My bookbag

I just finished Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. I first discovered Bryson when Megan gave us his book Notes from a Small Island, about his experiences as an American traveler in England, for Christmas just before we left for Oxford. I loved his witty turn of phrase, and when I saw that he also wrote about linguistics, I was intrigued.

The book lived up to all of the expectations I had of it, although I must admit perturbation at the editor's inconsistency in comma usage. I had to keep repeating, "This isn't Eats, Shoots, and Leaves," although they did have much in common, not least of all the aforementioned witty turn of phrase. Something about England must release witticism.

I learned several great words from this book, including:

velleity - (n.) 1. The lowest degree of desire, with no effort to act. 2. A slight wish not followed by any effort to attain.

polysemy - (n.) The condition of having many meanings.

contronym - (n.) A word with contradictory meanings. E.g., "sanction" can signify permission to do something or a measure forbidding it to be done.

Bryson has a sequel called Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States. I can't wait to read it.

I'm also reading Robert A. Heinlein's I Will Fear No Evil, a science fiction story about a terminally-ill elderly man who has his brain transplanted into the body of a young woman. It's odd, but Heinlein's narrative voice is always engaging.

I seem to have given up on The Historian. I say seem because I haven't officially given it up, it just wasn't holding my attention anymore, so I've started reading other books. I intend to return to it some time.

Last week I read Stephen King's Needful Things. It's a great King story, because it showcases his talent for portraying real human evil for which the always terrifying monsters merely aggravate. The movie is next on my Netflix queue, but I've read several reviews and don't hold high hopes for it.

Happy reading!