My Week in Review: The Scavenge-Word Hunt

The Scavenge-Word Hunt

Several years ago –during a NaNoWriMo dare to use the ‘word of the day’ every, um, day– I came across one of the most wonderful words I have ever heard.

Defenestrate. To throw something out a window.

What is so wonderful about this? Honestly, I think I love the fact that there is a word with such a specific meaning. I love that there is actually a single word that relays the action of throwing something out of a window. How cool is that?

I have been on the lookout for this word ever since. Like an adventurer seeking ancient treasure, I have kept an eye and ear out during movies, TV, and books, waiting to hear just one genuine use of this literary gem. I try to use this word myself whenever I can, but as one might imagine, those opportunities to slide ‘defenestrate’ into casual conversation don’t often present themselves. (Can't you see someone throwing this into an argument? "I'm so angry, I could defenestrate you!") I have yet to see anyone actually employ it.

At least, until this week.

Super special bonus points are awarded to Numb3rs (season 2, episode 5) for granting me the first success this four year scavenger hunt has yet produced. Granted, it wasn’t mentioned off-hand, but it tickled me pink to hear it all the same. It gives me hope that this word will rise from obscurity. All the time I’ve spent waiting and watching, after all the heartache and despair, and it has all paid off. 

I knew it would happen someday. I just knew it.

Vocab Fab:

Speaking of rarely used and little known words:

• Promulgate: Promote or make widely known

I pulled this from Kevin J. Anderson's The Dragon Business (which is so far hilarious). Anderson makes a point, every time he uses this word, of saying how rarely it is used and that the characters have never actually heard it in a sentence before now. Maybe this is the trick to using 'defenestrate' on a more regular basis...

Writing Corner:

Revise, rewrite, realize something doesn’t work, repeat.

Reading Nook:

I finished two books this week:

The Crystal Bridge by Charlie Pulsipher, which gets five stars. This is sci-fi and, while I like to think that I read sci-fi, whenever I try to pick one up I have the hardest time getting into it. Not so much with this one. The hardcore sciencey (that is totally a word) elements of this story is what really drew me in, which is frankly astounding, considering how much I hated science in school. Really, really hated it. I never could wrap my brain around a lot of it. I’m hoping that –in addition to providing a great sci-fi adventure romp with distinct fantasy elements right down to mentions of Tolkien and elves– The Crystal Bridge may have sparked a new interest.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, which gets four stars. I recently watched the BBC miniseries by the same name and absolutely loved it, which meant I had to read the book it was based on. Or in this case, books. If you’ve seen the miniseries, let me warn you that each of its three main storylines is pulled from three different Gaskell novels. (Cranford centers around Miss Matty and Mary Smith.) This is a very sweet book about the small English town of Cranford and the people who live there, and the audiobook's narrator gave a wonderful performance. It’s definitely a different kind of story for me because it’s more about the everyday lives of people in a period community than a particular storyline or event. Whenever I read Gaskell’s work, I always feel that I get a genuine slice of the time, unspoiled by artistic license. But maybe that’s just me.

What are YOU reading this week?

My Week in Review: May the Fourth Be With You

May the Fourth and Other Things

For Star Wars day (May 4), how could I not write on our kitchen chalkboard 'May the Fourth Be With You'? It was quite beyond my capacity to resist. Little did I know then what I would be starting.

Next, from my sister, came the logical 'Beware Revenge of the Fifth.' And then 'Return of the Sixth'.

Everyone has jumped onto the bandwagon now, and I think this might last us through May. I'm really hoping so, anyway.

May the Seventh is Just like Heaventh

Ain't it great that it's May 8?

Ain't it fine, this May 9?

We could probably use another infusion of creativity, but I love rushing over every morning to see what new message awaits. Because I'm like that.

Speaking of Star Wars...

 

Vocab Fab

Mien (MEEN) Being expressive of personality or attitude: demeanor

I grabbed this from the Merriam-Webster Online word of the day. This feels like one of those words that isn't used unless you're trying to use it. So I dare you. Use mien in a sentence next week. Do it! Do it!

The Writing Corner

It's coming, coming, coming. In fact, I need to finish this blog so I can get some writing done before work. Yahoo.

My biggest issue this week was distraction. I kept thinking about another project that I've put aside, my unfinished NaNo novel from last year, titled Old Haunts. It's one of my all-time favorite projects (to date) but it needs a lot of work. A LOT of work. On that note, can anyone recommend some good paranormal mysteries?

This other project needs to wait and simmer until I finish Rodney and the Gonjii but *sob* it doesn't want to! 

Ahhhh, writer problems...

