Skip to content
HomeVideosBooks
AllTopicsTrends
BlogsPodcasts
HistoryListsWatch laterLiked videosFollowing

The videos, books, blogs and podcasts Hacker News keeps recommending, all in one place.

VideosBooksBlogsPodcastsAboutPrivacySettings

Data from Hacker News, HackerTube, HackerBooks, HackerBlogs and Open Library. Credits · Not affiliated with Y Combinator.

HomeVideosBooksBlogsPodcasts
Ctrl K
    Cover of Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

    Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

    John Koenig · 2021

    The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a compendium of new words for emotions. Its mission is to shine a light on the fundamental strangeness of being a human being—all the aches, demons, vibes, joys, and urges that are humming in the background of everyday life.

    Other
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    6recommend
    19mentions
    18people
    2017–2026years
    32% recommend63% neutral5% critical

    Mentions per year

    2017201820192020202120222023202420252026

    What Hacker News says

    1. yamrzouMar 2025
      Reminds me of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: https://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/
      thread
    2. labradorApr 2024
      I think of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows as an art project. I never got the impression that we were supposed to start using these words. It's interesting and entertaining, like when I learned the Czech word "litost" from "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting" by Milan Kundera. "Litost is a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery."

      Part five of this book is about Litost, a kind of misery-induced torment only known to the Czech people. You could see it is a Slavic thing.

      https://fictionbeast.com/milan-kundera-the-unbearable-ligthn...

      Something akin to how I felt trapped in my own drama

      thread
    3. operator-nameSep 2023
      This is beautiful. The simple paragraph accompanied with links to "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" so eloquently expresses what I've been mulling on.
      thread
    4. duiker101Jan 2022
      Midly related: John Koenig recently released a book called "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows"--a continuation of the amazing homonymonous YouTube channel[1]--which contains new words he created to describe emotions. Personally, I strongly recommend it to all those that love languages and would love to explore more about themselves! Being able to put a name to some emotions is very empowering.

      [1] https://www.youtube.com/user/obscuresorrows

      thread
    5. RainymoodAug 2018
      Sonder is also a made-up word that means "the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own." Originally from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, which has a lot more beautiful neologism definitions like this you might enjoy. I felt deep sonder thinking about the all the people who looked up this word along with me." [1] And in German Sonder means special and in Dutch Zonder (with a Z) means without.

      [1] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sonder

      thread
    6. xelxebarNov 2017
      For the fellow logophiles out there:

      http://phrontistery.info

      It's one of the coolest dictionaries of obscure words I've run across! Similarly, the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is quite excellent:

      http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/

      thread

    Related

    Cover of The anatomy of melancholy
    2015–2026

    The anatomy of melancholy

    Burton, Robert, 1577-1640
    7 recommend · 18
    Cover of The Compact edition of the Oxford English dictionary
    2011–2019

    The Compact edition of the Oxford English dictionary

    J. A. H. Murray
    2 recommend · 4
    A Mathematician's LamentPaul Lockhart
    2008–2026

    A Mathematician's Lament

    Paul Lockhart
    47 recommend · 88
    Cover of The Devil's Dictionary
    2007–2026

    The Devil's Dictionary

    Ambrose Bierce
    8 recommend · 36
    Cover of Annals of the former world
    2012–2026

    Annals of the former world

    John McPhee
    12 recommend · 22
    Cover of The compact Oxford English dictionary
    2008–2021

    The compact Oxford English dictionary

    J. A. Simpson
    1 recommend · 3
    Cover of The Crying of Lot 49
    2010–2026

    The Crying of Lot 49

    Thomas Pynchon
    34 recommend · 73
    Cover of Merchants of despair
    2019–2024

    Merchants of despair

    Robert Zubrin
    2 recommend · 12