-
On Cussing
- Bad Words and Creative Cursing
- Narrated by: Caroline Aaron
- Length: 51 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
On Cussing
Buy for $6.87
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Attic
- By: Katherine Dunn
- Narrated by: CJ Bloom
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
Here is the slim, stunning debut novel from the acclaimed author of Geek Love. Attic follows a young woman named Kay who has joined a cult-like organization that sells magazine subscriptions in small towns. When Kay tries to cash a customer’s bad check, she lands in jail, and Dunn’s visceral prose gives us a vivid, stream-of-consciousness depiction of the space in which she’s held. As Kay comes to know the other inmates, alliances and rivalries are formed, memories are recounted, and lives are changed.
By: Katherine Dunn
-
Toad
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Dunn, Molly Crabapple - foreword
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 19
She spends her days alone at home, reading drugstore mysteries, polishing the doorknobs, waxing the floors. Her only companions are a vase of goldfish, a garden toad, and the door-to-door salesman who sells her cleaning supplies once a month. She broods over her deepest regrets: her blighted romances with self-important men, her lifelong struggle to feel at home in her own body, and her wayward early twenties, when she was a fish out of water among a group of eccentric, privileged young people at a liberal arts college.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance is bad
- By kelly on 01-12-23
By: Katherine Dunn, and others
-
Truck
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Dunn
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 8
With daring realism and stunning imagination, the author of Geek Love, Katherine Dunn, takes us on a journey into the mind of a feisty, adventurous adolescent named Jean "Dutch" Gillis. Dutch goes "trucking" from Portland, Oregon, to Los Angeles on a quest in search of herself, which, like the river trek of Deliverance, is filled with discoveries and sudden violence. With boyish-looking Dutch is her friend Heydorf, a shadowy character who has his own secrets to hide.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this story
- By Brad G. on 04-26-22
By: Katherine Dunn
-
On Writing
- A Memoir of the Craft
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 14,980
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,325
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12,221
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Who needs a print edition when King reads King?
- By Cather on 11-18-05
By: Stephen King
-
Gumption
- Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,670
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,206
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,184
The star of Parks and Recreation and author of the New York Times best seller Paddle Your Own Canoe returns with a second book that humorously highlights 21 figures from our nation’s history, from her inception to present day - Nick’s personal pantheon of “great Americans". After the great success of his autobiography, Paddle Your Own Canoe, Offerman now focuses on the lives of those who inspired him. From George Washington to Willie Nelson, he describes 21 heroic figures and why they inspire in him such great meaning.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Swagger and mirth
- By Tamara Shope on 09-14-15
By: Nick Offerman
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
Attic
- By: Katherine Dunn
- Narrated by: CJ Bloom
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
Here is the slim, stunning debut novel from the acclaimed author of Geek Love. Attic follows a young woman named Kay who has joined a cult-like organization that sells magazine subscriptions in small towns. When Kay tries to cash a customer’s bad check, she lands in jail, and Dunn’s visceral prose gives us a vivid, stream-of-consciousness depiction of the space in which she’s held. As Kay comes to know the other inmates, alliances and rivalries are formed, memories are recounted, and lives are changed.
By: Katherine Dunn
-
Toad
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Dunn, Molly Crabapple - foreword
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 19
She spends her days alone at home, reading drugstore mysteries, polishing the doorknobs, waxing the floors. Her only companions are a vase of goldfish, a garden toad, and the door-to-door salesman who sells her cleaning supplies once a month. She broods over her deepest regrets: her blighted romances with self-important men, her lifelong struggle to feel at home in her own body, and her wayward early twenties, when she was a fish out of water among a group of eccentric, privileged young people at a liberal arts college.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance is bad
- By kelly on 01-12-23
By: Katherine Dunn, and others
-
Truck
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Dunn
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 8
With daring realism and stunning imagination, the author of Geek Love, Katherine Dunn, takes us on a journey into the mind of a feisty, adventurous adolescent named Jean "Dutch" Gillis. Dutch goes "trucking" from Portland, Oregon, to Los Angeles on a quest in search of herself, which, like the river trek of Deliverance, is filled with discoveries and sudden violence. With boyish-looking Dutch is her friend Heydorf, a shadowy character who has his own secrets to hide.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this story
- By Brad G. on 04-26-22
By: Katherine Dunn
-
On Writing
- A Memoir of the Craft
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 14,980
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,325
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12,221
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Who needs a print edition when King reads King?
