I’m headed into the city this evening to hear John Scalzi read from Fuzzy Nation. I’ve loved the Little Fuzzy books (and I’ll note that there’s a bunch of his stuff free for e-readers) since discovering them as a teenager and found a book club edition of the first two this weekend at the thrift store. I’d forgotten what a tear jerker the first one is, and the anti-corporate message seems even more timely than usual. I haven’t read Fuzzy Nation yet, but I’m picking it up today and looking forward to it. I’m also fascinated by the idea that Scalzi’s written fan fiction – it opens up some interesting questions about that debate.
I recommend the first book for people working on learning how to create emotional depth, which a couple of writers have mentioned to me lately. Any book that has me welling up with tears is doing its job right in that regard. I’m taking my Writing F&SF class to this reading so they can be inspired by seeing a writer in action – maybe Scalzi will get them to cry (in a good way).
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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
~K. Richardson
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You Should Read This: A Biography of the English Language by C.M. Millward
Our language is nuanced with a thousand historical references, even when we think it at its most innocent.What:There’s a t-shirt that reads “English is a language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages and rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.” In A Biography of the English Language, Millward presents some of this complicated history of the English language, first talking about what a language is, along with basics of phonology and writing before moving into Indo-European, Old English (the sage of the arrival of the English, the Christianization of England, and various Viking invasions), Middle English, Early Modern English, and then the array of recent forces shaping our language: the printing press, the industrial revolution, colonization, the codification of grammar, and more. It finishes up with present day English, at least as present day as a book written in 1989 can be. I should note that, looking at Amazon, the book is expensive as heck. I suspect any thorough history of the English language will do as well, but this book is VERY thorough. I bet it’s also available through libraries.
Who:Read this if you are a writer who likes to know what’s built into the words you’re using, what they say about their circumstances as well as what resonances they add for the knowledgeable. Read it if you love the minutiae of language, all the little “who would have thought” and “Although unlikely” facts that get seeded into long and drifty conversations, like the fact that Indo-European had three numbers: singular, plural, and dual.
Why: Read this so you can use words both more efficiently and more artfully. SO you know how the literary tradition you are working for and against, bound inextricably within, has been affected by linguistic change and created its own pressures to change in turn.
When: Read this when going among bores, for it will arm you with facts with which any recitation of X-Files plots or sports trivia can be met. Read this when you want something a little academic, with that cleansing flavor of self-improvement that the scrub of dry details can bring. Read it when you’re cramming for a test that involves volcabulary.
Where and how: Read this sporadically, tucking facts away, or with a notebook in hand. Read it for a class that takes you through centuries of linguistic change, showing you how history is tucked into every Vocabulary lesson.
Linoleum print I did in 2008 (?). Meant to use it on Christmas cards, then never got around to it.I went through the usual slew of books in September, but I thought I’d mention some of the more notable ones. Links go to the Kindle edition when available, because I do most of my reading on that.
Erin Morgenstern’s THE NIGHT CIRCUS was a terrific read and one that will delight fans of THE PRESTIGE and CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL. Lots of gorgeous and beautiful description of a highly evocative setting and the love story that plays out against it.
While on a visit to Baltimore recently, I was introduced to Joe Hill’s graphic horror novel, LOCKE AND KEY. I read the first one, and am looking forward to the rest.
THE PALACE JOB by Patrick Weekes was a terrific romp of a fantasy read, and is an Ocean’s Eleven type adventure played out against a fantasy setting.
Jonathan Wood’s NO HERO and YESTERDAY’S HERO reminded me of a less frenetic Charlie Stross. Another fun and frothy urban fantasy was Jennifer Willis’ VALHALLA.
Love Joe Lansdale, but I’m reading him slowly in order to spread out the cost of getting all the Hap and Leonard novels. September held THE TWO-BEAR MAMBO as well as a collection of short fiction, BUMPER CROP.
I go back every few years to read E.F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia novels. Why doesn’t someone do a fantasy version of these? That would be so awesome.
THE BANDIT KING by Lilith Saintcrow is a fantasy romance, the sequel to THE HEDGEWITCH QUEEN. I’ve yet to find a Saintcrow book that I haven’t enjoyed.
In nonfiction, I’ve been reading these:
RATIO by Michael Rudman, which talks about the ratios needed for certain things like biscuits vs. pie dough and explores a lot of the science. It’s fascinating, and I’m thinking about taking a year just to work through each of the 33 ratios (he goes through doughs, stock, sausage, sauces and custards) he explores.
