Improving vocabulary

What Does Loquacious Mean?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 10 Comments
What does loquacious mean?

wondrous memeWelcome to Wondrous Word Wednesday, hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion.net.  It’s a great way to learn new words!  My word today comes from fond memories of school…

I’ve always had a problem with excessive verbosity.  In second grade, I got a Valentine candy heart with the inscription:  

U Talk Too Much

My teacher glanced at it over my shoulder, laughed, and said, “You should take that home and frame it!”

The gabby habit continued into high school.  Early in my junior year, after my English teacher scolded me for chatting in class, he dubbed me, “Babbles Vanderwal; Babs for short.”

The nick name stuck.

When that same teacher assigned us each a Latin root to prepare for presentation to the class (for SAT prep), he gave me, appropriately, loqui.

loquacious \lō-‘kwā-shəs\ adj; from Latin loquac- to speak; full of excessive talk; given to fluent or excessive talk

My introverted husband steered clear of the loquacious woman standing near the appetizers.

Word Nerd Workout

Complete the analogy, which includes a review of some previous word nerd words!

loquacious: garrulous :: laconic : _______________

There is more than one correct answer.

Tell me, are you loquacious too?  😉

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

How to encourage reading

What Is Steampunk, Anyway?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

the lost heirBefore we left on vacation, my son wanted to download a new book to his Kindle.  Like a good Word Nerd Mama, I read the description first.  (See my post on The Maze Runner to learn what happened when I wasn’t such a good mama.)

The book in question, The Lost Heir, is the first volume in a new fantasy series by E. G. Foley.  Amazon describes it as a “historical fantasy adventure with a hint of steampunk.”

My son looked at me and asked,  “What is steampunk?”

The husband chimed in from across the room.  “Steampunk?”

Several months ago, a friend tried to explain steampunk as “the world if electronic or digital technology never happened.”  But when I used that line with my family, I got a lot of raised eyebrows.  And so a Google search ensued.

Steampunk = a complicated term

Steampunk can describe many different things: literature, design, or a philosophy.  It usually includes 19th century elements (think steam power and the beginning of the industrial revolution) with a deconstruction of accepted history (that’s the punk).  After reading several articles on the subject, I’ve generated a list of basic steampunk characteristics:

  • set back in time, but with advanced machines; usually involves an “alternative history”
  • OR set in an post-apocalyptic future,  with renewed emphasis on steam power
  • supernatural elements (sometimes)
  • cool contraptions and gadgets, usually powered by steam or springs (“retro technology”)
  • Victorian style with hints of technology and adventure
  • an emphasis on creativity, self-reliance, and adventure 

You can find steampunk most often in science fiction, “speculative fiction”, and fantasy, but it’s making it’s way into other genres, like romance.

Examples of Steampunk

Wikipedia says that the term was first used in the late 1980’s, but we can trace steampunk influence as far back as the 19th century authors Jules Verne (Around the World in Eighty Days), H.G. Wells (The Time Machine), and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein).

I’ve never heard of most of the modern books identified as steampunk, but here are some examples:

  • The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
  • Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter
  • Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
  • The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

 

sherlock holmesA few movies come up in the discussion of steampunk, and these mean more to me:

  • Wild, Wild West, with Will Smith
  • Sherlock Holmes, with Robert Downey, Jr.  (I love the S.H. movies for the music and the great chemistry between Holmes and Watson; my 13-year-old son likes the gadgets and the fighting!)

 

 

 

 

For a more in-depth explanation of steampunk, see this great article on steampunk.com, as well as the rest of the site!

How do you describe steampunk?  Can you suggest any other books or movies that fit the steampunk image?  

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia 

Improving vocabulary

What Does Gambit Mean?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 10 Comments
Wondrous Words Wednesday

wondrous memeWelcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, an awesome meme for boosting your vocabulary!  To find more interesting words, visit  Kathy at bermudaonion.net!

My entry today comes from Pastor Alistair Begg, who was speaking at Camp of the Woods when I vacationed there.  In his lesson on the Gospels, Mr. Begg said that Nicodemus used an “opening gambit” to draw Jesus into a conversation.

 

Surely I was the only nerd in the audience pulling up her dictionary app to look up gambit!

gambit \’gam- bət\ noun, from Italian gambetto, the act of tripping someone, meaning:

  1. a chess opening in which a player risks one or more minor pieces to gain an advantage in position 
  2. a remark intended to start a conversation
  3. a calculated move

Clearly, Mr. Begg was referring to definition #2, but #3 sounds much more fun.

