Welcome to Litsy!

A very interesting narrative nonfiction for #schoolspirit #professor

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

This book chronicles the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary and the two men who dedicated their lives to it.
Professor James Murray helmed the collection, organization, and publication efforts of the first comprehensive collection of English words in history.
Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon whose time in the Civil War left deep scars on his mental wellbeing leading to him spending the rest of his life in a mental institution.

This was a very English book about an American who significantly contributed to the Oxford English Dictionary while locked away for a murder in an insane asylum. It was an interesting read, I learned a lot about the two men who the author focuses on, who are both very unique and fascinating, but I was really intrigued with the background about making a dictionary.
3.5/5 stars, this is a good read for everyone who likes to read and write

I've succumbed to the power of books. That, and the fact that proceeds go to support a crisis support line here in Brisbane. Here is my used book haul from the Lifeline Bookfest. (The Michael Connelly book is my husband's.)

I don't know how, or even if, I'm going to be able to fit these books into my luggage to take them back home to the US. I'll probably leave most of them here with relatives to dig into on our next visit. 📚 😃

Wow!! This was truly fascinating, the making of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). This NF account is a richly detailed chronicling of the decades long process of gathering, defining and verifying the origins of the English language & the two men who greatly contributed to its creation. It‘s a short read but very compelling & an interesting look at life in Victorian London, especially for those living with mental illness. Enjoyable.

Anyone else feel like sharing their #SaturdayStack #PileOfPossibilities ….I think I‘m going with the tagged book! I‘ve read the first chapter and I‘m hooked🤓

A good book a bit slow but very informative. Reading it made me appreciate being able to google.

I can‘t remember if this was my #bookspin or #doublespin for January. My book club selected this title sometime in the past year and I couldn‘t finish in time for the meeting because I found myself rereading the same sections. I listened to the audiobook at 1.5 and even though my attention still wandered, I still feel like I tuned into the important sections.

When conceived it was a project of almost unimaginable boldness and foolhardiness, requiring great bravura, risking great hubris. Yet there were men in Victorian England who were properly bold and foolhardy, who were more than up to the implicit risks: This was, after all, a time of great men, great vision, great achievement. Perhaps no time in modern history was more suited to the launching of a project of such grandiosity....

The lexicographer, Trench pointed out, was 'an historian...not a critic.'...'A Dictionary,' Trench said, 'is an historical monument, the history of a nation contemplated from one point of view, and the wrong ways into which a language has wandered...may be nearly as instructive as the right ones.'

Settling into one of my favorite evening routines- Herbal tea, quiet house, and January‘s #bookspin.

Just finished this well researched book for my AAUW book club. What a wild tale! It was definitely a bit of a slog at some points with the amount of detail and background. But definitely a fascinating story. I‘m really interested in the author and hope he writes an autobiography! Sounds like he‘s also led an incredible life. #history #nonfiction

Page 92 on Samuel Johnson and the cries and iterative attempts at 'fixing' the common use of language. “And so the thinking of great literary men went---if longitude was important, if the defining of color, length, mass, and sound was vital---why was the same import not given to the national tongue?“

Oh, this was fascinating! I was impressed at how expertly Winchester wove together the story of the Oxford English Dictionary with the lives of two men who were central to its making: its primary editor and one of its main contributors. This was a delight for this word nerd to read: nerdy dictionary trivia, behind-the-dictionary-scenes stories, and a thoughtful exploration of how these two men‘s lives intersected.

The English, who had raised eccentricity and poor organization to a high art, and placed the scatterbrain on a pedestal, loathed such Middle European things as rules, conventions, and dictatorships.

I do enjoy learning new words as I read… it‘s particularly appropriate that this is a book about the Oxford English Dictionary. 😁

#TwoforTuesday

1. The Professor and the Madman- the beginnings of compiling the Oxford English Dictionary.
2. I think my current read would make a fantastic movie- The Invisible Life of Addie Larue.
@TheSpineView

Thank you for the tag @EadieB @Eggs !

Revisiting this after reading the wonderful Dictionary of Lost Words

I love and collect old print dictionaries, so I knew I was going to really get into the tagged book; but I think in the future, I‘ll stick w/print editions over audio. There‘s something a bit condescending & off-putting about the author‘s voice, though I know others love it. 🎧

📖📖Anyway, came away with a newfound appreciation for the OED. I have a 2-volume compact edition (pictured) but admittedly mostly use the online version these days!

