Reading n writing

1 October

Sorry for short blog yesterday. I did get a wee bit more writing done, around another 1000 words I think. Hoping to get on and do some more later today.

Arnie the female budgie seems to have settled in very well indeed. Yes, Arnie is a strange name for a female but when Kile’s mum Sam bought him she thought she was a male so he could join Maxi. They decided they didn’t like each other so we ended up with Maxi. Actually, we both like budgies so it was no hardship for Jan to take Maxi when he was offered. We’ll keep Arnie for now but from we’ve seen they are cuddling up nicely together.

Our language is a strange wee beastie, and we perhaps don’t make the best use it, I know I don’t and never have. But did you know that there are such things as tourist guides to help explore both the English language and places if interest where it developed? I didn’t until this morning when Jan asked me what new book I had ordered. However, I couldn’t remember ordering one. What I did order was a subscription to Writing Magazine, plus a free book. I had chosen Wordsmiths and Warriors, The English Language Tourist’s Guide to Britain by David and Hilary Crystal.

I’ve just flipped through it and it looks like an interesting book indeed starting the story in 449AD with the arrival of Hengist and Horsa at Pegwell Bay in Kent. The last chapter is about University College London and the Survey of English Usage. I knew about H&H but hadn’t thought of them for years. The Survey, well, surveys go on all the time don’t they and why should I know about one devoted to English? But there again, The Oxford English Dictionary seem to be looking at English usage and adding new or common words used today.

The next questions is whether or not this book will help me with my writing, and that my friends is something I don’t know just yet. I do quite often use quotes from novels fairly often, like ‘If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen Jack,’ from one Tom Clancy’s Ryanville novels. It’s one of my favourite lines too. Another one is from Colin Dexter where he has Mores saying, ‘Here we go again Lewis, poking about in last days of complete stranger.’ I always credit them within the story line though as I use them, not doing so would be theft in my view.

I have a number of these writers help books about the home and the only one I have read is Stephen King’s On Writing. The major problem I have with them really, is that if I spend time reading them, I will have less time to write or read my large TBR pile. That happened with that diabetes book I bought, and I’ve still not finished that one.

You see, it’s my reading speed that causes part of the problem, I’m a very slow reader. An average sized paperback these days will take me just over a week to finish at around 2-3 hours a night reading. How my dad used to rattle through his cowboy books as quickly as he did I don’t know, sometimes two in a day after he was made redundant in mad Maggie’s early days. I used to go to the library with him and he’d use both his and mother’s cards and come out with 20 books each time. He would be back around ten day later for a new load. Towards the end he had read all the cowboys they had and made a start of some crime fiction.

I got my love of books from dad. Dave wasn’t all that bothered with books, he just couldn’t see any point to books of any sort. Neither could mother but she did read the occasional Jean Plaidy, but not many. The Jayne side of the family as far as I can remember didn’t do much reading at all. Ah well, onwards and upwards as they say …

Today’s photo then …

a heavily scaffolded Oxfam Bookshop in Cambridge.

Today’s funny …

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Elly.
Elly who?
Ellymentary, my dear Watson.