Every writer is in love with words. The English language is truly complex. With words from so many different countries and cultures over the ages, it is a sociology and a history lesson as much as an exercise in grammar and pronunciation. To that rich history add a lot conflicting rules and unexplainable confusion, and the English language becomes a sort of linguistic puzzle for the neophyte. This week's book-of-the-week, The Alphabet of Obscure Words, is a tribute to words.
The pages of this book are recycled pages of a childrens' book titled How Things Work. Each page is gate-folded on the fore-edge corners to form a sort of arrow shape. The side opposite the point is bound to form the spine edge. Then, the whole thing is case bound in the recycled cover boards of the childrens' book.
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| Red book cloth on the spine and a cute calico headband... |
A pocket is formed on each page where the gate-folds meet. Inside each pocket is a removable card with the alphabet letter and it's obscure words.. The words were found in a 1946 edition of The Webster's Dictionary, then typed onto the alphabet card with an 1978 Olivetti Electric Typewriter.
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| E is for... |
Remove the card to read the words... and use a dictionary if you want to find out what they mean!
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| L is for... |
Some words have long histories dating back to ancient customs and obscure meanings. Others are formed from the inventions and discoveries of modern times... For wordsmiths, the meanings of words have the same effect as traveling to distant countries and seeing new and unknown sights. .. and it's much cheaper!
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| Painted bookcloth spine |
