Very First Pre-Review of The Sound and the Furry
“Spencer Quinn’s masterful job of having a canine narrator isn’t cutesy, nor does it grow tiresome, a tribute to his wordsmithing. They make a great team, Chet and Bernie.” – New York Journal of Books.
The Sound and the Furry – coming Sept. 10.
Welcome Buddy & Mingo, Bella, Chet wannabe.
Tags: New York Journal of Books, reviews, The Sound and the Furry
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 13th, 2013 at 8:46 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
9:04 am on July 13th, 2013
Gooood morning, everyone! Pawsitive pre-review (hard to say) but just wondering about HRH B’s reaction to “wordsmithing”?
Rio: hope your little beauddie is feeling better today.
And since we are saying things that are hard to say, have a Belle Star Princess Sammie super sparkly Saturday!
9:09 am on July 13th, 2013
Happy Saturday. At least it will be, if these skies ever clear up.
We like the review, and we believe wordsmithing is a good noun,because of the “ing” added. That makes it a verbal noun.
We hope Beau (and Rio and his friend) were able to get a restful night.
9:18 am on July 13th, 2013
Good review.
HOH: I love “wordsmith” the noun (and it is only a noun in the dictionary). “Wordsmithing” is awkward. I’d change it to: “It is a tribute to his writing skills.” (It should be a sentence rather than following a comma.)
Good morning all.
9:20 am on July 13th, 2013
There is a very noisy little brown wren on the front porch. Mr.Staff opened the door so I can look through the storm door and watch it (the wren) yelling and screaming out on the porch.
I keep telling it to be quiet but it just keeps on yelling.
Staff is going to turn off the computer now and go to a fun class on quilting an old hankie into a little wall hanging. She has many old hankies so she should have a good time.
Hopefully I will BBL
9:24 am on July 13th, 2013
Gerunds: “Let’s go Krogering….” “I’m Googling it….” “I’m Xeroxing this report….”
9:29 am on July 13th, 2013
Bee, according to about.com, this use of wordsmithing is not a gerund, but rather a verbal noun. So, maybe they are just making up a new grammatical term?
http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/verbalnounterm.htm
9:29 am on July 13th, 2013
Always found gerunds difficult to the concrete, linear thinkers. Just go better with other types.
9:30 am on July 13th, 2013
Always found gerunds difficult to TEACH Gah, And I think the hounds have trouble typing 🙁
9:35 am on July 13th, 2013
Oh, yeah, and while I still get to be on my own computer with the “dogs at bay”, really liked, “Surfing Dogs”(on the right). Lived not toooo far from IB (Imperial Beach) like some others of you,but AGES ago, perhaps when the earth was cooling. Now I will try to do some housework and let the hounds play a bit.
9:43 am on July 13th, 2013
Howlers: Interesting. All of my examples, of course, are nouns being used as verbs. “Building” structure or occupation. I wonder which came first, the verb (build) or the noun. Isn’t English wonderful!
9:52 am on July 13th, 2013
To clarify: It is the ungrammatical structure of the “sentence” that is irritating. Instead of a comma after “tiresome” there should be a period and the next sentence should be, “Rather it is a tribute to his wordsmithing.” (That still makes me cringe…sorry.)
9:57 am on July 13th, 2013
Good Morning! It’s 60 degrees with humidity at 73%. I think we are in a cloud. It happens sometimes.
If anyone has seen our remote to our TV could you tell us where it is?
Okay, someone who is irked by the term “wordsmithing”. (I like B.Stover’s rewrite.)
http://www.squarejawmedia.com/wordsmithing-is-not-a-word
9:59 am on July 13th, 2013
OK, this discussion on a Saturday morning makes mom feel so young again, feel like spring has sprung again with apologies to some lyricist.
10:03 am on July 13th, 2013
Lyrics 1946, Mack Gordon. Before mom’s time, but she remembers Sinatra
10:10 am on July 13th, 2013
Time for some breakfast, and coco. Before doing so . .
SnowBella and Golinka, please check your SDD.
I am getting ready to get out of the line of fire.
10:14 am on July 13th, 2013
Here I am outside on the terrace casually helping my girl with her calculus homework. Because I’m outdoors I’m wearing my hawk-proof dress.
10:31 am on July 13th, 2013
Princess Sam: wish those came in our size (super-extra something).
10:32 am on July 13th, 2013
Interesting discussion on the non-word. Later, I will look up “gerund”.
Melanie: I enjoyed the article and love the word “wordsmithery”.
