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Dec 15, 2008

David rated it:

This wasn't quite as brilliant as the first chapter, included as teaser in the New Work Times book review a few weeks ago, led me to expect. But there is plenty of good stuff to cheer and amuse the reader.

The book is formatted like a dictionary, in which each entry is an idiosyncratic riff by Blount on some aspect of the alphabet, words, the English language, language generally, or English usage. (Blount is a member of the American Heritage Dictionary usage panel.)

What More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2009

Elevate Difference rated it:

I stand firm in the belief that the most obnoxious party conversation of all is the origins of words. There is never a good reason to bust out the Old French "cover fire" roots of "curfew." A close second is the proper use of words and expressions. For the ultimate horror, a combination: a statement on the proper use of an expression, followed by the origin of that expression or the words therein. I, like many people, have been guilty of all these pretensions in the past, but More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2009

Guy rated it:

Finally, someone else who cares as much as I do about words and their use. I am so sick of people using exhaustive when they mean exhausting and disinterested when they mean uninterested. It's good to know there's someone else out there raging against the Newspeak-ification of our language. Double plus good.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 25, 2010

Glenn rated it:

This is a great book. So endless fascinating and so full of facts and thoughts and quips that I have to keep going back and re-reading parts of it even before I get to the end. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the English language. It's quite unlike any other book about words.

This book gets 5 stars because not only will I read it again, but I will keep reading it and reading it. I manage to forget much of what I read, so I'm happy to keep rereading. It's my bathroo More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2009

Sara rated it:

This book most likely isn't for everyone, in particular those who are already snoring at the mention of a book about the origins, moods, and usage of words. But, for those who fret over getting the most out of language, written and spoken, when they use it, and who see it as a tool and a thing of beauty, this is a great find.

Blount's book is written in entry form, with a section devoted to each letter of the English alphabet, complete with an introductory entry for each letter. This More...

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Nov 18, 2009

Marti marked it as to-read

"Blount (Long Time Leaving) is a contributing editor to the Atlantic Monthly, a regular panelist on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! quiz show and a usage consultant to the American Heritage Dictionary. He displays his pleasure in words with his subtitle — 'The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; with Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory' — as he dishes up a More...

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May 31, 2009

Chris rated it:

When I was last home for Christmas, my mother pretty much shoved this book into my hands and said, "You have to read this." And far be it from me to ignore my mother's advice, except possibly that little tidbit about being trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space. I kinda spaced out on that one. Probably wasn't important....

Anyway, Mom was right. Like nearly everyone else in my family, I am a lover of language. More...

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May 16, 2009

michelle rated it:

LOVE. a few highlights, below:

1. "(Did you know that Hells Angels refer to themselves as 'AJ' because it sounds so much like 'HA'?)" [9:]
2. "I thought I had found a flaw in AHD, where it says 'abracadabra' originally 'was a magic word, the letters of which were arranged in an inverted pyramid'.... [visual representation of how this works:]... Am I relieved that this book didn't turn, just now, into a flock of pigeons." [13-14:]
3. "We got where we were More...

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Oct 23, 2011

Karen rated it:

Warning: this is for word nerds only. A reference book of sorts, it defines words and terms of Blount's choosing, but also gives word origins and examples of changes in meaning. Under "cheese" he lists the words said in various languages when having one's photo taken. The "muscle/mussel" entry tells us both words were the same in ancient Rome. Under "Wyoming" he suggests that we start using it as a verb, since it looks like one. Learning made fun.

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Jan 09, 2010

Cade rated it:

What a great book. It is like stepping inside Roy Blount Jr.’s head and watching his brain work. The man has an amazing respect for words and the English language. Words have meaning and need to be used properly if they are to convey communication. Roy certainly discusses the meaning and proper use of words and phrases, but more enjoyably he discusses the sonic essence of words and letters and phrases.

He talks of pips and pops and fits and stops. The slither and hiss of an s. H More...

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Jun 22, 2011

Danna rated it:

When looking up a word in a dictionary, I always wander off path like Red Riding Hood going after just one more wildflower, then another, and another. Roy Blount Jr.'s unique glossographia is full of the most delightful flowers! I set out to read the pages in numerical order, but before I was finished with the A's (Mr. Blount would approve of this use of the apostrophe) I was enticed into the woods by a splendid "see" reference. Then another. And another.

Here's a bit f More...

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Dec 08, 2008

Ann rated it:

This review refers to the Audiobook version of Alphabet Juice. If you have the opportunity I highly suggest giving the audio-book version a listen. I was a little dubious at first, books about language don't necessarily do very well in audio format, but I'm SO glad I gave it a try. Mr. Blount's joy and zest for language really comes alive as he reads his book. It's a sheer delight to listen to. Alphabet Juice is a superbly apt name for this book; it's not often that you find something that delig More...

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Feb 17, 2010

Justin rated it:

A perfect bathroom book, this fun glossary's main conceit emends Saussure's assertion that the relationship of word to thing is completely arbitrary. Blount "argues" that while Saussure is ultimately correct, there has to be something about a word's form, sound or taste that evokes the thing to which it refers. Lacking this admittedly vague and often indefinable connection to its referent, a word will either fade from use or never be adopted in the first place.

His spirited a More...

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Dec 30, 2008

Patrick rated it:

Word lovers unite! (Bad spellers untie!) Never has the exploration of the alphabet and its combinations been so much fun. Blount Jr. (the missing comma before Jr., he explains herein, is intentional) talks about words that look and sound exactly the way they should (without the G, "phlegm" just wouldn't be the same), stopping along the way to tell some barely relevant stories that are, like the book subtitle says, foul and savory. My faves involve Wilt Chamberlain, Leonard Bernstein, a More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2011

Andrea rated it:

If you liked your History of the English language course in college, or have a thing for etymology, then you will enjoy some of your time spent with this book. Of course a book by Roy Blount Jr. will have funny and interesting moments as well as obvious poltical opinion, slightly off color digressions, and the use of words that are not considered polite for general discourse. Your inner English major will have to decide if you can slog through the boring stuff, bypass or ignore the occasional More...

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Dec 29, 2009

Dawn rated it:

I think I would have given this book 4 stars if I hadn't decided to read it from cover to cover. I think it's a book that's better enjoyed by reading a little bit here and there. It took me quite a while to get through, which I think was a result of the nature of the book. It's a dictionary of sorts, and therefore doesn't have a running narrative to hold your attention. I found I would generally only read a few sections before my mind would wander onto something totally unrelated.

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Aug 25, 2009

Amanda rated it:

This is a book about words; the subtitle sums it up very nicely. Roy Blount Jr. is one of my favorite panelists on Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me, so I thought I'd try out one of his books. I liked this book because I really like words. Not just reading them, but saying them and learning about them. If you are not interested in reading this book, I offer three highlights:

tmesis- inserting a word into another word for an intensifying effect. Example from my life: Tyler was trying to co More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 12, 2009

Paul rated it:

This is a fun book. There's a slight lack of focus, but this, for me, added to my enjoyment. In his preface, Blount talks about words' "juice," their zing or their sound, and his thesis seems to be that language is not arbitrary (a "tree" may as well be called a "igipen") but instead, the sound(s) evoke the thing, in many cases. I don't really buy this, so I'm thankful Blount spends most of his time just talking about the joy of words, how fun they can be, etc. etc. More...

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Feb 19, 2009

Danielle rated it:

I don't know who Roy Blount Jr. is, but he obviously thinks a lot of himself. Apparently his publisher does too, considering the incredible leeway he was given over the content in this book. He rants on politics, he covers language usage and vocal anatomy, there were arcane sports references and random poetry. Altogether, this book left me with a headache, which is saying something for an avowed lexophile. In fact, I would never have kept reading it if not for the truly interesting etymological More...

7 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

Sarita marked it as to-read

I'm in - see here from the New York Times review by Jack Shafer:

"There’s no aspect of our language, written, spoken or grunted, that escapes Blount appraisal. Like that other lay linguist H. L. Mencken, who beat the pros at their own game with “The American Language,” he figures that if amateurs are qualified to create language and authorized to mutate it, why leave the fun of tasting, dissecting and quarreling over it to the professoriate?

Marginalized as a humoris More...

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May 18, 2009

Terence rated it:

For anyone who seriously enjoys using words, this is a marvelous book. A collection of mini-essays about words and phrases that have struck Blount's fancy. If there's a serious point to the book, it's one that I'm whole-heartedly in favor of: A language loses "something" when its speakers cease to care about what they write and say. We should encourage and celebrate sprachgefuhl (imagine an umlaut above the "u"), a feeling for language, the mot juste, an ear for idiom.
More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 15, 2009

Tasha rated it:

What a bloated, vanity project! The book has 5 stars moments but they are rare. He keeps talking about himself and quoting himself. (See tump). Enough!!

I was shaking my head and saying "Amen!" to another reviewer's comments.
1) It seems as if he just learned how to use the internet and wants to bore us with his search results
2) He must have discovered an old notebook with all his ramblings and old ideas and decided to add them to the book.
3) There are time More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 10, 2009

Jake rated it:

Per Mr. Blount's instructions in the Introduction, I haven't read this cover to cover. I skip around, enjoying the ubiquitous cross references.

This is a great book for anyone who claims to have writing ability and/or command of the American English language. It is also fun reading, though I wouldn't characterize it as light either. Mr. Blount has a lifetime of experience with words and letters. His entries are sincere, well-researched, and academic. The brilliance is how readable Bl More...

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Oct 04, 2010

Elizabeth marked it as to-read

As heard on "The Writer's Alamanac".

Also, Roy Blount Jr. is a frequent panelist on "Wait wait... don't tell me!" (and, like everyone on NPR, he looks nothing like I imagined him to).

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Mar 21, 2010

Johanna rated it:

This is really a 3.5. Roy Blount Jr. is one of my favorite guests on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, so I'd been wanting to read one of his books for awhile. This was not what I expected, though. I thought it would be a book of essays, but really it's a dictionary. Blount discusses literary history, linguistics, etymology, grammar, and culture by defining words of his choosing. The entries are interesting and funny, and I like all of those topics. By the end, though, I was craving some narrative. I thi More...

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Jan 12, 2010

Nancy rated it:

Entertaining. I'm not totally sure I buy Blount's premise that some words endure because their sounds go so well with their meanings, but s'okay. I had a good time reading what he cares about in grammar, syntax, and vocabulary; I could probably read a book like that from every English-speaking person. But Blount writes better than most of them, I'm sure.

Let me know if you'd like me to send it your way.

1 comment like

Mar 11, 2009

Paul rated it:

This is a love letter to words from a man who has clearly spent his life loving the way they work, where they come from, and what they sound like. Structured like a reference book, Alphabet Juice can be read front to back or skipping around. The latter approach, while it may reveal some of the fun connections between words (as Blount sees them), carries the risk of missing some of his more fun entries. While Blount intends to teach in some entries, giving origins and relationships, his main g More...

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Mar 13, 2011

Michelle rated it:

Fun book. It's not necessarily a book you just sit down and read cover to cover since it's organized like a dictionary and contains entries with cross references. It's certainly no dry dictionary (though I hasten to add I was a nerdy kid who read the dictionary for fun). Blount comes from the perspective that words are not arbitrary strings of sound representing abstractions. His argument, presented delightfully, is that words have a "sonicky" quality (see the book for a definition More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2011

Trena rated it:

This book is the kind of exercise in which a writer with an established fan base engages when he's run out of material but needs money. Roy Blount Jr. basically read a few dictionaries and wrote about the words he likes. If I were part of his fan base, I probably would have been thrilled with this book--I can certainly think of authors I'd read in this sort of medium.

In this case, since I'd never heard of him I have absolutely no interest in his opinions and endless self-referenc More...

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May 29, 2011

Vasha7 added it

Under a multitude of keywords, Blount expounds and kids around about words and language. He certainly has a vivid way of expressing himself, and an eye for good (or bad) quotations from the newspapers. Some of it is pet-peevish, but mostly not. He has a particular preoccupation with how words sound, and tries to connect their sound to their sense.

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