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The Word I'm Thinking Of
- A Devilish Dictionary of Difficult Words
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
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Publisher's summary
Absquatulate. Flumadiddle. Gongoozler. Squintifego. If you love words, you know the strange byways of memory or reverie that stumbling across a certain word or phrase will take you down, especially if it's one you're discovering and finding the meaning of for the first time. Chances are, you have never encountered words as unusual as those collected in this audiobook.
You'll find definitions and parts of speech for each entry. And for each word, the author has also included a quotation to show how the word can be used in context. His hope is that this book will spark interest in these ostrobogulous words and that you will use them in your daily conversations—perhaps as a humorous social-science experiment to see what kinds of reactions you receive. Amaze your friends with your selcouth vocabulary and indulge your inner logophile! This is the perfect book to dip and delve into anytime.
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"This is fabulous fun with unique words that you do not encounter on a regular basis…. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jack Chekjian, who was terrific. It is quite a challenging reading a list of words and definitions, while keeping it interesting. He has nice tone that keeps you engaged throughout…. I really enjoyed this and might pick up the print version of this just to highlight a few of my favorite words. I can also imagine using this as my own word a day challenge." (Eargasms Audiobook Reviews)
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What do the lives of Lincoln, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and other historical figures have in common with Paula Poundstone? In the hands of this wryly observant and self-deprecating comedian, the answer is outrageously funny and unexpectedly touching. Poundstone compares her crazy life to theirs, as she holds forth on her children, her career, and the time in her life when it appeared she would lose them both.
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More!
- By Evelyn on 02-11-07
By: Paula Poundstone
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Property
- Stories Between Two Novellas
- By: Lionel Shriver
- Narrated by: Lionel Shriver
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A striking new collection of ten short stories and two novellas that explores the idea of property in every meaning of the word, from the acclaimed New York Times best-selling author of the National Book Award finalist So Much for That and the international best seller We Need to Talk About Kevin.
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Painful and drawn out
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Montaigne in Barn Boots
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- By: Michael Perry
- Narrated by: Michael Perry
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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"The journey began on a gurney", writes Michael Perry, describing the debilitating kidney stone that led him to discover the essays of Michel de Montaigne. Reading the philosopher in a manner he equates to chickens pecking at scraps - including those eye-blinking moments when the bird gobbles something too big to swallow - Perry attempts to learn what he can (good and bad) about himself as compared to a long-dead French nobleman who began speaking Latin at the age of two.
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A beacon in a dark time
- By Kelsey on 01-13-18
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Dear Fahrenheit 451
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- Unabridged
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Librarians spend their lives weeding - not weeds, but books - books that have reached the end of their shelf life both literally and figuratively. They remove books that patrons no longer check out, and they put back books they treasure. Annie Spence, who has a decade of experience as a Midwestern librarian, does this not only at her Michigan library but also at home, for her neighbors, at cocktail parties - everywhere. In Dear Fahrenheit 451, she addresses those books directly.
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Totally captivating
- By Grace Smith on 03-24-18
By: Annie Spence
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The Possessed
- Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them
- By: Elif Batuman
- Narrated by: Elif Batuman
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Possessed we watch Elif Batuman investigate a possible murder at Tolstoy's ancestral estate. We go with her to Stanford, Switzerland, and St. Petersburg; retrace Pushkin's wanderings in the Caucasus; learn why Old Uzbek has 100 different words for crying; and see an 18th-century ice palace reconstructed on the Neva. Love and the novel, the individual in history, the existential plight of the graduate student: all find their places in The Possessed.
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Dear Russian Literary Diary...
- By Darwin8u on 08-29-17
By: Elif Batuman
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The Emissary
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- Unabridged
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Japan, after suffering from a massive irreparable disaster, cuts itself off from the world. Children are so weak they can barely stand or walk: the only people with any get-go are the elderly. Mumei lives with his grandfather Yoshiro, who worries about him constantly. They carry on a day-to-day routine in what could be viewed as a post-Fukushima time, with all the children born ancient - frail and gray-haired, yet incredibly compassionate and wise. Mumei may be enfeebled and feverish, but he is a beacon of hope, full of wit and free of self-pity and pessimism.
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Tedious. Waste of time.
