Icon News & Events
Read Johnny Ball’s Ball of Confusion here!
Posted on 2011/11/03 in General, tagged as
Well, a sample thereof anyway. Johnny Ball’s brilliant Ball of Confusion brings together puzzles from his slot of his daughter Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 show, and many more, designed to knit your brow into knots of empuzzlement for hours on end. Check it out for yourself here and share this widget however you would like:
The origins of London tube names
Posted on 2011/11/03 in General, tagged as
Brilliant London blog The Londonist have just posted a piece about the origins of some well-known London tube station names, courtesy of man-of-the-moment Mark Forsyth. One of them is below – can you guess which station Mark’s standing on front of ? Visit The Londonist for more…
The Etymologicon is Book of the Week at iTunes
Posted on 2011/11/03 in General, tagged as
Mark Forsyth’s The Etymologicon, published today, is one of iTunes’ Books of the Week. Buy the ebook from the iBookstore now for only £6.99 – click here to see more.
‘This is an brilliant book and very cleverly put together … The author has a great way of putting things across that made me gasp and wonder all the way through.’
Posted on 2011/11/02 in General, tagged as
Waterstones customer Nikki M has some very nice things to say about the Etymologicon on the Waterstones’ website – you can read what she said here. Another Waterstones customer describes it as ‘a fabulous book. It’s interesting, educational and really very funny’ and once bookseller Henry Coningsby, from the Watford branch, gets over the fact that ‘etymologicon’ isn’t the easiest word to spell, or say (but where would be the fun be if it was, eh,… Read more »
Read a sample of The Etymologicon via Book2Look
Posted on 2011/11/01 in General, tagged as
Icon have been working with a company called Book2Look who provide widgets like the one below to display and share excerpts of books. Using this below, you can read the first 20 or pages of Mark Forsyth’s The Etymologicon, and easily share and embed the widget on your own sites using the buttons at the top. So please read, enjoy and pass on!
‘Any book that contains the line, ‘Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it was a sausage-maker who disposed of the body’ is OK by me’
Posted on 2011/11/01 in General, tagged as
Icon’s Editorial Director Duncan Heath on The Etymologicon: Mark Forsyth’s brilliant and compelling new book, subtitled a ‘circular stroll through the hidden connections of the English language’ is published by Icon this Thursday. And circular it is! Stemming from Mark’s successful Inky Fool blog on the derivations of words and phrases, the book has a highly original linked narrative that finds a connection between each entry, eventually looping… Read more »
For the next two days only, Johnny Ball’s Ball of Confusion is half price at the iBookstore
Posted on 2011/10/27 in General, tagged as
Apple’s iBookstore is selling the ebook version of Ball of Confusion for only £3.99 for the next two days! Here’s the link to iTunes to buy yours – but act fast, the offer won’t last forever…
Tickets on sale now for Johnny Ball at the Hay Winter Weekend Festival
Posted on 2011/10/24 in General, tagged as
Johnny Ball will be appearing as part of the Hay Winter Festival on Saturday 3rd December talking about his brilliant new book, Ball of Confusion. Tickets have gone on sale today for a mere £5 – click here to see more and book yours. Here’s a hint of what you might hear him talk about there:
Why Hitler hated being called a Nazi and what’s really in humble pie – The Etymologicon in the Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail
Posted on 2011/10/24 in General, tagged as
Both the Sunday Telegraph – yesterday – the Daily Mail this morning have stories about Mark Forsyth’s new book, The Etymologicon, published by Icon on 3rd November. ‘Have you ever wondered why we pass the buck, eat humble pie or let the cat out of the bag? The English language is rich in idioms and expressions which have evolved in meaning over the centuries, often arising from trades or customs which have long disappeared. The origins of hundred… Read more »
‘A truly eye-opening and exciting book on an important and under-reported topic’
Posted on 2011/10/21 in General, tagged as
Brian Clegg – himself an Icon author – reviews Nessa Carey’s The Epigenetics Revolution on his site, www.popularscience.co.uk. Just to prove that there’s no nepotism here, as you’ll see Brian is not wholly complimentary, but he does end by saying: ‘Overall, then, despite occasional parts you might find yourself skipping through, this is a truly eye-opening and exciting book on an important and under-reported topic. For some reason so many books o… Read more »
