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Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever
Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever | John McWhorter
24 posts | 19 read | 36 to read
One of the preeminent linguists of our time examines the realms of language that are considered shocking and taboo in order to understand what imbues curse words with such power--and why we love them so much. Profanity has always been a deliciously vibrant part of our lexicon, an integral part of being human. In fact, our ability to curse comes from a different part of the brain than other parts of speech--the urgency with which we say f&*k! is instead related to the instinct that tells us to flee from danger. Language evolves with time, and so does what we consider profane or unspeakable. Nine Nasty Words is a rollicking examination of profanity, explored from every angle: historical, sociological, political, linguistic. In a particularly coarse moment, when the public discourse is shaped in part by once-shocking words, nothing could be timelier.
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vivastory

Any recommendations for favorite nonfiction audio books with good performers and engaging content? Favorites of the past year have been: The Art Thief, Anthropocene Reviewed and Born A Crime. Thanks!

BookmarkTavern I‘m only a little in but I‘m loving Cary Elwes‘s memoir about The Princess Bride! 💖 3mo
AmyG I don‘t listen to alot of non-fiction but this one was great…read by the author 3mo
Megabooks Agree with @AmyG 3mo
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Megabooks The storygraph is down but when it‘s back up, I‘ll scan back in my top picks! 3mo
Megabooks I know you‘re a Bourdain fan, too, and my current listen is this by a longtime director, and it‘s quite compelling. Bts of many of the best PU episodes (Libya, Iran, Congo, Myanmar, etc.) 3mo
youneverarrived Unbound and Hidden Valley Road both excellent on audio. 3mo
Jess I listened to all of Hanif Abdurraquib‘s books this year and really liked them. Not new but great cultural essays that he reads himself. Also Poverty, By America was excellent. 3mo
Hooked_on_books Tina Fey‘s memoir is great (Bossypants is the title, I think), Fire Weather was riveting, and my mom suggested this one to me and it‘s totally cinematic, awesome audio: 3mo
vivastory @BookmarkTavern That sounds like a fun one! I thought of TPB last weekend while watching season 3 of Stranger Things. 3mo
vivastory @AmyG I have seen that one on some best of lists. Just placed a hold on Libby. Thanks! 3mo
vivastory @Megabooks That sounds great. Definitely adding to my TBR. I am wanting to get a list of ideas for audio books for the year. I don't listen to a lot of audio books, really only when I'm driving for work. But i have to do A LOT of driving for work & I plan on switching in audio books for some of my spotify time this year. 3mo
vivastory @youneverarrived I loved Hidden Valley Road. I'm not familiar with Unbound but am def. curious, Thanks! 3mo
vivastory @Jess I 💙Hanif Abdurraquib. They Can't Kill Us etc is one of my fave essay collections of all time. I will probably read, rather than listen, to Little Devil etc simply because of what a great prose stylist he is but thanks for the reminder on Desmond's book! That was a nf book I meant to read last year (Evicted floored me when I read it a few years ago). I just placed a libby hold on it. 3mo
vivastory @Hooked_on_books Thanks for the suggestions! I meant to read Bossypants a few years ago after I listened to “Yes, Please“ & never got around to it. Libby doesn't have the other 2 (although it looks like they are getting Fire Weather) but I have a couple of audible credits to spare, so I think I'll check out The Forgotten 500 3mo
Aimeesue Kate Bornstein‘s Gender Outlaw was great and increasingly relevant to more and more of us, as was Charles (I kid you not) Fishman‘s The Big Thirst. I learned a lot from both. 3mo
vivastory @Aimeesue Thanks for the recommendations! Both sound interesting 👏 3mo
Megabooks I‘ll tag some recs that were 5⭐️ me. Also, in general David Sedaris if you want to laugh. Best of Me is a great compilation but just for fun childhood stories… 3mo
Megabooks Sam Irby is hilarious too. 3mo
Megabooks Anything you haven‘t read by Patrick Radden Keefe yet. His are always great on audio!! 3mo
Megabooks Short memoir with a big impact 3mo
Megabooks Loved this on audio. As someone about my age, I think (mid-40s), it was great. 3mo
Megabooks A bit older release, but it had a really ongoing impact on how I think about modern low-wage work 3mo
Megabooks I did not read this on audio, but it is one of my favorite memoirs, and I am hard on those because I read so many. (And I‘ll stop here!) 3mo
vivastory @Megabooks Thanks so much for all of the great recommendations, Meg! Irby's “Wow etc“ was another favorite audio book of last year. I chuckle just thinking about it 😂 I have added the others to my list of audio books to look into. I really appreciate it! 3mo
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

I started this last year, but something about chapter 1 bothered me and I set it aside. I finally picked it back up and really enjoyed the rest of it! But I do question how on earth he could have written a chapter about motherfucker without mentioning Samuel L Jackson one single time.

