Saintspeak: The Mormon Dictionary [Paperback]

Orson Scott Card (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 63 pages
• Publisher: Signature Books; First Edition edition (June 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941214001
• ISBN-13: 978-0941214001
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #724,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Orson Scott Card is the bestselling author best known for the classic Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and other novels in the Ender universe. Most recently, he was awarded the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in Young Adult literature, from the American Library Association. Card has written sixty-one books, assorted plays, comics, and essays and newspaper columns. His work has won multiple awards, including back-to-back wins of the Hugo and the Nebula Awards-the only author to have done so in consecutive years. His titles have also landed on 'best of' lists and been adopted by cities, universities and libraries for reading programs. The Ender novels have inspired a Marvel Comics series, a forthcoming video game from Chair Entertainment, and pre-production on a film version. A highly anticipated The Authorized Ender Companion, written by Jake Black, is also forthcoming.Card offers writing workshops from time to time and occasionally teaches writing and literature at universities.Orson Scott Card currently lives with his family in Greensboro, NC.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book, even if I didn't understand it all, May 7, 1999

By 

Craig Childs (Cordova, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saintspeak: The Mormon Dictionary (Paperback)

The full title of this slim paperback is SAINTSPEAK: THE MORMON DICTIONARY. It contains an A to Z listing of Mormon vocabulary with some funny and irreverent definitions. Modeled after Ambrose Bierce's DEVIL'S DICTIONARY, it is (as Card puts it) a "satirical but gently affirming" book about Mormons, their faith, and their lifestyle. It was written by a Mormon for a Mormon audience. Frankly, I think I missed a lot of the humor since I'm not part of the in-crowd. Some of it, though, I did relate to since my father was a Presbyterian minister, and I spent a lot of my childhood around people from my church. However, if I had been a non-churchgoer, I don't think I would have had a clue as to what the book was talking about most of the time.

It's worth the money if you are (a) a fanatical Orson Scott Card fan, or (b)a Mormon with a stout sense of humor. Perhaps the book's greatest value is that it inspired Card to create his own publishing company--Hatrack River--and to begin writing religious fiction.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very funny... but only to mormons, December 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Saintspeak: The Mormon Dictionary (Paperback)

The other person to rate this was not mormon, and thus admits he did not really understand a lot of the humor. I am suprised that he understood any of it. It is a book about mormons, written for mormons who are willing to laugh at themselves. It is actually very funny. But you probably have to be mormon to get it, and you might have to be non-mormon (or a mormon who isn't unreasonably sensitive) to like it. I imagine a lot of mormons will be offended, but I was not at all. I just enjoyed it

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A winning card Card played here!, August 3, 2010

By 

The Torch "Nigel" (Western US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Saintspeak: The Mormon Dictionary (Paperback)

I would recommend this to any LDS member that wants a fresh, funny perspective of their church and its quirky culture!