How many of these can you use today?

From the Times:

It may appear agrestic to ask, but The Times is calling on its readers to come to the rescue of words that risk fading into caliginosity.

Dictionary compilers at Collins have decided that the word list for the forthcoming edition of its largest volume is embrangled with words so obscure that they are linguistic recrement. Such words, they say, must be exuviated abstergently to make room for modern additions that will act as a roborant for the book.

The Times-owned Collins has agreed to keep some endangered words, should they show an increase in popularity before February (when the list is finalized). The list of 24 endangered words also includes vilipend and oppugnant. Stephen Fry is backing fubsy, while this Quillblogger is partial to nitid and malison.

Too many prizes, book club picks, and more

• Are there too many literary prizes? Richard Whitehead at the Times weighs the Booker against the rest.

• According to Indigo Books & Music, “Book Clubs are the New Dinner Party.” Indigo has released a list of Canadian-authored book club recommendations. The list includes: DeNiro’s Game by Rawi Hage, Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews, and The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. As an added bonus, Indigo provides a few tips for creating a stellar book club ambiance – because you can’t read if you don’t have aromatherapy candles and dark chocolate biscuits. Next on the agenda: using books as coasters at your next theme party.

• Google has expanded its Book Search tool, allowing retailers, publishers, and anyone with a website to embed books from the Google Book Search index.  This means that there are now more ways for users to search through a book, similar to what one might do in a bookstore. With a real book.