Bookzombie Lol “I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane.” 1y
vivastory This review made me literally lol 1y
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

3.5 ⭐️ - McWhorter‘s linguistic journey through the nine nasty words was rich in information and history, complete with touches of humor and context that helped this lay person keep up. (Bonus: he completed his undergrad at Rutgers! R-U-Rah-Rah)
February #bookspin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
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JackOBotts
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Babe Ruth‘s parents had a rocky marriage.
#firstlinefridays

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Tkgbjenn1
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Mehso-so

If the goal was to write a boring book about the origins of curse words, mission accomplished. Perhaps its because I‘m not a Columbia University Professor that I just couldn‘t get through it. I thought this would be much more interesting and at some level it is. The redundancy just drains the enjoyment that you should get from this book out of it. I really wanted to like this book.

Karisa Agreed. Ended up bailing on that one. Interesting premise but not enough interesting details to keep me reading! 2y
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mdemanatee
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Pickpick

Book club time.

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mdemanatee
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Hi, hello, I am reading for book club and am obsessed with the sentence “To wit, profanity first involved the holy, and only later the holes.”

britt_brooke 😂 I loved this book! It was one of my top reads of 2021. I like that your book club picked it. 2y
CSeydel John McWhorter is an amazing communicator. I enjoy him so much! 2y
mdemanatee @CSeydel I am loving all the theatre references so far in the first couple chapters. It‘s scratching all my nerdy itches! 2y
mdemanatee @britt_brooke We love a niche non-fiction! I think it‘s going to be so fun to talk about. And I‘m not complaining I managed to grab it in the BN hardcover sale. 2y
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Twainy
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Mehso-so

🎧 A very clinical look at basically 9 nasty words through out the ages. Their origins, non-nasty uses, etc.

Interesting & informative on an educational level but also a little cringeworthy due to the nastiness. It‘s a little bit dry & boring.

This includes offensive words like the N word. Interested? Then this could be for you.

I‘m really mystified why there‘s such a long wait for this book. I feel like I‘m missing something. Shit.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Hooked_on_books
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Soubhi, you‘re the best! I just love everything! I‘m super excited for the books and plan to start with the tagged book. The towels are so much fun and I love the bookmarks, especially the one with the book stack. 😍 And the soap! I adore fun soaps, and this one both smells awesome and is gorgeous! Thank you so much, my friend.

squirrelbrain Lovely gifts! 😍 3y
TrishB Lovely ❤️ 3y
Soubhiville You‘re welcome, Happy Birthday! I hope you‘ll enjoy the books. ❤️. Have a wonderful day! 3y
vivastory What a lovely package! Cassandra ta the Wedding is a great book 3y
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julesG
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Bailedbailed

Hard Bail!!!

Didn't like the writing style.

Don't agree with some of the linguistic facts and the research.

The former linguistics student in me wanted to see this through.
The current armchair linguist knows that there are better books to be read.

