Wondrous Words Wednesday

This first word came while sitting at the library. I was flipping through a copy of the NY Times Book Review. In a review by Judith Martin I found this word:

1.  salacious: “The author of this Italian Renaissance etiquette book was an archbishop who wrote salacious poetry.”

Salacious means lustful or lecherous.

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The next two words came from my Word-A-Day.

2. praxis: “His head hung lower than was its praxis.”

Praxis is the accepted practice or custom.

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3. cenobite: “He knew a fellow cenobite when he saw one.”

A cenobite is a member of a religious order living in a monastic community.

That’s all the new words from me this week. I hope you let some wondrous words into your life this week.

As readers we are often captivated or turned away by the first paragraph of a book.  Diane 

I’m reading the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver. It’s Flight Behavior and I’ll be sharing my thoughts next Tuesday, June 25th. I’ll confess right now to loving the story from the very beginning. Let’s see if you do:

A certain feeling comes from throwing your good life away, and it is one part rapture. Or so it seemed for now, to a woman with flame-colored hair who marched uphill to meet her demise. Innocence was no part of this. She knew her own recklessness and marveled, really, at how one hard little fling of thrill could out-weigh the pillowy, suffocating aftermath of a long disgrace. The shame and loss would infect her children too, that was the worst of it, in a town where everyone knew them. Even the teenage cashier at the grocery would take an edge with her after this, clicking painted fingernails on the counter while she wrote her check, eyeing the oateao ad fronze peas of an unhinged family and exchanging looks with the bag boy: She’s that one. How they admired their own steadfast lives. Right up to the day when hope in all its versions went out of stock, including the crummy discount brands and the heart had just one instruction left: run. Like a hunted animal or a racehorse, winning or losing felt exactly alike at this stage, with the safe covering of blood and shortness of breath. She smoked too much, that was another mortification to throw in with the others. But she had cast her lot. Plenty of people took this way out, looking future damage in the eye and naming it something else. Now it was her turn. She could claim the tightness in her chest and call it bliss, rather than the same breathlessness she could be feeling at home right now while toting a heavy laundry basket, behaving like a sensible mother of two.

What do you think?

Did she pull you in or do you need to read more?

Publisher: First Second  (April 2013)

Genre: Graphic Novel/Food

Source: Public Library

One of the first graphic novels I read was Lucy Knisley’s French Milk. It was so charming that it made me want to dabble more in this genre. Lucy Knisley has now relesed another novel that is sure to convert even more readers: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen.

When Ms. Knisley thinks back over the pleasant memories of her life they almost always involve food. She comes by it naturally as her mother is a chef and she has experienced food at it’s best. The stories told in Relish are sweet and heartwarming. Best of all you can experience them in full color.

Every chapter features a story and a “recipe” of sorts. The “recipes” are not the classic list of ingredients followed by the directions. As you can see above, there are drawings of the food items you need and a general hint of how to put them together. This isn’t meant to be a cookbook. It does, however, have some good ideas on making good food. For instance, following the Mom’s Pesto (above) is a page of “Best Tips and Ideas” when making and using pesto. Examples: Add lemon to pesto to keep the bright green color and try a dab of pesto on a slice of avocado.

Relish is short and sweet and loads of fun to read. I’m sure most readers will be prompted to recall their own past experiences that are linked to food. I know I did. Someday I’ll have to tell you about big family Sunday dinners when I was a kid and had to sit at the kids table.

In the meantime, read Lucy Knisley’s memories. Look for the chapter about Lucy and junk food. With a gourmet chef for a mom, she had no idea what those items were. Don’t be concerned abut the term graphic novel. It’s like reading an old-fashioned comic book. Anyone remember Little Lulu? Like those old comic books, Relish: My Life in the Kitchen is pure fun.

I’m linking this post to Weekend Cooking, a meme sponsored by Beth Fish Reads.

Publisher: Harper (May, 2013)

Genre: Literary Fiction

Source: Publisher

My Rating: B

Summary from the publisher:

On a Boston street one warm spring day, Hazel and Remy spot each other for the first time in years. Although their brief meeting may seem insignificant, behind them lie two decades in which their life paths have crisscrossed, diverged, and ultimately interlaced. Remy, a gifted violinist, is married to the composer Nicholas Elko—once the love of Hazel’s life.

It has been twenty years since Remy, an ambitious conservatory student; Nicholas, a wunderkind launching an international career; and his wife, the beautiful and fragile Hazel, first came together, tipping their collective world on its axis. As their story unfolds from 1987 to 2007, from Europe to America, from conservatory life to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, each discovers the surprising ways in which the quest to create something real and true—be it a work of art or one’s own life—can lead to the most personal of revelations.

