Delightful and fascinating, with wonderful cartoons by Roz Chast. The brillian Erin McKean, editor of Verbatim and rock-star lexicographer, gives just the right amount of information on each word–sometimes tantalizing, sometimes thorough–to make the book easy to read cover-to-cover, as well as fun to dip into. Essays on linked words (beginning with Z, relating to pigs, for diseases) are sprinkled in. Word stuck in my head now: mammothrept, a spoiled child (from “raised by one’s grandmother”). A
Two more today
Maxwell, John C. – The Difference Maker: Making Your Attitude Your Greatest Asset, 2006. Full of clichés, short, and dull. Why did I read the whole thing? D
Brock, Betty – No Flying in the House, 1970. OK kids’ fantasy which I’ve picked up many times & finally read. C+.
Starting over!
It was my 43rd birthday yesterday and I’m working on a 101 Goals in 1001 Days project, one section of which is daily goals to strive for. One goal is logging books immediately after I read them, since otherwise they pile up and I still never “catch up.”
C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, 1946. Prompted by seeing The Golden Compass, which which I see many parallels even though Pullman vociferously denounces Lewis and tries to set himself up as the opposite. Mark Studdock has no redeeming qualities at all, at least until 2/3 of the way through the book. It’s a flawed book but still I come back to it quite frequently. B