As a kid who sometimes read the dictionary for fun, who is now an adult linguist, this book checked off so many boxes for me. I loved learning about the process of writing a dictionary; I loved knowing that there are other people out there who care so deeply about style guides as I do; I loved her humor. I loved that even though she was quite obviously invested in the dictionary, and wanted it to be good and right, she didn't take herself or her fellow lexicographers too seriously.
Here are some quotes:
"[Old English] looks like drunk, sideways German with some extra letters thrown in for good measure." She's not wrong.
"Adverbs look like everything else; they are the junk drawer of the English language (like so)." They're the junk drawer of every language, really.
Describing a conference room: "...a small table, around which four editors can sit comfortably and six in introverted terror..."
xo,
Devo
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