are “hip-hop” interjections, such as; fa’ cho, sho-nuff, and work it. A few family Southernisms, including; saints preserve us and lawzy mussy. Interjections by celebrities the likes of Fozzie Bear and Charlie Brown have also been listed; auggh!, good grief, rats, and wocka wocka. Then too, there is Mork from Ork’s nanoo nanoo and one of my personal favorites … shazbot!

There are plenty of well-known, oft used interjections, and quite a few that I had never heard of before. All complete with definition and history shorts. It’s 204 pages full of ‘em!

I absolutely love this book! {big-goofy-grin} If you are of mind to be silly like me, then you definitely need to add this book to your library! It’s great for writers too! Even if they’re not silly.

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I’m way too sleepy to post anything significant tonight …

Check out my other blog …

It has plenty of reading material to peruse.

Zzzzzz …

G’ night

The following are some ways to turn a young reader’s reluctance into enthusiasm:

1. Scout for things your children might like to read. Use their interests and hobbies as starting points.

2. Leave all sorts of reading materials including books, magazines, and colorful catalogs in conspicuous places around your home.

3. Notice what attracts your children’s attention, even if they only look at the pictures. Then build on that interest; read a short selection aloud, or simply bring home more information on the same subject.

4. Let your children see you reading for pleasure in your spare time.

5. Take your children to the library regularly. Explore the children’s section together. Ask a librarian to suggest books and magazines your children might enjoy.

6. Present reading as an activity with a purpose; a way to gather useful information for, say, making paper airplanes, identifying a doll or stamp in your child’s collection, or planning a family trip.

7. Encourage older children to read to their younger brothers and sisters. Older children enjoy showing off their skills to an admiring audience.

8. Play games that are reading-related. Check your closet for spelling games played with letter tiles or dice, or board games that require players to read spaces, cards, and directions.

9. Perhaps over dinner, while you’re running errands, or in another informal setting, share your reactions to things you read, and encourage your children to do likewise.

10. Set aside a regular time for reading in your family, independent of schoolwork, the 20 minutes before lights out, just after dinner, or whatever fits into your household schedule. As little as 10 minutes of free reading a day can help improve your child’s skills and habits.

11. Read aloud to your child, especially a child who is discouraged by his or her own poor reading skills. The pleasure of listening to you read, rather than struggling alone, may restore your child’s initial enthusiasm for books and reading.

12. Encourage your child to read aloud to you an exciting passage in a book, an interesting tidbit in the newspaper, or a joke in a joke book. When children read aloud, don’t feel they have to get every word right. Even good readers skip or mispronounce words now and then.

13. On gift-giving occasions, give books and magazines based on your child’s current interests.

14. Set aside a special place for children to keep their own books.

15. Introduce the bookmark. Remind your youngster that you don’t have to finish a book in one sitting; you can stop after a few pages, or a chapter, and pick up where you left off at another time. Don’t try to persuade your child to finish a book he or she doesn’t like. Recommend putting the book aside and trying another.

16. Treat your children to an evening of laughter and entertainment featuring books! Many children (parents, too) regard reading as a serious activity. A joke book, a story told in riddles, or a funny passage read aloud can reveal another side of reading.

17. Extend your child’s positive reading experiences. For example, if your youngster enjoyed a book about dinosaurs, follow up with a visit to a natural history museum.

18. Offer other special incentives to encourage your child’s reading. Allow your youngster to stay up an extra 15 minutes to finish a chapter; promise to take your child to see a movie after he or she has finished the book on which it was based; relieve your child of a regular chore to free up time for reading.

19. Limit your children’s TV viewing in an effort to make time for other activities, such as reading. But never use TV as a reward for reading, or a punishment for not reading.

20. Not all reading takes place between the covers of a book. What about menus, road signs, food labels, and sheet music? Take advantage of countless spur-of-the-moment opportunities for reading during the course of your family’s busy day.

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy – your life appeals to a select few. But if someone’s obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky. Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

Hmmm, I was not expecting that. Interesting. And yes, my fans are a strange bunch indeed.

I absolutely loved going to the library when I was a kid … still do!

In this day and age of PS2, Gamecube, N64, and Xbox. I fear that many kids will never understand the value of reading. They’ll miss out on the wonderous treasure of many a good book.

I take my kids, (all five of ‘em), to the library as often as I can. Honestly, our home library is well-stocked enough to keep them reading on up through H.S. But, nothing beats a trip downtown. It’s a shopping spree where you get to check out, but you don’t have to pay! The kids love it!

My 9 yr. old daughter, Erin, normally picks out a book right away and then sits down to delve in. She reads as voraciously as I did at her age. I do believe that she finished the latest ‘Harry Potter’ book in less than a week. Way to go, Erin! Hoo-Rah!

My 12 yr old son, Christian, takes a bit of time in his choosing. He usually comes out from between the shelves with the max allowed. Most times, half of them are non-fiction, sports related. He enjoys learning about the baseball greats. As for non-fiction, he tends to choose stories of triumph over obstacles … usually something in the ‘wilderness’ genre.

My 11 yr old daughter, Miranda, is often times still looking for that perfect book while all the rest of us are ready to leave. I’m not certain if she’s ever read a one of the books that she checks out from the library though. Hmmm, I’ll have to ask her. Normally, she’s reading the books that she checked out from her school library. The kids’ school has an awesome ‘reading program’ that they follow. The kids are rewarded for reading. That’s cool! Anyway, I do believe that we will be reading a fun, adventurous story written by Miranda one of these days. She likes to write, as well as read.

My 7 yr old daughter, Gloria, is a quiet reader. Which, I suppose you’re wondering what I mean by that? It’s funny really. Last year, as she was just beginning to learn how to read … she would tell us that she didn’t like to read, or that she wasn’t any good at it. And, when she had reading homework, she did seem to struggle a bit over the words. Nowadays, you’ll find her sitting quietly on the couch with a book in her lap. She’s reading, without being told to do so, and enjoying it. She sits there, so quietly, thoroughly absorbing every word. You can almost see her imagination taking hold and running headlong into the fray. She’s the thespian of the family. Always off in that wonderful world of make-believe.

My 7 yr old son, Jon, tackles the library experience about the same way as my other son. He spends his library time picking out as many books as allowed in one sitting. He has a bit of a twisted sense of humor. His picks often hold at least one worthy of a raised eyebrow.

One of my favorite things to do, after we’ve all returned home, is to read one or two of the younger ones’ book aloud to all. And I don’t mean that we just gather together and read these books … we actually go all out with animation and exagerated feeling. Nothing’s more delightful than a room full of giggling children.

Go on now …

Pick up a book and read!

~ Stacy ~