The Horologicon: A Day’s Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language – Mark Forsyth (review)

Hardcover, 258 pages
Published November 1st 2012 by Icon Books
Source: Finished copy from Publisher

Synopsis:
The Horologicon (or book of hours) gives you the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to the hour of the day when you really need them.

Do you wake up feeling rough? Then you’re philogrobolized. Pretending to work? That’s fudgelling, which may lead to rizzling if you feel sleepy after lunch, though by dinner time you will have become a sparkling deipnosophist.

From Mark Forsyth, author of the bestselling The Etymologicon, this is a book of weird words for familiar situations. From ante-jentacular to snudge by way of quafftide and wamblecropt, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.

Review

The Horologicon is a delightful journey through an entire day populated by words that have meandered out of the every day English usage. Forsyth’s tone is cheeky, slightly irreverent and very, very engaging. It is funny because although this is what Louise Rosenblatt would term “efferent reading,” reading The Horologicon doesn’t feel as mentally taxing and as dense as one feel after say, reading something else that demands attention, something that isn’t for fun, per se, but to glean information from. That is the crux of it, I suppose. I read this for fun. English as a language fascinates me because it finds its origins in so many other languages; it borrows words and phrases and appropriates expressions and gives them a twist to make them its own.

Forsyth uses the new words in context immediately after he introduces them and this lets the reader get familiar with them and remember them when uses them again later. He cites a large number of sources and credits properly and this illustrates the scope of his research. But perhaps most admirably, he takes a topic that can be very dry and infuses it with sly humour and vignettes that are both fun and illuminates the point being made perfectly.

The lost words come from a variety of dialects and are almost always accompanied by their delicious back stories or other tidbits that make them so interesting to read. I had a lot of fun and several laugh out loud moments while reading. This book will be a perfect fit for aspiring writers, lovers of English language and anyone who wants to read a fun piece of literature. I sincerely recommend it.

A Walk on the Tundra – Rebecca Hainnu, Anna Ziegler, illus. Qin Leng (Review)

Hardcover, 1st, 40 pages
Published October 14th 2011 by Inhabit Media Inc.
Source: Library

Synopsis:

During the short Arctic summers, the tundra, covered most of the year under snow and ice, becomes filled with colourful flowers, mosses, shrubs, and lichens. These hardy little plants transform the northern landscape, as they take advantage of the warmer weather and long hours of sunlight. Caribou, lemmings, snow buntings, and many other wildlife species depend on tundra plants for food and nutrition, but they are not the only ones…

A Walk on the Tundra follows Inuujaq, a little girl who travels with her grandmother onto the tundra. There, Inuujaq learns that these tough little plants are much more important to Inuit than she originally believed.

In addition to an informative storyline that teaches the importance of Arctic plants, this book includes a field guide with photographs and scientific information about a wide array of plants found throughout the Arctic.

Review:

(Originally presented as a book talk at the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable ft. Kenneth Oppel.)

A Walk on the Tundra is written by Rebecca Hainnu and Anna Ziegler and illustrated by Qin Leng. It was published by Inhabit Media that is an Inuit owned publishing company that, in their own words, “aims to promote and preserve the stories, knowledge and talent of Northern Canada.”

Colorful and inviting, the art in A Walk on the Tundra is a perfect companion to the text that exemplifies informative storytelling. Inuujaq, a bored young girl, is invited to go on a walk with her grandmother. She follows her grandmother unwillingly, and as she does, she learns about the flora that finds its home on the tundra. She learns about various plants and the way they are used by her people. She finds delicious snacks disguised as leaves and stems and deepens her bond with not just her grandmother but her people and the land they call their own.

The art that I mentioned previously is a very big factor in the appeal of the picture book. Qin Leng’s illustrations are soft, unpretentious and utterly charming. The inclusion of the pet dog, that is not present in the text, adds a whimsy to the illustrations that add to the appeal of the book. The text is very readable and the informative portions that detail the plants and their various uses in the community are simple enough in their execution that a child would have no problem following along. I have to admit that the words in Inuktitut were initially difficult to pronounce but the discovery of a glossary that contains a pronunciation guide made them so much more fun to read out loud.

