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The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows | John Koenig
102 posts | 17 read | 4 reading | 40 to read
A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but dont have the words to express, until nowfrom the creator of the popular online project of the same name. Have you ever wondered about the lives of each person you pass on the street, realizing that everyone is the main character in their own story, each living a life as vivid and complex as your own? That feeling has a name: sonder. Or maybe youve watched a thunderstorm roll in and felt a primal hunger for disaster, hoping it would shake up your life. Thats called lachesism. Or you were looking through old photos and felt a pang of nostalgia for a time youve never actually experienced. Thats anemoia. If youve never heard of these terms before, thats because they didnt exist until John Koenig began his epic quest to fill the gaps in the language of emotion. Born as a website in 2009, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows has garnered widespread critical acclaim, inspired TED talks, album titles, cocktails, and even tattoos. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows creates beautiful new words that we need but do not yet have, says John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars. By turns poignant, funny, and mind-bending, the definitions include whimsical etymologies drawn from languages around the world, interspersed with otherworldly collages and lyrical essays that explore forgotten corners of the human conditionfrom astrophe, the longing to explore beyond the planet Earth, to zenosyne, the sense that time keeps getting faster. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is for anyone who enjoys a shift in perspective, pondering the ineffable feelings that make up our lives, which have far more in common than we think. With a gorgeous package and beautifully illustrated throughout, this is the perfect gift for creatives, word nerds, and people everywhere.
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blurb
JenlovesJT47
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looseleft:
adj. feeling a sense of loss upon finishing a good book, sensing the weight of the back cover locking away the lives of characters you‘ve gotten to know so well.

My ode to a book hangover — who knew there was an actual word for this? So cool. (Nothing makes me feel a book hangover more than when I finish my Harry Potter reread every year or two!)

Take me back to that
magical world within your
pages — I‘m adrift.

#haikuhive

TheSpineView Love this one! 💛🐝💛 10h
See All 8 Comments
lil1inblue What a great word! I love the haiku - it encapsulates a book hangover perfectly, but also works on other levels. 💛 🐝 💛 9h
dabbe Your words make me yearn for Hogwarts again! 🖤🐝🖤 9h
GingerAntics No longer a fan of hogwarts, but I love the word! 8h
AnnCrystal Truly magical 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🪄🐝💝. (edited) 3h
Eggs Great word! I have that feeling for several books…sigh 32m
28 likes8 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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énouement: the bittersweetness of having arrived here in the future, seeing how things turn out, but unable to tell your past self.

I‘m coming at this perspective wishing I could tell this to my younger self.

You won‘t hear me, but
they don‘t love you. And you are
so much more than them.

#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #DOOS

TheSpineView Love! ❤️💛🐝💛 17h
lil1inblue Moving and bittersweet. 💛 🐝 💛 15h
See All 6 Comments
Eggs Perfection 🫶🏻 Erudite and elegant 🤗 14h
dabbe I just said a similar thing to my husband yesterday. “If only I could talk to my younger self.“ His reply? “Your younger self wouldn't listen.“ You captured all of that perfectly. 🖤🐝🖤 10h
AnnCrystal 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🥲🐝💝. 3h
45 likes6 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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occhiolism: the awareness of how fundamentally limited your senses are—noticing how little of your field of vision is ever in focus, how few colors you‘re able to see, how few sounds you‘re able to hear, how intrusively your brain fills in the blanks with its own cartoonish extrapolations—which makes you wish you could experience the whole of reality instead of only ever catching a tiny glimpse of it, to just once step back from the keyhole…

