The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
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Narrated by:
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John Koenig
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By:
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John Koenig
About this listen
New York Times best seller
“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, best-selling 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.
©2021 John Koenig. All rights reserved. From “The Separate Notebooks: A Mirrored Gallery” from The Separate Notebooks by Czeslaw Milosz. Copyright ©1984 by Czeslaw Milosz Inc. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. From The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich. Copyright ©2005 by Louise Erdrich. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. From "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera. English translation copyright © 1984 by Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. Translated from Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí, copyright ©1984 by Milan Kundera. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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It's time to remember. Dr. Kelly Flanagan is known to millions for the letters he writes to his children and shares on his blog. Loveable is written to the little one in each of us, who is all too ready to be reminded: You are enough, you are not alone, and you matter. In Loveable, Dr. Flanagan reveals the core insight gleaned from his years of clinical work - you are here for a reason, yet you cannot truly awaken to it until you have first embraced your truest, worthiest self and then allow yourself to be truly embraced by others.
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Rediscover YOU!
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Letters to My Son
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At once spiritual and practical, Letters to My Son has been beloved by listeners from all walks of life, including single mothers seeking guidance in raising a son, fathers looking to share a voice of clarity about life's most important issues, and young men wanting an intelligent, sensitive, and streetwise companion on the journey toward a worthy manhood. In this 20th anniversary edition, Kent Nerburn adds to his classic reflections.
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One of the best books I have ever read.
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Every one of us endures setbacks, disappointments, and failures that can incapacitate us. But we don’t have to let them. Instead, we can use these events as opportunities for growth. In Things No One Else Can Teach Us, Humble the Poet flips the conventional script for happiness and success, showing us how our most painful experiences can be our greatest teachers.
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HTP’S STORY AND LESSONS LEARNED
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The definitive guide that teaches you how to use the Japanese concept of wabi sabi to reshape every area of your life and find happiness right where you are.
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Wouldn’t get it if have to pay a full credit
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Already Here tells of the death of Leo Galland's son, Christopher, at age 22; the direct visual evidence Christopher showed Leo that our souls do go on; and the communications from Christopher's spirit that changed Leo's understanding of life and its meaning. In life, Christopher was a brain-damaged special-needs child who challenged everyone he knew with unpredictable behavior and uncanny insights. After his death, he revealed to Leo the real purpose of his life, as a spiritual guide who taught others by confounding their assumptions and expectations.
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I needed this book. thanks Doctor.
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Here is the dramatic story of young, docile Emil Sinclair's descent - led by precocious schoolmate Max Demian - into a secret and dangerous world of petty crime and revolt against convention and eventual awakening to selfhood.
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Life-changing. A must-read for every man.
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Are you tired of feeling f*cked up? If you are, Gary John Bishop has the answer. In this straightforward handbook, he gives you the tools and advice you need to demolish the slag weighing you down and become the truly unf--ked version of yourself. "Wake up to the miracle you are," he directs. "Here's what you've forgotten: You're a f--king miracle of being." It isn't other people that are standing in your way; it isn't even your circumstances that are blocking your ability to thrive. It's yourself and the negative self-talk you keep telling yourself.
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Now I'm F'd for sure!
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Present over Perfect
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New York Times best-selling author Shauna Niequist invites you to look at the landscape of your own life, consider what it might look like to leave behind the pressure to be perfect, and begin the life-changing practice of simply being present in the middle of the mess and the ordinariness of life. Shauna offers an honest account of what led her to begin this journey and a compelling vision for an entirely new way to live: Soaked in rest, silence, simplicity, prayer, and connection with the people who matter most to us.
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A long, curious blog post
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Faith
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We tend to think of faith as a commodity you either have or you don't. But in many of the world's wisdom traditions, faith isn't something you possess; it's something you do. "Faith is a willingness to take the next step, to see the unknown as an adventure, to launch a journey," teaches Sharon Salzberg. Now this beloved meditation teacher and author shares her unique understanding of faith, distinguishing it from belief and dogma, to help you cultivate this profound force in your life.
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on faith
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A lyrical account of an activity that is essential for our sanity, equilibrium, and well-being, from the author of Silence.
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A delightful and essential book
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This remarkable memoir is the classic account of the transgender journey. It is all the more extraordinary because it is the life story of a figure who, it seemed, seamlessly and publicly charted a course through the English establishment - James Morris, outstanding journalist, historian and travel writer, famed for a peerless writing style. But all the while he was concealing a very different inner world: from the age of four he felt that, despite his body, he was really a girl.
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Beautiful memoir
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What listeners say about The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
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- M. Gurley
- 10-18-24
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.
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- Carla Jacobs
- 05-16-22
5 stars plus!
I read and listen to so many books that I rarely want to reread a book. But this is one of them! A brilliant expression of things we feel and experience but have no idea how to express them. Koenig did this for me! I would give more than 5 stars if I could! A 10 in my humble opinion!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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3 people found this helpful
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- Meredith
- 11-04-23
If you only have time to read one book, read this.
Brilliant performance by the author, and what an amazing read. I rarely take the time to re-read a book but I purchased the hardcopy and read along with the audible play back. This is one of my all time favorite books.
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- Gjotwo
- 08-02-22
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-27-24
so good
love this book so much it makes you feel nostalgic in the weirdest way it was so good and relatable I love the word
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- Ellie SparkleSeed
- 08-11-24
Top Notch
I’ve listened to The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows twice. It’s so interesting and trippy. I have ADHD and most things don’t hold my attention like this book did! I’m a fan.
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- Georzetta
- 12-18-21
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.
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6 people found this helpful
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- visionaryprism2
- 09-24-22
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Tom
- 05-11-23
His Words are Obscure. His “Sorrows” not so much!
The concept behind this book is enticingly unique. In a way, the idea of reflecting on feelings we’ve all shared is not Original. It is what a lot of Books, Movies, Music, and Paintings have done for Centuries. But creating Neologisms and attaching them to brief descriptions is not something I’ve run into before. I’m very glad I did.
It’s interesting that I stumbled onto The Dictionary shortly after reading Alan Watts’ “The Book” and John O’Donohue’s “Walking in Wonder”. All three are “pick-a-passage, any passage” works that can get you through a good Moment, a sad Moment or a difficult Day. Do that and you’ll thank the Author for writing it and me for recommending the Practice. I don’t like or read self-help books but these are different. They speak to the Soul and remind us that we’re all part of a Humanity sharing Life in this World.
Koenig’s made-up Words are often fascinating in their way, and often educational too, but not really the important point. The point is the Passage he describes. But sometimes, just sometimes, the Word is so perfect you may internalize it for your own private use.
I heartily recommend this Dictionary. It’s full of useful words for feelings that we’ve all felt, whether we know it or not. Four Stars. ****
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- Sarah
- 11-29-21
this is a new favorite of mine
in fact I've already recommended it to a few people! A cousin, an old professor and a coworker! I honestly think that anyone could read and enjoy this book. Putting words to universal feelings is validating and comforting. I feel like it's important.
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6 people found this helpful