0 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:0.0

Keith Houston’s Followers (128)

Keith’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (4)

Keith’s Friends (4)

Siphr

379 books | 15 friends

Angela Voulgari

40 books | 17 friends

Fred Zimmerman

1,895 books | 346 friends

Claire

212 books | 47 friends

Keith Houston

Goodreads Author

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

https://shadycharacters.co.uk

Twitter

shadychars

Genre

Nonfiction, History

Member Since

August 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/keith_houston

edit data

Keith Houston is the author of Shady Characters, The Book, Empire of the Sum and Face with Tears of Joy. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Lapham's Quarterly, BBC Culture, and on Time.com. He lives in Linlithgow, Scotland, with his family. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Keith Houston questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

I am so completely overwhelmed by the amount of information and knowledge you have. "The Book" seems to cover pretty much everything. What does one have to do to know this much stuff? How did you even begin to write about this? "The Book" is the most precious thing I've ever held in my hand. I am reading it very slowly. Very slowly because I need to. And then I go back a few pages and look at the pictures again.

Keith Houston Hi, H - thanks for posing the question! I'm glad you're enjoying "The Book".

Most important for me was having a year or so to devote to research (on to…moreHi, H - thanks for posing the question! I'm glad you're enjoying "The Book".

Most important for me was having a year or so to devote to research (on top of the research I'd already done for "Shady Characters"). Membership of the National Library of Scotland helped me make the most of that year in that I was able to borrow almost any book I needed, however obscure, and to access their rare book collection as needed.

I have to say, at no point did I ever have the sum total of all my research in my head at once. I used Evernote to save and organise anything I found useful - notes, web pages, academic papers, photographs - so that I *didn't* have to remember it, and then gradually winnowed it down to the stuff that would eventually make its way into "The Book". Once I knew my way around the subject, the book's structure seemed more or less obvious - how could I have written it any other way?

Thanks again!
Keith(less)

flag

3 likes · like
Comment

As you live in London, I am assuming you are British, and therefore I wonder why you used American spelling in "The Book" (my only quibble with it)? Incidentally, although I have just started to read it (bought after hearing you at Writers' Week in Adelaide), I can see it is going to become one of my cherished possessions. What paper is used in the book? I find myself caressing the pages as I read, they are so sleek!

Keith Houston Hi June - thanks for the question, and thanks for coming to Writer's Week!

I'm Scottish, but "The Book" was published by WW Norton, an American publish…moreHi June - thanks for the question, and thanks for coming to Writer's Week!

I'm Scottish, but "The Book" was published by WW Norton, an American publisher, and so the spelling and general style conform to American standards. As for the paper, turn to page 75 and you'll find out everything you need to know!(less)

flag

1 like · like
Comment

See all 4 answers from Keith Houston…

Combine Editions
Keith Houston’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 3,633 ratings · 686 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks 3.96 avg rating — 2,102 ratings — published 2013 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time 4.09 avg rating — 1,173 ratings — published 2016 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator 3.83 avg rating — 297 ratings — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji 3.69 avg rating — 61 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

237 posts
Keith Houston's Blog

A Face with Tears of Joy book launch!

Belatedly, Face with Tears of Joy is having a launch party! I’ll be at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th for drinks, snacks, chat, and maybe even a reading from the book. The details are here, on Facebook, and you can get your complimentary ticket at the Madding Crowd website.

View more on Keith Houston's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 22, 2025 04:28

View all 237 posts »

rss
Keith’s Recent Updates

Keith Houston wrote a new blog post It’s (rest of world) publication day for Face with Tears of Joy! It’s publication day again! Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji is published today in the UK and other non-US territories.You can order Read more of this blog post »
Aug 30, 2025 02:19AM · like
Keith Houston has read Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji by Keith Houston (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 08, 2025 11:31AM · 1 like · like
Keith Houston made a comment on We have (even more) winners! " Not at all! I hope you enjoy the book. "
Oct 12, 2023 08:59AM · see blog post

More of Keith's books…

Quotes by Keith Houston (?)

“This invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. – Thamus, on the invention of hieroglyphics”
― Keith Houston, The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time

5 likes

“Like laws and sausages, if you love parchment it is perhaps best not to see it being made.”
― Keith Houston, The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time

3 likes

“Both marks were formed by single pen-strokes named virgulae, the diminutive of the Latin virga for "rod" or "staff", or even, in medieval slang, "penis".”
― Keith Houston, Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks

0 likes

See all Keith Houston's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The History Book ...: MICHELE'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2016	187	209	Dec 29, 2016 09:42PM
2025 Reading Chal...: Catherine's 2017 books	218	325	Dec 30, 2017 09:27AM
The Sword and Laser: What Else Are You Reading - January 2018	194	252	Jan 31, 2018 10:14AM
Book Nook Cafe: The Book Salon ~~ September 2019	169	46	Oct 02, 2019 02:07PM
On The Same Page : Elizabeth AG'S Motley Challenge 2023	1	7	Nov 27, 2022 06:09PM
Crazy Challenge C...: Non-Fiction Challenge	365	585	Feb 05, 2024 12:59PM
WACKY READING CHA...: Splash & Splatter Color Challenge, Take 2	852	161	Jul 05, 2025 01:41AM