Episode # 321: The Family Bookcase {5}: Encyclopedias

Items that you can buy with bubble gum comics: bobbleheads!

If you're somewhere in the general vicinity of my age (60 1/2), you didn't grow up with the Internet to use for research purposes; you grew up with ye olde fashioned public library, which contained among other research items, encyclopedias.

Or perhaps, your house may have contained a semi-up-to-date set of the (usually) Encyclopedia Britannica, or some other quality encyclopedia set.

If perhaps you're a member of the younger generation, your definition of "encyclopedia" is probably just an actual encyclopedia, but more to the point of having it attached to a pop culture item.

Today's post is going to focus on both types of encyclopedias: those that have now turned into a search engine as Google, Bing, FireFox and Opera; and those which are connected to the genre of pop culture along with all of its sub-genres.

Regular encyclopedias:

While I no longer have that original set of Encyclopedia of Britannica from my childhood, I do have a 2,500+ page monstrosity called The Columbia Encyclopedia. Yes it was published by Columbia University, and yes it is one volume. (about 4 1/2 inches thick, cover-to-cover), and it was published in 1969.

Here are some examples of some long articles you can find. I should note that the font size in this book is around 4-5. For comparison, newspapers is around 8. To confirm, open any blank document and drop the font size to the aforementioned size for a better understanding.

1} The Hussites: religious movement.

2} Writing and the alphabet: complete with examples like cuneform.

Then we have non-traditional encyclopedias. We have quite a few complete sets, courtesy of my brother, who likes to salvage while performing home improvements for others.

1} Funk & Wagnells Wildlife: and you thought they were just a Carnac the Magnificent bit.

2} Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animals.

3} l Want to Know: what would considered to be Middle Grade.

4} Our Living World: published in conjunction with the Dept Of Interior.

Then we have the non-non-traditional encyclopedias. These are primarily oddball/pop culture collections that people would slap the "encyclopedia" label on to make it sound really interesting and a lot more expensive to purchase.

I have found the following types in our family bookcase:

1} A half dozen different types of baseball encyclopedias.

2} Various music encyclopedias.

3} A Cliff Notes version of Britannica.

4} Pro Wrestling.

5} Horror Movies.

6} Gun Design.

7} Antiques.

8} Boxing records.

As you can see, it's very much quite the eclectic haul of encyclopedias we have in this house. And rest assured, they will be treated like the last days spent with the previous owner: unwanted, unloved and most importantly, unread.

Now I will admit that the pro wrestling books are mine, and one of them is remarkably out of print (having come out around five years prior to the explosion of Hulkamania), but the other as previously stated, were not acquired by me, nor would they be something acquired by me.

My speed has always been the oddball collection like the Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, coffee table books like on the Rolling Stones, or extended collections that I had touched up on months ago from the now defunct Time-Life Imprints, or even one on Warner Bros Cartoons. Most importantly, the books I decide to acquire, I will actually read.

I know, imagine that, spending one's hard earned money on books that you enjoy reading, sometimes repeatedly. It does boggle the mind (a game I have played only once in my life) though, that some people, like myself, enjoy reading so much that they would have no issues in pulling out a random volume from a set of encyclopedias, flipping to a random pages and just start reading.

Fun fact that you may or may not be able to deduce from reading this post: I have a rather ambivalent attitude towards the encyclopedia, no matter what form they may come in.

I won't go out of my way to purchase a set, not even if it's on a topic that I like, True Crime for example. If one happens to be available and is reasonably up-to-date, I will be more than happy to use it, if only as a jumping off point to help me confirm something that I have knowledge of.

I leave you with one last thought: on a personal note: I would highly recommend, if you have a school age child that has an inquisitive mind and decent comprehension skills, that he/she be allowed to read the encyclopedia. It's an absolutely fantastic way to introduce your youngster to the world around them, both current and past, no matter what the topic, and give them a jump start on going down the rabbit hole of knowledge when something piques their curiosity.

Because as the old saying goes, reading is fundamental.

{c} 2026 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved

Episode #320: Yo! What's The Name Of Yer Book?

