by Robin McKinley
Grade: All right
It's almost Good, because I read it all the way through very quickly, and my interest never flagged. However, I didn't love the main character very much. And even the vampire--well, he was cool, but he didn't quite cut it to make this book Good instead of All right. If there was a sequal, I'd definitely read it, though.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Spellbound: The Surprising Origins and Astonishing Secrets of English Spelling
by James Essinger
Grade: To Own
I think I just might want to own this one. It is absolutely fascinating, and an excellent resource. Here are just a couple of the points I found interesting:
--"fish" can be spelled "ghoti", says Shaw, according to the sounds those letters use in other words
--"pork" vs. "pig": the difference came with the rich Normans, never seeing the animal, calling it "pork", and the poor Saxons, never seeing the meat, calling it "pig"
--I love Norman names. Draco Malfoy is one (versus Harry Potter), and Caledon Hockley (versus Jack Dawson)
--"[T]he ruder the word is, the more Anglo-Saxon is sounds"
--I wanna go to the British Library--it sounds beautiful and wonderful and lovely
--There's a particular episode of Blackadder that I ought to watch, starring Dr. Johnson
--He didn't mention Shakespeare adding words, which I've heard to be the case. I think I might email him about it and ask him
--On page 268-9, there is a plethora of beautiful British spellings, some of which I want to adopt.
And those are but a few! Really cool book.
Grade: To Own
I think I just might want to own this one. It is absolutely fascinating, and an excellent resource. Here are just a couple of the points I found interesting:
--"fish" can be spelled "ghoti", says Shaw, according to the sounds those letters use in other words
--"pork" vs. "pig": the difference came with the rich Normans, never seeing the animal, calling it "pork", and the poor Saxons, never seeing the meat, calling it "pig"
--I love Norman names. Draco Malfoy is one (versus Harry Potter), and Caledon Hockley (versus Jack Dawson)
--"[T]he ruder the word is, the more Anglo-Saxon is sounds"
--I wanna go to the British Library--it sounds beautiful and wonderful and lovely
--There's a particular episode of Blackadder that I ought to watch, starring Dr. Johnson
--He didn't mention Shakespeare adding words, which I've heard to be the case. I think I might email him about it and ask him
--On page 268-9, there is a plethora of beautiful British spellings, some of which I want to adopt.
And those are but a few! Really cool book.
A True and Faithful Narrative
by Katherine Sturtevant
Grade: All right
Not as good as the last one. Mostly because I didn't like Edward. Will wasn't wonderful either, but I liked him better than Edward. So. Grade: All right.
Grade: All right
Not as good as the last one. Mostly because I didn't like Edward. Will wasn't wonderful either, but I liked him better than Edward. So. Grade: All right.
Power of Three
by Diana Wynne Jones
Grade: Good
Good thing I continued reading after what I thought was a rather dull first page, because it got better and better. As usual, she brought in the modern world very cleverly.
Grade: Good
Good thing I continued reading after what I thought was a rather dull first page, because it got better and better. As usual, she brought in the modern world very cleverly.
Believing is Seeing
by Diana Wynne Jones
Grade: Good
These were good stories. Good Diana Wynne Jones. "The Master" I didn't really get, but it was interesting. "The Girl Who Loved the Sun" was sad. Sniff. I liked "What the Cat Told Me" best, probably. "Nad and Dan Adn Quaffy" was weird, and I didn't quite get it either. But it was still good Diana Wynne Jones.
Grade: Good
These were good stories. Good Diana Wynne Jones. "The Master" I didn't really get, but it was interesting. "The Girl Who Loved the Sun" was sad. Sniff. I liked "What the Cat Told Me" best, probably. "Nad and Dan Adn Quaffy" was weird, and I didn't quite get it either. But it was still good Diana Wynne Jones.
At the Sign of the Star
by Katherine Sturtevant
Grade: Good
Good little book. I liked the Paul guy because he was nice, even though he didn't have a very big role. It was almost too feminist in parts, but it wasn't bad. Nice history, interesting details, and good characterization.
Grade: Good
Good little book. I liked the Paul guy because he was nice, even though he didn't have a very big role. It was almost too feminist in parts, but it wasn't bad. Nice history, interesting details, and good characterization.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos
by R. L. Lafevers
Grade: Unfinished
Read: To somewhere in the middle
The person I liked turned out bad. End of story. I don't like stories where the person I like turns out bad, unless it's really fascinatingly bad, like Ben Linus or something. Otherwise, it was pretty cool.
Grade: Unfinished
Read: To somewhere in the middle
The person I liked turned out bad. End of story. I don't like stories where the person I like turns out bad, unless it's really fascinatingly bad, like Ben Linus or something. Otherwise, it was pretty cool.
Silent in the Grave
by Deanna Raybourn
Grade: Unfinished
Read: To page 190
It was very well done and intruiging, and Nicholas Brisbane had potential, but there love story was too much of the sparring that I don't like, and there was stuff at the end that bothered me. But I might re-read some of it just to find out what Nicholas's strange problem was.
Grade: Unfinished
Read: To page 190
It was very well done and intruiging, and Nicholas Brisbane had potential, but there love story was too much of the sparring that I don't like, and there was stuff at the end that bothered me. But I might re-read some of it just to find out what Nicholas's strange problem was.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Letters to a Young Mathematician
by Ian Stewart
Grade: To Re-read
If I go into math, or I'm stuck on what to go into, I ought to read this again, thus the grade.
It gave me a really good game which would be fun to play with Breann sometime: change ORDER into CHAOS, one letter at a time. (Or SHIP into DOCK if I need it to be easier.)
Also it mentions this: "Anyone who thinks computers can supplant mathematicians understands neither computing nor mathematics. It's like thinking we don't need biologists now that we have microscopes." Contradiction to an interesting video we watched recently.
Grade: To Re-read
If I go into math, or I'm stuck on what to go into, I ought to read this again, thus the grade.
It gave me a really good game which would be fun to play with Breann sometime: change ORDER into CHAOS, one letter at a time. (Or SHIP into DOCK if I need it to be easier.)
Also it mentions this: "Anyone who thinks computers can supplant mathematicians understands neither computing nor mathematics. It's like thinking we don't need biologists now that we have microscopes." Contradiction to an interesting video we watched recently.
INSERT: The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
by Diana Wynne Jones
Grade: Good
Because it's an insert, I can't remember all the good parts anymore. But there were some very, very good parts. She very accurately and amusingly describes what's cliched with the fantasy genre.
Grade: Good
Because it's an insert, I can't remember all the good parts anymore. But there were some very, very good parts. She very accurately and amusingly describes what's cliched with the fantasy genre.
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