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Craig Conley

Author of One-Letter Words, a Dictionary

17 Works 180 Members 2 Reviews

Works by Craig Conley

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Common Knowledge

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An okay reference but a lot of wasted pages in my opinion; for every entry that fascinated and informed me, there were two that seemed a waste of space or simply dragged out too long because the author had simply dumped ALL his notes on the subject therein.

Seriously--19 pages on abracadabra, 14 on hocus pocus and the same on open sesame?

The book has a lot going for it in some intriguing entries, but it goes overboard and wasted (in my opinion) much space putting in nonsense phrases noted because a stage magician said them or silly pseudo-magical phrases linked to television shows (like Bewitched). If you're going that far, why not include the magical spells used in Bedknobs & Broomsticks (either the books or the silly Disney film)?

The biggest oversight was seemingly ignoring one of the biggest sources of magic from the early 20th century--the OZ books by L. Frank Baum and others. Loads of magical words or phrases, but all left out here. Also notably missing are comic book magical words (even the big names like Doctor Strange and all his magical phrases are overlooked).

In short, this book's structure irritated me because it seemed more important for the author to cram in tons of repetitive references and notes simply because he had them rather than find more magical words to provide a good broad look at how Western culture plays with language in mystical ways.

At least I have the magic word ("Inuck-ch-uck!") that made Apache Chief grow twenty feet tall.

I almost rated this 2 stars because of its wasted space and redundant references, but there's enough solid content and information in this to merit an "okay" reference at 3 stars. It's hardly a complete dictionary, but it's an interesting enough reference to flip through for ideas, clarification, or inspiration.
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SESchend | 1 other review | Sep 6, 2017 |
Magic Words
A Dictionary
by Craig Conley

This 352 page dictionary of magic words was a real hoot to review, I had a blast just thumbing through the pages and learning about myths, origins, trivia and other cool stuff. I even learned how to summon zombies and bring big changes into my life. I also found the illustrations and icons to be very helpful with the process.

I must tell you I knew of some magic words from books and movies, but I never imagined there were so many and even how they came to be in the first place. I think this voluminous teacher will go a long way in helping anyone broaden their horizons. I would recommend it to those who enjoy learning. Thanks Craig, for the interesting and informative experience.

Love & Light,

Riki Frahmann
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biunicorn | 1 other review | Mar 14, 2012 |

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Statistics

Works
17
Members
180
Popularity
#119,865
Rating
½ 3.4
Reviews
2
ISBNs
18

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