My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of this dictionary.

Words can hurt, words can console. Words can make or break a relationship, or words can save a life. Words can make someone understand you and all the mixed up things that happen everyday, or you to understand them and how they deal with the modern world. John Koening has first on his website, and now in the book The Dictionary of Observed Sorrows has attempted to give us the language for dealing with and sharing with others those moments in life that previously had no way of being described. Once a thing is named, than it can be addressed and handled.

This is not a book that you read straight through, nor a book that you can flip through alphabetically or by neurosis, or confused feeling. This is more of a book you flip through, daily, or open to a random page and just start reading, learning that 'Wellium' is a word for an excuse you come up with to rationalise a disappointing outcome. Just in case you need to tell others. The best is that you find a word or in my case many words that summed up feelings or thoughts that I thought or felt in the past. I always thought I was alone in thinking that. It's nice to know that I wasn't as alone as I thought.

The words or terms come from Mr. Koening's fertile imagination, created from old words, fallen out of favor, or portmanteaus from foreign languages. The book is very fun, inspiring in some cases, groan inducing in others. The world seems to be going in so many directions both wrong and right, really backwards and to an apocalyptic possible future. This dictionary might be the only way to truly descrie what is happening.

”The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a compendium of new words for emotions. Its mission is to shine a light on the fundamental strangeness of being a human being.”

This sweet little book finds its home, genre-wise, somewhere between philosophy and poetry. True to its title, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, offers dictionary-style entries for made-up words that endeavor to give voice to the nuances of the human emotional experience. I absolutely loved everything about this book!

”Despite what dictionaries would have us believe, this world is still mostly undefined.”

I loved all of the definitions for things that people absolutely experience, but probably would never have otherwise found words for (like keyframe, which is “a moment that felt innocuous at the time but ended up marking a diversion into a new era of your life,” and sitheless, which is “to feel wistful upon brushing past a person you once shared a life with”), and how the author shared the etymology that led to each entry.

”It’s a calming thing, to learn there’s a word for something you’ve felt all your life but didn’t know was shared by anyone else.”

Interspersed with photography, epigrams, and longer essays, it is a giftable / keepsake book, perfect for word nerds, creatives, deep thinkers, or anyone who feels their emotions particularly deeply. (Here's looking at you, Enneagram 4s.) I read a digital ARC, but can't wait to purchase a hardback copy for my bookshelf!

”Words will never do us justice. But we have to try anyway.”

——

A huge thank you to John Koenig, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express, until now - from the creator of the popular online project of the same name.

Have you ever wondered about the lives of each person you pass on the street, realizing that everyone is the main character in their own story, each living a life as vivid and complex as your own? That feeling has a name: "sonder." Or maybe you’ve watched a thunderstorm roll in and felt a primal hunger for disaster, hoping it would shake up your life. That’s called "lachesism." Or you were looking through old photos and felt a pang of nostalgia for a time you’ve never actually experienced. That’s "anemoia."

If you’ve never heard of these terms before, that’s because they didn’t exist until John Koenig began his epic quest to fill the gaps in the language of emotion. Born as a website in 2009, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows has garnered widespread critical acclaim, inspired TED talks, album titles, cocktails, and even tattoos. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows "creates beautiful new words that we need but do not yet have," says John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars.

By turns poignant, funny, and mind-bending, the definitions include whimsical etymologies drawn from languages around the world, interspersed with otherworldly collages and lyrical essays that explore forgotten corners of the human condition - from "astrophe," the longing to explore beyond the planet Earth, to "zenosyne," the sense that time keeps getting faster.

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is for anyone who enjoys a shift in perspective, pondering the ineffable feelings that make up our lives, which have far more in common than we think. With a gorgeous package and beautifully illustrated throughout, this is the perfect gift for creatives, word nerds, and people everywhere."

I love the birthing of new words into our universe.

First off, I absolutely love this cover.

I've been a big fan of Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows for years since the Tumblr days. I found myself fascinated by the capture of an incredibly specific emotion or situation that I had felt but never quite thought about how to describe it - monachopsis has been one of my favorite words since I first saw it described years ago.

Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a project that was started by John Koenig, who decided to coin various feelings that tend to be almost universal in the human experience, but don't have words that describe these emotions. Koenig writes in the beginning that "Not so long ago, to be sad meant you were filled to the brim with some intensity of experience" and then goes on to encourage us all to "savor it while it lasts - if only because it means that you care about something in this world enough to let it under your skin." I've always enjoyed reading through the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, but during the current times, I found many of the feelings described to be particularly apt.