This book has been in and off my stacks for years but I‘m finally got around to it— this time in audio, narrated by the author.
The story is a double biography of the two men who were the most instrumental in creating the Oxford English Dictionary.
I always love the material the author chooses for his books, but I also always wonder why my enthusiasm gets tempered once I‘m “in it” 🤷🏻‍♀️

The nonfiction account of the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary & an insane murderer who contributed to the OED's creation. The first half was fascinating, but it began to lag around the middle. The murderer, a Civil War doctor, has a tragic story. I did love the info about the decades-long process of creating the dictionary. I had no idea it was such a complicated process & one that truly streamlined the English language for the first time.

How could I not have read any of these! 🤣
The closest I‘ve come is the Mel Gibson movie of the tagged book (which was good !)

#nfn2020

Informative

Settling in for a movie this afternoon- based on the tagged book ..... all about the compilation of the first Oxford English Dictionary. #booktoscreen

Very interesting on so many different levels. Very enjoyable.

I found this non fiction 1998 book fascinating. Has anyone else read it. Thoughts?

Another #abookandamovie pairing. I think I'm watching too many movies and not reading enough books this weekend! Lol! 😄

#fallisbooked @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620 #OctoberTBR
Two because of the season and two because they have been ALMOST for a couple of months.

#MonthofMemoirs

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2019/07/29/the-professor-and-the-madman-simon...

"Dog turds" was used to tan leather back in the day in London.

Learn something new everyday. ??

Been wanting this book for the last few years, but the price for a copy was always a bit much. Couldn't find it on Book Outlet but I did on Thriftbooks via the app.

Great discounted books from Book Outlet, brand new books that mainky have faint blemishes or dents. Thriftbooks seems to be books from thrift stores as the copies all seem to be a bit old if not marked as "like new."

Super excited to read this finally!

Added this 250+ page #Nonfiction #biography / #autobiography #historical account of the English language and the Oxford #Dictionary to my #TBR stack.
#GreenvilleSC

This will be book one of my summer reading list. I can‘t wait to dive in, I‘ve heard such great things 📚🌊🏊🏻‍♀️

Murder, insanity, and the OED?!?! The trifecta of wow!

Quite the interesting story about two of the men who worked on the OED.

4/5

First book by Winchester, I‘ve heard great things.

Who would have thought that the Oxford English Dictionary had such a colorful history? I liked this book! #50WordsForSnow #WinterWonderland

I love language, languages, and all the weird little quirks (especially in English - what a discombobulated beast!). I homeschool my daughter, and it‘s such fun to share words with her. We recently learned “crepuscular,” is one of my favorites. We also studied Catal Huyuk (chatal hooyook) in history, and it‘s just fun to say. Another favorite quirk is false cognates - embarazar in Spanish means to become pregnant!

#LasagnaHogGiveaway @jmofo

A word nerd's dream; a "truth is stranger than fiction" story: Including both serious historical research and journalistic dramatic intrigue, this is a history of the dictionary, but it is also a glimpse into some of the strangest corners of the social world. his glimpse is through the lives of two central figures: a self-educated scholar, and a delusional murderer.

Good

What a fascinating & wholly unexpected story. This is a book about precisely the sorts of people in history that often don‘t make it into books because they are minor actors in larger events/moments. Once a highly regarded surgeon, Dr. Minor was committed to Broadmoor after murdering a stranger. (He was undiagnosed but likely had schizophrenia.) While there he made an important & improbable contribution to the writing of the OED. Recommended.

The madman in this book, Dr. Minor, was referenced in the book I just finished (The Wicked Boy)! Apparently, he and the subject of that book, Robert Coombes (committed after being found guilt but insane in the murder of his mother) where in Broadmoor at the same time. So, this is my next grab-n-go book. Fascinating when it‘s such a small world in the books you‘re reading, right?!? Love it.

I hope everyone had a fantastic day! Mother‘s Day started with a pancake breakfast (yum). Then, on the way to see Avengers (so much Benedict Cumberbatch which was super fantastic), we made a brief detour to one of our local Indy favorites where I browsed the sale aisle. This is my #bookhaul—5 fiction & 3 nonfiction. The tagged book is a true story about a friendship between the editor of the OED & a ‘madman‘ locked up in Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum.

I love listening to non-fiction in the car, and this was a great one for my daily commute. Interesting and sensational, sympathetic and informational, and really well researched. The author happens to be a good narrator, too, which isn‘t always the case.

Never thought I would be so engrossed in this book about the making of the Oxford Dictionary. Fascinating and surprising, I‘d definitely recommend this as a quick nonfiction read (or listen).

Starting this audiobook today! It‘ll fit nicely into the microhistory category for the #popsugar18 reading challenge.