Lately I get one question more than any other: What is the title for Percy 4? This past month, I've had to disappoint a lot of school kids as I do my visits around the country, because the title is secret . . . until next Thursday. October 4, the title will be announced by Publisher's Weekly, and I'll post it on my website, along with the cover and a brief description.
I will not be posting an audio sample of the first chapter -- not yet, anyway. Expect that in a couple of months! And let me be clear, as some eager fans have leaped to false conclusions: This does not mean Percy 4 will be available on Oct. 4. No, no, no. The book itself will not be released until May 6. Sorry for the wait, but I hope it will be worth it once May arrives.
Percy 4 has been under a tight veil of secrecy, because we're getting to that point in the series where I don't want anyone to know what's happening before the book is actually released. Like many readers, I hate spoilers! That's why there will no be advance reader copies printed. Booksellers will be obliged to observe to official date-of-sale, May 6. But oh boy, I can't wait until May! It's going to be a lot of fun.
Happy reading, and check back in a week for more info!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Thousands of Hyphens Perish in OED
An interesting article in the news today -- more proof that the English language is fluid and evolving. Far from being set in stone, our rules of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation are constantly changing. Books of prescriptive grammar often contradict one another on basic points. In fact, the very idea that English spelling must be standardized is relatively new. Dictionaries, even the venerable OED, can only provide snapshots of how our language is being used at a given point in time. Perhaps that's why I was never an avid user of the dreaded red pen when I was an English teacher!
Thousands of hyphens perish as English marches on
By Simon Rabinovitch, Reuters
About 16,000 words have succumbed to pressures of the Internet age and lost their hyphens in a new edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
Bumble-bee is now bumblebee, ice-cream is ice cream and pot-belly is pot belly.
And if you've got a problem, don't be such a crybaby (formerly cry-baby).
The hyphen has been squeezed as informal ways of communicating, honed in text messages and emails, spread on Web sites and seep into newspapers and books.
"People are not confident about using hyphens anymore, they're not really sure what they are for," said Angus Stevenson, editor of the Shorter OED, the sixth edition of which was published this week.
Another factor in the hyphen's demise is designers' distaste for its ungainly horizontal bulk between words.
"Printed writing is very much design-led these days in adverts and Web sites, and people feel that hyphens mess up the look of a nice bit of typography," he said. "The hyphen is seen as messy looking and old-fashioned."
The team that compiled the Shorter OED, a two-volume tome despite its name, only committed the grammatical amputations after exhaustive research.
"The whole process of changing the spelling of words in the dictionary is all based on our analysis of evidence of language, it's not just what we think looks better," Stevenson said.
Researchers examined a corpus of more than 2 billion words, consisting of full sentences that appeared in newspapers, books, Web sites and blogs from 2000 onwards.
For the most part, the dictionary dropped hyphens from compound nouns, which were unified in a single word (e.g. pigeonhole) or split into two (e.g. test tube).
But hyphens have not lost their place altogether. The Shorter OED editor commended their first-rate service rendered to English in the form of compound adjectives, much like the one in the middle of this sentence.
"There are places where a hyphen is necessary," Stevenson said. "Because you can certainly start to get real ambiguity."
Twenty-odd people came to the party, he said. Or was it twenty odd people?
Some of the 16,000 hyphenation changes in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, sixth edition:
Formerly hyphenated words split in two:
fig leaf
hobby horse
ice cream
pin money
pot belly
test tube
water bed
Formerly hyphenated words unified in one:
bumblebee
chickpea
crybaby
leapfrog
logjam
lowlife
pigeonhole
touchline
waterborne
Thousands of hyphens perish as English marches on
By Simon Rabinovitch, Reuters
About 16,000 words have succumbed to pressures of the Internet age and lost their hyphens in a new edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
Bumble-bee is now bumblebee, ice-cream is ice cream and pot-belly is pot belly.
And if you've got a problem, don't be such a crybaby (formerly cry-baby).
The hyphen has been squeezed as informal ways of communicating, honed in text messages and emails, spread on Web sites and seep into newspapers and books.
"People are not confident about using hyphens anymore, they're not really sure what they are for," said Angus Stevenson, editor of the Shorter OED, the sixth edition of which was published this week.
Another factor in the hyphen's demise is designers' distaste for its ungainly horizontal bulk between words.
"Printed writing is very much design-led these days in adverts and Web sites, and people feel that hyphens mess up the look of a nice bit of typography," he said. "The hyphen is seen as messy looking and old-fashioned."
The team that compiled the Shorter OED, a two-volume tome despite its name, only committed the grammatical amputations after exhaustive research.
"The whole process of changing the spelling of words in the dictionary is all based on our analysis of evidence of language, it's not just what we think looks better," Stevenson said.
Researchers examined a corpus of more than 2 billion words, consisting of full sentences that appeared in newspapers, books, Web sites and blogs from 2000 onwards.
For the most part, the dictionary dropped hyphens from compound nouns, which were unified in a single word (e.g. pigeonhole) or split into two (e.g. test tube).
