tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post131129150705671878..comments2023-12-23T04:56:29.702-05:00Comments on Ferule & Fescue: For referenceFlaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-9948586836692697702017-01-27T20:37:34.021-05:002017-01-27T20:37:34.021-05:002-vol OED: check, and I use it every freaking day-...2-vol OED: check, and I use it every freaking day--vastly prefer it to online. Also: big fat Roget's, which destroys any online thesaurus. Also: the complete 5-(6-?)volume Dictionary of American Regional English. And the big prize: a 1934 Webster's American, which was the last handbound American dictionary--as big as they wanted it to be, so they went huge, chatty, even raconteurish. I take all these books to the first day of every semester on a big cart. <br /><br />I embrace my nerditude.<br />Renaissance Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06243095907452011303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-13162161661094878112017-01-26T22:03:23.822-05:002017-01-26T22:03:23.822-05:00Not only do I also own that 2-vol. OED with the ma...Not only do I also own that 2-vol. OED with the magnifying glass, but when I read this post I realized: what?? I don't own a copy of the NYPL Desk Reference book?? And immediately went out and ordered a hardcover copy of the most recent edition. <br />Veralindanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-62755654167441759662017-01-25T19:20:29.045-05:002017-01-25T19:20:29.045-05:00I have the 2-volume OED with magnifying glass &...I have the 2-volume OED with magnifying glass & used to use it a lot. When I started, I could even read it without the glass. Now it sits impressively beside the 4-volume Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and I hope it doesn't mind that I don't use it. undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-53215340695739692512017-01-17T08:46:14.503-05:002017-01-17T08:46:14.503-05:00I still use my Webster's Thesaurus, I like it ...I still use my Webster's Thesaurus, I like it better than the one on WORD. I remember having to scrape money together to buy the CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, which was about $50 ... a lot of money in grad school! I still have it, haven't used it in 20 years. But I'll keep it forever. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-61800038057651922732017-01-15T16:43:27.475-05:002017-01-15T16:43:27.475-05:00Oh, this resonates with me. My grandparents had th...Oh, this resonates with me. My grandparents had the compact 2-volume OED (and accompanying magnifying glass) on a stand in their dining room until my grandfather died at the age of 94 in 2012. I claimed it, and while I haven't moved it and the hundreds of pounds of other books I inherited from them from SoCal to Bloomington yet, it *will* make the move. I think it's embedded in my idea of "this is what a professor looks like."<br /><br />-SvdLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-66829523942269167652017-01-15T12:36:26.234-05:002017-01-15T12:36:26.234-05:00I used to use my compact OED all the time, and I i...I used to use my compact OED all the time, and I imagine I might make good use of the 20-vol set; but when you factor in the magnifying glass, and the outdatedness. . . there's just nothing that compares to the online version.<br /><br />And yes, Bardiac: I think print reference books (of the sort that I'm describing in most of this post) fill a real need for what I'd call the wannabe expert. They're more reliable than Wikipedia, but Wikipedia is fine if a) you're a total non-expert and just want the basics or some fun facts, or b) <i>you are an expert and know what to take with a grain of salt</i>. I have no problem using Wikipedia to check a publication date or biographical detail before class or to look up something I already know (but need confirmed), but if I'm writing two sentences in an article that involve some author I never work on, I wouldn't trust it because I don't know enough to know whether that <i>was</i> his most popular work, or went through six editions in his lifetime, or if his affair with his patron's wife is the actual reason for his exile, or whatever. <br /><br />And encyclopedia-style reference books are also good when you don't know (or don't have access to) the best databases in the field.Flaviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-27376250711691098482017-01-15T11:07:41.902-05:002017-01-15T11:07:41.902-05:00I got the compact OED in grad school, a deal from ...I got the compact OED in grad school, a deal from the book of the month club; pretty much all the grad students who could afford it did it, and then as soon as we were allowed, we left the book of the month club.<br /><br />For years, I used it regularly, all the time. And then, on-line just became so very much easier.<br /><br />Like you, I used to use print resources for some basic stuff all the time, but now, I can check Joe Schmoe's dates on Wikipedia so much more easily.<br /><br />There are some I still check and use, but usually for stuff that's more tangential for my work.Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-85662256303921561942017-01-15T09:23:38.001-05:002017-01-15T09:23:38.001-05:00I bought the 2-volume, magnifying glass concise OE...I bought the 2-volume, magnifying glass concise OED too while in graduate school. I've only used it a handful of times, though, since I've had online OED access for at least ten years. Since my hubby is a computer guy, he keeps encouraging me to get e-versions of books so we can reduce "clutter." I keep telling him that knew what he was getting into when he married me (and my books). ;) Fie upon this quiet life!https://www.blogger.com/profile/12047096700049201873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-42848888993190718402017-01-15T07:26:29.146-05:002017-01-15T07:26:29.146-05:00_I_ still want that 20 vol Oxford Dictionary and I..._I_ still want that 20 vol Oxford Dictionary and I'm in STEM. There's just something about a huge dictionary... even my Concise Oxford is a beloved thing.JaneBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779448611795379774noreply@blogger.com