Five Good Things (#7): In which we talk about The Handmaid’s Tale Takes to TV / Creative Writers Retreats / How Big is Your Vocabulary? / A Tiny House Village for Vets / Fantasy e-Book Reader Poll

Five Good Things #7

I love this digital age. There is so much information to discover: history, technological progress, people being cool to each other, and… well, books, of course! Welcome to another installment of “Five Good Things”!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.


The Handmaid’s Tale
, by Margaret Atwood
https://www.hulu.com/the-handmaids-tale

In the last installment of Five Good Things (#6) I talked about Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Very shortly after that, I saw that Hulu will be airing a mini-series based on the book. It goes without saying that I have reservations about watching it. Part of me is afraid of seeing the story too much changed. Part of me is eager to see how they handle it.

With a cast including Elisabeth Moss as Offred and Joseph Fiennes as the Commander, I think I’ll take my chances. Queue me up, Hulu!

Creative Writers Retreats
http://www.yourwritefulplace.com/#yourwritefulplace

I dream of going on a writer’s retreat. My sister keeps sending me links about writing retreats on cruise ships. Your Writeful Place has “a unique holistic approach we call Place, People, Paper, Publish.” The rest of the description makes it sound so cozy and comfy. “Our retreats are held in places of outstanding natural beauty in France and the UK throughout the year. They include writing workshops and one to one sessions with a published novelist along with group feedback sessions. Afternoons are free to work on your writing projects in peaceful solitude or to enjoy outdoor activities in the surrounding area.”

Who wants to sponsor me?

My Vocabulary is Thiiiiiiis Big
https://www.arealme.com/vocabulary-size-test/en/

Okay, this is just for fun. Well… fun for some. Possibly torture for others.

My results said “★★★ Top 0.01%

You are Shakespeare! You can even create new words that will expand the English dictionary.”

But…

Five Good Things (#7): In which we talk about The Handmaid’s Tale Takes to TV / Creative Writers Retreats / How Big is Your Vocabulary? / A Tiny House Village for Vets / Fantasy e-Book Reader Poll“There are, at the very least, a quarter of a million distinct English words, excluding inflections, and words from technical and regional vocabulary not covered by the OED, or words not yet added to the published dictionary, of which perhaps 20 per cent are no longer in current use. If distinct senses were counted, the total would probably approach three quarters of a million.” (Should I point out to the authors of this article on Oxford Dictionaries dot com that “percent” is one word, and there should be a hyphen in “three-quarters”? ?)

That’s a lot of words I still need to learn!

Veterans’ Tiny House Village Is Finally Giving Heroes The Care They Deserve https://www.littlethings.com/tiny-house-veteran-village/

The men and women of our military sacrifice so much for our personal safety and peace of mind. I can only imagine what the veterans go through. For us. Are we worth it? These bonafide heroes deserve so much more than they are getting. (I will resist the urge to get on my soapbox…)

“The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) estimates that on any given night, there are nearly 40,000 homeless veterans on the street, and about 12,700 of those are the young veterans of recent conflicts. In all, veterans make up 8.8 percent of the homeless population in the U.S.”

This particular article is the second I’ve seen in this vein, and I love it. The Veterans Community Project (VCP), based in Kansas City, MO, is building tiny homes in a community atmosphere. I hope you might be inspired to seek out and help such efforts in your own area

Are You a Fantasy e-Book Reader?
https://goo.gl/forms/30Uty3QvcnRNaLMX2

I’m guessing, since you’re here on my website reading what I write, that you are.

I love getting to know my readers—what you like and what you don’t, what’s going on in your lives, what great ideas you have wriggling around in your heads.

I’m always planning upcoming book promotions, and I’m looking for some information. Would you mind taking a poll? It’s anonymous and shows me some basic information about you in an anonymous way that protects everyone’s privacy. And there are a few questions thrown in strictly for fun.

Do you read fantasy ebooks? Take a poll!

Posted in Five Good Things.

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