Site last updated:
1 January 2009

---.  Word Mysteries and Histories: From Quiche to Humble Pie.  Boston: Houghton, 1986.  Paperback, 308 pages with index.  Illustrations by Barry Moser, foreword by Robert Claiborne.  Printed in black and red ink!

Abrams, M. H.  A Glossary of Literary Terms.  1957.  New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1966.  Folded and stapled, 105 pages.

Ayto, John. Dictionary of Word Origins.  New York: Arcade, 1990.  Paperback, 583 pages.

Baghramian, Maria, ed.  Modern Philosophy of Language.  Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 1999.  Hardback, 376 pages with index.

Baugh, Albert C.  A History of the English Language.  1935.  New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1957.  Hardcover, 506 pages with index.  No dust jacket.

Bernstein, Theodore M. The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage.  1965.  New York: Atheneum, 1978.  Paperback, 487 pages.

---.  Watch Your Language: A Lively, Informal Guide to Better Writing Emanating from the News Room of The New York Times.  1958.  New York: Atheneu, 1965.  Hardback, 276 pages.  Brittle dust jacket dirty and crumbly.

Bauer, Laurie and Peter Trudgill, eds.  Language Myths.  London: Penguin, 1998.  Trade paperback, 189 pages with index.  New.

Black, Max, ed.  The Importance of Language.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962.  Large paperback, 169 pages.  Edges spotted, spine creased and skewed, previous owner names on first page along with resale stamps, underlining and highlighting in text.

Bloomfield, Leonard.  Language.  1933.  New York: Hold, Rinehart & Winston, 1963.  Hardback, 564 pages.  No dust jacket.  Ex-library book. 

Bly, Robert W.  The Copywriter's Handbook.  1985.  New York: Holt, 1990.  Large paperback, 351 pages with index.  Wear to covers and edges, bookseller stamp on first page.

Bodmer, Frederick.  The Loom of Language.  New York: Norton, 1944.  Hardback, 692 with index.  No dust jacket.

Brande, Dorothea.  Becoming a Writer.  New York: Macmillan, 1996.  Paperback, 173 pages with index.

Brown, Charles Barrett.  The Contribution of Greek to English.  Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt, 1942.  Hardback, 310 pages.  No dust jacket. 

Brown, Roger.  Words and Things.  Glencoe, Illinois:  The Free Press, 1959.  Hardback, 398 pages with index.  No dust jacket.

Bruner, Jerome.  Child's Talk: Learning to Use Language.  New York: Norton, 1983.  Trade paperback, 144 pages with index.  Shelfware only.

Bryson, Bill.  Made in America.  New York: Morrow, 1994.  Large paperback, 417 pages with index.  Shelfware only.

---.  The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way.  New York: Morrow, 1990.  Hardback, 270 pages with index.

Castle.  Why Do We Say It?: The Stories Behind the Words, Expressions and Cliches We Use.  Seacaucus, N.J.: Castle-Book Sales, 1987. Hardback, 286 pages.  Dust jacket wrinkled.

Chomsky, Noam.  On Language.  New York: The New Press, 1998.  Trade paperback, 269 pages.  Coffee stain on edges of pages.

Ciardi, John.  A Browser's Dictionary: A Compendium of Curious Expressions & Intriguing Facts.  New York: Harper, 1980.  Hardback, 429 pages.

Cioffi, Frank L.  The Imaginative Argument: A Practical Manifesto for Writers.  Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2005.  Trade paperback, 213 pages.  Advance, Uncorrected Reading Copy.

Claiborne, Robert.  Our Marvelous Native Tongue: The Life and Times of the English Language.  New York: Times, 1983.  Hardback, 339 pages with index.

Corballis, Michael C.  From Hand to Mouth: The Origins of Language.   Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002.  Trade paperback, 257 pages with index.  Cool footnotes at the bottom outer corners of the pages.

Dickson, Paul.  Words: A Connoisseur's Collection of Old and New, Weird and Wonderful, Useful and Outlandish.  New York: Dell, 1982.  Paperback, 366 pages with index.

Ehrlich, Eugene.  Amo, Amas, Amat and More: How to Use Latin to Your Own Advantage and to the Astonishment of Others.  New York: Harper, 1985.  Large paperback, 328 pages with index.  Introduction by William F. Buckly, Jr.  Shelfware only.

