10 reference works you didn’t know you wanted
As a content marketer and corporate communicator, I often spend more time researching an article than I do writing it. And one of the greatest joys of researching is discovering unusual and obscure reference works. If you look hard enough, you’ll find a wealth of information about even the most obscure topic.
When a Google search just won’t do, here are 10 printed reference works to help you with any writing or research project
- Learn the history of phrases, stories, and expressions with Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entries are drawn from mythology, literature, history, folk customs, pop culture, philosophy, science, magic, and superstitions. “Brewer’s is a catalogue of curiosities and absurdities that, over almost 150 years in print, has acquired near-mythical status.”
- The Chambers Dictionary is described as the “most useful and diverting single-volume word-hoard available.” Definitions are short, to-the-point, and quirky. The tone is less than objective and entries are often controversial or caustic. For example, a “back-seat driver” is defined as “someone free of responsibility but full of advice.”
- The Dictionary of Imaginary Places — features descriptions and histories of more than 1,200 fictional realms, along with maps and illustrations.
- For a writer, there is nothing worse than being beaten at Scrabble or Words with Friends. Be prepared for your next game with this ultimate reference guide, the Dictionary of Improbable Words: All-Consonant & All-Vowel Words.
- I have always been fascinated with terms of venery or words for groups of animals (a murder of crows, a skulk of foxes) Oddly enough, the English language is full of them. Learn all about these terms in James Lipton’s book An Exaltation of Larks: The Ultimate Edition: More Than 1,000 Terms.
- I refer to this book when I have to write an awkward email and have no idea where to start. The Lifetime Encyclopedia of Letters contains sample letters for “virtually every business and personal letter you’ll ever have to write.” There are letters for telling someone a meeting is unnecessary, firing a babysitter, answering complaints about out-of-control meetings, and complaining about a barking dog.
- The Order of Things: Hierarchies, Structures, and Pecking Orders — explains the orders and classifications in science, religion, history, business, the arts, sports, technology, mathematics, society, and domestic life.
- If you’ve ever wanted to impress your friends, neighbors or co-workers with your baking skills and love of puns, try a recipe from Scone with the Wind: Cakes and Bakes with a Literary Twist . My favorites are the “Tart of Darkness” and the “Picture of Dorian Soufflé.”
- TV Sets: Fantasy Blueprints of Classic TV Homes — features “extrapolated” blueprints of the homes from TV shows such as The Brady Bunch and Happy Days. “Incredibly, all the plans are drawn to be architecturally feasible; that is, one could actually build from them.”
- Who’s Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists — proof that there’s a “Who’s Who” book for everyone.
How about you? Do you have any reference works to share?
