Good morning all!

The snow was falling as I worked on this entry. A steady snow with a bit of a wind from the North. When I told the Ohio relatives we had a four or five inch total they just laughed. When it reached eight inches they were more sympathetic!

I love when folks recommend books to me. One of the best for that is Constant Reader, who also has a new blog (isn't there something about great minds .....?) ;-) That blog may be found at: http://constantreader042.blogspot.com We've shared book suggestions for some years now. Some times we like the recommendations, some times we don't ... and we like that as well!

We both enjoy word books so that will be the trail of books I'll mention today. I'll start with an old favorite: Anguished English: an Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language by Richard Lederer. It is filled with unintentional puns, headlines with a double meaning, and, shall I say, 'creatively' spelled words. While many have made the 'internet circuit' it's still a fun read. For a rollicking good time, try Dewdroppers, Waldos, and Slackers by Rosemary Ostler. Language is always changing, words come and go, or evolve in to new versions. Every time period has it's own fads with new words and phrases. Moving through the decades of the past century, this is a detailed journey through the language of each .... great essays and pictures highlight the lists of words and help evoke that era. It's been rather interesting, seeing which words I recognize (and from how far back)! An update here, now that I've finished the last chapter ... I recognize little of the most current slang. (No surprise, actually). :-)

Quotations With an Attitude: a Wickedly Funny Source Book, by Roy L. Stewart. Perfect for the snarky, the sarcastic, the smart aleck or just to have something funny to say. I had to read this book a little at a time because I was laughing so much. Even the title made me laugh. :-) Speak! The Best Quips, Quotes, and Anecdotes for Dog Lovers, compiled and edited by Connie DuBay. While not a scrapbooker in the more traditional sense, I do keep a sort of journal about my dogs. In addition to photos and text, I like to include the occasional quote so I was very pleased to add this book to my collection. It was fun just to read, too. ;-)

Some of my friends and I like to watch HGTV. Probably too much! We are puzzled by comments made by designers that book shelves are improved by removing at least one third of the books, arranging them by color, or wrapping them all in butcher paper to have a more uniform look. We agree that this might be a good idea when staging a house for sale, but on a day to day basis? Really? How do you find the book you want? Ah well, we all have, and will continue to have, shelves filled with books of all sizes and colors and in an order that works for us. :-)

Later 'gator!

Reading Hermit With Dog