Einsohn, Amy.  The Copyeditor's Handbook.  1999.  Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2000.  Paperback, 560 pages with index.

Elster, Charles Harrington.  Is There a Cow in Moscow?: More Beastly Mispronunciations and Sound Advice.  New York: Collier, 1990.  Trade paperback, 253 pages.  Shelfware only.

---.  There is No Zoo in Zoology: And Other Beastly Mispronunciations.  New York: Collier, 1988.  Trade paperback, 182 pages.  Some wear to covers.

---.  There's a Word For It!  A Grandiloquent Guide to Life.  New York: Scribner, 1996.  Hardback, 272 pages with index.  Remainder mark, price sticker on front cover.

Fakih, Kimberly Olson.  Off the Clock.    New York: Ticknor, 1995.  Hardback, 122 pages.  New.

Feldman, David.  Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? And Other Fearless Investigations Into Our Illogical Language.  New York: Harper, 1989.  Hardback, first edition, 209 pages with index.  Shelfware only.

Finch, Geoffrey.  Linguistic Terms and Concepts.  New York: St. Martin's, 2000.  Large paperback, 251 pages with index.  Almost new.

Follett, Wilson.  Modern American Usage: A Guide.  New York: Hill and Wang, 1966.  Hardback,436 pages.  Edited and completed by Jacques Barzun. 

Fowler, H. W.  A Dictionary of Modern English Usage.  1926.  London: Oxford, 1952.  Hardback, 742 pages.  Shelfware only to book, dust jacket faded, dirty, torn, and chipped.

---.  A Dictionary of Modern English Usage.  1965.  Oxford: Oxford, 1996.  Second edition revised and edited by Sir Ernest Gowers.  Hardback, 725 pages.  Remainder mark, new.

Funk, Charles Earle.  Heavens to Betsy!  And Other Curious Sayings.  1955.  New York: HarperCollins, 1993.  Trade paperback, 224 pages with index.  Illustrations by Tom Funk.  Shelfware only. 

---.  A Hog on Ice and Other Curious Expressions.  1948.  New York: HarperCollins, 1985.  Trade paperback, 214 pages with index.  Illustrations by Tom Funk.  Previous owner inscription on first page, pages a little yellowed.

---.  Horsefeathers and Other Curious Words.  1958.  New York: Harper, 2001.  Trade paperback, 240 pages with index.  Illustrations by Tom Funk.

*This is a book I used to own before I decided I cared so much about words.  I gave it to my mom to give away at some point, and then I realized that Charles Earle Funk was pretty cool.  I acquired the other 3 similar books, but it took me a while to find a copy of Horsefeathers which looked like my original one.  There is a hardcover omnibus that contains all four, which maybe I will own someday, but in the meantime, I have made up for my earlier cold-heartedness: Horsefeathers has now returned to my shelves. 

---.  Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins.  1950.  New York: HarperCollens, 1993.  Trade paperback, 303 pages with index.  Shelfware only.

Gibaldi, Joseph.  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  New York: Modern Language Association, 1999.  Large paperback, 332 pages.  New.

Harris, Martin and Nigel Vincent, eds.  The Romance Languages.  1988.  New York: Oxford, 1990.  Large paperback, 500 pages with index.  Wear to cover and edges, but looks unread.

Hook, J. N.  The Story of British English.  Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman & Co., 1974.  Paperback, 206 pages.

Jacyna, L. S.  Lost Words: Narratives of Language and the Brain 1825-1926.  Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000.  Hardback, 241 pages with index.

Johnson, Edward D.  The Handbook of Good English.  New York: Facts on File, 1982.  Large paperback, 309 pages.  Shelfware only.

Lederer, Richard.  Adventures of a Verbivore.  New York: Pocket, 1994.  Hardback, first edition, 227 pages.

---. Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language.  1987.  New York: Laurel, 1990.  Mass market paperback, 177 pages.  Illustrations by Bill Thompson.  Previous owner inscription and bookseller price on first page.

---.  Crazy English: The Ultaimate Joy Ride Through Our Language.  New York: Pocket, 1989.  Hardback, first edition, 189 pages.  Illustrations by Dick Anderson.

---.  Get Thee to a Punnery.  1988.  New York: Dell, 1990.  Mass-market paperback, 189 pages.  Illustrations by Bill Thompson.

