Thinky Thursday: Is Shakespeare's "Lost Play" Burried on Oak Island?

My kids and I enjoy watching the treasure hunting show The Curse of Oak Island on The History Channel. I enjoy lwatching people read through documents and search through archives. My kids like all the big equipment and discussions about the engineering challenges presented by the proposed digs on the island. But this season has been especially interesting as we keep hearing the narrator's voice tease that the island could be a hiding place for one of William Shakespeare's long lost manuscripts. Let me just go on record here with my thoughts about that possibility.

Um, no.

Don't get me wrong, I love that the writers of the show are thinking about Shakespeare and consider his work to be worthy of treasure status. But, no. I don't think Bacon wrote the plays and I don't buy the Oak Island connection. Believe me, I would be thrilled if an original manuscript of The History of Cardenio was discovered during my lifetime, but I'm not expecting the Lagina brothers to extract it from one of the many shafts on Oak Island.

As much as I love a shout out to the Bard, I'm not holding my breath for that one.

That being said I think it's worth reflecting on the relationship between treasure hunting and literature. Besides the obvious classics The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, the show reminds me of another book I read during my youth: Strange Stories, Amazing Facts.

I don't remember how the book came into my possession, but I do remember the thick cover with a red faux marble design and the solid binding. It was a heavy book and the most impressive-looking tome in my little library. As a child I spent many sleepless nights under the covers with my flashlight wondering what happened the crew of the Mary Celeste and wondering about the Money Pit on Oak Island. That sense of wonder and curiosity still lingers with me today whenever I'm reading. What will become of the characters now that I've finished the novel? Where do they go? What becomes of them?

My imagination has spent so much time with the characters that I can't help growing attached to them and wondering about them. The act of reading is in itself a kind of hunt for treasure. Rick and Marty Lagina might never find any treasure on Oak Island, but the real value is in the sense of wonder behind the motivation to dig in the first place.

Wordy Wednesday: Rime Time (-AIL, -AIN, -AN, -IGHT)

Wordy Wednesday is back!
Today we are focusing on words that end with the letters -AIL. How many words can you think of that end with -AIL?

PAIL
FAIL
SNAIL
BAIL....

How about -AIN?
Or -AN?
Or the ever popular -IGHT?

So, what's the RIME?

ONSET and RIME are terms used to describe the phonological units of words. In order to help young (and not so young) students with reading and spelling, many teachers will use spelling patterns that break down the ONSET and RIME.

The ONSET is the part of the syllable that includes the initial consonant or consonant blend. The RIME is the syllable that consists of the vowel sound and any final consonants, like -AIL. I posted the ONSET "BR-" back in September when the weather first started to turn cold. My daughter and I spent about an hour writing out all the words we could think of that began with BR-. She was able to write out a total of 43 words! 

We've been playing these games for years with the kids, but I think my husband and I have as much if not more fun than the kids trying to think of words to add to the list. I've even posted the RIME -TION on a Facebook Group for my colleagues in academia (real professors!) and they kept posting new words to the list. It's addictive and a great way to entertain the kids or warm up for a writing session. Writing the words out is a great way to reinforce spelling and to exercise our vocabulary skills. The most important thing is to have fun with writing! Enjoy!  

Book Review of The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day

The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day is one of those books that made me want to buy a whole bunch of copies to distribute to my friends. If you’re looking for a perfect gift for that reader in your life, check out The Black Hour.

The crime novel opens with sociology professor Amelia Emmet attempting to resume her academic career while still recovering from a violent attack from a student—a student who shot and killed himself after shooting her. With the identity of the shooter known, the central mystery of the novel is not “whodunnit?” but “whydunnit?”

As Emmet re-acclimates to her university life, she finds her colleagues suspicious and awkward with her victim status. It does not help matters that her memory of the attack is clouded, confused, and completely lacking in details that will help provide an explanation or even a coherent narrative. For a professor who studies violence, her inability to understand and process the attack is as frustrating as the physical limitations she faces in the wake of her injuries. Graduate student Nathaniel Barber, Emmet’s teaching assistant is equally curious about the motive behind the attack. Academic research quickly gives way to investigative legwork as the pair try to learn more about the shooter and his possible motive for wanting to kill Emmet.

The skillfully constructed plot and characters are complex enough to keep the reader engaged without feeling overwhelmed. Rader-Day's prose is crisp and concise, never losing sight of the central storyline. Her ability to alternate point-of-view is masterful as is her ability to subtly reveal the subtext of her characters’ behavior in a realistically constructed academic setting; it is hard to believe this is her first novel. Violence and depression loom large in the narrative, but the characters are written with such clarity and purpose that the darkness never fully envelops them or, thankfully, the reader. It's one of those books you can't put down and are sad to see come to an end.  Reading the novel is a thrilling ride that comes to an end satisfactorily, though all too quickly.

For more information about Lori Rader-Day, check out her website at http://loriraderday.com/