It’s a farmer’s market day. There will be a drawing for a fat-tired cruiser bike with all the bells and whistles. I’m in.
The local grocery store is having a bbq sampling event. I’m in.
Huge rains last night. We are again saturated. We lost more than 3000 trees in the storms a few weeks ago. The clean-up continues.
10:32 am on July 13th, 2013
Gaaa – English class on a Saturday. But we are NOT going to diagram any sentences. (We love you Prof Bee and Teach Sharon)
Melanie – checked, responded, and no throttling involved.
Rio – how is Beau today. Maybe a night of rest will have helped.
Sammie – you look fierce! Way to tough for any old hawk to mess with.
10:35 am on July 13th, 2013
Melanie: I started Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life. It’s interesting. In a short New Yorker review (May 13, 2013) there is a quotation from the novel: “‘Time isn’t circular,’ Ursula declares. ‘It’s like a…palimpsest.'” I think that that may be the answer to Atkinson’s experiment. Fascinating thought.
11:21 am on July 13th, 2013
Greetings!
Sammie, not only do you look cute, but your body language says, ” Nobody messes with a Princess.”
I hope Beau is feeling a little better today. Poor guy.
GAH! I have to go to a kids birthday party. (Grizz’s nephew). I wish it was a doggie birthday party, and all youse on this here blog were attending.
BBL
11:25 am on July 13th, 2013
Dawson: mom says she’s cruised ergo is a cruiser an is definitely fat and tired. Could someone auction her off?
11:28 am on July 13th, 2013
New Friends of Chet: I love the coloring on the Chet Wannabee photo; Bella likes mysteries, is a quilt inspector and beautiful; Buddy and Mingo look like best friends in different sizes.
11:32 am on July 13th, 2013
HOH: You made me laugh. I’m tired today too. I can’t seem to get my bum out the door.
12:12 pm on July 13th, 2013
Language point to ponder…about 3 years ago, mom was in the Texarkla , heard a lady calling and saw a bunch of kids, not responding. Trying to be helpful, she told the kids their mama was calling. Their answer was “she ain’t acallin we, usun’s don’t belong a she”. Understand intent, what is the linguistic?
12:13 pm on July 13th, 2013
Gah! Not 3….30. 30 30!
12:22 pm on July 13th, 2013
Sam, I just want you to know . . chapstick can go through the washer, but if you put it in the dryer? Nope.
B.Stover, I have not started the book. I am immersed in other things. I did have to look up “palimpsest”. Fascinating, as Spock would say. I will let Zoë know.
Dawson and HOH. Zoe is not well and I am moving slow.
It is a two coco day.
12:32 pm on July 13th, 2013
Melanie and Dawson: oh,oh. mom turned on “hippie radio” and is doing house work. Probably feels too good and will pay for it tonight 🙁 No naps here today as the gutter/soffit/siding/garage door guys showed up and are stomping on the roof.
As P puppy says, “Bark, bark, rurrrr”
12:49 pm on July 13th, 2013
If this is how you feel today, have a second cocoa and go back to bed!
12:51 pm on July 13th, 2013
Excellent pre-review of The Sound and the Fury. We agree with it.
I am wondering how Beau is doing today?
12:54 pm on July 13th, 2013
Gone!….Those guys were gone all morning driving around looking at homes for sale…sniff!… My friend wants to move to a whole new town closer to the mountains while her mother just wants to move a few miles away to a smaller house with a smaller yard…grunt!….Let the battles begin!
Beau!….Last night we snuck upstairs so he would not hear us, but for some reason I felt the need to tip-tap-tippity-tap all the way through the kitchen, the only non-rugged room, and then tip-tap-tippety-tap back through the kitchen. My friend was really mad me but she could not yell because she was trying to be quiet…snort! ….Beau woke up and of course wanted on the big bed. So somehow, and don’t ask me how because I had my paws over my eyes, she was able to lift him onto the bed…..snort!….This morning he managed to jump off all on his own, so she is not worried about anything being broken. There doesn’t seem to be any swelling either. ….grunt!…So he did not have to go to the V-E-Ts this morning. Everyone thinks given time, he will be okay. He will just be a bigger pain in the @ss than usual while his paw/ankle/knee/leg heals….gruffle!
1:00 pm on July 13th, 2013
Humidity!….I do not like it!…grump!….It is only 80 degrees here but with the high 54% humidity in the air it feels a lot hotter…sniff!
Basement!….We are going to camp out in the basement. She has to organize all her colored papers and crafty things. …snort!….A realtor is coming over next week and so some cleaning will have to be done down here by someone other than me….grunt!
