Alphabetter Juice or the Joy of Text
now in paperback!
Publishers Weekly, starred review: "Blount's hilarious collection of riffs and raves adds up to a cantankerous ode to the English language in all its shambling grace."
From Booklist:
"Lamenting critics of finicky language users, humorist Blount declares that when it comes to language, he intends to "finick" until the day he dies. And finick he does, with joy and curiosity and a great appreciation for words. In this follow-up to Alphabet Juice (2008), Blount contends that letters and sounds are not arbitrary, as some linguists claim, but are connected to our senses. Savoring the juiciness of some words that connect to our senses of sight and sound, Blount introduces the concept of "sonicky," the satisfying or curious sounds of words. His collection is a discourse on oddities of origin, meaning, and pronunciation. His sources are as venerated as the Oxford English Dictionary, as contemporary as urbandictionary.com and YouTube, and as eclectic as his own tastes and experiences. Blount's selection of words is particularly "sonicky" and is accompanied by amusing facts and anecdotes and crazy stories that show the peculiarities of etymology and definitions and the deep and abiding beauty of words. Writers and readers will love this book.
The Bookloft is proud to be Roy Blount Jr.'s hometown independent bookstore:
