2 Min read
Wordnerd – Japanese word for unread books
Studio pickups
IndieReader review & rating
Goodreads giveaway for Raising Athena
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Tsundoku
My friend Jon sent this word to me in a post, along with a photo of a stack of books. The word’s warm tone is from an earlier era not associated with one-click ordering and hoarding.
Tsundoku is the Japanese term or portmanteau which combines two words: to pile up and leave (tsunde oku) and reading (dokusho). It’s been around since the Meiji era.
The person who collects books and does not read them, creating piles to admire, taps into our sense of curiosity. The feeling is similar to walking in a library, one of gentle regard and admiration.
This practice of tsundoku brought me peace about book stacks around the house and the waning time left to read them.
It’s okay, I imagine the sensei saying, these books you may not read. Their presence reminds you of the lives of those who came before, and the knowledge that will continue beyond.
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I returned to the studio for 19 pickups on my audiobook.
The lead sound engineer explained to me that a pickup in voiceover is a redo, a place in the recording where a word is missing or muddled, an odd sound or point of clarification.
It’s Tan-zah-NEE-ah, not Tan-ZAH-nee-ah.
The pronunciation became a matter of dispute, because when I traveled to the country, the citizens pronounced it the second way. Americans say it the former. This is common with words having multiple, acceptable pronunciations. I opted to use the more common usage at home, hoping to avoid affectation, what my father would call, putting on airs.
Missing a word completely, here. Listen. . . Ready? You’re on.
It took an hour in the studio to fix the pickups.
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Reviews for my book, RAISING ATHENA, are coming in.
Independent reviews can be affirming as a debut author. IndieReader featured RAISING ATHENA this week and I’m still taking it in.
Follow the link to read the full review.
Benefiting from lucid prose and thoughtful, experience-driven analysis, RAISING ATHENA is an eye-opening examination of the process by which female Army officers were—and are—trained. . . a fascinating memoir.
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Good news if you made it this far. This Friday, March 27, is the start of the Goodreads giveaway!
Please check it out and get your copy. I would love TreeHouseLetter readers to receive a copy of Raising Athena. I have been writing this blog for twelve years and am launching my first book at 57 years old. It is never too late!
To long time readers, thank you for reading THL these many years and to new readers, thank you for joining me in rising above the tedium and always learning with a bit of fun.
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Please stay up to date on the RAISING ATHENA book page and events page, for upcoming podcasts, talks, and engagements.
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