Linguistics + Bryson = My Kind of Book

Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson

Have you ever wondered about the origins of Americanisms such as "lunch" and "cafeteria"? Or maybe you're interested in words that originated from the movies or sports. Bill Bryson gives you a whirlwind tour of all this and more in his "informal history of the English language in the United States."

Beginning with the Pilgrims and making his way through both chronologically and thematically to recent times, Bryson has a way of highlighting the humorous aspects of history and linguistic quirkiness of our language. Some of interesting tidbits (note: a word that was originally "titbits" and changed in order to be less offensive) I learned included:

• Englishmen bemoaning Americanisms entering the language is nothing new
• the Pilgrims had three or four different names and types of mush
• during the American Revolution, people were not unconcerned with spelling, but merely had more variants to choose from (and even argue about!)

I'll have as much fun recommending this book to family and friends as I did reading it!

What I'm Reading Now

I'm always intrigued by a glimpse at someone's immediate "read" list. It's a sort of slice of life that lets me see a snapshot of someone's interests at the moment. So I thought I'd share my own current reads and (hopefully) soon-to-be-reads:

The Paris Review Interviews, Vol. 1 edited by Philip Gourevitch
The book I started most recently. A bit unfairly, I started thinking "I've barely read any of these authors, so maybe I will want to abandon it soon and I'll get some of these library books home." But no, even the author of a book I dislike was extremely interesting in his interview. I've been so enjoying the collection that I've spaced it out and have only read about one or two interviews a day. So much for decreasing the library pile.

Made in America by Bill Bryson
The subtitle succinctly sums it up: "An Informal History of the English Language in the United States." I love books about language and I love Bill Bryson's humorous writing style, so this one is right up my alley.

13 Things That Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks has been the audiobook on my MP3 player for the past few days. It's enjoyable and fairly light science in comparison to some of the books I've read this year (Brief History of Time, I'm looking at you).

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
I've been meaning to read this ever since I read and loved The Moonstone as a college student. I finally decided it was time, as well as being an appropriate October read. Strangely, it's the only fiction I'm reading at the moment.

A few more books are on my nightstand calling out to me, hoping not to get returned to the library before I read them, but I'll have to finish at least two of these first.

Shakespeare Humor; or, When Literary Criticism Meets Slapstick

Reduced Shakespeare: The Attention-Impaired Reader's Guide to the World's Best Playwright (Abridged} by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor

So, you've watched The compleat works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and wanted to learn more. Oh. You haven't watched the Reduced Shakespeare Co.'s play that hilariously combines, yes, every play that Shakespeare wrote (or at least refers to them)? Well, get thee hence and do it, otherwise this book will not make any sense at all. There. You've seen it? Good.

Right, so after watching the Compleat Works, you now need to read the Compleat Guide to Shakespeare: his life, his works, his movies. And in this hysterical (yet surprisingly informative) guide, you will be treated to one of the most irreverent biographies and literary criticisms you've ever read. They include a short criticism of every play, and then go through movie versions and tell you which versions they think are the most notable (if any exist at all), rating each on a scale of 0 to 5 Bards. In the movies section, they also include those movies that are somewhat loosely based on Shakespeare's plays, such as 10 Things I Hate About You. They're not afraid to tell it like they see it, and I was somewhat gratified to see that they disliked the same two versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I detested in college. In fact, the movie section is worth the price of the book, and I'm holding onto my library copy a little longer so I can make a note of the ones I want to see. 4.5 stars.

999 Challenge - The End

For previous updates see:

• Introduction of Categories
• March Progress Report
• May and June Update

Here's what I've read since:

Award Winners & Honors
9. The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson

New-to-me Authors
9. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Books about Books, Reading, and Writing
9. Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff

Nonfiction (Category Completed in May)

Audiobooks (Category Completed in June)

Graphic Novels (Category Completed in June)

Recommendations
8. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
9. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

YA/Children's (Category Completed in June)

Lost Book Club
9. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

The Lovely Bones (81/81)

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Category: Recommendations

Susie Salmon recounts her murder and over the ensuing years, watches from heaven over her family as they deal with their grief. Having Susie as the narrator gives the reader a semi-omnipotent view of events, as Susie knows who her killer is, can watch the action in two places at the same time, and can tell us the thoughts and emotions of the other characters. Though disjointed at times, some passages of narration are lovely and thought-provoking.

My brother recommended this to me, warning me that the beginning might be a little much for me. It was gruesome, but not as violent as I'd anticipated. As might be expected, the story is a little sad and even though the setup was a little surreal to begin with I found a few elements stretching my ability to suspend disbelief. A really intense read that will stay with me for awhile. 4.5 stars.

David Copperfield (80/81)

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Category: Recommendations

David Copperfield is the narrator of his life from boyhood through young adulthood, an account that in some ways mirrors Dickens' own life. It begins with David's own birth and his Aunt Betsey Trotwood's disappointment that he was not a girl. David's father was already dead, and his mother eventually remarried a man who believed in "firmness." So begins Master Copperfield's tale.

This is one of those books I've been meaning to read for years, those classics that I enjoy but only seem to get a chance to read over the summer - and indeed, I spend much of June and July reading the book. The length is daunting and the story starts slowly, which was much of the reason the book took me so long to finish. It was well worth it, however, as I was introduced to some of the most memorable characters - Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, Mr. Dick, Uriah Heep, and my personal favorite Miss Betsey Trotwood - that I have ever encountered. I'm sure I will read it again. 4.5 stars.

City of Bones (79/81)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Category: New-to-me authors

Clary lives with her mom; her father died in a car accident before she was born. At least, that's what she's always been told. But when she and her best friend Simon go to a club and she sees some people - and something - that Simon can't see, she knows something's up. Finding out the truth will turn her world upside down.

Cassandra Clare's imaginary world, set in New York, is really well-realized with vampires, werewolves, demons, and more. Clary meets the Shadowhunters (also known as Nephilim), a group of people dedicated to killing demons. The characters are wonderfully complex, so much so that even the "good guys" sometimes seem a little nefarious. The fast-paced plot kept me up reading late into the night, and I immediately put the next two books in the trilogy on hold from the library after finishing. 4.5 stars.