Seven Books I Keep Close Because I Love Them
A personal reflection on the seven books on the author's elbow shelf, including Roget's Thesaurus, Sir Thomas Browne's prose, and Boccaccio's Decameron. The author discusses the misunderstood purpose of the thesaurus, Browne's Renaissance spirit, and the humanism of the Decameron, revealing how these works inspire his writing.
The thesaurus is a book that is widely misunderstood. It is not, as many people mockingly imagine, just a compendium of synonyms, and its correct and intended use is not to replace common words with more impressive-sounding ones.