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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
I listened to the audiobook and Gretchen is a droll narrator, but sometimes she reads so fast it feels like she is speeded up.
I think because I was listening during the most dystopian period our society has ever faced (the Musk Coup of 2025) I could not concentrate on the material. I am sure it was very interesting.
I think because I was listening during the most dystopian period our society has ever faced (the Musk Coup of 2025) I could not concentrate on the material. I am sure it was very interesting.
Enjoyable book on an interesting topic. Not unputdownable but worth the time to read.
As an internet person and someone with a linguistics degree, I found this book to be fun (but not particularly enlightening, personally). It is apparent that McCullouch's research was meticulous, and that's where this book shines.
A wonderful exploration of the history of the language of our shared digital world. Gretchen McCulloch is an excellent guide, sharing humor, insight, and a positive outlook that is refreshing to see in this topic.
Kind of a firehose of information, but I enjoyed it. Being a history nerd, I liked how the author pointed out that language has evolved to suit other forms of communication in the past, for example, postcards and the telephone. People invented a kind of shorthand for postcards just as they do for texting, and when the telephone was first invented, no one knew what to say when answering it. In fact, "hello" was considered a bit rude before the telephone.
Per the guidelines in this book, I am a Full Internet Person, but just barely. Much of my working life has been spent with Semi Internet People, my husband (who is a few years older than me) is a Semi Internet Person, and of course my 20-something kids are Post Internet. I think the author's observations about how each group uses language online are pretty accurate, including that women/girls have tended to lead or catch on to trends more quickly than men/boys.
A side note: I also learned a few things about the early history of the internet that I didn't know, or at least know in so much detail. I didn't get online until the mid-90s, since we were overseas for the first few years when the internet started to become available outside of academia. But I remember babysitting a university professor's kid in the 1980s who dialed up and did mysterious things on a computer. :)
A good read for anyone who is fascinated by language or communication in general.
Per the guidelines in this book, I am a Full Internet Person, but just barely. Much of my working life has been spent with Semi Internet People, my husband (who is a few years older than me) is a Semi Internet Person, and of course my 20-something kids are Post Internet. I think the author's observations about how each group uses language online are pretty accurate, including that women/girls have tended to lead or catch on to trends more quickly than men/boys.
A side note: I also learned a few things about the early history of the internet that I didn't know, or at least know in so much detail. I didn't get online until the mid-90s, since we were overseas for the first few years when the internet started to become available outside of academia. But I remember babysitting a university professor's kid in the 1980s who dialed up and did mysterious things on a computer. :)
A good read for anyone who is fascinated by language or communication in general.
funny
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Delightful accessible read for a hobbyist linguist like myself; it’s like an in-depth episode of the Lingthusiasm podcast (which the author co-hosts). If you want to have a chance to overanalyze every word choice someone makes online from a place of genuine curiosity over the ever changing fabric of language, this will give you the tools to do so.
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Great read on language, definitely making it onto my top 2025 books! Interesting yet very quick witted and funny, and didnt leave me as the reader lost in the dark on new topics :)
I loved the author's enthusiasm for everything she discovered and dissected about the language evolution on and about the Internet (or internet): from how emojis emulate gestures and ellipses come from telegram habits, to conveying tone using ~ or * and memes as a method of communicating emotion and shared experience. Her passion and affection for the language of the Internet is infectious and accessible, and this book, in addition to informative, is also a lot of fun.