Fall for the Book
Video talk: Literature's Peak Experience: How Aphorisms Work
October 10 — Fairfax, VA
International Aphorism Conference
October 24-25 — Wroclaw, Poland
Harvard Book Store
November 10, 7pm — 1256 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Charleston Literary Festival
November 12, 10am — Charleston, SC
Politics and Prose
November 15, 3pm — 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
Mechanics' Hall
in collaboration with The Rabkin Foundation
November 18, 7pm — 519 Congress St., Portland, ME
Barnes & Noble Philadelphia
November 21, 6pm — 1708 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA
Hatchards, Piccadily
January 15, 2026, 6:30pm — 187 Piccadilly, London, UK
Iowa City Book Festival
October 2026 — Iowa City, IA
The World in a Phrase
A Brief History of the Aphorism - Second Edition
Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world.
Aphorisms are literature’s hand luggage. Light and compact, they contain everything you need to get through a rough day at the office or a dark night of the soul. Aphorisms, the oldest written art form on the planet, have been going viral for thousands of years, delivering the short, sharp shock of old forgotten truths. Today, visual artists are mixing pithy language with compelling imagery and using social media to take the form into the future. In a world of disinformation and deepfakes, aphorisms point to the power of fresh debate over tired dogma and inconvenient truths over comfortable lies.
Starting in ancient China and ending with contemporary meme-makers and street artists, The World in A Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through brief biographies of some of its greatest practitioners, from the Buddha, Nietzsche, and George Eliot to James Baldwin, Audre Lorde and David Byrne. The World in A Phrase is for lovers of words and seekers of wisdom. This new edition of the New York Times bestseller features 26 additional aphorists and explores the aphorism in the age of social media, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase.
Published by the University of Chicago Press on November 10!
Pre-order Now
Praise for The Original Edition
“Geary fell in love with aphorisms when, at 8, his eye wandered to the Quotable Quotes section of Reader’s Digest ... His attraction turned into a lifetime obsession, which he indulges to the fullest in ‘The World in a Phrase’, his entertaining love letter to the compact form.”
– New York Times
“Probably the definitive work on aphorisms, a love letter-cum-memoir disguised as a reference book ... fellow fanatics will be delighted.”
– Publishers Weekly
“It is impossible not to be swept along with Geary’s enthusiasm. He has illuminated some poignant observations of the significance of introspection.”
– The Times Literary Supplement
“What a pleasant, personal, thoughtful little book ... Geary’s account is full of wonderful aphorisms .... Delightful.”
– Booklist
Events
Upcoming Appearances
Video talk: Literature's Peak Experience: How Aphorisms Work
October 10, Fairfax, VA
International Aphorism Conference
October 24-25, Wroclaw, Poland
November 10, 7pm, 1256 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
November 12, 10am, Charleston, SC
November 15, 3pm, 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in collaboration with The Rabkin Foundation
November 18, 7pm, 519 Congress St., Portland, ME
November 21, 6pm, 1708 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA
January 15, 2026, 6:30pm, 187 Piccadilly, London, UK
October 2026, Iowa City, IA
More Aphorisms by Ninus Nestorović
October 5, 2025
I first blogged about the aphorisms of Ninus Nestorović back in December of 2007. Ninus was recently in touch with some new aphorisms, deftly translated by his 15-year-old daughter, Tea. Ninus is a journalist, satirist, and ex-professional footballer who lives in Novi Sad, Serbia. These sayings come from his book 11:52. In an email accompanying the aphorisms, Ninus wrote he believed I would like them — and I do!
To hide from the truth, a person need not stand behind the television, but in front of it.
The poor will leave their children everything they don’t have.
With clean hands you preserve health; with dirty hands, authority.
My city has more churches than hospitals. Were there a God, the numbers would be reversed.
Were the eyes nearer the heart than the mind we’d see differently.
Translated from Serbian into English by Tea Nestorović.
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Wit is often thought of as simply being funny. But wit is more than just having a knack for snappy comebacks. Wit is the quick, instinctive intelligence that allows us to think, say or do the right thing at the right time in the right place.
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I Is an Other
The Secret Life of Metaphor and
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Geary's Guide to the
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The World in a Phrase
A Brief History of the Aphorism - Second Edition
Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world. This new edition of the New York Times bestseller explores the aphorism in the age of social media, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase.
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The Body Electric
An Anatomy Of The New Bionic Senses
Drawing on fields as diverse as artificial intelligence and neuroscience, The Body Electric provides an exciting synthesis of the people and technology making the convergence between biology and technology possible, while addressing the psychological, social and philosophical implications of these startling developments.