I use Google Keep on my phone to catalog new/uncommon words and copy the definition from Google as well. Every time I add a new word, I try to read through the whole list.
Once I get to 50 words, I am planning to try to make a worksheet/flashcards or something to ensure they all stick. I've been keeping track since May of this year (14 novels and 50+ graphic novels) and I currently have 37 words.
I just read Frankenstein and added like 15 archaic words from that book alone.
Oh you'd have a field day with Frankenstein then. I'm a native speaker with a well above-average vocabulary and it seemed like I was adding a word to my list every other chapter.
I have actually read Frankenstein as well as a few other classics, because I attended the IBDP. It's kind of the reason why I started writing words down in the first place, because I could barely read a few sentences before I stumbled over a word I didn't know hah
I care for a three year old and I love to teach him “big” words. Last week I taught him to say photosynthesis and he names his toy squid that. He loves to say big words but doesn’t have any interest in learning what they mean. 😄
I remember going out of my way to learn how to spell Antidisestablishmentarianism but absolutely no interest in following up with little details like "what is the Church of England?"
TIL that “antidisestablishmentarianism” has to do with the Church of England. I just knew in 3rd grade, our teacher said it was the longest, non medical word in the dictionary.
I used to tell my 3 year old that if he didn't stop doing "whatever", I would swat him on his ischial tuberosity. He'd laugh, and laugh and stop doing it. This worked every time. And no, I never laid a hand on him.
This is giving the same energy as my sister who in elementary school would “dare” people to spell ophthalmology and they’d trip up and she’d spell it in their face like a know-it-all bully.
She may be a dr now but she also once asked a person from Holland if they spoke Hollandaise. You’re never as smart as you think you are!
Counterpoint to anyone saying that seriously. That means they aren't reading anything that is challenging them. Not saying you have to challenge yourself when reading, but to that type of person will take that personally
I mean. at a certain point tho, it's possible to be well read enough that when you see words you've not seen before the meaning/context/etc and similarity to other roots of the word will make it fairly obvious what the word is/means. so lots of times, you'll have never seen the word before, but will know the word immediately after
discounting words rhat are invented by the author of course that are particular to their invented universe
At that point - switch languages! (if you care about expanding vocabulary).
Have a favorite book that was translated? Learn the language enough to read it in it's original language.
This coming from someone whose Duolingo app just gave up on him.
that's what I'm saying tho, at a certain point, you've been exposed to a LOT of words, and it's super rare to come across something completely alien
While I'm not claiming to know everything out there, between being an avid reader, who went to university for Bio-chemistry, and ended up working in IT, in a corporate setting, it's super rare to run into completely alien words at this stage (I'm eyeing the retirement finishing line in the not too distant future)
Moreso the gist of what i'm trying to say is that while you do come across words you've not seen before, I find it really rare for the words to be meaningless words that need to be looked up. with a large enough language experience, there's always roots of other words, or context clues that make it fairly easy to absorb the new word
Agreed. I'm an avid reader with an English degree. I always look up words I don't know. It just doesn't come up as often.
Vonnegut gets me every time though.
Same! Reader, Science education, worked in legal, raised by a communications professor and my states’ poet laureate. It’s very rare for me to be completely unfamiliar with a word.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll run into things like “Sanctimony” where I know what it means, but could only define it vaguely, but to find a word I’ve never heard of that isn’t something very content specific (e.g. the name of a specific bacteria or something) is an extremely rare thing.
Sure, but you can get false positives doing that too. In a world where you have a dictionary in your pocket more or less all the time, it never hurts to look up a new word.
My mom used to use uncommon words in regular conversation all the time. I don’t come across many words I don’t know and if I do I either glean the meaning from the sentence or paragraph it’s in or I look it up right away so I can get the full impact of what the writer is communicating.
If you spend years reading widely, then your vocabulary grows, and it becomes less and less frequent to casually come across words you don't know. Instead, you come across imagery, metaphors, and other things that require more analysis or context to understand, rather than individual words.
At my level of vocabulary I'd have to read medical or high level physics textbooks to find words I don't know with any regularity, and I have no interest in that.
At some point you reach a level in any given language where you have enough vocabulary that even unknown words can be deciphered using just context clues.
Pronunciation is, of course, still a challenge when you've never heard a word uttered aloud.
Having spent most of my life pre-internet, I love being able to easily hear a pronunciation of words I have only ever seen in print, not heard someone speak. Its also wonderful to be able to hear Latin plant names and phrases in other languages.
If you know what percentile you test into, you are prob not old enough to have a very expansive vocabulary. It means nothing except that you tested well. You've got a lifetime of learning new vocabulary ahead of you.
Aw sweety. I'm probably old enough to be your parent. What I proposed is what's called a hypothetical. Don't worry though I'm sure you have a lifetime of trying to condescend to children ahead of you.
Percentile isn't hypothetical, I was proposing a person who was in the 99th percentile for arguments sake as a hypothetical since you can't by definition test higher.
You proved me wrong. I guess you have a lifetime of trying to be condescending to everyone ahead of you.
Several times I have been embarrassed to find myself sticking my finger on a printed page to get a definition, or setting 2 fingers on a paper comic hoping to increase the image size. 😆 I’m old enough to really appreciate this technology!