One of the cool things to see is how each word or phrase came to be decided upon - usually, it was a portmanteau, and seeing how each piece of the blend came to be selected to form a word that perfectly encapsulates the feeling it is trying to convey. I also liked seeing how the words are pronounced since when I tend to learn a word from a book, I often don't know how to pronounce it. These two pieces weren't found in the original online Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows project, so seeing it now for words both familiar and new was fun. The organization of this book, into sections on the outer world, the inner self, the people you know, the people you don't, the passage of time, and the search for meaning was a very thought-provoking way to organize a so-called dictionary, so that was really interesting.

I enjoyed reading the essay definitions a lot - many of them ended up being an extended metaphor, which hit very differently from some of the shorter ones when there was enough time for the reader to really explore the feeling that was associated (the Dorothy one was particularly hard-hitting for me). Many times, a lot of thought-provoking questions were raised in these metaphors, and I found myself getting lost while exploring all of these words.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars

A unique combination of dictionary and poetry, obviously a focus on language but also touches on the evolving nature of words and their meaning. The author lays out what to expect from the book/dictionary and its layout, which divides into 6 chapters with definitions grouped into different themes and sections: 1. The outer world, 2. The inner self, 3. The people you know, 4. The people you don’t, 5. The passage of time, and 6. The search for meaning.

The author beautifully explains it in the introduction of the book that the words chosen are new, rescued from obsolete to a newly redefined meaning, and some words completely stitched together, and others. An example of this is also laid out in the introduction as a way to prepare the reader on what they can expect regarding the change in words and how they will be reformatted: “when we speak of sadness these days, most of the time what we really mean is despair, which is literally defined as the absence of hope. But true sadness is actually the opposite, an exuberant upwelling that reminds you how fleeting and mysterious and open-ended life can be. That’s why you’ll find traces of blues all over this book, but you might find yourself strangely joyful at the end of it.” I think this is a really interesting somewhat reference style book, not exactly useful in everyday life but a fun definitely a fun treat.

ARC given by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I was SO excited to see this book is coming out! I have been a fan of John Koenig's work since 2015, when I was looking out of a hotel window in Japan and mused to my daughter that it struck me that everyone out there has had a full life and our paths never crossed; they never knew anything about me and my full life and I knew nothing about theirs. My daughter said there's a word for that--"sonder"--and introduced me to the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. I love the videos and definitions available online, but to have them all together in one book is such a treat. It's not organized alphabetically like a normal dictionary, but rather, as the author explains at the beginning, by theme and then in no particular order, which seems entirely fitting for this book. My favorite books amaze me with insights that an author shares where I think, "I didn't know anyone else had ever thought of that/felt that way!" That's what this book is all about. I think it's something to be savored in small bits so that you can ruminate on those definitions that really speak to you. I expect to give this beautiful book as a gift frequently--I can think of so many people who will love it as I do! Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this delightful book.

What a fantastic dictionary and one that writers (and readers) will love to peruse. Language is always evolving and I am sure that many of these new words will catch on and become part of the common language in time. Wonderful cover!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to having a hard copy of it. As humans we experience so many emotions and most of them we struggle to explain. To have a word that helps expound these hard complex emotions brings a sense of comfort and heartfelt relief. There is so much frustration and even anger when trying to explain what you're feeling but you don't know how because you lack the words to describe it and it leaves you feeling disconnected and often times alone. Having a word that defines what your are feeling brings a sense of validation to those feelings. Knowing that others feel these same things and we now have words/definitions to express them can also bring us closer together and help us form stronger connections due to a deeper understanding of our own feelings as well as each others. Just a few words that resonated with me were: heartspur, liberosis, nighthawk, sonder, hiddled, fawtle, tinin and so so so many more. This book would also be great for someone who likes to journal, like myself, as it offers wonderful words for journal prompts.

I think the cover is so magical, but more than that I found the content to be so interesting. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I liked essentially a dictionary, but I did. I really did. I am someone who loves language and meanings of words so think just hit the nail on the head for me. I loved it.

Koenig delivers a fascinating presentation of the most beautiful words of my lifetime. Thank you Simon & Schuster for recognizing the literary need for this pragmatic and opportune book. Now if only a new word could be invented to capture this glee of learning words that better reveal the human condition.

I am in awe of this book and John Koenig. This is a book that will make you feel not alone. It is a book that will make you feel heard, seen. This is a book that will spark joy and wonder at the beautiful world of words.