But hyphens have not lost their place altogether. The Shorter OED editor commended their first-rate service rendered to English in the form of compound adjectives, much like the one in the middle of this sentence.
"There are places where a hyphen is necessary," Stevenson said. "Because you can certainly start to get real ambiguity."
Twenty-odd people came to the party, he said. Or was it twenty odd people?
Some of the 16,000 hyphenation changes in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, sixth edition:
Formerly hyphenated words split in two:
fig leaf
hobby horse
ice cream
pin money
pot belly
test tube
water bed
Formerly hyphenated words unified in one:
bumblebee
chickpea
crybaby
leapfrog
logjam
lowlife
pigeonhole
touchline
waterborne
The Missouri Blog
The picture shows me reading in Dexter, MO. The caption might be: “Ye gods, who wrote this sentence??"I spent this week in the heartland – southeastern Missouri. Thanks to Vicky Howard and Mary Pensel, two extraordinary librarians, for coordinating my visit, and to all their colleagues who prepared to kids so well in advance.
In Jackson, the students were reading The Lightning Thief as part of a Greek gods & goddesses unit. They’re planning a big reading day celebration in November. Each class contributed a page to a wonderful picture book about the Lightning Thief. Thanks to all the kids who participated. During the presentations, we put up book covers on a huge screen using an ELMO projector, and the kids just roared approval (or laughed at the funny ones). I felt like I was conducting a pep rally, the level of excitement was so high. Note to self: Rural community, so don’t use the joke about country & Western music singers getting bumped off in The Widower’s Two-Step! For a second, I thought I was going to get lynched by a mob of angry fourth graders.
The day before, I visited Jackson’s archrival (in football, of course) – Cape Girardeau. Kids from all over town came in for the presentation in the junior high auditorium. After school, I had a great meeting with the Mark Twain Club. (The Lightning Thief is on the Mark Twain Award reading list in Missouri this year.) The kids had to take an AR (advance reading) test on the Lightning Thief in order to attend, and over forty of them made a perfect 100. The kids asked super questions, including many I’d never thought of before. A big topic of interest was the scene where Percy jumps off the St. Louis Arch. They pointed out that the Arch is quite far from the banks of the Mississippi, so how could Percy land in the water? I decided that the strong winds must’ve carried him! Thanks to Tony, a parent at the school, who took me on a tour of the town after the visit. Cape Girardeau has a picturesque downtown and colorful murals on the flood wall at the banks of the river. I saw the old brick building that was headquarters for Ulysses S. Grant – the place where he received Lincoln’s orders giving him command of the entire Union army. I also discovered that Cape Girardeau is the hometown of Rush Limbaugh . . . I’ll let you come to your own conclusions about that. The people were very warm and welcoming, and the kids were wonderfully enthusiastic.
The week started in Dexter, a very small community with about 600 in the high school. I spoke with two groups, mostly 4th-8th grade. At lunch, the local librarians proudly took me to their famous barbecue restaurant. Apparently, people come from miles around to eat there, and then I had to tell them I don’t eat red meat. Oh, well! We had a nice visit, anyway.
Now I’m back home and back at work editing a manuscript. I just got the final cover art for Percy 4, and it looks great! Hopefully I will get to post it on the website on Oct. 4, the same day I announce the title. Stay tuned for that!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Demigod of the Week
Get caught reading . . . with sheep!
Becky happened across this on the web -- Alex from Eyota, MN, reading the Lightning Thief as he waits for the show to begin at the Olmsted County Fair. He looks very engrossed in the book! Hopefully those are not the Cyclops's man-eating sheep he's hanging out with. Thanks for taking the Lightning Thief along on the journey, Alex. You're the demigod of the week!
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Halloween with Hades
What a great idea from Connecticut! Becky was surfing the web and found this Halloween party with a Percy Jackson twist, sponsored by the Wilton Library Association. Once again, I am amazed by the creativeness and ingenuity of children's librarians. We're going to be sending some Camp Half-Blood T-shirts to Wilton for the festivities. I hope they post photos of the costumes!
Halloween with Hades
Friday, October 26, 7-8:30 pm Children in grades 3-6 join Hades and other characters from Rick Riordan's Lightning Thief, part of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, as Wilton Library explores the Underworld of Greek mythology with activities and light refreshments. Children should wear Halloween costumes (do not have to be togas). Advance registration required. Register by calling the Children's Library at 203-762-3950, Ext. 217. Space is limited. Funding provided by the Children's Library Hogwarts Banquet Fundraiser.
WILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
137 Old Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT 06897
http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/kids/stories.htm
Halloween with Hades
Friday, October 26, 7-8:30 pm Children in grades 3-6 join Hades and other characters from Rick Riordan's Lightning Thief, part of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, as Wilton Library explores the Underworld of Greek mythology with activities and light refreshments. Children should wear Halloween costumes (do not have to be togas). Advance registration required. Register by calling the Children's Library at 203-762-3950, Ext. 217. Space is limited. Funding provided by the Children's Library Hogwarts Banquet Fundraiser.
WILTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
137 Old Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT 06897
http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/kids/stories.htm
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