My Thoughts:

I love character-driven novels, especially ones that follow the characters over a long period of time. When I heard Sight Reading compared to Three Junes by Julia Glass, I knew I wanted to read it. I got halfway through this book and I had to go back and re-read Three Junes. (Click the title for my review.)

When I came back to finish Sight Reading I knew what was wrong with it: the people/characters weren’t real. The only exception was Remy. By the end I felt a human kinship with her, but just barely. It was a disappointment as I really wanted to know and like these people.

I can’t knock the author’s ability to put words together because she writes beautifully. She also did a great job of creating images of the book’s various settings. A novel that spans twenty years is not an easy task. She did a good job of that. I also admired how she helped us look inside a marriage and a family.

The fact that I couldn’t connect with two of the three main characters shouldn’t deter you from considering this book. Its probably just a matter of my personal taste. And, most likely, my own personal expectations. I think I was expecting or hoping for a carbon copy of Three Junes.

It would be a good idea to check the other bloggers who reviewed this book as part of the TLC Book Tour. Reading the other opinions could help you decide if this is one you’d like to read. The list of other bloggers is here: Sight Reading Book Tour.

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book and to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of it all.

This week’s words were found while reading Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay. The story is about three musicians so I expected to find lots of new musical words. But, I only found two.

1. ritardando: “We might need to slow down even where there’s no ritardando written, or rush foorward where there’s just a crescendo mark.”

Ritardando means a gradual decrease in tempo.

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2. sibelius: “He had them start with the sibelius.”

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) was a Finnish composer. His affinity for his country’s landscape and legends, especially the epic Kalevala, is expressed in a series of symphonic poems. That is the sum total of the definition I could find for this word. Therefor my assumption is that sibelius (lower case s) means poetic symphonies. Anyone know anything different?

That’s it for this week. I hope your week is bringing you good reading full of Wondrous Words.

“It was one of those easy May afternoons when everything, including the weather, seems to finally fall into place. Gone were the brisk winds and persistent grayish pall, the chilly discouragement of New England spring. Today’s heat was balmy and real, and all along Newbury Street people were sipping iced coffee, strolling slowly, and having long chats on cell phones. Shop owners and hairdressers stepped out of doors to turn their faces toward the hazy sun. At Salon Supreme — across from Hazel’s boutique — women kept requesting a pedicure along with their mani and, rather than wait inside for their nails to dry, emerged gingerly onto the sidewalk to slap the air back and forth. This was midway along Newbury, past the cheap trendy stores and ice cream shops, but not yet at the haute couture end. Stepping out for her break, Hazel caught sight of the women across the street and thought, Why not? It was one of those days when everyone deserved a little treat — and frivolous treats were often the most satisfying of all.”

What do you think?

Does it inspire you to want more?

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As readers we are often captivated or turned away by the first paragraph or two of a book.  Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea asks us to share the first paragraph of a book we are reading. As you can see it’s called First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. Visit Diane to read more First Paragraphs.

Author

Publisher: Pantheon, 2002

Genre: Literary Fiction

Format: Audiobook, narrated by John Keating

Source: Public Library

My Rating: A+

I’m currently reading Sighrt Reading by Daphne Kalotay for a TLC Book Tour. You can read my review on Thursday, June 13th. In the promos for Sight Reading they likened it to Julia Glass’ Three Junes. I recall loving Three Junes so I decided to go ahead and read Sight Reading. About half-way through Sight Reading I stopped and went back and re-read Three Junes. I first wrote about Three Junes on the now defunct Quirky Girls Read blog. I’m rerunning my original review here on Joyfully Retired so it will be a part of my personal reading reccord. Here’s what I thought of Three Junes:

Summary:

Three Junes is organized around three different summers spanning ten years. It centers on the McLouds, a prominent Scottish family. In the first section, June 1989, we meet the father, Paul McLeod. He’s recently widowed and on a tour of Greece. The trip gives him time to analyze his life, his sometimes sad marriage, his three sons, and what to do with the rest of his life. He is attracted to a young American painter, Fern, but doesn’t do anything about it.

Six years later the McLeod family has gathered at the family home in Scotland following Paul McLeod’s death. This section is told in the first person by Fenno, the eldest son. Fenno hasn’t seen his twin brothers in a while because he lives in New York City. He’s a gay bookshop owner there. During this June visit Fenno looks back on childhood memories and connects with his now grown brothers, their wives and children. Through flashbacks he looks at his loves and losses. Fenno is asked to make a decision that will effect the rest of his family.

