Dictionary Day is celebrated every year in October — on October 16, to be precise, the anniversary of the birth of Noah Webster — to commemorate the organizational wonder that is the dictionary. Since Webster’s day, dictionaries have expanded way beyond basic collections of words to encompass all fields of study, and serve not only as immensely useful learning tools but also as powerful guides for arranging areas of thought and study. Here are a few classic examples of the specialized dictionary.

A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language: This 1901 volume completely updates the classic reference work first published in 1882, providing a staggering number of words, including those most frequently used in everyday speech and those most prominent in literature. They appear along with their definitions, their language of origin, their roots, and their derivatives. Those who are fascinated with the English language will find much to explore here and many overlooked but interesting tidbits and treasures of an ever-evolving language.

Illustrated Bible Dictionary: “The fruit of many years of loving labor,” Scottish Presbyterian minister Matthew George Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary has become a classic reference for those studying the Bible. Originally published in 1897, three years after Easton’s death, it contains almost 4,000 entries and dozens of illustrations and maps. Readers will find definitions of terms ranging from Alpha to Zuzims. In between they’ll find entries both obscure and common, such as Emims (a warlike tribe of giants), Hagar (Sarah’s handmaid), immortality, meekness, Pentecost (the feast of harvest), seventy weeks (a prophetic period of time before the coming of the Messiah), sling (what David used to slay the giant), and Zorah (Samson’s birthplace).

A Dictionary of Theosophy: Here, in one concise volume first published in 1926, is a glossary of the language of theosophy, or “the essential truth underlying all religious, ethical, philosophical, and other teaching,” from Abhava (”Non-being, non-existence, negation”) to Zarathushtra (”The name given to one of the Servers”). Steeped in the spirituality of ancient India and fueled by the occult fads of the early 20th century, this is a fascinating, highly browsable guide to a forerunner of today’s wide-ranging, metaphysically encompassing New Age thought.

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Cosimo celebrates Halloween with a selection of spooky tales to creep you out on this scary day.

The Wyvern Mystery: The foremost teller of scary stories in his day and a profound influence on both the novelists and filmmakers of the 20th century, Anglo-Irish author Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873) has, sadly, fallen out of scholarly and popular favor, and unfairly so. To this day, contemporary readers who happen across his works praise his talent for weaving a tense literary atmosphere tinged by the supernatural and bolstered by hints of ambiguous magic. An exceptional example of the “sensation novel”—a genre that was wildly popular in the Victorian era, with its focus on lurid crime invading previously cheerful, ordinary, and domestic places—this 1869 classic gives us a rural estate in 1820s England, a happy new bride, and an ancient myth of a “wyvern” dragon to spoil the tranquility. Or perhaps there’s a more rational—and yet more sinister—explanation for the distress afflicting poor Alice Fairfield, née Maybell, lady of Carwell Grange? Redolent of future works including the tales of Sherlock Holmes and the thrillers of Stephen King, The Wyvern Mystery continues to enthrall 21st-century readers. With a series of new editions of Le Fanu’s works, Cosimo is proud to reintroduce modern book lovers to the writings of the early master of suspense fiction who pioneered the concept of “psychological horror.”

In a Glass Darkly: First published in 1872, this collection of Le Fanu’s short fiction includes: “Green Tea,” “The Familiar,” “Mr. Justice Harbottle,” “The Room in the Dragon Volant,” and “Carmilla.”

The House by the Churchyard: Though his best-known works were horror tales, Le Fanu’s first novels were historical in nature. This one, originally published in 1863, bridges the author’s early work and his later experiments in Gothic horror, and is said to have inspired James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. A rambling tale of the charming Irish town of Chapelizod in 1767, it sees men of the Royal Irish Artillery stationed in the village and disrupting the quiet life there… though the brooding Mr. Mervyn and his coffin and the mysterious newcomer Mr. Dangerfield lend elements of the unknown as well.

