Big Ole Giveaway: Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus

Around here at Casa de Monkeys, we like to say that our favorite flavor is FREE.

I don't care if what you're giving away banana-peppermint-pineapple crunch ice cream, if it's fuh-REE, I'll eat it happily and tweet all my friends about what a sweet deal I scored.

FREE rocks.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I received an email from Erica at Oxford University Press asking me if I'd like a free copy of their updated Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus to review here at Writer-Mommy.

Free books? Oh dear, pinch me now.

My only condition was this: that she send me a second free copy to offer as a giveaway to my loyal (and new -- oh yes, I am that hopeful) readers.

Because mommyfolk et al, that's how I roll. Writer-Mommy is all about me for YOU.

So let's chat about why this weighty book of words would be the perfect addition to your writer's toolbox, or would thrill the socks off of the writer on your holiday gift list this year.

This is no ordinary thesaurus. Written with writers in mind, this book has a Wordfinder in the center section (smack in the middle of its 1,052 pp) of the text filled with lists of useful synonyms to help jump start that moment of writer's block.

Writing a crime novel with a detective who has a taste for beer? Maybe he'd be a more compelling character if we saw him sitting at the end of the bar sipping a Trappist ale.

Scribbling about Ye Olde Times? The Archaic Words glossary will make you feel like a mage, not a lurdan when it comes time to sprinkle the text with historical flavor.

Snooze through Chemistry 101 dreaming of writing for CSI? There's even quick references for the Periodic Table, chemical compounds, medical terms, and even botany.

Throughout the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, there are Featured Notes, little boxes of extra information to help you discover the perfect word. One that caught my eye was the Word Spectrum, examples of the spectrum of synonyms for common polar opposites like beautiful/ugly. Starting from beautiful as one end of the spectrum, you see all the synonyms listed for beautiful until you reach the middle ground of fine. Then the synonyms shift to antonyms, getting stronger until you reach the other end of the spectrum, ugly.

For closet geeks like yours truly, ranking words by strength of meaning is a beautiful marriage of English and Math.

For those moments when you find yourself questioning a grammar rule, there's a Language Guide at the back of the book with rules, usage, spelling, and punctuation. While I consider myself an Elements of Style acolyte, it's always nice to have another guide for cross-reference.

One last little bit that I fell in love with while perusing (inspecting, examining, studying, scrutinizing) was another Featured Note, the Word Notes. There are over 200 of these throughout the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, each written by a working writer about a unique word and it's usage and resonance in their writing. This one, especially after last week's harrowing trip to the hospital with Tater, caught my eye:

Yggdrasil

Overall, the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus is a wonderful tool for you or for the writer in your life.

I'm giving away (1) brand-spanking new copy.

The Rules:

(1) Leave a comment below with your favorite synonym for this word: GOOD. Tell us all why that particular synonym thrills you. FYI: I've taken comment moderation off so you'll be able to see your comment immediately.

(2) If you don't have a blog, be sure to leave an email address in your comment or a link to your Twitter account so I have a way to contact you if you win.

(3) Comments close on Saturday, November 22, 2008, 10 pm EST.

(4) Winner will be generated by Random.org and announced on Monday, November 24, 2008.

Thanks for playing and good luck!

{Looking for more great giveaways? Go visit my fave blogger from America's last frontier, Scribbit, and see her newest feature, The Scribbit Message Board. There are lots of great giveaways to enter! Enjoy!}