by Shelley Civkin Richmond Public Library

Of words misused and abused

If you love the English language and all the quirks and oddities inherent in it, then you’re sure to be entertained by William Safire’s latest collection of “On Language” columns, from the New York Times Magazine. The collection is called Let a Simile Be Your Umbrella. Safire, the unequivocal word maven, delights his readers by exposing the incorrect usages (or is that uses?), gaffes and boo-boos found in everything from trendy sayings, to political commentary, to commercials and popular magazines. He examines the smallest minutiae (or is that redundant?) of language – like whether it’s more correct to say that you punch someone on the nose or in the nose.

Safire loves discovering misuses for words and he does it with great humor. Luckily, he can also laugh at himself, and includes some of the barbs shot at him for poor grammar and usage. What’s most delightful about Safire is his great wit. You can’t help but chuckle when you read his work. But his kind of nitpicky linguistic dissection, funny though it may be, isn’t for everyone. You have to be a lover of words with a sharp sense of humor to appreciate his observations. I don’t think there’s a more widely recognized, more popular or more authoritative figure than Safire, who’s got his finger on the pulse of the English language today. So if you savor syntax, love language, and crave clichés, then this book will be right up your alley (sorry, I couldn’t resist…).

And if words don’t do it for you, then maybe salt will. In Mark Kurlansky’s new book

Salt : A World History, we learn about this essential ingredient of civilization. Covering salt’s place in the history of mankind, as well as it’s role in politics, science, commercialism and the culinary arts, Kurlansky produces a readable text that not only entertains but informs.

There’s no question that hyper-specialized books like this one are all the rage right now. For instance, authors devote hundreds of pages just to chocolate, orgasms, eulogies and orchids, to name just a few topics. So why not salt? However, an especially inquisitive mind does help when you pick up a book like Salt.

I’ve noticed that people enjoy being known as experts on a certain topic, even one as esoteric as salt. And certainly, Kurlansky does. So don’t shrug Salt off as too odd to pick up. If you think Salt is weird, take note that Kurlansky is also the author of Cod : A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. Salt is really quite an enjoyable book, and will definitely add a pinch of fun to your education. So pass the Salt please.

Shelley J. Civkin is the head of the Readers' Advisory Department at the Richmond Public Library. For other popular reading suggestions, check out Richmond Public Library's Web site at www.yourlibrary.ca/goodbooks .