Melange* (updated...)

A Push update: Word Nerd got through another 40 pages or so of "A Feast for Crows." The bookmark is somewhere around 580s-590s. In a book that long, it's hard to remember. (Weird word linkage here... since we're talking about Push, does anybody else remember that strange 6-episode TV show, "Push Nevada?")

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A Count of Monte Cristo update: Word Nerd has read 8.2 of the 12 required chapters of the classic this week. Getting to the end of chapter 12 is only another 23 pages and should be easily reachable. Word Nerd wants to stay on track with this classics reading attempt.

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New book alert:
Word Nerd found out two of her favorite authors both have new books coming out this fall.
First, artist/author Nick Bantock is releasing a novel, "Windflower."
Second, Thomas Cahill is releasing the fifth book in his Hinges of History series, "The Mystery of the Middle Ages." Word Nerd highly recommends these books (and they are non-fiction!) because they provide a great overview of a lot of history focusing specifically on important and formative events in Western civilization and thinking. (To catch up on the series, check out "How the Irish Saved Civilization," "Gift of the Jews," "Desire of the Everlasting Hills," and "Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea.")

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A grammar/writing tidbit:
Use of gerunds (If your reaction is a ger-what-und, don't worry, you're not alone.) This came up at the Oshkosh Area Writers Club and whether using gerunds is a sloppy (read lazy) form of writing descriptions and conveying actions. Stacie took it upon her self to ask somebody in the know, Miss Snark, and got a satisfactory answer that can be found here.

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As if the publishing world hasn't seen enough of stuff being copied/made up lately, James Frey is now admitting that parts of his other book, "My Friend Leonard" aren't true either. Click here for the scoop.

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Just because this is a weird post, Word Nerd decided that she should admit to how many and what books are stacked on her floor at home in the "I should read these" pile.

There are 8 books in said stack:
Confessions of a Super Mom, Melanie Lynne Hauser
Storm Front, Jim Butcher
Second Helpings, Megan McCafferty
The Last Detective, Peter Lovesey
All That Remains, Patricia Cornwell
The Stolen Child, Keith Donohue
Departure Gate, Chad Taylor
Boot Tracks, Matthew F. Jones

Word Nerd is not seeking input on what to read next. It's going to be Donohue's book. Don't try to change her mind.

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Last night the Oshkosh Area Writer's Club met and did a little activity to write the short bios that authors have in the dust-jackets of their books. Since we will all be published some day, this is a good thing to have on hand. Here is the one Word Nerd wrote for her current work in progress.

Bethany K. Warner has never lived in a house with a balcony. She has named all of her pets after literary characters and currently lives with an orange cat of dubious origin named Gatsby in Wisconsin. {Title} is her first novel.

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*Melange: n. (from the French, meler: to mix) a medley, mixture of incongruous elements.