1:05 pm on July 13th, 2013
I have read other Kate Atkinson books, but that one didn’t appeal for some reason.
How is little Beau this afternoon?
Hot and dry here. That may be helping with the blood suckers. Not sure if they sprayed last night, as they were supposed to.
Just picked some green beans for dinner at Josh’s later. Now some garden watering and then relaxation.
1:05 pm on July 13th, 2013
HOH: Yikes. That looks like a picture of me during my tequila years. Delete! Delete!
Went to the farmer’s market. Didn’t find anything I needed. Good thing because when I got home, my purse was sitting on the table.
1:07 pm on July 13th, 2013
Glad to hear Beau isn’t broken. He probably just overdid, like many others.
1:09 pm on July 13th, 2013
Wow, Dawson, didn’t mean to scare anyone, mom is just experimenting with ipaw.
1:10 pm on July 13th, 2013
Dawson, you are beginning to sound a bit like me.
HOH. YIKES
B.Stover, I am making Spudder Soup tonight. We were going to try it cold. You know, being the middle of July and all . . But it’s 68 degrees and 94% humidity. Might keep it hot soup.
1:46 pm on July 13th, 2013
HOH: Going back to bed.
1:51 pm on July 13th, 2013
Melanie: Now I’m hungry for Spudders Soup. Let me know what you think.
2:03 pm on July 13th, 2013
Beau, Keep getting better, please.
It is humid here also…gasp.
2:19 pm on July 13th, 2013
Beau: Don’t you over do it. Sometimes the dancing giraffe pills make us think we’re fine and then we reinjure ourselves all over again.
The Giant is back and that means everything it right with my world. I have my Giant, my Lady, food, my couch, my pillows, my other couch. I can’t complain.
B: Charlie left early this morning. He mentioned something about Monet and hoping he has a better sense of humor than Dante.
2:34 pm on July 13th, 2013
Who’m I kidding. I’ve had way too much caffeine to sleep.
Looked up “palimpsest” and “gerund”. I understand palimpsest but gerund has been put atop the Divine Comedy in the stack to be labelled, Probably Not in this Lifetime.
HOH: That picture looks like a cross between Van Gogh’s, “The Scream” and a Picasso with the face parts all gone awry. I have seen what the ipaw does to words, now I see it does the same to faces. No offense intended. Perhaps I’d better shut up now.
2:43 pm on July 13th, 2013
Dawson, no offense taken. Mom was trying to be autistic.
2:44 pm on July 13th, 2013
Double GAH-Gah. Artistic
2:45 pm on July 13th, 2013
Dawson!…snort!
2:46 pm on July 13th, 2013
Autistic!….That fits better…grunt!
3:02 pm on July 13th, 2013
Rio is making me laugh.
Charlie loves Monet’s paintings. We’re going to blur to Giverny to visit the house and garden. http://giverny.org/monet/home/
Whispering: It’s Edvard Munch’s The Scream…right?
3:04 pm on July 13th, 2013
Stairs!…Beau came down the stairs again today….grump!….Her mother left the door open when she came down earlier….wheeze!…..He had a hard time getting back up. You’d think he would learn, but NO…gruffle!
Bills!….Right when my friend was in the middle of organizing all those little strips of colored paper, her mother came down to complain about how high her water bill is…sniff!…That woman is always watering something day and night. What does she expect will happen during a drought?….grunt!
3:08 pm on July 13th, 2013
Monet!…I bet ole Claude would have approved of CHobbits colors in her house…snort!
3:13 pm on July 13th, 2013
A gerund is a noun that is made into a verb by adding “ing.”
3:22 pm on July 13th, 2013
Stover: Munsch is “The Scream”.
Rio: The colors for CHobbit (and our house( would fir a Diego Rivera mural.
3:23 pm on July 13th, 2013
FIT not fir…damned ipaw..
3:33 pm on July 13th, 2013
Headed under the quilt. Whatever Zoe has? I have it too.
3:47 pm on July 13th, 2013
Bee – if we use “read” as a noun, then add the “ing” to make it a verb, is that a gerund? Or just a crime against the English language?
Rio – good luck with keeping Beau less active. Yup – good luck with that.
Everything is a flurry of activity around here. They don’t leave for the show on Cape Cod until Friday, but there is hustle and bustle and packing going on. And the Storyteller is going too. His first show since his surgery. He said he wasn’t going to miss out on seeing OFA. And on getting his share of quahogs.
4:22 pm on July 13th, 2013
Yes, the Munch guy. Not Van Gogh.
