Diary of a Word Nerd

Book reviews/How to encourage reading/Recommended kid lit

Why I Love See You At Harry’s

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

When I find a beautifully written piece of kid lit, I have to share it. And Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to tell you about the bittersweet middle grade novel, See You At Harry’s, by Jo Knowles.

My daughter actually suggested See You At Harry’s. She found it at her middle school book fair and read it to me during our swim meet road trips. That’s right, she read to me. It was a great way to enjoy a book together, except she kept rolling her eyes when I cried, because See You At Harry’s has some very sad spots.

The Premise

Twelve year old Fern feels lost in her “crazy” family. Her father spends all his energy on the family restaurant business, and her mother often disappears to meditate.

Fern’s older sister, Sara, is distant, while her older brother Holden struggles with his sexual identity. And then there’s Fern’s baby brother Charlie, always ready to poke her with a sticky finger.

Fern laments her status this way:

For someone who is invisible, why am I the only one in this family who can’t seem to master the art of disappearing?

Doesn’t every twelve-year-old feel like this sometimes?

When tragedy strikes, Fern and her family must learn how to pull together in the face of a terrible loss.

What I love about See You at Harry’s

Jo Knowles skillfully and sensitively tackles lots of “coming of age” issues in her novel: grief, loss, insecurity, and love. She shows Fern’s emotions with simple yet vivid detail, and there were several passages where I had to sigh with admiration at the beauty of her writing. Like this one:

[Mom} holds me against her chest and rocks me back and forth. It feels so strange at first. She doesn’t smell like I remember. And my face doesn’t reach the part of her body it used to when she would hold me like this. I know it’s because I’m bigger now, but to me it feels like she is smaller.

What a beautiful way to describe how Fern has “grown up”, without using tired cliché and symbolism. This passage made me sniffle; my children are all starting to get taller than me, and it signifies so much more than height. My daughter heaved an exasperated sigh when she saw the tears on my cheeks.

“Really mom, this isn’t even the sad part.”

But she doesn’t know what I know.

Another great thing about the novel are the characters. Fern has a great bond with her brother Holden, but their relationship gets tested as he explores adult issues. Fern also has a wonderful best friend, Ran, a boy who was bullied in elementary school and who calms Fern with the motto “All will be well.” Because of his experiences, Ran likes to figure out the “why” behind people’s actions, even when they are mean.

More of us need to be like Ran.

A few caveats

See You at Harry’s deals with some mature issues, including death and homosexuality. These were great discussion points for my daughter and I as we covered the miles to Knoxville and D.C., but might not be suitable for younger readers.

If you liked the novel Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, I think you’ll enjoy See You at Harry’s.

Have you read See You at Harry’s? What did you think? Can you recommend another middle grade novel in the spirit of Harry’s or Wonder?

Thanks!

Julia

Improving vocabulary

What’s the Story Behind the Olympic Motto?

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Julia Tomiak / 18 Comments

Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion.net. Last week, Kathy introduced me to a great word:

banjax: to ruin (Irish)

Isn’t that fun to say? I bet I’ll be able to use it week; the impeding snow storm will surely banjax my writing plans. Visit Bermuda Onion for more great words.

Now, on to…

The Word Nerd Low Down on the Olympic Motto

Are you watching the Olympics? Do you know the story behind the words of the Olympic motto?

First, do you even know what the Olympic motto is?

In Latin:

citius, altius, fortius

In English: (can you guess before you peek? Come on Spanish and French students)

faster, higher, stronger

Turns out, this motto originated in the 19th century with a French Dominican priest named Henri Didon, a popular preacher and writer. When he became principal of a school, Fr. Didon encouraged his students to participate in sports as part of a well-rounded education.

Fr. Didon was friends with Pierre de Coubertin, the creator of the modern Olympic games. On March 7, 1891, De Couberin attended a lecture given by Fr. Didon to a sports association. In his speech, Fr. Didon emphasized the value of sports for self-improvement and discipline, and he used the words “citius, altius, fortius“. De Coubertin liked the phrase and adopted it for the Olympic motto.

Word Nerd Workout

In only three words, share your thoughts about participation in athletic activities. This doesn’t have to be about the Olympics- it can be relevant to your experiences with sports. (But, you can’t use faster, higher, stronger). My example:

discipline, habit, sweat

Share your three words in the comments, and thanks for stopping by!

Julia

Improving grammar

What’s the Difference Between i.e. and e.g.?

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Julia Tomiak / 15 Comments

About a month ago, my friend Crystal challenged her Facebook friends with a link to an on-line grammar test. I did well, earning the title of “Grammar Queen” or something like that, but one question stumped me: I didn’t know the difference between i.e. and e.g.

They both mean, “for example,” right?

Not exactly. And because I’m such a nerd, I did some research so you won’t have to.

(Thank you to Writer’s Digest Grammatically Correct for helping me figure this out!)

The Grammar Nazi Info

Both of these abbreviations give more information about a prior statement, but there is an important distinction between the two.

i.e. comes from the Latin phrase id est, which means, “that is.” It restates what has already been said, implying that no other options are possible.

I can meet you early next week, i.e. Monday or Tuesday.

With this example, it should be clear that Monday and Tuesday are the only days I’m available.

e.g. comes from the Latin exempli gratia, which means “for example”. It offers an illustration of what was previously said, but implies that other options are possible.

The Sweetheart Dance is next week! I need to find an outfit, e.g. dress, shoes, jewelry.

The “e.g.” implies that the list of items I include for the “outfit” isn’t comprehensive. What about hair accessories?!