The Evil Guest: A wonderful example of the Victorian haunted-house tale, this is one of Le Fanu’s almost-forgotten works, yet one that is still hugely enjoyable for today’s readers. Indeed, it calls to mind later books it clearly inspired, from the mysteries of Agatha Christie to the tales of Stephen King.

Wagner, The Wehr-Wolf: Fans of horror and students of the history of pulp fiction will be enthralled by this little-remembered early novel of werewolf fantasy, a “penny dreadful” first published in 1846–7 and written by British author George William Macarthur Reynolds (1814–1879). The veritable Stephen King of his day—his lurid stories were more widely read than Dickens’ work—Reynolds here gives us the strange exploits of Wagner, a 16th-century German peasant who made a pact with the devil for immortality, and hence was cursed to become a werewolf on a disturbingly regular basis. With his beautiful but wicked companion Nisida, he roams a world of Gothic nightmares, of horrifying intrigue, murder, and strange supernatural doings. Cosimo is proud to present this new edition of a forgotten classic, reproduced here in a charming replica of an 1865 edition, complete with the original illustrations.

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The International Red Cross was founded on this day in 1863. In honor of this important event in modern medicine, we present works that cover the full history of medical knowledge.

Notes on Nursing: First published in 1860, this short work was developed by nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale for use at her training school in England, but it is meant for anyone entrusted with the well-being of another and offers commonsense suggestions for all caregivers charged with looking after the sick and injured. While some of the information is dated, there remains a wealth of timeless advice, as well as an intimate peek into a moment in medical history.

How to Live: Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science: Irving Fisher’s interest in public health was the result of a bout with tuberculosis, after which he wrote this work. Here is info on the air, food, poisons, activities, and general hygiene, followed by sections dealing with being overweight or underweight, alcohol, posture, and tobacco — and even how to avoid colds. Irving Fisher was a top American economist in the early 20th century who earned the first Ph.D. in economics awarded by Yale University, where he also taught political economy. He was an accomplished mathematician and an engaging and talented writer on even the most technical of subjects whose investigations ranged beyond economics to encompass astronomy, health and hygiene, mechanics, philosophy, poetry, science, and myriad public policy issues. Dr. Eugene Lyman Fisk was the chairman of the Life Extension Institute, under whose auspices this book was published.

Medical Astrology: The Egyptians and Greeks of old purported to understand the secrets of medical diagnosis and treatment via the stars, the author reminds us, but much knowledge has been lost to time. Reconstructing this ancient lore and presenting it for modern use, this 19th-century work explains which sun signs rules which part of the human body, how the planets affect health and temperament, how the stars align to produce illness, and more. Dating from before the discovery of Pluto, this historical oddity will intrigue astrology buffs and medical students and practitioners.

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The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded recently — one of the recipients was the first woman to receive the prize. As The New York Times notes, Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University:

is a political scientist, not an economist, and in honoring her, the judges seemed to suggest that economics should be thought of as an interdisciplinary field rather than a pure science governed by mathematics.

Ideas about what, precisely, economics entails are always changing. These Cosimo Classics explore the history of the discipline from multiple intriguing perspectives.

Elementary Principles of Economics: From America’s first celebrated economist comes this 1912 textbook with a succinct yet highly informative introduction to economics as it was understood and practiced in the early 20th century. Irving Fisher (1867-1947) provides in-depth discussions of basic topics including: wealth, property, and income; credit and debt; currency, prices, and monetary systems; supply and demand; capital and labor; poverty; and more.

Elements of Economics of Industry: Being the First Volume of Elements of Economics: British economist Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) was one of the most prominent thinkers of his age on the philosophy of finance, and his groundbreaking Principles of Economics (1890) was for years the standard text on the subject. Here, in Elements of Economics of Industry, he adapts his classic text for students. First published in 1892, it still serves as an excellent primer on such topics as: economics as part of the study of humanity; the development of economic laws from the beginning of civilization; how capital yields income; how consumer demand creates markets; land, labor, capital, and organization as agents of production; the balance of supply and demand; the interplay of labor and earnings; the impact of trade unions; and much more.

Principles of Economics: Abridged Edition: This is Marshall’s standard text, considered the greatest work. First published in 1890, this is an abridged version of the 1920 eighth edition, and it serves as an excellent primer on such topics as: basic economic laws; the purpose of economic studies; fundamental concepts including wealth, production, consumption, labor, income, capital, and others; understanding consumer demand; an introduction to market studies; and much more.

Principles of Economics, Volume 1 and Volume 2: Economics is more than simply the cost of a gallon of milk. Economics is also the science of society, the basis upon which a civilization functions at its most basic level. Productivity, commerce, and value all are essential elements that define and affect a community deeply. Eminent American economist Frank William Taussig (1859-1940) brings the complex and sometimes intimidating subject to light in Principles of Economics (first published in 1911) by writing for the specialist as well as those with a simple educated curiosity about economics and its relevance to every member of a community.

The Economics of Welfare, Volume I and Volume II: Welfare economics is a branch of economics using microeconomic techniques to simultaneously determine the efficiency of the overall economy and the income distribution consequences associated with it. A British economist best known for his work in many fields and particularly in welfare economics, Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877–1959), asserts that individuals are the best judges of their own welfare, that people will prefer greater welfare to less welfare, and that welfare can be adequately measured either in monetary terms or as a relative preference. Scholars and students of both economics and welfare policy will find Pigou’s work a significant contribution to current debates on welfare policy directions.

Women and Economics: Startling in its observations and radical in its conclusions, this classic of women’s rights literature, this work — by pioneering American feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) — was a phenomenon when it was first published in 1898, and was eventually translated into in seven languages and reprinted around the world. From her characterization of women as virtual economic, social, and sexual slaves, dependent on men for everything from food to friendship to protection, to her call for women to free themselves from these shackles, Women and Economics electrified Victorian readers. It remains a foundational work of feminist theory, essential reading for anyone wishing to understand women’s struggle for full and self-determined personhood.

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There’s been a lot of hot air expended on the Web over the recently released study that purports to break down the 237 reasons why women have sex. (I like Tanya Gold’s snarky take at the Guardian.) Of course, pondering human sexuality is nothing new… as these Cosimo Classics demonstrate.

Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex: Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a pioneer in the study of human sexuality and the impact of sexual desire on human behavior, and this 1905 work is considered among his most important contributions to the field. This is the source of such concepts as penis envy, castration anxiety, and the Oedipus complex that we take for granted as fundamental to understanding human psychology. In the three essays here — “The Sexual Aberrations,” “Infantile Sexuality,” and “The Transformations of Puberty” — Freud sets out a theory of human sexuality that continues to influence us today.

Sex as Symbol: The Ancient Light in Modern Psychology: How does gender and the sex drive manifest itself across human cultures? How is the dual nature of humanity — male and female, spiritual and physical, animal and divine — expressed in the tangible world? Alvin Boyd Kuhn (1880–1963), a prominent proponent of the early 20th-century doctrine of theosophy, which sought to find the universal truths that underlie all human religions, here explores the hidden connections across cultures that unify rites and customs found around the globe: circumcision, the secondary status of women, myths about communion with deities, and more. In fluid prose that approaches a stream-of-consciousness reverie, this 1945 treatise seeks to uncover a fundamental basis for human ideas about sex, gender, and love.

Sane Sex Life and Sane Sex Living: Despite its rather staid subtitle — “Some Things That All Sane People Ought to Know About Sex Nature and Sex Functioning; Its Place in the Economy of Life, Its Proper Training and Righteous Exercise” — this 1919 volume may well be one of the most forthright books about human sexuality written in the pre-Joy of Sex era. Actively campaigning against societally sanctioned ignorance, medical doctor Harland William Long (b. 1869) uses clinical yet passionate language in his call for men and women alike to be fully educated about their own bodies as well as those of their lovers. This straightforward work is still startling today in its advocacy of detailed explanation not just of the physical act of sex but of the emotional art of lovemaking, its advocacy of masturbation, and its insistence on celebrating the uniquely spiritual, though not necessarily religious, aspects of love and marriage. This is must-reading for anyone who believes that frank and honest sex education is an invention of the 1960s — and for anyone who wishes to contest that misbelief.

