Lolita

"The Squirl and his Squirrel, the Rabs and their Rabbits

Have certain obscure and peculiar habits.

Male hummingbirds make the most exquisite rockets.

The snake when he walks holds his hands in his pockets..."

--Humbert Humbert, "nonsense" poem for Lolita

Hello readers!  For your use and pleasure, an overview of Lolita.  In this post I have included a mini summary of the book (including characters present and quick analysis), reader review(I also have a review on goodreads that you can read), a quick movie mention, themes you might find, overall (what's the point?), an introduction to the next posts vocabulary (a taste, if you will), and resources.  Let's jump in, shall we?

Summary

Humbert Humbert, an attractive pedophile, takes up residence with a widowed mother and her adolescent daughter.  This book is an intimate narrative, directly to the readers, of the inner workings of a man in love with a precocious and naughty child.  More about Humbert than about Lolita, this book follows Humbert from his first love as a teenager and into adulthood, to Lolita, then finally to the tragic end of the novel.

Characters and themes after the jump:

Vladimir Nabokov

Happy March!  I have for you all a treat of disturbance.  Recently I read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.  I think I'll split this book into three parts:  About the Author, a review of the book and useful themes and literary devices, and the vocabulary--which is plentiful.  I will have to find a way to narrow it down.  Here is a quick overview of his life.  If you are interested in reading a full on biography, the book suggests Vladimir Nabokov:  The Russian Years and Vladimir Nabokov:  The American Years by Brian Boyd.  The book calls it the "most comprehensive biography of Nabokov."

"Literature and butterflies are the two sweetest passions known to man."--Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg on April 23, 1899.  He was born into a rich and well cultured family.  He published his first book of poems when he was 17 in 1916, then left St. Petersburg with his family the following year--at the start of the Bolshevik Revolution and the following civil war.  By 1919, the family is in exile.  Nabokov studies in Cambridge for three years from 1919-1922.  At the end of his stay in Cambridge, at the end of March in 1922, his father is assassinated in Berlin.  Nabokov is married at the age of 26 and moves to Berlin.  He is able to support his wife and and son by giving Russian, French, tennis, and boxing lessons.  

His first novel, Mashenka, is published at the age of 27.  He and his family move to and live in Paris for a couple of years at the end of the 1930's, but by 1940, at the fall of Paris during World War II, he and his family emigrate to New York.  He teaches at Wellesley and writes his first novel in English (The Real Life of Sebastian Knight).  

He writes Lolita in 1955.  By 1959 he is made financially independent due to the success of Lolita.  He moves to Switzerland where he dies eighteen years later in Montreux on the second of July.

Resources:  Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Published by Alfred A. Knopf 1955; Bibliography and Chronology found in the book

Next Time:  Book review and literary themes and tools

The Exorcist Words 17-33

Merry Christmas!  Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a demon-possed 12 year old--and that's what you have here today.  At long last, The Exorcist vocabulary list is completed.  Let's skip the fluff and jump straight to the chase.  Words seventeen through thirty-three after the jump.

languidly, non sequitur, novenas, obdurately, proffered, profligate, promulgate, purveyed, sacristan, sedulous, sententious, sibilant, somnambulism, somnolent, tetany, tumefied, valise

In the Words of Good Job, Brain...

Alas, Another broken promise.  But I think this one’s interesting enough, it’s worth it :)

Every week I listen to several choice podcasts—This American Life, Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me, Grammar Girl, and Stuff You Missed in History Class—just to name a few.  Because I was trying to finish up an audio book, I, just today, was able to listen to this week’s episode of Good Job, Brain (Episode # 40 All Quiz Bonanza #8).

Good Job, Brain is this fantastic “off beat trivia podcast.”  It’s wonderful.  Each week is themed and interesting, but my favorite part is the wonderful, warm, welcome in the form of alliteration from our “humble host, Karen.”  This week, we were “dandy and definitely daring data darlings” and they were our “magnificent minutia minding minds and melds.”  Just to give you a taste, because I do love a good alliteration.

This week’s episode had a couple of quizzes that made me super excited because they were about words!  The one I’m going to focus on and repeat for your viewing pleasure is the quiz by co-host Dana. 

1. Natiform-  Anything in the shape of a butt.  Example given is a peach.
2. Darkle-  The opposite of sparkle.  It’s to become dark.
3. Rhinorrhea- runny nose.
4. Overmorrow- the day after tomorrow.
5. Zarf- Karen calls them “java jackets.”  They are the cardboard sleeves around coffee containers
6. Nurdle-  A tiny dab of toothpaste.  “A nurdle of toothpaste.”
7. Grawlix- (also called a quimp) Those “@#$%&!” curse words in  comics.

Also found in this episode, but in a different quiz:

Remember those eels in The Little Mermaid?  Their names were Flotsam and Jetsam.  Those are actually real words that mean real things.  They are appropriate use in The Little Mermaid because these words are aquatic in theme.  Ships to be exact.

Flotsams are things that float up after a ship goes down.

Jetsams are things that are thrown overboard to help the ship from going down.

Their mnemonic? “Flotsam floats.  Jetsam were jettison.”

Resources:

*Stitcher Radio--the great app that allows me to listen to all these podcasts

*“What’s the Difference?"--a noteworthy segment in Good Job, Brain on the differences between words.

*Buzzfeed-- Dana of Good Job, Brain said her quiz segment was inspired by Dave Stopera's article, "27 Everyday Things You Didn't Know Had Names".

Next time:  The rest of the vocabulary for The Exorcist.  What means the word “sibilant”?  Next time, my friends.  Next time :)

Intro To The Graveyard Book. Arie Recommends!

Hey guys!

So I have found my new addiction.  Audible!  It's completely fantastic!  I get to have stories being told to me during my long commutes to and from school, between classes, and as I drift off to sleep.  As wonderful as audible is, this post is not about audible.  This post is about Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book and how I just listened to that awesomness.  (You can see my reviews for the book at both Audible (review done as Arielle on 11-27-12 Sherman, TX) and Goodreads.)

I know I said the next post would be the second half of The Exorcist vocabulary, but I was so excited about The Graveyard Book, that I wanted to do a little introductory blog.  You will most likely see another, but more in-depth blog in a few months when I've gone through the book, but reading it this time.  For now, here's a little taste...after the jump :)

The Exorcist Words 1-16

Hello Readers!

I’m sorry for my small disappearance.  October has been a rough month.  Two surgeries and catching up in school.  Thankfully, I'm feeling much better and am almost caught up in school.  

There are so many good words in The Exorcist!  There were initially 50-ish words I wanted to explore, but I’ve chosen 33 to define.  I’ve broken them up into two sections of about 16 words.  The examples are sentences from the book, unless noted otherwise.  Also, almost all of the definitions are taken from dictionary.com--in most cases verbatim.  You can go to the site to hear and see pronunciation. 

assuage, balustrade, belie, breviary, brogue, cassock, catting, circumlocutions, debenture, droshky, ersatz, esplanade, excoriating, fey, garrulous, inchoate

(my top three favorite words on this list are underlined)

See the definitions of words 1-16 after the jump.

William Peter Blatty

William Peter Blatty is a caucasian, Roman Catholic, American author and filmmaker born on January 7, 1928.  And would you believe he's still alive and kicking!  He is most known for his novel and his part in making the movie The Exorcist.  He is married and had six children (three boys and three girls). He got his education at Georgetown University.  He has written many books.  A couple of other notable novels are Legion (1983) and I, Billy Shakespeare (1969).  You can find out more about Blatty here.  You can also learn neat trivia and Blatty's role in the production of the movie here.  Blatty and his books can also be found on Goodreads.com

Here is a list of words that didn't make the cut.  They didn't make it because I could gather what they meant from context, I just liked the word, or there was a pretty good chance I would come across these again in other books.  There are 49 of them after the jump.