Willard R. Espy (1910–1999)

I enjoyed this book, especially as it relates to the history of Oysterville and Willapa Bay. A good portion of the book is family history and not specifically about the Willapa area. The Espy family is full of characters.

A terrific resource for an English teacher, although there is enough bawdy humor that I would be uncomfortable giving it to a child. Includes word oddities (like a story without any e's, or a story showing the difference between "shall" and "will").

Deeply problematic, with references to "Red Indians" and "cannibals" for example. And to giving 'naughty' children the whip. Includes "Little Moron" jokes and plenty of sexist nonsense, too.

It's all in good fun, but I certainly wouldn't just hand it to a child without previewing it. It'd be more fun to page through together, anyway.

Avl. on openlibrary. I'm debating what to do with my trade paperback once I'm done.
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Ok I'm done. There are some bits I'll copy and save for a little while, a show more set of puzzles to solve and a car/queue/insomnia game to play. Otherwise, I think I'll just offer this back up on paperbackswap, unless one of you asks for it. (Free to a good home in the US.) show less

Some delightful bits, but very few by Espy were worth reading, as he's sexist, vulgar, and just not funny. So after a few weeks I skipped his, and most of the longest/ densest 'funny verses' by others.

I do like that there's an index of rhetorical devices... providing for one an excuse to keep a copy of the book with the desk reference collection. (But do you even know what a desk reference collection is, anymore, since y'all can Google for anything on your phone anytime, anywhere?)

I will show more play Word Belt from August, and Games for Insomniacs from December.

Carefully skimmed August 2021. show less