The third section occurs in June 1999. It focuses on Fern, the young painter Paul McLeod met on his tour of Greece. But now Fern is older, a widow, and pregnant, but afraid to tell the baby’s father. Fern has fled to the house where her friend Tony is staying. It’s a small world, but Tony was also Fenno’s lover. When Fenno comes to visit, a late night discussion about love and family helps Fern work through her problem.

My Thoughts:

I read an interview with the author in which she said inspiration for her fiction comes when a character “visits” her out of the blue. That idea intrigued me so I thought I’d read one of her books to see if I could figure out which character came to “visit”. Three Junes is Julia Glass’ debut novel and it won the National Book Award in 2002. It’s an amazing book and well worth the re-read.

All of the characters in this novel were unforgettable; they are beautifully created. The character of Fenno was the one who captured my heart. I think this is the one that “visited” the author and lead to the rest of the story. (Strictly my opinion.) Fenno is loveable but complicated. He’s intelligent, well educated, but often unsure of himself. His old-world manners often keep him from saying and doing what he really wants. Fenno’s gay lover often breaks his heart.

Some might call this a relationship novel but it’s not. It’s more than that. It’s a mature examination of love in all it’s forms: love between husband and wive, lovers, siblings, parents and children, between friends and even people and their pets. It’s rich in multi-dementional characters, intelligent, sometimes humorous, and extremely well-written.

Recommend? Definitely.

Publisher: Random House, May 28, 2013

Genre: Middle-Grade Fiction

Source: The publisher

My Rating: A

My first job out of college was teaching a fifth-grade class that was two-thirds boys. Reading was one of my challenges. No one read at grade level. All my Reading Groups were reading what they called “baby books.” And they were right.

One of my strategies to make reading “cool” (It was the mid-60s) was to find boy-oriented, fun books that showcased activities my students could identify with. Every day, after lunch I read chapters of those books to them. Unfortunately, there were very few of those books back in those days. I wish I’d had a copy of this book, Twerp by Mark Goldblatt. My classes would have loved it.

Twerp is the nickname for Julian Twerski, a sixth-grader who is all-boy in the old-fashioned sense of the term. He hangs out with his friends at a vacant lot or the playground and does all sorts of boyish things. Things like emptying the powder out of their leftover firecrackers and cherry-bombs and then accidently setting it on fire, singeing the eyebrows off one of the boys. Or racing, by foot, cars along a city street. Or composing a love letter on behalf of one of the boys that backfires,

The story is strong because it’s told by Twerp. His teacher gave him an option to write these stories instead of the regular English assignment – a report on Shakespeare. What the teacher really wants Twerp to write about is something terrible that happened over the winter break. Twerp was suspended from school for a week because of the incident. But it’s the last thing Twerp wants to think or write about.

I love Twerp. He made me both laugh and cry. He sounds just like a normal, feisty sixth-grade boy. Just for old-times sake I read aloud parts of the book and imagined the faces of my former students. It worked. If you know a middle-grader, get this book for them. You could read it too. Best o all, read it together.

About the author (from the publisher):

Mark Goldblatt is a lot like Julian Twerski, only not as interesting. He’s a widely published columnist, a novelist, and a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Twerp is his first book for younger readers. He lives in New York City.

vertiginous: Now she was awake, awake to the sharp, stinging air, the sky peeled back to a vertiginous blue.

Vertiginous means that something is causing vertigo, especially by being extremely high or steep. I know, I should have known this one.

Wondrous Words Wednesday was created by Kathy at Bermuda Onion. Visit her blog for more new words.

Diane 

I really enjoy well-written stories for middle-grade children. I love the way good writers in this genre make reading a fun experience for this age group. I think it paves the way for life-long readers. Twerp by Mark Goldblatt is one that should appeal to boys. Here’s the first paragraph:

“My English teacher, Mr. Selkirk, says I have to write something, and it has to be long, on account of the thing that happened over winter recess –which, in my opinion, doesn’t amount to much. It’s not like I meant for Danley to get hurt, and I don’t think that what happened was one hundred percent my fault, or even a lot my fault even though I don’t deny that I was there. So I guess I deserved to get suspended like the rest of them. I mean, maybe I could’ve stopped it. Maybe. But now the suspension is over, and Selkirk says I’ve got to write something, and because he says so, my dad says so, and that’s that. I know what’s going on. Selkirk thinks that if I write about what happened, I’ll understand what happened. Which makes no sense, if you stop and think about it, because if I don’t understand what happened, how can I write about it?”

What do you think of this intro?

Is it compelling enough to keep going?