@squirrelbrain @Cinfhen

GingerAntics How are hell and damn “English in the gutter?” Americans seriously need to get over those two. Small children say those words in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand and no one bats an eyelash. 🙄 3y
squirrelbrain Phew, I‘m glad it wasn‘t just me! 😮‍💨😘 3y
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julesG @GingerAntics Those are not really among the nine nasty words. 🙄🙄🙄 3y
GingerAntics @julesG then why are they on the cover? Now I‘m curious what the nine words were. 3y
julesG @squirrelbrain @Cinfhen I was annoyed from the moment the author compared English at the time of William the Conquerer to German of the 20th century. Which researcher in their right mind does that? 3y
julesG @GingerAntics My bad. Damn and Hell made up chapter 1. Then there's Fuck. Then Shit. Ass. Cunt (and a few other 'unmentionables'). "The N-Word". Faggot. Bitch. Motherfucker. 3y
Cinfhen Haha 😂 I do like a good swear word 3y
GingerAntics @julesG n-word is a good one to make the 9. Should motherfucker count as a subset of fuck? How on Earth is English are any stage comparable to modern German? I get that it‘s a Germanic language, but that‘s like saying Latin is like modern French. That is ridiculous. 3y
Moray_Reads If you don't know her, Kate Lister is a brilliant sex historian who did a whole TED Talk on the word cunt! https://www.ted.com/talks/kate_lister_an_honest_history_of_an_ancient_and_nasty_... 3y
GingerAntics @Moray_Reads I read this book (or started a book really) where the author claimed that cunt used to refer to priestesses and had positive connotations until the Christians swept through. Of course, like every other crazy thing in her book, she didn‘t have citations, and I could find nothing of the sort in any records I found. 3y
GingerAntics @Moray_Reads that was absolutely hilarious!!! 😂🤣😂💙💙💙 3y
catsuit_mango @julesG did you see the history of swear words on Netflix? I am not even at your level of linguistic expertise but it was interesting and fun 3y
julesG @catsuit_mango Yes. Saw it. It was fun. Origins of words is my hobby horse. 😁 Especially swear words. 3y
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Daisey
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Pickpick

This week I listened to this book as I worked alone on some farm jobs. I am always fascinated by books about the ever changing English language, and this was no exception. John McWhorter has the perfect style in discussing this topic with a combination of humor and serious consideration. He describes how what we consider profanity has changed over time and the etymology and usage of specific words.

#Audiobook #Nonfiction #BooksOnTheFarm

Daisey Thanks to @Megabooks and @britt_brooke for putting this new book to the top of my TBR! 3y
britt_brooke Excellent review! 🤗 So happy you enjoyed this! It‘s one of my favorites of the year. Language is fascinating. (edited) 3y
Megabooks So glad you enjoyed it too! Great review!! 👏🏻💜 3y
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Jen2
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Pickpick

This was great!! Perfect for hiking in Arches National Park!

Leftcoastzen So beautiful! 3y
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squirrelbrain
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Bailedbailed

I‘m really sorry @julesG but I‘m bailing (or at least hibernating) on our #buddyread. I‘ve actually found the book interesting and funny, when it goes in to my brain, but I think the audio just isn‘t working for me. I‘m hearing about one sentence in ten - the rest I‘m drifting off somewhere else.

So it‘s not the book, it‘s me! And I‘m actually quite proud of myself as I *never* bail but it was stressing me out, and who needs that?!

rockpools NOBODY needs that! Congratulations on bailing - I seem to be doing it more and more at the moment. 3y
julesG I started it. Read the introduction and got hung up on cocksucker. I doubt his explanation why it "fell out of fashion". Wanted to investigate but then my cleaning lady needed to tell me something totally irrelevant and I forgot. (she seems to have the impression that I need to be entertained when I'm reading or working on the computer) ??? 3y
julesG So, no worries about bailing. It's good to realise what works for you and what doesn't. 3y
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squirrelbrain I‘m learning @rockpools ! I need to be more kind to myself and not so much of a blummin perfectionist! 3y
squirrelbrain That‘s funny @julesG ! One of our maintenance guys at work is like your cleaning lady! Thanks for being understanding about bailing. 😘 3y
Megabooks Sorry this didn‘t work for you! 3y
Caroline2 Good for you. Life is too short for books that stress us out. 😉 👍 3y
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britt_brooke
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My only 5⭐️ in May was Nine Nasty Words, but it was a pretty decent month! I read some stuff I don‘t normally gravitate toward. Some I loved, some not so much.

#mayreads #maywrapup

5feet.of.fury I‘ve got to get to The City We Became! Looks like some great choices! 3y
britt_brooke @5feet.of.fury That one was out of my norm, but I liked it! So different. And the audiobook production was excellent, I‘m curious to see where the trilogy goes. 3y
5feet.of.fury @britt_brooke I just saw your review for it was not so favorable. It sounds like a very unique concept though and I loved the Broken Earth Trilogy 3y
britt_brooke @5feet.of.fury It was a tough one for me because I have trouble visualizing fantasy elements, but I still enjoyed it. I was left a bit confused. 🙈 But I think that was intended. 3y
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Lindy
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Pickpick

“Slurs are today‘s true obscenity.” In addition to being a linguistics professor, John McWhorter is African American, giving his viewpoint on the “N-word” — one of the nine nasty words of the title — even greater weight. He narrates his own #audiobook with humour and obvious passion for his subject and makes learning about the etymology, history and culture of curse words an absolute delight.

squirrelbrain Great review - I‘m looking forward to listening to this over the next few weeks. 3y
Lindy @squirrelbrain Enjoy! 😊 3y
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Lindy
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Profanity affords us a window into English as she is truly spoken.

