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The Word Exchange
The Word Exchange: A Novel | Alena Graedon
A dystopian novel for the digital age, The Word Exchange offers an inventive, suspenseful, and decidedly original vision of the dangers of technology and of the enduring power of the printed word. In the not-so-distant future, the forecasted death of print has become a reality. Bookstores, libraries, newspapers, and magazines are things of the past, and we spend our time glued to handheld devices called Memes that not only keep us in constant communication but also have become so intuitive that they hail us cabs before we leave our offices, order takeout at the first growl of a hungry stomach, and even create and sell language itself in a marketplace called the Word Exchange. Anana Johnson works with her father, Doug, at the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL), where Doug is hard at work on the last edition that will ever be printed. Doug is a staunchly anti-Meme, anti-tech intellectual who fondly remembers the days when people used email (everything now is text or videoconference) to communicateor even actually spoke to one another, for that matter. One evening, Doug disappears from the NADEL offices, leaving a single written clue: ALICE. Its a code word he devised to signal if he ever fell into harms way. And thus begins Ananas journey down the proverbial rabbit hole . . . Joined by Bart, her bookish NADEL colleague, Ananas search for Doug will take her into dark basements and subterranean passageways; the stacks and reading rooms of the Mercantile Library; and secret meetings of the underground resistance, the Diachronic Society. As Anana penetrates the mystery of her fathers disappearance and a pandemic of decaying language called word flu spreads, The Word Exchange becomes a cautionary tale that is at once a technological thriller and a meditation on the high cultural costs of digital technology. From the Hardcover edition.
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CuriousG
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I'm posting one book per day from the ever growing unread stacks in my personal library. No description or explanation, just books I own and plan to read. #tbr

Day 17

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Vanessa
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I don‘t know if it‘s the book or me, but I was struggling to begin with... though I am enjoying this more now.
Made a #bookbento as an example for my students. This was fun - I might do it more often. Can‘t wait to see what they come up with next week!

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Vanessa
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Saturday. I‘m 24 pages in and not sure if I‘m going to like this one...

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kellyann28
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@MaleficentBookDragon is hosting the #JolabokaflodSwap again this year! This is such a fun, easy swap! You send ONE book and some chocolate for your match to open on Christmas Eve! Check out her page for the sign up link!

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powerful_words
The Word Exchange | Alena Graedon
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Mehso-so

A tangling descent into crisis when the world forgot words had meaning.
Worth the read, language can be a bit confusing at times (sometimes that's the point) and is quite a lot of pages but it felt worth it at the conclusion.

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ofclumsywords
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Newest book haul 🙌📚

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DarcysMom
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Decisions, Decisions... Are there any of these books you *don't* want to read? Descriptions for the untagged books are in the comments.
@LazyDays @cherinium @irre
#LMPBC #round4

See All 22 Comments
ErikasMindfulShelf Haven‘t read any of those. Either one is fine with me. 6y
ErikasMindfulShelf Did you see my post with choices? Any of those you‘ve read or prefer? 6y
DarcysMom @irre I just looked at it - any of the books look good. 6y
LazyDays They all look great to me! 6y
cherinium I would be happy to read any of those. 6y
cherinium I'll try to get a selection together the next few days. Work and some family trauma has been taking up all my time this past week. 6y
ErikasMindfulShelf @cherinium Hope everything is ok. Take your time. 💕 6y
cherinium @irre Thanks. Everything is ok, but it almost wasn't. Very thankful right now that I didn't lose a family member this week. 6y
DarcysMom @cherinium Don't worry - take care of yourself. I am glad that things are okay. ❤ 6y
robinb ❤️Dark Days Club. There are currently two in this series (second one is tagged) with the third due out next month. 6y
DarcysMom @robinb I think it is what I will choose. 🤩 6y
robinb @DarcysMom Oh good, will love to hear what you think! I‘m looking forward to the third one but hate to see it end. 6y
cherinium Sounds good! 6y
LazyDays @DarcysMom I'm excited to read it. I haven't read any of the authers books, should be fun! 6y
ErikasMindfulShelf Excited! 6y
59 likes22 comments
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The.Intentional.Reader
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I‘m about a quarter of the way in and I have to say I‘m not a 100% sure I understand what is happening but I‘m still liking it.

