Diary of a Word Nerd

Vocabulary for Ash Wednesday: Venial

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme hosted by Kathy at bermudaonion.net. Join me in learning some cool new words.

It’s also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a season of contemplation and spiritual growth. How fitting that my word today is venial.

I actually came across it in the Nov/Dec issue of Writer’s Digest in an article about character motivation.

… some villains have unchanging personalities but changing motivations. They start out venial, greedy, evil, or destructive…

As a Catholic, I’ve heard this term while discussing sin, but I never expected to find it used to describe character. Here’s some info from Webster’s:

venial \’vē-nē-əl\ adj from Latin venia favor, pardon; akin to Latin venus, love; of a kind that can be remitted: forgivable, pardonable, venial faults

This helps explain venial sin: noun; a sin committed without full reflection or consent that does not deprive the soul of sanctifying grace.

So, when I lost my temper and yelled at my kids to get out the door this morning? That was a venial sin. Forgivable. Well, at least I hope my children think so.

Word Nerd Workout

Think of a venial fault in one of your favorite characters; write a sentence about it. For example:

Jane patiently endured Mr. Rochester’s venial and unpredictable shifts in temper.

Your turn! Good luck.

Other Word Nerd Words

Click on the words below to learn more!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

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

How Do E Readers Influence Reading Habits?

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Julia Tomiak / 15 Comments

Last year I bought my husband, a very non-English major type, a Kindle. He hardly ever read before that. Television used to be his entertainment of choice before bed.

Now, guess what? He reads every night before turning out the light. “Has to” so he can sleep. Of course, lately he’s been reading a borrowed set of Game of Thrones books not on his Kindle. But he’s reading.

And he’s got the Kindle app on his iPhone, so he can pull up an e-book anytime, anywhere. Like when he’s stuck waiting for soccer practice to finish.

I love that he’s reading more. But is he the norm? Or the exception?

According to study results posted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project in April of 2012, Americans are reading more with e-readers. Since you probably don’t have time to read the full report, let me sum up:

people who used e-readers read more books in all formats (print, e-book, etc)
43% of those who used e-readers reported spending more time reading, especially men under age 50 (Ah ha! See note above about husband, who fits this demographic!)
E-reader device owners were more likely to buy books, particularly e books (Good news for the industry, bad news for bookstores.)
Readers preferred e-reading devices for convenience, but they liked printed books for reading to kids and sharing with others.

It looks like many Americans, and not just my hubby, are spending more time reading because of e readers. Yay!

Now think about this. Amy Gahran, in a CNN article on the Pew Research made an interesting suggestion: e readers will ultimately make books more accessible to all Americans.

Huh? I’ve always worried about e readers preventing the poor or the disabled from having access to books.

But Ms. Gahran pointed out that e readers keep getting cheaper. They also allow users to change fonts (think enlarge) and utilize text to speech functions. E readers can break down the barriers of vision impairment, age, and illiteracy.

Pretty cool.

I saw a funny graphic on Facebook this morning- it said we’re going to have to come up with a new phrase for fast paced books. “A page turner” may soon sound archaic!

Do you think e readers will ultimately promote more literacy in our society?

How about kids and e -readers- do you think they read more because they can use the little electronic devices permanently attached to their hands?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

Julia

How to encourage reading/Improving vocabulary

Vocabulary from A Thousand Acres: Collude

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

Welcome to the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme, hosted by Bermudaonion.net. It’s a chance to learn some new vocabulary or refresh your memory.

This will be my last entry from A Thousand Acres, a retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in an American farming community in the 1970s. In the novel, as in the play, sisters conspire and agendas collide.

Caroline acted in another play in her sophomore year, The Crucible… She squirmed away from having [Daddy] watch her… she said it was a kind of superstition, the kind you get with baseball players. I colluded.

I guessed that colluded probably meant “agreed”, but when I looked it up (so easy on the Kindle), I found it had a more sinister connotation.

collude \kə-‘lüd\ verb from Latin com +ludere to play; to conspire or plot for a harmful purpose

So it wasn’t that the protagonist simply agreed with Caroline; she also helped her deceive her father.

Word Nerd Workout

Think of some of your favorite characters and write a sentence about them conspiring. For example:

Butler colluded with Artemis to capture the fairy and steal her gold.

Your turn, and thanks for stopping by!

More Word Nerd Words

Click on the words below to expand your vocab even more!

Nacent

Limpid

Vertiginous

Julia

How to encourage reading/News from book business

What’s in the Future for Bookstores?

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Julia Tomiak / 12 Comments

While running on the dreadmill earlier this week (no, that’s not a typo- it was eight degrees outside and the d-mill was my only option), I heard an interesting piece of news: Barnes and Noble will close about a third of its brick and mortar bookstores over the next decade.

Gasp! That’s right. The chain will shut up about twenty stores a year for the next ten years. I’m afraid that the Barnes and Noble that I use, in the relatively small town of Christiansburg, VA, will be one that disappears.

According to an LA Times article on Barnes and Noble, the plans reflect a business model necessary for the new era of publishing.

