Book Blogger Hop (and a Guilty Conscience)

Hosted by Jennifer from Crazy-for-Books, this Book Blogger Hop is a brilliant BOOK PARTY, and lasts from January 28 until January 31. It's a fun, friendly way for book bloggers to socialize, connect with other book lovers, and discover new book blogs. If you'd like me to visit your blog, please leave a comment and I'll be happy to hop by.






Each week, Jennifer chooses a question from those submitted by book bloggers for discussion. This week's question is from Aliyah from Des Absurdités: What book are you most looking forward to seeing published in 2011? Why are you anticipating that book?

This is another great question, although it makes me a bit nervous as well. Here's my story.

A couple of years ago, I started to read a series of books I'd heard about but had never read. I fell in love with this series, and want to read the entire series. I am looking forward to The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel by Alexander McCall Smith, which is due out in March of this year. I adore this series, which features two clever, caring detectives in Botswana, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi. I was on a roll with these books and read each and every one of them in order. That is, until last year, when I fell behind in my reading of this series. I had read all of the books up until the one published last year, The Double Comfort Safari Club. I will read that book before I read the new one. I am feeling very guilty that I haven't read Double Comfort yet. But my guilty conscience doesn't end there. There are many other sequels and series books that I have not yet read, and I feel bad about this. Some of the books that I blogged about in earlier days now have sequels (by Michael J. Fox, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Nora Ephron, for example), and I feel bad that I haven't read them; and there are series books such as the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace, which are so beautifully written that I want to read more of them. Why haven't I finished reading the Millennium trilogy by Steig Larsson? I have all three books but have only read the first one, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I even have a "prequel", The Defector by Daniel Silva, the book that came out before The Rembrandt Affair, and provides the backstory--and I haven't read that one yet! Sometimes I feel as if I should stop getting any new books, until I read all of the books that I already have. Or maybe I should just try to spend more time reading! :)

Wondrous Words Wednesday

One of my favorite weekly memes is Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog. Today's words are from Heaven to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace.


1. leadplant (Amorpha canescens): North American herbaceous flowering plant; other names: false indigo, prairie shoestring, wild tea
~Photo from WildOnes

Native Americans used the dried leaves of this bushy prairie shrub for pipe smoking and for tea.









2. butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa): species of milkweed native to eastern North America; other names: Canada root, Indian paintbrush, orange milkwood
~Photo from Wikipedia

Butterflies are attracted to the color and copious nectar produced by this plant. Native Americans used this plant as a remedy for wet coughs and other pulmonary ailments.

"The roadsides offered no shade, only thickets of purple spiked leadplant and gaudy butterfly weed."
~Heaven to Betsy, Maud Hart Lovelace

The next two words sound like Armenian last names.

3. Philomathian: lover of learning

This word began in ancient Greek as philomathia from philos "love of" and mathos "learning".


4. Zetamathian: investigator

Information about this word is scarce. Luckily, Bonnie--a character in Heaven to Betsy--defines the word in the book, because I didn't find it elsewhere.

"The students were divided between Philomathians and Zetamathians, societies which competed in athletics, in debate, and in essay writing as the three cups testified."
~Heaven to Betsy, Maud Hart Lovelace

I'm not sure I'd choose to be a Philo or a Zeta based on the meaning of the words; I enjoy both learning and investigating (which is often part of learning).

What wondrous new words have you encountered during recent reading?

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Today's new words for Wondrous Words Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog, come from two different sources.

The first is from a wonderfully written blog I discovered a few months ago.

1. chary: very cautious, wary, careful

"I am very chary about saying this too loudly, but I think we may have the phone problem solved."
~Ann from Table Talk

Ann has a sophistication about her that shines through her writing. Table Talk is a blog I hope to frequent more often in the future.


2. grandiloquent: full of fine words, flowery language, and fancy expressions (as found in much 19th century poetry); use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases (political rhetoric)

"Sometimes Tacy enlivened the envelope by putting the stamp on upside down to signify love, or by addressing her with some grandiloquent string of names such as Miss Elizabetha Gwendolyn Madeline Angeline Rosemond Ray, or by adding BC for Best Chum or HHAS for Herbert Humphreys Admiration Society."
~Heaven to Betsy, Maud Hart Lovelace

I think this word sounds very much like its meaning. I won this very enjoyable book, which contains two Betsy-Tacy novels, Heaven to Betsy and Betsy in Spite of Herself, on Kate's Book Blog. I've finished reading Heaven to Betsy and am currently reading Betsy in Spite of Herself. Having never read these charming classics as a child, I am relishing them for the first time now. Harper Collins has recently republished books from the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace.


3. triumvirate: a government of three officers; any group or set of three

"What, Betsy wondered, was a Triumvirate?"
~Heaven to Betsy, Maud Hart Lovelace

Of course, tri means three, but I didn't remember reading or hearing this word before. A quadrumvirate means--you guessed it--a governing or managing group, coalition, or set of four people.


What wondrous new words have you encountered during recent reading?

Before and After

Inspired by Amanda's post, I decided to share these before and after photos with my fellow book bloggers and other readers.

Before

Miscellaneous bedside books and stuff on the floor, which look messy and dowdy. Don't books deserve to be properly shelved and organized to some degree?

After

Finding a bookcase that actually fits under the window was thrilling. I feel much more organized now--even if I am a bit behind in my reading.


Other news: I won a Betsy-Tacy book on Kate's book blog! I'm very excited to read one of these classic books by Maud Hart Lovelace. Thank you for hosting this giveaway, Kate.

I sampled the two newest juice flavors from POM Wonderful, POM Kiwi and POM Nectarine. The mix of pomegranate with kiwi and nectarine is exquisite. Pomegranate is considered to be a superfood, and these juices are loaded with antioxidants and vitamin C. Thank you, Janny and Jeff, for sending me these juices to try.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more reviews, a giveaway, and upcoming interviews with authors. As always, your comments are appreciated.