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A BRIEF POEM ABOUT BOOKS

The books we think we ought to read are poky, dull, and dry; The books that we would like to read we are ashamed to buy; The books that people talk about we never can recall; And the books that people give us, oh, they're the worst of all.

– Carolyn Wells

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ANOTHER PET PEEVE

Would you say any of these?

*She was casted as Lady Macbeth

*He casted his bread upon the waters

* The moon casted a shadow

*Hundreds of people casted their votes

*Aspersions were casted upon my honesty

*The fisherman casted a line

I hope not. So why do we now get this:

*Rain was forecasted for today

The past tense of CAST is CAST. The past participle of CAST is CAST. I have spoken.

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Start your Christmas shopping now--you can read them before you wrap them ;)

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Amen

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For palindrome lovers

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But can you get them down to read them?

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"Leakey’s Bookshop, located in the heart of Inverness, Scotland, is a true gem for bibliophiles. Housed in a former 18th-century Gaelic church, this unique bookshop is the largest second-hand bookstore in Scotland."

You might need to go to Inverness...

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Gotta love English!

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I'VE SAID IT BEFORE...

"...the site where St. George slayed the dragon..."

BZZZZT I'm sorry, you are incorrect. St. George actually SLEW the dragon.

PLEASE READ MORE.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer. What I hate in fiction is when the author knows better than the characters what they should do."

– Pat Barker

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OMG READ MORE!

I'm currently reading a paperback reissue of a very old book. A no-doubt diligent but not well-read copy editor "corrected" a sentence to read as follows:

"Tourists came in breaks to view the dragon."

This makes no sense.

The original obviously read "Tourists came in brakes." A brake is a kind of carriage.

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Absolutely true.

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Don't give up.

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When you're writing dialogue, your characters can use any kind of language you wish. When you're not writing dialogue, you should get this distinction right. This includes speech as well as writing.

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