What We Ask Google by Simon Rogers

WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE by Simon Rogers is subtitled “A Surprisingly Hopeful History of Humankind.” Rogers, Google’s data editor, does tend to adopt a more positive perspective in recounting examples of questions sent to Google. In particular, he points to patterns – whether daily (like getting a baby to sleep at 2am) or more seasonally (search for “comfort food” in October and other recipe requests around Thanksgiving and December holidays). Many of his comments are extolling the Google Trends dataset; being curious, I tired looking at Google Trends, but most of the current queries were related to sports scores or another aspect of popular culture. Publishers Weekly called WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE “a fun if shallow tour of the modern world’s most burning questions.” That is a fair assessment, but there are some surprising anecdotes and memorable graphs included in WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE. For example, Rogers says that half of the top “how to learn …” searches in the US are about language and the most often translated word across all languages is “beautiful.” In another chapter, he notes that “one in every twenty Google searches is for health-related information.” And he stresses repeatedly how search seems to show our need to help others, such as in the chapter on grief where people ask what to say to someone who is grieving. There is an opportunity to dig deeper: a little over fifteen percent of the text is devoted to notes and sources.

The Secret of Snow by Tina Harnesk

THE SECRET OF SNOW is written by Tina Harnesk and translated by Alice Menzies. This novel takes place in northern Sweden and involves characters across many generations. Most notably, there is an elderly husband and wife who face serious health challenges. These two get a new phone and the woman (Mariddja) believes that Siri is a real person – their conversations are funny and poignant, especially as Siri is the only real friend this woman has. She and her husband do not trust the authorities since as a child he and his family were forcibly relocated. Harnesk explores this important sub-theme and the ideas associated with cultural preservation while also looking at the impact of the trauma on individuals and future generations. Overall, the book was sad and a bit confusing, especially at the beginning where the author flips back and forth between various characters; ultimately, Harnesk does interweave the stories for a satisfying ending. THE SECRET OF SNOW received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly says: “Fans of Fredrik Backman will take to this touching family drama.”  I concur.

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

GUILTY BY DEFINITION is the first novel offered by Susie Dent, a renowned British etymologist, and I originally requested a preview because of a recommendation from Ron Charles, the Washington Post book reviewer. Dent utilizes her expertise regarding words and their history to craft a tale full of clues which are puzzled over by a team of linguists who are working on dictionary definitions and are based in Oxford. It is from there that Charlie, the sister of one of them, went missing several years ago. To me, this is a story that starts slowly and gradually builds empathy with the main characters, Martha, Alex, Safi, and Simon. As the team investigates, readers learn some troubling background about Charlie, but the momentum grows and the quirky definitions add further highlights to a unique and, ultimately, engaging quest. Even commonplace activities are an educational opportunity in Dent’s capable hands: “Salary, salad, silt, sausage, salsa, sauce … the lexicon of salt whirred through her brain as she turned the stew down to a simmer.” Or, if you hate Sundays, consider “‘mubble-fubbles’ -- 17th century speak for a heavy, eve-of-something-unpleasant dose of the blues -- as proof that no sane person has ever liked them.” GUILTY BY DEFINITION received a starred review from Booklist and Library Journal recommends it for fans of The Dictionary of Lost Words and By Any Other Name. A Reading Group Guide and A Conversation with the Author are included. 

At Home in a Faraway Place by Lynne Rae Perkins

I asked for a preview copy of AT HOME IN A FARAWAY PLACE by Lynne Rae Perkins because I had SO enjoyed her very creative (and award-winning) book for children titled Criss Cross. This time, she is telling the story of Lissie who travels with her father and grandmother to Guatemala to visit her father’s friends. Perkins charmingly presents tales of their adventures while introducing roughly 100 Spanish words and phrases often illustrated, spelled phonetically, and listed together in a five-page glossary. Lissie experiences a new environment (living in sight of volcanos - los volcáns), new foods (like las empanadas), and familiar games (Simon says … Simón dice), even spending part of a tarde (afternoon) playing with a pelota (ball). I have been learning Spanish for about eighteen months and enjoyed reading as I came across both familiar and new vocabulary. This is a very sweet friendship tale filled with playful black and white drawings and Perkins says, “I love hearing stories about a life in some ways quite unlike my own, but in other ways, important ways, very much the same.” I concur; AT HOME IN A FARAWAY PLACE is a wonderful introduction to a language and the concept of how we are different and yet so similar, a truly significant idea to share with children.