Reading Nook

I did not finish any books this week. Rewatching the Lord of the Rings has cut into my reading time. I'm still enjoying The Crystal Bridge by Charlie Pulsipher (SCI-FI! I'm loving the sci-fi!) and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell.

What are YOU reading this weekend?
 

My Week in Review and the Best Book I've Read in Ages

The Best Book I've Read in Ages

You know that moment. When you start a book, and every word is just delicious. You wonder What is it that makes this book so wonderful? And why isn't EVERY book like this?

It's not as if I've only read bad books in recent memory. On the contrary, I've read quite a few good ones. But none of them hit me quite like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I couldn't put this one down. Just the right mix of fluff and substance, it was beyond delightful. It was incredible.

I can't help trying to figure out what made this book so incredibly perfect. What raised it above other books that are 'good' or even just 'okay'?

Was it the time period? It takes place in 1946, just after WWII, and within the last few weeks, I've become fascinated with this era.

Maybe it's the subject? It's about an author, trying to find the topic for her next book. I'm an author. I love books about authors.

The characters, the love story, the ever underlying theme of hope and friendship? Or was it just a good book that fell into my lap, at precisely the moment I wanted to read it? How strange if that's how all our favorite books are discovered, if it's only a matter of taste, reader's craving, and timing.

There are probably various answers as to why it is only every so often we encounter a book that we just can't get enough of. I don't know the hard and fast one. I only know that this book is incredible, and you really must give it a try.

Vocab Fab

• Vociferous: Vehement or clamorous speech
• Unctuous: Excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily

The Writing Corner

Progress on my revision of Rodney and the Gonjii is slow-moving, but moving nonetheless. The most difficult obstacle at the moment is re-organizing everything. I mentioned before that this novel has been in the works for seven years. This means I'm coming up against issues that are a direct result of my inexperience during my younger writing years, like a failure to pre-plot, think things through, or keep a written record. I kept pushing reorganization into a corner, preferring to focus on the writing, but I can't avoid it any longer.

This is going to be messy.

 

The Reading Nook

This week, I finished two books:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I rated this 4 stars, and you can check out my video review of it right here.



The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer (4 stars). This week's audiobook was one of those things I vowed never, ever to read. Abridged. What is the point of abridging a book I ask you?! Nevertheless, I was convinced to put aside my own feelings about the ruthless removal of print by one very important factor. This audiobook -a regency romance- is narrated by Richard Armitage. And it's wonderful. Not only is it RICHARD ARMITAGE, but he's also an excellent narrator.

I also started Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, which is making it's rounds in the booktube community. This YA has a very interesting and gritty concept --a Homicidal Land of Oz and a Dorothy turned evil. Unfortunately, there was far too much swearing in it, and I didn't get far.

And what about YOU? What are you reading?

My Week in Review: Beware of Dragons

Beware of Dragons

“Happiness is like the enchanted palaces we read of in our childhood, where fierce, fiery dragons defend the entrance and approach; and monsters of all shapes and kinds, requiring to be overcome ere victory is ours.”

I found this in The Count of Monte Cristo and it struck me as exceptionally beautiful. I haven’t yet decided whether it’s just the allusion to palaces and dragons and victories that I love so much, or whether there’s a piece of wisdom hidden here.

A few weeks ago I wrote about how our attitude is a matter of choice. Bad day or no, we can still choose to delight in it. I think this is Dumas’ more poetic way of saying that.

Brought to mind is the old seafarer’s warning, “Here be dragons.” It was not, as one might suppose, a caution against sea monsters, but a caution against the unknown. This phrase, along with depictions of serpents, were used on old charts to mark unmapped territory.

I think this phrase could be used in real life, the dragons those unknown threats to our daily happiness. As we leave an old week and enter a new, I say, “Beware of dragons.”

The most important thing to happen this week is that I’ve delved back into polishing my middle grade manuscript, Rodney and the Gonjii. I never intentionally stop working on this, but Important and Time Sensitive Stuff always seems to divert me on long detours. Making time for writing is the most important thing a writer needs to know, but it’s also something we (at least I) must continually work at.

Vocab Fab

·     Muddlehead: Confused or inept. Made even more entertaining by the fact I pulled it from The Count of Monte Cristo. One just does not expect to find what one could easily hear Toph using to insult Sokka in classic literature.

·     Staid: sedate and settled in habits or temperament, sometimes to the point of dullness

The Reading Nook

This week I finished:

·     The Stone of Valhalla by Mikey Brooks, rated 4 stars.

·     Mary Poppins, She Wrote by Valerie Lawson, rated 3 stars.

