"But...but...you HAVE to help me!"

[JoitheArtist]

When I was a kid I always took long soaky baths, accompanied by whatever book I was reading. Or Reader's Digest. (I collected Reader's Digest as a kid. I had most issues from the 1970's, all of the 80's, and all of the 90's up to that point. And had read all of them, too.)

Then when I was a teen I switched to showers, because I thought it was grown up. Then I realized I couldn't read in the shower.

Have insisted on baths ever since.

Best part was freshman and sophomore year in college. Only one bathtub on the floor. Everyone else took showers. The bathtub was in its own little room with a lockable door. Absolute best way to destress after a test.

And no, I never dropped a book in the water. One book did commit harikiri by dissolving its binding glue and suddenly falling apart in my hands and dropping into the water, but that we NOT my fault.

[Jester]

One book did commit harikiri by dissolving its binding glue and suddenly falling apart in my hands and dropping into the water, but that we NOT my fault.

Actually, it might have been.

I would venture a guess that these long baths of yours were HOT baths. Hot baths produce steam. Steam, my friend, dissolves glue. And if the book was already a bit old, or you read that one over several baths.......

Yeah.

[JoitheArtist]

Actually, it might have been.

I would venture a guess that these long baths of yours were HOT baths. Hot baths produce steam. Steam, my friend, dissolves glue. And if the book was already a bit old, or you read that one over several baths.......

Yeah.

The book was from a garage sale, and the binding was already shot to hell.

But it was still the book's fault. Damn suicidal YA books....

[Iris Kojiro]

I didn't put nearly enough points in my DEX score as a kid to be able to read a book in a bathtub or a shower without getting the book wet.

In all seriousness, I admire your dedication to books, and I'll freely admit that I should read more books of my own free will than I do now. I do read a lot of (non-trashy) news, for all that's worth.

[Naaman]

I'd probably give the shower option a go if it wasn't for my piss poor eyes

-7.5 & -7.75, I can read a book unaided it it's about 3" from my face

As for dropping books in the bath, only one but it was Battlefield Earth and deserved everything it got

[bunnyboy]

Remember, folks, language evolves. It always has, it always will. What was "proper" then may not be "proper" anymore. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of anything goes, and prefer people who speak intelligently. But if we get locked into what "should" be based on what has been, we are losing the evolutionary aspect to the language that is so damn important for continued communication.

I think I heard one of my elnglish teachers at some point put it this way, the only languages that are static are confined to the two places the dead go, churches or coffins (i.e. fixed languages are as a rule liturgical or extinct.)

and remember, it is proper to end a sentence in a preposition....GERMANIC LANGUAGE ENGLISH FTW!

[SylviasDaddy]

"12pm" is generally accepted AS noon.

Just because something "generally accepted" does not make it so.

It is "generally accepted" that Sherlock Holmes is famous for saying "Elementary, my dear Watson" -- but that phrase is found nowhere in the four novels and fifty-six short stories.

Remember, folks, language evolves. It always has, it always will. What was "proper" then may not be "proper" anymore.

I disagree.

To spin a parallel:

To build a particular building, one must use the materials for the building according to the plan for the building. If, for example, I wish to build a brick garage, I must use the materials for a brick garage and arrange them according to the plans for a brick garage. I cannot arrange the materials for a brick garage according to the plans for a barbecue pit, or arrange the materials of a chicken-coop according to the plans for a brick garage, and expect to end up with a brick garage.

A language consists of two parts: the lexicon (the set of words used in that language), and the grammar (the rules for utilizing the lexicon).

If I am to speak or write a language, I must use that language's lexicon according to that language's grammar.

By French law, L'Académie française has the authority to regulate the French language. They alone can approve changes to its lexicon or grammar.

No similar authority exists to regulate the English language. Until such authority is established, therefore, no individual or group of individuals has the power to change the language. It is to be used as it exists. To do otherwise is improper, no matter how many people do it, no matter how many people accept it.

Paradoxical as it may seem, the English language is greater than its speakers.

[Chromatix]

I disagree with *that*. If there is no de jure standard, then all that is left is the de facto standard. Which is the speakers themselves.

The Oxford and Cambridge (and Webster) dictionaries are not definitions of the language. They are treated as such in isolated circumstances, such as for word games, but that is in fact not what they are. They are a product of research into the language. As the language changes, words are added to the dictionary and meanings are added to existing words. At the same time, many old words and usages are left in the dictionary even though nobody uses them any more, because the old texts still exist and need to be understood by readers.

In any case, French is a good example of how de jure standardisation of language doesn't work. Officially, French is not supposed to "borrow" words from other languages - there must be deliberation over how to make a brand-new, genuinely French word for each new term. Yet French-speakers in practice use words like "le week-end" and so on, habitually. French road signs say "STOP" - it's only in Quebec, where they are even more anal-retentive about their language, that they say "ARRET".

[Broomjockey]

Okay, I'm in training to be an editor, and I'm finding this off-topic and argumentative. Everyone knock it off now. Either continue through PMs or start a thead on fratching, but there isn't to be any more grammatical or lingusitic arguments in this thread.

[McGoddess09]

I remember in Sophmore Biology class, I had a book I was reading for fun on my desk. One of the boys turned and looked at the book and said to me "You read alot. Does that mean you do witchcraft?"

I love reading. At the age of 10, I was reading Lord of the Rings and understanding every word in it. Now, I tend to use the old way of speaking in my papers and get them marked wrong if my classmates are looking over it. It's so funny to have the teacher look at them and say "Hey! It's right! Why did you mark it wrong?" My classmates never heard of the word 'whilst'. This was the Honors class.

It saddens me. I devour every book that is placed in front of my hands and the people around me tell me they hate to read and ask me why I even like it. I weep for them all.

[purplecat41877]

It takes me 15 to do my makeup.

I can do my makeup in about 2 minutes. I don't even use a mirror.

[Severen13]

I got this all the time during middle and high school. I'm always reading something for fun. Most of my classmates in the little hick town I lived in teased me over it, saying that I was only reading that Really Long Book because it made me "look smart". Or there was no way that I could have finished the reading assignment a week before it was due. Never mind that I read at a college level by the time I got to middle school.

At a couple of jobs I had, I faced a repeat of this song and dance. Look, dumbass, I don't tease you for watching soaps or Jackass on your lunch break. Don't tease me because I'm reading Pratchett (and laughing my head off) on mine.

I used to get that. People would say, "Severen, every time I see you, you're reading a different book."

That usually happens when I start reading a new book after finishing the old book.

[TimmyHate]

*steps out of the intellectual closest and stands proudly as a "reader"* (Cookies for the reference)

I LOVE reading. Instilled in me by two English teachers for parents, i was in my younger years NEVER seen without a book. When my parents were taking sports camps I'd sometimes be reading the same coursebooks the high school students were reading...

Even at work I keep myself sane between calls reading. Currently in my desk drawer: "Models of Madness" (http://www.amazon.com/Models-Madness...dp/1583919066)...you know..."light" reading

(I should point out I'm a psych major...but this book has never been required reading for my papers (though was written by my favorite prof)).

Currently by my bed: "Faking It - The quest for authenticity in popular music" (http://www.amazon.com/Faking-Quest-A...8228209&sr=1-4). Heard it mentioned in one of my courses last semester and picked it up at the university bookshop.

Next up: Snoop - what your stuff says about you (http://www.amazon.com/Snoop-What-You...8228268&sr=1-1).

I consider myself weird as 99% of what i like to read are books from university presses - i like a good novel every now and then, but normally I'm into my non-fiction.

*ends bookgeekyness (It is too a word!)*

[jedimaster91]

*joins the ranks of book nerds*

I have in my possession a Dictionary of American Idioms. I squeed like a rabid fangirl when I saw it at the bookstore. Stuff like that makes me happy. I also took a really nice thesaurus off a friend of mine who won it in some kind of contest and didn't want it.

[SorchaMochrie]

My father, who isn't a scholar by any definition, bought me a dictionary for my birthday when I was about 11.

I didn't have a collage reading level till eight grade.

I also "hyper focus" when reading, playing video games or sewing.
I have ADD. I was labeled gifted/learning disabled. My reading comprehension and vocabulary were off the charts, my hand writing and spelling were sadly less impressive. I was found to have an issue with "visual processing"

I love reading but hate writing. Even writing posts to this board make me glad I use firefox with its auto spell check. In school I disliked writing so much I would procrastinate terribly, and often didn't get my work turned in. Other times I decided that I understood the course work well enough and didn't need the practice of homework. Unfortunately you can't get good grades simply by doing well on the tests. My mom took away my Nintendo, television, social life and every last novel in my room.

In eight grade my mom picked up 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and How to Win Friends and Influence People for me at a book fair. Guess which one I never read.

I disturbed my freshman English teacher by doing a book report on A Clockwork Orange. (the 21 chapter version, not the 20 chapter version more common in the states)

My 9 year old has a 3.67 gpa. (they grade 1-4, in 6 different major sections. Reading is broken into 3 minor sections, writing into 3, listening and speaking into 2 mathematics into 5, science is one and history is one. hm... it would be 3.5 if you count only each major section. Reading is 4 across the board, writing is 3 (the teacher will not give 4s as she wants the student to try and do better always) listening and speaking is 4 math is 4 all the way, science is 3, and history is 3.

My mother sent her the Coraline GN for her birthday this past month, she spent 2 hours reading it when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She loves Through the Looking Glass, and Wizard of Oz. She tried reading the Lost World, but abandoned it during the first chapter, when everyone is meeting. She didn't find it exciting enough. Right now she's reading Inkspell, which is 2 inches thick with as small a typeset as any Steven King book I've read. The girl loves Cornelia Funke.

My biggest fear is that she'll get lazy. She's my main hope for college, out of all 4 kids.

The 14 year old received an F- in English on her last progress report. This is a girl who always has a book on her. She simply will not do the work.

The 12 year old is getting wonderful grades in math, but mediocre ones elsewhere. The boy wants to design (and/or program) video games. I told him he needs at least a 2.5, As or Bs in math and nothing lower than a C on his reports and I'll send him to a special summer camp in Texas in 3 years.

The 10 year old is the biggest disappointment. However she's also the one who seems the most like me. She seems to have the same problem with spelling and handwriting that I did/do. She's in danger of being held back, again. The first time was for social reasons in kindergarten, she was the physically smallest, and emotionally neediest child in her class, her teacher thought she would benefit from the extra time. It seems tho to have been more detrimental, as she's never had as many friends at school again as she did that year, and even 5 years later behaves in the same way, in some vane attempt to relive a more pleasant school time. She is often ostracized by her peers now, and it makes us hurt for her. I'm afraid that if we get involved with her social life it will just make it worse.



On another note, has anyone else heard about the dialect dictionary? I saw a fluff piece on it and now want to find a copy, never mind its as big as an encyclopedia!


Now I need to pick a new book of the shelf and head to bed. I finished the last one at work today.