Lindy Illustration is by Shira Spector in 3y
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Lindy
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“I‘m going to fire your ass.” […] ‘your ass‘ means ‘you,‘ and thus ‘your ass‘ is a pronoun.

Hooked_on_books This is officially my new favorite pronoun! 😆 3y
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Lindy
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‘Bitch‘ joined the legions of words in English referring to women that have drifted into contempt. Not all of them became profane. The tendency is even broader. Housewife […] became hussy. A mistress was once what it looks like: a female master. Now it‘s something else & ickier. A tart started as a jam tart, meaning ‘good looking woman‘ but after a while it got shorter & nastier & wound up out on the pavement.

wanderinglynn Another one is spinster, which originally meant a woman who did spinning and could earn a good living (i.e., didn‘t “need” a man). Then it became a woman who “couldn‘t land” a man. Luckily, the word has fallen mostly out of use (except in regency romances 😉). 3y
Lindy @wanderinglynn Good example 🏆 3y
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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Curse words are versatile as shit. McWhorter explores the etymology and evolution of nine of the most commonly spoken nasty words (with a little hat tip to “hell” and “damn” which aren‘t really bad these days). In addition to knowing his shit, McWhorter is very fucking funny. Perfect audio! And an extremely poignant point? Slurs are the worst current-day obscenities. 100% true. This fascinating study is one of my top reads of the year!

britt_brooke Thank you SO much for putting this on my radar, Meg ❣️❣️ @Megabooks 3y
KathyWheeler This looks so interesting! 3y
britt_brooke @KathyWheeler It really is! 3y
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Megabooks I just wrote you on Instagram that I‘m glad you fucking loved this shit! 😂💕 3y
Twainy Words I live by ... 3y
Cinfhen Fucking yeah!!! #stacked 3y
Cinfhen I don‘t remember @Megabooks mentioning this one...bloody hell 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen Yeah, I read it like a week or so ago. I could‘ve forgotten to tag you. If so, it wasn‘t on purpose. 😘 3y
Hooked_on_books This looks great! I read another from him and really like his writing style. Plus I fucking love cursing, so this is perfect! 😂 3y
Cinfhen Last 10 days have been kind of stressful so I could have missed the post or just completely forgot / no worries @Megabooks Did you do audio too?? 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen Yes, it‘s excellent! 3y
Cinfhen I‘ll look for it/ thanks @Megabooks NOW GET OFF LITSY and try to sleep 😘😘 3y
julesG Got my copy this week. Can't wait to fucking start it. 3y
britt_brooke @Hooked_on_books Haha, yeah, I have a pretty bad mouth, too. I just can‘t help it! I need to read more of him. Love his style, too! 3y
britt_brooke @Megabooks It‘s the shit! 😆 3y
britt_brooke @Twainy Hell, yes! Me, too. 3y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen I think you‘ll love this!! 3y
britt_brooke @julesG I think you‘re going to fucking love it! 3y
Daisey Great review! I also stacked this after reading @Megabooks review, and your review prompted me to go ahead and add it to my holds list. 3y
TheRiehlDeal Now I‘m intrigued! 3y
britt_brooke @Daisey Yay! Hope you enjoy. It‘s a really great read. 💚 3y
britt_brooke @TheRiehlDeal It‘s fantastic! 3y
Cinfhen Ugh, none of my subscriptions have this book...might need to use my Audible credit 3y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen Totally worth it, IMO! 3y
Cinfhen 😎 👍🏻 3y
Cinfhen Bought it 😜 3y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen 🙌🏼😚 Hope you enjoy!! 3y
Tera66 Oh shit!, this would be so fun on audio! 3y
britt_brooke @Tera66 Fun as shit! 3y
vivastory Another book for my TBR? Goddamn, it's good to be a reader 3y
britt_brooke @vivastory HELL, YES! 3y
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blurb
julesG
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#BookMail arrived.

