A Couple Of Links

Wednesday snuck up on me this week. Thankfully the Internet provided me with a couple of interesting articles from BBC News yesterday.

First, Jane Austen may appear on British money. This is exciting to me because of my great love for Austen. I would seriously consider traveling to England to get my hands on Jane Austen money (and also because I've always wanted to go to England).

Second, a discussion of whether adults should read children's books. My answer to that question is a resounding yes (and not just because I enjoy re-reading the Betsy-Tacy books every once in a while). A good story is a good story and, really, people should feel free to read whatever they want to read.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm facing a conundrum. I can't decide what to read next.

It's the first time I've had this problem all year but it's not for a lack of options. I still have several Christmas presents (and at least one birthday present from last year) in my TBR [to be read] pile. But none of them feel like the right book to read next. There are at least two reasons for that.

The first reason is that I finished John Green's Looking for Alaska last night. It's phenomenal, but it's kind of heavy. I want to read something a little lighter next.

The second reason is pretty much the same as the first one now that I think about it: summer (and my birthday) is fast approaching and I want to read something summery (read: light) to honor my favorite season.

The stuff at the top of my TBR pile doesn't feel particularly summery. I do have a Jennifer Weiner novel, but it's not the Jennifer Weiner book I most want to read. (I will buy the Jennifer Weiner book I most want to read, The Next Best Thing, if I get an Amazon gift card for my birthday. And the odds of that are pretty good.)

If I don't want to read any unread books, then I'm left with books I've read. But that has its own problems. For starters, how do I narrow it down? Although I am leaning towards re-reading a YA series. But, again, which one? I know I just read Veronica Roth's Divergent books and Kiera Cass' Selection books a month ago, but they're both begging to be read again. I should really hold off on the Divergent books until October, though, because that's when Allegiant is coming out. The Selection books are kind of perfect summer books, but I just read them a month ago. I'd all but decided to re-read Scott Westerfeld's Uglies books since it's been six months since I read them, but then a voice in my head just whispered, "Harry Potter." And I definitely have a history of reading Harry Potter books in the summer, but seven books is kind of a big commitment - I would like to get back to my TBR pile at some point this summer.

There is, of course, a third option that I'm not really considering: I could go to the library. I know the library is a veritable treasure trove of books I've never read. But my TBR list is really long and I don't currently feel up to wading through it to find books to check out.

I think I've just come up with the perfect book, actually: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I haven't read it since I was in college and I loved it. I saw a reference to it on the Internet recently and thought that I should re-read it, but then I forgot (of course). But I just saw it on my bookshelf and it all came back. Yes, I believe I will read The Mists of Avalon.

I'm A Book Addict

I'd never really thought of it in those terms before, but I fit pretty much all of BuzzFeed's 25 signs you're addicted to books. And if I read it on the Internet it must be true, right? Joking aside, I love that list. It is very, very me.

I love that the first item on the list uses a GIF from Matilda to illustrate its point. I've never seen the movie, but I read the book in elementary school and I still have it. I haven't read it in years, but I think it's time to give it a re-read. I really should read it before I see Matilda on Broadway in December.

The other items on the list that really hit close to home were those that talked about books having a great impact on one's emotions and books causing the reader to make bad decisions with respect to eating and sleeping. The sleeping thing is a real issue for me right now. I keep choosing reading over sleeping even though I know it will screw up my sleep patterns; the books are just so good that I don't care. (And any book that I choose over sleep must be good because I love sleep.)

I wish I knew where the "Baby Got Back"-inspired mug came from. I must have it. If you know where I can purchase it, please let me know.

Fun With Dialects

A Facebook friend posted the link to this group of maps that show various American dialects and I thought, "I'll have to check that out." Then I saw a bunch of different people talking about the maps on Twitter and thought, "I'm going to check that out right now."

It's pretty interesting. Some of the findings match my expectations, while others don't. For example, I pronounce "crayon" the way the map says I should based on my Delaware Valley roots. But here's the thing: I know very few people from the Delaware Valley who pronounce "crayon" the way I do - most people I knew growing up said "crown." I don't know how I learned to pronounce "crayon" the correct way, but I did; it's the same with "water." Speaking of, I'm surprised "water" didn't make the cut since I can think of three pronunciations off the top of my head.

I learned some things, too. I had no idea that so many people have no idea how to pronounce "Bowie knife." I learned how to pronounce it when I was a kid and we were driving past Bowie, MD and I pronounced it like David Bowie and my dad told me I was wrong and explained about Jim Bowie and the Bowie knife. Also, I finally understand why the creepy Morgan & Morgan guy says "law-yer;" I always thought he was being obnoxious but it turns out he was just being Southern.

As far as the hoagie map is concerned, that sandwich was invented in Philadelphia so I think the rest of the country should just accept that it's a hoagie. And that's a fairly recent stance for me. We called that sandwich a sub when I was growing up (my dad isn't from the Delaware Valley) and I always thought the word "hoagie" was dumb. But I really started to embrace "hoagie" when I moved to Florida. It will be interesting to see if I revert to calling it a sub if when I move back to Philly.