Away With Words

Product Information

David Almond introduces his new picture book, A Way to the Stars, a story about perseverance and finding a way to make dreams come true. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. [1] Cast [ edit ] Set in a world where words appear physically when people speak, Away with Words explores the importance of communication and being there for those we love. A book about family, friendship, and what it means to be you. One of those books you read in one day and think about forever.” Wibke Brueggemann, author of Love is for Losers

I am an inveterate punster (yes, I could have said in vertebrate...), so when I saw this, I had to read it. It was painful. I love a well-crafted story leading up to a beautiful groaner of a pun. These competitions are about rapid fire punning to random categories. The champs groan them out and the audience response clap-o-meter determines who wins them. Berkowitz litters his narrative with examples. The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be taught cursive writing in school, or is their time better spent studying other things? A handwritten note and a typed one may use the very same words, but handwritten version may seem much more intimate. Plus, English is full of grisly expressions about animals, such as there’s more than one way to skin a cat and until the last dog is hung. The attitudes these sayings reflect aren’t so prevalent today, but the phrases live on. Finally, the centuries-old story of the mall in shopping mall. Plus, agloo, dropmeal, tantony pig, insidious ruses, have a yen for something, a commode you wear on your head, a tantalizing word game everyone can play. The book benefits from subject matter that translates very well to the written word, first of all. It’s fun to see him work more and more puns into the actual text as the book goes on: “Once the traction-less idea of a road trip was abandoned,” on 192, was pretty much the only “good” example, but the effort was enjoyable elsewhere. He’s a good writer. It has a moment here and there; I am glad the author succeeds but didn’t truly find anything especially exciting in their travails. Even the initial competitions don’t exactly generate a lot of heat and boils down to being told a joke that somebody else thought was rather bloody brilliant. Berkowitz’s real skill is impeccably and organically conjuring the qualia of both being in and attending Punderdome. The ecstatic howls that meet great puns; your sequence of thoughts while you’re trying to think of puns onstage for the first time; the light but not-endlessly-supportive vibe of the crowd; he just nailed so many aspects of punning in general and Punderdome in particular.Competent, yes. Underwhelming, also yes. As somebody whose wife will happily point out that he won’t ever shut up if a loaded pun is ready to go off, I think it says something that this didn’t make me race to get through it.

Me and my pun partner ended up dating, and I started inching into the orbit of these friends who lived to pun. They went to every pun event in the city, launched their own pun show, and generally identified as having found their tribe. (There’s a great line on p. 196 that captures a feeling to which every New Yorker aspires. While being overtaken on the sidewalk by a wave of a psychotically fit running club, Berkowitz muses contentedly, “They’ve got their cult, and I’ve got mine.”) These pun people loved each other as much as they loved their chosen ministry in life. It was one of the healthiest, coolest groups of friends I’ve ever come across. Unfortunately, my relationship collapsed disastrously and they all hate me now. But just before it ended, I learned that my partner was actually in this book about punning. “Oh shit. I want to read a book that you’re in,” I said. My expectation was that this would be, you know, a cameo, maybe. Recommended to middle-graders looking for an unusual story about the power of words and the value of friendship, especially in a new location. Utterly enjoyable reading experience that delivers on every attempted level. Joe Berkowitz did an incredible job capturing the spirit of punning and wordplay, and of embedding the reader in the posse of people who live to do it. A beautiful exploration of grief, hope, and what it means to be human, Cameron weaves themes of ethics, AI, friendship and first love with a compelling mystery and bewitchingly-described Scottish location. This is an outstanding middle-grade debut from one of my favourite authors.” Simon James Green, author of Life of Riley

About Sophie Cameron

The film credits Borges (presumably Funes the Memorious) and Luria for inspiration. Many aspects of Asano's character (memory excess, profound synesthesia, arranging memories visually along roads, wordplay, struggling with an onslaught of associations, comments about restaurant music and its effect on food taste, the waking-for-school scene) are directly borrowed from Luria's real life case study of Solomon Shereshevskii, The Mind of a Mnemonist. I also loved the setting of Scotland, Fortrose, the dolphins and the fact that there were two characters who share my name! Berkowitz's introduction to the Punslingers scene is a good example of his easy, generous approach to transportive detail and the gauzy metaphors that make this entire book about had-to-be-there moments possible. Our Sister, Again is a vibrant exploration of love, personhood and everything in between. This is a book driven by a family’s affection, for their daughter and their sister. Quietly thought-provoking, it’ll have you questioning what it means to be human and how far someone will go for love.” Reads Rainbow blog Overall a great read that I highly recommend and release I am highly anticipating from a strong Scottish author. I am also someone who's also always looking for more good books set in Scotland this is definitely a good one to add to my list

The participants get to know each other because of their frequent interaction. Many of the punsters work as writers for tv shows, movies, or newspapers or comedians. Some newspapers thrive on utilizing puns in their headlines and stories. At the competitions, a category is announced and the contestants have ninety seconds to come up with as many puns as they can. They then present them to live audiences and are judged by the audience’s response. But I wonder, now, how long it will be before I think about the idea of punning without returning to this weird, unsatisfying blip of 2019. Had you told me in high school that I would one day screw up the chance to date a hot, nerdy girl who puns competitively, I would have… well I probably would have just masturbated. But afterwards, I would have felt both happy to have been briefly accepted into such a person’s life, and sad that it didn’t work out.We also offer services to primary schools, secondary schools and school clusters. Our vocation is to provide intervention to meet the diverse needs of children with speech, language and communication needs, whilst recognising and delivering the benefits required by schools in relation to costs, flexibility and ultimately improved educational achievement. Find out more >> Or not. Again, I say, I am hella-biased, and you might really hate puns. If that's the case, pretend this is a two-star review and keep going. But I like big puns, and I cannot lie. I seriously might go to Punderdome. Though I bet, if I really try, I could go beyond that. When Joe Berkowitz witnessed his first Punderdome competition, it felt wrong in the best way. Something impossible seemed to be happening. The kinds of jokes we learn to repress through social conditioning were not only being aired out in public—they were being applauded. As it turned out, this monthly show was part of a subculture that’s been around in one form or another since at least the late ‘70s. Its pinnacle is the O. Henry Pun Off World Championship, an annual tournament in Austin, Texas. As someone who is terminally self-conscious, Joe was both awed and jealous of these people who confidently killed with the most maligned form of humor.

A tale of two pun competitions, so… the best of times, the wurst of times (because things can get hammy, you see). If that doesn’t completely do your head in, or get on your nerves, you might be able to handle this book. Plus, your lobe of words indicates you have a lot of skull. Or something.Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. A truly remarkable story. Sad and life-affirming all at the same time. These characters are going to stay with me for a long time.” Lee Newbery, author of The Last Firefox I loved this book, it was perfect soft sci-fi with very real themes of love and loss” L. D. Lapinski, author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency What we’re all building may be epically pointless and ephemeral—an inside joke that never catches on, a loud parade through a ghost town—but I am nonetheless fully invested in helping it come together.” (86) Because: “Pun competitions that seem like something that could only exist in the frivolous present.” (54) In a transient place like this part of Brooklyn, these ideas capture the zeitgeist of the Punder world. Gala and her dad, Jordi, have just moved from home in Cataluna to a town in Scotland, to live with Jordi's boyfriend Ryan. Gala doesn't speak much English, and feels lost, lonely and unable to be her usual funny self. Until she befriends Natalie, a girl with selective mutism.