This is now probably one of my favorite non-fiction books that I have read in a while. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows spoke to me on so many levels. From the prologue to the second word in the book, "trumspringa," which means "the temptation to step off your career track and become a shepherd in the mountains, following your flock between pastures with a sheepdog and a rifle, watching storms at dusk from the doorway of a small cabin, just the kind of hypnotic diversion that allows your thoughts to make a break for it and wander back to their cubicles in the city;" I knew that I would love this book.

I am living trumspringa currently, and how cool is it that I have a word for this now. A word that is not tied to any of our social norms or feelings surrounding specific terms. A word that can be anything or nothing, but I am the one who can choose how I relate to it.

The author poses though=provoking questions regarding our modern vocabulary. Why are some items called what they are? Where did the term come from? What are the feelings or emotions that are tied to that word? One example of many that the author provides in the book is "sadness." Sadness, and I apologize if I am destroying how beautifully it was written in the book, it means fullness. It was not something that meant sorrow or a feeling of emptiness. It is intended to be full of emotion, whether joy, grief, happiness, delight, distress, or other emotions. The book goes on in great detail about all the author's new words, how he created them, and what languages or common phrases he pulled from.

I currently have this on Kindle, thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley, but I think this will be one of the needed books for the coffee table. I cannot thank Simon and Schuster and NetGalley enough for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I hope you have the pleasure of reading this book.

A beautiful, strange book, that reads a little differently than a dictionary in that it meanders and muses and dives deep into emotions in a way that a regular dictionary could never do. But there is no narrative, so if one is expecting a thread to run through them all, they may be disappointed, but lovers of words and of language will find this to be a truly delightful addition to their bookshelves.

This is a simply lovely book. It’s so easy to pick up, read a few pages or a section, and then come back to it. Or simply binge half of it in one go, as I did.
There was an undercurrent of humor that I really liked. The etymology was interesting. I enjoyed the intermittent deep dives into certain words.
There is a melancholy to some of words, an aching familiarity—the recognition of “yes, I’ve felt that .”

Definitely will be purchasing a copy for myself when it’s released and a few friends.

Highly recommended!

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-ARC, This is my unbiased review.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley, so many thanks to them and the publisher, Simon & Schuster. To quote this amazing book that I just finished reading "The eye is a keyhole through which the world pours in, and a world spills out.". I truly felt the weight of a world of words pouring in as I read The Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows. So many words for feelings I've been carrying around for so long and longing to express! What a pure delight this collection is, so whimsical and poignant. Some of my favorite new words were Immerensis, Zenosyne, Jouska, Zielschmerz, Nighthawak and my absolute favorite of the bunch (being that I relate to it fully, having felt it time and time again, especially upon viewing Evan Peters) is Hankersore - adj. finding a person so attractive it actually kinda pisses you off. I feel that one deeply. By the end of this book I felt rejuvenated, having read so many words for so many of the feelings I feel so often, and knowing that others must be feeling this same way too, or else these words wouldn't have had to be pulled into existence.

A wonderful dictionary of all things melancholy and morose. There's a beautiful yearning to be felt in these words, a condensed sense of heartbreak. I enjoyed reading about the various feelings that come to us in our moments of sorrow, and how there are specific words to describe just the right kind of sadness it is.

What an amazing book! It took me forever to read because I kept doing screenshots of the words to show people. It is based on a website where words are created to fill the void where one should exist. You read it, find a word, and think, "Oh my God! Yes! I feel that same thing!" Well, now you have a word for it!

The words in this book are so achingly familiar. Reading through them, I had such a strong sense of wonder and understanding. These have been so needed, even if they don't end up as "real" words, as they are almost a lifeline for when you feel misunderstood or alone. I loved being able to read a few of these at a time and just let the ideas sink in. There are some beautiful concepts within this book, ones that I never would have thought of explicitly, even if I had a sense of them in the back of my head. I will definitely be picking up a copy of this for myself and several as gifts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a strange wonderful book. For this not in the know this is a dictionary of fake words. However it's so much more then that. It's captures beautifully what it means to exist and live in a time filled with such love but also great sorrow. It's not a typical book per se, but I found myself reading from it when I was feeling alone or misunderstood. It made me feel better. It also cut my ego down to size as I realized I was not as unique or witty as I thought. But that's my issue! Marvelous! 5 out of 5!

I was so excited to see this book come up for publication. I learned of this project years ago after seeing the definition for “sonder” online. I found it deeply moving. I adore this collection of words and I will be purchasing my own copy upon publication.

A dictionary collection of new and innovative words for some oddly familiar human emotions. Great for logophiles who’d like to impress or infuriate friends at dinner parties. The main problem here is most likely one you can readily anticipate: it reads like a dictionary, so it works best in short bursts only.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster**