In this clever but gimmicky attempt at lexical clairvoyance, trend-spotter Popcorn (The Popcorn Report) and advertising sage Hanft offer their best guesses as to the phrases and concepts that will emerge in the coming years. It is a "fictionary" rather than a dictionary, however, since it largely comprises terms not in active use. And yet they have a certain familiarity—like "disability chic" (describing fashionable hearing aids and canes) or "relationshopping" (a step beyond "relationsurfing," it signals a desire to settle down). Entries are divided into subject categories rather than listed alphabetically to showcase future trends in areas where the current state of the language is insufficient (e.g., Aging, Biology and Biotechnology, New Jobs, and the intriguing section for Fear, Frustration and Desire). Each section concludes with "Dictionary of the Future Predicts," a listing of newly concocted terms, courtesy of the authors, for ideas yet to come. "Bankaurants," for example, will be chic restaurants that inhabit bank lobbies in the evening hours, while "Inkists" will signify those who continue to insist on signing documents with pens when an e-signature would suffice. This is an amusing book for those with a high tolerance for, or appreciation of, chatter about trendiness, but it will quickly date itself as the authors are proven right or wrong. (Dec. 12)
Forecast: Popcorn's notoriety and her nod toward defining an uncertain future via verbal prescience will attract an early audience, but the novelty will wear off as quickly as it did for Rich Hall's
Sniglets—if not faster. After all, Hall's goal was entertainment; Popcorn's is utility.
