While many of the questions were delightful and interesting, others simply weren't. This makes sense, of course, seeing as I give this book 3.5 stars.
While many of the questions were delightful and interesting, others simply weren't. This makes sense, of course, seeing as a lot of the words and phrases were British, not Canadian, but even some of the ones I wasn't familiar with managed to peek my interest, while some of them I just found boring. A few of my favourites include the origins of "bury the hatchet", "bikini", "devil's advocate", and "white elephant", as well as all of the "most useless words".
My favourite part of the book was how Susie always refers to the English language as a democratic affair, or other phrases along those lines. As someone obsessed with grammar and correct language, I've always viewed English as having strict rules that shan't be disobeyed. Susie helped me realize that while there are correct ways of saying things, English is constantly evolving and adapting, and what may be incorrect now may very well become correct if it's used enough in the future. Dictionaries then, are not the lawmakers, but the law finders. They provide a snapshot of language in the year of their publication. I found that idea very interesting.
However, I also found that the book at times seemed very hastily put together. The care and attention given to some questions weren't found in all of them; some sentences and explanations didn't quite make sense, and question 92 actually asks why "Americans call Britons Limeys and Poms," when the answer quite clearly indicates that it's Australians that use those terms, not Americans. It's a fairly obvious mistake in large font at the top of the page, and a mistake that could seemingly only be made if the project was rushed. That's why the final product lands somewhere between a 3 and 4 for me. ...more
Anyone interested in writing anything at all should read this essay. It's amazing how it only seems more relevant today more than 70 years later. I loAnyone interested in writing anything at all should read this essay. It's amazing how it only seems more relevant today more than 70 years later. I look back to my favourite authors of that time period and think that the writing was so much better, but evidently the common writing was no better then than it is now. Rather than inadvertently making the mistakes Orwell condemns in this essay by writing my thoughts, I'll summarize the essay with a few of my favourite lines:
"Modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug."
"A speaker who uses that kind of phraseology has gone some distance towards turning himself into a machine. The appropriate noises are coming out of his larynx, but his brain is not involved as it would be if he were choosing his words for himself."
"The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not."
"What is above all needed is to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way about. In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them."...more
This is the third book I've read about dictionaries. Does that make me an honorary lexicographer? Of the three I've read, this does the best job of deThis is the third book I've read about dictionaries. Does that make me an honorary lexicographer? Of the three I've read, this does the best job of describing the daily work of a lexicographer, and man do you gotta feel for them. It does not sound like an easy job.
I enjoyed the layout of this book. Each chapter was dedicated to a different part of the lexicographer's job, and each one was named after a sample word that also came with a story that sort of drove the narrative of the chapter. It kept the book interesting and gave every chapter its own identity.
A particular delight was the acknowledgements section. Every acknowledgement is written like a dictionary entry, and it's absolutely charming....more
This is a charming and interesting cross between and memoir and a selective history book about Mike Myers' relationship with Canada. Sometimes gut-busThis is a charming and interesting cross between and memoir and a selective history book about Mike Myers' relationship with Canada. Sometimes gut-bustingly funny, sometimes strikingly insightful, Canada is a page turner almost the whole way through. I particularly enjoyed reading about his initial entry and experience with Saturday Night Live and his perspective on Canada's wonder years, as he likes to think of them.
It kind of turned into a Trudeau fan page by the end, but the book did not disappoint....more
The title is a little misleading... this is less the tale of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary and more the tale of William Chester Minor, oThe title is a little misleading... this is less the tale of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary and more the tale of William Chester Minor, one of the leading volunteer contributors to the project (the second highest contributor? I felt like I was led to believe he was number one, but then another guy was brought up near the end that apparently did more than him). Therein laid one of the two major problems with book: it wasn't really what it professed to be. We certainly got a taste for what went into the making of the OED, but only perhaps a quarter of the book actually talks about it. The rest of the book is dedicated to the histories of W.C. Minor and James Murray, the first editor of the OED. And it's not that these were uninteresting, it's just that all together it was hard to figure out exactly what the book was trying to be. And a tale of murder it certainly is not; rather, the murder is merely the inciting incident of the story.
The second major issue I had was a confusion about three quarters into the book. I'm still not exactly sure what the truth is; Winchester decided to tell the fictional story that is largely believed to be the truth of the meeting of these two great minds, then backtracks and tells us what really happened. Firstly, I felt highly misled when he admitted that what we just read was fiction, and secondly, I couldn't figure out where exactly the fiction began. To avoid spoilers, I have to leave it as vague as that, but I'm sure anyone who's read the book knows what I'm talking about.
Despite this, the book is extremely well written and researched, and Minor's life is quite interesting, despite not being why I picked up the book. I did learn a lot about the OED and dictionaries in general, and I appreciated how Winchester peppered in very nice dictionary words throughout the story, as truly a book about a dictionary should. I recommend this to anyone interested in the history of the English language....more
Scrappy Little Nobody is pretty much Anna Kendrick turned into a book, as you might expect. It's pretty funny, and I enjoyed reading about the behind-Scrappy Little Nobody is pretty much Anna Kendrick turned into a book, as you might expect. It's pretty funny, and I enjoyed reading about the behind-the-scenes of being an actress, like what goes on at awards shows and such. I was impressed that she was actually a pretty good writer. At the same time, it's not exactly a page-turner. it took me a while to read, but overall I enjoyed it. ...more
Rosina, the Midwife recounts Jessica's journey of discovering the stories in her family history. This book was particularly interesting to me because Rosina, the Midwife recounts Jessica's journey of discovering the stories in her family history. This book was particularly interesting to me because my mother's family came from Calabria, the same part of Italy that Rosina lived. One of the attractive parts of the read was noting the similarities between her Italian family and mine, though there are some differences. It's also fun being from Edmonton, hometown of the author, and reading about some of the landmarks that I grew up with.
