Tag Archives: Carl Meyering

On the shelf: ‘Better Than Great’ by Arthur Plotnik

Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , ,

By Carl Meyering, GRPL Main Library

 

Want a New Year’s resolution that doesn’t make you sweat? How about a book that pumps up your vocabulary? Pick up a copy of Better Than Great. In a world filled with bland adjectives like “amazing” or “fantastic” or “awesome” this 198-page handbook will boost your word choices from boring to bountiful. You won’t become a word nerd, but it will help you become more descriptive and convey what you are really trying to say.

 

Author Arthur Plotnik suggests that you partake his suggestions in small doses and practice in everyday conversations. He has divided the book into several categories (like beautiful, large, intense, exceptional, etc) under which he has listed hundreds of more expressive words. Is that supermodel beautiful or resplendent? Was that symphony performance just great or stellar or transcendent? Is your best friend fun or really effervescent?

 

Mr. Plotnik, who is editor and publisher with the American Library Association, also provides “50 ways to text acclaim” and 75 acclamatory terms for wine.

 

My advice? Consult the book once a day and learn a new way of saying what you really mean. Your vocabulary will go from standard to salient!

 

 

 

 

On the shelf: ‘Area 51’ by Annie Jacobsen

Books, Entertainment, , , , , ,

By Carl Meyering, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main

 

Area 51 — An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen

 

No piece of government real estate has been so shrouded in government secrecy, yet has been the subject so much speculation by the public. Located 75 miles north of Las Vegas, Area 51 has had a part in almost every newsworthy event in the Cold War: from flying saucers, the U-2 spy plane, atomic bomb testing to military drones.

 

National security reporter Annie Jacobsen has researched the 60-year history of Area 51 heavily, having sifted through declassified government documents and interviewed 74 people with firsthand knowledge. She populates her book with many revelations from Chuck Yeager-style test pilots, base administrators and staff that brings credibility to her text.

 

Jacobsen reveals for the fist time numerous secrets about the base and writes of the many conspiracy theories connected with the base: the faking of the moon landing, space aliens and flying saucers. The reader must read through the epilogue to understand the full weight and ramifications of her revelations.