- By Cather on 11-18-05
By: Stephen King
-
Gumption
- Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,670
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,206
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,184
The star of Parks and Recreation and author of the New York Times best seller Paddle Your Own Canoe returns with a second book that humorously highlights 21 figures from our nation’s history, from her inception to present day - Nick’s personal pantheon of “great Americans". After the great success of his autobiography, Paddle Your Own Canoe, Offerman now focuses on the lives of those who inspired him. From George Washington to Willie Nelson, he describes 21 heroic figures and why they inspire in him such great meaning.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Swagger and mirth
- By Tamara Shope on 09-14-15
By: Nick Offerman
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
- A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines
- By: Thomas C. Foster
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,125
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 967
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 955
What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface - a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character - and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Lives Up to Its Claims
- By Evelyn on 05-22-14
By: Thomas C. Foster
-
Dialogue
- The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen
- By: Robert McKee
- Narrated by: Robert McKee
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 831
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 703
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 692
In Dialogue, Robert McKee offers in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not suited for audio
- By Smith on 03-04-17
By: Robert McKee
-
The Mother Tongue
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,088
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
More satire than history
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-18-15
By: Bill Bryson
-
Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,401
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,264
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,256
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
-
Stein on Writing
- A Master Editor Shares His Craft, Techniques, and Strategies
- By: Sol Stein
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,659
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,164
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,131
Stein on Writing provides immediately useful advice for writers of fiction and nonfiction, whether newcomers or accomplished professionals. As Sol Stein, renowned editor, author, and instructor, explains, "This is not a book of theory. It is a book of usable solutions, how to fix writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the first place."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent advice and examples for better writing.
- By Jane on 06-22-12
By: Sol Stein
-
The Argonauts
- By: Maggie Nelson
- Narrated by: Maggie Nelson
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,398
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,218
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,220
Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts is a genre-bending memoir, a work of "autotheory" offering fresh, fierce, and timely thinking about desire, identity, and the limitations and possibilities of love and language. At its center is a romance: the story of the author's relationship with the artist Harry Dodge. This story, which includes Nelson's account of falling in love with Dodge, who is fluidly gendered, as well as her journey to and through a pregnancy, is an intimate portrayal of the complexities and joys of (queer) family making.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A relaxing meditation on identity, gender and art
- By redhidari on 10-01-15
By: Maggie Nelson
-
Play All
- A Bingewatcher’s Notebook
- By: Clive James
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
Television and TV viewing are not what they once were - and that's a good thing, according to award-winning author and critic Clive James. Since serving as television columnist for the London Observer from 1972 to 1982, James has witnessed a radical change in content, format, and programming, and in the very manner in which television is watched. Here he examines this unique cultural revolution, providing a brilliant, eminently entertaining analysis of many of the medium's most notable 21st-century accomplishments.
By: Clive James
-
Good Prose
- The Art of Nonfiction
- By: Tracy Kidder, Richard Todd
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Good Prose is an inspiring book about writing - about the creation of good prose - and the record of a warm and productive literary friendship. The story begins in 1973, in the offices of the Atlantic Monthly, in Boston, where a young freelance writer named Tracy Kidder came looking for an assignment. Richard Todd was the editor who encouraged him, and from that article grew a lifelong association. Before long, Kidder's The Soul of a New Machine, the first book the two worked on together, had won the Pulitzer Prize.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Tendentious
- By Despair at the State of the Republic on 05-15-23
By: Tracy Kidder, and others
-
Dancing at the Edge of the World
- Thoughts on Words, Women, Places
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
From modern literature to menopause, from utopian thought to rodeos - in this classic collection of essays, Ursula K. Le Guin roves with her customary audacity over the intersecting arenas of literature, feminism, and social responsibility, exploding any received notions she comes across and revealing visionary possibilities in their stead.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not my favorite Le Guin collection, but...
- By Cameron on 05-11-19
-
Consider the Lobster
- And Other Essays
- By: David Foster Wallace
- Narrated by: David Foster Wallace, Robert Petkoff
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 575
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 479
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 476
Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a funny bone? What is John Updike's deal, anyway? And what happens when adult video starlets meet their fans in person? David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in essays that are also enthralling narrative adventures.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
How this differs from the other version
- By Jonathan Penley on 12-26-17
-
The Sense of Style
- The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 469
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 381
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 381
In The Sense of Style, the best-selling linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker answers these questions and more. Rethinking the usage guide for the 21st century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of a century ago. Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A great book, done a great injustice by the audio
- By M. Kunze on 10-17-14
By: Steven Pinker
-
Latest Readings
- By: Clive James
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
In 2010 Clive James was diagnosed with terminal leukemia. Deciding that "if you don't know the exact moment when the lights will go out, you might as well read until they do", James moved his library to his house in Cambridge, where he would "live, read, and perhaps even write". James is the award-winning author of dozens of works of literary criticism, poetry, and history, and this volume contains his reflections on what may well be his last reading list.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Clive James the one and only
- By Amazon Customer on 01-05-23
By: Clive James
Publisher's summary
F--k the F--kity F--kin' F--ker. Fans of Katherine Dunn won't be surprised that this was her father's favorite sentence, or that, as a young girl, she heard it as a kind of profane poem, a secret song. For many of us, the language of Geek Love carries a similar staying power, born of Dunn's agile use of language and her strange, beautiful diction. And as a true exegete of the expletive, she remained undividedly devoted to obscenity - both as scholar and practitioner.
In On Cussing, Dunn sketches a brief history of swear words and creates something of a field guide to their types and usages, from the common threat ("I'll squash you like a shithouse mouse") to the portmanteau intensifier ("Fan-f--king-tastic"). But she also explores their physiology - the physical impact on the reader or listener - and makes an argument for how and when to cuss with maximum effect. Equal parts informative and hilarious, this volume will delight Dunn's legion of fans, but it's also a must-have for anyone looking to more successfully wield their expletives, be it in writing or in everyday speech.
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
Holy Sh*t
- A Brief History of Swearing
- By: Melissa Mohr
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Almost everyone swears, or worries about not swearing, from the two year-old who has just discovered the power of potty mouth to the grandma who wonders why every other word she hears is obscene. Whether they express anger or exhilaration, are meant to insult or to commend, swear words perform a crucial role in language. But swearing is also a uniquely well-suited lens through which to look at history, offering a fascinating record of what people care about on the deepest levels of a culture - what's divine, what's terrifying, and what's taboo.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
WHERE IS THE REFERENCE MATERIAL PDF????
- By justin on 07-08-14
By: Melissa Mohr
-
How to Write Short
- Word Craft for Fast Times
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 68
In How to Write Short , Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed - from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill. Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Ironically long
- By Amazon Customer on 03-14-16
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
How Fiction Works
- By: James Wood
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
Ranging widely from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings, Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step. He sums up two decades of insight with wit and concision, resulting in nothing less than a philosophy of the novel, which has won critical acclaim nationwide, from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times Book Review.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Educational!
- By Don on 05-04-09
By: James Wood
-
Montaigne in Barn Boots
- An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy
- By: Michael Perry
- Narrated by: Michael Perry
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
"The journey began on a gurney", writes Michael Perry, describing the debilitating kidney stone that led him to discover the essays of Michel de Montaigne. Reading the philosopher in a manner he equates to chickens pecking at scraps - including those eye-blinking moments when the bird gobbles something too big to swallow - Perry attempts to learn what he can (good and bad) about himself as compared to a long-dead French nobleman who began speaking Latin at the age of two.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A beacon in a dark time
- By Kelsey on 01-13-18
By: Michael Perry
-
Reading Like a Writer
- By: Francine Prose
- Narrated by: Nanette Savard
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 230
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 147
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 142
In her entertaining and edifying New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters and discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire listeners to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Practical, literate, generous
- By Gare on 04-13-08
By: Francine Prose
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
Holy Sh*t
- A Brief History of Swearing
- By: Melissa Mohr
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Almost everyone swears, or worries about not swearing, from the two year-old who has just discovered the power of potty mouth to the grandma who wonders why every other word she hears is obscene. Whether they express anger or exhilaration, are meant to insult or to commend, swear words perform a crucial role in language. But swearing is also a uniquely well-suited lens through which to look at history, offering a fascinating record of what people care about on the deepest levels of a culture - what's divine, what's terrifying, and what's taboo.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
WHERE IS THE REFERENCE MATERIAL PDF????
- By justin on 07-08-14
By: Melissa Mohr
-
How to Write Short
- Word Craft for Fast Times
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 68
In How to Write Short , Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed - from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill. Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Ironically long
- By Amazon Customer on 03-14-16
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
How Fiction Works
- By: James Wood
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
Ranging widely from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings, Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step. He sums up two decades of insight with wit and concision, resulting in nothing less than a philosophy of the novel, which has won critical acclaim nationwide, from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times Book Review.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Educational!
- By Don on 05-04-09
By: James Wood
-
Montaigne in Barn Boots
- An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy
- By: Michael Perry
- Narrated by: Michael Perry
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
"The journey began on a gurney", writes Michael Perry, describing the debilitating kidney stone that led him to discover the essays of Michel de Montaigne. Reading the philosopher in a manner he equates to chickens pecking at scraps - including those eye-blinking moments when the bird gobbles something too big to swallow - Perry attempts to learn what he can (good and bad) about himself as compared to a long-dead French nobleman who began speaking Latin at the age of two.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A beacon in a dark time
- By Kelsey on 01-13-18
By: Michael Perry
-
Reading Like a Writer
- By: Francine Prose
- Narrated by: Nanette Savard
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 230
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 147
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 142
In her entertaining and edifying New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters and discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire listeners to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Practical, literate, generous
- By Gare on 04-13-08
By: Francine Prose
-
Women & Power
- A Manifesto
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 1 hr and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 165
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 164
At long last, Mary Beard addresses in one brave book the misogynists and trolls who mercilessly attack and demean women the world over, including, very often, Mary herself. In Women & Power, she traces the origins of this misogyny to its ancient roots, examining the pitfalls of gender and the ways that history has mistreated strong women since time immemorial.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Short and fabulous
- By André C. on 03-13-20
By: Mary Beard
-
Gumption
- Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,670
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,206
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,184
The star of Parks and Recreation and author of the New York Times best seller Paddle Your Own Canoe returns with a second book that humorously highlights 21 figures from our nation’s history, from her inception to present day - Nick’s personal pantheon of “great Americans". After the great success of his autobiography, Paddle Your Own Canoe, Offerman now focuses on the lives of those who inspired him. From George Washington to Willie Nelson, he describes 21 heroic figures and why they inspire in him such great meaning.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Swagger and mirth
- By Tamara Shope on 09-14-15
By: Nick Offerman
-
The Pun Also Rises
- How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics
- By: John Pollack
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
The Pun Also Rises is an authoritative yet playful exploration of a practice that is common, in one form or another, to virtually every language on earth. At once entertaining and educational, this engaging book answers fundamental questions: Just what is a pun, and why do people make them? How did punning impact the development of human language, and how did that drive creativity and progress? And why, after centuries of decline, does the pun still matter?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Punderful Little Book
- By B. Lane on 01-10-13
