Winter Reading from Realgoodwords

Hallie Ephron's "Never Tell A Lie" kept me glued over the weekend. It's a mystery novel telling the story of a very pregnant woman who innocently holds a yard sale. When a person she barely knew in high school shows up, everything changes. I liked that even though Ivy Rose was 8+ months pregnant, she still saves the day. Hallie will be an upcoming guest on Realgoodwords...

I'll talk with Hallie not just about "Never Tell a Lie" but about her book "1001 Books for Every Mood" suggested to me by KAXE Volunteer Joan Downham. Here's an idea of what "1001 Books for Every Mood" has in it:

Books if you are interested in taking a trip:
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
The Atlas by William T. Vollmann
Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Half-Moon
Consider the Lobster: and Other Essays by David Foster Wallace
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia by Paul Theroux

I'm also reading Minnesota writers Charles Baxter's "The Soul Thief" and Julie Kramer's "Stalking Susan".

Writing as a family

On this week's show I talked with Lauren Baratz-Logsted. I talked with Lauren years ago about her books for adults - books that might be put in the "chick-lit" category. It's been probably 4 or 5 years and Lauren has published many books in that time - for young adults and for tweens.

I was fascinated by her new series of books called "The Sisters 8"... stories of octuplets who are turning 8 years old. The girls realize their parents are missing - and find out that each of them
Lauren didn't just come up with this idea on her own. One snowed-in week in Colorado without TV she and her husband and daughter Jackie decided to collaborate on the series.

"The Sisters 8 would make a great read aloud for families to share together. Readers of all ages will enjoy the mystery mixed with humor..." 5 stars, TeensReadToo.com

Also check out the publisher's website for a quiz and paperdolls!

Books coming up in January on Realgoodwords

"The Invention of Air -A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution and the Birth of America" by Steven Johnson

"Fried - Surviving Two Centuries in Restaurants" by Steve Lerach

"Fiction on a Stick - Stories by Writers from Minnesota" edited by Daniel Slager

"The Sisters 8 - Book 1 - Annie's Adventures" by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

"Keeping the House" by Ellen Baker

"The Writing Diet - Write Yourself Right Size" by Julia Cameron

"The Soul Thief" by Charles Baxter

"My Answer is No - If That's Okay with You" by Nanette Gartrell, M.D.

Words for a new year

I was listening to KAXE's Morning Show today with Scott Hall and Kathy Dodge. They talked about having a Monday morning word of the day. A way to get yourself jump started on your week. Today I'm working on interviews I have coming up in the next week, and as always, I've stumbled across a word that I don't know - and definitely don't know the definition of....I thought I'd admit my lack of worldly word-knowing and get to the bottom of things. Here they are:

miscellarian - I'm reading about a scientist named Joseph Priestly*. You probably were like me and assumed that he was some long lost relative of Canadian actor Jason Priestly. So far I haven't found the connection. Anyway, he is described like this: a miscellarian who relied on conversational networks to feed his fascination with technology

I went to Dictionary.com where I often find the answers to my questions.... and oddly, this word was not found there. It asked me if I meant MISCELLANARIAN. Since I didn't know exactly what I meant, I decided to check out the meaning of THAT word.

Mis`cel*la*na"ri*an\, a. [See Miscellany.] Of or pertaining to miscellanies. --Shaftesbury. -- n. A writer of miscellanies.

I did a google search on the word Miscellarian - and found that an author named Russell Ash called himself a miscellarian - or a 'writer of this and that'. Good to know!

Has anyone out there used this word casually in conversation? Let us know! If you are a wordy person, check out Merriam Webster's Word of the Day, online.

*The book I'm reading is called "The Invention of Air - A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution and the Birth of America" by Steven Johnson.