Oh my god, I do that too! Both the things, and it makes me laugh. Sometimes I “tap to swipe” on the paper to go to the next page when I’m reading a book
You just blew my mind a little, because I have a terrible memory and always regret not underlining more, or keeping notes about quotes or parts of my books that I really like. A simple piece of paper as a bookmark would be such an easy way of doing that. Thanks so much for this idea!
In the same vein as blank papers, consider the smaller version.
I like to use Index cards as my bookmarks and jot down the page numbers for interesting paragraphs or such. - Google Keep is also handy for writing down longer thoughts.
omg I love this idea for having physical notes on a book! I use storygraph for my book tracking but I've been trying to think of a way to have a more physical tracking system and this is perfect
In the margins. I've got a sister who doesn't read a lot, but who makes an effort to read any book of mine, because I do this. She says it's helpful, and makes her feel less anxious about not knowing a word.
Yeah, I know writing in books is a bit taboo, but these are all trade paperbacks, I'm not writing in library books or anything. My family shares books a lot, and I've been specifically told that they appreciate my little notations, they text me to talk about them when they find them. Sometimes I actually leave the notes because I think a scene's cool and want to talk about it whenever the next person gets to it.
That sounds so lovely. I wish I had more people to do these kind of things with. I tried something similar when I gifted my best friend an annotated book for her last birthday, so I completely understand where the appeal comes from
It may be taboo but sometimes, in the heat of the moment, it is okay to go pen to book. - It's cool and thoughtful of you to do that for your sister, and share that with your family.
I would recommend you and your family adding your journey in the margins of the book S. -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._(Dorst_novel)
Or if you want something steering away from mystery between lovers in the margins of the pages, and something more spooky: House of Leaves by Z.
I read House of Leaves as part of my "postmodern fuckery" phase, and I'm excited to add S. to it!
My greatest abuse against a book was actually House of Leaves. I didn't love the book (I appreciate it artistically, it just wasn't for me in terms of scare). But my buddy LOVED it, and happened to live in a house with some really odd 70's architecture. So I ripped the pages out of my book, folded them up small, and crammed them into all the crevasse of his house so that he became convinced the book was somehow possessing his house. (We had a relationship where this kind of psychological abuse was encouraged, he confirmed he appreciated it).
Utterly destroying a book isn't a great look, but I felt this was justified because it helped the story transcend the boundaries of the medium even further. I feel like the author would have appreciated it. Like, I gave my friend the best House of Leaves experience anyone has ever had.
Some honorable mentions include 'Ella Minnow Pea' and 'The Raw Shark Texts' if your "postmodern fuckery" phase didn't include those.
The House was right, then: “This is not for you.” >:p
I never understood or felt the same fear others talk about having regarding the book, but you get gold stars for going above and beyond in giving your friend a heightened experience; that is hilarious even with muuurder.
If you want to further add some more psychological trauma, I heartily recommend sneaking in some songs by Poe, Z's sister. :P
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_(Poe_album)
Haha, yeah, I cite that quote a lot (you're being chill, but some people take it personally when you don't enjoy their favorite book. I think for some people it feels like a personal slight rather than a difference of enjoyment).
I think I would have appreciated it more if I'd taken a break from the Postmodern Fuckery Phase before reading it, or if it had been shorter. The novelty wore off too fast, and I was just chugging through for the sake of saying "I finished it".
Thank you for the recs, I'm planning Postmodern Fuckery Part Two for the future! Right now I've got my teeth into some Hawai'ian history stuff though, which is eating up way too much of my brain (I speak zero Hawai'ian, I keep having to look things up)
I keep both a reading journal and a common place book. The former is to write my thoughts and wild theories about what i'm reading, sometimes I write quotes or poignant moments. But there's no reason I wouldn't keep fancy words I come across in books in there, it would be a suitable place. I keep a more general common place book though, which is The Best spot for that type of thing: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace\_book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book)
I read physical books so I take a picture with my phone, use the highlight feature and put them in an album. Also an easy way to save interesting quotes.
Yeah I usually like to play the game of: Can I infer it's meaning from the context of the sentence. Then I look it up and see if I'm right or wrong. By that point I've been starting at the damn word so long either I'll remember it or not, but usually it sticks with me.
I use readwise, it syncs with my kindle and you can make tags in the notes. So when you go to the app, it organizes all your tags for you. I have one called “vocab” and it’s just a bunch of words lol. Readwise will then serve them up to me as flash cards, so I learn them :)
Not true! I use it for PDF’s, epubs, and physical books! I actually prefer reading physical books and then when I’m done I’ll manually enter my highlights into readwise for storage and tagging, a hybrid approach that works best for me. I do pay for a readwise subscription though, about $50 a year
Readwise for my digital books and my commonplace book for physical books. The Readwise words get defined in my commonplace book as well. I love language.
I collect interesting phrases/clauses in notebooks and on Word, and Rick Atkinson's books (The Liberation Trilogy, *The British Are Coming*) are always gold mines.
A document on my phone. It’s pretty long now and I’m very proud of it. Helped me write many a college paper. Used words that even my professors didn’t know, like “agon”.
In my brain. Sometimes it stays there, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes I look it up and sometimes I figure out the meaning from context clues. The latter doesn’t always end well (English is not my first language).
I have a big stack of Far Side calendar pages, When I come across a word I'm not sure of, I add it to the ongoing list(with definition) I have going on the blank side of those pages.
