How to encourage reading/Improving vocabulary

Vocabulary from Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

wondrous memeWelcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Kathy at bermudaonion.net

This week I’m sharing a word that comes up in Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar.  It’s a light, humorous book about the rigors of high school.  And how to survive.  For example, here’s a tip:

Don’t carry your books under your arm in a crowded hall.

 

Early in the book, the main character, Scott, learns that his mother is pregnant.  He decides to Sleeping Freshmenwrite a “How to Survive High School” guide book for his younger sibling, who he hopes is a boy.  But Scott has conflicting feelings about the new addition to the family.

I’d ask you to come [to the movies], but I don’t think the seats are fluid-proof, you wet, oozing mess of ichor.

Later he taunts his “baby brother”:

I’d bet anything you were too lazy to go get a dictionary when I mentioned ichor.  Too bad.  I’m not telling you what it means.

Luckily, I will.

ichor \’ī-ko(ə)r\ noun, from the Greek ichōr; a thin, watery or blood-tinged discharge

Gross.  My writing buddy Sarah loves to include gory descriptions in her fiction; ichor appears often.  Cheers Sarah!

Word Nerd Workout

Use ichor in a sentence.  Try to be really gross.

Ichor leaked from the infected wound on the prisoner’s head and left yellow crust on his scalp.

Ew!

Word Nerd 5K Winner!

Thanks to everyone who took part in my Word Nerd quiz last week!  I got lots of great answers.  My winner is:  Emily McGee from One Trailing Spouse.  Emily, contact me via e-mail so that I can get your physical address and mail you your prize.

BTW, the answers were:

  1. B- inchoate
  2. C- Snape
  3. opaque, obscure, cloudy, etc
  4. loquacious, talkative, chatty, etc
  5. C- conspire

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

 

 

How to encourage reading

What You Need to Know About The Host

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

The Host opens this week.  It’s the movie adaptation of the book by Stephenie Meyers.  In case you haven’t had access to media for the past five years, she’s the lucky lady who wrote the The HostTwilight series.

Before you run to the theater, there are a few things you should know:

  1. The Host is science fiction.  No vampires, just aliens.
  2. No Robert Pattinson.  Sniff.
  3. The Host, as a novel, was billed as “adult” fiction, but from what I can tell, they are gearing the movie to teens.
  4. The plot includes a love triangle, well, really a quadrilateral, with only three human bodies.

Let me explain.

Note:  This is all based on the book.

Premise

An alien race has invaded Earth.  They are small, silvery “souls” that insert themselves into human hosts.  You know that a human has been “taken” because their eyes have a silver glow once a new “soul” implants.

The main character, Melanie, refuses to surrender.  When cornered, she throws herself to a violent death rather than be used by the invaders.  But they recover her body, heal her (they have amazing medical powers), and implant “Wanderer.”

Very quickly, Wanderer realizes that Melanie has not fully left her body, and the two souls must coexist.

Melanie wants to find Jared, her human boyfriend.  Eventually, Melanie and Wanderer discover him, with many other free humans, hiding in an extensive community carved into desert caves, away from the prying eyes of the invading species.  The humans in hiding take Melanie/Wanderer in, but with serious reservations.

The Host novelWhile Wanda struggles to fit in, Melanie longs to be with Jared.  But she gets irritated when she senses Wanda’s attraction to him.  And then Wanda falls for a different human, a guy named Ian, who actually likes her for being Wanda, not Melanie.

Confused yet?

I didn’t really like The Host book, but as a disclaimer, I don’t like aliens much.   Meyers explores some interesting themes, like loyalty, courage, and the enduring power of love.  Maybe the caves made me uncomfortable; I’m claustrophobic.  My friend Kate, who had not read The Twilight series first, loved The Host.

 

  The Movie

The Host movie trailer features more chase scenes, car crashes, and guns than I remember in the novel.  It’s also got driving music a la Michael Bay and Transformers.  In the book, Meyers portrays Jared as an “older” guy, like, closer to thirty.  Worldly, experienced, strong.  Max Irons, who plays Jared, looks mighty young.  Cute, but young.

My guess?  The studio hopes to hook guys with the action and girls with the pretty boys and drama.