- By Kenneth McGovern on 02-17-19
By: Yoko Tawada, and others
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Breakfast at Tiffany's
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- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Golden Globe-winning actor Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under) performs Truman Capote's masterstroke about a young writer's charmed fascination with his unorthodox neighbor, the "American geisha" Holly Golightly. Holly - a World War II-era society girl in her late teens - survives via socialization, attending parties and restaurants with men from the wealthy upper class who also provide her with money and expensive gifts. Over the course of the novella, the seemingly shallow Holly slowly opens up to the curious protagonist.
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"Better to look at the sky than live there"
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By: Truman Capote
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Bright Lights, Big City
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- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The tragicomedy of a young man in New York City, a writer, never named, who works as a fact-checker for a prestigious magazine. He struggles with the reality of his mother's death, alienation, and the seductive pull of drugs and a vibrant nightlife.
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Curiously, mundanely real
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Lolita
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- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Awe and exhilaration—along with heartbreak and mordant wit—abound in Lolita, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsession for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America.
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An Absolutely Gorgeous Audible Experience
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- Unabridged
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For years, guitarist Quinn Porter has been on the road, chasing gig after gig, largely absent to his twice-ex-wife Belle and their odd, Guinness records-obsessed son. When the boy dies suddenly, Quinn seeks forgiveness for his paternal shortcomings by completing the requirements for one of his son's unfinished Boy Scout badges. For seven Saturdays Quinn does yard work for Ona Vitkus, the spry 104-year-old Lithuanian immigrant the boy had visited weekly.
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Loved it
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Insomniac City
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- Unabridged
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Bill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at 48 years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera.
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Touching and Intimate Portrait
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By: Bill Hayes
What listeners say about The Word I'm Thinking Of
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- MolllyT
- 07-01-15
Much more fun than the OED Word A Day
I already get the daily emails from the OED and Anu Garg's Wordsmith, but this is ever so much more fun! You not only get to hear the word, but the context as well, followed by a bit of digression related to each word. I'm sure that the visual copy is fun, too, but Narrator Jack adds so much! With Jack, you can be assured that the pronunciations are correct, and there is enough quirk added to the definitions and digressions to compound the enjoyment of learning.
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review
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6 people found this helpful
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- Rachel
- 07-26-14
Incredibly witty & humorous way to learn new words
Would you listen to The Word I'm Thinking Of again? Why?
Yes. It will take a couple runs through to really master the words, but that wouldn't be a problem because I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator and short examples he used to describe the words; it was a pure stroke of genius.
What other book might you compare The Word I'm Thinking Of to and why?
I wish I could find other books like this, but I haven't been able to.
Which scene was your favorite?
The part in the book where he gives an example of the word ackamarackus, "of course i would never engage in such balderdash except when I have to conduct personal business that involves writing to some bureaucratic entity, then I turn on the ackamarackus faucet. I start my email with a salutation like 'Dear blank officer (no matter how lowly the recipient) and then compose my request or inquiry using diction and sentence structure of a honey tongued aristocrat 'may I inquiry', 'would it be acceptable', 'may I be so bold as to', 'naturally you may wonder', 'perhaps you would consider' etc. They seem to lap it up.
It made me laugh so much I love it!
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
the stories that words tell
Any additional comments?
Loved this book would recommend it to anyone who is concerned with enhancing their vocabulary.
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4 people found this helpful
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- erobbins33
- 10-13-15
Interesting
This book hits my nerd gene, times ten! I love words! My friends call me, when looking for definitions of words like barristas and pith...
I got this book via promo coupon, for an honest review.
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3 people found this helpful
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- K. Wade
- 08-21-15
Interesting words to impress your friends
What did you love best about The Word I'm Thinking Of?
I liked that the subject is delivered with a touch of humor.. I liked learning the words.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Word I'm Thinking Of?
When I knew some of the words in the book. Very impressed with myself.
What about Jack Chekijian’s performance did you like?
Easy to understand, spoke with natural cadence and rhythm (hate narrators who speak monotone.)
What insight do you think you’ll apply from The Word I'm Thinking Of?
Not sure about insights, but liked learning new words and expanding my vocabulary.
Any additional comments?
