Suko's Notebook

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog, is a very enjoyable meme. Today's words are from England and Vietnam.

1. gobsmacked: completely astounded, shocked (British slang)

I came across this wonderful word in a recent review on Vivienne's book blog, Serendipity. Vivienne, who lives in England, uses it in reference to the book Brooklyn by Colm Tibin: "I was utterly gobsmacked by this book." I adore the sound of this word, and Vivienne's review has piqued my interest in Brooklyn.

2. pho: Phở (fuh)- Vietnamese beef noodle soup

It takes a long time to simmer a good pot of pho--sometimes 10 or more hours! I found this word in the book I'm currently reading, an advanced copy of The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli. Undoubtedly, many if not most of you already know what pho is, because pho restaurants are opening up everywhere. So while this word isn't really new to me, I've never seen it in a book before, and it is wondrous--and quite delicious. My favorite soup, Pho Rau Cai (pictured), has vegetables and tofu.

What wondrous new words have you encountered during recent reading?

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Memes

Here a meme, there a meme, everywhere a meme, meme. I have become familiar with memes over the past year or so, which are quite popular with book bloggers. For those of you less familiar with memes, or who may just be interested in some clarification, here's a definition.

Meme
meme n (mëm): A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. From the Greek mimëma, something imitated, from mimeisthai, to imitate. (definition from Booking Through Thursday)

My favorite weekly memes are Mailbox Monday and Wondrous Words Wednesday, and although I don't get a chance to do them each week, I post them on a regular basis. They're a lot of fun to do, and I enjoy visiting other book blogs and connecting with other book bloggers. I find it interesting that many book bloggers, including myself, choose to do certain memes over and over again.

Here's a list of some of the weekly memes that populate the book blogosphere. For more information about any particular meme, click on the links provided below.

Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page