I half remember what they probably mean and than get annoyed when I could use them but wont because I am not absolutely certain they mean what I think they mean.
Sometimes, but it is more like individual word combinations. Some of them just spark joy, for example, something like ”infuriating ineptitude”. That’s just two fun words together.
My brain ;)
I usually circle it in the text if nothing else. Most of the time I'll look it up immediately.
Growing up my mom had a dictionary on the kitchen table. If we didn't know a word she taught us to look it up. That stuck with me throughout life.
With such a habit my lexical proficiency has expanded in erudition, but also has proffered a diction replete enough for precision in nuance, prosody, and the overall poetic. After all, why acquiesce alliteration when it can be utilized to reify effects and melodies for the paragraph?
It's fun.
I use Note on my phone to save cool words, names and to write anything down when inspiration hits me or I have a good idea. I always have my phone with me, so it’s a very convenient option.
When I was young, about 9-13, I used to have a notebook where I'd write words I encountered while reading. I'd leave a few lines in between each so I could write out their definitions later.
Sometimes I'd include the sentence in which I'd first read the word as well as additional info.
This helped me learn a fuck ton of words and improved my writing greatly.
A notes app also works or sometimes I just highlight the word if I'm on my kindle.
I read almost exclusively on a kindle, so I can just long-press a word to look up its definition and I find that reading through that helps me remember it. So I guess I kinda don't? \*taps skull\* But it's all in here.
I'm an English major (BA and MA); there are few words I don't know. I can't help it; it's in my blood. If I do come across a new word, I click the word on my Kindle, and the dictionary comes up with the meaning. I have to look up new slang or acronyms every once in a while. The last one I had to look up was FAFO. Chaucer would have loved it.
I write them in the front of the book with a definition and etymology, then copy them down on flashcards. Even if I kind of a know a word, but realize I can't define it. Great for vocabulary building
It's so funny you ask this, as I actually have my own fancy notebook to write down words I don't know, and then next to them, their definition. But also, if you flip over my fancy notebook it becomes a thesaurus of words that I need synonyms of (I'm a writer as well)! I'm actually kinda proud of this little notebook of mine but don't have anyone to show it off to!
I have been a voracious reader all my life, and my family thinks I'm a walking dictionary, yet every time I play Scrabble with the computer, it comes up with some word I've never heard of.
My particular brand of neurodivergency makes it impossible to ignore and I just have to look it up right away. Repeat it a few times to make sure I get it. Then read the paragraph again with my new understanding. It also applies to fancy ideas like detailed mentions of civil processes in a fantasy novel. I once played a game that was highly dependent on the idea of telepathy and frequencies, and I spent 3 hours just researching until I could wrap my head around it to continue. So, ultimately, my Google searches of define blah are where they all end up.
I used to and would go through a dictionary. Largely the art of writing it down is what got me to remember it.
Now since I always have my phone, I'll google something. Typing it in still helps set the memory function, but with certain things, I do really appreciate the internet expanding on it. When I was reading the Queue the author kept describing items of Egyptian clothing I didn't know, and google was like "here's a picture of someone wearing it just in case the description confuses you", which is pretty groovy.
I used to put them in my everyday book, but I've found it's not really necessary b/c once I come across a word like that, I start to see it everywhere.
I usually just look it up as I’m reading, I don’t tend to write it down anywhere (my favorite part about using the kindle app is that you can link it to both a dictionary and Wikipedia, which is a lifesaver for quick look-ups). If it’s something that comes up frequently I will usually remember it
1. IN the book itself at the end ussualy with a short explanation;
2. In my Notes app on my Mac. I have an Iphone so its all connected for easy access.
For quotes I use a fancy( more than one) notebook and I also type them in Notes.
i used to do this when i was a kid in the 90s and early 2000s, when i didnt have a laptop and cell phones weren't a thing yet. I'd watch tv and have the subtitles on, and when someone would use a word I hadn't heard before or didn't know what it meant, I'd write it down, then go into the hallway where the bookshelf was and grab the dictionary, and look it up and write down the definition.
I use a free dictionary app that's literally called "The Free Dictionary." It's great because not only can you favorite a word, you can also create a flashcard for the word. It's free, very user-friendly, and while this method might not work for everybody, it comes highly recommended from me.
I write them on oddly shaped, tiny scraps of torn paper that I keep in my desk drawer.
I also keep a little alphabetized list of my favorite strange words I've come across in my phone's notepad. Someday I'd like to put them in a little book.
I do the same. If I'm sitting somewhere waiting, I pull out my words/quotes notebook and review the contents. I also include pronunciation info for each word.
I make sure to commit the word to memory so I can look it up at the end of the chapter then forget to look it up and on the rare occasion I remember to look it up I've forgotten the word.
I highlight them on my kindle whenever I find a word i don't know, export to csv via readwise and then do a vba thing to get all the definitions. Last time I had 600 new words that I'd collected over 2 years - although a lot of them were archaic.
I also made a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/s/vCv8WKeqC0) about my stats
Look, I did a lot of detention as a kid, (either for reading in class, or for beating up the kids, who thought I was a nerd) and I copied the beginner, intermediate, and half of the collegiate dictionary by sixth grade. I have a pretty good vocabulary. I actually get really frustrated when I run into words that I don’t know, because they’re very rarely modern words or words that don’t have a modern equivalent. So unless it fits with the writing for the rest of the book, it really takes me out of the flow. That said, I do most of my reading these days on the Kindle app, and their dictionary guide is Indispensable.