Of course, I tried to sell my husband on Eclipse with the “action” line.  At the end of the movie, he turned to me and said, “Really?”

Will I see The Host?  Definitely not in the theater.  And I’m afraid that once I tell my husband the source of the story, he’ll roll his eyes and refuse even a download later on.  If I do watch it, I’ll be on my own.

How about you?  Have you read The Host?  What did you think?  Do you plan on seeing the movie?

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia 

 

Improving vocabulary

Vocabulary Quiz for Word Nerds: March 2013

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 12 Comments

wondrous memeWelcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a fun meme hosted by Kathy at Bermuda Onion.  Hop over to Kathy’s blog to find links to all kinds of fun words.

I’m taking a different spin this week.   Instead of a Word Nerd Workout, I’m challenging you to a Word Nerd 5K!  Everyone who answers all five questions correctly will be entered into a drawing.  The winner will receive a gift card from Barnes and Noble and “link love” from me. (Translation: I’ll post to Twitter, Facebook, and Google + about your word nerdy prowess!)

Ready?  Let’s get that brain running.  I based all questions on previous vocab posts here at my blog.  You can consult my Word Nerdy Words page for help.

Word Nerd 5K

  1. Which choice is the best synonym for nascent? 
    1. shapeless
    2. inchoate
    3. mature
    4. odorous
  2. Which character could be described as sardonic?
    1. Katniss Everdeen
    2. Jane Eyre
    3. Severus Snape
    4. Scout Finch
  3. Suggest an antonym for limpid. _________
  4. Fill in the blank: rapacious:voracious :: garrulous : _________
  5. Choose the best answer; when two people collude, that means they:
    1. train together
    2. argue
    3. conspire
    4. collide

Good luck and thanks for “running” with me today!  I will accept comments through Tuesday, April 2, and I’ll announce the winner in next Wednesday’s post.

Julia 

 

Improving vocabulary

How to Train Your Brain with Merriam-Webster.com

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 13 Comments
2011_11_02_IMG_0584
Caught me with my nose in a book.

My kids like to pass the time in the car playing games on their various devices.  They get excited about apps like “Mine Craft,”  “Temple Run,” and (thank goodness it’s educational), “Simple Physics.”

“Do you want to try Mine Craft Mom?” they often ask.

I shake my head.  “I don’t like video games, remember?”

Back behind the screens they go.

I prefer books to games, but unfortunately, I get car sick.  If I want entertainment on the fly, I like to find educational quizzes that won’t make me queasy.  For the Thanksgiving holiday, I told you about Sporcle.  For spring break, I’ll introduce you to the Merriam-Webster site.

Of course you can use www.merriam-webster.com to look up unknown words, but did you know you can also find word games to test your vocabulary, spelling skill, or general knowledge?

This word nerd got sucked in quickly.  Besides taking pride in my vocabulary, I have a competitive streak.  So, when I scored lower that the average teen on my first crack at the vocabulary quiz, I decided I had to try again.

Second time went better.  I earned an above average score for my age group (which will remain a mystery).  It was comforting to see that the average score per age group increases up through the sixties.  More proof that with age, comes wisdom.

How Merriam-Webster.com Can Help YouMerriam Webster App

There are four games at the site, with links to other brain training fun:

  1. The Vocabulary Quiz– you get a word and must choose a definition from four one-word answers 
  2. Spell It– you click a prompt to hear and then spell commonly misspelled words
  3. Name That Thing– you must name the item pictured
  4. True/False– a brief quiz about “stuff worth knowing”

With all the games, speed matters, so don’t waste time pondering!

You can also sign up to receive the “Word of the Day” via email, Twitter, or Facebook.  Yay!  More fodder for my Wondrous Words Wednesday posts.

Finally, you can download the free Merriam-Webster app for iPhone, iPad, and Android.  From the app you can look words up, save your favorites, and access the Word of the Day.  Unfortunately, the games don’t come with the app.  You’ll have to use your web browser to quiz your friends and family members while on road trip.

My kids will love me.

So go check it out, and have fun learning.  Maybe we can compare scores.