Beef in the summer time, it's what makes a family get together, a family get together.

Book titles have always been a hit or (mostly) miss for me.

Either I get it reasonably right: The Inner Sibling or A Trilogy of Love, or I get it painfully wrong: Line 21 or Red Stripe.

With my fantasy series, even though I got the overall title correct, Sister vs Sister, creating the individual titles has been a small pine cone in my work boot.

The first title was way beyond a no-brainer, since the first book started off the adventure with a kidnapping, it made sense to feature that particular word in the title. The second was just a shade more difficult, but knowing how everything was unfolding made it only a slightly bumpier ride to come up with a title that kissed the ceiling of the unwritten rule about title length.

The title for book $3 was the most difficult to come up with so far. One difficult part was reasonably matching the title up with the content of the book, which in this case features a key climatic point that sets the tone for the rest of the series.

The other difficult part was making sure that the title did not break that unwritten rule about title length. After performing about a half hours worth of brainstorming, I came up with a seven word title for the story. I felt it reasonably hinted at what the book was about, so I made a cover sheet for the binder and called it a day.

An hour later, I realized that it was too wordy, and if I felt it was too wordy, then other would too, so I spent about fifteen minutes deciding on where to chop it down and the end result became a three word title.

~~~~~

The apparent unwritten rule of thumb with the title, at least how I understand it, is that the title should be five words or less, because you have a few seconds to catch someone's attention and if they have to expand their short attention span longer than that. you're basically cooked.

If you know anything about publishing history, and I'm not talking about the modern 20th century, but going back to ye medieval times when the printing press came into vogue, book titles were both short and incredibly long at the same time.

Book jacket covers are a modern invention, where you can stuff everything that one needs to know about the book with impunity. Prior to the 20th century, you didn't have the jacket cover, you simply had the cover enhance with the title and the author's name, and maybe on the side. There were exceptions to that rule though, like dime novels.

Anyways, back then the title page inside often became the modern day equivalent of a brief synopsis: you would have a brief/succinct title of your book, say, "how to ice fish."

Underneath in parenthesis, you would have a fifteen to thirty word synopsis of the entire book as a subtitle. So instead of having a short title of your book, it would suddenly expand to a minimum of twenty words. And this was more the rule than the exception.

So when the modern publishing industry was created, I believe the unwritten rule of five words or less became the industry norm for fiction and some non-fiction. I think you would be hard pressed to find a fiction book with a title longer than five words in this day and age.

I'm almost certain that I will be revisiting this topic very soon once I start working on book #4 & #5, because I foresee having my usual difficulties in creating a title that connects in some way with the content.

Thank you for visiting this rare two-for post that is equal parts a writing update and a history lesson.

{c} 2026 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved

Episode #319: My Den {2}-Getting Into The Groove: Vinyl LPs

It's been a while since I've talked about my modest music collection (well modest compared to others), so I thought it would be a slight refreshing change of pace to focus on audio, instead of video/visual. Specifically, the petroleum product portion of our vast music collection (aka vinyl).

To give a very brief update, between 45s and LPs, my petroleum product collection contains a combined total somewhere north of 9,000 pieces. Now this is a conservative estimation, as I have one full carrying box, twenty and a half wooden crates (each full crate about 55 units) of LPs and six and a quarter crates (each full crate contains 60 +/-) and one full carry box (about 100).

My petroleum product collection has been acquired in a few different ways over the decades.

1. Purchased for me when I was a young'un (ex: a Brady Bunch album);
2. I purchased for myself: new (as a teen and young adult); used (from the age of twenty-five going forward);
3. Have been given to me by family, friends and co-workers.

Presently, #3 is how I've been acquiring them, as my family and my friends know that I'm always open to acquiring petroleum products on the cheap (aka free). Because of this thoroughly treasured part of my character, I've been able to expand to all kinds of music that maybe three decades ago, I would've simply waved away.

Here is a small sample of music in my collection. Please note that I do not make the distinction between 45s and LPs.

Country of all types of persuasions, including classic and pop; pop music; true alternative/indie music; comedy LPs (60s thru the mid 80's); classical of all types; true R&B; rock music (60's thru 90's); show tunes; easy listening and even niche stuff like barbershop quartets and "adult" (aka smut) music.

Granted, college radio had a major influence in my later years, specifically starting late 90's going forward, which exposed me to all kinds of music, no matter the country of origin.

I now would like to show you a few examples of what has come across my hands and into my collection over the decades.

Elton Britt: yodel songs

Yes, you read correctly. I have an original album from 1956 that contains twelve selections of yodeling songs. I did a modicum of research and this gentlemen recorded nearly 600 sides (45's) and 60 albums during a 30 year career*. I've yet to listen to it though.

*The only artist that comes to mind that might come close to those totals is Willie Nelson.

Apparently yodeling songs were quite popular back in the day, as this gentlemen had a few million sellers back in the 40's & 50's, and from what I was able to ascertain, he was working right up to the day he passed away in 1972.

This is a country album put out by Senator Robert Byrd. Yes, that Robert Byrd. The older than Methuselah rabid segregationist who stayed in office right up until his death.

Anyways, apparently he was an accomplished musician and this was released on a small private label in 1978. Oh and, he actually sang on this record.