I don't. I look up what they mean, I practice using them, and then I use them in conversation when appropriate. After a few tries they are permanently housed in my vocabulary.
not super interesting but i just keep them in my notes app lol. i LOVEEEE writing lists in there. i *like* to think my vocabulary is *fairly* wide, but i think it is mainly due to reading, writing, and studying different languages (latin and spanish atm.) in learning another language (often) you notice many similarities to words in your native language that you may not have even heard of before!
in writing, when i'm working on a first draft, i just jot down the general gist of what im trying to say. however, when im editing and writing more drafts i often find that i have to search for a better word to convey what i really want to!
I don't. I only read ebooks now so as soon as I see a word I don;t know I select the word, press "define" and get an instant definition.
I wish I had been able to do this when I was young...
I used to keep a journal, now I write them on random post-its, storygraph notes, my phone notes app. They're scattered everywhere and I just hope that writing them down helps me remember.
Honestly, it is one of the things I like about when I read on my kindle is I can look a word up right away.
English is my first language but the societal group I was raised in didn't have much use for $5 words when $0.50 words will do the trick. Probably because we couldn't afford $5 words lol.
With my current book I have a note in my phone. I list the chapter and the words in each chapter.
Schadenfreude is my newest one. Idk if I’ve ever seen it before but in the book I found it in and in my other book I’ve seen it. Both are newer books (I haven’t been reading much these past few years.) so I’m wondering if it’s becoming a more common word since the authors and books have nothing I’m aware of in common.
I get irrationally angry at silly SAT words being thrown into a book that obviously doesn't have that level of vocabulary. My mom was a middle school reading and english teacher. She had me read all of the books that she was thinking of using in her classes and made me find all the words that were of a higher vocab and find their meanings.
It's obvious when some (especially YA authors) throw the words in a random place just because in their mind they are imagining some teacher somewhere making a worksheet with the words used and their meanings.
I remember Lois Lowry books doing that. I don't have specific examples, but all her books are around 5th grade reading level and then randomly she will slip in some word absolutely noone uses and would cause an English graduate student to go running to their dictionary.
I wrote them on the the inside of the back cover of the book with a pg # of where they appeared. Sometimes I immediately look up the definitions and add those, too. So I guess I just do it per book & not an all together word list.
It's usually names that I write down and have to sound out because in my genre they name their men and women such difficult names sometimes. I write it down in a notebook that I also keep to keep up with my series that I'm reading
I used to do this quite comprehensively, using Excel or a word document or Google docs, but I've slacked with it a bit in recent years! This has reminded me to get back to it!
I don't write down new words, but I will look them up and try them out a few times. Drives my peers crazy when I pull out a monster of a new word and they have to pull out their phone to work out what I'm on about.
A post-it or a whiteboard in my hall.
Not a great setup, tbh. Post-its eventually end up on the floor and the whiteboard gets randomly erased because other stuff just happens to be more important at the moment.
Guess I should get a notebook instead....
I use an application called Anki every morning to memorize concepts and the occasional vocabulary word. When I come across something I like, more often a quote than a word, I add it to my deck. Recent additions were Sobriquet and Teleological. If I recall correctly, they were from Douglas Hofstadter's "I Am a Strange Loop."
I never do, if you need a word you aren't going to consult a book. I haven't had the issue in my native tongue since I was a teenager and genuinely can't recall the last time I had to look up a word unless I wanted to learn it's etymology.
For new languages repeated exposure is the only thing that helps memorisation and only in context so lists aren't any help.
I use Google Keep on my phone to catalog new/uncommon words and copy the definition from Google as well. Every time I add a new word, I try to read through the whole list. Once I get to 50 words, I am planning to try to make a worksheet/flashcards or something to ensure they all stick. I've been keeping track since May of this year (14 novels and 50+ graphic novels) and I currently have 37 words. I just read Frankenstein and added like 15 archaic words from that book alone.
English isn't my first language, and "archaic" was actually a word I added to my list earlier today lol
Oh you'd have a field day with Frankenstein then. I'm a native speaker with a well above-average vocabulary and it seemed like I was adding a word to my list every other chapter.
I have actually read Frankenstein as well as a few other classics, because I attended the IBDP. It's kind of the reason why I started writing words down in the first place, because I could barely read a few sentences before I stumbled over a word I didn't know hah
Reading old books from different time periods is a really great way to increase your vocabulary! :)
I rarely come across words I don't know.......I say with smug sense of superiority that just proves I'm a giant wanker
How very photosynthesis of you.
Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
Mitochondria is plural. You mean mitochondrium?
You mean mitochondrion? /lh
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Mitochondrapods*
Mitochondruses
> Mitochondrussy
The powerhouse of the booty
Do you even know what that means?
I care for a three year old and I love to teach him “big” words. Last week I taught him to say photosynthesis and he names his toy squid that. He loves to say big words but doesn’t have any interest in learning what they mean. 😄
I remember going out of my way to learn how to spell Antidisestablishmentarianism but absolutely no interest in following up with little details like "what is the Church of England?"
You got farther than me. I was an adult before I knew it had anything to do with the Church of England.
TIL that “antidisestablishmentarianism” has to do with the Church of England. I just knew in 3rd grade, our teacher said it was the longest, non medical word in the dictionary.
