The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

By: John Koenig

Narrated by: John Koenig

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“It’s undeniably thrilling to find words for our strangest feelings…Koenig casts light into lonely corners of human experience…An enchanting book. “ —The Washington Post

A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express—until now.

Have you ever wondered about the lives of each person you pass on the street, realizing that everyone is the main character in their own story, each living a life as vivid and complex as your own? That feeling has a name: “sonder.” Or maybe you’ve watched a thunderstorm roll in and felt a primal hunger for disaster, hoping it would shake up your life. That’s called “lachesism.” Or you were looking through old photos and felt a pang of nostalgia for a time you’ve never actually experienced. That’s “anemoia.”

If you’ve never heard of these terms before, that’s because they didn’t exist until John Koenig set out to fill the gaps in our language of emotion. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows “creates beautiful new words that we need but do not yet have,” says John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars. By turns poignant, relatable, and mind-bending, the definitions include whimsical etymologies drawn from languages around the world, interspersed with otherworldly collages and lyrical essays that explore forgotten corners of the human condition—from “astrophe,” the longing to explore beyond the planet Earth, to “zenosyne,” the sense that time keeps getting faster.

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is for anyone who enjoys a shift in perspective, pondering the ineffable feelings that make up our lives. This is the perfect gift for creatives, word nerds, and human beings everywhere.

Logos

A thought, plan, or idea expressed audibly and or visually. This was a great book of words - logos'

A weird a beautiful poem

I’ve never “read” an entire dictionary. I didn’t know it would feel like a poem. Poignant. Moving. Enlightening. This was a weird and beautiful experience.

Saver in Small Listens

I have been waiting for this to be published for several years. It is an absolute joy to read and listen to.. For myself, I only listen in small bits. Four or five minutes at a time. I want stop and think about what I'm hearing. Sometimes I agree with the definitions and sometimes I don't. Such a treat either way. This book supports mindfulness in a way no other volume has for me.

Profound

Profoundly beautiful usage of language to express the most difficult of feelings. Too bad our language is so often used for commercial endeavors in everyday life rather than for this type of deep expression or words like the ones he invented for the book would be used regularly.

Perfect tool for capturing an illusive word

I enjoyed both content and narration performance now I have to buy a hard copy too many perfect words to remember.