Review: ‘Word By Word’

'The vast majority of people give no thought to the dictionary they use: it merely is, like the universe,” Kory Stamper writes in 'Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries.” '(Few realize) that their dictionary is a human document, constantly being compiled, proofread and updated by actual, living, awkward people.”

Stamper, a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, takes readers inside the unassuming offices where she and her taciturn colleagues collaborate to produce (and then produce again) the book that provides definitions of words.

Making an important distinction, Stamper explains that providing definitions of words is not the same as defining the English language and its rules. She reveals how personal preferences must be set aside so that words are defined as they are used - not as some might prefer they were used. She dives into the various issues lexicographers wrestle with including sorting words into parts of speech, establishing pronunciations, and dealing with 'wrong” words like 'irregardless.”

Stamper's style is personable, at once erudite and casual, sprinkled with curse words (even when she's not exploring the nature and definition of such words), idiosyncratic and engaging. When her explorations take her in obscure or technical directions, she knows how to keep the reader's attention - especially if said reader shares a bit of her passion for the mysteries and miracles of English.

'Word by Word” doesn't offer the narrative pleasures of Simon Winchester's 'The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.” But exploring the quiet, committed world of Merriam-Webster offers many pleasures for those in love with words.

BOOK READING

What: Kory Stamper will read from 'Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries”

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City

Cost: Free