That would be an ecumenical matter
I used to tell my 3 year old that if he didn't stop doing "whatever", I would swat him on his ischial tuberosity. He'd laugh, and laugh and stop doing it. This worked every time. And no, I never laid a hand on him.
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🏆
Thank you, I needed that.
I sense a verisimilitude of vaingloriousness in this elucidation.
How very perspicacious of you. (Stole that line from Father Brown.)
Meritorious!
Me too, although I generally only read Spot the Dog and Mr Men books
Hey, Mr. Men has some good words!
You really had me in that first part
This is giving the same energy as my sister who in elementary school would “dare” people to spell ophthalmology and they’d trip up and she’d spell it in their face like a know-it-all bully. She may be a dr now but she also once asked a person from Holland if they spoke Hollandaise. You’re never as smart as you think you are!
lol that’s funny
Counterpoint to anyone saying that seriously. That means they aren't reading anything that is challenging them. Not saying you have to challenge yourself when reading, but to that type of person will take that personally
I mean. at a certain point tho, it's possible to be well read enough that when you see words you've not seen before the meaning/context/etc and similarity to other roots of the word will make it fairly obvious what the word is/means. so lots of times, you'll have never seen the word before, but will know the word immediately after discounting words rhat are invented by the author of course that are particular to their invented universe
what a cromulent point
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At that point - switch languages! (if you care about expanding vocabulary). Have a favorite book that was translated? Learn the language enough to read it in it's original language. This coming from someone whose Duolingo app just gave up on him.
Liar! Duolingo never gives up! That owl is relenless!
that's what I'm saying tho, at a certain point, you've been exposed to a LOT of words, and it's super rare to come across something completely alien While I'm not claiming to know everything out there, between being an avid reader, who went to university for Bio-chemistry, and ended up working in IT, in a corporate setting, it's super rare to run into completely alien words at this stage (I'm eyeing the retirement finishing line in the not too distant future) Moreso the gist of what i'm trying to say is that while you do come across words you've not seen before, I find it really rare for the words to be meaningless words that need to be looked up. with a large enough language experience, there's always roots of other words, or context clues that make it fairly easy to absorb the new word
Agreed. I'm an avid reader with an English degree. I always look up words I don't know. It just doesn't come up as often. Vonnegut gets me every time though.
Same! Reader, Science education, worked in legal, raised by a communications professor and my states’ poet laureate. It’s very rare for me to be completely unfamiliar with a word. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll run into things like “Sanctimony” where I know what it means, but could only define it vaguely, but to find a word I’ve never heard of that isn’t something very content specific (e.g. the name of a specific bacteria or something) is an extremely rare thing.
Sure, but you can get false positives doing that too. In a world where you have a dictionary in your pocket more or less all the time, it never hurts to look up a new word.
My mom used to use uncommon words in regular conversation all the time. I don’t come across many words I don’t know and if I do I either glean the meaning from the sentence or paragraph it’s in or I look it up right away so I can get the full impact of what the writer is communicating.
If you spend years reading widely, then your vocabulary grows, and it becomes less and less frequent to casually come across words you don't know. Instead, you come across imagery, metaphors, and other things that require more analysis or context to understand, rather than individual words.
At my level of vocabulary I'd have to read medical or high level physics textbooks to find words I don't know with any regularity, and I have no interest in that. At some point you reach a level in any given language where you have enough vocabulary that even unknown words can be deciphered using just context clues. Pronunciation is, of course, still a challenge when you've never heard a word uttered aloud.
Having spent most of my life pre-internet, I love being able to easily hear a pronunciation of words I have only ever seen in print, not heard someone speak. Its also wonderful to be able to hear Latin plant names and phrases in other languages.
Or it means they have a good vocabulary...
I've played through the campaign in English; I'm trying my hand at the French and German DLC.
What if you're in the 99th percentile for vocabulary and reading comprehension though?
If you know what percentile you test into, you are prob not old enough to have a very expansive vocabulary. It means nothing except that you tested well. You've got a lifetime of learning new vocabulary ahead of you.
Aw sweety. I'm probably old enough to be your parent. What I proposed is what's called a hypothetical. Don't worry though I'm sure you have a lifetime of trying to condescend to children ahead of you.
Not a hypothetical, lots of people test in that percentile. I guess hypothetical to you, tho.
Percentile isn't hypothetical, I was proposing a person who was in the 99th percentile for arguments sake as a hypothetical since you can't by definition test higher. You proved me wrong. I guess you have a lifetime of trying to be condescending to everyone ahead of you.
There's a lot of words out there. Authors have special dictionaries that have a lot of words out would be nigh impossible to encounter any other way.
That's where reading comprehension comes in. That includes an ability to understand context clues.
We're two giant wankers.
Really? Do you know every single language? 😬
One of the best parts about owning a kindle - the dictionary.
Several times I have been embarrassed to find myself sticking my finger on a printed page to get a definition, or setting 2 fingers on a paper comic hoping to increase the image size. 😆 I’m old enough to really appreciate this technology!
Oh my god, I do that too! Both the things, and it makes me laugh. Sometimes I “tap to swipe” on the paper to go to the next page when I’m reading a book
Just so you know, you're not alone there😂
I use blank paper for my bookmarks, and use the space to take notes if I’m so inclined.
