Books, Words, and Writing Has Moved!

Books, Words, and Writing has moved to its new home: http://www.amynelsonmile.net/booksblog/. You can click here to be taken there automatically. My other blog (Amy On The Web) has also moved; its new URL is http://www.amynelsonmile.net/amyblog/. You can click here to be taken to this blog automatically. Please update your bookmarks and feeds, and I look forward to hearing from you in my new spot!

List of Blogging SF/F Writers

Here’s a handy list: SF/F Writers Who Blog. The list includes writers such as Gwenda Bond, Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, Robert J. Sawyer, and Edward Willett. Via SF Signal.

What Kind Of American English Do You Speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English

25% Yankee

10% Dixie

5% Midwestern

5% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Now, if only there were a test for Canadian English! Via Logomacy.

How To Pronounce Those Difficult Literary Names

There’s a great post over at The Millions in which we learn how to pronounce the names of certain authors. Hard To Pronounce Literary Names tells us the correct pronunciation for J. N. Coetzee, Pulitzer, and others. There are some good links here to other pronunciation guides. This is no doubt apocryphal, but I once heard that a university student had misheard “Pulitzer Prize” and wrote that a certain author had been awarded a “pullet surprise.”

The Reader's Bill of Rights

Daniel Pennac has a new book forthcoming called The Rights Of The Reader. It sounds like it's going to be good. Here's the Reader's Bill of Rights which he has put together. It features such items as "the right to read out loud" and "the right to escapism."

Via Rebecca's" Pocket.

So You Think You Know Jane Austen?

Here’s a fun quiz for fans of Jane Austen: So You Think You Know Jane Austen?

The quiz is based on the book by the same name by John Sutherland.

Jane Austen is my all-time favourite author, so I wasn’t real surprised by my result:

You scored 17 out of a possible 18. Are you, perhaps, a time-traveller from the 18th century? Congratulations: have ten thousand a year. You are more than ready to tackle the quiz book itself.

New Coleridge Archival Material Soon To Be Available To The Public

The family of Samuel Taylor Coleridge has donated important archival material to the British Library. The collection holds letters and a manuscript of a previously unknown work. It’s a significant acquisition—there are “350 bound manuscripts and 29 cardboard boxes of loose correspondence.” Via CBC.ca.

Searching For New Authors To Read

I’ve recently re-discovered a handy tool for finding new authors to read. The Literature Map: The Tourist Map of Literature tells you what authors are similar to authors you already enjoy. If you type in the name of a favourite author, the map will generate a cloud of names of other authors who write in a similar style. The authors who are closest to the centre are those who are most similar. For example, if I type in Jane Austen, the following authors appear close to the centre: Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, Harper Lee. A little further away I see Anthony Trollope, Anne Tyler, and Agatha Christie. If I type in James Lee Burke, I get Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Dennis Lehane, and Lee Child as close matches.