dream book, book of dream interpretations, dream dictionary

[Encolpius]

Good morning ladies & gentlemen, this question of mine is rather cultural. I think. But I am searching for an English word so I am asking here. Here in Central Europe and I think in Russia, too, people used to be superstitious and believed in dream interpretation so they wrote books made up of words in alphabetical order with the meaning of the word you saw in your dream (like money, feces, child, etc) and its interpretations. We have own specific words for that book what everybody understands and what's more you can find the word in one-language dictionaries. Have you got books like that and what do you call it? Dictionaries say:
1/ dream book
2/ book of dreams
3/ dream dictionary (e.g. here you can read)
4/ uncommon in UK-USA, so no specific word.
5/ something else
Thank you for your cooperation in advance.
E.

 

[Chez]

The comment at no.4 is correct, but I would call it:

a book of dream interpretations
a book for interpreting dreams

Or if it was a book title, simply: Dream Interpretations: Interpreting Dreams

Everyone would then understand what it was. If you said 'dream book' or 'book of dreams' I would think it was a book where you wrote down dreams you have had.

 

[The Newt]

"Dream book" is often used in the US with exactly this meaning.

 

[Encolpius]

Wow, I am surprised, The Newt. Interesting. Thanks.

 

[Myridon]

"Dream book" is often used in the US with exactly this meaning.

Exactly which meaning? Post 1 or 2?

 

[The Newt]

There are some images of US dream books here:

22 Best Dream Books images | Dream book, Books, Dream

 

[Encolpius]

Oh, myridon, good question.

 

[The Newt]

Exactly which meaning? Post 1 or 2?

"Books made up of words in alphabetical order with the meaning of the word you saw in your dream (like money, feces, child, etc) and its interpretations." The "interpretations" are typically a number to be used to gamble with.

 

[Myridon]

22 Best Dream Books images | Dream book, Books, Dream

The fact that you can Google up some old books doesn't make something "used often."

 

[Encolpius]

Yes, I think the difference is it is common here but uncommon in Western countries. Maybe you learned something new here, right?

 

[The Newt]

The fact that you can Google up some old books doesn't make something "used often."

It may not be used in Texas but this is definitely a thing in New York City. You used to be able to buy "dream books" on street corners in the poorer parts of the city, and I wouldn't be surprised if you still can.

 

[Encolpius]

Thank your, The Newt, very interesting it is more common in NYC.

 

[The Newt]

And on Amazon:

Lucky Star Dreambook: Prof. Konje: 9780942272932: Amazon.com: Books

 

[london calling]

Just for the record. Amazon sells dream books. Here are some titles:

The Dream Interpretation Dictionary: Symbols, Signs, and Meanings
The Dream Interpretation Handbook: A Guide and Dictionary to Unlock the Meanings of Your Dreams
Dreamer's Dictionary

 

[Encolpius]

I have just checked Websters dictionary (it is not in Oxford Dictionary [I seldom check Webster]) and Webster says:

dream book
a book claiming to interpret the significance of dreams especially as omens of the future

 

[london calling]

I have no problem with calling them 'dream books' even if the term doesn't exist in BE dictionaries.

 

[Myridon]

You used to be able to buy "dream books" on street corners in the poorer parts of the city, and I wouldn't be surprised if you still can.

You can't even buy books on street corners here. I suspect that the presence of a large "Chinatown" is a good part of the difference and a long history of people participating in numbers games.

 

[Ponyprof]

Out of context, I would call this some combination of "dream" plus " interpretation" plus "book."

I did not know that "dream books" were a thing among some American cultural groups. I do know that fortune tellers are huge in parts of NYC and boroughs.

I've read pretty much all of Freud, so I tend to think of him first when "the interpretation of dreams" is mentioned. But obviously that's an entirely different direction irrelevant here!

 

[The Newt]

There's a good background article here:

DREAMS, NUMBERS, THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE AND PROFESSOR BLACK HERMAN - The Austin Séance

"As with other dream books, Professor Black Herman’s Missing Key to Success briefly describes common dreams, includes a predictive interpretation for each — portents of money, sickness, luck, that sort of thing — and also includes for each dream a series of discrete numerical digits..."

 

[ewie]

I'd call it a dictionary of dreams or dream dictionary.

 

[Myridon]

This one ~ by an American gentleman ~ can be bought in pretty much any UK bookshop:

... because no one here will buy it.
A) Gustavus Hindman Miller died in 1929.
B) It's a normal book of dream interpretation of the "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" sort not the "if you dream about trains, bet on 27" sort.

A random quote from a similar book by the same author:

To dream of seeing your muscle well developed, you will have strange
encounters with enemies, but you will succeed in surmounting their evil works,
and gain fortune.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/926/pg926.txt

 

[Myridon]

It's widely available (fairly cheap!) in the UK.

... because no one in the US will buy it. I'm not sure what "widely available" means. Amazon.com shows two dealers with one new copy each. It doesn't carry the book itself nor does b-n.com (Barnes and Noble - the only big bookstore chain left in the US).

Sorry if the rest was confusing. You made the mistake of actually replying to the original post.

 

[Myridon]

There's this new thing called a "joke" - have you heard of it?
"Widely available" suggests that it's by the cash register at Tesco's or that they have a stack of them in every bookstore. As I added perhaps too late, there are basically only used copies available from Amazon.