One of the highlights of Jessica's writing is her beautiful metaphors and recurring images. Each chapter begins with the definition of something to do with cartography, the chosen words becoming a metaphor for the whole chapter. 'Tis an exciting a tale that culminates in a haunting conclusion. I would especially recommend this book to anyone with southern Italian heritage....more
It took me a really long time to finish this book. The first chapter had me absolutely captivated, but unfortunately the rest of the book sort of dragIt took me a really long time to finish this book. The first chapter had me absolutely captivated, but unfortunately the rest of the book sort of dragged on. I loved the idea of bringing someone's ghost in to tell their own story; it's such a unique way of writing creative nonfiction. However, the majority of the book was not told through conversation, but from plain history. I'll admit that the history sections were less dry than textbook writing, but they definitely weren't can't-put-it-down kind of writing.
Even the conversation sections didn't live up to the first chapter; the conversations often felt forced and unrealistic, as both Abley and Scott would often quote entire passages from historians and poets, as if they'd both memorized entire books before sitting down to chat. Sometimes Abley made it a little more realistic by saying he searched through his papers for the exact quote, but much of the conversation just didn't feel natural or genuine.
The Abley in the book didn't seem to be quite the same as the Abley that wrote the book. The Abley that wrote the book obviously wanted to give a voice to Scott and allow him to tell his story, but the Abley in the book just didn't want to give Scott a chance. It almost felt like Abley wanted his own character to represent the purely progressive point of view so that he didn't seem like a sympathizer of the damned. This tactic kind of worked against itself for me, because I thought the point of the book was to provide a sense of relativism for Scott's actions and inactions. Then again, I suppose the true point of the book was to provide an unbiased report of his life by laying down both sides of the story, Scott representing his own side, and Abley representing the other, thus allowing the readers to make their own judgements. In that sense, it worked very well.
All criticism aside, Conversations With A Dead Man provides a very thorough and well-researched look into Scott's life and legacy, and though I found it dense and difficult to get through, I respect the heck out of it for tackling such a sensitive topic. ...more
What a great idea for an autobiography! You basically choose the way you want to go through NPH's life, which events you want to live through. The morWhat a great idea for an autobiography! You basically choose the way you want to go through NPH's life, which events you want to live through. The more important stories, like the one about having kids, come up almost any path you take. Others are more hidden. There are exactly 4 stories that I couldn't find by following the story; I had to flip through every page until I found them.
I definitely learned about NPH. A very enjoyable read....more
This book was actually really interesting. I'm mostly giving it a three because it was too long and repetitive. It's not that Holiday told me much thaThis book was actually really interesting. I'm mostly giving it a three because it was too long and repetitive. It's not that Holiday told me much that I didn't already know, it was that he deepened my understanding of things I already suspected. I loved all his real life examples. For instance, we all know that bloggers rarely do their research anymore, relying more on hearsay than fact. Holiday taught me that this was referred to as "Iterative Journalism," and that it is a response to the necessity of getting the stories out first.
However, like I said, he was pretty repetitive, and even with all the great examples and stories, I feel like the book could have been quite a lot shorter. And again, it's mostly stuff we already know is happening. If you want a summary of the concepts, read this blogpost I wrote a year ago, long before I ever heard of Ryan Holiday, based on my own observations of the media:
"You’ll actually experience more temptation, not less, after you become a Christian. Following Jesus doesn’t mean you’ll start living perfectly overni"You’ll actually experience more temptation, not less, after you become a Christian. Following Jesus doesn’t mean you’ll start living perfectly overnight. It certainly doesn’t mean that your problems will disappear. Rather than ridding you of problems or temptations, following Jesus just means that you have a place—no, a person—to run to when they come. And the power to overcome them."
This is a great book. A very honest reflection on Lecrae's journey to Christianity, and then through the rest of his life. I really liked the emphasis on what happens after conversion. Usually you hear about people's miraculous conversions, but not the struggles of maintaining their devotion through their trials and temptations.
To me, the first and the last chapters were the most important. The first highlighted the real struggle that Christians face with being treated differently by non-Christians. The last was all about what he refers to as a "Biblical worldview". Many Christians see mammon, or the secular world, as something to be completely avoided; the secular and the spiritual can never intertwine. Lecrae, on the other hand, analyzes what it really means to be in the world, but not of the world.
A great life story, a great sermon on modern Christianity....more
I dunno, I wasn't into this one. Morrie seems like a cool dude and all, but it was kind of a boring book. I don't think I learned anything I didn't alI dunno, I wasn't into this one. Morrie seems like a cool dude and all, but it was kind of a boring book. I don't think I learned anything I didn't already know. I liked what he had to say about marriage, tho. But if the goal was really to share a wise philosophy that everyone should know, I wonder why it sells for $31.95 Canadian... Ok, I know the price tag isn't all in the author's hands, but you get what I'm saying. No disrespect to the book. I just liked 5 People better....more
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