Thank you BStover for that easy definition of gerund. Wikipedia had me all balled up, admittedly, not hard to do.
4:23 pm on July 13th, 2013
T&G: “Read” is not a noun…. You’re just trying to irritate me right?
4:51 pm on July 13th, 2013
Bee- would we dear little Corgis ever do that?
5:17 pm on July 13th, 2013
u betcha! deer little corgis’
6:22 pm on July 13th, 2013
Signing off early today. Barb is heading over to Josh’s for a cookout and some wine on the deck. Steak and chicken breast on the grill, fresh beans from our garden, romaine lettuce from Jess’s garden. And we will have some of Barb’s rendition of Rio’s cottage cheese and green onion salad. We add cucumber, a little chopped cherry tomato and some crumbled bacon. Yum!
We were watching History channel today and they had a show on called American Renovation. They re-did an old phone booth – remember those! Cost the guy $8,500 to have one for his living room! And then they re-did an old soda fountain. Where did the name soda jerk come from, anyone?
Will be back early tomorrow. Happy evening everyone.
6:27 pm on July 13th, 2013
Twinkies got three home runs against my poor Yankees. Give me a break.
7:14 pm on July 13th, 2013
Got ideas about things, But, let us know wuz happenin”.
7:27 pm on July 13th, 2013
Maybe I’ll just go to bed. See you in the A.m.
7:45 pm on July 13th, 2013
Oh . geeze! Oldest son having probs w/ wife of 20 yrs. Grand (13) can’t be hre this summer. Hope all works out…pls dog.
7:50 pm on July 13th, 2013
Rio, you are suspiciously quiet. Are you ok tonight? Is Beau OK?
7:56 pm on July 13th, 2013
Soda “jerk” was the person behind the counter who “jerked” the handle of the soda gizmo. I heard this on the radio last week.
8:16 pm on July 13th, 2013
Me!…I’m okay…sniff!….We just finished supper and her mother is watering the lawn in the wind….grunt!…My friend just went out and rolled up the windows in my Subaru because she thinks it will rain again tonight…heh!
Game!…Oh no! We missed a whole hour of the game between the Rockies and the Dodgers…grump!….Who knew they would start early on a different channel after starting late all week long…grumble!…Where is SiberH when you really need him?…hmmmmm!
8:21 pm on July 13th, 2013
thunder!….yeeeeep!….I think my friend might be right, it is going to rain again tonight…sniff!sniff!….I think I saw one of my new toys under the bed, I really need to go look for that right now! Back in a while…Yeeeep!
8:26 pm on July 13th, 2013
Take two . .
Have crawled from out of The Quilt to say we had B.Stover’s family Spudder Soup. We had it hot. Delish as always.
As I was cleaning up I realised just how sick I was. I was watching “Prince Caspian” (acting was so-so) when I found myself pondering if a centaur was faster than a horse.
I am back in bed.
TTFN
Oh wait. Wolfie, any pictures of Jace yet?
8:38 pm on July 13th, 2013
Barb and Maggie – I always thought it was soda jerk because they had to jerk the handles of the flavorings. But I have no confirmation of that idea.
8:58 pm on July 13th, 2013
Safe!….Is the coast clear?…sneeze!… I don’t hear anything so I am back watching the game…heh!heh!…
Foto’s!…I want to see fotos of the Little Litter…snort!…How about it Bellie, and you take a foto with your pink sparkly Go-Phone?…grunt!
8:58 pm on July 13th, 2013
We are having a downpour. No tv because the dish is being blocked by the rain…no baseball game.
Sorry Rio. I forgot to tell you the game came on early and was on a different channel.
8:59 pm on July 13th, 2013
Brother!….I don’t even have an I-Paw to blame…grunt!
9:01 pm on July 13th, 2013
SiberH!….Bummer! But nice about the rain…snort!…The score is Dodgers 1 Rockies Zippy! in the bottom of the 7th inning…grunt! …You are not missing a whole lot of action…sneeze!
PS!…I hope your roof holds…snort!
9:16 pm on July 13th, 2013
Ice cream!….Nothing like ice cream to make Beau forget about his sore paw/ankle/knee/leg for a little bit while slurping it up…grunt!….I want some ice cream. How come I don’t get as much as he got?….grump!…I’m sure he got more because her mother feels sorry for him…grumble!
9:34 pm on July 13th, 2013
SiberH!….The Rockies were shut-out by ONE….grunt!….Our pitcher, Chatwood, he went the distance and threw a whole game…chuffle!…Poor guy didn’t get a win for all his hard work…sniff!