Also, please note that since the abbreviations are both for two-word Latin phrases, there should be two periods, one for each word.

Yes: i.e. No: ie.

Word Nerd Workout

The only good way to learn is TO DO. Give it a try, even if it feels a little like homework. In the comments, let me know if I’ve used the Latin abbreviation appropriately in the following sentences. If not, tell me why and fix it.

We stopped at Food Lion to pick up everything we needed to bake a chocolate cake, i.e. milk, flour, butter.
I was worried because Eric had several flu symptoms, eg. congestion and fever.

Can anyone add to my illustration? What other grammar points give you trouble?

Special Word Nerd request: I know that Augustus Waters uses either i.e. or e.g. at some point when he is speaking to Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars. I wanted so badly to use that excerpt to analyze Gus’s grammar knowledge, but I can’t find it! Any help out there?

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

Improving vocabulary

More Vocabulary from Bernadette: Halcyon

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Julia Tomiak / 11 Comments

Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion.net. Visit her site to learn more interesting words!

Time Magazine calls Where’d You Go Bernadette “a cracklingly smart family dramedy.” Smart indeed! I’ve had to look up several words! Take halcyon, for example. Here’s an excerpt, in which Bernadette’s annoying neighbor writes to her friend:

Oh, Soo-Lin, just writing this transports me to the halcyon days when we were happily collecting outrages about Bernadette! What simple times those were.

I had no Latin roots up my sleeve to help me with this one. But I bet my dad, the bird watcher, might know it.

halcyon \’hal-sē-ən\ from the Latin halcyon

Noun: – a bird identified with the kingfisher and held in ancient legend to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice and to calm the waves during incubation
Adjective: calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

(And for those of you who don’t know what a kingfisher is, that’s a type of brightly colored bird that has a long, thin bill and that catches fish by diving into the water.)

Word Nerd Workout

Use halcyon in a sentence to describe a happy, peaceful, or prosperous time. My example:

The sound of waves crashing will always remind me of our halcyon days in Maui.

Your turn, and thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Julia

How to encourage reading/News from book business/Words and Technology

How E-readers Are Improving Literacy With Worldreader

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

When I first heard about the rise in popularity of e-readers, I worried that the digital book revolution would isolate those without access to technology. Anyone can check out a book from the library, but only those with e-readers can read an e-book. Would e-readers create yet another barrier to literacy for the poor and the marginalized?

Turns out that, thanks to the efforts of ex-Amazon executive David Risher, e-readers can actually increase literacy!

I love a feel-good news story, don’t you?

Introducing Worldreader

David Risher is using his expertise from Amazon to give books to the poorest people in the world. He has established Worldreader, a non-profit organization that strives to defeat illiteracy in places like Africa by using digital book technology. According to an NPR story, Risher got the idea when he was volunteering at an orphanage in Ecuador and discovered a locked building filled with books. He was told that the building was the library. The books had taken so long to ship, the children didn’t have interest in them anymore.

Risher wanted to encourage a culture of reading in poor countries, and he decided that e-readers would be the best way to do that. E-readers use little power, are portable, and captivate the interest of children everywhere. Also, publishers can deliver e-books much faster than printed books. As of November 2013, Worldreader has delivered over 700,000 e-books to about 12,000 children in nine African countries.

How Word Nerds Can Help

Of course, Worldreader needs sponsors to support its work. I did some research at Worldreader.org, thinking that maybe this could be a charity for word nerds to champion.

Worldreader tackles illiteracy by delivering e-reader kits to classrooms, libraries, or individuals.

One e-reader kit includes:

50 e-readers, each loaded with 100 books by African and International authors
hardware such as covers, charging cables, ID labels
tech support
management tools like training kits, launch planning guide, student rewards, etc.

The cost for one kit varies from $7500- $15,000, depending on the device model used. I know- that’s a lot of money. But don’t get discouraged! There are plenty of ways to support Worldreader, even if you don’t have thousands of dollars. Here are some ideas:

Buy a case for your own e-reader through A Case for Good; for every case purchased, an e-book will be delivered to a needy child
Donate what you can to Worldreader; their site welcomes gifts from $30-$600
Give a donation as a gift to a reader you know
Spread the word about Worldreader! Visit the site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, tweet about Worldreader using the hashtag #booksforall, add their banners to your site.

What are some other organizations that work to eradicate illiteracy? How else can we support them?

You can help spread the word by clicking the link below:

Tweet: Help @worldreaders use e-readers to battle illiteracy! More at http://ctt.ec/HC7b9+ and http://ctt.ec/HkIbZ+ #booksforall via @juliatomiak

Thanks!

Julia

Improving vocabulary

More Vocabulary from Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, an awesome way to improve your vocab. Visit Kathy at Bermudaonion.net for more cool words.

Where’d You Go Bernadette, by Maria Semple, is giving me lots of words to look up. I’ve taken to writing them down in pencil on the back cover of the book. (I know, anathema to book purists, like my husband.)

Here’s the quote from the novel:

Fox’s preoccupation with the prosaic caught the attention of Professor Michael Graves, who hired her to work in his New York office.

Prosaic sounded like a word I should know. But what could “prose” have to do with architecture?

prosaic \prō-‘za-ik\ adj from Latin prosa, prose; characteristic of prose as distinguished from poetry; dull, unimaginative; OR everyday, ordinary.

I think Semple meant the last definition; Bernadette focused on the everyday/ordinary details of architectural design.

Word Nerd Workout

Complete the analogy! We haven’t had one in a while. I’m using the opportunity to review a previous word nerd word:

Limpid: cloudy :: prosaic: _________

Good luck, and thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Julia