Dani

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Dani鈥檚 Bookshelves

to-read‎ (21)
currently-reading‎ (8)

read‎ (548)
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Dani is Currently Reading

Dani is currently reading

The Liar's Dictionary

by Eley Williams

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Dani said: " Struggling to get into this book so far - I鈥檝e checked the publication dates and it's almost definitely a coincidence* that this has a lot of overlap with Pip Williams鈥� Dictionary of Lost Words, but whereas that one was a page turner, this one seems Struggling to get into this book so far - I鈥檝e checked the publication dates and it's almost definitely a coincidence* that this has a lot of overlap with Pip Williams鈥� Dictionary of Lost Words, but whereas that one was a page turner, this one seems to be more about putting in word definitions for the sake of it. Which shouldn鈥檛 bother me as much as it does, because I can get lost in a dictionary for hours just reading and following a trail and mulling over definitions.

Maybe it鈥檚 because I don鈥檛 know when Eley Williams鈥� definitions at real or made up. She uses words that claim to be real but that the internet doesn鈥檛 know, which, these days, implies they鈥檙e made up. And that is a key part of the book鈥檚 plot, so maybe these will be revealed as such later in the book.

I am only on p.19 and have started adding notes questioning some of the word choices: how can something rigid drip? Was there really ever an expression where not your grandmother but your weasel is unteachable? (Has keeping weasels ever been a thing, even, I am now wondering鈥�. Stoats and ferrets, and in literature, Lyra鈥檚 daemon, Pantalaimon, is often an ermine鈥�. Okay, I鈥檝e looked it up now and apparently a stoat is also an ermine and another name for it is short-tailed weasel, so fair enough鈥�).

I鈥檝e reread the description of the book and it still sounds like a book I want to read, so I will keep going for a bit longer, but so far I am rather disappointed.

*Edited to add: it may not be a coincidence after all. When I looked up yet another dubious word, the internet threw Eleanor Williams鈥� PhD thesis from 2016 in my lap. It seems this book began life as a well-researched paper that a) reads much better than the novel, so far and b) may very well have inspired Pip Williams to write her novel, as this was published four years earlier.

Am now thoroughly enjoying reading the thesis and taking a break from the novel, which seems a bit bizarre but I鈥檓 not complaining! ...more "

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"I鈥檝e put a long comment in as a 鈥榬eview鈥� and I couldn鈥檛 move it to here as this box is limited to a few lines." — Dec 09, 2021 12:32AM

Dec 11, 2021 02:13AM · see review

Dani is currently reading

De vader van Artenio

by Frida Vogels

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Sep 29, 2020 10:29PM

Dani is currently reading

The Story of Wales

by Jon Gower

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(22%)
— Sep 29, 2020 10:29PM

Sep 20, 2020 05:28AM

See all 8 books that Dani is reading鈥�

Dani鈥檚 Quotes

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer

tags: inspirational, talent

8129 likes

“In certi momenti gli occhi di una donna si riempiono di una luce assai pi霉 eloquente di un fiume di parole.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

2 likes

“Most people I know live their lives moving in a constant forward direction, the whole time looking backward.”
― Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

70 likes

“If I could be half the person my dog is, I'd be twice the human I am.”
― Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

tags: dogs

87 likes

“You say that your fare told you that he was a detective?"
"Yes, he did."
"When did he say this?"
"When he left me."
"Did he say anything more?"
"He mentioned his name."
Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me.
"Oh, he mentioned his name, did he? That was imprudent. What was the name that he mentioned?"
鈥淗is name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

tags: mr-sherlock-holmes

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