The words in this book are more rare and older than other books of the same subject matter. It's almost like a trip to the past. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review
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3 people found this helpful
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- zoe
- 06-25-15
WORDS
What did you like best about The Word I'm Thinking Of? What did you like least?
These are mostly very obscure words. He specifically says he is not showing derivations, but an understanding of the etymologies would have been very useful to see where these weirdo words came from. Very interesting audio book.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Deedra
- 07-15-16
The Word I'm thinking of
This is a fun read narrated nicely by Jack Chekijian.What words do you use,is there a more grandeloquent word that could be substituted?This book has many to choose from!
I was given this book free for an honest review.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Terri
- 06-18-15
Big words used in humorous ways...
***I was gifted this book in exchange for a honest and unbiased review. ***
This book has a ton of BIG words I have never heard of, but they are used in humorous ways. The words (most of them) sound so silly, it made me think they were making them up. Even though I didn't understand the words totally, each word was described and explained in simple ways. 5 minutes later I couldn't tell you what words were even used BUT I will say this... I sure had fun listening to it all.
This book would be an awesome gift for the brainiacs out there and for the people who know it all (not saying in a mean way). I think the genius's and the normal people alike would get a kick out of this book!
The author, Michael Gates sure is smart to even come up with all these words. I bow to you! You found a way to make me think and laugh at the same time. I even wonder if I couldn't learn these words if I did 1 a day. The narrator, Jack Chekijian, I take my hat off to you. You read that entire book without goofing it up! How you were able to pronounce all those words is beyond me! Kudos to you both for such a fine job and for totally entertaining me too!
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6 people found this helpful
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- Dr. Robert Puff
- 09-29-24
A Treasure Trove for Word Lovers!
Michael Gates' "The Word I'm Thinking Of: A Devilish Dictionary of Difficult Words" is an absolute delight! From the moment I cracked open this book, I was captivated by its eclectic collection of obscure and fascinating vocabulary. Each page is a journey of discovery, unearthing linguistic gems that have long been hidden in the dusty corners of the English language.
Gates has a knack for not only selecting the most intriguing words but also for presenting them in an engaging and accessible way. His witty definitions and carefully chosen quotations bring each word to life, making it memorable and, dare I say, usable! I found myself chuckling at the clever use of "floccinaucinihilipilification" and marveling at the sheer audacity of "sesquipedalian." This book is a testament to the richness and complexity of our language, reminding us that there's always more to learn and explore.
But alas, as I reached the final page, a sense of longing washed over me. I yearned for more of these delightful linguistic adventures! Mr. Gates, if you're reading this, please consider gracing us with a second volume. There are undoubtedly countless other "devilish" words out there waiting to be brought back into the light. Perhaps you could delve into the forgotten lexicon of archaic English, or explore the quirky vocabulary of regional dialects. The possibilities are endless!
In the meantime, I will continue to savor this first volume, returning to it again and again like a favorite box of chocolates. "The Word I'm Thinking Of" is a true gift for any logophile, and I eagerly await the possibility of a sequel.
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- trixie
- 12-02-14
Fun words
What did you love best about The Word I'm Thinking Of?
Great fun learning new and strange words, seeing some of them in literature, and hearing stories about them. Good book for a grammar nerd and anyone who wants to learn new and weird sounding words.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Elizabeth L.
- 12-11-14
An Oral Dictionary of some crazy words!
If you could sum up The Word I'm Thinking Of in three words, what would they be?
educational, weird, quotable
Who was your favorite character and why?
As this was a non fiction book, I don't think that there were actually any characters. Now the author related some antidotes during the book that were interesting.
What about Jack Chekijian’s performance did you like?
I enjoyed the simple way he presented the words. It seemed as tho he was reading the words and definitions in his own voice but then used his 'character' voices when reading quotes containing the words we just learned.
Any additional comments?
This is a book that I did enjoy. Since I received this book free in exchange for an honest review, I listened to it straight through. This is a book that I would listen to again but in stages. Maybe listen one letter at a time or in timed intervals. By doing that I would be able to absorb the meanings of the words better. I tend to listen to books while doing other things ie: driving. This is a book that requires more focused attention.
Mr. Chekijian gave a nice performance and I would love to hear more of his work.
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4 people found this helpful