Book Reviews by Webgrammar
Not Bartlett's
2007
 Reading Not Bartlett's is like dipping into a box of exquisite but varied Godiva chocolates: smooth and satisfying, but without the calories.
Author Elise Lupkin offers a tantalizing menu to feed the soul: collected wit and wisdom ranging from Family, Happiness, and Melancholy to Art, Taste, and Style. And let's not forget dogs, gardens, and other pleasures of life.
The reader will soon come to realize that in a few days, weeks, or months, reading the current excerpts may have a different flavor. Life changes so fast, and many of us are constantly rethinking yesterday's assumptions and ideas. That's the delight of this kind of a sampler.
When I first read "We cannot help the birds of sadness from flying over our heads, but we need not let them build nests in our hair," I thought it was a fine example of positive thinking. When I read it weeks later, my mother was dying, and the entire family/friend dynamics, which always offers color and challenge in such circumstances, cast a whole new light on the phrase.
 How relevant these words to memories of my grandparents: "Gardening is not a rational act….In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." They did, and these words sparked precious memories to life.
Memories of a physician who kept his balance in part by growing and harvesting amazing vegetables. Memories of a physician's wife who kept her balance in part by working in her husband's vegetable garden, overseeing a huge flower garden and nurturing fabulous fruit trees.
And so it is with the entire collection. Give it to yourself as a gift if you like to read random—often gentle and occasionally harsh—thoughts carefully saved over time, and then put together for your inspiration.
If this type of book is not your cup of tea, consider giving it to others who like to pick up a book at odd moments, knowing they are probably going to chuckle, weep, or say, "Yes!"
Such beautiful graphic presentation! Not Bartlett's is a keeper. Pears it isn't, but sweet, rich, and full of flavor it is.
The Meaning of Tingo and other Extradorinary Words from Around the World
2006
Have you ever found the solution to a pithy problem, and said, "Bingo!"? These days, there's another word dazzling the world of language: Tingo.
But Tingo doesn't mean Bingo. Not by a long shot. It means to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by borrowing them.
Am I losing my mind? Not really. I've just discovered a book called "The Meaning of TINGO and Other Extraordinary Words From around the World" by Adam Jacot de Boinot. It's hilarious. Wonderful. Fascinating. And illustrated to perfection.
The author became obsessed with the quirkiness of foreign words, and combed through over two million words in hundreds of dictionaries to come up with "The Meaning of Tingo."
For example, did you know that sparrows that love to chirp won't put on weight. Yep: "ai jiao de maque bu zhang rou." Or that an unimaginative, robotic individual is "xerox"? Or that a mania for cleaning is considered "putzfimmel"? Or that an ill-fated car is "ulykkesbilen"?
Tingo! Oops...I meant "Bingo!"
Strunk and White Illustrated
October 2005
Sweet. Whimsical. Brilliant. What happens when a gifted artist (Maira Kalman) becomes passionate about the words in a book and sets out to reflect the style and spirit by illustrating its most fascinating phrases? And not just any book. This is an all-time best seller and friend to millions of readers: Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style."
From the colon on the front cover to the semicolon on the back, Kalman captures the essence of the writing and gives readers a visual treat that glows with exotic, yet serene, vibrancy.
One of my favorites is the group that illustrates the phrase, "The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot," but I also adore "Her story is strange," and "Every window, picture, and mirror was smashed."
Long live the serial comma. Long live Maira Kalman's art. It is good, good, good.
I hope people everywhere will rush to online and local bookstores in their quest to own this bright red hardcover edition of The Elements of Style. Remember the operative word: "Illustrated."
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