Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages

Ammon Shea

Jul 2008 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

An obsessive word lover's account of reading the entire Oxford English Dictionary, hailed as "the Super Size Me of lexicography."

"I'm reading the OED so you don't have to," says Ammon Shea on his slightly masochistic journey to scale the word lover's Mount Everest: the Oxford English Dictionary. In 26 chapters filled with sharp wit, sheer delight, and a documentarian's keen eye, Shea shares his year inside the OED, delivering a hair-pulling, eye-crossing account of reading every word.

Ratings and reviews

I have read "A", through, "K" in the Oxford English Dictionary prior to 1900. Further, I have read, "A", and, "B" in the Oxford English Dictionary roughly up to the present day. I have the margin notes stretching back thirty-three years to prove my strong, careful attention to the detail of our stellar tradition. Skipping skimmers are deficient, "scholars?". Live with the Oxford English Dictionary. Don't glaze-eye the Oxford English Dictionary noddy-noddily.

About the author

Ammon Shea is the author of two previous books on obscure words, Depraved English and Insulting English (written with Peter Novobatzky). He read his first dictionary, Merriam Webster’s Second International, ten years ago, and followed it up with the sequel, Webster’s Third International. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.