At first I panicked. Although I understand that the Internet has dramatically changed the world of publishing, I still like walking into a bookstore to shop.

But then I thought, What do I really use Barnes and Noble for?

The cool gifts at the front of the store- leather bound journals, clever bookmarks, and word nerdy note pads.
The atmosphere- for some reason, the smell of coffee and crisp new books calms my nerves and stimulates my mind.
Entertainment- my kids always HAVE to stop at the Thomas the Train table.
And, sometimes, books.

Truthfully, I buy most of my books online, via Amazon. When I polled a small group of friends (n=20), I found that more shopped online or at the library for books than they did at brick and mortar bookstores. But just a few more. Also, people seemed split 50/50 in their preference for traditional versus electronic formats.

So, while the bookstore lover in me mourns the loss, I can see why Barnes and Noble needs to trim back its “retail footprint.” I’m guessing the remaining 450 stores will survive in large cities.

But probably not mine.

I wonder how we bookstore addicts will get our fix in the future. Starbucks reported huge profits again in 2012; perhaps it can team up with libraries to offer the coffee scented atmosphere we crave.

Of course, Starbucks currently sells its coffee inside Barnes and Noble stores, and that hasn’t helped the retail book chain.

Are you surprised by the news about Barnes and Noble? Where do you shop for your books? What would you miss about a physical book store?

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts, and thanks for stopping by!

Julia

How to encourage reading/Improving vocabulary

Vocabulary from A Thousand Acres: Laconic

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments

Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by bermudaonion.net. Join me and other bloggers each Wednesday for the opportunity to learn about some new words via our current reads.

In A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley, I came across a great pairing of antonyms. The passage reads:

Harold Clark promoted his own local reputation of garrulous thoughtlessness. While many, even most, farmers I knew were laconic and uncomplaining, Harold talked of himself often, and always as if he were almost but not quite two people…

Now here’s some information from Webster’s:

garrulous \’gar-ə-ləs\ adj from Latin garrire to chatter: given to prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity; pointlessly talkative

laconic \lə-‘kän-ik\ adj from Latin laconicus Spartan, from Greek lakōnikos from the Spartan reputation for terseness of speech: using or involving the use of a minimum of words; concise to the point of seeming rude

You could call my husband laconic. He tends to answer questions in five words or less, and he often displays a “Why are daring to speak to me?” look on his face. Especially when he’s tired. (Love you, Honey!)

Not me though. My eleventh grade English teacher called me “loquacious” and nick named me “Babs.” But I certainly hope my talking is never tedious or pointless. (No need to confirm or deny, thanks.)

Word Nerd Workout

Let’s create an analogy with these words. An analogy shows correspondence between a set of words and serves as a basis to create another set. Here’s my example:

Garrulous : laconic :: loquacious : ?

(You could read this: garrulous is to laconic as loquacious is to _____?)

Fill in the blank, or create your own analogy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

How to encourage reading

How to Use Goodreads: Adding Books

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Julia Tomiak / 24 Comments

A few weeks ago when I posted my Word Nerd’s Guide to Goodreads, I got a great response. Some word nerds offered more helpful tips, and a few voiced concerns about the time necessary to set up a Goodreads account.

I’ve done some more field work, and I have good news. With the clever applications available through Goodreads, setting up your bookshelves will take little time.

Thank you so much to Brandy Heineman of Bookishness and Other Beauties for sharing great tips.

Amazon Bookmarklet

While shopping in Amazon, you can easily add books to your Goodreads profile. You must simply get the Amazon Bookmarklet for the bookmarks bar of your browser.

Log in to Goodreads and go to “edit profile”. On your profile page, click on the tab called “widgets”. On the right hand side you should see a blurb about plug ins and the amazon.com logo. Drag the “Add to Goodreads” link up into your bookmarks bar and presto! You’ve got a new bookmarklet.

Once you’re in Amazon, when you are on the page of a book you’d like to read or buy, just click on the “Add to Goodreads” bookmarklet, and that book will be added to your Goodreads account. You can click “Want to read” or sort it to another shelf. Super easy!

Scanning ISBN Codes

Do you want to feel like a real librarian? Or maybe a book store owner? Well, you’ve got to try the scanning feature on your Android or iPhone Goodreads app.

From the home screen of the app, choose “scan”, and a small window will appear on your phone screen. Line up the ISBN code from the back of any book within the window. The phone will focus and an official sounding BEEP will tell you that the code has been successfully scanned. The title, author, and average rating for the book will appear on your phone.

You can scan a batch and add it to either the “read” or “to read” shelves of your Goodreads profile. So much faster than searching and clicking on the site.

Warning: older books may not scan. My phone said it required an “ISBN 13” to work, so my slightly antiquated copy of The Catcher in the Rye wouldn’t scan. (Don’t ask me when I went to high school- although I have read it since then and still didn’t like it. I guess you have to be a guy.)

The scanning feature makes it easy to add books to the “to read” pile even while you browse in a real brick and mortar store as well. How convenient!

Now, if we could find a way to link Amazon, Goodreads, and Pinterest, we’d really rock!

How else do you use Goodreads? Feel free to share any other helpful hints!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia