“One of the most satisfying accounts of a great passion that I have ever read.” —Vivian Gornick, New York Times Book Review Mary Norris, The New Yorker’s Comma Queen and best-selling author of Between You & Me, has had a lifelong love affair with words. In Greek to Me, she delivers a delightful paean to the art of self-expression through accounts of her solo adventures in the land of olive trees and ouzo. Along the way, Norris explains how the alphabet originated in Greece, makes the case for Athena as a feminist icon, and reveals the surprising ways in which Greek helped form English. Greek to Me is filled with Norris’s memorable encounters with Greek words, Greek gods, Greek wine—and more than a few Greek men.

New York Times Bestseller Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal "Hilarious…This book charmed my socks off." —Patricia O’Conner, New York Times Book Review Mary Norris has spent more than three decades working in The New Yorker’s renowned copy department, helping to maintain its celebrated high standards. In Between You & Me, she brings her vast experience with grammar and usage, her good cheer and irreverence, and her finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in a boisterous language book as full of life as it is of practical advice.

An Italian journalist pleads her case for learning ancient Greek in modern times. For word nerds, language loons, and grammar geeks, an impassioned and informative literary leap into the wonders of the Greek language. Here are nine ways Greek can transform your relationship to time and to those around you, nine reflections on the language of Sappho, Plato, and Thucydides, and its relevance to our lives today, nine chapters that will leave readers with a new passion for a very old language, nine epic reasons to love Greek. The Ingenious Language is a love song dedicated to the language of history’s greatest poets, philosophers, adventurers, lovers, adulterers, and generals. Greek, as Marcolongo explains in her buoyant and entertaining prose, is unsurpassed in its beauty and expressivity, but it can also offer us new ways of seeing the world and our place in it. She takes readers on an astonishing journey, at the end of which, while it may still be Greek to you, you’ll have nine reasons to be glad it is. No batteries or prior knowledge of Greek required! Praise for The Ingenious Language “Andrea Marcolongo is today’s Montaigne. She possesses an amazing familiarity with the classics combined with the ease and lightness of those who surf the web.” —André Aciman, New York Times–bestselling author of Find Me “[Marcolongo’s] declaration of love for Ancient Greek does more than celebrate the virtues of its grammar, it shows us modern fools how this language can help us understand ourselves better and live a better life.” —Le Monde (France)

"Travel writing at its best." - Greece.com UPDATED EDITION WITH A NEW CHAPTER Intoxicated with dreams of a Greek paradise, John Mole inflicts upon his family a tumbledown ruin on a hillside with no water, no electricity, no roof, no floor, no doors, no windows and twenty years of goat dung ... far away from the tourist resorts and posh hotels. Through hard work and comic misadventures a bond is formed with a vivid cast of village characters - from Elpida who cures back pain with raw eggs to beautiful Eleni yearning for Dusseldorf - over bottles of ouzo, whisky and wine. If only Hector the dog would calm down.

A Funny Gift for Grammar Lovers NATIONAL BESTSELLER "A fresh and democratic take on language by a gifted teacher." —Mary Norris "[Jovin] never hectors, never finger-points; she enlightens and illuminates. This is lovely work." —Benjamin Dreyer An unconventional guide to the English language drawn from the cross-country adventures of an itinerant grammarian. When Ellen Jovin first walked outside her Manhattan apartment building and set up a folding table with a GRAMMAR TABLE sign, it took about thirty seconds to get her first visitor. Everyone had a question for her. Grammar Table was such a hit—attracting the attention of the New York Times, NPR, and CBS Evening News—that Jovin soon took it on the road, traveling across the US to answer questions from writers, lawyers, editors, businesspeople, students, bickering couples, and anyone else who uses words in this world. In Rebel with a Clause, Jovin tackles what is most on people’s minds, grammatically speaking—from the Oxford comma to the places prepositions can go, the likely lifespan of whom, semicolonphobia, and more. Punctuated with linguistic debates from tiny towns to our largest cities, this grammar romp will delight anyone wishing to polish their prose or revel in our age-old, universal fascination with language.

“This cultural and personal history of crosswords and their fans, written by an aficionado, is diverting, informative, and discursive.” —The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice A delightful, erudite, and immersive exploration of the crossword puzzle and its fascinating history Almost as soon as it appeared, the crossword puzzle became indispensable to our lives. Invented practically by accident in 1913, when a newspaper editor at the New York World was casting around for something to fill empty column space, it became a roaring commercial success almost overnight. Ever since then, the humble puzzle has been an essential ingredient of any newspaper worth its salt. But why, exactly, are the crossword’s satisfactions so sweet? Blending first-person reporting from the world of crosswords with a delightful telling of its rich literary history, Adrienne Raphel dives into the secrets of this classic pastime. Thinking Inside the Box is an ingenious love letter not just to the abiding power of the crossword but to the infinite joys and playful possibilities of language itself.

Where did the term “lazy Susan” come from? What do you call someone who hails from Michigan? How did the United States end up with regional differences in dialect? The answer to all these questions lies in the colorful history of the English language. Teacher, writer, editor and language expert Rob Kyff — aka “The Word Guy” — is a master of words. Through his snappy weekly column, he shares grammar tips and offers history lessons on the origins of the English language and its unexpected evolution. “Mark My Words” provides handy tips on punctuation and usage, promising to elevate any reader’s writing skills. But it also puts forth quirky and spirited word games, quizzes and fun facts that will delight anyone with an interest in language.

The story of a homecoming to Ithaca, set in Ancient Greece. When Athena learns that Odysseus is in trouble, she has to go and help him... But will she make it in time? God meets mortal in this charming children's book. Both gods and humans develop as events unfold. When Odysseus tries to slay his last fleeing enemies, Athena opens his eyes to read what Father Zeus has written in the sky: that human kind must learn human kindness. When Zeus gets promotion and tries to control the British weather as well as the sunny Greek sky, He learns just how surprising this Universe can be. But however far She may stray from Her blue Mediterranean, or however near She may be, Athena will always keep a soft spot for that wily hero from the little island of Ithaca.

As they are about to go on stage, Joe, Fred, and Sam are transported back to the time of Zeus and the other gods in Greek mythology, who, strangely enough, behave much as the characters in the trio's class play.