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Hello, fellow lovers of brilliant writing! I ran across a book this summer called Ella Minnow Pea (A Novel of Letters), by Mark Dunn. You should definitely check it out! It's a celebration of the letters of the alphabet, wrapped in an engaging story. And here's the kicker. Each chapter progressively omits more and more letters of the alphabet. How cool is that! I was just blown away.
Posts: 1041 | Registered: Aug 2004
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HA! I must have looked at the title of this post five times. I just got the pun. Man I must be slippin' in my old age. I think it was "minnow" that threw me. Not quite phonetic enough at first glance. Gee I feel dumb.
Posts: 471 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Hmm, I don't know really when it came out, but it's definitely geared toward adults. Quite frankly, I don't think a kid would be capable of reading the later chapters. Also, I think the social commentary would be totally lost on them.
It may be a bit gimmicky, but if so it's the best gimmick I've ever read! It truly refreshed my love of the language, and my appreciation of how complex and beautiful it can be.
And a few parts had me laughing out loud, and that tends to be a rare thing.
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I got it, but then I'm the tender age of thirty-five. And I spend waaaaay too much time with fuzzy creatures reciting the alphabet.
Posts: 2022 | Registered: Jul 2003
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I read this book a few years ago when it first came out. It is very clever. I agree that a young child would not understand the political overtones, but the fable itself is interesting. I found myself wondering as each chapter progressed how the author was going to be able to tell the story with fewer and fewer letters. Don't let the title fool you, it is well crafted.
Posts: 173 | Registered: Dec 2002
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It reminds me of a book I read not too long ago called Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. Except the book you mentioned is fiction and the one I read is non. Great stuff, very funny, and I felt more confident regarding English grammar by the end.
I highly recommend it, especially to those who enjoy the history of apostrophes, commas and the like.
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My husband just got me "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" - I had seen it before, but really enjoyed the joke behind the title. I won't share it - I'll make others go out and read it.
TruHero - nice sequel. I promise to read it after something about french demons...
I really should be revising Baruth - guess I'm procrastinating. But the Ravens are on preseason football, so...can't...turn...off...tv...
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YES! It is the start of the best time of the year. FOOTBALL SEASON! WOO HOO! Sorry for the side note, but I couldn't resist. I am afraid my writing is going to suffer, but I will try to be strong. I am a Charger fan from way back, so I really have nothing to look forward to. I don't know why I bother, but I still have hope. Someday... someday. Ella minnow pea, sounds interesting... maybe later. Again, back to what I was doing.
Posts: 471 | Registered: Sep 2003
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TruHero, I always read while the commercials are on. In fact, last November I was doing NaNoWriMo and I was actually writing on the laptop while watching football. Sometimes multi-tasking will keep you young Posts: 173 | Registered: Dec 2002
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Double tasking always messes up my channel surfing. I sometimes watch 3 games at one time. No time for writing during that time. I will just have to make some sacrifices. Posts: 471 | Registered: Sep 2003
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