BOOKISHGAL

It’s Sunday again, when I waltz through my blogroll and check on what various bookish friends, acquaintances, and others have been up to this past week and might be planning for the coming week.

And did I get a treat first thing! Nicola at Alpha Heroes went to a book reading by Patricia Briggs, and her description of the whole evening made me drool with envy. And I haven’t even heard of Patricia Briggs or her books until now! I loved the subject matter that came out of the Q&A (can silver bullets be cast? does chain mail really work?). And there’s a very lovely photo of Nicola and Patricia, and I have to say I love Nicola’s smile.

Now it seems I’d better go find some Patricia Briggs books .

Checking out The Book Zombie — it happened again!  Joanne reviews a kids’ book called Skeleton Creek , by Patrick Carman, and she is impressed both with the story itself (”The ending of Skeleton Creek left me wordless, and I eagerly await the next instalment”), and with the actual format of the book. It incorporates elements that make the book feel more like the way techno-savvy kids actually are living their lives now. It’s in the form of a diary by the main character, Ryan, but includes printouts of emails from his friend, that he pastes into the diary, along with actual videos, and things like that.

The story and the format sound really intriguing, and I may just try to see if I can get the book out of the library sometime. It’s a very creative idea, and one that may get kids more engaged with books. Joanne includes a YouTube video of the author talking about the design, and how he tries to bridge the gap between the “quiet necessity of a book” and the online world of kids today.

Skimming through others, we come upon Minds Alive on the Shelves, where Lisa really gives it to “The Greatest Love Stories of All Time.” I have to say, I am totally with her on Wuthering Heights. Not only do I not think it’s remotely “romantic,” I think it’s an absolutely, frakingly stupid story. There. I’ve said it. Sorry if that offends anyone. I heard all my life what a classic it was, with movies and miniseries made from it, and young girls through history swooning over it — so when I finally got to read it for a university course, I was happy. And then horrified, when I actually read it. I absolutely loathe that book, and can’t for an instant understand the hype.

Anyway. Calming down…

Melanie at The Indextrious Reader had a busy week. Yesterday she reviewed Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard by Eleanor Farjeon, and on Friday she had another great haul in the “Library Loot” weekly event. But I was especially gratified that on Thursday, she referred to my post of the same day, about Charles Darwin. I don’t mention it here just to blow my own horn, but to point back to her own post, where she talks about something out of Darwin’s journals: the “pro” and “con” list he made, when trying to decide whether to get married. I saw that list when I went to that Darwin exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum last year, and it changed my whole perspective on the man. It showed how scientific he was, but at the same time, the items on both halves of the list showed how human he was.

The list is very revealing. Please do go and read the post , and check out the list near the bottom. (One of the amusing items on the Pro list: “better than a dog anyhow.” And on the Con list: “less money for books.”)

The Weekly Geeks have an interesting question this week, asking people what are their favourite character names. People are asked to look up a book character’s name to find out its meaning, and discuss whether it fits that character or not. (Doing my favourite characters, who I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I find that “Francis” means “a Frenchman.” Which is only partly true, and so basic that it really doesn’t signify much, as far as Francis Crawford goes. Meanwhile, “Philippa” means “horse lover.” Which doesn’t really signify too much either, for Philippa Sommerville. So there goes that experiment, in my case, heh.)

And finally, Hopeinbrazil at Worthwhile Books decided to review the classic Elements of Style, by Strunk & White. I agree with her up to a point, in that the book does cover a few elementary grammar rules and mistakes. But I myself found it rather lacking in depth. When it comes to making those rules understandable and yet entertaining at the same time, I much prefer the other book mentioned; Eats, Shoots and Leaves , by Lynn Truss.

Anyway, that’s how things went this week, in some of the confines of the bookish world I inhabit. I hope by next week that I’ll have two or three more book blogs here, as I begin visiting more of my Today.com book-blogging friends.

Have a good week. Happy reading!

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