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October is National Reading Group Month, promoting book groups for bringing people together via great books. Here are some classic works that celebrate the power of the written word.

In Praise of Books: With suggestions from influential thinkers and authors, this work can help those who are developing a personal library or reading list. Ralph Waldo Emerson contributed an Atlantic Monthly essay to this volume, in which he recommended his favorite writers and texts. He named Homer, Shakespeare, Herodotus, Dante, Spenser, Bacon, Dickens, and Thackeray as among his most cherished authors. Emerson also listed his three criteria for selecting a book: never read a book that is less than a year old, always read well-known books, and always read topics that one enjoys. Sir John Lubbock also shared his love of books — “How thankful we ought to be for these inestimable blessings, for this numberless host of friends who never weary, betray, or forsake us!” he wrote — before recommending the works of Confucius, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Darwin, Goethe, Eliot, and many more. Also included are quotes about reading and books from Socrates (”Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings; so you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for”), Niccolo Machiavelli (”I forget every vexation” when reading), Alexander Pope (”At this day, as much company as I have kept, and as much as I love it, I love reading better”), Henry Fielding (”We are as liable to be corrupted by books as by companions”), David Hume (”[I] was seized very early with a passion for literature, which as been the ruling passion of my life”), and other avid readers.

The Love of Books: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury: British writer and bishop Richard Aungerville (1287–1345), aka Richard de Bury, was a royal tutor and a player in court intrigue, and is today perhaps the most famous book lover of the medieval world. Owner of an immense personal library, the bishop penned this valentine to the wisdom of books and the joy of collecting them, most likely completing it just before his death. (This, considered the definition English edition, was translated by Oxford scholar Ernest C. Thomas and first published in 1888.) Delightfully expansive in its bibliomania, the Philobiblon waxes rhapsodic about: “The Degree of Affection That Is Properly Due to Books,” “Why We Have Not Wholly Neglected the Fables of the Poets,” “Who Ought to Be Special Lovers of Books,” “The Advantages of the Love of Books,” and much more.

Bibliography of Forbidden Books - Volume I: In this first volume of the 1877 work that established him as England’s leading authority on pornography, Henry Spencer Ashbee describes scores of “curious, uncommon and erotic books” that were banned or otherwise prohibited from legitimate sale during the Victorian era… and some even until the 1960s. Included in this far-reaching volume are such “gentlemen only” titles as Exhibition of Female Flagellants, The Battles of Venus, and A Cabinet of Amorous Curiosities. This catalog of mostly forgotten works is an invaluable-and highly entertaining-resource for bibliophiles, students of erotica, and collectors of Victoriana. Also avaiable: Volume II and Volume III.

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In a recent edition of The Economist, we came across a fascinating article about how uncontrolled tourism could be major factor in climate change: “Rapa Nui déjà vu: Tourism threatens to trigger another ecological collapse”:

Today Easter Island once again faces environmental threats. Food comes from Chile, either by ship or on the seven weekly flights from Santiago (there are also two from Tahiti). The visitors “all pull the chain,” Luz Zasso, the mayoress, notes acidly. The absence of a sewage system is threatening the cleanliness of the island’s underground water sources. But it would be hard to install one without damaging archaeological sites. Electricity comes from diesel-powered generators. Power cuts are frequent. Rubbish is piling up.Many Easter Islanders are worried. Tourists should be limited to 50,000 a year and be preferably well-heeled, argues Marcelo Pont, the vice-president of the Council of Elders, an advisory body. Visitors from the Chilean mainland attract particular resentment. “They’re interested in sun, sand and swimming pools, not the island,” says Edgard Herevi of the local chamber of tourism.