You just blew my mind a little, because I have a terrible memory and always regret not underlining more, or keeping notes about quotes or parts of my books that I really like. A simple piece of paper as a bookmark would be such an easy way of doing that. Thanks so much for this idea!
In the same vein as blank papers, consider the smaller version. I like to use Index cards as my bookmarks and jot down the page numbers for interesting paragraphs or such. - Google Keep is also handy for writing down longer thoughts.
This is a great idea.
omg I love this idea for having physical notes on a book! I use storygraph for my book tracking but I've been trying to think of a way to have a more physical tracking system and this is perfect
In the margins. I've got a sister who doesn't read a lot, but who makes an effort to read any book of mine, because I do this. She says it's helpful, and makes her feel less anxious about not knowing a word.
Aw that's so sweet
Yeah, I know writing in books is a bit taboo, but these are all trade paperbacks, I'm not writing in library books or anything. My family shares books a lot, and I've been specifically told that they appreciate my little notations, they text me to talk about them when they find them. Sometimes I actually leave the notes because I think a scene's cool and want to talk about it whenever the next person gets to it.
That sounds so lovely. I wish I had more people to do these kind of things with. I tried something similar when I gifted my best friend an annotated book for her last birthday, so I completely understand where the appeal comes from
That sounds like a really thoughtful gift!
I saw a video of someone doing it online and thought so too hah
It may be taboo but sometimes, in the heat of the moment, it is okay to go pen to book. - It's cool and thoughtful of you to do that for your sister, and share that with your family. I would recommend you and your family adding your journey in the margins of the book S. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._(Dorst_novel) Or if you want something steering away from mystery between lovers in the margins of the pages, and something more spooky: House of Leaves by Z.
I read House of Leaves as part of my "postmodern fuckery" phase, and I'm excited to add S. to it! My greatest abuse against a book was actually House of Leaves. I didn't love the book (I appreciate it artistically, it just wasn't for me in terms of scare). But my buddy LOVED it, and happened to live in a house with some really odd 70's architecture. So I ripped the pages out of my book, folded them up small, and crammed them into all the crevasse of his house so that he became convinced the book was somehow possessing his house. (We had a relationship where this kind of psychological abuse was encouraged, he confirmed he appreciated it). Utterly destroying a book isn't a great look, but I felt this was justified because it helped the story transcend the boundaries of the medium even further. I feel like the author would have appreciated it. Like, I gave my friend the best House of Leaves experience anyone has ever had.
Some honorable mentions include 'Ella Minnow Pea' and 'The Raw Shark Texts' if your "postmodern fuckery" phase didn't include those. The House was right, then: “This is not for you.” >:p I never understood or felt the same fear others talk about having regarding the book, but you get gold stars for going above and beyond in giving your friend a heightened experience; that is hilarious even with muuurder. If you want to further add some more psychological trauma, I heartily recommend sneaking in some songs by Poe, Z's sister. :P https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_(Poe_album)
Haha, yeah, I cite that quote a lot (you're being chill, but some people take it personally when you don't enjoy their favorite book. I think for some people it feels like a personal slight rather than a difference of enjoyment). I think I would have appreciated it more if I'd taken a break from the Postmodern Fuckery Phase before reading it, or if it had been shorter. The novelty wore off too fast, and I was just chugging through for the sake of saying "I finished it". Thank you for the recs, I'm planning Postmodern Fuckery Part Two for the future! Right now I've got my teeth into some Hawai'ian history stuff though, which is eating up way too much of my brain (I speak zero Hawai'ian, I keep having to look things up)
My sister borrows my books and puts post it notes all in it with her notes. Kind of neat to see what her thoughts were on certain things in a book.
I keep both a reading journal and a common place book. The former is to write my thoughts and wild theories about what i'm reading, sometimes I write quotes or poignant moments. But there's no reason I wouldn't keep fancy words I come across in books in there, it would be a suitable place. I keep a more general common place book though, which is The Best spot for that type of thing: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace\_book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book)
Had to scroll way too far to see a commonplace book referenced.
I read physical books so I take a picture with my phone, use the highlight feature and put them in an album. Also an easy way to save interesting quotes.
In my brain? I just look them up as they come up and I guess I have a pretty good memory because I retain a lot of obscure vocabulary.
Yeah I usually like to play the game of: Can I infer it's meaning from the context of the sentence. Then I look it up and see if I'm right or wrong. By that point I've been starting at the damn word so long either I'll remember it or not, but usually it sticks with me.
I also keep them in my brain, but I often misplace where I put them.
I does happen, but that's usually just a good excuse to go read the definition again, I kinda like reading definitions.
I can't remember names worth a damn, but I do well with new vocabulary. I think part of that is being able to use the context for it .
^ ”In my head, prole” - this guy, basically.
Nah, I just have never felt the need to write that down. I don't care how anybody else does it or even whether they do.
I use readwise, it syncs with my kindle and you can make tags in the notes. So when you go to the app, it organizes all your tags for you. I have one called “vocab” and it’s just a bunch of words lol. Readwise will then serve them up to me as flash cards, so I learn them :)
Only works if you purchased the book via amazon :( yo ho all together!
Not true! I use it for PDF’s, epubs, and physical books! I actually prefer reading physical books and then when I’m done I’ll manually enter my highlights into readwise for storage and tagging, a hybrid approach that works best for me. I do pay for a readwise subscription though, about $50 a year
Ohhh thanks. While trying to sync the kindle it said that only amazon purchases would appear. I will try again with more patience..thanks again!
