Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji

by Keith Houston Narrated by Michael Butler Murray

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

They're as clear as words — clearer even — but where did they come from, and how did they get here? Keith Houston's comprehensive exploration of the evolution of the emoji is a riveting read.

A vibrant exploration of the world's newest language-where it came from, how it works, and where it's going.



We are surrounded by emoji. They appear in politics, movies, drug deals, our sex lives, and more. But emoji's impact has never been explored in full. In this rollicking tech and pop culture history, Keith Houston follows emoji from its birth in 1990s Japan, traces its Western explosion in the 2000s, and considers emoji's ever-expanding lexicon. Named for the world's most popular pictogram, Face with Tears of Joy tells the whole story of emoji for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"[A] breezy, witty blend of pop culture and tech history."— Laura Miller Slate

"[Houston] asserts, however, that there is “a richness of emoji usage that rivals any language.” That, too, might rankle the pedants, but the author, an emoji aficionado, mounts an energetic case."— Barbara Spindel Wall Street Journal

"[A] lively exploration. . . Houston is contagiously enthusiastic about ‘vibrant, vital emoji.’ He is also alert to the mixed blessings of the icons’ versatility."— Megan Garber Atlantic

"[A] fascinatingly geeky and witty history"— Steven Poole Guardian

"[A] delightful history"— Hunter Dukes Telegraph

"A history of emoji, where they came from and how they came to dominate our discourse is much needed, and Houston is a witty, pacey raconteur… Face with Tears of Joy is a comprehensive and often illuminating read."— Chris Stokel-Walker New Scientist

"[A]n intelligent, historical account of a cultural phenomenon. "— Will Dunn New Statesman

"Houston’s enthusiasm for the emoji’s creativity, use, and function comes to the fore, and reading the book feels like grabbing a coffee with a friend and listening to them happily describe their most recent interests and discoveries."— Monique Martinez Library Journal

"Houston knows that any language whose mascot is a smiling poop pile can be treated only so seriously, so the text is charmingly filled with emoji as illustrations and within sentences, making it both a product of a new way of communicating as well as a study of it. A pleasurable and well-researched journey into pop iconography."— Kirkus Reviews

"[A] fun romp through the evolution of digital language…this is equal parts informative and delightful."— Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

2025-04-04
A look at the complex, often serious world of emoji’s creators, gatekeepers, and enthusiasts.

This book by information-technology writer Houston (Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator, 2023, etc.) comes at the end of a sort of Cambrian Explosion for emoji: For much of the 2010s, thousands of tiny icons emerged on programs and smartphones. Each “emoji season,” as he shows, prompts heated debates over which images were and weren’t included. But Houston also uses emoji to explore a deeper story about how technologies become ubiquitous (or don’t), how they change communication, and what emoji says about our cultural blind spots. The beginnings of emoji are surprisingly difficult to pin down—various proprietary software dating to the ’70s had some version of the images—but by the 2000s a sizable vocabulary and a certain design consistency emerged from its native Japan and beyond. The Unicode Consortium, which decides which emoji are made available, has had to make countless decisions, most recently around matters of inclusion and bias—its default yellow (read: white) faces now include multiple skin tones, and it addressed biases in depictions of professions as exclusively male (construction worker) or female (dancer). Houston can get deep in the weeds about the Unicode Consortium’s internal squabbles, which leaves less room for some other fascinating byways, like how emoji has impacted grammar and communication and why “stickers” and proprietary “celebrity ’moji,” designed to avoid Unicode’s strictures and turn a profit for their creators, have often fallen flat. Houston knows that any language whose mascot is a smiling poop pile can be treated only so seriously, so the text is charmingly filled with emoji as illustrations and within sentences, making it both a product of a new way of communicating as well as a study of it.

A pleasurable and well-researched journey into pop iconography.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940195468040
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	07/01/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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