Reviews

I loved the heck out of this book, and I even got my husband to tear his focus away from the internet while I listened to it on a road trip, so even if you're not the nerdiest word nerd that ever loved words I think you'll find some good stuff in this book.
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littletaiko's review against another edition

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3.0

Not sure how such an interesting book could also continually lull me to sleep. Stamper writes amusingly about the inside world of dictionaries and how they get updated. Yet, I could only read a chapter before needing to put the book down as I'd start nodding off. Nevertheless, for word nerds I would still recommend the book.

kestie77's review against another edition

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5.0

For the word nerds, this book is a great look at language, and how dictionaries function within that language. I found myself laughing out loud at the writing of this very informative book!

spinstah's review against another edition

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5.0

Super interesting book about lexicography, the writing of dictionaries! It’s intersperesed with lots of stories that illustrate the different aspects and steps to it. Sounds like a dry subject, but this was really well-done. The writing was great too. There were a lot of words that I looked up (my kindle makes that so easy) but there was enough context that it wasn’t really necessary. Nor did it feel like one of those books where the author is too enamored of SAT words.

matthewbrand's review against another edition

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5.0

Saying that you're reading a book about dictionaries sounds so boring. However, this is so well written it is one of the most fun books I've read in awhile. I tend to be pedantic so this book has really disabused me of that notion. As long as people can understand you, it shouldn't matter what words you use.

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