Tag Archives: Book

Dictionary

By | |
Leave a comment
Dictionary

An excerpt from a dictionary:
fact (fakt) – noun
1. A thing that is known or proven to be true.

  • Dictionaries are typically a collection or book of words that usually give the definition, pronunciation, etymologies and/or phonetics of words.
  • Dictionaries are often dedicated to one or two particular languages of words and are generally alphabetically arranged.
  • The oldest dictionaries known to have existed were on stone tablets from the Semitic empire, around 2300 BC, which were discovered in Syria, West Asia, and were lists of words in both Akkadian and Sumerian languages.
  • The term ‘dictionary’ came from the word ‘dictionarius’ with the Latin meaning ‘of words’, which is believed to have been invented in 1220 by John of Garland (also known as Johannes de Garlandia), and English philologist.
  • The first reliable and significantly influential dictionary in English was called ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’ and also known as ‘Johnson’s Dictionary’, by writer Samuel Johnson of Great Britain, in 1755, who took nine years to complete the task single-handedly.

Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary, Words, Words, Book, Ten Random Facts, Open

  • It wasn’t until 1884 that the next great dictionary was written and released in sections, known as the ‘Oxford English Dictionary’ by Oxford University Press, which took until 1928 to be completed, and was then published in 12 volumes, that continues to be updated every three months, and is still considered to be the most comprehensive source on words in English.
  • Dictionaries are traditionally printed in book form but more recently are available digitally and via the internet.
  • There are two main types of dictionaries, specialised and defining, with the first a dictionary of technical words and the latter of simple, generally used words.
  • ‘Dictionaries’ are also known as ‘lexicons’, and ‘lexicography’ is the activity of compiling or writing a dictionary.
  • Comprehensive dictionaries generally contain all or most words in use in the language, however, most printed forms of a dictionary contain only the most generally used words to keep the book size and cost manageable, as comprehensive ones like the Oxford English Dictionary contain over 21, pages.
Bibliography:
Dictionary, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionary
Our modern age has dictionaries of all kinds and sizes, 2014, Wyzant, http://www.wyzant.com/resources/lessons/english/etymology/words-mod-dictionaries

Amazon:       

Artemis Fowl Series

By | |
Leave a comment
Artemis Fowl Series

“Criminally Good”- Slogan of the Artemis Fowl Series

  • The Artemis Fowl series is an octadic novel series, belonging in the fantasy-science fiction genre, and has been published in 44 languages.
  • The Artemis Fowl series is written by Eoin Colfer, a former primary school teacher and author from Ireland, and Artemis’ manor is located in Ireland.
  • The Artemis Fowl series is based on a criminal mastermind teenager and his conflict/interactions with the underground Fairy people.
  • The first book of the Artemis Fowl series was published in 2001, with the rest of the series following in order: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
  • In 2001, the concept of a film based on the Artemis Fowl series was revealed to the public, and is currently in production, although it was at a standstill for many years.

Artemis Fowl, Hardcover, Atlantis Complex, Lost Colony, Puffin, Time Paradox, Library, Eoin Colfer, Series, five, six, seven, Ten Random Facts

  • The Artemis Fowl series sees the growth in the primary character ‘Artemis Fowl’, with other themes of greed, magic and trust explored throughout the series.
  • The main characters portrayed throughout the Artemis Fowl series include two humans, Artemis Fowl and Butler, and the fairies Holly Short, Mulch Diggums, Foaly and Julius Root, while the number one antagonist is a pixie known as Opal Koboi.
  • The Artemis Fowl series has seen the sale of over 21 million books, and therefore has taken its place among the most popular of all fantasy novel series.
  • The Artemis Fowl series is aimed at teenage readers, and has its own pictographic language.
  • The Artemis Fowl series has been published by various publishers including Puffin Books, Viking Press, and Disney Hyperion.
Bibliography:
Artemis Fowl (Series), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_(series)
Artemis Fowl: The Books, 2014, Artemis Fowl Confidential, http://www.artemis-fowl.com/artemis-fowl-the-books/

Artemis Fowl Series

The Hobbit

By | |
Leave a comment
The Hobbit

Always remember to return from your quest with The Hobbit, or There and back Again.

