by Katie,
It is one of the most important tools of the English language. The dictionary is found in every school, office, and mostly every home. But how many of us stop to think about how the dictionary was put together?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary’s website, the OED was started in 1879. “It was estimated that the project would be finished in approximately ten years. Five years down the road, when Murray and his colleagues had only reached as far as the word ‘ant’, they realized it was time to reconsider their schedule. It was not surprising that the project was taking longer than anticipated.” (OED website)
This is not hard to believe considering how many words are in the English language.
The Professor and the Madman promises us “an extraordinary tale of madness and genius, and the incredible obsessions of two men at the heart of the Oxford English Dictionary …” (Bookbrowse.com) This is not hard to believe considering how many words are in the English language.
Let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint!
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteHope all is well.
While trawling the web I have found a few suggestions for our list, please let me know what you think:
Possession by A S Byatt
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Hello Nancy and Katie
DeleteThis is an interesting cross section of books. Thank you, Nancy. I have read Possession, which is also a film. Really enjoyed both the film and the book, and will be very happy to read it again. So, for me, all good.
On the subject of re-reading books, I've read this month's before, too, but under a different title: the Surgeon of Crowthorne. Could there have been two different titles for two different countries? I'd forgotten how good Simon Winchester is - very much enjoying a second reading. Carrying it around with me to read at every opportunity.
How are you managing with the audio version, Nancy? And have the children gone back to Uni yet? Jay's still in Malaysia, and it's still very cold here in the U.K. We are promised warm and wetter weather next week - spring's about a month late.
Hope the pregnancy progresses well. Katie. They should be treating you gently at work. Take great care of yourself.
Love to you both
Sue
Really enjoyed this, ladies: detailed without becoming boring; wonderfully drawn characters; an informed insight into the creation of a familiar artifact; creative speculation anchored in thorough research. No flights of fantasy to confuse my tired mind here.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing, really, that Dr. Minor wasn’t hung. It was, indeed, “an extraordinarily lenient time in British justice” (p. 20 in my copy). Charles Dickens had died only two years previously, and I would not have thought of it as a time when Brits were renowned for humanitarian acts. Dr. Brayn’s regime at Broadmoor would support that view. But, on the whole, Dr. Minor seems to have been treated with kindness. Perhaps the fact he had money helped.
The scene setting in the first few chapters, the stories of the early lives of the two main characters, and the horrific details of the American Civil War were fascinating and convincing. The sympathetic attempts to analyse Dr. Minor’s psychological problems were interesting (I’m lucky enough to know nothing about these kinds of illnesses) – and the fact that Murray left school at fourteen and still achieved such academic success was marvellous. I was wondering whether that could happen today. A seventeen year old has just sold some technological development for a fortune, so I suppose it could. There again, his family could afford to give him access to the necessary hardware.
The making of the dictionary was such a great story – all that research into word usage. Amazing definitions at the beginning of the chapters: and the developments in meaning fascinating. Catchword seems to have originally been what we’d now call a sub-heading (I think). Must be enormously difficult these days to keep up with the changing meaning of words (wireless, applications, cool wicked, etc.)
So important to be able to use language precisely, accurately. There again, our politicians seem to be able to use it to obscure meaning. That could be the basis of another, very different book.
Thanks for this choice, Katy. How are you feeling? Take care of yourself.
Hope you and Ivars enjoyed the spoken version, Nancy. Had you listened to a book before? How different is the experience from reading?
Going away for a long weekend, which is why I’ve posted early. Jay’s return home has been delayed. One of his brothers died very suddenly. I’m just so glad Jay was already in Malaysia.
And I’ve been very glad of the “distraction” of the book.
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteA big sorry for my tardiness in commenting this month, things seem to have gotten away on me a little but at present all is well.
Sue, so sorry to hear of the loss of Jay's brother, our love to you both at this time, and I hope Jay will be home with you again soon.
Katie I hope all is well with you and Franklin and you are enjoying some special moments.
Well girls, audio books are definitely not for me !!!
I cannot stay awake through a whole disc, no matter what time of day I try and it wasn't the content of the book at fault, it was me!!
I also found it difficult not to be able to reference back to certain pages easily and reread for clarification on certain ideas. So a rather unsuccessful experiment but at least I was able to get Ivars to sit still for an hour at a time, even if he was waking me up lots.
Having said that I surprisingly remember quite a lot of the story. Simon Winchester has a beautiful voice and I found his descriptions of London at the time very atmospheric and I felt I could almost here all the sounds of a busy city as I listened. The detail was extraordinary throughout the story, I was fascinated by the evolution of our language. I have recently finished Lady Chatterley's Lover so I feel I have been very much immersed in the time and the place.
I was interested in Winchester's account of the American Civil War. I know very little about it and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at the brutality and violence of his account, yet I was.
I know I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read and not listened to it, I did, however find it very interesting and thought Simon Winchester was fabulous as an author and a narrator.
much love to you both
I had always thought I should try an audio book, Nancy, so was glad to read your comments. In my foolishness, I had not thought about referencing backwards - and how would I ever be able to read the end first?! So, I'll give it a miss. I admire Ivar's powers of concentration.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine Murray and Minor would have been very interested in "Lady Chatterley's Lover" as source material for the definition of a variety of terms.
Glad to hear you've regained control of whatever had got away in life, Nancy. Jay has regained some equilibrium and should be back towards the end of May. He left at the beginning of March, so it has been a long time. But it has afforded more time for reading. I strongly recommend Sally Vickers' "Miss Garnet's Angel", set in Venice.
Hope you and Franklin are doing well, Katie.
Look after yourselves
Sue
Hello to both of you.
ReplyDeleteSorry I’m late in posting. Work has been brutal. Also my deepest sympathies to Jay and the rest of the family! Hopefully he’ll be back soon too. I can’t remember the last time I was away from Franklin for so long!
I’m afraid I found my choice to be duller than I thought it would be. It did not read like a novel, which I suppose in a historical context it couldn’t. I think if it had been more novel and less like a documentary I would have enjoyed it more. I will not deny that the work involved in the making of such a book was monumental. I could not image having the patience that both men had!
While I cannot call The Professor and the Madman my favorite book, I can admit that it was a very informative read. Dr. Murray was, by the sounds of it, an extraordinary individual. His commitment and dedication were admirable. I also was astounded by the degree of his intelligence despite a lack of formal education. As for Dr. Minor, he was a very lucky man. Not only as you pointed out, Sue, was he lucky for the leniency of his sentence, he was also lucky to not have been put in an institution that would have treated him like an animal. You may be right about his wealth having some influence on that.
Nancy, it was very brave of you to try the audio book. I’m afraid audio books aren’t always for me. They give me the ability to zone out and day dream way too much. I really have to focus on what I’m hearing or else I only catch clips and phrases. What did Ivars think of this book?
In brief baby news, kiddo kicks like a soccer star. Three + more months until we meet him or her!
Best wishes for both of you!
katie
Thanks to you both for your condolences, which I have passed on to Jay. He seems to be very busy dealing with insurances, his nephew's education, keeping flames burning and managing with vegetarian food as part of the rituals of mourning.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that work should be so punishing at such a time, Katie. Clearly a healthy baby, though. Take great care of yourself over these next three plus months. Hope you and Franklin are getting some time together. If it's any consolation, the next book is very good. Thanks for choosing it.
Love to you both.
Sue
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteKatie, wonderful to hear all is well with you, Franklin and bub, it is fascinating when your tummy moves and undulates with the little one inside, they are precious feelings and make for beautiful memories.
So..........after reading both your comments on this book I have a confession to make............I only managed to listen to four out of the six c.d's. oops!!! My only defence is as I said before, audio is not for me. I promise to do better with our next story.
Sue, I hope Jay will be home with you safely and soon.
I forgot to ask
ReplyDeleteKatie are you OK with the new book titles I posted earlier this month?
Haha I forgot to let you know in my last post that those books were fine! Sorry...I've been so terribly forgetful lately! I've heard it's called placenta brain haha
ReplyDelete