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We asked Katie Raynolds, the amazing high school student we interviewed about words, language and books, to recommend her favorite reads to fellow students. Here's what she wrote:
I love anything by Ray Bradbury, like Fahrenheit 451 , and especially his short story anthology The Illustrated Man . I also recommend Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo , which has a lot adventure and not too many crazy words that others may struggle with. I admit, many of the books I read would not suit boy readers, but they're still good! An example would be Stargirl . This book may be better for girls, and it's a little better suited for girls that are younger than I, but it changed my life. Holes is also a really, really good book -- the author ties every detail to another plot point, and it's incredibly smart. And of course, there are the popular Harry Potter books and the Lord of the Rings series, which are an acquired taste but are, in the end, a joy to read. I know that some of these titles are obvious suggestions, but they're great, great books!!!
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Subscriber Bertha from England asks:
I enjoyed reading your article Writer's Craft in March, and will take great care when using the word "craft." I was actually surprised to learn that using it with regard to writing a position paper amounts to some abuse (or misuse! I have often stated that in my work!
On to what I really want to comment on: a recent word of the day "preen." I looked up synonyms and discovered one "primp" whose meaning appears to be similar if not the same as a word used in the US "pimp" as in "pimp my car." I first heard this expression while watching a television programme showing a group of mechanics who transform an old, beaten up, rusty car into a new wonderful and very attractive vehicles with all sorts of fittings in the interior. At the end when the owner of the vehicle sees how transformed it is they exclaim, "Thank you Mr. X for pimping my ride!" Now, I wonder, are the two words the same?
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250 years ago this month, on May 15th 1756, the tipping point in widespread European conflict came when England declared war on France and her allies, marking the official beginning of what came to be called the Seven Years' War. In commemoration, the Lounge has gone massively rococo with mock Chippendale furniture, and secured perukes for all the gentlemen and ruffs for the ladies. The Visual Thesaurus is celebrating by collecting together and examine all things seven.
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Our columnist Orin Hargraves checks out these three sites to learn more about language:
The American Dialect Society Email List (subscribe here) is not for the faint of heart -- it's high volume. But if you want to be in on the banter of many prominent observers of contemporary usage, it's the place to be. If you read regularly you'll get a feel for who has something interesting to say, and who just witters on about any old thing.
Language Log has numerous posters, many of them professional linguists. Again, if you read this regularly you'll get a pretty good feel for whose observations interest you.
A some-time contributor to Language Lounge is Geoffrey Nunberg. You've probably heard his commentaries about language on the NPR program "Fresh Air." If you've missed any of them, they always make a good read on his website . He's also got a great bunch of links to other language-related blogs.
Don't forget: Send us your top blogs -- and tell us why you like 'em. Email us.
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