The author of Anguished English presents a compendium of fascinating facts and anecdotes about some of literature’s greatest authors and works. Author and English teacher Richard Lederer is one of the world’s foremost lovers of language and literature. In this endlessly engaging volume, he collects some of the most curious trivia about world-renowned authors and poets as well as their many immortal creations. The perfect gift for bibliophiles, Richard Lederer’s Literary Trivia sheds surprising new light on the books and writers we love.
From the author of Crazy English and The Miracle of Language, a fiendishly engrossing, thoroughly addictive volume of anecdotes, curiosities, and quizzes testing your knowledge of books from Genesis to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest..
What fictional detective survived an attempted murder by his creator? (Sherlock Holmes) Who was the single mother, living on state benefits, whose wizardly series of novels has made her the richest writer in England? (J. K. Rowling) Which American poet composed and read a poem at John F. Kennedy's inauguration? (Robert Frost) Richard Lederer is the author of more than 3,000 books and articles about language. His syndicated column, 'Looking at Language' appears in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. He has been elected International Punster of the Year and has been profiled in The New Yorker, People and The National Enquirer. Lederer hosts A Way with Words on weekend public radio. He lives with his wife in San Diego.
In this follow-up to Richard Lederer’s Literary Trivia, the author delves into curious facts and anecdotes about mythology, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Through his numerous books and syndicated columns, Richard Lederer’s infectious love of language and literature has inspired and intrigued readers for decades. Now the author of Lederer on Language and Anguished English delivers a volume full of fascinating trivia about some of Western literature’s most foundational works. Here you will be able to test—and expand—your knowledge of the Bible, ancient Greek mythology, and the plays and poetry of William Shakespeare.
In what other language, asks Lederer, do people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway, and your nose can run and your feet can smell? In CRAZY ENGLISH, Lederer frolics through the logic-boggling byways of our language, discovering the names for phobias you didn't know you could have, the longest words in our dictionaries, and the shortest sentence containing every letter in the alphabet. You'll take a bird's-eye view of our beastly language, feast on a banquet of mushrooming food metaphors, and meet the self-reflecting Doctor Rotcod, destined to speak only in palindromes.
If you think you're an avid reader, prepare to be stumped and stimulated Overflowing with fascinating trivia questions covering topics ranging from Shakespeare to Salinger, Gertude Stein to Frankenstein, The Scarlet Letter to The Scarlet Pimpernel, this deck is a riveting game to play with friends, family, and book club members--or you can even quiz yourself to brush up on your book smarts. Featuring Q & As, mix-and-matches, fill-in-the-blanks, and more, this deck guarantees hours of erudite fun
Learn fascinating facts about the history, culture, leaders, and heroes of our great nation in this comprehensive volume of U.S. trivia. This land is your land—so you should know a thing or two about it. American Trivia is chock full of fascinating facts, historical riddles, and puzzling quizzes about the people, places, and events that make this nation great. Divided into sections on national origins, presidents, historical figures, and more, this book offers a crash course in essential Americana. In these pages, you will learn the origin of the national anthem, stories about national monuments such as the Liberty Bell and Statue of Liberty, fascinating information about the country’s heroes and inventors, and more. As co-authors Richard Lederer and Caroline McCullagh demonstrate, American trivia is anything but trivial.
Who was Ben Jonson describing when he said He was not of an age, but for all time? This and hundreds of other questions abound in this collection of literary anecdotes, curiosities and quizzes.
Master verbalist Richard Lederer, America's "Wizard of Idiom" (Denver Post), presents a love letter to the most glorious of human achievements... Welcome to Richard Lederer's beguiling celebration of language -- of our ability to utter, write, and receive words. No purists need stop here. Mr. Lederer is no linguistic sheriff organizing posses to hunt down and string up language offenders. Instead, join him "In Praise of English," and discover why the tongue described in Shakespeare's day as "of small reatch" has become the most widely spoken language in history: English never rejects a word because of race, creed, or national origin. Did you know that jukebox comes from Gullah and canoe from Haitian Creole? Many of our greatest writers have invented words and bequeathed new expressions to our eveyday conversations. Can you imagine making up almost ten percent of our written vocabulary? Scholars now know that William Shakespeare did just that! He also points out the pitfalls and pratfalls of English. If a man mans a station, what does a woman do? In the "The Department of Redundancy Department," "Is English Prejudiced?" and other essays, Richard Lederer urges us not to abandon that which makes us human: the capacity to distinguish, discriminate, compare, and evaluate.