I was disappointed I didn’t enjoy this biography by Lawson more, but I suppose it’s not terribly surprising. This biography of P.L. Travers was touted as the basis for the movie Saving Mr. Banks, which is the real reason I wanted to read it. Imagine, I read a bio of P.L. Travers because I wanted to know more about Walt Disney, and it wasn’t my favorite read. There’s probably a lesson here somewhere. That’s not to say the book isn’t well written or researched; I only found it wasn’t to my interest. I am, however, even more intrigued to see how they pull off the movie.

But now for the most important question of the week: What are YOU reading?

My Week in Review: Attack of the Pizzas

Attack of the Pizzas

I came home from work yesterday to find my room had been PizzaMobbed.

Let’s get one thing straight right now. I love pizza. I could eat it every day and not get tired of it. When anyone asks “What should we have for lunch?”, people have even given up rolling their eyes at my inevitable “Pizza.” One of my goals is to go on a pizza tour and hit every major pizza metropolis there is –New York, Chicago, Naples, you catch my drift.

So I like pizza.

 

My sister does not. This is something that I still cannot understand. (Everyone likes pizza!) She alone continues to roll her eyes when I so much as mention the ‘p’ word.

“How bored were you today?” I demanded.

"What you should really ask," was the reply, "Is how long have I been planning this?"

It's a good thing she uses her skills for only slightly evil things.

 

Now I’m craving pizza more than usual. Which is just cruel, considering this is the week of Unleavened Bread and I can’t have any. >_<

 

Yet I can’t take the clippings down right away. It’s too freaking hilarious. Even if it is completely evil and diabolical.

This one was definitely my favorite. Everybody knows pizza and Turtles always mix.

 

Vocab Fab

• Dudgeon: A fit of anger or irritation

Reading News

I finished one book this week:

• The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood, the second book in a delightful and unique children's series, which I rated 5 stars.

Also, check out my review for Zoe Barton's Always Neverland.

What Are YOU Reading This Week?

My Friday read is The Stone of Valhalla by Mikey Brooks and Mary Poppins, She Wrote by Valerie Lawson is after that.

My Week in Review: April 4

Another Lesson from Walt Disney

While wandering Disneyland one day to see how his kingdom was faring, as he often did, Walt Disney noticed an unhappy employee, whose bad mood obviously affected the park's guests. Long touted 'the happiest place on earth', a bad attitude from a cast member can impair that experience.

Walt Disney then laid down the rule that cast members should be in a good mood when they came to work, or at least the appearance of a good mood. And if they couldn't manage that, they should go home for the day.

Earlier this week, I experienced a day of the dreaded Black Mood. It seemed everything had gone wrong that morning, from writing to technology to not having enough time to get done the things I needed finished. Blech. 

I've been at my job as a library clerk several months now and I have always tried my hardest to be happy and helpful. It's not just about doing a good job to me. As a child and teen, the library was my favorite place in the world (outside of Disneyland). There is no where else like it for a bookworm, surrounded by thousands of free books for your choosing and people who indubitably share your love of the written word. It wasn't long before I was on a first name basis with all the employees, a confidant of one of the greatest children's librarians I will ever know, and a weekly -if not daily- visitor. I decided long ago that I wanted to be the kind of library clerk I knew and loved from my experiences.

So when I left for work this Day of the Black Mood, I decided to leave it behind.

Have you ever tried ignoring a bad attitude after you've been wearing it all morning? It's not easy. Frankly, it can feel annoying. But the longer I wore that smile, the more and more genuine it became. By the end of my shift, despite my bad morning, it had been an excellent day.

Bad moods are hard to lift yourself out of, but you can, with a little effort. And you know what? It's worth it. One of my favorite things about this job (other than the whole library thing) is the fact that I can make people smile.

It's easier than you think.

Fab Vocab

Always on the lookout for new fun words, I found two worth sharing

1. Gourmand: someone who loves food and eats to excess or obsessively
2. Obsequious: too eager to obey or please

In Reading News

I finished two books this week:

• Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, a satisfactory balance of horror and humor, which I rated 4 stars.
• The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, on audio with the wonderful narrator Kathrine Kelgreen, who seems to be popping up in half the books I listen to. The Mysterious Howling was simply delightful and earned all 5 shiny stars.

This puts my Reading Goal of 2014 at 28/100. Huzzah!

If you want to check out my video for the week, here's a handy link: March Wrap Up + Bookhaul.

What Are YOU Reading?

I've just started The Black Count by Tom Reiss, a biography of Alexandre Dumas' father, the real Count of Monte Cristo.

But what wonderful new tome are you digging into?