Category Archives: Reading

Paging Mr. Vonnegut

The Vonnegut Marathon is still on and I’m ready for the next leg of the race: Mother Night. The library gave me a hardcover this time. The front cover is dull, but the back cover has a picture of the … Continue reading

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Maybe the Moon

I finished Armistead Maupin’s Maybe the Moon last night. Grade: B I have mixed feelings about this novel. On one hand, it’s full of likable characters in interesting situations. On the other, it has graphic sex scenes and an unhappy … Continue reading

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Loose Ends

For the last time referring to the previous post about mythical whosiewhatsits, this final addendum should leave us feeling extremely well-educated on the subject. A will-o’-the-wisp is a light that appears over marshy ground. It is thought to be caused … Continue reading

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French Boast

Harking back to Tuesday’s strange list, the next set of unfamiliar words is the French section: follets, lutins, and magots. According to my French-English/English-French dictionary, follet is just an adjective meaning “playful,” but an esprit follet is a sprite or … Continue reading

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The Devil, You Say!

Were you puzzled by a lot of the words in Tuesday’s post? I was, and I just can’t stand not knowing the meaning of a word. I absolutely have to look up the ones that I didn’t recognize and even … Continue reading

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Say What?

One of my favorite lines from The Water-Babies is this one about St. Brandan. “Then he and his friends got into a hooker . . .” Now, now. Get your mind out of the gutter. A “hooker” is a boat, … Continue reading

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Game Time

There are many lists in The Water-Babies. Let’s turn one of them into a game. Give yourself 1 point for each mythical creature that you recognize from the list below. The maximum possible score is 31. . . . who … Continue reading

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What’s Bugging Her?

Absorbed by books, she never looked up, Nor saw the bug fall in her cup. She drank it down and then felt sick. My gosh, I hope it wasn’t a tick! It made her writhe; it made her squirm. Do … Continue reading

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What I’m Reading Now

I first decided to read Armistead Maupin because he and I have something in common, and that’s how the best relationships begin, isn’t it? I started with his most famous book, Tales of the City. I enjoyed it far more … Continue reading

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Good Advice

From The Water-Babies, some excellent advice for boys: So, when you grow to be a big man, do you behave as all honest fellows should; and never touch a fish or a head of game which belongs to another man … Continue reading

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