On being ... an unexpected pleasure?

By Ingrid Sapona

Though I always have a book on the go (I read mainly at the gym -- it’s a great way to pass time on the bike), I’m not a voracious reader. I don’t consider myself a particularly picky reader, but the reality is there are only so many hours in the day (or on the bike), so I won’t read just anything. I pretty much only read things friends have recommended or that I heard about that sounded interesting.

About half the books I read are things my sisters and friends have lent me. We all buy books and then kind of informally share them. Once in awhile, based on a friend’s description, I’ll pass on a book offered to me (especially if the most she can say about it is: “it was interesting”) -- but I give most things that come from friends at least a try.

The rest of the books I read are those I’ve heard about somewhere and got from the library. The Toronto Public Library has a great on-line catalog and you can order books from it via the Internet. To order a title you simply place a hold on it and they forward a copy of it to your local branch. When a book you’ve ordered comes, you get an automated message telling you that you have a week to pick it up at your branch.

I routinely skim the weekend book reviews and every now and then a review peaks my interest and I order the book from the library. As well, I occasionally go to book readings and if I hear an author and think they’re interesting, I might order one of their works from the library.

I also end up ordering from the library books that I hear about on t.v. Yes, some are ones I’ve heard about on Oprah -- but, it’s usually not her Book Club selections I’m interested in -- it’s usually some work of non-fiction that a guest has written. (Ok, some are “self-help”, but who couldn’t use a little help now and then??)

By far, my biggest source of reading inspiration comes from guests on Charlie Rose. The thing I love most about his show is how surprisingly interesting I find many of his guests. At the top of every broadcast he briefly previews the guests and topics and sometimes I think, “Jeez, why is he wasting time on that topic, or who cares about that person?” Almost invariably when I think that, by the end of the show I’ve written down some guest’s name and the title of their latest book.

A classic example that still sticks out in my mind was years ago when he had on Mike Hebron, a golf coach. I thought that segment would be a big yawner for me, since I don’t golf and I’m not into competitive sports. But what Hebron had to say about how we learn things was so interesting, I ended up reading his book.

At any given time I have a half-dozen or so books on order at the library. If there’s a waiting list for a particular book, the wait can be months. Because the library’s automated call doesn’t tell you what book has come in, the only way to find out is to go to the library and pick up it up. Half the time I forget what I’ve ordered, but that’s ok -- I think of the book waiting for me as a little gift to myself.

Last week I got a message that a book came in. Because I needed to return one I just finished, I was pleased at the timing. So, yesterday I went to the library. Now, as I mentioned, it’s not unusual for me to I forget having ordered a book. But normally I remember it as soon as I see the title or the author’s name. This time, however, neither rang a bell with me. I quickly read the book jacket as the librarian was checking the book out to me, but that didn’t help either. (Worse yet, the synopsis kind of turned me off.)

I was so baffled, I asked the librarian to double check to make sure it wasn’t a mistake. She did and assured me I had definitely ordered it. All the way home I strained my memory trying to figure out how I heard of the book or author. Adding to the puzzle is the fact that the author is from the Dominican Republic -- surely I’d remember having seen him or heard him, I thought.

I don’t mind admitting that I found it rather disconcerting that I’ve drawn a complete blank about having ordered it -- after all, to order a book from the library requires both intent and action: first you have to search for it by title or author and then to place the hold you have to enter your 13-digit library card number. Hardly steps one sleepwalks through!

Finally, after sleeping on it, I decided the best thing for me to do is just start reading it and enjoy the unexpected pleasure that is no doubt in store for me as I (re)discover what it was about the book or author that made me want to order it!

© 2008 Ingrid Sapona

Word of the Week, Month, and Year: VOTE

In case you're wondering, I'm writing about the verb form of the word.

I don't need to define it for you -- you know what it means. I hope you also know how important it is that you do it. And, if you need a reason -- just think of it as a privilege that many people around the world are not fortunate enough to have.

So, please vote.

Word of the Week: robo-call

I first heard this week's word of the week (robo-call) this morning when Colin Powell used it on Meet the Press. Of course, Powell didn't stop and define it (for those like me who had never heard of the word), but from the context I figured he was referring to those annoying taped phone messages we've all received -- often from telemarketers, but also from various political groups.

When I heard the word, I made a mental note of it, but I didn't rush to look it up or anything. But then, about an hour later, I was reading an article in the Sunday Toronto Star and the word came up in an Associated Press article about -- you guessed it -- the U.S. election. This time, not only did I make a mental note of it (and the fact that it was hypehnated, making it, basically, a compound adjective), I decided to look it up on Merriam-webster.com.

