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:

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

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 :)

"Heeeere's Johnny!"

So.  I'm back.  Again.  I wish I could say I did something cool on my hiatus--like vacationed in Hawaii or was "walker" on the T.V. show The Walking Dead, but I didn't.  I did lots of school.  And I guess that's cool, because I feel smarter.  I've done lots of reading.  Many many books.  Well...as many as I can read with my crazy school schedule.  Quite honestly, the number of books I consumed pale in comparison to the number of books Wendy Darling has read.  You can check her out here.

I have most recently read Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, Native Son by Richard Wright, and The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.  Normally I would like to break up the book into smaller vocabulary sections, but I think with this first book I'll do a list of words that were good, but I didn't define.  The second list will be a word list--complete with definitions and examples from either the book or some other source.  I will put up words for the other books if I have time, but I'm thinking my first post will be about The Exorcist.

Until next time :)

"I rarely think in words at all. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterward."--Albert Einstein

TGWLTG pages 10-39

Hey guys! Here is the first set of vocabulary words from pages 10-39. All the definitions are taken directly from the Miriam Webster Dictionary, and are basically quoted. The sentences are taken straight from the book. The page numbers are included. You can find other sentence examples from http://www.merriam-webster.com/ .


1. Unerring- (adj.) Committing no error.
Synonyms: infallible, unfailing
"He understood with some unerring instinct that it was the one he could plant the deepest and pulled the hardest.” p. 10

2. Cataclysmically- (adv.) a) Flood, Deluge b) Catastrophe c) A momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition; broadly: an event that brings great changes.
Synonyms: alluvion, inundation, spate, torrent, cataract
“Pete sat at the table, looking cataclysmically bored.” p. 13

3. Ostentatious- (adj.) marked by or fond of conspicuous or vainglorious and sometimes pretentious display.
Synonyms: flamboyant, flashy, garish, gaudy, swank
“Mom had refused to notice is ostentatious lack of interest.” p. 13

4. Gall- (n.) a) Bile, something bitter, bitterness of spirit b) Brazen boldness coupled with imprudent assurance and insolence
Synonyms: impudence, moxie, audacity, nerve
“He even had the gall to say he should be home studying for his final exam.” p. 14

5. Indignant- (adj.) Filled with or marked by indignation (anger aroused by something unjust)
Synonyms: angered apoplectic, ballistic, enraged, fuming, incensed
“Tricia would remember the last phrase she got in the clear; her brothers hurt, indignant voice.” p. 23

6. Indecorous- (adj.) not decorous, conflicting with accepted standards of good contuct or good taste.
Synonym: amiss, graceless, inept, infelicitous, wrong
“It seemed indecorous.” p. 23

7. Dubiously- (adv.) a) giving rise to uncertainty; a doubtful promise or outcome; questionable or suspect as to true nature or quality b) unsettled in opinion
Synonym: debatable, disputable, equivocal, fishy, queer, doubtful, questionable
“When she was done she looked around dubiously for something to blot with and decided not to push [her] luck.” p. 24

8. Disquiet- (v.) to take away the peace or tranquility of; to disturb or alarm
Synonym: agitate, alarm, ail, distract, distress, dismay, perturb
“She felt the first minnowy flutter of disquiet.” p. 27

9. Sough- (v.) to make a moaning or sighing sound
Synonym: sigh
“She could hear the sough of the wind through the big old West country pine.” p. 28

10. Ascertained- (v.) a) to make certain, exact or precise b) to find out or learn with certainty
Synonym: discover, realize, learn
“She ascertained that she was still traveling in a straight line.” p. 33

11. Oppressive- (adj.) a) unreasonable burdeonsome or severe b) tyrannical c) overwhelming or depressing to the spirit or senses
Synonyms: bitter, brutal, burdensome, grim, harsh, onerous, severe
“She was suddenly drowning in isolation, choking on a bright and yet oppressive sense of self as a living being cast out from her fellows.” p. 35

12. Pram - (n.) a small lightweight nearly flat bottomed boat with a broad transom and usually squared-off bow
Synonym: cart, carriage, buggy,
“Her voice trembled, became first the wavery voice of a little kid and then almost the shriek of the babies who lies forgotten in her pram.” p. 36

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Reader Review

The Golden Compass is the first book in a three book series. This story is set in a fictional universe that is very similar to ours. The reader is able to relate to the setting, but is also able to recognize some of the more important differences between our reality and the fiction in the story. Some of the more major differences are the fictional races (including talking bears) groups of people, how powerful the "church" is, and the presence of alternate universes appearing in the Aurora Borealis. The story focuses mainly on a powerful group nicknamed the "gobblers"--a group of people who kidnap children, the fact that humans have a daemon--a soul on the outside of the body in the form of an animal, and a little girl named Lyra who is rough around the edges, but is of noble decent, and how she relates and is destined to change it all.

