Rec: Books
So, these are real world recommendations for any of you who are interested in awesome books. Both of these are non-fiction, but don't let that scare you away. I can't remember reading anything this enjoyable or engaging in a long (very long) time!
The first is: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. A wondrous romping exploration of the English language. It may have been written in the 90's but absolutely everything he has to say is relevant today, and rendered in such exceedingly smooth and funny prose that time just flies while reading. As small taste of what he offers includes:
It can take years for an American to master the intricacies of British idiom, and vice versa. In Britain homely is a flattering expression; in America it means 'ugly'. In Britain upstairs is the first floor; in America it is the second. In Britain to table a motion means to put it forward for discussion; in America it means for put it aside. Presently mean 'now' in America; in Britain it means 'in a little while'. Sometimes these can cause considerable embarrassment, most famously with the British expression 'I'll knock you up in the morning', which means to an American 'I'll make you pregnant in the morning.' To keep your pecker up is an indecent proposition in America, whereas a reference to a woman's fanny - which to an American is an innocent synonym for the buttocks - would at a British dinner party provoke an embarrassed silence. (You may recognize the voice of experience in this.)
The second, and much along the same vein is: By Hook or by Crook by David Crystal. In keeping with the theme this is also a book about the English language. However the presentation and the content are suitably different that these two books complement each other wonderfully. This book is a little more recent (2005) which is reflected a little in some of the statistics, but both books spend so much time essentially playing around with English that the statistics are almost the least important bit. In this book you will find passages such as:
Wordplay enthusiasts have a habit of 'upping the ante'. They like to make the challenge more difficult with each game. I once followed the thought processes of a wordplayer. The initial challenge was to make up a sentence in which every word began with the same letter. The sentence must make sense, and every word must be in the dictionary. He chose H.
Harry has hurt his hand.
Cheat. No proper names.
He has hurt his hand.
Too easy. Make it at least ten words long.
He has hurt his hand hoicking huge heavy handbooks halfway home.
Check hoicking. Yes, it exists. OED definition: 'lift up or hoist...' Still too easy. Write a hundred-word paragraph with every word beginning with H.
'No... Give me something I can get my teeth into!'
All right, then: write a whole story with every word beginning with H.
'No, I said something I can really get my teeth into.'
Ok. Retell Shakespeare's Hamlet with every word beginning with H.
'Now you're talking!'
Things then went quiet for a while. Until one day, this appeared:
HAMLET
Act 1 Scene 1
Hamlet headquarters
Hamlet henchmen have had horrific haunting. Hark! Ho!
Heck! Hair-raising hackles happen. Heebie-jeebies. Horrible.
Horatio hazards - hallucinations? Had hallucinogens? Hangovers? Headaches?
Henchmen how: Haven't had hashish.
Have.
Haven't!
Humbug!
Horrendous haunter hovers hither, holding helmeted head high.
Heavens! Historic Hamlet!
Horatio harangues haunter. Hold! Hold!
Horizon has half-light. Haunter hears hen hooting. Hurries hence.
Hold! Here? Here? Hopeless.
Have Hamlet here hereafter. Hopefully he'll handle haunter happily.
And so it went on for over a thousand words.
If I have one complaint (and it's a very selfish one), neither book is anywhere near long enough (I want more!), and neither book enters into a discussion of the Australian flavour of English (at least not to my satisfaction!). Which is 100% understandable when you realise that one author is Welsh and the other American... but part of me always wants to say, this is awesome... now, can't you come here and do it? But, despite this absolutely shocking (!) lack on the part of both books they are more than worth the read.
The first is: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. A wondrous romping exploration of the English language. It may have been written in the 90's but absolutely everything he has to say is relevant today, and rendered in such exceedingly smooth and funny prose that time just flies while reading. As small taste of what he offers includes:
It can take years for an American to master the intricacies of British idiom, and vice versa. In Britain homely is a flattering expression; in America it means 'ugly'. In Britain upstairs is the first floor; in America it is the second. In Britain to table a motion means to put it forward for discussion; in America it means for put it aside. Presently mean 'now' in America; in Britain it means 'in a little while'. Sometimes these can cause considerable embarrassment, most famously with the British expression 'I'll knock you up in the morning', which means to an American 'I'll make you pregnant in the morning.' To keep your pecker up is an indecent proposition in America, whereas a reference to a woman's fanny - which to an American is an innocent synonym for the buttocks - would at a British dinner party provoke an embarrassed silence. (You may recognize the voice of experience in this.)
The second, and much along the same vein is: By Hook or by Crook by David Crystal. In keeping with the theme this is also a book about the English language. However the presentation and the content are suitably different that these two books complement each other wonderfully. This book is a little more recent (2005) which is reflected a little in some of the statistics, but both books spend so much time essentially playing around with English that the statistics are almost the least important bit. In this book you will find passages such as:
Wordplay enthusiasts have a habit of 'upping the ante'. They like to make the challenge more difficult with each game. I once followed the thought processes of a wordplayer. The initial challenge was to make up a sentence in which every word began with the same letter. The sentence must make sense, and every word must be in the dictionary. He chose H.
Harry has hurt his hand.
Cheat. No proper names.
He has hurt his hand.
Too easy. Make it at least ten words long.
He has hurt his hand hoicking huge heavy handbooks halfway home.
Check hoicking. Yes, it exists. OED definition: 'lift up or hoist...' Still too easy. Write a hundred-word paragraph with every word beginning with H.
'No... Give me something I can get my teeth into!'
All right, then: write a whole story with every word beginning with H.
'No, I said something I can really get my teeth into.'
Ok. Retell Shakespeare's Hamlet with every word beginning with H.
'Now you're talking!'
Things then went quiet for a while. Until one day, this appeared:
HAMLET
Act 1 Scene 1
Hamlet headquarters
Hamlet henchmen have had horrific haunting. Hark! Ho!
Heck! Hair-raising hackles happen. Heebie-jeebies. Horrible.
Horatio hazards - hallucinations? Had hallucinogens? Hangovers? Headaches?
Henchmen how: Haven't had hashish.
Have.
Haven't!
Humbug!
Horrendous haunter hovers hither, holding helmeted head high.
Heavens! Historic Hamlet!
Horatio harangues haunter. Hold! Hold!
Horizon has half-light. Haunter hears hen hooting. Hurries hence.
Hold! Here? Here? Hopeless.
Have Hamlet here hereafter. Hopefully he'll handle haunter happily.
And so it went on for over a thousand words.
If I have one complaint (and it's a very selfish one), neither book is anywhere near long enough (I want more!), and neither book enters into a discussion of the Australian flavour of English (at least not to my satisfaction!). Which is 100% understandable when you realise that one author is Welsh and the other American... but part of me always wants to say, this is awesome... now, can't you come here and do it? But, despite this absolutely shocking (!) lack on the part of both books they are more than worth the read.