It wasn’t always this way: early visitors were fascinated by the artifacts left behind by the island’s long-dead culture, as British archaeologist Katherine Routledge explains in her 1919 book The Mystery of Easter Island. A classic work of archaeology and heavily illustrated with a wealth of old photos, this treasure trove of information begins with Routledge’s yacht voyage from England across the Atlantic, and around South America to Easter Island. Her account of this incredible adventure is one of the first ever of the life, history and legends of this strange and remote place. Detailing the statues, pyramid platforms, Rongo Rongo script, Bird Cult, and the war between the Short Ears and the Long Ears, Routledge and her companions explore the secret caves and walk the ancient island roads. This rare early account of Easter Island has served as a primary source for the theories that have evolved to explain Easter Island’s enduring mysteries.

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Monday, October 19, is Evaluate Your Life Day, designed to encourage everyone to check and see if they’re really headed where they want to be. These books may help you in that endeavor.

Health Through New Thought and Fasting: Fasting has long been an exercise practiced by those seeking spiritual strength, but here, Wallace D. Wattles asserts the benefits of fasting on physical strength as well. Wattles uses personal experience and firsthand knowledge to drive his theories on how to increase one’s health, happiness, and creativity through approaching eating in a different way. In addition to discussing the nutritional content, quantity, and timing of eating, he includes detailed arguments for the benefit of adequate sleep and the importance of deep breathing and fresh air. Wattles stands out from other writers on the subject of health and wellness (both those in 1907 and today) by focusing his conversational and compassionate prose on the simplest principles and common sense, making clear his affirmation that is it possible for anyone to improve his or her own health and happiness without the need for elaborate science.

Health and Wealth From Within: The adherents of “New Thought” — a belief system popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that encouraged a proto-New Age brand of self-discovery — vehemently believed in the concept of “mind over matter.” This 1909 work, something of a lost classic of New Thought, adjures readers to find the source of health, happiness, and material well being deep within them. Author William Elmer Towne, husband of the influential New Thought editor and writer Elizabeth Towne, explains how the creative and potent “thought-force” within us all can bring us: the awakening of the soul, harmony in the home, supreme truth, practical self-healing, longer life, and much more. A fascinating artifact of pop philosophy a century ago, this remains an intriguing read today.

The Power of Silence: An Interpretation of Life in its Relation to Health and Happiness: First published in 1898, this is Horatio Willis Dresser’s first book on improving one’s life through understanding the work of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, the founder of the 19th-century “New Age” philosophy of New Thought. He explains the eternal principle that is Reality, the total of the universe, its own manifestation that is wholly Nature. Dresser then brings humans into this scheme and seeks to answer some of the largest questions in human existence, including the reason for suffering. Spiritual seekers will be inspired by Dresser’s presentation of an orderly and eternal universe that is both rational and religiously inspired.

Morning and Evening Thoughts: British author and pop philosopher James Allen was one of the most popular writers on spirituality at the turn of the 20th century, his many books comforting millions of readers with their unpretentious wisdom about living the joyful life. This little book, first published in 1909, gathers the essence of his insight into a month’s worth of twice-daily affirmations and meditations culled from his many inspiring works. From the necessity of sacrifice in aiming for blessedness to the healing power of sympathy, Allen’s words still sing sweetly today, a century after they were written.

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“When you go into a bookstore to browse titles, what do you look for? Catchy title? Cool cover? Blurbs on the back from authors you like? Hot author photo? An intriguing first line? An Oprah’s Book Club sticker?”

Read more:  Pull for the Underdog…

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No, I only want to read your books! “When it comes to books, we Americans have author loyalty (I can’t wait to read the new Lorrie Moore novel), and bookstore loyalty (I will only shop at local independent bookstores, like Visible Voice or Mac’s Backs). Both forms of faithfulness offer perks, often intertwined…”

Read on…www.good.is/post/book-clubs-and-the-future-of-publishing/

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