At a very early age, I fell in love with words, and I was fortunate to have parents who encouraged my passion for reading and writing. Numbers may be my nemesis, but words have always been my friends.
Are you a word nerd like me? I hope you are, because this week’s reading list is all about language. I wasn’t planning on making today’s column about words, but I came across a new title that prompted me to search the library’s catalog for additional linguistic-related books. Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day by Judith Tschann piqued my interest after reading the publisher’s description: “Food historian Judith Tschann celebrates this glorious intersection of linguistic and culinary affinities…a decadent romp through the history of food words.” I love words—and I happen to love food—so this is a win-win in my world. The best thing about this is that I can eat my words and not feel bad about it.
Writing guides advise against using overly wordy sentences, or what is sometimes referred to as “word salad.” I agree with this advice. However, enjoying a salad of words sounds fun and delicious. Therefore, I encourage word nerds to indulge your wordy appetite by checking out the titles in this week’s reading list. Bonne lecture and bon appétit!
- Don’t Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth About Language by David Shariatmadari.
- Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing: Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language by Daniel Tammet.
- The Illustrated Book of Sayings: Curious Expressions from Around the World by Ella Frances Sanders.
- Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day: The Delightful History of Food Language by Judith Tschann.
- Why Do We Say That?: 101 Idioms, Phrases, Sayings & Facts! A Brief History on Where They Come From! by Scott Matthews.
New at the Library
Fiction
- Burning Season by Kiki Swinson.
- The Enigma of Garlic by Alexander McCall Smith.
- In the Orchard by Eliza Minot.
Nonfiction
- The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica by Naira De Gracia.
- Mind Over Batter: 75 Recipes for Baking as Therapy by Jack Hazan.
- The Time-Saving Mom: How to Juggle a Lot, Enjoy Your Life, and Accomplish What Matters Most by Crystal Paine.
Children
- A Day at the Petting Zoo: DK Super Readers, Pre-Level by DK Publishing.
- A Girl Can Build Anything written by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Keisha Morris.
- The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman.
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries collection. Find more in our catalog, or call 360-906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
Jan Johnston, Collection Manager
Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org.