A #Linguistics question prompted by "Crime Wave at Blandings", the first story in "Lord Emsworth and Others, which I currently #AmReading. PGW has Lord Emsworth saying "dooce" a lot. In my quasi-literate ignorance, that seems like an Americanism, the sort of thing PGW might have picked from living there. Would a very English Earl of the era have said "deuce" as "dooce" , or would he have been more like to say /djuːs/ ? @bookstodon
@kinyutaka@bookstodon Excellent, thanks! I knew that "what the deuce" was a euphemism for "what the Devil" but didn't know about the pronunciation. My local library cancelled its subs to the OED a couple of years ago, sadly. 😢
A fun read from Philip Durkin's "Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English" - an extract from a 1403 letter written in a mix of English and Anglo-French. Franglais has a LONG history indeed. Somehow I don't think extracting the ALT text from the image will be much help here 🤣 #AmReading#Linguistics#History#NonFiction#ebooks@bookstodon
@Yora@bookstodon Not as much as is often posited. That's one's of the really interesting things about this book, examining the source of loanwords. English is, of course, still a Germanic language in its bones, but even the extent to which its vocabulary clothing comes from French is more debatable than widely assumed. This book is excellent for its lack of dogmatic assertions and presentation of reasoned hypotheses
@Yora@bookstodon To paraphrase Mark Twain. "rumours of English having been hijacked by French have been greatly exaggerated"
It is still possible to construct sentences in English with only Germanic components. It's not easy, and the sentences are awkward and awful (imo), but it can be done.That's not possible (afaik) using only non-Germanic elements.
it’s coming on winter here in the Northern hemisphere, so I’m counter-programming by reading “Thirst For Salt” by Madelaine Lucas (lovely so far), and I love a Jane Harper thriller.
@lunalein@bookstodon Vanda Symon's Sam Shephard series is solid and has a really strong sense of place in the Southern part of Te Wai Pounamu/South Island
I was pretty happy when I recently acquired an Eames chair & stool (reproduction/not an original - way too expensive), I was pretty pleased with the major improvement in my #reading#infrastructure.
But now, I feel I missed a chance for a proper upgrade.... [sighs]
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon Yet another graphic that conflates "reading" with "paper book". How sadly narrow-minded. To call it a "chair for readers" is dismissive of those who read A LOT, but do not share the artist's apparent view that only paper books count as "reading"
OK, it's official - 37% in and I love @scalzi KPS. Even if the last 2/3 is worse than anything Dan Brown ever inflicted on the world, the sheer delight of seeing a Māori character using the Māori name for his homeland in a book written by someone neither tangata whenua nor tangata Tiriti guarantees KPS a whole heap of aroha from me. #Aotearoa#TeReo#AmReading#ebooks@bookstodon
@DarkMatterZine@scalzi@bookstodon Interesting, thanks. I haven't read Locked In. Having a congenital disability myself I can empathise with your reaction, one shared by many people I know who are in similar situations. Speaking only for myself of course, I find the idea of being offered a "fix" for my disability increasingly attractive as I get older.
@DarkMatterZine@scalzi@bookstodon Yes, thinking about how it's almost certain that I would not be who I am today had I not been born with my disability that makes me realise what a nuanced question "do you want to be fixed?" is
#Bookreview Hand in Glove by Ngaio Marsh
read on audio
Narrator: Marie McCarthy
Harpercollins
Pub. 1962, 251pp
This is a classic crime read set in a village among a group of neighbours who’re related in various ways. I knew I was going to get on well with the #audiobook from the start as the narrator was instantly engaging, expressing the dialogue brilliantly.
The action centres around the home of snobbish Percival Pyke Period, an eccentric figure who’s writing his memoirs, alongside the cook Mrs Mitchell, his loyal servant Alfred and his new lodger Mr Cartell who has a rather troublesome dog, Pixie. The first chapters set up the world surrounding this household with the introduction of a cast of distinctive characters. I particularly liked Mr Cartell’s ex-wife, the Flamboyant Desiree Bantling, and this great description:
“with her incredible hair brushed up into a kind of bonfire, her carefree makeup, her eyebrows and her general air of raffishness she belonged, asMr Period mildly reflected, to Toulouse Lautrec rather than any contemporary background.”
She’s known for her amusing parties and there’s a long build up to her April Fool’s treasure hunt which is set to end in tragedy. In fact, as the murder doesn’t take place until about Chapter 14 I felt I knew everyone involved very well and of course there were plenty of strong motives for possible killers.
The central idea of a letter being sent in condolence to someone for the death of a loved one before the deceased was discovered was unique and played out well.
One thing that surprised me was the lack of period details to root the story to the 1960s. It seemed to me that it could’ve very easily been set in the 30s or 50s, though there were a few passing references like mentioning TV. I guess it stuck out as my other read for the #1962Club was the Miss Marple which was very much about social change.
This is my first Ngiao Marsh novel and I’ll be returning to her in future. #Bookstodon@bookstodon
@sarahmatthews@Merlo51@bookstodon Marsh was honoured in Aotearoa/NZ for her work in supporting and promoting theatre. Theatre was her first love and imo her best Alleyn stories are those set in the theatre
@sarahmatthews@Merlo51@bookstodon In my teens, it was her passion for Shakespeare in particular that was her lasting impact on me, making his plays come alive (by killing people, ironically😁). I don't even remember the plot f her final novel, Light Thickens, but the title's source passage is my favourite Bard bit to this day, thanks to her.
In her description of the 'arrival' of Alleyn, Ngaio (the g is NOT silent, folks) Marsh unintentionally highlights why I love Allingham's Campion. For him, tempus really did fugit, at more or less real pace. #AmReading#Aotearoa#GoldenAgeMysteries@bookstodon#ebooks
I'd suggest keeping an eye on the mobileread forums - colour e-ink readers are a constant subject of discussion there, lots of early adopters and hopeful would-be users too.
As for the the one-handed on a bus, that's something else that comes up in MR forums. There are some Chinese 5-inch dvices referenced there, they may suit.
Buttons are a must for me. I use my Sage at home 1-handed, and have a 7-inch Libra H2O (gen 1) for when I go out, as it fits in more pockets. Even in a case, it's an easy hold and read. For me, 7-inch is the optimal out-and-about size - large enough that I'm not pressing the button too often, small enough to stow and hold