So many interesting and funny things landed in my inbox this week. I hope you enjoy some of these links – they made my brain very happy!
First up: how do you say stuff? From Scrin and also Karina Bliss comes this link to a set of maps published by PhD student Joshua Katz revealing pronunciation variations between American regions. Some weren't true of me at all, but some were spot on, and matched language changes I noticed when I moved from Pittsburgh (codeword: yinz) to Columbia, South Carolina (codeword: y'all).
Understatement of the day:
Everyone knows that Americans don’t exactly agree on pronunciations.
Regional accents are a major part of what makes American English so interesting as a dialect.
You can see the complete set of maps as well, with the questions that were asked.
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Speaking of talking, thanks to Joanna, here is Benedict Cumberbatch reading Keats' Ode to a Nightingale:
Link!
Joanna says, “You're welcome.”
ETA: I was so confused why I couldn't find this in the US, but I think I figured it out. In the US, there's a collection called “Words for You” of awesome-voiced people reading various pieces of writing, but …. it is Cumberbatchless! What's that about?
The UK version, called “Words for You: the Next Chapter,” has all the things from Words for You PLUS Cumberbatch and other pieces of writing read by other awesome-voiced people. Like Benedict Cumberbatch reading “Jabberwocky.” Words for You: The Next Chapter is also available from the iTunes store for 10,99 €.
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I'm over at Kirkus this week talking about some of the books I plan to read this month, some new, some reprints of older classic Regencies:
Summer is for reading! Summer Reading is a big ol' list-making opportunity for all the people who write the words, right? And what's bonkers about my making a summer reading list is that I don't read more or less during the summer than I do any other season. I read constantly. But I know that more vacations happen in summer, and more people park themselves in leisurely positions for hours at a time with the express purpose of absorbing vitamin D from solar sources, and taking extended time for reading.
Yay, reading!
So here's a brief list of what I'm looking forward to reading this month. Please note: These are not all new books. Some have been out for ages, but I just discovered them, so they're “new” to me. I know publishing likes to push what's brand new, but if you haven't read it before, it's all new—all the more reason to read more every day, right?
What are you reading this month? Anything you're really looking forward to?
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And finally, thank you to the many people who sent me this link: a California court of appeals has ruled in favor of an inmate who wanted to read werewolf erotica and was told she couldn't because the book was obscene. I didn't think I could enjoy reading a decision so much, but there's a first time for everything. Not only did the decision include analysis of the content of the book, but it also included a literary analysis of the merits of the book:
For the foregoing reasons, we find The Silver Crown does not lack serious literary value and thus should not have been withheld from petitioner on grounds of obscenity. We feel certain the book should be protected by the First Amendment in ordinary commerce, and our analysis of Penal Code section 2601 concludes it is therefore allowable reading for inmates.
I hope Ms. Martinez enjoys her book very, very much.
Good Man Friday by Barbara Hambly
Island of Bones by Imogen Robertson (which dropped to 9.99 on Kindle from 14.99. That’s why I’m now looking forward to reading it :))
I have the new Jill Shalvis in the Kindle, just finished Entwined with You and am looking forward to the new Bella Andre Sullivan cousin, a Debora Geary Modern Witch installment and the next Escape to New Zealand book from Rosalind James. So many books, so many adult children to move into new digs (Orlando for one of the girls this weekend, and another painful boys apartment move August 1st…kill.me.now.) I loooved three of your TBRs in the Kirkus article. The Karina Bliss book is so heart wrenching.
“I hope Ms. Martinez enjoys her book very, very much.” FWIW, Andres is a man’s name, and Pelican Bay only houses male inmates. Nit picking, I know, but…
Everything in my TBR at the moment came from here, actually, and none of them are “new”: Texas Destiny, The Lass Wore Black (which I passed over when it came out because the title screamed “TWEE!!!!”, which apparently the story isn’t), and a bunch of the Pennyroyal Green books.
I even broke down and bought a Kindle for the occasion because $2 sales are a compelling economic argument in favor of digital.
So, there were 6 books on the hold desk for me at the library this week. Plus the 3 I hadn’t gotten to, yet. So I’m reading The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination and A Duke Never Yields.
IRT the word maps, I think I’d call a drive through liquor store “trouble”. These really exist?
I have been reading the Bronze Horseman series. Finished books one and two; book three is up next. WOW, is this an amazing series! I don’t think it technically qualifies as romance, but it’s one of the most powerful and emotional love stories I’ve ever read.
Well I finally broke down and started reading the Hunger Game books on loan from a friend, and am already more than halfway through Catching Fire (they’re so good). Will have to wait until she’s read the third one (she’s trying to savor it) to get a hold of it.
When I’m done that I’ll probably pick up something by Mary Stewart or Stephen King off the TBR pile. …But I did just get John Scalzi’s Redshirts so that’s a maybe too.
Most of my TBRs came from here, too. I am working my way through Pennyroyal Green – enjoyed the first two but think I am ready for a break before the third. I’m going to go back and finish Germs, Genes, and Civilization, which is about epidemics and is fascinating (well, to me). And probably going to start The Devil’s Grin, though I may hit Ethereal Girls. I really need an ebook reader that can keep two or three books open at a time so I can switch back and forth.
*smacks forehead*
Oh yeah, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane comes out this month! So there’s a June release I’m looking forward to.
Just finished Lorraine Heath’s “Lord of Wicked Intentions”. Starting Nina Rowan’s “A Study in Seduction” for my romance reader book club. After that I’ll be coming back for suggestions.
Now you’ve got me thinking about how to donate my old books to a prison library.
One of my favorite Benedict Cumberbatch reading videos has to be “Little Red Hen”.
God bless YouTube.
The maps were intriguing, but when it comes to long sandwiches, the commonest term in southeastern CT & southern RI is grinder, so that section of the map should have been tinted “other.” We are not a large section of the country, but, aside from franchises, grinders are all you get around here and they are some of the best sandwiches in the country.
Regarding the penal (ahem) freedom to read case, I believe the petitioner was Mr. Martinez, not Ms. Personally, I might have banned The Silver Crown for abuse of apostrophes. Aside from that, yay First Amendment.
Right now I’m reading and not particularly enjoying Talk Nerdy to Me. I encountered Victoria Lewis Thompson at my favorite UBS (not literally), but am kind of nerded out by this, the fourth one I’ve read. It may be a DNF. I also am reading Murder in the Marais for my book club and As You Like It in the bathroom. Also still working on Milford’s Savage Beauty.
I thought I commented on this already, but apparently the smart phone has outsmarted me again. Also the Internets of SE Asia do not love me. Or maybe they do, they just have commitment issues. So I need to be… More patient? Feistier? If the Internets are thinking I’m going to cure them with my magic hoo-hah, they are mistook. This is not going to be one of those romances, I’m thinking more a demure kiss on the cheek if it all works out in the end.
I am finishing Garden of Evening Mists which is so far great but not at all happy, and a history: France and Women, 1789-1914. I don’t know why people target genre fiction as bad writing, when we could all be commiserating on the strange standards of nonfiction writing. I have an old Nora Roberts that I’m hoping I haven’t read (but will doubtless remember about halfway through) and a Bernard Cornwell cued up, and I think I might have to read some werewolf erotica next. Has anyone interviewed the author? It must be crazy having your book considered obscene contraband, and then approved by a state court because it’s not without literary merit.
Nicole, Yes drive-through liquor stores do exist. I’ve seen several in Louisiana that will sell you a margarita or other mixed drink. It’s not considered an open container until you insert the straw.