To begin, an apology. I know I've been particularly rubbish this month and I'm very sorry for it. I've hardly read anything at all and what I have read was basically a tongue-in-cheek dictionary, so not even something I can get my teeth into properly and write interestingly about for you. There are very good practical reasons for me being so crap, but the aim of this blog is to talk about the books I have read rather than moan about why there are a lot more books that I haven't. So, back to the task in hand...
I've just finished 'Dr Johnson's Dictionary of Modern Life' written (or compiled, I'm not sure which) by Tom Morton, based upon a number of Twitter posts.
(Dr Samuel Johnson, just in case you can't place him, was a famous 18th century English lexicographer, who is credited with writing the first modern-style dictionary of the English language, published in 1755. Before him, dictionaries tended to just be lists of useful words or translations into other languages. Johnson created the first dictionary as we would understand and recognise it today.)
To state the obvious, Morton's dictionary is book of definitions of modern things, e.g. gadgets, celebrities, TV programmes, bands etc, written in the style of Dr Johnson, complete with emphatic Capitals and words abbreviat'd.
Stylistically, it feels pretty much bang on the money and there were times when I had to remind myself that the good doctor was no longer in and feverishly commenting on the personalities and ne'er-do-wells of contemporary Britain. However, once the novelty of this had worn off, I started to pay closer attention to the definitions themselves and this is where things started to get a bit uncomfortable for me as a reader.
I think that even the best and wittiest comedians nowadays can slip into the trap of picking on easy targets, especially if they have to deliver regularly on weekly panel shows. I'm always disappointed if the best a comedian can come up with is something about a politician's weight or forgetfulness and Alzheimer's. I know we all have off days, but I always hope that they can do better and it worries me when studio audiences don't seem to care/notice that something that's a bit below par has been said, almost like they're so awestruck that they'll laugh because they're expected to. There were times reading this book where I felt that the definitions weren't being witty, they were just being cruel. And I think that's the point - it's one thing to write in the style of Johnson, it's another to find something well-observed and witty to say.
On the whole, this book would be a great Christmas present for the language aficionado in your life. It'll provide much amusement as the turkey and brussels go down, although it will probably be one of those presents that gets put on a shelf Boxing Day and forgotten about. But that doesn't mean it won't bring joy to the world in that 24 hours and I for one would have been very glad to receive it as a gift.
