Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social Book Recommendations & Book Mentions
This list consists of recommendations or mentions of books spotted in media, social media accounts, podcasts or other public websites.
Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social on X
Internet Linguist. NYT bestselling author of BECAUSE INTERNET. Cohost @lingthusiasm, a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics. she/her 🌈
Semiosis
Sue BurkeGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social@alisonatkin Semiosis by Sue Burke involves a sentient plant which feels very alien!
Paperback, 2019
$19.99Member price:$9.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
Kory StamperGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social@thai101 Kory Stamper's Word by Word is my other current rec for pop language writing that's laugh out loud funny (in addition to making good points about how dictionaries are made by real people and deconstructing peever attitudes)
Paperback, 2018
$19.00Member price:$9.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Woman on the Edge of Time
Marge PiercyGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.socialSo I'm reading Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy and it's kind of like My Real Children and This Is How You Lose the Time War had a baby? Except that it was published in 1970 so maybe it's their common ancestor? Anyway I need more people to read all three of these please
Paperback, 1997
$18.00Member price:$9.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme--And Other Oddities of the English Language
Arika OkrentGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social@DedVova2 @Dioneira Not strictly for children but Arika Okrent's Highly Irregular is my top rec at that level currently - short chapters and lots of lighthearted illustrations
Paperback, 2024
$15.99Member price:$7.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages
Gaston DorrenGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social@the_ling_pixie Both of Arika Okrent's books are delightful and highly readable, another solid choice I haven't seen mentioned in the replies yet is Babel by Gaston Dorren
Paperback, 2019
$19.00Member price:$9.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
Heather McGheeGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social@jacremes Another book you might enjoy which has basically this thesis with lots of examples and case studies is The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee (also highly readable!)
Paperback, 2022
$21.00Member price:$10.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Fixing English
Anne CurzanGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.social@emilymbender Anne Curzan's book Fixing English has a bit about spellcheck/grammar check?
Paperback, 2016
$45.00Member price:$42.75 + Free shipping5% off
The Devil Comes Courting
Courtney MilanGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.socialOh yeah BABEL absolutely reads in a very interesting conversation with Courtney Milan's The Devil Comes Courting (and also with Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series, not that I would ever have put those two books in conversation without it) https://t.co/E6RaEzJRiC
Paperback, 2021
$17.99Member price:$8.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
True Biz: Reese's Book Club
Sara NovicGretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcc.bsky.socialFinally reading @NovicSara's True Biz and greatly enjoying how it innovates with form to show ASL within the constraints of a print page mostly in English https://t.co/HM0OQN1RlJ
Paperback, 2023
$19.00Member price:$9.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book