Reading the OED: one man, one year 21,739 pages

This book was so fantastic! It was also the perfect book for me to be reading over the past few weeks because it is great for picking up for a few minutes and then putting it down for days, only to pick it up again for a couple of hours....needless to say, just what I needed during Brett's time here-where he and I read two books out loud to each other-thus not much time for "alone reading" hehehe!

Anyway, whether hours or minutes it's a page turner for a very specific group of people. Word People.

I think its pretty self explanatory-but basically the author, Ammon Shea, sets about to read the Oxford English Dictionary, in its entirety, in one year. The book is divided up into chapters aptly named "A", "B", "C" and so on....he starts off the chapter with some sort of anecdote about what its like to read the dictionary, things he learned about dictionaries, why he loves dictionaries, things that are horrible about reading dictionaries and so forth and then the rest of the chapter would be a compilation of the interesting, crazy, funny, weird words that he collected from that particular letter... Basically its a book/ word nerd's dream book.
I spent most of the book marveling at just how much I identified with this man ( sad, surprising or comforting? not sure what)-he was funny and odd and totally endearing. Then I spent a goodly portion of my time making notes on my iphone of the words that I particularly liked...
I've thought about this for a moment, because I'm not sure if I should share some of these words with you-or even give you my favorite quotes-because I'd basically be giving you the BEST parts of the book and I really think this book deserves a reading all its own-however, I figure only a select few would ever pick this book up, anyway-and those few will love it no matter how much I might divulge here. So, here are ( some) of my favorite things about Reading the OED:

-Shea described a person who was not one for hygiene as one who had "no more than a nodding acquaintance with the concept of bathing." -this gave me a good laugh for several minutes.

-I don't care WHO you are, if you've ever spent any time in a library you should pick up this book JUST to read Chapter "O"...honestly, its SPOT ON.

-Did you know there are 169 definitions of the word "set" in the Oxford English Dictionary? Well, I did after reading this book, and it definitely made me stop and pause to think of how HARD it really would be to come up with definitions for the commonest of words. I have a WHOLE NEW appreciation for Lexicographers.

-And anyone who loves books should read, what I think is the ultimate love letter to books, in chapter F ( which I'll also call the Computers vs. Books Chapter), I found myself saying "That is SO TRUE", out loud to myself over and over.

Well! It turns out I haven't ruined the book for you after all...and I've hardly given you anything to go on...so now I'll share (some of) my favorite words that I learned from this book ( I tried to narrow it down to words I thought I JUST might be able to slip into conversation.)

Obganiate (v.)-to annoy by repeating over and over.

Lectory-a place for reading

Matutinal ( adj.)-active or wide awake in the morning hours.

Moreish (adj)-encouraging continued indulgence ( said of food or drink).

Mumpish-sullenly angry

Adoxography-good writing on a trivial subject**

Aspectabund (adj)-having an expressive face.

Cachinnator (n)-a person who laughs too loud and too long.

Colloquialist (n) an excellent talker, a person who is good at conversing

Occasionet ( n)-a minor occasion

Sarcast-a writer or speaker who is sarcastic***

Underlive-to live in a manner that does not measure up to ones potential


**-This is absolutely my goal in life. Which is probably why I have this blog! hahaha!

***-I feel like I have probably already achieved this word. Sadly


There are many other wonderful words and stories in this book, and there is no amount of reviewing or even previewing, that will give you the unique joy that actually reading it will. I hope my fellow book lovers will pick this book up-its perfect for traveling and for the busy person who only has a few moments a day to pick up a book to read...