I purchased this book due to the intoxicating title. Soon as I got the book in my hand, I perused it and then just sat down and read and became infatuated with the concept, the delivery, and with the mirth I experienced. I think this book is for the people who like the words, not just for what they convey, but for their revelations of the intricacies of the English language and for the amazing breadth of meanings and innuendos.
I also think the thing that the author was able to read the entire OED certainly deserves high praise. I had the same dream of reading through any dictionary but suspected that anyone would dare challenge the edge of human limit. Maybe English being my second language was an effective deterrent, but since I could read a whole Korean dictionary, I believed it's truly viable.
I believe Shea is clearly a lover of language, and holds lexicographers and linguists in high regard, but he writes for those of us in an amusing and simultaneously educational manner that is never patronising. Perhaps the best example of this is the discussion on p. 168 where he discusses the difference in technical words with precise definitions (e.g., "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis," a rare lung disease), and the difficulty of defining small, common words, his favorite example of which is "set." The definition of "set" in the OED takes 25 pages, and covers 155 main senses of the word, some of which have up to 70 subsenses. These are truths that are obvious to lexicographers, but are uncommonly recognised outside of professional word-defining circles. These are also the underlying points that make this book so entertaining and worthwhile.
Yes, excellent writing leaves an indelible mark on its reader. "Reading the OED" strikes people like myself who often have piles of reading within reach anywhere, whether car, bed, desk, or any other location where one may possibly sit. I think this book is a treasure and should be shared.
