Books on Words

Philology - n. Science of language; (now rare) love of learning & literature. From the Greek philo (logia, logos, word, speech) love of learning. (OED)

I realize that most of the books I am reading right now are about words. I guess this isn't much of a shock, but I think lately, I have been more and more drawn to the written word. Yes, even more than usual.

When I was in grade school and middle school I loved English class. I loved learning to write neatly and in cursive, while other students proceeded to moaned about how dull it was. I didn't understand why they thought it was dull. I loved spelling and vocabulary homework, even the tests, because I aced them all. It just came to me like second nature and I liked learning all the words. I didn't think much of it then, of course, except that I liked it.

As much as one goes through phases during the teen years and growing up and feeling too cool for the academic sort, my love of English class never faltered. Even when a teacher didn't grade my essay as highly as I would have hoped, which happened in high school, because when you are in AP English there are certain high expectations held above you.

Anyway, my love of words never dimmed, even though I got distracted from it sometimes. Perhaps that is why now I am diving into the vast sea of words. The more I read and the more I learn the more I realize how much more I have to read and learn. So, here are a few of the books that have been keeping me afloat in my endless word sea.

Aspects of the Novel, by E.M. Forster - I found this book in The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. I have a feeling it is going to be very interesting. I have only read the introduction thus far (23 pages), and I am enthralled already. It's been a great while since I have done some analyzing of novels and I look forward to diving into his book about the story, people, plot, fantasy, prophesy, pattern, and rhythm.

Diversions & Digressions, by Lewis Carroll - Who is the prime example of word play and stories of logic? Lewis Carroll, of course. I found this book at a little used bookstore in Santa Monica, CA, where outside I promise I walked by Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) who smiled at me, dressed very smart in a dress shirt and vest. Or maybe it wasn't him. But that didn't distract me from finding a good book. This book is a collection of Carroll's older published logic games, writings, and humour. I had never read any of these before, so it is quite fun.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss - I know I have seen this book a hundred times on shelves and the display table at bookstores over the years, but never knew what it was. Honestly, I just never picked it up because I am not naturally drawn to bestsellers. But suddenly in the library sale section the words caught my eyes and I realized that this was a book about punctuation, and it was written by a British woman with an obvious sense of admiration for being properly punctuated and also a sense of humour. Watch your commas! (Which one is correct? - 1. The panda eats, shoots and leaves. 2. The panda eats shoots and leaves). Yes, this is indeed a fun book so far.

The Meaning of Everything, by Simon Winchester - Other than the general knowledge that the Oxford English Dictionary is the most thorough and best dictionary one can get of the English language, I had no idea how it came to be the twenty volume set of books it is. It has a 71 year history of being written by a great number of people, including volunteers around the world who sent in various words, illustrations, and examples. It all had to be compiled by individual word by tireless workers (in a little building they called the "scriptorium" behind the editor's home) who saw the importance of having a source for everyone to go to when they needed to know the meaning and usage of a word. This is the story of the men involved, the drama over the years, the processes, and some interesting stories about Oxford and the Oxford University Press where each new volume was published as they slowly made their way through the alphabet (they would publish the letter A, then part of the letter B, and so on). I love that J.R.R.Tolkien worked for a year on the dictionary, in 1919, working on the letter W. One of the toughest words he worked on was "walrus", which apparently had some strange history and etymology. In later years he created the word "hobbit" and it is part of the OED.