Verbatim: From the bawdy to the sublime, the best writing on language for word lovers, grammar mavens, and armchair linguists

Rating:
Summary: So much fun that you'll want to read it quarterly..
Review: A friend of mine, knowing I'm a student of linguistics, lent me this book, and I'm glad she did; it was one of the most fun, yet relaxing, books I've read in some time. The majority of the essays are funny, and those that aren't are at least interesting (though I confess that there were a few of them I simply didn't care for, it was more than made up for by the others.) The format makes it perfect for short bursts of recreation, especially if you just have a bit of time to kill on the bus or while waiting for something.. it's an excellent book to be read in pieces (and would make a good "bathroom book", come to think of it.) Like other reviewers here, I enjoyed this book so much that I decided to subscribe to the periodical, and I would recommend it to linguists, grammarians and anyone else who enjoys language.

Rating:
Summary: So much fun that you'll want to read it quarterly..
Review: A friend of mine, knowing I'm a student of linguistics, lent me this book, and I'm glad she did; it was one of the most fun, yet relaxing, books I've read in some time. The majority of the essays are funny, and those that aren't are at least interesting (though I confess that there were a few of them I simply didn't care for, it was more than made up for by the others.) The format makes it perfect for short bursts of recreation, especially if you just have a bit of time to kill on the bus or while waiting for something.. it's an excellent book to be read in pieces (and would make a good "bathroom book", come to think of it.) Like other reviewers here, I enjoyed this book so much that I decided to subscribe to the periodical, and I would recommend it to linguists, grammarians and anyone else who enjoys language.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I bought this book because I saw a review by Michael Quinion (www.worldwidewords.org). Although I enjoyed many of the essays in the book, the book was so poorly organized, I found myself very frustrated while reading it. Just a few editorial changes would have greatly improved it. It should have an index. The essays should be identified by the date they were published in the quarterly. Short intros to each essay providing some context and updating of the subject matter, as appropriate, would have made a big impact with a small amount of work on the part of the editor.

Rating:
Summary: Liked it so much I subscribed to the magazine too
Review: I got this book as a Christmas present from my roommate but I didn't start to read it until after Easter. But I'm really glad I did. It was both funny and thought-provoking. There is so much most people don't know about the language we use every day. It was really interesting, and the articles are short and not technical at all so you don't get bogged down.
As I read through it I got really into it and was going to give a copy to my Dad for Father's Day. But then there was a whole article (really funny!) about new uses of the f-word and that's not really for parental units...my roommate said her parents loved it, though.
However, I liked this book so much that I googled the magazine Verbatim and subscribed!

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Collection of Witty and Fascinating Essays
Review: This book is a fine compilation of the best essays published in the periodical "Verbatim: The Language Quarterly". The book is devoted to celebrating the bizarre aspects of language (mostly concerning English). Most of the essays are humorous in nature, though many of them are educational and eye opening. Topics such as dialects, dictionaries, grammar, jargon, naming, obscenities, and wordplay are covered in great detail. The section on non-English is especially interesting, which explains Japanese onomatopoeia, Spanish dialects and an odd Welsh dictionary. An essential book for linguists, though most people should find this book enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Collection of Witty and Fascinating Essays
Review: This book is a fine compilation of the best essays published in the periodical "Verbatim: The Language Quarterly". The book is devoted to celebrating the bizarre aspects of language (mostly concerning English). Most of the essays are humorous in nature, though many of them are educational and eye opening. Topics such as dialects, dictionaries, grammar, jargon, naming, obscenities, and wordplay are covered in great detail. The section on non-English is especially interesting, which explains Japanese onomatopoeia, Spanish dialects and an odd Welsh dictionary. An essential book for linguists, though most people should find this book enjoyable.