Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the category “Books”

23 Jan 2024
2 Comments

Bard Bits: How Insulting


Shakespeare is an unrefuted wordsmith. He knew how to pen a phrase with a lexiconical fragrance we still admire centuries later such as Romeo’s eloquent description of Juliet: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright.”

Shakespeare could also have his characters sling some stinging verbal mud as in The Comedy of Errors: “The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes.”

While insults aren’t something we should be dwelling on in our present societal focus on mindfulness, Shakespearean insults are more of a study of impactful imagery. There is also a plus of them being quite funny.

Creating a Shakespearean insult involves knowing the terms. Here are a few, some known and others relevant to only Elizabethans.

Ape(n) – 1. Imitator 2. Fool 3. Term of endearment

Beetle-headed(adj) – Thick-headed, doltish

Bootless(adv) – Fruitlessly, uselessly, unsuccessfully, in vain; (adj) fruitless, useless, worthless

Churlish(adj) – 1. Rude, blunt, ungracious 2. Violent, rough, harsh 3. Stiff, hard, unyielding

Candle-Waster(n) – Student, who sits late over his books

Dankish(adj) – Dank, damp, humid

Errant(adj) – Wandering, straying, erring

Fat-kidneyed(adj) – Gross and lubberly

Fustilarian(n) – Smelly old woman

Gorbellied(adj) – Pot-bellied, fat-paunched

Harpy(n) – Half woman/ half vulture

InfectiousTo infect (v) affect, influence, stir

Jolthead(n) – Blockhead, dolt, numbskull

Logger-head (adj) – Thick-headed, stupid, doltish

Month’s Mind(n) – Inclination, liking

Motley -minded(adj) – foolish

Nut-hook(n) – Constable, officer (a hook for pulling down nuts, hence a thief

Onion-eyed(adj) – Eyes filled with tears

Pribble(vb) – Vain chatter and silly quarreling

Rump-fed(adj) – Pampered

Scut – (n) Short tail (as of a deer)

Tottering(adj) – 1. Wavering, vacillating, fluctuating 2. Tattered, ragged, frayed

Varlet(n) – Knave, rogue, rascal

Wag(n) – Mischievous boy

Some of these surely grabbed your attention.

To assemble your insult find a noun and then a couple of adjectives that do it justice, and then begin with “You,” which depending on if it’s the 15th, 16th, or 17th century, is either a formal or informal address:

How about:

You rump-fed, gor-bellied wag!

This might be directed to a youth caught hogging the buffet at family gathering. Or, at a young man showing rude manners. Either way it’s a definite call out by an older person to a younger one.

If you are in need of inspiration I suggest referring to an automatic Shakespearean Insult Generator.

May this post prompt your tongue to choose words other than the usual curses, especially when driving. These also might be handy since it is an election year.

For more droll insults go to: www.classicfm.com
Posted in creativity, historicals, language, Reflections, Shakespeare and tagged , , ,
20 Jan 2024
8 Comments

Word Nerd: Newly Discovered


It’s a new year and I am excited to discover new words, most of which I will probably not use, yet they are so much fun to find and try out.

kenspeckle: conspicuous; easily seen or recognized.

dacker: to totter or stagger.

phub: to ignore a person or one’s surroundings when in a social situation by busying oneself with a phone or other mobile device.

Classic phub stance

bloviate: to speak pompously

spumescent: foamy; foamlike; frothy.

eudemonia: happiness; well-being.

selcouth: strange; uncommon.

cleek: to grasp or seize suddenly.

Cleek my hand—no, not the same

pawky: sly; cunning.

zhuzh: to make something more lively and interesting, stylish, or appealing, as by a small change or addition.

So, which of these caught your eye?

Word Nerd Challenge:What three words are you going to work into a conversation this week?

