Here are some dancing books courtesy of Type Books. Enjoy!

Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Threnet’ic, a. complaining; expressing sorrow. Word in the Wild: Tanis left her office to investigate the threnetic keening coming from the kitchenette. She found Priya desolate—it turned out that her trusty 1987 Nissan had died earlier that morning and now, to top it off, the coffeepot was completely empty. If only Nissans and coffee […]

Today I went to one of the many readings at this year’s International Festival of Authors to see Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Frances Itani, and Nicole Lundrigan read from their new works. All of the writers selected compelling, tantalizing portions of their work to share with us. With the exception of Frances Itani’s Requiem, which […]

Recommended Read Deck, Jeff and Benjamin D. Herson. The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World One Correction at a Time. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2010. [ISBN-13: 978-0-307-59108-1] So what do you do if you want to change the world and your superpower is a knowledge of grammar? If you’re Jeff Deck, you climb […]

Lexical Vexations role 1. n . a part one plays in a dramatic production or in relation to other people in a real-life situation. roll 1. v. to move around a central axis. 2. n. a small bun served at dinner. 3. n. any number of other items that have been rolled up in their […]

Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Salsu’ginous, a. a little saltish. Word in the Wild: I’d really like to recommend that new restaurant on the corner since the owners are so friendly, but everything I’ve eaten there is so salsuginous I just can’t. The above meaning of salsuginous is obsolete (and even at its height it was generally used […]

Twists & Turns of Phrase When something’s got all the bells and whistles, it has been constructed with lots of extra features—usually ones that aren’t strictly needed. This phrase is often used to describe electronics, motor vehicles, and other complex products. According to the OED, the bells and whistles in this turn of phrase were […]

Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Ram’uli, n. young twigs or shoots. Word in the Wild: Adrienne thought she’d killed the plant since only dry dirt and withered leaves had occupied the planter for months. But when she came in this morning she saw that over the weekend, quite magically, some hardy ramuli had shot up out of the dessicated […]

Lexical Vexations flounder 1. v. to move about with difficulty, often losing one’s footing. 2. n. a fish. founder 1. v. to sink or succumb. 2. n. one responsible for beginning a venture or organization. Words in the Wild: The first sign the Lollipop was foundering was the flounder the founder of the International Candy Society […]

You’ve won a copy of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much I’ll be emailing you shortly to find out where to send your prize. And thanks to everyone who entered this contest for adding some terrific books to my reading list. Be sure to stay tuned for more book giveaways in the future. Happy […]