Alphabet

Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, ... With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory (Hardcover), by Roy Blount Jr. List price $25 (available new from amazon.com from $14.77).384 pages. Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York. Published October, 2008.

Author Roy Blount is a regular panelist on NPR's Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! He is also a member of the American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel. In addition, he was a staff writer for Sports Illustrated and contributed to publications such as The New Yorker. He is also author of over 20 previous books covering subjects from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Robert E. Lee.

With 13 customer reviews when I last checked on Amazon, 7 reviewers gave this book the highest 5-star rating. The 6 remaining reviewers gave the book equal numbers of 4-, 3-, and 2-star ratings. I give it a 4. It is probably not going to be one of my all-time favorite books on language. But, it is a fun and interesting read.

The book is arranged in alphabetical order with Blount giving comments on words that he finds worthy of thought. It is the type of book I would like to have written in many ways, as words sometimes strike me as interesting, worthy of commentary, and funny.

As an example, Blount includes in the book the word e-mail. By the way, part of what I like about Blount is that in many cases he observes and does not pass judgement on what is right and wrong. He says he does not feel qualified to pass judgement. I can identify with that. I don't feel qualified to even write this review. But, if I don't do it, I'm afraid that no one will. And, that would be wrong.

In the entry for e-mail, Blount discusses placing a hyphen in words like A-bomb or C-section, but not email. Advocates of email without the hyphen, argue that it conserves space. This, according to Blount, is the kind of topic and word worthy of commentary that is often humorous, light, and thoughtful.

Blount also comments on letters. He has a lot to say about letters as well as words. About the letter Q, Blount considers the capital letter to be "an upside-down apple, but much depends on type-face." He compares the q in Braggadocio, Goudy Old Style, American Typewriter, and Onyx, among others, and has often hilarious commentary.

"If Ramirez stayed in Cleveland, the Indians may not be seven victories shy of their first World Series title since 1948." What Blount says about this sentence from USA Today is amusing. The sentence is a good example of language use worthy of commentary.

Do we really need or want another book about language and usage? I suppose that since language is endlessly changing, there will always be something new to write about, especially when it comes to English, which you could argue is a huge collection point for words, constantly assimilating words and ideas from various cultures, fueled by the immigrant history of America and America's constant acceptance of new words and I think at its best America's openness to new ideas and reinvention. Now that was a rambling thought and rambling sentence. The book is making me think these kinds of thoughts and ideas.