sharing my love of books with you

Category: Bookish Thoughts (Page 7 of 43)

Scriptorium

Scriptorium – a room for writing; especially a room in a monastery for the writing or copying of manuscripts

“These are the pigeon-holes that hold all the slips,” I said, waving my arm up and down the nearest wall of pigeon-holes, then doing the same for the other walls around the Scriptorium, “Da said there would be thousands and thousands of slips [for words] and so there needed to be hundreds and hundreds of pigeon-holes. They were built especially, and Dr Murray designed the slips to be the perfect fit.”

Esme speaking to Aunt Ditte, The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams

Preposterous

Preposterous – wrong, absurd, contrary to nature or reason, foolish

“[David] is requesting a great thing; he seeks joy for a sinful heart, music for crushed bones.  Preposterous prayer anywhere but at the throne of God!”

Charles Spurgeon on Psalm 51

Nine Horses, by Billy Collins

Nine Horses, by Billy Collins is a collection of about 50 poems. His subject matter ranges from art to birthdays to Colorado.

Now, I get it: poetry is not everybody’s cup of tea. But I want to encourage you to try – every once in a while – to read a small book of poems.

Poetry is not about understanding the “deep” or “hidden” meanings in the lines, as many of the critics will tell you. It’s about using words to express emotions that we all feel because we are all human beings.

You won’t like every poet. And of those you like, you won’t like every poem. But there’s something special about trying to see the world through someone else’s eyes and realizing you feel the same things.

Blue Horses is my first exposure to Billy Collins. A quote on the back of the book likens him to Robert Frost. Another says he’s charming. To be honest with you, I haven’t read enough Robert Frost to know if that’s true, but I can say I was not “charmed” by Collins. In fact, I found him rather negative and pessimistic. Collins’ poems, like the nine horses that adorn the cover of the book, could be called modern art. While they lack the beauty I usually seek in the written word, they offer something for everyone to observe.

There were several poems that I enjoyed because I realized we share common ground in the way we think about certain things. Those poems I will share with you because I don’t condemn a collection of poems just because I don’t like one. I want you to decide for yourself whether you think this is an author worth reading further. Reading, even if you don’t care for the material, helps us grow as humans. I can walk away from Collins glad I read his work for myself. And occasionally if I remember something he said about this or that, I can smile because in that small way, we are still connected.

What is the last book of poems you read?

Temptation to Complain Quote

“Everything about which we are tempted to complain may be the very instrument whereby the Potter intends to shape His clay into the image of His Son – a headache, an insult, a long line at the check-out, someone’s rudeness or failure to say thank you, misunderstanding, disappointment, interruption.”

Elizabeth Elliot, “Humdudgeon or Contentment?”, in Refresh my Heart: Meditations for Women

Humdudgeon

Humdudgeon – a loud complaint about a small trifle

“One mother thought of an excellent antidote: all humdudgeons must be presented not orally but in writing, “of two hundred words or more.” There was a sudden marked reduction in whining and complaining.”

Elizabeth Elliot, “Humdudgeon or Contentment?”, in Refresh my Heart: Meditations for Women

Sycophantic

Sycophantic – a characteristic of or relating to a sycophant (an informer, a talebearer, a parasite, one who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence)

Not until the book was launched did he give an exclusive interview to She on TV4, once again scooping the state-run stations. But the questions were anything but sycophantic.

Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Delphic

Delphic – oracular; obscure in meaning; ambiguous

When she was asked why the previous year’s exposé of Wennerström had been such a fiasco, she was even more delphic. She never lied, but she may not always have told the whole truth.

Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Vitriolic

Vitriolic – extremely biting or caustic; sarcastic; sharp and bitter

“For me, it’s also important that you absolutely understand that I have nothing whatsoever to do with this vitriolic attack.”

Vanger to Blomkvist, in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

Cogitation

Cogitation – the act of thinking; thought; meditation; contemplation

After six months of fruitless cogitation, the case of Harriet Vanger cracked open.

Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Importunate

Importunate – pressing or urging in request or demand; urgent and persistent in solicitation; refusing to be denied; annoyingly urgent or persistent; causing vexation; troublesome

Cecelia Vanger kept her distance. Blomkvist did not want to be importunate, so he waited a week before he went to her house.

Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
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