Waiting on Wednesday: The Lover's Dictionary

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases.

This week I'm waiting on the latest release from David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary. Levithan is the author of many wonderful young adult books including Boy Meets Boy and (co-written with Rachel Cohn) Dash & Lily's Book of Dares. However The Lover's Dictionary is his first fore-ray into adult territory. From the description it seems like it will have the same touch of fantasy and magic his previous books have had. Also, the idea of a story told entirely through dictionary entries is pretty exciting for the book nerd in me.

A sweet and touching modern love story, told through dictionary entries basis, n. There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you’re in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself. If the moment doesn’t pass, that’s it—you’re done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes it’s even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lover’s face. How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithan’s The Lover’s Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

The Lover's Dictionary is going to be released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on January 4th 2011 and I'd love to be able to post a review of it in time for Valentine's Day, it just seems so perfect.

How do you feel about unusual book formats? What are you waiting on this Wednesday?