I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: WRSU 89.7 FM.

Coming straight out of Rutgers University in New Brunswick (my grad school alma mater), this was the first station that I happened upon while I was scanning the lower numbers on the radio station.

The brief set that I heard was amazing.

I heard the end of a song that I didn’t know, but which I found very intriguing. It was followed by Les Claypool’s new track “Mushroom Men” (which was wonderful) and then the 180-Gs doing an a capella rendition of Negativland’s “Christianity is Stupid.” I had heard about this band but never heard one of their recordings.  First, if you’ve never heard Negativland, then you’re missing out.  They are a surreal band of audio collagists, playing with sounds and samples and all kinds of weird things.  To have an a capella rendition of a five minute song, the bulk of which is a spoken loudspeakered voice saying “Christianity is Stupid” goes beyond bizarre into the sublime. I have tuned to this station from time to time and each DJ plays his or her own weird and often wonderful thing. What a great experience.

[READ: May 14, 2009] Alphabet Juice

My mother-in-law gave me this book for Christmas because she heard about it on NPR and thought I’d like it. And boy was she right.

I hadn’t heard of this book, although actually I’m sure I had–but I ignored it.  Roy Blount Jr is on Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, NPR’s news quiz, almost every week.   We love the show because it is funny and it tests your awareness of what’s going on in the world (both serious and ridiculous).  And we try our best to get our kids to let us listen to it each week.  After stating who that week’s panelists are, Peter Sagal says what his or her latest book is.   I know I heard them say this title after I received the book, but that’s a different matter all together.

And yes, I want Carl Kasell’s voice on my answering machine.

So what is this incredibly long-titled tome?

This book is a loving look at words.  All kinds of words.  And the origins of said words.  It is like a dictionary in that it is alphabetical, but this is a dictionary that is not only education, it is fun to read (although Blount admits to reading the American Heritage Dictionary to see if he is cited in it.  He isn’t.  Although many other famous writers are, and I am compelled to find this edition of the dictionary and check it out.)

Blount chooses words that he finds interesting, peculiar or criminally misused.  He gives an etymological explanation (always accurate, definitely funny) of the words, and often gives a clever example (including original poetry) to show proper usage.

Blount himself, as anyone who has listen to Wait Wait will know is very funny.  And this book displays his talents very well.  He revels in wordplay, and delights in what he calls the sonicky nature of words.  Sonicky is a neologism for a word that “sensuously evoke[s] the essence of the word [like] queasy or rickety or zest or sluggish.”  He has a great affinity for these words, relishing the way the words feel in your mouth as you say them.

He also enjoys correcting common misuse of words.  He especially hates people who use “myself” for “me” or “my,” as if they feel that myself sounds more proper.  He states that, If

you refer to yourself as myself instead of I (as in “Can Trudy and myself go dig in the sandbox, now?”), I have to tell you that you’re making a spectacle of yourself. Not an entertaining spectacle, but rather the kind of spectacle that makes people think to themselves, “Oh Jeez.”

Blount is also a sports writer of some sort (I could look up exactly what, but I won’t).  He enjoys quoting famous sports personalities and their abuse of language, with mixed metaphors being just the tip of the pool of verbal swill.

Blount is also a big fan of (and a contributor to) Urban Dictionary.com

I must have read about two dozen items in this book to Sarah, and now that I’ m looking for them to sample, I cannot find them anywhere. More’s the pity.  Except that you’ll have to take my word for it and read it for yourself.

This is  definitely a dip-in book. I would read a few pages a day and get my fill, then put it aside for something with a plot.  But by the end I couldn’t wait to see what he would do with the next letter of the alphabet.  Even the paragraphs about the letters themselves were fascinating.

Blount has over 20 books out which is daunting.  I think I’d like to read more.  I wonder if I will.

DIGRESSION: Dip-in books make perfect gifts.  It seems that every book I get for Christmas is a dip-in book.  Not that I mind at all, especially since I’m unlikely to buy them for myself.  But they do seem like the perfect gift: you don’t labor someone with a plot they may not like; rather, you give them something to sample for several months afterwards.

DIGRESSION PT 2: I am intrigued to find that people who bought this book on Amazon also bought 2666: A Novel by Robert Bolaño.  If only because I understand it to be a very difficult but rewarding read.  Which this book was not (difficult, but it was enjoyable).

For ease of searching I include: Bolano.