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.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
Sounds cool. Is it fairly new?
Posted by SamiJo (Member # 2124) on :
That sounds really interesting. I might give it a read, I love books like that.
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
Sounds cool. Is it a children's book?
Posted by ambongan (Member # 2122) on :
Interesting.
What age level is it geared to?
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
I must admit, I'm skeptical. Sounds awful gimmicky.
But then, I may read it and discover it is in fact the best thing ever.
Posted by TruHero (Member # 1766) on :
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.
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
Didn't get it 'til you mentioned it, TruHero.
I'm only 22, I can't be slipping from old age already.
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
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.
Definitely give it a shot.
Posted by punahougirl84 (Member # 1731) on :
Sounds like something I should look for - I'm already reading stuff like that at bedtimes...
wetwilly - you might not be slipping from old age (probably just inexperience at the truly youthful age of 22), but TruHero - he is WAY old
Of course, I'm a few months older than him, and I figured out the title as soon as I read it So TruHero needs a better excuse...
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
Sounds like it's slipstream. Posted by ambongan (Member # 2122) on :
I didn't get the title either until it was pointed out, and even then, I had to repeat it many times to get it.
I'm 26, not old enough to slip either.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
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.
Posted by TruHero (Member # 1766) on :
LOL, punahougirl. We may be old, but we still feel young -- right? I had a list of other excuses, but my dog ate it.
wetwilly, I remember 22. That was how old I was when I got married. Just over 15 years ago. My last year of being single. Good Times, good times.
Maybe I will write a follow-up to this book and call it: Peek you are resting. Punny huh! maybe not. I'll just return to what I was doing.
Posted by ambongan (Member # 2122) on :
Posted by Marianne (Member # 1546) on :
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.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
I got it pretty quick, but I love playing Mad Gabs.
I'm going to try to find it, I could use something else to read.
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
Sounds interesting.
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.
Now, to my library to find Ella, Minnow, Pea.
Posted by punahougirl84 (Member # 1731) on :
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...
Posted by TruHero (Member # 1766) on :
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.
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
Eats, Shoots & Leaves was one of the funniest puncutation books I've ever read! I loved it!
Cute, TruHero. Cute.
Posted by Marianne (Member # 1546) on :
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 Posted by TruHero (Member # 1766) on :
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.
