Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Reading

  • As seen on TikTok

    As seen on TikTok

    So…I was in a TikTok hole as is wont to happen at least to myself, and a girl popped in with something she had found on another girl’s TikTok. It looked like a book and it was called The UItimate Reading Challenge. Almost immediately I went out to find it and then because I had a gift card I ordered it from Amazon.

    I have it in my hot little hands now so…

    A book with the title The Ultimate Reading Challenge. Under this it says Complete a Goal, Open an envelope, and reveal your bookish prize.

    Inside the “book” is a series of tiny envelopes with reading challenges like:

    Read a novella (a short novel typically under 200 pages)

    Write a letter to someone who has influenced your reading life. This could be a parent, teacher, author, bookstore owner, or friend. It’s okay to make it anonymous.

    Attend an author event, in person or virtually

    Listen to a reading themed podcast

    Read a book that features an indigenous person

    And many more.

    I am excited to dive in to this. I have a couple planned out to finish soon so wish me luck.

  • My Current Reading List

    My Current Reading List

    I am a reader who often has multiple books that I am juggling, or on my to be read (TBR) list. I thought I would share the current books that sit there currently.

    The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix : This is one I am currently reading and it is very funny, very tongue in cheek and altogether quite entertaining.

    Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I am currently reading this one as well, and I am enjoying it so far. The NPR review was so intriguing I came home and bought it immediately.

    Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

    Crossings by Alex Landragin: I got this as a new member of the Fantastic Stranglings Book Club through Nowhere Bookshop which is owned by author Jenny Lawson. I haven’t cracked it yet, but I am excited to do so.

    Witches. Sluts. Feminists. by Kristen J. Sollee: I heard Kristen on the podcast The Devil’s Music with Pleasant Gehman and loved her style, so I picked up this book. I am excited to start it.

    Fat Girl Finishing School and Nothing is Okay by Rachel Wiley: Rachel is a Columbus poet who is so talented, and I have been reading these in bits and bobs. Fun Fact: I saw Rachel at the Fat Babes Club of Columbus Body Positive Pool Party last year and I was utterly star struck and just stared at her across the pool like a huge creeper.

    Great Godesses by Nikita Gill: More poetry. This is a gorgeous collection of poems based on mythology. I have been really inspired by poetry recently, and my next class in my MFA program is Fundamentals of Poetry.

    I have more books on the way that I ordered from local bookstores on Independent Bookstore Day Saturday. I am on a brief hiatus from school so I am hoping I can finish one or two of these.

    Are you reading anything fantastic right now? Are you a book juggler who reads more than one book at a time like me?

  • Confessions of a Certifiable Word Nerd

    Confessions of a Certifiable Word Nerd

    I love words. I love the sound of them, learning the meaning of them and the joy of finding just the perfect word when I am writing or speaking. I love to play what my family calls Dictionary games; where you open the dictionary to a random page, find a word you don’t know and tell everyone all about it. I love that moment when I am reading a book and find a word I don’t know. I eagerly run to the dictionary or to google if my dictionary isn’t handy (I prefer the Webster’s Collegiate personally, but Oxford English is nice too!) and find out more about the word, and often write it in my planner if I really like it. My word of the year for last year was pulled straight from Neil Gaiman speaking about his friend Tori Amos, Coruscate which means to sparkle or reflect the light back. As an amateur etymologist and self professed word nerd, I thought I would share with you ten of my absolute favorite words. All definitions are pulled from Google Dictionary because my Websters is not handy at the moment.

    1. Zeitgeist : noun. origin – German, meaning: the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.  “The story captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s”  Literal Translation: Time Spirit
    2. Kerfuffle: noun. origin – British, meaning: a commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views. “There was a kerfuffle over the chairmanship” 
    3. Petrichor: noun. origin – English, meaning: a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather. “other than the petrichor emanating from the rapidly drying grass, there was not a trace of evidence that it had rained at all.”
    4. Onomatopoeia: noun. origin – Greek, meaning: the formation of a word from a sound associated with what it is named (eg. cuckoo, sizzle)
    5. Schadenfreude: noun. origin – German. meaning: pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune. “a business that thrives on schadenfreude” 
    6. Metanoia: noun. origin – Greek. meaning: change in one’s way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion. “what he demanded of people was metanoia, repentance, a complete change of heart” 
    7. Susurrus: noun. origin – Latin. meaning: whispering, murmuring or rustling. “The susurrus of the stream”
    8. Brazen: adjective. origin – Old English. meaning: bold and without shame. “he went about his illegal business with a brazen assurance” 
    9. Hyperbole: noun. origin – Greek. meaning: exagerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. “he vowed revenge with oaths and hyperboles” 
    10. Quixotic: adjective. origin – English. meaning: exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical. ” a vast and perhaps quixotic project” 

    What are some of your favorite words? Why? What do you love most about words; the sounds, the meanings, the way they feel when you say them?