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And "potsherd" is a fairly common word in the Southwest (that's where I heard it.) But unless you're somewhere where pottery is a common topic of conversation, and/or where theft of pottery from remote areas and/or archeological sites is a major problem, it probably wouldn't come up.

And not only can yogurt be spelled a couple of different ways, it can be pronounced a couple of different ways; I dated an English guy that was always referring to YAHgurts.

Thanks. Or maybe a momentary hit of dyslexia overtook me.

We usually come closer to agreement on books; however, I have appreciated your last two responses. Why?

1) You're right about the trust issue in The Help. It didn't jump out at me when I read the book, but once you pointed it out, I can't let go of it. Good catch.

2) In spite of my review I'll really glad I read Museum Pieces. A complaint I've received from editors and agents about my novels is that I'm not desciptive enough. I watched carefull what Tallent did with description and, while it was too much for my taste, I think I picked up a few pointers. I'm doing a short story now and emphasizing description in my first revision.

Oh - gosh!

The only things that I can really recall well about the books are, indeed, descriptions - the first being the opening scene (I believe) of the two girls in Oldtown, with the snowballs and frito pies; the second is the girl in the kitchen, looking at wishbones and burying olive pits. Those scenes are like paintings, to me. I remember wishing, when I first read it, that you could somehow frame scenes from a book, display them on walls.
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I have, suddenly, somehow, recovered my love of reading. For several years I've continued to read but without the ability to sink into a book for hours/days. I realized when I took some time off work that I really miss "diving in" - so I'm making it a priority these days, and it's coming back to me.

So keep those recommendations coming!

My friend Tessa loves description. We hassle too much/not enough often. The only description we both like is in Pat Conroy's earlier books.

Bonobo's Handshake by Vanessa Woods.

In case people do not know... the Bonobo is a relatively rare ape that looks very similar to a Chimpanzee... but with distinctly different social characteristics. IE Chimps are violent and male dominated, where as Bonobos are placid, like sex a lot, and are female dominated.

The author is a scientist... or at least married to a scientist... but the book that she wrote is is more of a series of personal anecdotes. This is one of those books where the author has a a whole lot of diverse experiences and takes you along for the ride to places where we could never otherwise go.

In this case, the ride is about what it is like to live in war torn Africa, what are some of the less obvious pressure driving these conflicts, along with discovering all about our near relatives Chimps an Bonobos.

Ardy - there's a great talk about bonobos on ted.com. They're amazingly...able.

Martha - Conroy's book about basketball is the only book I've ever read that made me want to play a sport. He made me long for it.

I've never played a sport in my life. That's description!

video link

Thx Mello
here is a link

Eighteen months ago a friend e-mailed me, saying she had a copy of Twilight and asking if I wanted to read it. Immediately I responded, telling her I didn't want to read it. Really, I didn't want to. The all-too-competitive side of me had no interest in supporting a YA writer that made it that big on her first try, and I reminded my friend that I in no way shared her all-consuming interest in vampires. Her response? "Sorry. It's already in the mail." With the right address because soon it arrived. Then began a series of someone noticing I had a copy, asking to borrow it, my saying, "Oh, please, just take it," and their response of, "Oh, no, you'll want to read it." Not! But a couple days ago it made it to spot one and I started it.

Actually I expected to read my fifty pages and stop, but it surprised me. I made it to page 203. Then, knowing that if Edward rescued Bella from danger one more time I'd hurl, I threw the book across the room with great force—as opposed to tossing it aside lightly. (Thank you, Dorothy Parker.)

By that time I'd also had it with Stephanie Meyer's writing style—or lack thereof. Obviously she has read several books containing basic writing tips. (I recognized them because I've read the same books.) Here are some examples of her adherence to the tips--at their most blatant, obvious and annoying:

1) One beginning tip is that writers should try to avoid the frequent use of "he/she said" in dialogue. A more sophisticated tip is the assurance that the "saids" blend into the page and become more or less invisible. I doubt Ms Meyers has advanced to the second tip because in two pages of dialogue we have the following tags: "said," "said," "said," "repeated," "asked," "asked,
"moaned," "insisted," "assured," "suggested," "insisted," "saidsmiling," "amended," "agreed," "said," "hissed," "said," "pessed." (pages 62-63) Yep, the "saids" blend right in. The others, IMHO, scream, "Look at me. I found another substitute."

2) And since we mentioned "hissed," I remember reading that when you use a tag suggesting a sound, that sound should be somewhere in what's said. Try hissing "can I talk to you for a minute." I couldn't. How 'bout you?

3) Or try purring "trust me." (page 131)

4) She has, of course, run into the tip that using the same word twice, real close together, is bad. So on page 171 we get a restaurant scene that includes the following
Cups? Glasses? No repetition there. Guess she just missed the two "emptys."

Overall? Maybe Twilight became really gripping and exquisitely written from page 205 on. But I doubt it.

Well, i enjoy vampire fiction...and i have read the entire series...and mostly enjoyed it. However, I can agree that her "style" wears on you. The worst part for me was all the stupid teen behavior and over the top angst.