---.  The Miracle of Language.  New York: Pocket, 1991.  Hardback, first edition, 254 pages with index.  Dust jacket in bad shape.

---.  The Play of Words: Fun & Games for Language Lovers.  1990.  New York: Pocket, 1991.  Trade paperback, 274 pages. 

Lewis, Norman.  The Comprehensive Word Guide.  Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1958.  Hardback, first edition, 912 pages with index.  Ex-library book with tape markings, stamp, pocket.

Lloyd, Donald J. and Harry R. Warfel.  American English in its Cultural Setting.  New York: Borzoi-Knopf, 1956.  Hardback, 553 pages plus index.  Pages yellowing, dust jacket chipped.

Macrone, Michael.  It's Greek to Me!  1991.  New York: HarperPerennial-HarperCollins, 1994.  Paperback, 238 pages with index.

Mencken, H. L.  The American Language.  New York, Knopf, 1977.  Large paperback, 777 + cxxiv  pages.  I vol. abridged edition.  Pages yellowing. 

Moore, Oliver.  Reading the Past: Chinese.  Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000.  Large paperback, 80 pages with index.  New.

Moorhouse, Alfred C.  The Triumph of the Alphabet.: A History of Writing.  New York: Schuman, 1953.  Hardback, 223 pages.

Nakanishi, Akira.  Writing Systems of the World.  Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991.  Paperback, 122 pages with index.

Nettle, Daniel and Suzanne Romaine.  Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World's Languages.  Oxford: Oxford 2000.  Hardback, 241 pages with index.

O'Conner, Patricia T.  Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English.  New York: Riverhead, 1996.  Trade paperback, 227 pages with index.  Front cover torn at bottom left.

O'Grady, William, Michael Dobrovolsky, and Mark Arnoff, eds.  Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction.  New York: St. Martin's, 1997.  Textbook, 710 pages.  Third edition.  Used.

Osgood, Charles E. and Murray S. Miron, editors.  Approaches to the Study of Aphasia.  Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1963.  Hardcover, 210 pages with index.

Pei, Mario.  All about Language.  Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1954.  Hardcover, 186 pages with index.  Dust jacket in mylar.  Illustrations by Donat Ivanosky.

Posner, Rebecca.  The Romance Languages.  Cambridge: Cambridge, 1996.  Large paperback, 376 pages with index.  Un-read with shelf-wear and remainder mark.

Russell, Geddes and Grosset.  Webster's New Dictionary: Compact Edition.  New York: Russell, Geddes and Grosset, 1990.  Trade paperback, 248 pages.  Printed in mice-type.  Water and/or coffee damage, creasing to spine and covers, pages falling out of glue at spine, pages yellowing.  But it's always had its uses.

Safire, William.  Language Maven Strikes Again.  New York: Bantam, 1990.  Hardback, first edition, 447 pages with index.  Price-clipped.

---.  On Language.  New York: Times 1980.  Hardback, 331 pages with index.  Torn dust jacket, speckled edges, price-clipped.

---.  What's the Good Word?  New York: Times, 1982.  Hardback, first edition, 325 pages with index.  Price-clipped.

---. You Could Look It Up.  New York: Times, 1988.  Hardback, first edition, 357 pages with index.  Famous linguist's bookplate on title page.  Signed and Inscribed on title page to famous linguist.  Corners bumped, otherwise shelfware only to book and dust jacket.

Spiekermann, Erik and E. M. Ginger.  Stop Stealing Sheep and Find Out How Type Works.  Mountain View, CA: Adobe, 1993.  Paperback, 174 pages.  Glossy pages with color throughout.

Sykes, J.B. The Concise Oxford Dictionary.

Truss, Lynne.  Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation  New York: Gotham-Penguin, 2004. Hardback, 209 pages.  Foreword by Frank McCourt.

Wang, Hongyuan.  The Origins of Chinese Characters.  Beijing: Sinolingua, 1997.  Paperback with flaps, 214 pages with index.

Wilson, John.  Language and the Pursuit of Truth.  1956.  London: Cambridge University Press, 1960.  Hardback, 105 pages. 

Winchester, Simon.  The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.  Hardback, 259 pages with index.

---.  The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.  1998.  New York: HarperPerennial, 1999.  Trade paperback, 242 pages.  Shelfware only.

---.  The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.  New York: HarperCollins, 1998.  Hardback, first edition, 242 pages.  Shelfware only.

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