JenlovesJT47 @dabbe I wrote this about 10 minutes before your comment on my other post. Thought it goes along nicely with what you said. 💛🖤💛 2d
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dabbe @JenlovesJT47 You nailed it! Does your book tell how to pronounce that word? 🤩🐝🖤 2d
JenlovesJT47 @dabbe I think it‘s like okeeolism if that makes sense 😄 2d
dabbe @JenlovesJT47 I like that better than oh-KOH-oh-li-zm ... that sounds too close to “alcoholism“! 🤣 2d
JenlovesJT47 @dabbe lol didn‘t even notice that! 😅 2d
AnnCrystal That's an incredibly insightful Haiku 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🙏🏼🐝💝. 2d
TheSpineView ❤️📚❤️💛🐝💛 2d
Eggs Love this 🐝 🐝 🐝 2d
julieclair This needs to be posted in every classroom and library in every school! 👍👍👍 2d
lil1inblue 💓 🙌 🙌 🙌 💓 2d
BookmarkTavern Love this book! 💖 1d
40 likes13 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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Today‘s word is onism.

Onism: the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time.

My mind floats away
but my body can‘t escape.
I‘m trapped here with you.

#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #DOOS

dabbe I have this feeling a lot! Thanks for expressing it so lovingly. How many times I wish my mind could just go out there and see the entire universe up close before I die, but NOPE! I'm trapped in this body. 😱 🖤🐝🖤 2d
JenlovesJT47 @dabbe that‘s funny, I just wrote another one for another word from this book that sums up what you just said nicely, will post it in a bit! 💛🖤💛🫂 2d
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TheSpineView Ohhh.. love the feeling this envokes.💛🐝💛 2d
AnnCrystal Oh my, I hadn't realized there was a word for that 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🙏🐝💝. 2d
Eggs Quite powerful👏🏻💛👏🏻 🐝 👏🏻🖤👏🏻 2d
lil1inblue So compelling! 😍 2d
41 likes7 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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It‘s Friday so why not do 2 words today? 😆

“scabulous
adj. proud of a certain scar on your body, which is like an autograph signed to you by a world grateful for your continued willingness to play with her, even if it hurts.
From scab + fabulous.”

Referring to scars on my back from a car accident*

Worn like a badge, these
stripes are a reminder of
the strength I possess.

#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #haiku #DOOS

BooksandCoffee4Me Warrior scars in this battle called life. Meaningful haiku. 2w
dabbe A simile well-earned. 💛🐝🖤 #twoormorewilldo! 😍 2w
See All 11 Comments
TheSpineView Wow! 💛🐝💛 2w
TheBookHippie ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ 2w
Kristy_K Wonderful haiku! 💛💛 2w
AnnCrystal Powerful Sentiment 👏🏼🐝👌🏼🙏🏼🐝💝. 2w
Eggs Beautiful and powerful🩷 Well done! 2w
bellabella Wow. So beautiful 2w
Reggie Wow! 2w
DebinHawaii This is wonderful—so deep & beautiful! 🖤🐝🖤 2w
47 likes11 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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Today‘s word is trumspringa: the longing to wander off your career track in pursuit of a simple life — tending a small farm in a forest clearing, keeping a lighthouse on a secluded atoll, or becoming a shepherd in the mountains — which is just the kind of hypnotic diversion that allows your thoughts to make a break for it & wander back to their cubicles in the city.

Oh would that I could
stash myself away in a
cottage full of books.

#haikuhive

AnnCrystal Cottage full of books would make a lovely getaway 👏🏼🐝👍🏼📚🐝💝. 2w
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TheSpineView If only!! 💛🐝💛 2w
CBee I have this longing often! 2w
dabbe I love how “book“ and “stash“ are perfect words for each other! 💛🐝🖤 2w
BooksandCoffee4Me Oh, this is beautiful!! 💛💛💛 2w
Kristy_K I dream of this often! Love this haiku. 💛💛 (edited) 2w
Eggs Sounds like heaven to me🩵📚💚 2w
bellabella You mean you don't have one??
Yeah... me neither, only in my dreams 😂
2w
DebinHawaii Sounds perfect to me! 📚💛🐝🖤 2w
50 likes11 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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Today‘s word is chrysalism.

Chrysalism: the amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm.

Mesmerized by each
drop, warmth steals over me as
the storm rages on.