9:35 pm on July 13th, 2013
Alone!…How come I am all alone our here?…grump!
9:40 pm on July 13th, 2013
Aww, That is sad, Rio. He pitched a good game, anyway.
My folks amateur patch on the roof held through this rain. I am not in danger of getting wet…this time.
9:55 pm on July 13th, 2013
What a day blurring with B! We visited Monet’s house with its gardens outside and colorful rooms inside. I didn’t see much in the way of an easy chair, but it was a great day indeed.
10:03 pm on July 13th, 2013
Rio: Grumble! There I was about to snap a shot of the Detectives with my sparkly go-fone and then all tail broke loose. Lefty snatched it right out of my paws!
10:04 pm on July 13th, 2013
Burp! I’d do it again.
10:13 pm on July 13th, 2013
Lefty!…You are not making any friends on this here blog, you know…grunt!
10:18 pm on July 13th, 2013
Shorty!….We are watching an 18 year old movie that we have somehow managed to NEVER see…snort!…It is called “Get Shorty”…heh!…They initially wanted Quentin Tarantino to direct it – as I watch it I keep wondering how different it would have been if Quentin actually did direct it….gulp!
10:21 pm on July 13th, 2013
Rio: I was just trying to get a closer look at the sparkles on her go-fone. Next thing I knew my reflexes kicked in and well…burp. Luna has already given me a huffle, a gruffle and a disappointed look. I hate that look.
10:28 pm on July 13th, 2013
Line!….snort!…”What kind of writing pays the best?…Ransom notes.”….chorkel!
Lefty!…I do not believe a word of your story for some strange reason…grunt!…Not even the Luna-Look part…sniff!
10:34 pm on July 13th, 2013
Rio: Trust me—there was ‘the look.’ I’ll see if we can’t come up with some photos of the Detectives.
10:37 pm on July 13th, 2013
Mamma-Luna!…You, I believe….snort!….Fotos would be welcome and please do not let Bellie, Lefty, or Panchie near them…sniff!
10:42 pm on July 13th, 2013
Heading home tomorrow afternoon from Anchorage. Good thing as my ear is back to stabbing pains. Took the last antibiotic two days ago. What is the deal?
Dawson: I also went to one of the Saturday markets and bought something for the next auction to go with all my cool stuff from Nome. Everyone needs to start saving their treatie money for the really big, special auction around Labor Day. Just saying, be forewarned. If I don’t sit on my hands and use common sense, I may be bidding for the things I am donating.
10:44 pm on July 13th, 2013
Rio: Do you mean not to let them near the photos or the Detectives? To be safe, I’ll make it both. The Detectives are already a pawfull.
10:47 pm on July 13th, 2013
Oh I am so tired tonight. I quilted for hours and then had to watch the Tour de France until just now. Now I have to go to bed. Tomorrow I must clean clean clean so my niece doesn’t think I am a slob.
Must fool her.
Nighty noodle all you guys and Liz in OZ, G’day.
yawn
10:51 pm on July 13th, 2013
Did I not answer the soda jerk question? I believe I did.
11:06 pm on July 13th, 2013
Staff!…I’m getting a clear picture of Staff….heh!…Always in her Jammas, no underware, sink full of dirty dishes, beautiful quilts, gorgeous garden….snort!…She is right on track to be a good sister to my friend…chuffle!
11:09 pm on July 13th, 2013
Shorty!…Well, we missed a big part of the movie we’ve managed to never see in 18 years…grump!…WE all had to sit out on the patio and wait for Beau to do his Duty….grump!…Which he did do finally, but not the poo part. Which is worrying everyone…sigh. He is such a jerk. Maybe he could get a job pulling sodas…sniff!
11:09 pm on July 13th, 2013
Macy, You did answer the soda jerk question.
night all
11:44 pm on July 13th, 2013
Macy: Not only did my mama start the day of with an English lesson she learned what a soda jerk is thanks to you and Staff. She says she learns so much from this here blog.
The Giant arrived home this morning at 2am. He hasn’t been resting like I want him to do. Instead, he’s been working on repairing the little cabin in the woods. Right now he is painting. I don’t like the smell so I’m supervising from the out of doors.
ght
11:53 pm on July 13th, 2013
That ‘ght’ is the second half of Good night. I have no idea what happened to the ‘good ni.’
Nighty noodles.
11:58 pm on July 13th, 2013
Mom loves Dawson’s stack “Not in this lifetime.” She is going to borrow that and already has some books to go in the stack….mostly the high-brow books y’all talk about, the Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter books.