10 likes1 stack add
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callielafleur
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Mehso-so

Warning- this book was just not for me. Your mileage may vary.

I hate preachy books about the dangers of technology. Here, a virus that has crossed from computers to humans is causing so called word flu, one of the effects of which is increasing unknowing aphasia in the affected. The story follows Anana, whose father (the editor of a dictionary) has disappeared suddenly, and so begins her Alice in Wonderland journey through the looking glass. 👇

callielafleur That metaphor isn't mine, by the way. She is actively referred to as Alice by those around her. (This metaphor is so tired, in my opinion. I blame The Matrix). The story does move along pretty well, though some of the chapters are quite long (a pet peeve for someone who hates to put a book down mid-chapter). And as I've posted previously, the author loves showing off her SAT words. Overall this is between a so-so and a pan for me. 7y
callielafleur One more thing, if you are interested in this book and don't own it, leave a message here and I'll send it to you. US only please. Not one I need to keep in my library! 7y
StephanieGeiser Aw it‘s disappointing to hear that this book wasn‘t great. I also have it on my bookshelf (waiting TBR). I‘ll give it a shot but will temper my expectations. 7y
callielafleur @StephanieGeiser Other people have loved it, so you might as well!! It was just really good at hitting the wrong notes for me. 😁 7y
104 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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callielafleur

"But maybe my aberrant lethargy has a different antecedent."

I'm getting more into this book, but sometimes it reads like a high school kid with a thesaurus punched it up. That might be intentional, given the plot, but it is definitely cringy at times.

shahn77 I put this on my tbr when it first came out. I saw your posts about it and now I am rethinking that decision. I will be interested to see how you feel about it if you finish it. The sentence you posted above is making my head hurt! 7y
DivineDiana 😂 7y
callielafleur @shahn77 I picked a particularly bad one to post, it certainly doesn't all read like this. Though they have now used the word perspicacity twice, which is now going to live in my brain forever. So maybe it's a good thing? 7y
74 likes3 comments
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callielafleur
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I'm a little bit into this one, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It feels draggy. And, not to sound like a real dumdum, but almost every page there is a word I'm pretty sure I've never heard before (like perspicacity, which I now know means shrewdness). Anyone else read this? Did you enjoy it?

Texreader I experienced that with one of my recent books. I‘m terrible. I just skipped the word I didn‘t know and moved along. 7y
Reviewsbylola I love the cover but I totally get what you mean. 7y
DrexEdit I'm reading a book like that now. I like reading it as an ebook because it's easier to look up a word I don't know. 7y
BookNAround I bought this one because I am a total word nerd and it sounded cool but I haven‘t read it yet so... 7y
Heideschrampf Perspicaity... sooooo... yepp... never heard that before. But it seems like the novel lives up to it's title: you are literally trading special words with us here 😜 7y
112 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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texviana

Language is incarnate. It's the way our bodies evolved --- to stand upright, to walk --- that enables us to speak at all. We want to verify with others what we seem to perceive. It's also our bodies that give our words urgency: the tiny ticking clocks in each of our cells.

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texviana
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I found this book on the #24in48 Instagram and just the first paragraph was enough to turn me on. I don't remember the last time I felt this way. Such a great story starting... I can't stop

2 likes3 stack adds
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24in48
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Hour Twelve is HERE! We‘ve got winners up on the blog and we‘re talking favorite first lines for your next challenge. This one, from THE WORD EXCHANGE, is particularly swoony 😍😍 https://24in48.com/2018/01/27/hour-12-fantastic-first-lines/

texviana This made me search for this book and I am reading and it's my new favourite. Thanx 7y
87 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

I most definitely recommend this one. It came in a #mypagehabit box as a free add-on. It's about the end of language and a group of people that try to prevent it from happening. 💖📚 (The Matilda bookmark also came in the box.)