How do you train your brain?  What games, apps, and sites do you find most helpful?  Please share!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

Improving vocabulary

What Does Detritus Mean?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 17 Comments
Wondrous Words Wednesday

wondrous memeWelcome to the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme, hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion.net.  Join me each Wednesday for an interesting new word, and visit Kathy’s site for more great vocabulary boosters!

Today I’d like to share a word from an article called “How to Make Ordinary Characters Compelling,” by Steven Harper in the December 2012 issue of Writers Digest.  I think it also popped up in A Good American.

 

“Old lovers, photographs from long-ago vacations and other detritus from the past can show up at any time to create conflict…”

Here’s the info from Webster’s:

detritus \di-‘trit-əs\ noun, from the Latin deterere, to wear away or impair;  loose material (as rock fragments) that results directly from disintegration; a product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away

Detritus on the floor of my sons' bedroom. Yikes!
Detritus on the floor of my sons’ bedroom. Yikes!

 Word Nerd Workout

Think of a synonym for detritus. Feel free to get colorful and creative.  Share your ideas in the comments.  Or even better, share a link to a picture!

My example: rubbish (with a focus on the destruction meaning; see photo above of the detritus remaining on the floor after a few hours of Lego play)

Word Nerd 5K Next Week!Word Nerd 5K

Come back next Wednesday to participate in my quarterly Word Nerd 5K: five questions about past Wonderful Wednesday Words that I have posted.  Everyone who answers all five questions correctly in the comments will be entered into a drawing for a Barnes and Noble Gift Card!  The winner will also receive link love from me.

See you then, and thanks for stopping by!

 

Book reviews

What You Should Know About The Maze Runner: A Cautionary Tale

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 13 Comments

The Maze Runner coverThe setting for my mishap: a middle school book fair.  This word nerd should have been at her best, encouraging kids away from the erasers shaped like toilets and toward the shelves of freshly printed books.

But no.

My son wanted to buy the last book from the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson.  It had just come out and carried the recently published hard cover price.  I redirected him to the sale table.

“Look at this one,” I said, holding up The Maze Runner.  The back copy promised a good dystopian adventure: erased memories, a maze with shifting walls, and a struggle for survival.

Note: I had my iPhone in my pocket, with the Goodreads and Common Sense Media apps loaded and ready to give me more information about the book.  But did I consult either one?  No.

Weeks later, after my son had burned through the whole series, he said in the car on the way to school, “The Maze Runner is good, but it’s pretty violent.  I don’t think Rosie should read it for a while.”

Me:  “Pretty violent?  What does that mean?”  

Son: “There are these monsters made of blubber, but they have sharp things like knives sticking out of them, and if one of the kids gets infected by a cut from the monsters, he turns into a cannibal.”

Me: “Ew.”

Son: “And as the book goes on, you find out that it’s a company sending kids into the maze, conducting experiments to see if the kids can survive.”

Fantastic.  I worry about The Hunger Games because kids kill kids.  With this book,Hunger Games cover adults kill the kids.  Which is worse?

Son: “If you want the full experience, you should really read the book.”

Me (shaking head):  “Cannibalism and monsters?  No thanks.  Why do you like this series?”

“The main character, Thomas, is really smart and he’s trying to help everyone get out.  He even gets himself hurt so that he can learn more.”

A smart, selfless protagonist.  Well, at least that’s good.

I dropped off my child and consulted Common Sense Media.  The review said that the scenes of violence in The Maze Runner were worse than any in The Hunger Games.  But it also pointed out that Thomas is a good role model, and that teens would like the book because they could enjoy the extreme action from a safe distance.  It labelled the series “mature.”

Since this incident, I’ve made it clear to my son that he should not constantly read violent books; I worry that too much exposure might desensitize him.   But I’m glad he talked to me about The Maze Runner, and I want him to keep doing that.  Our world is, unfortunately, a violent place, and Dashner’s book prompted a meaningful discussion.  

He read The Hunger Games next, and we discussed both books over a game of ping-pong.  (Note: boys are most likely to talk while you are doing something else, i.e. tossing a football, taking a hike, or passing a soccer ball.)

Next time, I will remember to consult Common Sense Media so I will know what he’s reading and can pose good questions.  Perhaps even read it first!

Have you ever had a book take you by surprise?  How do you feel about violence in books?  Where do you research books?