At this time of the year etymologists and wannabes are plastering notes on fridges hinting at what would be suitable gifts for the upcoming celebrations. I think this newly-published Crystal book wouldn’t go amiss:
Excerpts from The Guardian review:
“In the history of English spelling, though, we can trace a whole series of purposive, thought-through and often ingenious practical decisions – made over the years by scribes, compositors and lexicographers – whose net result is a complete flaming boggins.”
“James Joyce transcribed the noise a cat makes as: “Mrkgnao”. That is surely something that everyone from dame-school prescriptivists to the most freewheeling of linguistic fieldworkers can agree is obviously … well, correct.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/14/spell-it-out-david-crystal-review
