Word Up

Postcards Near the Edge
(of my table)

Happy Friday!

The OED is adding new words to bindings.  Here's a fun little Guardian quiz to test your knowledge.  I hit seven out of ten so a few of my word choices are now validated.  (I'm not sure if that's a good thing.)

The Bike is Right

Matt* seemed like a really nice person.  He grabbed the bike beside you in spin and you guessed that during the winter he would occasionally be mistaken for Santa.  Gentle white beard and hair, jolly posture, and a smile.  You were a bit tired; you had given up some sleep this weekend for more play.  He said something about being there because of the bad things he ate over the weekend; you mentioned a cheeseburger.  You both laughed.

The spin instructor is a substitute.  She's wearing a West Point sweatshirt.

The music started.

It was a short warm-up today but you were okay with that because your legs felt like lead.  (You would later change your mind as you moved into the three-minutes "on" and three minutes "off" section of the class.  Hello, West Point?!)

A song plays during the three minute break.  Matt asks you about the band; you say "Santana" and you think as the younger, you're educating him a bit.  He says "That is correct," and your stomach drops for no particular reason.

Work set.  "Do you feel that cheeseburger now?", he asked.

Work set.  "Never let them see you sweat."

Work set.  A series of "Who is this band?" and you don't know anymore if the sweat is from the bike or the barrage of questions which is starting to feel like an oral exam.  (You have a flashback to Materials class.)

You start glancing at the clock a little more often and wonder if you will make it.

You waver on The Beatles to close things out but you manage a smile and back slowly away on the stretches.

Today's Spin lesson:  Don't judge a book by its cover (unless they are in fact wearing West Point, because you will hurt a little.)

*Matt is not his real name but it rhymes with bike.  

Pet-ty Thief

I'm not quite sure how I managed 6 out of 10 on this "Pets in Literature Quiz" featured in the Guardian.  

A glass of reading water for guessing fortitude?  I'll take it.

Table the Motion

How did you spend your post-holiday Saturday?  Mine was divided into little segments of activities;  some were dedicated to chores and others to pleasure.  My run was a bit of both.  Some moments were stolen away for reading little articles.  I even took a test.  The Guardian's Thanksgiving thinking: feasts in fiction quiz was quite fun, despite the fact that my score was akin to my dressing, a tad underwhelming.  I'm sure you could fare better.

Chat dans le Chapeau

Today called for whimsy, distraction. I mean, we're all just waiting for the announcement on the Man Booker Prize winner, right?

So, in those few extra minutes you have just before lunch, with your third cup of coffee, or at mid-afternoon tea, distract yourself with this Dr. Suess quiz from last month's Guardian. [Note to readers other than the GBC: despite the judgement you may have made from the amount of reading water we consume, we are also a group of quiz loving intellectual geeks at heart. Well, at least one of us is.]

Have a great week!

Give Me Give Me Shock Treatment

Life, the Universe, and Everything is almost over.

You have a few short days to complete Cutting for Stone before this week's meeting. (No pressure GBC K1m.)

If you have read the book and need something short to occupy your time, consider the "Tennis in Literature" quiz from The Guardian. Best enjoyed with a side of strawberries and cream; try not to make a racket.

Because it's Monday and I like odd items, here'a a link to NYT's "I'm O.K., You're a Psychopath" a review of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry. (Links to the book and a former review also included. Ramones album optional.)

Love at First Write

In trying to stage our reading line-up for the next few months, we read the first sentence (and a few of the last ones) in various books to determine if we were interested to add this selection to our list. I began thinking about whether this approach was valid or if it only works for those in an audience who can be had with “hello”. Should we know our tendencies toward love before deciding whether or not to read/purchase that novel?

Do we decide that we want to read based on the first few sentences (love at first sight)? Some of us may prefer to be courted, letting words build over the space of several chapters into an attraction for a book (or ahem, Vampire series) that can’t be left alone. Is it possible to trudge through the words as mere acquaintances only to realize at the end of the book, we loved them? Or, do we sometimes fall victim to the book “blind set-up” based on a friend’s recommendation? I am sure that I am not the only reader who has started/stopped/started/breaked/… from a book like an on-again/off-again relationship. Are these my commitment issues or is it just the timing was wrong (Juliet)?

At one point or another, I seem to have fallen into most of these categories; if only I would have collected some data at the time, perhaps I could offer some definite conclusion (or at a minimum, longer blog). Instead, perhaps a few of you “hello-ers” might be pleased with a quiz on a few first lines.