Similar authors to Lynne Rae Perkins that students may have already discovered include Rebecca Stead (Goodbye Stranger) or Jordan Sonnenblick (Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie) or Wendy Mass (A Mango-Shaped Space) or Jerry Spinelli (Stargirl) or even some works by Carl Hiaasen (Hoot or Flush). Age-specific state awards (like Rebecca Caudill in Illinois) list numerous quality titles each year; another wonderful resource – covering multiple states and ages and compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith – is provided here. 

Kingdom Of Characters by Jing Tsu

Have you been watching the opening ceremonies at the Olympic Games? If so, you likely saw and heard Jing Tsu who was providing cultural commentary and insight. She is the author of a new book, titled KINGDOM OF CHARACTERS. This rather scholarly text takes a chronological approach to covering “The Language Revolution That Made China Modern.”  Beginning roughly a century ago when literacy was reserved primarily for the elite, Jing Tsu discusses technological advances in typewriters and telegraphs through, of course, computers and the digital age.  Along the way, she introduces readers to key individuals, some of whom pushed for the use of Mandarin as the national language and others who were instrumental in devising means for encoding the many symbols and characters of the Chinese language. As Jing Tsu notes, “The ability for China to export its language for universal use was seen as an important condition for changing the narrative, giving it a platform to tell its own story. To use language as a soft power, it was essential to take charge of one’s own communications technology.” Yes, it is fascinating to reflect on how “more than a century’s effort at learning how to standardize and transform its language into a modern technology has landed China here, at the beginning – not the end – of becoming a standard setter.” KINGDOM OF CHARACTERS received a starred review from Kirkus.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams is a recent work of historical fiction focused in part on words that were omitted from the Oxford English Dictionary. Main character Esme is the daughter of one of the editors and this is her coming of age (really, a coming of awareness regarding lower classes and women) story, too. Set initially in the 1880s during Esme’s childhood and moving forward to the time of the women’s suffrage movement in England, THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS received a starred review from Library Journal. It is a bit on the longer side (about 400 pages) and rather slow paced, but it a delightful debut novel which will be a rewarding read for those who enjoy lexicography, language and its history.

Love in English by Marie E. Andreu

LOVE IN ENGLISH by Maria E. Andreu is a young adult novel which I am very happy to recommend for a number of reasons: plot, character development, and extremely clever use of language. The story centers around high school student Ana, a recent immigrant to the States who is trying to fit in. An English Language Learner, Ana is torn between her attraction to popular musician and fellow math student Harrison and to Neo, another recent immigrant who becomes a true friend. Ana speaks Spanish; Neo comes from Greece so they use halting English and translating apps to understand each other, eventually bonding over American films like The Breakfast Club. Andreu effectively conveys the confusion and frustration which Ana and her peers face by inserting #### amidst the dialogue when a teacher or other student speaks. The characters are appealing, especially Ana who is a skilled poet:

… Everything is a riddle.
Content: the stuff that fills my ESL notebook. The things I write.
Content: how I want to feel here.
Close: what my father wants me to do. Close the door on everything that came before. Close: how I want to feel. To someone.
I want a piece of peace A week without feeling weak A scene I’ve seen before.
I want to be whole, complete, unabridged, intact.

LOVE IN ENGLISH received a well-deserved starred review from School Library Journal. It’s an amazingly empathetic (Andreu herself is an immigrant) glimpse at fitting into a new culture: “putting down a life to pick up another one is hard, a swirl of regret and excitement and what-could-have-beens and what-will-bes” while also reminding readers that “the stories we tell ourselves make us who we are.”