My collection of dictionaries and reference books spans from recent publications to serendipitous finds of older editions I’ve chanced upon in bookshops or online. As my library shelves groan under the ever-increasing weight of these hefty tomes, I have often thought about weeding out the ones that have fallen out of favor. However, it has long since become apparent to me that they’re here to stay. I simply cannot part with them. Each one of them contains a universe of knowledge gleaned from a singularly distinctive angle and, time and again, I find myself going back to each one of them with unquenched curiosity.
While online reference materials provide invaluable information and can be constantly updated and improved upon, traditional dictionaries and older ‘lexicographical gems’ can disclose revealing and fascinating aspects of language that may have been overlooked or cast aside over the course of time.
It is in this spirit that I would like to introduce some of my dust-gathering companions and reveal why they have earned their place on my bookshelf and why they should not be consigned to oblivion just yet.
