The words. Oh, don't get me wrong - mesmerizing stories, engaging characters, exotic or familiar locals - all of these things play heavily into my desire to read. However, the one surefire way to get me whipped up (for good or for bad!) is the writer's use of words. Trust me - I have a degree in Linguistics for a very good reason!
I am currently reading Gail Carriger's 'Heartless' (part of the Parasol Protectorate series), and I was struck by the beautiful words the author uses so effortlessly in the narrative. I was up to chapter six, and I had to start a list of all the unusual words that rang my word-loving bell. These are some of the words I came up with:
addlepated concatenation
flummoxed pecuniary
frolicsome transflucuation
licentious connubial
Isn't it wonderful? I find myself greatly amused by Carriger's books, and often catch myself reading words and passages aloud because of the flow of the prose.
A friend recently sent me an invitation to join Goodreads, and it has become a heady, time-consuming fascination for me. You can keep track of all the books you are reading (down to which page you are on), rate the books, write book reviews, keep lists of books you want to read, as well as receive recommendations on what to read next based on your reading history. I have found so many books that I had wanted to read but had forgotten along the way. I haven't written many book reviews yet, but I plan to going forward. I used to really enjoy writing my book reports every Thursday long ago. If you are on Goodreads, send me a friend invitation so I can see what you are reading as well!
3 comments:
I've been there for a few years now. I don't really utilize it more than to keep track of what I've read. And I've come to learn that my friends and I don't really read the same stuff lol!
I love how on the Nook you can tap a word and look up its meaning. I never ever did that before, just read on, but now I do it with every word I've never heard before. And the words I always wondered about!
I clicked on the Goodreads link. The front page showed a great book I read a few years ago: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I bought it several times to give to people, I liked it that much.
I always loved that word 'addlepated'. Don't see it often though. I'd never heard 'frolicsome' but that is a fun one as well.
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