This is a beautiful, beautiful book! So unique and something I know I will read many times. I really loved this book. Highly recommended.

This book is self explanatory, the author has researched the words for snow in fifty different languages and included some background for each. Each word is a new chapter and it’s quite a good book to pick up and read a chapter or two when you feel like it. For me, it wasn’t a book I would read for a long time as it became quite tedious.

The chapters are quite inconsistent in length, some are quite long and others are very short. The author appears to have researched the book quite well, and it was good to see she has included American Sign Language, and not focused purely on spoken language.

The beginning of each chapter has an illustration of a snowflake which I thought was nice.

Overall, this is quite a short book. It’s interesting and something different to read.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A non fiction book all about snow and the different ways that snow is described and looked at in different countries, cultures and languages.

This is a nice one for the winter season as the chapters are short and efficient. I liked learning about different cultures via these little snapshots into the world of snow including how snow is viewed and language used in countries that never have snow.

I did find some of the chapters a little bit dry and not as interesting, and I would have liked a bit more energy or excitement about the languages to pull readers in. I think this book would be good for people who enjoy learning more about different languages in the world.

I did also appreciate the author's note at the start where the author talked about her partner's illness while writing the book and how it made her appreciate the art of language even more.

fifty Words for Snow
by Nancy Campbell
The title says it all. Campbell travels the world exploring how different cultures relate to snow and the cold. She examines how human culture and science have sought to explain the phenomena of snow and cold. I highly recommend this book.

Fifty Words for Snow - Nancy Campbell

This is a perfect book for this time of year, and I’m glad I kept it to this month to read.

Nancy Campbell has compiled a fascinating list of words from around the world, to teach us about how other languages describe or communicate snow - ice, hail, glacier water, light dustings and avalanches (which is actually, a word in the book).

I read it straight through but I can see this being an excellent creative non-fiction reference book, one to be dipped into when you have a spare few minutes. Perhaps you could make a competition of it, where you have to use the word you read about that day in a sentence, and the other people need to guess what it means.

I picked a few of my favourites: Hundsaffapaddi, an Icelandic word which describes snowflakes as big as the paws of a dog. Cheotnun, from Korea, which mean both love at first sight and snow. Hagelslag, which means ‘Chocolate Hail’ in Dutch, a delicious snack enjoyed by children and adults alike. It’s chocolate sprinkles on toast, although you can get fairy toast too which is the rainbow sprinkles. There’s even the ASL sign for snowboarding.

As well as teaching us about the words of the world which describe snow, some of the languages are only used by a handful of people, and are in danger of extinction. This theme, as we are talking about weather, leads into a discussion thread on climate change and how this is affecting parts of the world. Some of those have never had snow and now do see it, whereas others depend on a glacier for water which is melting so fast they may have to move.

Other words tell the tale of a difference in class - a Swiss village in Africa where the employees are housed in a shanty town in a precarious part of the mountain, or the ice house in Italy where glacier bricks are brought down to cool rich people’s drinks in the summer.

All of this builds a patchwork of connection, of language and shared experiences, which I thought was really interesting. A great present for the curious around you, and one which will be well read and enjoyed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Elliott and Thompson for the DRC.

3.5 stars

A fascinating little book, perfect for language lovers everywhere! Hearing about all the different words was so interesting, and I really appreciated what a breadth of languages Campbell included - especially so many different Indigenous languages!
With that said, each entry was quite short for my liking and I often wished for a bit more depth. At times it felt a bit like fifty pieces of trivia, and I just wanted a bit more from it!

An interesting and educational little read. I learned some new things and gained new insight. I really love language so if you do too: definitely a book for you!

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for a fair review..

Fifty Words for Snow is exactly what it says in the title and more. In her prologue, Nancy Campbell describes the book as a ‘journey to discover snow in cultures around the world and through different languages’. This beautifully produced book, with its myriad of unique snowflakes settling between each section, celebrates global diversity and ecology alongside unique vocabularies and traditions from Sami and Greenlandic to Hawaiian and Cherokee. It will appeal to those who love words as much as those who love snow and winter.

The selection of words is broad and eclectic, many leading into so much more than a definition. Word no. 44, Pana, means ‘snow knife’ in Inuktitut, the language spoken north of the treeline across Canada and traditionally a spoken, not a written language. In this short essay, Nancy Campbell discusses the development of the first dictionary which evolved into the first novel in the language and was begun as recently as the middle of the last century. The construction and purpose of an igloo, the importance and history of the pana, the culture of those who speak the language, all encompassed in a few pages.