18 likes2 stack adds
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vlwelser
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Quickly falling in love with this one. It may actually turn into a forever book. And I'm only just done with chapter 3.

callielafleur Oooooo I have this on my shelf at home. Maybe I need to read it sooner rather than later? 😁 7y
SamHeartCoffee This looks too cool. 7y
18 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BeththeBookDragon
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Having trouble focusing... I just want to go fart around at Target, get some sushi and finish the last few chapters of my book! 😩

StephBengtson Target is my happy place. 7y
47 likes1 comment
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BeththeBookDragon
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I always get peed on... I've had people in my life like this before... my old boss #igotanewjob

51 likes1 stack add
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BeththeBookDragon
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I don't know that I'd ever seen this phrase before. This is now the second book in a row where it's popped up...

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The.Intentional.Reader
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Really liking this one. Kind of a futuristic literary mystery with secret societies.

13 likes2 stack adds
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Brie
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Pickpick

This book suffers from being explanation-heavy in a way that makes it difficult to get into the story at first. That said, I loved the central conceit.The written word has nearly become extinct. People communicate with devices known as Memes. Anana works on the final print edition of a dictionary. Then her father, the editor, disappears. Meanwhile, a word flu threatens language For fans of Alice in Wonderland, Borges, and A Clockwork Orange

69 likes4 stack adds
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Kangaj1
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Library book sale, under $10. Score. Increasingly feeling the need to organize my books! #bookhaul

gossamerchild I just finished The Family Fang for my work book group. It's good, but so weird! 7y
kspenmoll Wow! Such a deal! 7y
Zelma And those are all excellent choices! 7y
merelybookish Fuller's memoir is excellent! 7y
58 likes4 comments
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Brie
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After a slow start, I'm really getting into this book. An inventive story about language and the disintegration of language. Plus I love any book with Alice in Wonderland and Borges allusions. #epigraphs

MCYmermaid I liked many elements of it, but struggled with others. Let us know what your verdict is! 7y
heikemarie I have this on my shelf (got it in a book riot box like forty million years ago) so I'd also be interested what you think! 7y
60 likes2 comments
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Brie
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Final time. So close. If only I had set my alarm this morning. Still did much better than last #readathon. #24in48 📚📖📚

Stats:
Books finished: 11
In Progress: 1

BekahB Awesome!! 😃 7y
GAustin Fantastic! 👊 7y
vivastory Very impressive 👏🤘👍📚 7y
See All 11 Comments
Eyelit Well done! 7y
Sydsavvy So close!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 7y
MrBook About the same as me! 😁🙌🏻 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Impressive! 👏🏼 7y
Bookzombie Great job!! 7y
Graciouswarriorprincess Fabulous!🎊🎉👏🏻👍🏻 7y
JazzFeathers Great job. Basically, you've done it 😀👏👏 7y
GypsyKat Congratulations!!! 👏👏👏 7y
76 likes1 stack add11 comments
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Brie
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A massive #bookhaul from my local library book sale. What can I say, I just love my library. #TBR

MicheleinPhilly Excellent haul! 8y
Marchpane Wow, awesome picks! 👍 8y
Reviewsbylola Great haul! 8y
See All 12 Comments
Allietaylor16 Wow! Great haul! 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Oh! That's a beautiful thing!!! Awesome #BookHaul 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Wowza - enjoy! 8y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Some serious winners in there! 8y
LeahBergen Wow!! 👏🏻👏🏻 8y
rachellayown NICE!!!! 8y
DebinHawaii Great haul!! 📚📚😀 8y
Mcoun I love Sarah Vowell! 8y
DivineDiana Fantastic! 👏🏻📚 8y
68 likes12 comments
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Paiger1979
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Starting this book that has been on my shelf for awhile. Getting ready for the #springcleaningreadathon and #deweys24hourreadathon

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BriKie
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I have a crappy head cold, so no work for me today. On the plus side, I spent some time outside with a book and a box of tissue! 🌞📘💦

I got this book in the Book Riot Quarterly box two years ago and I'm just now getting around to reading it!

