"Origins of the Specious" anyone?

[LunaEroticaMystica]

Has anyone read Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language? I've heard great reviews from some of my friends and have been considering purchasing it. Any reviews? Thoughts? Suggestions on other noteworthy books? Thanks!

 

[Weird Harold]

Has anyone read Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language? I've heard great reviews from some of my friends and have been considering purchasing it. Any reviews? Thoughts? Suggestions on other noteworthy books? Thanks!

The local library has several copies and my hold request is being processed now -- I'll try to remember to give you my opinionin a week or so.

 

[Tyro999]

Has anyone read Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language? I've heard great reviews from some of my friends and have been considering purchasing it. Any reviews? Thoughts? Suggestions on other noteworthy books? Thanks!

Last year, the Washington Post did a glowing review of that one, and two others "The Artful Nuance - A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language, Rod L. Evans, Ph.D, A Perigee (Penguin) book, (Soft Cover ISBN 978-0-399-53482-9; and The Whatchamacallit - Those Everyday Obects You Just Can't Name (and things you think you know about but don't), Danny Danziger & Mark McCrum, Hyperion (Harper/Collins), (Hard Cover) ISBN 978-1-4013-2338-7. I went down to the local Books-A-Million, found and bought all three, which I thouroughly enjoyed.

The latter two, at ~204 pp and ~200 pp respectively and trade paperback sized, you might want to check out also.

Origins of the Specious is 266 pp, and I would recommend it as a must-buy for any word-lover.

 

[LunaEroticaMystica]

WeirdHarold, oh please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Tyro999, thank you SO much for these suggestions. You've been most helpful. I can't wait to start reading!!

 

[Weird Harold]

WeirdHarold, oh please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Picked it up from the Library this afternoon and have gotten through the introduction and first two chapters. It is a fun read, but not particularly well organized. It has 200-some pages of text, nearly 50 pages of footnotes and a dozen pages of alphabetical index.

The alphabetical index will be useful for looking up words later, and the notes section leads to source references. If you're looking for a starting point for research, this would be a very handy book to have around, but I wouldn't use it as an authoritative source by itself.

On the other hand, it is an outstanding "bathroom reader" -- a book that you can read and enjoy in small chunks and pretty much open at random and enjoy. I'm not sure I'd pay hard bound prices to buy a copy as a "bathroom reader" -- a trade paper or mass-market edition would do for that purpose.

OTOH, If you're considering it as a reference book, you'll probably want the durability of the hard cover.

Personally, I have no real need for a book of this type, so I would apply my limited book budget to something else, but it is worth buying if you have the budget for it.