Schottenfreude

Schottenfreude is a unique, must-have dictionary, complete with newly coined words that explore the idiosyncrasies of life as only the German language can. Ever thought, There should be a German word for that? Well, thanks to the brilliantly original mind behind Schott’s Original Miscellany, now there is. In what other language but German could you construct le mot juste for a secret love of bad foods, the inability to remember jokes, Sunday-afternoon depression, the urge to yawn, the glee of gossip, reassuring your hairdresser, delight at the changing of the seasons, the urge to hoard, or the ineffable pleasure of a cold pillow? A beguiling, ideal gift book for the Gelehrte or anyone on your list—just beware of rapidly expanding (and potentially incomprehensible) vocabularies.

An entertaining and insightful gift book from the bestselling author of several wordy favourites including Schott’s Original Miscellany and Schott’s Almanac Between them Ben Schott's books have sold some 2.5 million copies and been translated into twenty-one languages If you’ve ever wondered if there’s a word for 'stepping onto a stair that’s not there', Leetretung, or 'going back to your school and finding everything seems really small', Dreikäsehochregression, wonder no more! Find out why the German word for finding an indecipherable note in your own handwriting should be Ludwigssyndrom and marvel at how seamlessly Schott refers to the wisdom of both Fergie, Duchess of York, and Immanuel Kant when describing fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) or thwarting-fear: Ausbremsungsangst. From the delightfully silly to the curiously fascinating, Schottenfreude will make you laugh and make you think The perfect gift for that impossible-to-buy-for family member at Christmas, as well as word nerds and linguistics enthusiasts

Schottenfreude is a unique, must-have dictionary, complete with newly coined words that explore the idiosyncrasies of life as only the German language can. Ever thought, There should be a German word for that? Well, thanks to the brilliantly original mind behind Schott’s Original Miscellany, now there is. In what other language but German could you construct le mot juste for a secret love of bad foods, the inability to remember jokes, Sunday-afternoon depression, the urge to yawn, the glee of gossip, reassuring your hairdresser, delight at the changing of the seasons, the urge to hoard, or the ineffable pleasure of a cold pillow? A beguiling, ideal gift book for the Gelehrte or anyone on your list—just beware of rapidly expanding (and potentially incomprehensible) vocabularies.

Nein. A Manifesto is the brainchild of Eric Jarosinski, the self-described “failed intellectual” behind @NeinQuarterly, a “Compendium of Utopian Negation” that uses the aphoristic potential of Twitter to plumb the existential abyss of modern life — and finds it bottomless. Nein is not no. Nein is not yes. Nein is nein. Nein believes in nothing. Militantly. Nein does not take questions. Nein regrets to inform you. Nein is not style. Nein is not syntax. Nein does not thank you for shopping. Nein is not the medium. Nein is not the message. Nein says no. To a yes. That is a no. Nein closes its eyes to your surveillance state. Your dating profile. Your dreams. And hears the sea. Stridently hopeless and charmingly dour, Nein. A Manifesto is an irreverent philosophical investigation into the everyday that sounds the call to rediscover its strangeness. Inspired by the aphorisms of Nietzsche, Karl Kraus, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno, Jarosinski’s epigrammatic style reinvents short-form philosophy for a world doomed to distraction. As tenets of a rather unorthodox manifesto, Jarosinski’s four-line compositions seek to illuminate our most urgent questions. And the least. The result is a compelling and thought-provoking translation of digital into print. Theory into praxis. And tragedy into farce.

Impossible to read at one sitting, but utterly unputdownable, Schott's Original Miscellany is a unique collection of fabulous trivia. What other book boasts an index that includes shoelace lengths, sign language, and the seven deadly sins; dueling and dwarves; the hair color of Miss America and the Hampton Court maze? Where else can you find, packed onto one page, the names of golf strokes, a history of the Hat Tax, cricketing dismissals, nouns of assemblage, an unofficial motto of the US Postal Service, and the flag of Guadeloupe? Where else but Schott's Original Miscellany will you stumble across John Lennon's cat, the supplier of bagpipes to the Queen, the labors of Hercules, and the brutal methods of murder encountered by Miss Marple? A book like no other, Schott's Original Miscellany is entertaining, informative, unpredictable, and utterly addictive.

Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy, I have a hot crush on the em dash. What does my need to stuff—while simultaneously fracturing—my sentences—with the meandering, the explanatory, the discursive, the perhaps not-entirely-necessary—say about me? —Cheryl Strayed Have you ever wished there were an advice columnist for writers, but one who didn’t take things so damned seriously? This unique writing guide pairs questions sent in by top contemporary essayists with hilariously witty answers and essays from acclaimed author Dinty W. Moore. Phillip Lopate asks for advice on writing about your ex without sounding like an ass, Julianna Baggott worries that to be a great writer you must drink like a fish, and Roxane Gay asks whether it’s kosher to write about writing. Taking advantage of all the tools available to today’s personal essayist—egregious puns, embarrassing anecdotes, and cocktail napkins—Professor Moore answers these questions, and more, demystifying the world of nonfiction once and for all. With a tip of the hat to history’s most infamous essay—Montaigne’s “Of Cannibals”—this book provides rollicking relief for writers in distress.

On Rafael Mantesso's thirtieth birthday, his wife left him. She took their cookware, their furniture, their photos, their decorations. She left Rafael alone in an empty all-white apartment. The only thing she didn't take was their bull terrier, whom she'd named after her favourite shoe designer: Jimmy Choo. With only his best friend for company, Rafael started snapping photos of Jimmy Choo as he trotted and cavorted through the rooms in glee. Then, when Jimmy collapsed in happy exhaustion next to the white wall, on a whim Rafael grabbed a marker and drew a new world around his ginger-eared pup. Suddenly, Rafael felt his long-dormant inspiration--for drawing, for art, for life--returning.

Do ewe no what homophones are? They're words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have completely different meanings—it's knot always easy to get it right. Based on his blog Homophones, Weakly, Bruce Worden's Homophones Visualized uses simple but clever graphics to help illustrate the differences between 100 pairs (or triplets or quadruplets) of words that sound alike. From beat and beet to flee and flea, baron and barren to golf and gulf, each spread contains a pair or group of homophones and corresponding illustrations that provide context for each word. Word lovers, educators, and kids all will delight in this witty and useful homophone guide to understanding which word is witch.