Posted in creativity, humor, Reflections, Words and tagged ,
21 Dec 2023
7 Comments

Word Nerd: The Write Stuff


I’m in the midst of revising various writing projects so words related to the craft of reading and writing have caught my eye and landed in my inbox.

bibliogony: the art of producing and publishing books.

logophile: a lover of words.

oh, the possibilities

retcon:to later revise an established element of a fictional story.

bowdlerize: to amend a written work by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

quaere: ask; inquire (an imperative used to introduce or suggest a question).

answers forthcoming

bahuvrihi: a compound noun or adjective in which the first word describes the person or object denoted by the second.

Posted in Reading, Reflections, Words, writers and tagged ,
05 Dec 2023

Reader Roundup: October/November


Somehow I lost track of my really good reads from October and I just about missed November’s reads. Here are my five star books from those months.

The Detective’s Assistant by Kate Hannigan

Hannigan presents an engaging embellishment of Kate Warne, a Pinkerton detective, and apparently America’s first woman agent.

While not much is known about Warne, the addition of her orphaned niece, Nell, is what drives the plot. Together they solves cases ranging from murder to preventing the assassination of president-elect Abraham Lincoln.

A coming of age story with a thread of history makes this a book middle readers will want to check out, then again this middle aged reader found it an engaging read as well.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Doerr presents an inventive, mesmerizing tale in the way of a tapestry. Throughout the book readers experience the backside of the tapestry, the chaos of threads intermingled, making it difficult to see the full rendering. The intermingling of characters and situations ranging from far future to distant past to present in Cloud Cuckoo Land is both amazing and puzzling at times, and then the understanding is revealed in the end chapters, just as the flip side of the tapestry reveals the completed picture.
Doerr is an artist of words and a storyteller of significance. His detail and pacing are admirable. His ingenuity as well. A very different story from his first novel, All the Light We Cannot See, yet CCL still showcases the talent of this writer.

The Library by Bella Osborne

The book had me at its title. Then there is the blurb: A book about how a library on the cusp of closure introduces an intergenerational friendship. The read was lovely and was difficult to set down.

The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith

At first the plot lumbers along with its usual disagreements between Precious and Grace about what is right (Grace can be tediously obstinate), it’s driving about in the tired white van, and it’s odd case or two that seemingly goes nowhere.

However, this story has an amazing twist near the middling end will impact future books. This twist definitely raised the rating by injecting some new spice into series.

An Old, Cold Grave (Lane Winslow #3) by Iona Whishaw

Having finished the Maisie Dobbs series by Winspear I was casting about for similar series and discovered Whishaw’s Lane Winslow books on the library’s new arrivals shelf.

Lane Winslow has settled into Kings Cove, Canada after her WWII service, and it is not turning out to be the idyllic place to escape the aspects of danger she experienced during the war.

The first two books were recent murders, this plot focuses on the mystery of a child’s skeleton found when a household of women were repairing their root cellar. Lane once again finds herself in the middle of the investigation and in harm’s way.

With a few more books to go in the Kings Cove series Lane is filling in for Maisie Dobbs quite nicely.

It Begins in Betrayal (#4) by Iona Whishaw

The fourth in the Lane Winslow series provides readers with a tightly-paced plot involving Lane’s friend InspectorDarling being framed in order to recruit Lane back into intelligence work.

A Sorrowful Sanctuary (#5) by Iona Whishaw

Whishaw ups her game in this fifth series entry with a fine balance of intrigue, murder, and interpersonal drama.

The opening scene of Lane and her friends discovering a mortally wounded man drifting in a boat sets up the story, one that is riveting in many ways, including the developing romance between Lane and Inspector Darling.

Going into December with 158 books read towards my annual goal of 101 I am now hoping to surpass my all-time best of 165 books from 2020. I had a bit of downtime that year, and reading was also a way of coping with the stay-at-home during that year. Retirement is proving to be boosting my reading rate, although staying at home is more choice than a mandate and that is perfectly fine with me.

Posted in authors, Book Boosters, Books, popular books, Reading, Reflections, reviews and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Nov 2023
4 Comments

Okinawa! Part One


I’m in Okinawa, Japan, meeting my new granddaughter and engaging in some grandmother time. It takes a household of adults to take care of a newborn.

As a break from grandma time my son took me sightseeing and here are the highlights:

The Botanical Gardens

This a popular site with both locals and tourists. The gardens are interspersed with petting zoo exhibits. My very favorite was the capybara enclosure. As a favor to bloggy pal author Mike Allegra, I shared his book with a capy, who definitely showed an interest in a story about his fellow mellow rodent pals.

My son convinced me to feed the monkeys and not being enamored of these critters (thanks to PBS and Disney, I know what they are capable of doing) I went in with great hesitation. I was immediately mobbed for the sunflower seeds we purchased for them. There’s a monkey on my back proved quite true and then some.

Moving from beasts we fed some beautiful birds.

At least one typical tourist pose needed

We then traveled from the lush gardens to the other side of the island for lunch and a passing visit to the American Village. More to come in Part Two—stay tuned.

Posted in Animals, Family, Reflections, travel and tagged , , , , ,
02 Nov 2023
1 Comment

My Not So Big Year: A Stellar Bird


As our backyard birding intrigues continue a new player has arrived on the scene, actually one player and two cohorts.

We have been used to our little feathered friends: juncos, chickadees, sparrows, finches, the odd guest of cedar waxwing, and obsequious robin.

Then one day a raucous “shack shack shack” sounded from the front yard. Looking out the window revealed a flash of brilliant blue amongst the leaves. Further inspection showed a bird larger than the usual batch of birdies. I recognized the bird as a stellar jay from my Washington state childhood days.

Seeing one after so many years, and caring more about birds now, I observed how odd the stellar jay is in appearance and mannerisms.

First off, they are quirky. They jump about from branch to rock to feeder to birdbath all with flourish of squawk scattering all the feathered residents to safety.

Clearing the competition

Another aspect is their size. Compared to the diminutive chickadee the stellar jay, with its black top-notched hood, long tail, and considerable wingspan, is reminiscent of a pterodactyl.Sounds like one too.

The way it eats is worth a mention. It’s a gobbler. It snatches up the birdseed as if it is guilty of sneaking from the larder. Not a dainty eater it gulps down the food with head raised, moving quickly to secure the next mouthful.

Multiple these shenanigans with two more stellar jays and it becomes one entertaining circus. It’s especially amusing when these big blues try to clamber on top of the bird feeder. They flap their wings trying to balance and forage. It’s laughable.

Should they stay through the winter they will provide a colorful splash on the snowy landscape.

Not a boring interloper, that’s for sure
Posted in Animals, Nature, Reflections, Uncategorized and tagged , ,
16 Sep 2023
10 Comments

A Falling Out Begins


One absolutely appreciated bonus of retirement is enjoying the mellow fall sunshine. I call September weather my Goldilock Days: not too hot, not too cold—just right.

Previous to retirement (this is my second September!) I would look out of my classroom window and long to be outside. That was one commonality I shared with my students. Although I would try to tie up loose ends and get home to enjoy the remaining afternoon, I usually arrived home only to enjoy a sliver of sun before it slipped behind the mountain. My Verilux light is a poor substitute for that warm, comforting kiss of sunlight.

And so, in these fall days, these post-summer days, these halcyon days of retirement I am found sunning like a marmot on my morning patio, napping on my hammock early afternoon, and lounging on my other hammock in the late afternoon.

Lest you think all I do is lounge around, I am landscaping, cleaning, writing, reading, and stacking wood throughout the day.

Unfortunately my Goldilocks time is ending. I used to go for my morning walk by 7 am. Lately it’s 49 degrees at that time and the sun is barely up. By 9 am it’s 60 degrees which is acceptable. Just as the perfect temps of mid-seventies arrive the cold nights appear. By 6 pm there is a chill that sends me inside.

Nothing says summer is ending more than the delivery of our winter wood supply. I feel the calendar days tick down when those wood chunks fill the bins.

Two cords strong

One aspect of full wood bins is knowing I will be cozy warm by the fire reading books and sipping cocoa. For now I’m still reveling in late summer before I fall into winter.

Posted in Reading, Reflections, Seasons and tagged , , , ,
05 Sep 2023
2 Comments

Book Signing!


Sunday, September 10th is Grandparents Day. Last year I booked a signing at Barnes and Noble at it was so successful I’m going back this year.

Mmm, I’m a bit younger

If you are in the Spokane Valley, Washington area this Saturday be sure to stop by the Barnes and Noble. After story time at 11 am I will be signing books until 3pm.

If you can’t make it you can purchase a book from your favorite online source and let me know and I will send you an autographed book plate.

Celebrating somedays!

Someday We Will celebrates that special connection between grandparents and grandchildren. The book was inspired by my visits with my granddaughter. I couldn’t wait for all those special somedays we would share together.

My frames are red—but I don’t think the illustrator knew that!

And my second grandchild is due for her debut coming up the end of this month! I can’t wait to read my book with her.

Hoping you have a special day with your grands!

Surprise find on the internet!
Posted in authors, Books, celebrations, children, Family, holidays, Reading, Reflections and tagged , ,
17 Jul 2023
2 Comments

My Not So Big Year: Junco Journal


Junco Journal

The junco is a common bird, true; however, it has plenty of personality. We learned about juncos this winter when we took to tossing out birdseed under the living room window to avoid trudging in the snow to fill the feeder. Daily a troop of birds ranging from sparrows to doves to juncos would pop by. The consistent crew was a group we referred to as the Jolly Juncos. They would merrily hop about foraging for food in their somber dark hoods and grey suits. They were determined and undeterred in their daily sweep for seed. They helped break the monotony of winter.

In spring we were delighted to find a junco had created a nest in one of my hanging flower baskets.

Leave for a long weekend and surprise!
Quite an artful rendering
Yes, the eggs are tiny
Four eggs!
Mama bird settling in for sitting
Hatchling!
Feed me!
Feed me two!
Dad bird shows up with groceries
Mama bird takes a nest stretch

Unfortunately the birds flew the coop early, no doubt due to the fact that they nested in our patio area and we go through there multiple times a day. I felt terrible until I read about a ornithologist who runs into the same problem when studying juncos. The extra attention needed to band them for tracking can force fledglings to leave the nest early, but the good news is that the survival rate is high. This (I told myself) is what probably happened with our four little nestlings. Mama did return once or twice to the empty nest then disappeared.

I miss having our little junco family as neighbors and wonder if they will return next year.

Posted in Animals, birds, Nature, Reflections, summer and tagged ,
11 Jul 2023
6 Comments

Cowabunga!


The all important Cow Appreciation Day just about snuck past me but my handy National Day calendar alert informed I needed to pay attention. Cows are beyond special—they are bovine.

Having grown up around cows, and having lived across from a dairy farm for twelve years, I have an either an affection or a affectation for cows. I have gathered and created a plethora of cow jokes and cow facts and created a book that unfortunately no publisher is interested in at the moment. That doesn’t stop me from appreciating what Sandra Boynton has done for the cow with her winsome cowtoons and book. Gary Larson has also shown an affinity for cows. One of my other favorites is About Cows. There are scads of other books that regale cows from Dr. Seuss to meditative cows. Maybe the market isn’t ready for yet another tribute to cows.

Sandra Boynton knows her cows
Gary Larson goes to the Far Side about appreciating cows
Embracing the love of cows

Then again, why not? I’m not giving in or giving up even because cows are cool and the world cud appreciate another udderly cow time.

Here are some of my favorite cow jokes I like to toss out to unsuspecting listeners:

Why are dairy farms so noisy? Too many cows have horns.

If good cows go to heaven where do bad cows go? The udder place.

Why did the farmer place bee hives in his pasture? He wanted to live in the land of milk and honey.

What goes “oom oom oom”? A cow walking backwards.

And my parting riddle—

What is the best way to make a milkshake? Have it jump on a pogo stick.

I would love to hear your thoughts on why cows are so cool or a really good cow joke—I have enough bad ones.

Posted in Animals, celebrations, humor, popular books, Reflections and tagged , , ,

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