The journalist used the interview with Mr. Prescott as a gambit to obtain access to his impressive collection of luxury sports cars.

Word Nerd Note

GambitIn 2012, Colin Firth starred in the movie Gambit as a disgruntled employee who tries to con his abusive boss.  (I’ve never heard of it, have you?)  Also, Gambit is the name of a Marvel Comic Book Superhero who can mentally control kinetic energy and excels at card throwing and hand to hand combat.

Word Nerd Workout

Think of a synonym for gambit.   My example: ploy.  Another great example, and one of my favorite words: shenanigan.  Now it’s your turn!  Leave your ideas in the comments, and thanks for getting nerdy with me today!

Julia 

 

 

Book reviews/How to encourage reading/Recommended kid lit

Why You Should Read Liar and Spy

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

Liar and SpyA few weeks ago, I posted the nominees and winners of the Children’s Choice Book Awards for 2013.  Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead made the Fifth To Sixth Grade Finalists list, and after finishing the novel, I can understand why.

The Premise

Georges, the s is silent, struggles with typical middle school issues, such as annoying bullies and the persistent feeling that he doesn’t fit in anywhere.  His father, an architect, has recently lost his job, and Georges and his parents have moved to an apartment in Brooklyn.  There Georges meets Safer, a boy his age who is unique in many ways, especially because he’s a self-proclaimed spy.  Safer wants Georges to help him with a “mission”.

Why It’s So Good

Liar and Spy pulls you in with quirky characters and snappy dialogue.  Here’s a snippet. In this scene, Safer, the “spy”, is teaching Georges how to break into an apartment using a credit card.

“You’ve done this before?” I guess I finally know how Safer left me that note under my pillow.
Safer looks at me scornfully. “Of course.”
Maybe Safer has no conscience at all.
“I’m not sure we should do this,” I say. Because I’m sure we shouldn’t do this.
“It’s normal to be a little scared, Georges.”
“I’m not scared.” Though it has crossed my mind that a person could go to jail for the kind of thing that Safer is planning.

Seurat painting
An example of Seurat’s work

Besides wit, Liar and Spy also has depth.  The novel includes thoughtful commentary on life and adversity, as well as a few motifs.  For example, throughout the book, Georges mentions a print by Georges Seurat, his namesake, that hangs in his living room.  Georges relates the tiny little dots of the pointillist painting to events in his life; they all add up to create a bigger picture.  There is  good stuff going on, and Stead packs a few surprises into the ending that will have you thinking about the book long after you close the cover.

Liar and Spy is great summer reading for the older elementary / middle school crowd.  My 13-year-old enjoyed it and agreed with me that it was like “John Green for younger readers”.  (Meaning it has the same intelligence and wit without the young adult content.)  On our recent road trip, my family started listening to Stead’s best-selling novel, When You Reach Me.  My eleven year old has read it and says it’s awesome.  Unfortunately, I don’t like the narrator of the audio book (too whiny) and the story bounces around a lot.  I might finish it in “traditional” form.

Have you read Liar and Spy or any other of Stead’s novels?  Can you share another middle grade summer reading recommendation?  

Thanks for sharing!

Julia 

 

Improving vocabulary

What Does Orotund Mean?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 2 Comments

wondrous memeWelcome back to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion.net.  I took last week off for vacation, but I’m ready to learn some new words today!

My entry today comes from the Merriam-Webster Word-a-Day email.

The preacher’s orotund speech captivated the entire audience; even the teenagers paused to listen.

 

Orotund \’or-uh-tund\ adj; from Latin or- meaning mouth and rotundus meaning round; marked by fullness, strength, and clarity of sound; sonorous; OR pompous, bombastic

This adjective can be used two very different ways.  One could use it to complement a speaker’s delivery, or to imply that the speaker is pompous and haughty.  Isn’t bombastic a fun word?  It sounds like what it means!  Did I hear Tobey Maguire (aka Nick Carraway) use that word in the film The Great Gatsby?

Word Nerd Workout

This is a hint for the Word Nerd Workout!
This is a hint for the Word Nerd Workout!

Something new today: think of another word in the “orotund family”, a word that uses either the or– or the rotund root.  Share your word, and what it means (in layman’s terms; you don’t have to include an official definition) in the comments below.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!

 Julia