📖 Book Review ~ Paperback Publication Day ~The Cabinet of Calm by Paul Anthony Jones

📖 Happy Paperback Publication Day 📖 

Elliot&Thompson
Paperback 8 April 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Open The Cabinet of Calm and discover a soothing word that’s equal to your troubles…

‘These are words to soothe an unquiet mind. To inspire our creativity. To encourage fellow thinking and community spirit, and to give us fresh hope. In essence, collected here are nothing but kind words, for these unkind times.’

For almost a decade, Paul Anthony Jones has written about the oddities and origins of the English language, amassing a vast collection of some of its more unusual words. Last year, doubly bereaved and struggling to regain his spirits, he turned to words – words that could be applied to difficult, challenging times and found solace. The Cabinet of Calm is the result.

Paul has unearthed fifty-one linguistic remedies to offer reassurance, inspiration and hope in the face of such feelings as grief and despair, homesickness and exhaustion, missing our friends and a loss of hope.

My Thoughts...

This lovely book came into my life when we were facing such a troubled time during the first national lockdown, little did I know that, a year later, we would still be in the grip of this global pandemic which has altered our world forever. I'm delighted to share my review of The Cabinet of Calm on its paperback publication day.

Words can be such a comfort in times of trouble and none more valuable than in this difficult time in which we find ourselves. I have been turning more and more to inspirational verse in order to make sense of a world which seems to have been set completely off its axis.

Opening The Cabinet of Calm is like an emotional toolbox, and peeping inside has soothed my imagination in so many different ways and I have found so much to encourage and ponder over that I have been quite mesmerised by the power of its expression.

In more ways than one, The Cabinet of Calm is a beautifully designed book, not just because its content is so fascinating, I never knew that so much could be expressed in a single word, but also in the perfection of its cover design which is really beautiful to behold. Wonderfully tactile and handily sized so that you can carry the book around with you tucked into a pocket, or a handbag - a handy reference guide when a specific word is needed, like Villeggiaturia, meaning city-weary.

Each of the fifty-one words which make up The Cabinet of Calm will appeal and have meaning and so many times when reading through the book I found myself nodding in appreciation because the word described was just completely right in context.

In these times of countless challenges and so often in last few weeks I have struggled to feel positive, not being able to interact with family and friends has been a heartbreaking struggle, so the chapter entitled, Agathism, which is a word for when you are feeling disillusionment or struggling to remain positive, was a very helpful reminder that all we have to do is wait, "enduring the bad times as best we can, and focusing on the good times that will - no matter how distant they might feel at the moment - eventually return"

Beautifully written, each chapter of The Cabinet of Calm is complete in itself so that this is something which you can easily dip into and out of at whim. If you have a love for the more obscure words in our beautiful language, or even if you are trying to make sense of world which is completely out of kilter, then I am sure that you will find as much to ponder over in this lovely book as I did.

About the Author

Paul has a Masters in Linguistics and is a language blogger from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. His obsession with words began with a child’s dictionary he received as a Christmas present when he was eight years old. As @HaggardHawks he has tweeted obscure words since 2013 and now has a social media following of over 75k, including the likes of JK Rowling, Robert Macfarlane, Susie Dent, Richard Osman, Greg Jenner, Ian McMillan, Rufus Sewell, Simon Mayo, Michael Rosen and Cerys Matthews.

HaggardHawks.com brings together the entire HH network including a blog, books, quizzes & games, the 500 Words YouTube series, Instagram gallery and newsletter. He regularly contributes to the media.

Twitter @HaggardHawks #CabinetofCalmWords

@enandtbooks