Charles Harrington Elster


What in the Word? Wordplay, Word Lore, and Answers to Your Peskiest Questions About Language. "The Wordbook of the Year!"— Sol Steinmetz

Test of Time: A Novel Approach to the SAT and ACT. The challenging companion to Tooth and Nail, with more than 2,000 test words.

Tooth and Nail: A Novel Approach to the SAT. More than 250,000 copies sold!

Verbal Advantage is a comprehensive, graduated vocabulary-building program for adults.

"The most readable, sensible and prescriptive guide to the words that trip us up." — William Safire

A lighthearted guide to some of the English language's most unusual (and unusually useful) words.

Upcoming Events

If you'd like to book me for an interview or invite me to speak, you can contact me by clicking on WRITE TO CHARLIE under "Quick Links" (in the righthand sidebar below).

RADIO INTERVIEWS

KOA Denver, the Mike Rosen show, Tuesday, January 3, 2012, for an hour beginning at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time, 10:00 a.m. Mountain time, and noon Eastern time.

You can hear the show streaming live, and you can also listen to a podcast later at www.850KOA.com. Click on Shows, then Mike Rosen, then Rosen Replay.

BOOK SIGNINGS & SPEAKING EVENTS

On Wednesday, January 18, 2012, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., at the Allied Gardens-Benjamin branch library, Charlie will reprise his popular lecture "My Mark Twain" and sell and sign copies of his books afterward. (The event is sponsored by San Diego OASIS and Friends of the Library.) The library is located at 5188 Zion Avenue, San Diego. (619)-533-3970.


Charlie at the 2011 TwainFest in Old Town San Diego.

Selected Works

Word Workout Preview
Books
Articles
Timeless tips for aspiring vocabulary builders.
Charlie beats up on Merriam-Webster in the Boston Globe.
At a loss for words? Read one of Charlie's guest "On Language" columns for The New York Times Magazine.
Read Charlie's guest "On Language" piece about resistentialism.
Shopping for a new dictionary? Here's some sage advice.
Charlie's brave new words for a wireless world.
Read one of Charlie's articles in SPELL/Binder.
Read a profile of Charlie in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles.
Letters
Charlie explains why he left the public radio show.