Author:Ammon Shea
Ammon Shea was ten when he first discovered the joy of reading a dictionary rather than using it to look a word up. Little did he imagine that one day he would spend over $1,000 and sacrifice an entire bookcase and a whole year to the twenty volumes that make up the king of all reference books: The Oxford English Dictionary.
It was a year that changed his life, not least when he fell in love with a lexicographer. In this hilarious, personal and fascinating book, with a chapter for each letter of the alphabet, Shea introduces us to hundreds of words he discovered that deserve to see the light of day again, and explains why. Want to know the word for the area on your back that you can't reach to scratch (acnestis)? Or the term for the smell of earth just after a rainstorm (petrichor)? Or perhaps you're just looking for the word to describe that feeling of saying enough (satisdiction). This book is all you need.
Delightful . . . I doubt if a dictionary has ever had such love and attention lavished on it
—— Irish TimesInspiring . . . Shea has walked the wildwood of our gnarled, ancient speech and returned singing incomprehensible sounds in a language that turns out to be our own
—— The New York TimesDrily humorous . . . Shea' s Infectious spirit shines through
—— GuardianA smart, sane and entertaining return to basics
—— Daily TelegraphFunny and instructive
—— SpectatorFull of the warmth and wit we have come to expect from one of our foremost national treasures.
—— MyWeeklySelected by The Times' 'Daily Universal Register' as a 'Try This' Book
—— The TimesA fascinating...very readable study of the mysterious art and business of translation...Bellos asks big questions...and comes up with often surprising answers...sparky, thought-provoking
—— NigenessForget the fish-it's David Bellos you want in your ear when the talk is about translation. Bellos dispels many of the gloomy truisms of the trade and reminds us what an infinitely flexible instrument the English language (or any language) is. Sparkling, independent-minded analysis of everything from Nabokov's insecurities to Google Translate's felicities fuels a tender-even romantic-account of our relationship with words.
—— —NATASHA WIMMER, translator of Roberto Bolaño’s Savage Detectives and 2666Is That a Fish in Your Ear? offers a lively survey of translating puns and poetry, cartoons and legislation, subtitles, news bulletins and the Bible
—— Matthew Reisz , Times Higher Education SupplementPlease read David Bellos's brilliant book
—— Michael Hofmann , GuardianA clear and lively survey...This book fulfils a real need; there is nothing quite like it.
—— Robert Chandler , SpectatorIn his marvellous study of the nature of translation...[David Bellos] has set out to make it fun...Essential reading for anyone with even a vague interest in language and translation - in short, it is a triumph
—— Shaun Whiteside , IndependentA dazzyingly inventive book
—— Adam Thirlwell , New York TimesWitty and perceptive...stimulating, lucid, ultimately cheering
—— Theo Dorgan , Irish TimesSuperbly smart, supremely shrewd
—— Carlin Romano , The Chronicle ReviewSelected as a National Book Critics' Circle Award Criticism Finalist 2011
—— NBCCPersonal and affectionate tribute
—— Sally Morris , Daily MailAffectionate, familial tribute to this many-sided man.
—— The Catholic Herald
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