Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4
#25321 03/29/01 07:15 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
B
veteran
Offline
veteran
B
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
Re-read books
A really good book is one you will want to read a second time, even though you know how it comes out. A great book is one you will read 3, 4 or more times (or every couple years or so). A mystery novel/story which you read over and over is a great work of literature, and I have a large number of them which I have read 10 or more times and expect to keep on reading every so often. A serious reader is one who can read a book more than once and enjoy it. We are a vanishing breed already (seems as though few young people read books much any more for pleasure) and may get even scarcer as the net and the TV and talking books replace our dear, cherished hard-copy books.


#25322 03/29/01 07:26 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear bridget96: Interesting that Phlegethon and phlogiston, are the opposites of phlegmatic and phlegm. The first two are hot, and the second two are cold.


#25323 03/29/01 08:11 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Tsuwm, you posted: my postaday:
is this your Minimum Daily Requirement?


#25324 03/29/01 08:14 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
H
addict
Offline
addict
H
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
The adjective 'stygian' means dark, basically. Interesting to know how this applies to the Styx, if that was
the river of hate.


I understand that stygian does come from Styx, and that it means dark because the Styx is in Hades - a dark, gloomy, even stygian place.


#25325 03/29/01 11:57 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
N
addict
Offline
addict
N
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
A serious reader is one who can read a book more than once and enjoy it.

Can you still consider yourself a serious reader if the reason you enjoy the book is that you don't remember the plot or the characters from the previous readings (even though you do remember having read it)? Since my retention leaves something to be desired, I'm beginning to think that what I enjoy is the process of reading. Is that weird?


#25326 03/30/01 03:33 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
G
old hand
Offline
old hand
G
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
An inchoate thought seems to fit the term, IMHO; maybe even an incipient one. I know, it's not just one word, as has already been posted, but inchoate seems appropriate to me.

Welcome to Bedlam


#25327 03/30/01 11:31 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
I
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
I
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
I stick by "um" as the word most often used by persons whose tongues have been caught in the headlights, but someone who knows French might mint a new bit of blabbery on the lines of faux pa (no matter how it's spelled). I thought one meaning "empty mouthed" or "clipped tongue" or something would be good. (I believe I've often heard my own tongue-tipped words referred to as "idiot" by loved ones.) As long as we're at it, what about one for spellings on the tip of one's fingers?

Binky


#25328 03/30/01 01:41 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
I
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
I
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Can anyone correctly quote the a sentence from one of Emily Dickinson's letters? My books are not accessible right now. Close as I can get is, "To live is so astonishing, it hardly leaves time for anything else."

Since it's on the tip of my tongue, I thought this as good a place as any.


This is Binky, wishing you a pleasant from the rings of Saturn, signing off.

#25329 03/30/01 03:55 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
B
veteran
Offline
veteran
B
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
In reply to:

Is that weird?



Not at all. I love to read to the extent that I spend a good deal of time reading stuff that isn't worth the time, effort or expense. If I'm at the table alone, as when eating what little breakfast I eat (my wife is out of the house before I get up), I find myself reading labels on bottles, women's shoe catalogs waiting to be discarded, etc.


#25330 03/30/01 05:15 PM
A
Anonymous
Unregistered
Anonymous
Unregistered
A
), I find myself reading labels on bottles

[immensely-relieved-e]

so does this mean i'm not the only one in the world with a habit of reading the labels on my shampoo bottles as i wait the requisite 60 seconds for my conditioner to take effect?? do any of you go so far as to say the words in your head, quickly, to see if you can make it all the way down the list without stumbling? (try saying cocomidopropyl hydroxysultane three times fast). even Green shampoos have wonderfully complex ingredient lists



Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,915
Posts230,003
Members9,198
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
testawad, Bill_L, achz, MAGNVSTALSMA, Burlyfish
9,198 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 994 guests, and 7 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,965
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,956
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2025 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5