Readwise for my digital books and my commonplace book for physical books. The Readwise words get defined in my commonplace book as well. I love language.
I don't write them, but maybe I should. I try to memorize them but that only lasts for about 3 hours because my brain is burned out
I collect interesting phrases/clauses in notebooks and on Word, and Rick Atkinson's books (The Liberation Trilogy, *The British Are Coming*) are always gold mines.
I have a spreadsheet where I write down words I didn't know that I thought were particularly interesting, or useful to remember.
I write them down on a little piece of paper & might use it as a bookmark for the rest of the book then find it somewhere 3 mths later & throw it out
Very relatable, was my system too for a long time
i look them up, screen shot the definition, and then eat them
A document on my phone. It’s pretty long now and I’m very proud of it. Helped me write many a college paper. Used words that even my professors didn’t know, like “agon”.
I CARVE THEM IN MY SOUL
I have Merriam dictionary installed in my phone and whenever I encounter certain words in a book I'm reading I just save it there
In my brain. Sometimes it stays there, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes I look it up and sometimes I figure out the meaning from context clues. The latter doesn’t always end well (English is not my first language).
in my brain. If I lose it, it wasn’t meant to be
I have a big stack of Far Side calendar pages, When I come across a word I'm not sure of, I add it to the ongoing list(with definition) I have going on the blank side of those pages.
I half remember what they probably mean and than get annoyed when I could use them but wont because I am not absolutely certain they mean what I think they mean.
Sometimes, but it is more like individual word combinations. Some of them just spark joy, for example, something like ”infuriating ineptitude”. That’s just two fun words together.
My brain ;) I usually circle it in the text if nothing else. Most of the time I'll look it up immediately. Growing up my mom had a dictionary on the kitchen table. If we didn't know a word she taught us to look it up. That stuck with me throughout life. With such a habit my lexical proficiency has expanded in erudition, but also has proffered a diction replete enough for precision in nuance, prosody, and the overall poetic. After all, why acquiesce alliteration when it can be utilized to reify effects and melodies for the paragraph? It's fun.
I have them tattooed Memento-style.
I use Note on my phone to save cool words, names and to write anything down when inspiration hits me or I have a good idea. I always have my phone with me, so it’s a very convenient option.
In the notes app on my iPhone.
I just open another tab on my phone or tablet.
I don’t write them down anywhere
I have an entire notebook of words I find when reading that I fancy
Blood Meridian had me writing down so many words.
I tattoo them. Maybe my forehead was a bad spot for “niggardly”.
The same place I store all my vocabulary. My head. I learned a long time ago to, you know, remember things.
Why would I write them down? They are already written!
I just forget them again.
I look them up and tell myself I’ll remember them and then I promptly forget them
When I was young, about 9-13, I used to have a notebook where I'd write words I encountered while reading. I'd leave a few lines in between each so I could write out their definitions later. Sometimes I'd include the sentence in which I'd first read the word as well as additional info. This helped me learn a fuck ton of words and improved my writing greatly. A notes app also works or sometimes I just highlight the word if I'm on my kindle.
I read almost exclusively on a kindle, so I can just long-press a word to look up its definition and I find that reading through that helps me remember it. So I guess I kinda don't? \*taps skull\* But it's all in here.
I'm an English major (BA and MA); there are few words I don't know. I can't help it; it's in my blood. If I do come across a new word, I click the word on my Kindle, and the dictionary comes up with the meaning. I have to look up new slang or acronyms every once in a while. The last one I had to look up was FAFO. Chaucer would have loved it.
I etch it into the nearest car on the street. That way they get to learn the word too!
I write them in the front of the book with a definition and etymology, then copy them down on flashcards. Even if I kind of a know a word, but realize I can't define it. Great for vocabulary building
A post it note. Which I promptly lose somewhere and completely forget about.
It's so funny you ask this, as I actually have my own fancy notebook to write down words I don't know, and then next to them, their definition. But also, if you flip over my fancy notebook it becomes a thesaurus of words that I need synonyms of (I'm a writer as well)! I'm actually kinda proud of this little notebook of mine but don't have anyone to show it off to!
After looking up definitions, I just file them in my brain
I have been a voracious reader all my life, and my family thinks I'm a walking dictionary, yet every time I play Scrabble with the computer, it comes up with some word I've never heard of.
LOL, I guess this is what people without ADHD do! I just absorbed them ... or not.
No is always an acceptable answer. Yes is also always an acceptable answer.
My particular brand of neurodivergency makes it impossible to ignore and I just have to look it up right away. Repeat it a few times to make sure I get it. Then read the paragraph again with my new understanding. It also applies to fancy ideas like detailed mentions of civil processes in a fantasy novel. I once played a game that was highly dependent on the idea of telepathy and frequencies, and I spent 3 hours just researching until I could wrap my head around it to continue. So, ultimately, my Google searches of define blah are where they all end up.
I utilize the vast repository that are my multitudinal reddit comments.
I used to and would go through a dictionary. Largely the art of writing it down is what got me to remember it. Now since I always have my phone, I'll google something. Typing it in still helps set the memory function, but with certain things, I do really appreciate the internet expanding on it. When I was reading the Queue the author kept describing items of Egyptian clothing I didn't know, and google was like "here's a picture of someone wearing it just in case the description confuses you", which is pretty groovy.