~~~~~

While I often enjoy collecting for the sake of collecting, there are times, when after I do a quick run through of a recent acquisition or even a basic run through of my collection looking for something to play, I will often scratch my very bald head in bewilderment at some of the music that was produced and oddly enough, actually listened to.

I sincerely hope that everyone has an enjoyable week and I'll see you next time on the price is not quite spot on.

{c} 2026 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved

Episode #318: American English?! No, Not That! Well....Maybe

Flashback to when both dogs were living large and living pretty while enjoying life.

I discovered the joys of the American English Language very late in life, but early enough that it came to be part and parcel of my palette when I began to take my writing seriously.

To reintroduce everyone to my former employment background, my very first job was working at the CT State Library in something called "The Connecticut Newspaper Project". The extreme T.L.;D.R. is that I helped prepare old Connecticut newspapers for microfilming. the date range of these newspapers with the late 18th century through the mid 1980's, with a particular emphasis on the 1850's to the mid 1980's.

As I got to reading those early newspapers, I slowly began to appreciate the elaborate workaround that newspapermen would do to skirt the strong libel/slander laws of the time period. For example, you couldn't use select adjectives to describe someone in print. Instead you would often put a letter or two, followed by an underscore, and because your reader was reasonably intelligent, they would instantly recognize the word in question.

Or, if you want to insult someone in print, you would have to get really creative with your insults. For example, if you wanted to call someone "week" when they were bragging about the rope tying skills, you could say that "I had to learn on the fly because I didn't have the luxury of someone helping me out by standing still."

Fast forward about a decade or so. When I decided to become serious about my writing, I knew I had to make my characters stand out in some particular way. The no-brainer for me was to flesh out my character's linguistic skills, and I did this with all of my characters throughout all of my stories. Like a stock character trait.

So what I've tried to do was to model my characters language/speech traits after those writers and journalists of the Victorian age: a sharp tongue, biting wit, a delicate mix of sarcasm and bluntness that allows the user to get their point/insult across without too much collateral damage. I also made sure that those particular traits were sprinkled throughout a given story, because as the old saying goes: saying less carries more of an impact than saying more.

To elaborate on the 'less is more' philosophy, I have found that you can easily establish the personality of a particular character is, by simply having them use one word that they can apply a lot of inflection with.

For example, whenever I use the worlds "Indeed", or "Quite", I'm imaging my character is wanting to get to the point of whatever issue they're dealing with so that they can move on, or they're simply agreeing with whatever salient point someone else is making. Whenever I use the word "Come", it's basically short hand for "we need to get moving on to the next issue at hand."

In summation, I try to create characters that are well-rounded, erudite without being snobbish and will often use language as a way to keep the antagonists at bay, or at least, in their lane.

{c} 2026 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved