#InkRipples is a themed meme hosted by Mary Waibel, Katie L. Carroll, and me, Kai Strand. We post on the first Monday of every month. If you would like to participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, include any of the images displayed on this page, and link back to our three blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #inkripples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation.
From the Online Etymology Dictionary.
Blurb:
used by U.S. scholar Brander Matthews (1852-1929) in 1906 in "American Character;" popularized 1907 by U.S. humorist Frank Gelett Burgess (1866-1951). Originally mocking excessive praise printed on book jackets.
Gelett Burgess ... then entertained the guests with some characteristic flashes of Burgessian humor. Referring to the word "blurb" on the wrapper of his book he said: "To 'blurb' is to make a sound like a publisher. The blurb was invented by Frank A. Munsey when he wrote on the front of his magazine in red ink 'I consider this number of Munsey's the hottest pie that ever came out of my bakery.' ... A blurb is a check drawn on Fame, and it is seldom honored.["] ["Publishers' Weekly," May 18, 1907]My, what a long way the blurb has come; from mocking excessive praise to becoming something we writers (particularly those of us who self-publish) sweat over when trying to condense our novels into a few hundred words.
Blurb... sounds like a cross between a burp and blob, something that's urped (urpped? urpt) up on the page.
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Being Thankful
This is my birthday month. I'm definitely thankful for that!
On a lark I thought I'd share some books that were published the year I was born, some which I've read at one point or other.
Pebble in the Sky - Isaac Asimov's first full length novel
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
Henry Huggins - Beverly Cleary
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower - C. S. Forester
The Wall - John Hersey
Conan the Conqueror - Robert E. Howard
The Cardinal - Henry Morton Robinson
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
Kon Tiki - Thor Heyerdahl
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What are you thankful for? Read any of the books listed? Can you guess which ones I haven't read? What do you think of blurbs, wonderful or terrifying to write?
Hello Bish, I’m thankful for blogging breaks and returning feeling refreshed! I was given a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis on a school prize giving day, and I read it until it fell apart.
ReplyDeleteYup, it's one of those books you can read over and over.
DeleteI loved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe series. Awesome this is your birday month. Mine is next month.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday month coming up!
DeleteNo idea that's where blurb came from.
ReplyDeleteYou are in some good book company there.
And I didn't list all the books there are, Alex. :)
DeleteGreat share, anad happy Birthday in advance. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteThanks Blogoratti.
DeleteYou are welcome :)
DeleteHenry Huggins is that old? (Not implying you're old, but I remember reading the books in the 70's and I thought they were new.)
ReplyDeleteWell, I am that old and I'm not ashamed of it! I didn't realize it was "that old" either. :)
DeleteGreat books, too! Now I want to find out which books were published the year I was born.
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting and entertaining adventure. I particularly liked finding out how many I've actually read!
DeleteBirthday months are always times to be thankful for. Happy birthday month, Bish.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lee!
DeleteI read two or three in the Henry Huggins series as a boy, but didn't get to read the very first one until I encountered it in a second-hand bookstore as an adult. It was probably about that time that I learned that the Henry Huggins characters Beezus and Ramona got their own series later.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. It's wonderful that they've held their own all these years.
DeleteRay Bradbury is great and I love Mars! I want to go to the southern highlands someday but I think I'd need a starship. Here's hoping your birthday wish comes true!
ReplyDeleteBradbury is one of my favorites.
DeleteI've only read the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. That's a cool idea to look up books from the year you were born! Now I'm kinda curious.
ReplyDeleteGo forth and explore!
DeleteHappy Birthday! You share a great month with some excellent reads. And I love learning the history of the blurb--they've certainly changed a lot!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Meradeth. I was surprised by what books were published, and pleased. There are many others I didn't list. I picked ones I'd either read or were familiar with.
DeleteHappy birthday! Some great books published the year you were born. I'll have to check out my year.
ReplyDeleteWon't ask your age since you are just out of college. The only book not read was the Mr. Midshipman, but may have if it is part of the Hornblower series. So many great books up there!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! So fun to see the books from the year you were born. I have read quite a few of them- but some are new to me.
ReplyDeleteBlurbs are way harder to write than I ever imagined before I started writing. :)
~Jess