  • The Hobbit is a fantasy novel for children and precedes the famous sequel, The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
  • The full title of The Hobbit is ‘The Hobbit, or There and Back Again’.
  • The Hobbit was written by J.R.R Tolkien, who was a profound English author of the 1900s.
  • The Hobbit follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, who was on a quest to reclaim treasure from Smaug, a dragon.
  • The Hobbit was first published in 1937 illustrated with original art by Tolkien himself, and a number of editions were also produced.

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, Book, J.R.R Tolkien, Illustrated by the author, 1993, Paperback edition, Ten Random Facts, Lord of the Rings,

  • The Hobbit is often classified as fantasy in genre, but is officially a children’s novel.
  • The Hobbit is being adapted into a film production, a trilogy released in late 2012, late 2013 and 2014: ‘The Unexpected Journey’, ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ and ‘There and Back Again’ respectively.
  • Since it was first published, The Hobbit is loosely estimated to have sold 35 to 100 million copies, and been translated into more than 40 languages.
  • Original editions of The Hobbit are worth thousands of dollars, with signed first editions selling for US$120,000 (BS£60,000).
  • Tolkien came up with some initial ideas for the story of The Hobbit in 1914, starting with the realm of Middle Earth, although the realm was never mentioned in the novel.

 

Bibliography:
The Hobbit, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, 2013, Shmoop, http://www.shmoop.com/hobbit/

Amazon:     

The Flash (Superhero)

By | |
2 Comments
The Flash (Superhero)

Nothing is as fast as the Flash. Well, maybe except Superman.

  • The Flash is a fictional superhero, who has featured in the DC Comics ‘universe’ since 1940, and is also known as ‘Scarlet Speeder’.
  • The Flash has the powers to run lightning fast as well as have extremely quick actions, talking and thinking skills, and uses his superpowers to travel through universes or time.
  • The Flash is most popularly the name of Barry Allen, although three others, Jay Garrick (the original), Wally West and Bart Allen (who are both from the bloodline of Barry Allen), precede or succeed him with the same name of ‘the Flash’.
  • The Flash is good friends with Green Lantern, who is another superhero that has the power to control the physical world of the universe.
  • All Flashes gained superpowers by inhaling or making contact with charged chemicals, expect Bart Allen, who was born with the powers.

The Flash, Comics, Front, DC Comics, Realistic, Original, Books, Superhero, Gree Lantern

  • The Flash’s appear wearing red and/or yellow, with a lightning bolt as his trademark.
  • The comic that the Flash makes his first appearance in, the DC Comic’s ‘Flash Comics’ issue #1, is one of the most valuable comic books of all time, with one copy being sold for $450,000 in 2010.
  • The Flash was conceived by the comic story author Gardner Fox, who had worked for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and originally drawn by the cartoonist Harry Lampert, who helped create Popeye.
  • The Flash typically fights the villains known as The Rogues, most notably the gang leader Captain Cold, who takes a part in robberies and abides by a code that states no murdering, unless needed, or drug use.
  • The Flash and Superman sometimes have races; even while crime fighting, although the results generally finish as a tie.
Bibliography:
Flash, 2013, Ducksters, < http://www.ducksters.com/biography/flash.php>
Flash (Comics), 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(comics)>

Amazon:     
DC Comic’s Flash Comics Series

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories

By | |
Comments Off on Nancy Drew Mystery Stories
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories

More mysteries solved by Nancy Drew.