By: John Pollack
-
Cunt (20th Anniversary Edition)
- By: Inga Muscio
- Narrated by: Inga Muscio
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
In this fully revised anniversary edition of the classic testament to women's empowerment, Muscio explores with candidness and humor such traditional feminist issues as birth control, sexuality, jealousy between women, and prostitution with a fresh attitude for a new generation of women. Sending out a call for every woman to be the "Cuntlovin' Ruler of Her Sexual Universe", Muscio stands convention on its head by embracing the provocative and celebrating womanhood.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book ever
- By Paula Daniels on 07-28-19
By: Inga Muscio
-
Jewish Comedy
- A Serious History
- By: Jeremy Dauber
- Narrated by: Jeremy Dauber
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 174
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 151
In a major work of scholarship both erudite and very funny, Jeremy Dauber traces the origins of Jewish comedy and its development from Biblical times to the age of Twitter. Organizing his book thematically into what he calls the seven strands of Jewish comedy - including the satirical, the witty, and the vulgar - Dauber explores the ways Jewish comedy has dealt with persecution, assimilation, and diaspora through the ages. He explains the rise and fall of popular comic archetypes such as the Jewish mother, the JAP, and the schlemiel and schlimazel.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not funny
- By supermantwo on 08-31-20
By: Jeremy Dauber
-
Born to Kvetch
- Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods
- By: Michael Wex
- Narrated by: Michael Wex
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 174
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 93
As the main spoken language of the Jews for more than a thousand years, Yiddish has had plenty to lament, plenty to conceal. Its phrases and expressions paint a comprehensive picture of the mind-set that enabled the Jews of Europe to survive persecution: they never stopped kvetching about God, gentiles, children, and everything else.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating, but...
- By Christopher B. on 04-05-16
By: Michael Wex
-
The Mother Tongue
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,088
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
More satire than history
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-18-15
By: Bill Bryson
-
Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,401
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,264
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,256
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
-
Waiting for Godot
- By: Samuel Beckett
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, David Burke, Terence Rigby, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 804
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 607
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 612
There is now no doubt that not only is Waiting for Godot the outstanding play of the 20th century, but it is also Samuel Beckett's masterpiece. Yet it is both a popular text to be studied at school and an enigma. The scene is a country road. There is a solitary tree. It is evening. Two tramp-like figures, Vladimir and Estragon, exchange words. Pull off boots. Munch a root vegetable. Two other curious characters enter. And a boy. Time passes. It is all strange yet familiar.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Joys of Existential and Spiritual Uncertainty
- By Jefferson on 07-24-11
By: Samuel Beckett
-
The Elements of Eloquence
- Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,719
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,543
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,515
In his inimitably entertaining and wonderfully witty style, he takes apart famous phrases and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare or quip like Oscar Wilde. Whether you’re aiming to achieve literary immortality or just hoping to deliver the perfect one-liner, The Elements of Eloquence proves that you don’t need to have anything important to say - you simply need to say it well.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Who knew rhetoric could be so much fun?
- By Philo on 10-30-14
By: Mark Forsyth
-
The Memoir Project
- A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text For Writing & Life
- By: Marion Roach Smith
- Narrated by: Marion Roach Smith
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 191
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 165
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 163
Whether or not one has lived an exceptional or dramatic life, we inherently understand that writing memoir—whether it’s a book, blog, or just a letter to a child - is the single greatest portal to self-examination. Stop treading water in writing exercises or hiding behind “writer’s block” and learn how to write with intent. Marion Roach Smith’s disarmingly frank but wildly fun tactics offer you simple and effective guidelines that work. Your legacy beings now.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
amazing what you can learn from brevity
- By Schwartz-Burrill on 09-15-11
-
The Story of English in 100 Words
- By: David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 268
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 231
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 231
In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences, and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ("roe", in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ("loaf") to cutting edge ("twittersphere") and spanning the indispensable words that shape our tongue ("and", "what") to the more fanciful ("fopdoodle"), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Random but entertaining
- By Sean on 04-01-13
By: David Crystal
What listeners say about On Cussing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Thrive Garden
- 11-05-20
Everything Katherine Dunn wrote is amazing
Amazing! Cursing makes you more believable as a witness in court! Who Knew? Informative and Funny!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caroline Couture
- 07-27-21
Fantastic!
Hilarious and valuable for writers and storytellers, or just for those who love language.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Irish
- 11-21-23
Fun, short read
Content was good, reader was expressive which was nice, however I didn’t care for her smokers sounding voice. Just my own personal preference.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!