I found this book to be a gentle one. There are no overt moralistic tones in the narrative. Inuujaq comes to the realization that littering is bad all on her own, without her grandmother saying a single word. The book works as a bridge between young children and nature and it made me remember the times I spent with my grandmother and the things she taught me. A Walk on the Tundra is not just for children but for adults as well. It shows the beauty (and usefulness) of living things and teaches readers to appreciate nature and family.

Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen (review)

Paperback, 168 pages
Published April 19th 1994 by Vintage
Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she’d never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele — Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles — as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary.

Kaysen’s memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a “parallel universe” set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.

Review:

Girl, Interrupted is a collection of vignettes that tell, sometimes with poignant detail, one teenager’s experience in a mental asylum. Susanna Kaysen details the time she spent in a mental asylum after a doctor had her committed after about twenty minutes of consultation. She explores the nature of insanity and lunacy, questioning the shaky division between sanity and its opposite. She talks about her fellow inmates, some of whom come to tragic ends while others end up surprising her with their continued existences. There is a frankness about Kaysen’s writing that makes it easy to read and a truth about mental illnesses that made me question my own sanity. It was an illuminating read. I recommend it.

Mr. g – Alan Lightman (A Review)

Hardcover, 224 pages
Published January 24th 2012 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Source: Library

Synopsis:

“As I remember, I had just woken up from a nap when I decided to create the universe.”

So begins Alan Lightman’s playful and profound new novel, Mr g, the story of Creation as told by God. Barraged by the constant advisements and bickerings of Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, who live with their nephew in the shimmering Void, Mr g proceeds to create time, space, and matter. Then come stars, planets, animate matter, consciousness, and, finally, intelligent beings with moral dilemmas. Mr g is all powerful but not all knowing and does much of his invention by trial and error.

Even the best-laid plans can go awry, and Mr g discovers that with his creation of space and time come some unforeseen consequences—especially in the form of the mysterious Belhor, a clever and devious rival. An intellectual equal to Mr g, Belhor delights in provoking him: Belhor demands an explanation for the inexplicable, requests that the newly created intelligent creatures not be subject to rational laws, and maintains the necessity of evil. As Mr g watches his favorite universe grow into maturity, he begins to understand how the act of creation can change himself, the Creator.

Review:

Oftentimes you come across works of literature that give you pause and make you question not just your life and the role you are playing but also the consequence and meaning of humanity as a species. A work that makes you think about your existence in the grand scheme of things. Of the size and space you occupy in the universe. About God and His/Her existence. A book that drives home the limits of your understanding and intelligence. Mr. g is that kind of book. It’s a slim book, just about 224 pages but within these pages it holds one of the biggest questions of humanity: our origin, our world and our meaning. The novel itself, as the synopsis will tell you, is the creation of the universe from the perspective of God, Mr. g himself. Heavy stuff? Most certainly. I enjoyed the personification of God and his uncle and aunt who squabble like those couples who have been together. There are also three other characters who are negative, perhaps Satan or whatever name you want to call him. Lightman names him Belfor.

The novel makes physics understandable to the layman. It makes the processes that may have contributed to the synthesizing of the universe accessible to the common person. The whole creation story becomes very fascinating when viewed from the perspective of God who, believe it or not, is playing around with universes because he has been bored. The majority of the novel is a description of the physical, the atoms, ions, the evolution of animate matter, the coalescing of a soul. The latter bit deals with the heavier themes as the necessity of evil for good to exist, whether good and bad exist on their own or was it an unintentional creation of God, about freewill, etc.

I really liked this. It wasn’t the light hearted reading I was expecting it to be but it was all the more satisfying for its rather somber, exploratory feel of the universe and the people living in it. It makes you question whether ours is the only universe there is, if we really are the only people there are and if not, what else exists out there. Are we really an experiment? And what about God and our souls? What lies in the beyond?

The book doesn’t give you any answers but it provides you with many questions to ponder. I recommend it.

The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to their Younger Selves – Sarah Moon et al (A Review)

Hardcover, 217 pages
Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by Arthur A. Levine Books
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

Life-saving letters from a glittering wishlist of top authors.

If you received a letter from your older self, what do you think it would say? What do you wish it would say?

That the boy you were crushing on in History turns out to be gay too, and that you become boyfriends in college? That the bully who is making your life miserable will one day become so insignificant that you won’t remember his name until he shows up at your book signing?

In this anthology, sixty-three award-winning authors such as Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom, Jacqueline Woodson, Gregory Maguire, David Levithan, and Armistead Maupin make imaginative journeys into their pasts, telling their younger selves what they would have liked to know then about their lives as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered people. Through stories, in pictures, with bracing honesty, these are words of love and understanding, reasons to hold on for the better future ahead. They will tell you things about your favorite authors that you never knew before. And they will tell you about yourself.

Review

The Letter Q is a poignant collection of countless letters from several LGBT authors to their younger selves holding hope, wisdom and hindsight. The book is beautifully bound, its pages smooth and able to withstand time and tears. The short letters invite the reader into the heads and personal lives of not the children these authors were but also the adults they have become. While many of the letters entreat their younger selves not to give in,  not to give up and not to capitulate to what society demands of them, there are also some, such as Levithan’s (which was a particular favourite of mine) that portray an awareness in self, a growth that is heartwarming.

What the Letter Q offers young children is priceless. The book is physical proof that the child/teenager questioning his/her sexuality, sexual orientation is not alone, that whatever questions, whatever experiences he or she is going through at the moment, others have also gone through and more than that, they have survived and survived successfully at that. This is the kind of reassurance that is invaluable to a child who is much more vulnerable to attacks and fears.

If you are an adult reading this review, I recommend that you buy this novel for any young person because whether or not they are sexually confused, reading this novel will give them an insight to the thoughts and feelings of children who often cannot find the voice to express themselves. I found this to be touching, sad and yes, hopeful. I recommend this to everyone.

 

 

Fleas, Flies and Friars – Nicholas Orme (A Review)

Paperback, 128 pages
Published March 13th 2012 by Cornell University Press
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:

Medieval children lived in a world rich in poetry, from lullabies, nursery rhymes, and songs to riddles, tongue twisters, and nonsensical verses. They read or listened to stories in verse: ballads of Robin Hood, romances, and comic tales. Poems were composed to teach them how to behave, eat at meals, hunt game, and even learn Latin and French. In Fleas, Flies, and Friars, Nicholas Orme, an expert on childhood in the Middle Ages, has gathered a wide variety of children’s verse that circulated in England beginning in the 1400s, providing a way for modern readers of all ages to experience the medieval world through the eyes of its children.

In his delightful treasury of medieval children’s verse, Orme does a masterful job of recovering a lively and largely unknown tradition, preserving the playfulness of the originals while clearly explaining their meaning, significance, or context. Poems written in Latin or French have been translated into English, and Middle English has been modernized. Fleas, Flies, and Friars has five parts. The first two contain short lyrical pieces and fragments, together with excerpts from essays in verse that address childhood or were written for children. The third part presents poems for young people about behavior. The fourth contains three long stories and the fifth brings together verse relating to education and school life.

Review:

I found this collection to be particularly fascinating as it gives a hint into the early lives of medieval children. This is the time when children were regarded as tiny adults so it’s especially interesting to see how and what entertainment children derived from stories and songs that they surely sang. Of course debates still rage about whether literature can be accepted to accurately reflect culture but in this instance, whether it does or not, I think the collection shows that storytelling and creativity have always been a part of childhood.

Some of the topics of the poems, lullabies are rather interesting or perhaps at times more sorrowful than you would think a work belonging to the genre would be but that is exactly what is so fascinating about. I liked the notes that accompanied the pieces. They were succinct and informative without being overly verbose. If you are interested in medieval literature or like history, I would recommend this collection to you.

Katniss the Cattail: An Unauthorized Guide to Names and Symbols in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games – Valerie Estelle Frankel

Paperback, first, 104 pages
Published 2012
Source: Author

Synopsis:

Who was Cinna? What do the hawthorn and primrose symbolize? Or President Snow’s roses and Peeta’s bread? What about Katniss’s last name? Bringing details from myths, herbal guides, military histories, and the classics, English professor and award-winning pop culture author Valerie Estelle Frankel sheds light on the deeper meanings behind Panem’s heroes and villains in this hottest of YA trilogies. In her series, Collins not only weaves a heroic tale of deep complexity but harnesses the power of Shakespeare and Rome to retell an ancient epic of betrayal, violence, and glory on the stage of an apocalyptic future. The perfect treat for fans of all ages. Everything Hunger Games, packed into one volume. From Alma Coin to Wiress you’ll learn about • Why roses are a flower of death • How eighteen of the characters are used in Shakespeare’s plays • Katniss’s nickname Catnip • The meaning of “The Hanging Tree” • Peeta’s pearl and Katniss’s salvation • Effie the saint and Finnick the Irish hero.

Review:

This slim volume dedicates itself to finding out the history behind the names of the characters in The Hunger Games. I don’t know whether Suzanne Collins named her characters consciously trying to speak through the symbols etc but the names do give credence to many of the characters in both their personalities and their actions.

Katniss the Cattail is more on the academic side than not and that’s why I judged it as a scholarly piece of writing and not one for entertainment. However, it educates as well entertains and it is a handy tool to use to deepen your understanding and appreciation of The Hunger Games.

That said, I felt that the writing could have been more crisp and the tone a bit stronger. I don’t know what kind of scholarly material is available for such research but I think the author of the volume did her work and it comes through her frequent references to outsides that help to ground the novel somewhat on solid academic foundation. I say somewhat because obviously it needs to be peer reviewed for it to be totally academic.

Anyway, in simpler words, if you dig The Hunger Games like crazy, this book lets you glimpse at it a bit closer than you know…you might have.

YOU: The Owner’s Manual for Teens: A Guide to a Healthy Body and Happy Life – Michael F. Roizen (MD) and Mehmet C. Oz (MD)

464 pages
Published June 7th, 2011 by Simon and Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Source: Simon and Schuster Canada

Synopsis:

A few years ago, we wrote YOU: The Owner’s Manual, which taught people about the inner workings of their bodies—and how to keep them running strong. But you know what? There’s a big difference between an adult’s body and your body, between adults’ health mysteries and your health mysteries, between their questions and your questions. So, teens, this book is for YOU. We’ll talk to you about the biological changes that are happening in your brain and your body. We’ll show you how to get more energy, improve your grades, protect your skin, salvage more sleep, get fit, eat well, maximize your relationships, make decisions about sex, and so much more. In fact, in these pages, we answer hundreds of your most pressing health-related questions. And you know what else? We are going to treat you like adults in one very important way: We’re not going to preach. We’re going to give you straight-up information that you can use to make smart choices about how to live the good life—and enjoy every second of it. Starting right now.

My Review

If you are a parent of a teenager, I think you will find it worth your while to get up right now and get yourself a copy of this book for your child. If you know a teenager, buy him/her this book because honestly? This manual rocks. Like seriously rocks.

You’ve been a teenager (assuming you are no longer one) and you know that there are many times you have questions, awkward, embarrassing questions about your body, about your health, about stuff that you’d much rather suffer a painful death than ask. Even if you really need to know. This book answers all those questions and so many more that you haven’t even thought to ask. They approach problems in such a personable manner that makes it easy for a child to relate and read. The writing is friendly and there is not a single moment in the book where the adults seem condescending, patronizing and all those unfriendly terms that drive a person away.

Also, and perhaps most importantly, the book contains information worth its weight in gold. It answers concerns and queries in a kind manner that gives importance to the question being asked without being dramatic about it. There are cartoons to add humour and diagrams that make understanding easy. There’s also a section in the back (my favourite) full of recipes to try out. Recipes for healthy snacks that will get your teenager interested in cooking. Or at least puttering around in the kitchen.

But honestly, this is a great book. I wish I had had it when I was facing teenagedom. If you do know a teenager or are one yourself, you should definitely get this book or gift it. The kids you know may not say it out loud or even whisper it but they will love you for it.