My Books

Read an excerpt: "Why I Love Words"

Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies:

A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names

What naughty joke is tucked inside a loaf of pumpernickel? Why do we call it a Tootsie Roll? Where can you nibble a nun’s tummy? This feast of words provides bountiful food for thought.

A great gift for the cook who already has every kitchen gadget known to humankind!

"Everything in it is delightful to learn. Barnette takes us through languages and across millennia in a charming style that, starting with words describing things we eat, turns out to offer endless food for thought."

                                                       -- The New Yorker

"Truly delicious ... a vast multicultural smorgasboard of our culinary delights ... a tour de force."

                                                      -- The Los Angeles Times, in selecting Ladyfingers for its list of "100 Best Books of the Year" (1997)

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A Garden of Words

And now, for the gardener who has everything . . .

Did you know that orchid comes from the Greek for "testicle"? Or that the German word for pansy translates as "little stepmother"? Or that if you're feeling "starry-eyed" you should send your loved one asters? Find out the surprising stories behind the names we give to flowers.

"Sheer etymological garden fun!" -- The New York Times

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Dog Days and Dandelions:

A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words

If you're a word lover or an animal lover, you'll enjoy this look at all the surprising places where animals lurk inside the English language, covered in linguistic camouflage. (Who knew there was a "caterpillar" in chenille? Or a "pony" in bidet?)

"Dog Days & Dandelions is beastly fun! . . . a sprightly compendium of the animal kingdom’s impact on the king’s English."

                                                     -- Publishers Weekly

"As educational as it is engrossing."

                                                    -- Booklist

"No one writes more informatively and colorfully about the creatures who run and leap and swim and fly and crawl and caper through our everyday vocabulary."

                                                   -- Richard Lederer

Buy itit!

The Bill Schroeder Story:

An Artificial Heart Patient's Historic Ordeal

My first book.

In November 1984, Bill Schroeder was dying of heart disease. But on Thanksgiving weekend, doctors in Louisville removed his damaged heart and implanted a plastic-and-metal, Jarvik-7 heart in its place. For the next 620 days, he and his family made medical history.

This 1987 book about their ordeal grew out of my reporting for The Washington Post.