#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #DOOS

TheSpineView This reminds how much I enjoyed listening to storms. 💛🐝💛 2w
BooksandCoffee4Me Oh, a new word, “chrysalism”! I love it. Your haiku describes the feeling perfectly. 💛💛💛 2w
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lil1inblue This encapsulates watching storms so well! Loving your new inspiration! 💛 🐝 💛 2w
TheBookHippie Such a vignette! Love. 2w
dabbe You captured this feeling perfectly. And like a chrysalis, we're cocooned inside from the storm outside. 💛🐝🖤 2w
jdiehr 💛 2w
Kristy_K Love! 💛 2w
AnnCrystal That's fantastic 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🌨️🐝💝. 2w
Eggs Super brilliant and beautiful 🤩 2w
bellabella Yes. I love the rain. 😍 2w
DebinHawaii Gorgeous! There‘s nothing better than reading inside during a rainstorm! 🖤🐝💛 2w
51 likes13 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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Today‘s word is kenopsia.

Kenopsia: the atmosphere of a place that is usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet.

Abandoned amusement park —

Echoes of laughter
float lazily on the breeze:
ghosts of yesterday.

#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #DOOS

lil1inblue I love this one! You capture kenopsia (a new-to-me word) well with this! 😍 2w
TheBookHippie Oooo love!!! 2w
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TheKidUpstairs I didn't know there was a word for that! I love it! 2w
TheSpineView Love it! It has that right amount of creepy. 2w
JenlovesJT47 Reminds me of this 2w
CBee This could totally work for #weirdwordwednesday too 😀 2w
kspenmoll Love everything about this post! 2w
dabbe What a heart-wrencher! #nostalgia 💛🐝🖤 2w
AnnCrystal This is sweet tenderness 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🌬️👻🐝💝. 2w
Eggs Wow❣️Love this word! And image and excellent haiku👏🏻👏🏻 2w
Reggie Perfect! 2w
bellabella ooooohhhh! So chilling and poetic!! 2w
DebinHawaii Wonderful creepy vibe! 🖤🐝🖤 2w
51 likes16 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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I picked up this lovely dictionary from a bookstore in Atlanta while on a road trip with my sister a few years ago. An excerpt from page 1: “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a compendium of new words for emotions. Its mission is to shine a light on the fundamental strangeness of being a human being — all the aches, demons, vibes, joys & urges that are humming in the background of everyday life.”

I decided to use this book as inspiration ⬇️

JenlovesJT47 For the #haikuhive - I plan on choosing one word and its definition a day to write some type of haiku. Will be posting today‘s shortly! 2w
TheBookHippie Oh how fun! 2w
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lil1inblue What a great idea! I'm excited to see the results. 👏 👏 👏 😍 2w
TheSpineView 💙📘💙💛🐝💛 2w
dabbe I can't wait! 💛🐝🖤 2w
ShelleyBooksie Gorgeous flowers and cool book. 2w
AnnCrystal That's brilliant, look forward to your posts 🐝👌🏼💝. 2w
Eggs @JenlovesJT47 Great idea 💡! 2w
Eggs Stacked!! 2w
BooksandCoffee4Me Your haiku inspired by words have been wonderful!! 💛💛💛 2w
53 likes2 stack adds11 comments
review
MatchlessMarie
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Pickpick

Didn‘t make a #36by36 update yesterday, so here‘s a twofer. I finished The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows on Monday. Nick Allen would love this book. 🖊️ I am glad I read it and am actually surprised that these are not “actual” words because I have found myself relating to so many of these, some frighteningly specific to my own experience. I hope to own it at some point in print because a lot of these concepts deserve further introspection. ⬇️

MatchlessMarie This makes book 5 for #10BeforeTheEnd. I had an eye exam on Monday so I was a bit bleary eyed for a good part of the day so I ended up starting A Part of Your World on audio and am enjoying it so far. I was a little hesitant because the last Abby Jimenez I read was so upsetting 😂 I am hoping to finish it today as well as Reasons to Stay Alive. Just about 10 hours left on this challenge 💪🏻 #NFN 7mo
MatchlessMarie Yesterday I didn‘t get a lot of reading done. I was working and listening to a podcast for a discussion I attended last night it was the Cultish podcast on the episode on Defecting from Bethel. As an ex evangelical it was very difficult to listen to/ revisit some of this stuff. It was pretty triggering so I could only listen to part one and about half of part 2. Talking through this BS with others with similar experiences was good for me, though. 7mo
Bookwormjillk Ugh on the BS but I‘m glad there are others you can talk to 7mo
MatchlessMarie @Bookwormjillk For sure! I used to consume so much content around deconstruction when I first left the church but I feel like I got theology fatigue so for a long time I‘ve just been like I don‘t want to think about this stuff anymore. But it was validating to talk with other ppl who have experienced the cult that is the evangelical church. 7mo
46 likes4 comments
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MatchlessMarie
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Yesterday was full of bowling and Mario Kart as Sundays tend to be 😄 So I didn‘t finish any books but I am halfway through The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows which I am enjoying as much as everyone who has recommended it thinks I will! I also found a Kensington edition of Pucking Wild at my library so I started Tess and Ryan‘s bonus epilogue yesterday too. 🥹 Almost to the midpoint of this challenge. #36by36

Bookwormjillk Mmmmm ice cream 7mo
MatchlessMarie @Bookwormjillk I started that one this past summer but I keep getting distracted taking notes of the characters so I haven‘t finished it but I have finished several pints of Rocky Road since then 🤣 7mo
40 likes2 comments
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MatchlessMarie
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Night Sky book cover prompt. This book is going to be on my November TBR as well. #HauntedShelf #SkeletonCrew

Emilymdxn Beautiful cover! 8mo
BookmarkTavern I love this book! ✨ 8mo
PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 8mo
33 likes3 comments
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HiMyNames_Alyssa
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A couple new books for the shelf ? the dictionary of obscure sorrows was referenced in Amanda Montell's "The Age of Magical Overthinking" that I listened to a little while back.

BookmarkTavern I love the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows! 💖 9mo
5 likes1 comment
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Crazeedi
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This is my Mother's day present from my daughter. It is the coolest book! A compendium of new words for emotions.
When she read the first quote she knew it was a book for me
"I read the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything. " Steve Wright.
Yes I read it as a child?
#litsylove

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love it!! ❤️❤️ 12mo
Libby1 I adore this book. 12mo
Crazeedi @Libby1 isn't it so very cool!! 12mo
51 likes3 comments
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AkashaVampie
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Just finished The Book of Cold Cases. Now on to my 3rd book of the yr already. Crushing it!!! 😜🤓📚

Prompt - kid # 1 picks

I love doing my #BookishMonopoly
It keeps it fun and non-stop.

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BekaReid
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idlewild - adj. feeling grateful to be stranded in a place where you can't do much of anything-sitting for hours at an airport gate...which temporarily alleviates the burden of being able to do anything at any time and frees up your brain to do whatever it wants to do, even if it's just to flicker your eyes across the passing landscape. From Idlewild, the original name of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

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BekaReid
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Pickpick

This book is a journey through completely bizarre yet weirdly common experiences of the human condition. It attempts to put some of our common thoughts and emotions into words. Some definitions are brief and to the point. Others are short essays that explore the feeling more deeply. Parts are quite poetic and just makes me want to create.

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BekaReid
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I can relate!

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Citra182
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I had this expectation, picking up this book, that I would feel real validated (because misery loves company), but instead…its like every time I read a new word, it would bring up a memory. Painful ones, fun ones, ones I had forgotten. Such a pleasant surprise!

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Liz_M
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Belated Weekly Report.

I've finished Salt Crystals and have started reading a few other books. The Hidden Palace for bookclub, Doctor Thorne, and of course there is the every present Clarissa. Tagged book is not pictured, but is a pleasant interlude from the others.

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Vivlio_Gnosi
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly recommend this book about words. The author provides an enlightening perspective on how to view the world and never be afraid to expand your horizons.
#bestseller #nytimes

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Vivlio_Gnosi
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"It's up to you. A word is only real if you want it to be."

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Vivlio_Gnosi
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Enjoying an afternoon at my local coffee shop ☕️

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Vivlio_Gnosi
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Etterath

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CarolynM
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Two lovely gifts arrived today. The tagged book, on the right, from my birthday fairy sister @KarenUK and what a beautiful book it is! I can see myself dipping in to it a lot in the next few days. Thank you so much, Karen 😘

The book on the left looks terrific, some wonderful mid C20th women writers. I am guessing it comes from you @LeahBergen Am I right?

TrishB Lovely ♥️ 2y
Lizpixie Oh they both look amazing! The one on the left would be perfect on my shelves, I‘m gonna need to track it down now. So much for my #nomorebookslizdammit! “request” from the hubby🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y
batsy 😍 2y
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KarenUK 🥰 2y
LeahBergen Yep, it‘s from me. Merry Christmas, my friend! 😘😘 2y
BarbaraBB The right one is a lovely book indeed! 2y
Cathythoughts Lovely gifts for you 👍🏻♥️ 2y
CarolynM @LeahBergen Oh dear! I forgot to thank you 🫣🥴 How rude! I really do appreciate it, I‘m very grateful and very sorry for the delayed thanks 🙏 (edited) 2y
LeahBergen 😆😆 Oh, no worries! And I received your GORGEOUS Christmas card yesterday and it is just about the most perfect card EVER. Vintage girl‘s Christmas annuals! 😍😍 Thank YOU. 😘😘 2y
CarolynM @LeahBergen I thought of you the moment I saw that pack of cards😀 2y
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MelAnn
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This quote is in the front of this book I just began! Seems perfect for a chilly fall evening in the Texas Panhandle! I‘m not working tonight! Choosing to read something not work related! Yay for me!

Suet624 I miss Wright‘s humor. 3y
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Vivlio_Gnosi
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Anyone else feel this way?

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks No!! ❤️📚 3y
7 likes1 comment
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BarbaraBB
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Pickpick

Looseleft, ozurie, indosentia, foilsick, etherness, dorgone, sitheless, kenaway, silience, innity, wenbane, aulasy, enterhood, morii, yu yi, ellipsism, craxis, evertheless: these are just some of the words Koenig invented to name feelings that until now never had one.
Except for a dictionary of new words, the book is a collection of truths, fears and nostalgia. It leaves me a bit sad but I am grateful I read it thanks to the lovely @KarenUK 🤍

KarenUK I‘m glad you liked it…. It was a unique find xxx💕 3y
KarenUK And lovely pic 😍💕 3y
BarbaraBB @KarenUK Thank you for finding and gifting me this little gem 🤍 3y
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sarahbarnes Wow! ♥️ 3y
Suet624 My son and his wife have said the same thing about this book. 💕 3y
BarbaraBB @Suet624 You‘d love it too I think 3y
Suet624 Got your note. Thank you. I‘ll write back tonight. 💕 3y
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BarbaraBB
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This book is filled with beautiful sentences and definitions. Just an example is this quote by Louise Erdrich 🤍

Suet624 So lovely. 3y
KarenUK Lovely 💕💕💕 3y
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keithmalek
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Mehso-so

I liked a lot of these words, but a lot of them were also terribly corny, and would never past muster with a lexicographer. Koenig often takes two words from completely different languages and blends them together, which is a big no-no. For me, it's much more rewarding to find an obscure word that already exists than to read Koenig's made-up words, especially when he blatantly throws all the rules of language out the window.

BarbaraBB I am looking forward to it, thanks to your pose too 🤍 3y
9 likes1 comment
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keithmalek
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The word is "craxis."

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keithmalek

Anticious: adj. Wondering what our ancestors would think of all this.

From antecedent + anxious. Pronounced "an-tish-ous."

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