Birds, words and snow being particular interests of mine, I was delighted to encounter Cirulputenis - a blizzard of skylarks (no. 14) in Latvian, which describes the enchantment of a surprise snowfall in springtime. On a similar theme, Newfoundland English offers Sparrow batch (no. 46) - a heavy, substantial fall of snow in late April said to bring back the sparrows. The final word in the fifty: Suncups is a charming English word - new to me, which describes the shallow hollows in snow surfaces ‘as tiny as a watch or larger than the dial of grandfather clock’. Nancy Campbell is a poet and this is evident in her writing but she doesn’t neglect the science, explaining carefully why suncups are formed and how the patterns migrate northwards ‘as if lured by colder places’.

The book can be read, as I did, from cover to cover, but it probably works best as something to dip into, almost at random, to fully appreciate the treasure exposed. I shall be buying my own copy in readiness to do just that when the nights begin to close in once again.

My thanks to the author, to publishers Elliott & Thompson and to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an independent review.

Fifty words for snow is an ecclectic book and I really enjoyed it. Using 50 ways of saying snow in different languages as the starting point it branches out to cover a wide range of topics including myths and folk legends, anthropology, natural history and climate change. I love books I can learn from so this was right up my street. There are some fascinating facts and revelations in this book, the chapters are short and you can dip in and out of it.

I’ve given it four stars as the one thing missing for me, given the nature of many of the words, was the inclusion of phonetics to show how the words should be pronounced.

All in all I found the book an enjoyable read, anyone who loves trivia will particularly enjoy it.

A beautiful concept for a book, a lyrical exploration of different words for snow. Perfect non fiction read for winter. I would definitely recommend picking it up.

Some of the chapters were fascinating and some were incredibly moving. I feel like a learned a lot about snow, other cultures and nature. I got a review copy from NetGalley but I will definitely pick this up as a Christmas gift for someone this year.

I prefer a book I can lose myself in, so it is a little unfair to criticise this book for being something to dip in and out of. It is interesting, and would make a good Christmas present, but I didn't love it.

A very beautiful and informative book that looks at 50 different words from differing languages that are about snow. Whether it’s about snowflakes, ice roads, drifts, downfalls or shelter this is an immensely interesting read.

It’s amazing how the natural elements, in this case snow, can mean so much to so many but in hugely differing ways. To Thailand who have only one recorded snow fall to other countries whose people live a life very much shaped by this white {though not always!} wonder.

The perfect book to have on your bookcase and to pull out during the wintery months.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book more than the actual content. I think I'm the wrong audience for this type of book, but I think the artwork and structure of this book is set up nicely for anyone who wants bite-size ways to absorb information and is interested in cultural and linguistic exploration.

All around the world there are different words relating to snow. This book cleverly pulls fifty of them together and explains, in brief but fascinating chapters, their origins. I absolutely loved the snowflake illustrations. I was particularly interested in the Welsh link with Patagonia and their attempts to keep the language alive. Also the English 'suncups' that I've never heard of before. Thank you to Nancy Campbell, Net Galley and Elliot & Thompson for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thankyou for the chance to read this book.

I absolutely adored reading this - especially during the recent cold snap. There’s just something about being curled up inside in the warm and reading about snow that does my soul good! This is the kind of book that will be an annual read of mine - the kind of book to bathe my soul in at the close of the year.

This was a wonderful book to dip in and out of during the recent cold snap. It was fun to read each entry and then look and see if our snow matched any the descriptions give.

A very readable book, but I'd have liked a phonetic guide to help pronounce each term.

It is an interesting anthology of snow explored through words in several languages and as seen through the eyes of different cultures. It does get a little dry in certain parts, but altogether very readable.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A quirky collection of knowledge that are quite limited to facts and little else.
An OK read.

This is an interesting little book which brings together fifty different short chapters about snow inspired by a variety of languages and cultures, but these glimpses often read like encyclopedia entries with no deeper connection. Despite finding the information compelling, the book left me wanting more. To me, it was at its best when the author offered a more personal approach, discussing her relationship to the subject matter, particularly her partner’s illness and the process she went through of having to relearn language, and I would have loved to see that weaved further.