6 likes2 stack adds
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Lacythebookworm
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DarcysMom This was one of my favorite reads of last year. It is *so* good! 8y
heikemarie I got this in my Book Riot box back when they still worked with Quarterly and I still haven't read it 😩 8y
Lacythebookworm @DarcysMom I enjoyed it as well 🙌 8y
Lacythebookworm @inwhichHeikereadsharder That's where my copy came from! 8y
DarcysMom @Lacythebookworm my copy came from the Book Riot box too. 8y
102 likes1 stack add5 comments
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ChristieStratos
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I liked this book at first- it seemed like a unique idea but one that could be brilliant or the opposite depending on how it was written. Well it has already gotten dry, dull, over explanatory, repetitive, and I just got through a huge, boring info dump that panders as if the reader is stupid. Ugh. Not even halfway through yet. I'll give it one more try and then I'm done.

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sherryvdh
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Pickpick

It was so hard to remember, and then narrow down, the #bestreadsof2016. I think all of these fit the bill! I'm highly anticipating 2017's reading treasures. I'm going to be stretching out of my reading comfort zone in the coming year, thanks to my first ever reading challenges and #Litsy! #seasonsreadings2016 #wherehasLitsybeenallmylife

DebinHawaii I really enjoyed Church of Marvels! 👍📚 8y
sherryvdh @DebinHawaii I loved it! If I had to pick one definitive favourite read of 2016, that would be it. 8y
11 likes2 comments
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RanaElizabeth
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Some bumps as this is a debut novel but major points for originality. I mean, guys, it's a freaking literary dystopia where people get the word flu.
#recommendsday

Lacythebookworm Definitely an interesting read! 8y
Hooked_on_books Sounds really interesting! 8y
59 likes8 stack adds2 comments
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Linsy
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My bookish rainbow 🍭🍭🍭🍭 #bookrainbow #septphotochallenge #somethingforsept

EnidBiteEm The Casual Vacancy ... One of my favourites 😀 8y
Texreader Nice 🌈 8y
EnidBiteEm @Texreader I really should read it again 😀 8y
40 likes4 comments
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Madeline
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The Word Exchange is sooo good so far, but ironically requires me to use my phone to look up lots of fancy words. You'll get the irony when you read it and I swear it is an intentional tactic by the author to affect the reading process.

8 likes2 stack adds
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Madeline
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I am currently reading two books that have chapters organized by letters of the alphabet. (The other one is The A to Z of You and Me.) That's never happened before....

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AKinderman
Pickpick

Well written and intriguing plot. Definitely keeps you guessing and engaged. Highly recommend!

jessberk13 I started this last year and never finished. You've reminded me that I wanted to try again! 8y
8 likes1 stack add1 comment
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AKinderman
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Started this on the plane today!

Merethebookgal Cool cover! 8y
britt_brooke I like this cover! 8y
10 likes2 comments
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Library-Belle
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Good morning #24in48 !!!! My theme for the day as I snuggle in bed in pjs is "Reading Is Sexy". Hopefully I get more reading time today though my mum is now considering a reno budget to turn our dining room into a reading room and I'm already designing in my head!

6 likes1 stack add
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Library-Belle
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Saving the book for tomorrow as it is apparently bed time/ treat time in my house hold.... Major reading due for the day so I gotta rest.... Absolutely loving #24in48!

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Library-Belle
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In preparation for @24in48 I've made my chart to keep track of times and the books... Sucks that I have to work on the Saturday but this will help with keeping track :)

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Clarkknowles
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A sharp book that makes me wvarz to pick up my iPhone to share this review.

2 likes2 stack adds
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Deafbibliophile
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Currently reading excited to get into this one

2 likes1 stack add
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Jessica2
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I should have known that this book would have several literary references; but this is great.

2 stack adds
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Jessica2
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Reading adult novels are -hard-people. I'm only on page 84, and this book is wordy, includes footnotes, as well as articles and publications. The story line is keeping me going. #40butloveya