Given that I suspect the term is of fairly new, I wasn't surprised I couldn't find in on Merriam-webster.com. I then turned to WordSpy.com -- the great resource for new words. To my surprise, robocall wasn't listed there either.

So, though I never intended Word of the Week to be on the cutting edge of new words, I'm not opposed to the idea either. Therefore, I offer "robo-call" -- those taped phone messages sent out using an automated calling system. Mind you, I'm not condoning robo-calls, I'm just saying that it seems there is now a name for those annoying calls!

Word of the Week: upon

I chose this week's word of the week for two reasons. First, I've been working on a big editing project for a corporate client -- one with more than half dozen different writers -- and each one of them used "upon". For example: upon receipt of an assignment; upon closure of the file; upon contact with; etc.

The first few times I came across it, I unceremoniously changed "upon" to "on" -- it just sounded more normal to me. After awhile, however, use of "upon" was so prevalent, I began wondering if there was some corporate policy to use "upon" instead of on. (I thought maybe they were using a style sheet I wasn't aware of!)

At some point, I decided I had better look "upon" up, to make sure I could justify making the change. I'm pleased to say I was right, as Merriam.webster.com uses one word to define "upon": on. Interestingly, it also notes that "upon" is from the 12th century (which explains why it sounded so stilted and, well, out-of-date to me).

Anyway -- at the same time that I was lopping off the "up" on all those "upons", I was working on another project where there was a strict length limit based on the number of characters (rather than words). I can't tell you how frustrating it was to cut and paste text into the template we were working on and get an error message that read something like: "17 characters too long". When that happens you find yourself carefully combing through the text, literally looking for ways of eliminating a character here and there. So, when you're in that granular editing mode, you think to yourself -- if I make that "upon" into "on", I can save two characters!

So there you have it -- two reasons you should think twice before using "upon": you can save yourself characters and demonstrate to your readers that you're no longer in the 12th century.

Word of the Week: maverick

I always thought a maverick was a horse. Turns out, I was confusing it with a mustang... oh well.

So, trying hard to make sense of the current U.S. presidential race, I thought I had better look maverick up. Here's how Merriam-webster.com defines it:

1: an unbranded range animal ; especially : a motherless calf
2: an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party

Unfortunately, that doesn't help me much in understanding why being a maverick (or at least seeing ones self as a maverick) makes one particularly appealing as a presidential or vice presidential choice. (Not to mention that it seems kind of odd to think of the head of a party as someone who relished the idea that they don't go along with others in their party...)

I guess I'd rather vote for someone who is qualified, experienced, level-headed, and smart, and who proudly heads a party whose ideals are well reasoned and clearly articulated than someone who seems to prize being a maverick more than anything.

Word of the Week: venerable

I can't help wonder if everyone's as tired as I am of hearing about the venerable financial institutions that are crumbling around us.The first few times I heard the term used to describe Lehman Brothers (or was it Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac? I can't remember), though I thought I knew what venerable meant, I decided to look it up. Here's how Merriam-Webster.com
defines it:

1: deserving to be venerated – used as a title for an Anglican archdeacon or for a Roman Catholic who has been accorded the lowest of three degrees of recognition for sanctity 2: made sacred especially by religious or historical association 3 a: calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments (a venerable jazz musician); broadly: conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence (encouraged by the venerable doctor’s head-nodding) b: impressive by reason of age(under venerable pines)

I think it's likely that most people have meant the third definition for venerable when they're using it to describe financial institutions. On the other hand, maybe the nod to religion in the first and second definitions is more apropos. After all, I think there's a good argument that much of the financial mess we're in was caused by the misplaced reverence people have had for these institutions.

Word of the Week: posh

As is often the case, this week's Word of the Week was something I came across in the newspaper. Those up on pop culture will probably know why I saw the word in the paper this week. Those not up on pop culture might think I was reading about some new high-end restaurant or store. (After all, Merriam-Webster.com defines posh as "elegant, fashionable".)

Well, in truth, it wasn't really the word that was in the news -- it was the person who goes by the name "Posh" (or Posh Spice, to be more accurate).

Actually, as I write this, I realize maybe Word of the Week should have been "news" -- as clearly the definition of what constitutes news is changing from when I was in journalism school. Who would have guessed that someone getting a new hairstyle would be news!