  • Nancy Drew Mystery Stories is a book series that is often named the ‘original’ or ‘classic’ Nancy Drew series.
  • Stratemeyer Syndicate, producers of other mystery series such as the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift, produced the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.
  • Grosset & Dunlap first published the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories in 1930 and continued publishing the series until 1979, when Simon & Schuster took over, until the series concluded in 2003.
  • Twenty-eight people, all ghost writers for the series, have written Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, most notably Mildred Bensen under the pen name Carolyn Keene, under the orders of Edward Stratemeyer and descendants, who thought of the idea and founded the Stratemeyer Syndicate.
  • Nancy Drew Mystery Stories is a series of 175 books, the first 56 published by Grosset & Dunlap, and the rest by Simon & Schuster.

 Nancy Drew Mystery Series, Four Books, Teenager, Classic, Quad, The Secret in the Stars, number 167, 156, 155, 173, Mystery in Tornado Alley, Library, australia, Ten Random Facts, Danger on the Great Lakes

  • Nancy Drew Mystery Stories were originally published as hardbacks, but in 1979 they began to be produced as paperbacks.
  • Nancy Drew is the main character in the series of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, who is a female teenager and the mystery solver.
  • Nancy Drew Mystery Stories were written after the success of the Hardy Boys, also produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, to give a sense of mystery to young female readers, and the series made a very significant impact on female culture and society, and continues to be popular to this day.
  • Nancy Drew Mystery Stories have been turned into six films, all produced by Warner Bros, the most recent film having been released on 15 June, 2007.
  • The first Nancy Drew Mystery Stories book was ‘The Secret of the Old Clock’ and the last being ‘Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland’.
Bibliography:
Nancy Drew, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew>
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew_Mystery_Stories>

 

Amazon:   
Nancy Drew Book Series – Multiple Selections

 

Peanuts Comic

By | |
Leave a comment
Peanuts Comic

‘Good Ol’ Charlie Brown’ – Peanuts

  • Peanuts is an American comic that was distributed daily and weekly from 2 October 1950 to 13 February 2000, and it was featured in nine newspapers on its first day of being published.
  • Peanuts was illustrated and authored by Charles M Schulz, an American who was born on 26 November 1922 and died 12 February 2000, and even though he had retired from his work in December 1999 due to ill health, it was only a few hours after he died that his last Peanuts strip was published, on the 13 February 2000.
  • Schulz created 17,897 Peanuts comic strips, which have been translated into 21 languages, read by hundreds of millions of people in 75 countries and have been published in 2,600 different newspapers.
  • Peanuts comic strips and products gave Schulz an estimated income of $30-40 million each year, and Peanuts characters were featured on 20,000 new products every year, by 1999.
  • The main character of Peanuts is Charlie Brown (aka Chuck) who is a timid character and second to that is Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s pet dog, which the comic is well known by, and other characters include Lucy, Linus, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, Sally, Pig Pen, as well as a few more.

Peanuts Comnic, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, colour,Black and White, Snoopy Snaps, Book, Lots, six, Peanus for everyone, Lucy, Ten Random Facts

  • Charlie Brown of Peanuts was named after Charles Schulz’s friend from school but Schultz has a number of similarities with the comics different characters.
  • Many films have been based on Peanuts, most notably ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ and ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ which are among the five specials that have won Emmy Awards.
  • Peanuts was named after a ‘peanut gallery’ by the United Feature Syndicate who published Schulz’s work, which Schulz had originally named ‘Li’l Folks’, a name that the syndicate did not want to use due to its similarity to another comic, though Schulz was never happy with the name ‘Peanuts’.
  • There has never been an adult face in the Peanuts comic, although an adult sometimes speaks, represented by a speech bubble coming from the side.
  • Peanuts is considered as one of the most influential, greatest and popular comics of all time, receiving a number of awards over the years, and as a result, Snoopy became the mascot of NASA personal safety for astronauts, and along with Charlie Brown became the semi-official mascot of the Apollo 10 mission.
Bibliography:
Peanuts, 2005, The Great Idea Finder, <http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/peanuts.htm>

Peanuts, 2013, Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanuts>

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...