PIcture of the day 27/02/2011

The deer enclosure at Golders Hill Park.

Picture of the day 22 /02/2011

Somerset House, London Fashion Week AW11

Teaser Tuesday

“It was they who used to make her life a story; they who seemed to be giving it a beginning, a middle and an end. Nowadays, her life is more like a newspaper: aimless, up-to-date, full of meaningless events for Colonel Leek to recite when no one’s paying attention.”

-page 26 from The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mother Tongue – The English Language by Bill Bryson

I’m not terribly fond of non-fiction but I love Bill Bryson so I was optimistic about this book. It definitely did not disappoint although I think his travel-related books are way better. Then again, he managed to write a book about the history of a language and make it light and  interesting and even funny which is no small feat.

The subject of the book may by the English language but in the first few chapters it deals with speech and how our predecessors started using speech to communicate, and the very first languages and how they evolved into the multitude of languages in the world today. I found this very interesting, especially all the similarities and common heritage of languages than now seem completely unrelated.

Of course, as the title suggests, the focus is on english and, from chapter to chapter we follow the various transformations of the language through the ages. Bryson sprinkles these chapters with trivia and of course his own, unique comments, which is what keeps the book from being dry and textbook-like. I have to admit though that I did get a little bored two thirds in the book when the focus was on different dialects of english. Still, the chapters on british and american english, names and swearing that follow are not only interesting but also rather amusing.

Here are some of my favourite passages:

“One of which, incidentally, is said to be the longest word in the English language. It begins with methianyglutaminyl and finishes 1913 letters later as alynalalanylthreonilarginylserase. I don’t know what it is used for, though I daresay it would take some rubbing to get it out of the carpet.”

“…whereas a reference to a woman’s fanny – which to an American is an innocent synonym for the buttocks – would at a British dinner party provoke an embarrassed silence. (you may recognize the voice of experience in this.)”

“As a congressman quite seriously told Dr David Edwards, head of the Joint National Committee on Languages, ‘If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it’s good enough for me.’”

“…Samuel Johnson was congratulated by a woman for leaving indecent words out of his dictionary. To which he devastatingly replied: ‘So you’ve been looking for them, have you, Madam?’”

 

Picture of the day 15/02/2011

Hints of spring on a grey, cold morning.

Monday log

Last book finished

Cranford & Other Stories by Elizabeth C. Gaskell

A really great collection of Mrs Gaskell’s shorter stores which I really loved. You can read my thoughts on it here.

Currently reading

Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language by Bill Bryson

This is not as funny as Notes from a Small Island or Notes from a Big Country, but it’s full of interesting trivia. I am actually enjoying all the references to the complicated and sometimes illogical spelling of some English words that often trouble foreign people, it’s good to know I’m not alone.

Next on the TBR list

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Ok, this time I really intend to read this. I was rather troubled with the strange title, but luckily I found this enlightening article about it.

Picture of the day 08/02/2011

The view from Waterloo bridge on a very sunny day.

Teaser Tuesday

“He had no way of knowing that within less than a generation English would be transported to the New World, where it would begin its inexorable rise to becoming the foremost language in the world.”

-page 56 from Mother Tongue – The English Language by Bill Bryson

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

 

Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!