The reader is taken through a journey of life and death and important decisions made by an 11 year old girl. We watch this seemingly emotionally hard girl grow and soften and make mistakes and learn in this beautifully descriptive story. The themes contained in this story are captivating, intense, and relevant to today. Man vs. Nature, the Loss of Innocence, and Power and how it corrupts both man and nature are just a few of the themes prevalent in the novel.

Now what about the movie?

I saw the 2007 movie when it came out. At the time I thought it was well done, but I had yet to read the book. After reading the book, the movie did the story a huge disservice. My biggest complaint is that the movie did not do a stellar job of conveying how important the daemon is and how painful it is when they are severed or too far away from each other. Writing in the novel is painfully beautiful in that the reader feels the fear and the pain that is not conveyed in the movie.

Overall:

I HIGHLY recommend this book for both adults and children alike.

Chapter by chapter study guide can be found here http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/hisdarkmaterials/section1.html

Here is the vocabulary list I came up with in reading the book. The definitions will be accompanied with a sentence from the book (sometimes additional sentences from dictionaries or my brain will be added) and synonyms and antonyms. I will give you the full list now, and the definitions in bits of no more than 20. There are approximately 40 for this book.

Vocabulary List

abated, acclamation, ague, bemused, besotted, calumny, carapace, cloying, corrugated, dais, deft, despondency, desultorily, earnestly, eloquently, festoon, filch, imperious, insolent, inveigled, lithe, lurid, malodorous, obstinately, oratory, pall, pandemonium, phantasmagoria, preposterous, propulsion, qualed, querulously, recompense, rescind, sark, skua, sodden, stolidly, stout, swag, tern, trodden, wraiths.

Definitions 1-10

1. abate- (v) to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish:
a. to deduct or subtract
b. to omit
Synonyms: decrease, weaken, subside
Antonyms: increase, intensify
“He explained his idea to Lyra…when [her] seasickness had abated slightly.”

2. acclamation- (n) a loud shout or other demonstration of welcome, goodwill or approval.
a. An oral vote, especially an enthusiastic vote of approval taken without formal ballot
Synonyms: eclat, plaudit
Antonyms: disapproval
“Then there was acclamation, pandemonium, a crush of bears surging forward to pay homage to Iofur’s conqueror”

3. ague- (n) a malarial fever characterized by regularly returning paroxysms, marked by successive cold, hot and sweating fits
a. a fit of fever or shivering or shaking chills, accompanied by malaise, pains in the bones and joints, etc.; chill
Synonyms: chills, fever, acute
Antonyms: heat, warmth
“He walked with a stick, and…[had] been trembling as if with an ague.”

4. bemused- (adj) bewildered or confused
a. lost in though; preoccupied
Synonyms: baffled
Antonyms: enlighten, illuminate
“…he flattered and bullied Iofur Raknison, and with a bemused willingness the bears set to work.”

5. besotted- (v) intoxicate or stupefy with drink
a. to make stupid or foolish
b. infatuate; obsess
Synonyms: buzzed, intoxicated
Antonyms: intelligent, sharp
“Iofur was besotted with her. Couldn’t stop talking about her. Would do anything for her.”

6. calumny- (n) false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something
a. slander; defamation
Synonyms: libel, vilification, derogation
Antonyms:
“I was betrayed by lesser men…[he] spread lies and calumny about my qualifications. Calumny! Slander!”

7. carapace- (n) a bony or chitinous shield, or shell covering some or all of the dorsal part of an animal, as of a turtle or the exoskeleton covering the head and thorax of a crustacean.
a. A protective shell
Synonym: shell, case
Antonym: interior, inside
“…his helmet enclosed the upper part of his head in a glistening carapace of silver-gray…”

8. cloying- (adj) causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess
a. overly ingratiating or sentimental
b. [cloy] (v) to weary by an excess of food, sweetness, pleasure, etc.; surfeit; satiate
i. to become uninteresting or distasteful through overabundance
Synonyms: glut, sate, bore
Antonyms: amuse, charm
A diet of coke and candy soon cloys.
“...the air was even harder to breathe than in the cell, because all the natural stinks had been overlaid by a heavy layer of cloying perfume.”

9. corrugated- (v) to draw or bend into folds or alternate furrows and ridges
a. to wrinkle, as the skin or face
b. to make irrigation ditches in a field
Synonyms: creased, puckered
Antonyms: flat, smooth
“She swerved that way and saw a gap between the coal spirit barrels and the end of a corrugated iron shed…”

10. dais- (n) a raised platform, as at the front of a room, for a lectern, throne, seats of honor, etc.
a. a raised platform for speakers and honored guests
Synonyms: terrace, stage
Antonyms:
“And on a dais at the far end of the room, a mighty throne reared up high.”

End.