We have tall ceilings in our current living space, for the first time in our married life. We took advantage of it this year, with an 11-foot tall Canaan Fir.

This morning I’m metaphorically biting my nails while one of my brothers is driving all day, through lots of winter weather. I’m mostly praying he somehow avoids ice, but I really just want them to get here safe. And soon. I pray peace and safety for those among you traveling or waiting on travelers this holiday season.

I also look forward to a chance, once the hubbub has passed, to really reflect.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

This is the last set of words from The Hidden by Tobias Hill:

collop, n A portion or piece, especially a small slice of meat; [archaic] a fold of fatty flesh on the body
page 267, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“I don’t know, he said, and for a minute went on working at his second collop of moussaka.”

laniary, adj Adapted for tearing, canine: said of teeth
page 272, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Eleschen had christened it the Pigsty, and the name had stuck, just as Laco’s had, even as it grew obvious that it wasn’t that, Jason finding one by one the familiar evidence of another junkyard-midden: the smashed bole of an amphora, two burnished shards of tableware, a goat’s narrow shoulder blade scarred by laniary grooves.”

troglodytes, pl n Any of the prehistoric people who lived in caves, cave man; people who choose to live alone in seclusion, recluse; people who live in a primitive or degenerate fashion; anthropoid apes
page 283, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Twenty thousand years ago this was an acropolis of troglodytes.”

maquis, n A zone of shrubby plants, chiefly evergreens, growing in areas having a Mediterranean climate; a member of the French underground fighting against the Nazis in World War II
page 284, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The scrub gave way to maquis and he shouldered through.”

ophidian, adj Of or like a snake or serpent
page 310, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Eleschen was wearily spilling wine into three mismatched glasses: she held out one as he watched and Eberhard opened an eye and reached out to accept it in ophidian slow motion.”

shambolic, adj [chiefly British slang] Disorderly or chaotic
page 339, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“He had gone a dozen paces when Eberhard called his name, disappointed and pacific, and he broke into a shambolic run.”

More, more, still more words from The Hidden — and yet another installment of words from The Hidden. Oh! And one more!
More great words on my Words from my reading page.

I can hardly believe I’ve finally gone through all my words from The Hidden! I hardly know what I’ll do next!

Review of book cited here:
The Hidden by Tobias Hill

What new words have you found lately?

Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang translated by Bao Pu, Renee Chiang, and Adi Ignatius (Simon & Schuster, May 19, 2009), 336 pages

Summary
Zhao Ziyang was China’s premier during the Tiananmen Square protests. He acted to prevent the massacre and was forcibly removed from power — and lived the rest of his life under house arrest — because of his actions. He was also instrumental in choreographing and instituting economic reform in the years leading up to what he calls the July Fourth incident. Zhao grew to believe that continued economic reforms and success required political reforms and further openness from the government, in addition to a free press.

In these secret journals, which he recorded around 2000, he not only recounts these events and his economic and political strategies and actions, he also addresses misconceptions and misinformation and accepts responsibility for his own mistakes. The journals were uncovered after Zhao’s death in 2005.

Thoughts
I haven’t read a book that had the word bourgeois in it so many times in a very long time, certainly not since college. I was struck by the huge challenge attempting reforms and instituting a free market would be where the other leaders don’t speak freely to each other.

I was glad for an excuse to learn more about this period of China’s history. I don’t remember the Tiananmen Square massacre (I was still a child), although I’ve heard them referenced probably ever since they first happened.

For a book about economics and politics, I really enjoyed this book. The writing is not overly academic (I’m guessing the conversational tone is because the book is translated from oral journals.) but rather quite approachable. My love for all things China may have smoothed my path through the book, though.

I would have loved to read more about the (notably absent from this book) cultural and religious elements of the story. I would also have loved to read about leading up to and during/after the Beijing Olympics.

I read this book as part of a collaborative effort on the part of many bloggers to collective read and review all 50 of the books Newsweek listed as Books of our Times. The list as a whole was daunting, so we split it up! Great idea, Amy! All 50 books were claimed pretty quickly, and many of the titles have more than one person reviewing them.

The epilogue argues that the China portrayed in this book is today’s China. Whether that’s the case or not, this book is certainly relevant to us, today. China is growing so quickly, in so many sectors. We must pay attention.

See other reviews of books from the Newsweek list.

Other reviews
Have you reviewed this book? Leave me a link and I’ll add it here.

I checked this book out from the library.

I was chatting with one of my sisters-in-law last week, and she asked for recommendations for good Christian fiction books and/or authors. Isn’t this (or a variation on same) a question we all love to be asked?

I think I overwhelmed her with choices.

My first step was to ask what she likes, what she’s read.

Her response: She used to read a lot of Beverly Lewis, but she’s tired of it now; every book sounds the same. She read Ted Dekker’s Blink of an Eye and really, really loved it.

Based on this, I recommended (I’m recapping from memory here; the Facebook chat didn’t save):

• Susan Meissner,
• Melody Carlson,
• Kathleen Y’Barbo,
• Tamara Leigh,
• Beth Pattillo,
• and Allison Pittman.

Of course, I also threw in Rene Gutteridge, although she doesn’t write exactly the same type of books I think she was looking for.

Now I’m thinking I should have added Charlene Baumbich.

Any amendments, additions or deletions? (I have no idea why I’m suddenly quoting a standard city council meeting.) What would you have recommended? Do you agree with those I proffered?

A few fun words that were new to me this week:

pheal, n The cry of the jackal when hunting behind a tiger
page 213, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The pheal rose and fell like a siren, eerie and silver and unearthly.”

lycanthropic, adj Of or pertaining to a mental illness in which one imagines oneself to be a wolf; of or pertaining to the magical power to transform oneself or another into a wolf
page 214, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“She looked like a different animal, larger and wilder, lycanthropic, the moon transforming her.”
Transforming her into a werewolf, that is.

gyre, n A circular or spiral motion, whirl, revolution; a circular or spiral form, ring or vortex
page 225, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The gyre of a skylark.”

moue, n A pouting grimace, a wry face
page 243, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Warm gin, Natsuko had said, making a moue of distaste, and before he could offer himself Eleschen had spoken for him.”

lacuna, n A space where something has been omitted or has come out, gap, hiatus, especially a missing portion in a manuscript, text, etc.; in anatomy and biology, a space, cavity, or depression, specifically, any of the very small cavities in bone that are filled with bone cells
page 245, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“In its lacuna he realised he had lost the thread of the conversation.”
I wanted to look this one up anyway, since it’s the title of the new Barbara Kingsolver book.

strimming, n The act or motion of a weed whacker or string trimmer [I'm improvising on this definition, piecing it together, but it fits the context, so I'm running with it.]
page 249, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Athenian hirelings creeping along the tops with slings strimming through the smoke, like Davids going to meet their Goliaths.”

crenellations, pl n Regular gaps around the top of a castle for firing arrows or guns; the indentations or loopholes in the top of a battlement or wall, embrasure
page 252, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The hillside below was steep, shapeless wild olives and cypress giving way to a boulder beach, monstrous eggs and domes worn smooth by the Ionian; and high above them, to the north, the broken outline of a fortress, crenellations white in the noon sun.”
I should have known this one, but it didn’t come to me immediately.

whinge, v [British colloquialism] To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner n A whine or complaint
page 252, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“You sound like Jason when you whinge.”

louche, adj [French] Questionable, shady, odd
page 260, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Jason was still in bed when they returned, and they pottered around till past noon, abandoning their church clothes, Eleschen luxuriant and louche in her too-short hotel dressing gown, Ben yawning and bone-idle and magnificently bruised, all of them except Eberhard playing Texas Hold ‘Em under Jason’s drowsy tutelage before migrating down to the square for an afternoon measured out in beers, frappés, taverna wine, and platters of sweet hot fried squid at a breezy end-of-jetty table.”

torc, n A rigid piece of personal adornment made from twisted metal, worn as an arm ring, a circular neck ring, or a necklace that is open-ended at the front
page 261, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The inscription on a Moghul ruby; the gold ropes of a Celtic torc; the miracle of Seahenge.”

More, more, still more words from The Hidden — and yet another installment of words from The Hidden. (And we’re not done yet, folks, one more week left!) More great words on my Words from my reading page.

Review of book cited here:
The Hidden by Tobias Hill

What new words have you found lately?

The 2010 Social Justice Challenge is more than a reading challenge. As Amy said in the challenge’s introductory post:

“Reading opens new worlds to us and can sometimes expose the injustice in our own. We have all been powerfully moved by the injustice we have learned about in books and decided we wanted to host a reading project that would encourage us to learn more about these issues in the world.”

This is the crux of why we — Natasha, Amy and I — are hosting this, the Social Justice Challenge.

What is it? Each month has a different theme:

And each month, in addition to reading selections, we’re also challenging participants to take action, to do something to counteract the injustice we’ve been learning about and highlighting that month.

Why am I a part of the Social Justice Challenge? Well, this is why: I am passionate about social justice. I try to live intentionally, conscious of how my choices and actions impact others. My heart is broken by the pain of others, by the injustice in this world.

Join us! Check out the challenge site, which has tons of resources about the individual themes (with more to come!) (and while you’re there, subscribe!), and subscribe to the challenge Twitter account @read4justice.

A Victorian Christmas: Anthology by Catherine Palmer (Tyndale, September 23, 2009), 320 pages

Summary
Four novellas, all previously published before. All historical romances. And all take place around Christmastime. The titles? Angel in the Attic, Lone Star, Under His Wings, and Behold the Lamb.

Thoughts
If you’re looking for sweet, cozy, Christmas stories that read quickly, this may be a good pick for you.

I went into this book with relatively low expectations — I didn’t expect great literature but I did expect heart-warming stories of Christmas. Those expectations were met. I didn’t expect all the stories to be romances, but that’s just because I didn’t read the back cover copy (that’s not rare for me; I try to know as little as possible about a book before I start reading it, while still hopefully knowing enough to ensure I’ll like said book).

I wish I’d enjoyed these more, but still they were an OK way to pass the time.

I was disappointed when I received this book to learn that all of the stories had been previously published in other collections. Although it didn’t diminish my personal enjoyment of the book, I dislike books being repackaged and offered again as new products just to make a buck.

About the author
Catherine Palmer is the author of more than 50 novels. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Tim, where they serve as missionaries in a refugee community. Palmers on Mission, her blog, is about this work. They have two grown sons.

Other reviews
A Book Lover
Relz Reviewz

Have you reviewed this book? Leave me a link and I’ll add it here.

I received this book from the publisher.

This week’s Booking Through Thursday question, suggested by Tammy, (I haven’t participated in ages, but here I am again) is:

What items have you ever used as a bookmark? What is the most unusual item you’ve ever used or seen used?

I have a lot of bookmarks, and I love using them. I have several meaningful handmade ones, which are fun to use. Most of the time, though, I’m fond of business cards. No, not any business cards, but glossy, coated, two-sided artful business cards. I like the business card size better than most bookmark sizes. On a rare occasion, I’ll just grab whatever’s handy — be it a receipt, or a card, maybe a length of yarn, or a hair band.

I do go through phases, though. I’ll use one bookmark for 6 months or so, and then I’ll move on to another.

What do you use to mark your spot?

A few fun words that were new to me this week:

ouzo, adj A colorless Greek liqueur flavored with aniseed
page 148, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“An ouzo carafe full of spring squills.”

squills, pl n Sea onions (the dried bulb of white varieties of a plant of the lily family, formerly used in medicine); scilla (any of a genus of low, bulbous, perennial plants of the lily family, grown for their blue, pink, or white, bell-shaped flowers)
page 148, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“An ouzo carafe full of spring squills.”

parturient, adj Giving birth or about to give birth to young; of childbirth; on the point of coming forth with a discovery, idea, etc.
page 153, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The parturient curves of amphorae.”

schist, n Any of a group of metamorphic rocks containing parallel layers of flaky materials, as mica or talc, and splitting easily into thin, parallel leaves
page 163, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The hole in which he stood was an inverted ziggurat, the broad floor of the Mycenaean room cut out in the middle to reveal its foundations; the largest of the foundation stones — two solid slabs of schist — laid carefully to one side, revealing a shaft grave beneath.”

shagreen, n Rawhide with a rough, granular surface, made from the skin of the horse, seal, etc.; the hard, rough skin of a shark or dogfish, used as a polisher
page 185, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“A Damask blade with a scabbard of shagreen and lacustrine velvet.”

lacustrine, adj Of or having to do with a lake or lakes; found or formed in lakes
page 185, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“A Damask blade with a scabbard of shagreen and lacustrine velvet.”

eugenics, pl n The movement devoted to improving the human species through the control of hereditary factors in mating
page 197, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Firstly, they inculcated fear: but Sparta also made use of eugenics among its own people, and its Hidden will have brought to their homicides a eugenic understanding of what it was they undertook.”
I had this one right, but I was guessing.

unmixed wine, n Undiluted, neat [Ancient Greeks and Romans considered it barbaric to drink wine neat.]
page 198, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“Part of a Spartan child’s education was to watch a helot humiliated by being forced to drink unmixed wine.”
The words, in this case, weren’t confusing, but I wanted to understand why is this was humiliating.

nympholept, n One who longs passionately for the unattainable
page 204, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“And you’re a classic nympholept.”
I was familiar with the prefix, but didn’t understand or know the suffix; defined in the text.

noctilucent, adj Shining in the night, said especially of high-altitude clouds that reflect twilight to the earth long after sunset or long before sunrise
page 210, The Hidden by Tobias Hill
“The trees a noctilucent silver.”
I didn’t know there was a word for this!

More, more, and still more words from The Hidden. (And we’re not done yet, folks!) More great words on my Words from my reading page.

Review of book cited here:
The Hidden by Tobias Hill

What new words have you found lately?

Ghost Writer: A Novel by Rene Gutteridge (Bethany House, 2000), 396 pages

Summary
Senior Editor Jonathan Harper has been the golden boy of his publishing house for years. But now his last several proposals have bombed, his star author has retired, and his marriage has grown distant. And then he starts getting anonymous snippets of a story — his own life story. Pieces he’s never told anyone, and everyone else who knew them is long dead. How can this be?

Thoughts
Ghost Writer (I’m sad it doesn’t have a more unique name, but at the same time, the title does fit.) is set inside a publishing company. Or, rather, its main character is a senior editor at a publishing house. This makes me happy.

While this isn’t Rene Gutteridge’s best writing, I felt that she had to write it, it was a story she had to tell. And in that, it contains more of the author’s heart, soul, than her other books I’ve read had. And this is a touching, deep feeling — I love it when I feel I connect with the writer through their story. So in some way, it’s her best book (that I’ve read).

This is my sixth Gutteridge book, and it won’t be my last (I have 3 more on my shelf, actually):

• Scoop (Occupational Hazards, book 1)
• Snitch (Occupational Hazards, book 2)
• Skid (Occupational Hazards, book 3)
• Boo
• Never the Bride, which is co-authored by Cheryl McKay

About the author
Rene Gutteridge is a comedy writer and novelist. She is the author of more than a dozen novels including the Boo series, My Life as a Doormat, the Occupational Hazards series, and the novelization of the motion picture The Ultimate Gift. She lives in Oklahoma with her family.

Other reviews

Have you reviewed this book? Leave me a link and I’ll add it here.

This book is from my personal library.