I recently discovered a fascinating book called the Etymologicon. I can't remember where I ran across it, but the title got me curious enough to buy it.
Since taking Latin in High School (let's hear it for Catholic education), I've been very interested in etymologies. I even bought the Compact OED some years ago (I'd love to get the full one, but that's prohibitively expensive, plus would take a ridiculous amount of shelf space), just to explore that.
Well, building on that, and on his own readings, Mark Forsyth has organized an exploration through etymologies via short (2-3 page) stories that combine related words into a tapestry of morphology.
I'm actually still only twenty or thirty pages in, but it's fantastic reading. Not really meant to be read in one sitting, but it makes for a number of very enjoyable sittings. I'm looking forward to having read all of it.
Plus, I really need to start exploring his blog, The Inky Fool. If the book's any indication, the blog will be fantastic (and heck, some of the stories are reprints from the blog).
Very funny, and very educational.
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