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Publication
Description
"It is a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word." -- Andrew Jackson Weird or wierd? Necessary or neccessary? Recomend or recommend? English spelling is fiendish, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun with it. Accomodating Brocolli in the Cemetary is at once a celebration of spelling and a solace to anyone who has ever struggled with the arcane rules of the English language. As amusing as he is informative, Vivian Cook thrills the reader with more than a hundred entries -- from photographs of hilariously misspelled signs to quizzes best taken in private to schadenfreude-rich examples of spelling errors of literary greats -- that will tickle the inner spelling geek in every reader. It all adds up to a gem of a book that takes a wry look at the hodgepodge evolution of spelling and the eccentric way it actually works. Difficult Words Spelling Test Circle whichever one is right. 1. dessicate desiccate desicate 2. ecstasy exstacy ecstacy 3. adress adres address 4. dumbel dumbbell dumbell 5. accomodate accommodate acommodate 6. necesary neccesary necessary 7. liaison liaision liason 8. pronounciation pronounceation pronunciation 9. ocurence occurrence occurence 10. embarass embaras embarrass 11. brocolli broccolli broccoli 12. refering referring refferring 13. cemetery semetary cemetary… (more)
User reviews
Having said that, it would be a good reference to keep in the library, except that it has no table of contents nor index that would allow you to find that interesting discussion of the origins of some spelling convention.
Also, can be confusing to the American reader, in that references to spelling and pronunciation that are particulary England English are not always noted, so that some of the information would seem to make no sense until you hear the words with an ear towards how it's pronounced on BBC-America..
I shall stand by my 2 star rating - I didn't enjoy the book.
There are tests in this books and exercises and all sorts of interesting ways in which one can gague one's level as a speller. Mine was pretty absymal by the way - although I got cemetery and accommodate correct I was stymied by broccoli. Which really should have a double "l"...
This book will make the ideal gift for a subeditor, a teacher or anyone else who has to suffer through the unnecessary spelling errors perpetrated by the likes of me, but is an interesting, informative and entertaining read for just about anybody - except it would seem for my fellow reviewers on libarything who were surprisingly unimpressed.