It's smaller than I had anticipated. Looking forward to our #buddyread @squirrelbrain - which doesn't have to start right away.

This reminds me, I'm dreaming of a shelf with books about swearing. 😁😁😁

AlaMich Ha! This sounds like a fun read! 😂 3y
wanderinglynn That does sound like a fun read. I‘ll be interested to hear what you think. 3y
squirrelbrain Just checked my audio. It‘s just under 7 hours so smallish....We can have a chat on email about when to read - I‘ll reply to your latest at the weekend 😘 3y
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julesG @AlaMich @wanderinglynn I'll let you know 3y
ShyBookOwl Wordslut had a great chapter on swearing (and was also just f-ing fabulous overall 😉) 3y
julesG @ShyBookOwl True. One of my favourite chapters in the book. 3y
KarenUK This looks great! Stacked 💕 3y
Megabooks Enjoy!! 3y
GingerAntics I would love some books about swearing!!! 💙💙💙 3y
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review
Megabooks
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Pickpick

I couldn‘t help but think of Wordslut as I read John‘s take on the nine nasty words, but this book is geared towards all genders and cussing specifically (as opposed to women and general language).

John has a wonderful way with pronunciation of English and other languages as he gets to the historical roots of swearing. He also discusses the evolution of what is taboo from religion to body parts to slurs. I recommend going with the #audiobook!

Cinfhen This sounds fun!! I‘ll look to #BorrowNotBuy (edited) 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen it may end up on hoopla eventually. He has some other books on there. 👍🏻 3y
Cinfhen I‘ll keep my eyes open!! How are you feeling post second dose??? 3y
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julesG @squirrelbrain what do you think, another lockdown readalong/buddyread? 😁 3y
squirrelbrain Yes, sounds *#@%+@# great @julesG -I‘ll see if I can get it anywhere.....! 3y
Megabooks @julesG @squirrelbrain y‘all enjoy it. It‘s a fun book. More based on American English, but he talks about the European and British English roots of a lot of the words. He discusses how some words like c*** are less bad in British English than American. I also didn‘t know that swearing patterns in American English are more similar to Russian than German, but I‘ll stop spoiling the book! 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen My arms tire easily, which is why I haven‘t written you back. I washed my hair last night and was nearly in tears over how much it hurt. (My hair is still pandemic long.) I‘m just tired and sore at this point, but the first 24 hours were really not fun. (More pain, fever/chills, headache, etc.) I‘m getting better though. Thanks for checking in. 3y
julesG @squirrelbrain see, right up my alley. Guess I'll spend some of my #PennyPerPage on this one. 3y
julesG MegaBooks, feel better! 3y
Cinfhen Sorry you had a strong negative reaction 😔 3y
Megabooks @julesG Thank you!! 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen Thanks! I‘d definitely rather be vaccinated than not, though. 👍🏻🥰😘 (edited) 3y
squirrelbrain Exactly Meg - better to have the vaccine than not. I hope you feel better soon. 3y
squirrelbrain @julesG - it was only published this week in the UK, in hardback. I can however get it on Audible and I have a credit.... let me know if you can get it too and then I‘ll buy it. 3y
julesG @squirrelbrain Ordered it from bookdepository, as the big A.de doesn't have it in stock. I'll let you know when it's here. 3y
britt_brooke This sounds good! #stacked Sorry to hear you‘re experiencing side effects. Hope it‘s short-lived! 🤞🏻 3y
Megabooks @britt_brooke I definitely think you‘d like it!! 3y
Megabooks @squirrelbrain Thanks, Helen!! 3y
Daisey I‘ve listened to some other of his work. I‘ll have to look for this one as well. 3y
Megabooks @Daisey yes! I enjoyed this one as well and have downloaded another from hoopla. 3y
Kalalalatja Great review! 🙌 sorry you are reacting like this to the second dose, but I‘m so happy for you to done with the vaccines! Hope you feel better soon 💕 3y
Megabooks @Kalalalatja Thank you! 💕 yes, the second dose was harder than the first but well worth it! (edited) 3y
Centique Coincidentally - my ten year old was discussing this subject with me as we went for a walk the other day. Why is this a swear word, what did it mean before it became a swear word? Etc. I will have to read it so I have better answers! 3y
Megabooks @Centique Yes! I think it will be very helpful, especially since these words are pretty universal across the English-speaking world. Enjoy! 3y
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