My thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Press for an advance copy of this book that is both education of a word loving person, and a look at the fascinating world of words, their meanings, the pasts and how language is adapting to our different and seemingly difficult future.

My father had few claims to fame, but the one he was proudest of was spelling the word 'antidisestablishmentarianism' in a Catholic school spelling bee. My father always said the proctor wasn't paying that much attention, and to him it sounded right. My mom is first reader to her deceased best friend's daughter who writes a fairly popular romantasy series, catching mistakes, grammar, and probably being surprised at what appears in the book. My brother makes his living with words, and I make my living by selling them. So language has always been important to us. Either as puns, private jokes, impressing each other, or just sheer amazement at where words can take us. Every book I read I still use a file card to write down quotes I enjoy, good ideas to acquire more information on, and of course words I never knew. This book was the perfect read to me. A book where I felt like meeting an old friend, catching up on their adventures, and learning a whole lot of new words. Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland by word-lover, radio and podcast host, and generally cool person to hang around with, Martha Barnette is a an exploration of a life in words, from humble beginnings, to hosting radio shows, with a look at where language has come from, how we adapted it, and more importantly where it might be going.

Martha Barnette grew up with two parents who loved language and more importantly loved her and the people around them. Barnette leaned the power of language, from her father's writings on religion, from her mother, and from her own interest. A class in school, which was all Greek to her, made her seek out a tutor, who turned into a mentor. The teacher was a polyglot of language lore, not only teaching the word, but its origins, who other languages absobed it, and how it changed. This teacher changed Barnette in many ways, opening up langauage in ways she had never thought. Barnette soon invested more time and effort learning about words, word origins, both around the world, and in her own back yard of Appalachia, and the other regions of the United States. Soon there was a radio show, one that became popular enough to survive some tough times.

A book that gave me far more than I expected, and one I really enjoyed. The biographical information was well told, touching in many parts, and one can't help saying a "You go girl" under one's breath, depending if one is reading in a semi-crowded break room. Along with this is lots and lots of words, their origins, their pasts, and how different regions use different words for the same thing. This is the stuff I found really fascinating, and one that I am sure drove people nuts as I kept talking about. I forget even as I read so much how much I find words fascinating, and something that Barnette does not mind sharing. The writing is very good, a sort of hey this is kind of cool writing, with lots of information, but presented in a way not to whelm or overwhelm in anyway. The personal information is also well written, touching in quite a few spots.

A great book for burgeoning logophiles, writers and for people who just love information. The writing is very good, and it is always nice to read about people who find what they love, and make a living at it. A informative and well-told story. I look forward to more books by Barnette.

I love the chatty, yet erudite, style of this book.

It is entertaining ,yet very informative and can be read in “ snippets,”; or cover-to-cover from start to finish.

A really interesting look at the English language, with an emphasis on dialects and regional usage. This word nerd adored the uniqueness and volume of fun facts in this book!

Entertaining and informative! I recommend it for all the language nerds and etymology fans in your life. Barnette weaves a fascinating narrative to connect many different facets of language, from grammar to local slang to just some of her favorite, euphonic words. I enjoyed this quite a bit