Free eBooks Wordcatcher: An Odyssey Into The World Of Weird And Wonderful Words Available To Downloads
Who knew that the great country of Canada is named for a mistake? How about "bedswerver", the best Elizabethan insult to hurl at a cheating boyfriend?By exploring the delightful back stories of the 250 words in Wordcatcher, listeners will be lured by language and entangled in etymologies. Author Phil Cousineau takes us on a tour into the obscure territory of word origins with great erudition and endearing curiosity. The English poet W. H. Auden was once asked to teach a poetry class, and when 200 students applied to study with him, he only had room for 20 of them. When asked how he chose his students, he said he picked the ones who actually loved words. So too, with this book - it takes a special wordcatcher to create a treasure chest of remarkable words and their origins, and any word lover will relish the stories that Cousineau has discovered.
Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 7 hours and 17 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Viva Editions
Audible.com Release Date: November 23, 2011
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B006CP4EAO
Best Sellers Rank: #134 in Books > Reference > Words, Language & Grammar > Vocabulary, Slang & Word Lists > Word Lists #194 in Books > Reference > Catalogs & Directories #276 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Nonfiction > Language Arts & Disciplines
First. let me say: this is NOT a comprehensive dictionary. It is not meant to be. It's far more special: it's one person's collection of life-defining, life-enhancing, life-inspiring, and life-enriching words. The book is NOT some high brow, exclusive treatise on language or history either. It is, however, an inspiring, meaty, often humorous resource that is at once accessible and scholarly. It's purpose is to put new thoughts and new words into the hands and heads of anyone who wishes to explore words. The book is organized alphabetically, and the fonts are a nice, easy-to-read size. I would suggest that, due to certain word choices within the book, that readers should be at least 14 or 15 age wise. :) The books contains these parts: 1) an Introduction; 2) the word collection; 3) listing of the ten most beautiful words "based in a poll of 40,000 people in 102 countries"; 4) Sources & Recommended Reading; 5) After Tale & About the Author.This is a delightful book for people who enjoy words and who enjoy delving into the origins and inspirations of words--ordinary and extraordinary. I enjoy Cousineau's writing style, and I have read many of his books. From his efforts, this isn't my favorite book. (My reigning favorite from this author is "The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seekers Guide to Making Travel Sacred." ) However, this is worth reading because it is indeed "An Odyssey Into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words," and it offers a satisfying slice of edutainment (educational entertainment.) For those of us who love knowledge and trivia and live with a dictionary in easy reach, Cousineau has given us a clever gift, his own treasure chest---word hoard. These are words that have captured his interest and imagination over the years.
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