FRIENDS WITH WORDS Adventures in Languageland

If you've ever wondered how certain words came to be or why we use particular phrases, this audiobook will be of interest. Martha Barnette performs her study of language with an earnestness that nurtures the listener. Her genuinely enthusiastic tone, which also graces a radio show and a podcast, sounds right at home in the audio format. Barnette works hard to explore as many branches of language origins as possible; such breadth would be daunting no matter the format. Her audio performance would benefit from more consistent pauses to let the information sink in. Moments when the discussion branches off to explore related words or phrases can become labyrinthine without written text to ground the listener. Still, this is a fascinating audiobook with eye-opening revelations. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2025]