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Tharoorosaurus! as the name suggests, is a mix between a thesaurus and dictionary, cleverly playing on its author Shashi Tharoor’s last name. Tharoor, a member of India’s Parliament and a prolific writer, is known for his expansive vocabulary, which makes people scramble to find a dictionary. He regularly uses words the rest of us only learn–and promptly forget–for college entrance exams. He is not, however, a sesquipedalian, someone who excessively uses big, long words. In fact, it is a pleasure to listen to his gifted oratory and to read his writing.

Tharoor was a known public figure as one of the senior-most Indians working at the United Nations, and later as a Congress parliamentarian but he attained cult status after his celebrated speech at the Oxford Students Union decrying British colonialism in India. That inspiring, heartfelt speech enthused young people like me. Not only did we admire his argument, we also loved his delivery and command over the English language.