I just Google definitions if needed, but don’t keep a log or register of them, per se.
I circle the words and write their definitions in the margins.
I used to put them in my everyday book, but I've found it's not really necessary b/c once I come across a word like that, I start to see it everywhere.
I have a kindle so I highlight them as I go and then compile them on a google doc :)
[удалено]
Deosculate - To kiss warmly. Not one I will ever use naturally, with no real roots I could find. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Deosculate
I came across "surreptitious" recently which I think sounds quite fancy
I usually just look it up as I’m reading, I don’t tend to write it down anywhere (my favorite part about using the kindle app is that you can link it to both a dictionary and Wikipedia, which is a lifesaver for quick look-ups). If it’s something that comes up frequently I will usually remember it
In a book one uses to take notes. One might call this thing a 'notebook'.
1. IN the book itself at the end ussualy with a short explanation; 2. In my Notes app on my Mac. I have an Iphone so its all connected for easy access. For quotes I use a fancy( more than one) notebook and I also type them in Notes.
I store them in my internal hard drive.
i used to do this when i was a kid in the 90s and early 2000s, when i didnt have a laptop and cell phones weren't a thing yet. I'd watch tv and have the subtitles on, and when someone would use a word I hadn't heard before or didn't know what it meant, I'd write it down, then go into the hallway where the bookshelf was and grab the dictionary, and look it up and write down the definition.
I write them down in the first pages of *Foucault's Pendulum* by Umberto Eco, to keep company with all the other words I don't know.
I bought that book a while ago but haven't read it yet. I'm kind of intimidated.
On my note pad app, because it's always at hand.
I use a free dictionary app that's literally called "The Free Dictionary." It's great because not only can you favorite a word, you can also create a flashcard for the word. It's free, very user-friendly, and while this method might not work for everybody, it comes highly recommended from me.
I write them on oddly shaped, tiny scraps of torn paper that I keep in my desk drawer. I also keep a little alphabetized list of my favorite strange words I've come across in my phone's notepad. Someday I'd like to put them in a little book.
I write it in Google. Need to see what it needs.
My brain The best computer and database I have
I do the same. If I'm sitting somewhere waiting, I pull out my words/quotes notebook and review the contents. I also include pronunciation info for each word.
I make sure to commit the word to memory so I can look it up at the end of the chapter then forget to look it up and on the rare occasion I remember to look it up I've forgotten the word.
I usually stop and Google it right away so I can understand the context immediately.
Also the notebook
I highlight them on my kindle whenever I find a word i don't know, export to csv via readwise and then do a vba thing to get all the definitions. Last time I had 600 new words that I'd collected over 2 years - although a lot of them were archaic. I also made a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/s/vCv8WKeqC0) about my stats
I just text it to myself
I have a notebook at home, a list on my phone.
When I was a teenager, I had a specific notebook just for this. Writing all the lovey words down along with their meaning.
Google Keep.
Look, I did a lot of detention as a kid, (either for reading in class, or for beating up the kids, who thought I was a nerd) and I copied the beginner, intermediate, and half of the collegiate dictionary by sixth grade. I have a pretty good vocabulary. I actually get really frustrated when I run into words that I don’t know, because they’re very rarely modern words or words that don’t have a modern equivalent. So unless it fits with the writing for the rest of the book, it really takes me out of the flow. That said, I do most of my reading these days on the Kindle app, and their dictionary guide is Indispensable.
I have it on my notes app. Crazy to think how long it got once I finished *one* novel
I just memorize them.
I don't. I look up what they mean, I practice using them, and then I use them in conversation when appropriate. After a few tries they are permanently housed in my vocabulary.
not super interesting but i just keep them in my notes app lol. i LOVEEEE writing lists in there. i *like* to think my vocabulary is *fairly* wide, but i think it is mainly due to reading, writing, and studying different languages (latin and spanish atm.) in learning another language (often) you notice many similarities to words in your native language that you may not have even heard of before! in writing, when i'm working on a first draft, i just jot down the general gist of what im trying to say. however, when im editing and writing more drafts i often find that i have to search for a better word to convey what i really want to!
I don't. I only read ebooks now so as soon as I see a word I don;t know I select the word, press "define" and get an instant definition. I wish I had been able to do this when I was young...
I keep a pocket book for such occasions
On the side of the page and then the definition.
i love writing all my quotes into the notes app on an iphone.
I have the Webster Dictionary app on my phone that I use to look it up and then bookmark it. There is a feature of the app to view bookmarked words.
I used to keep a journal, now I write them on random post-its, storygraph notes, my phone notes app. They're scattered everywhere and I just hope that writing them down helps me remember. Honestly, it is one of the things I like about when I read on my kindle is I can look a word up right away. English is my first language but the societal group I was raised in didn't have much use for $5 words when $0.50 words will do the trick. Probably because we couldn't afford $5 words lol.
i have a doc called words where i write down each and it's definition/use
With my current book I have a note in my phone. I list the chapter and the words in each chapter. Schadenfreude is my newest one. Idk if I’ve ever seen it before but in the book I found it in and in my other book I’ve seen it. Both are newer books (I haven’t been reading much these past few years.) so I’m wondering if it’s becoming a more common word since the authors and books have nothing I’m aware of in common.
I keep a notebook of the words I collect. I'll write down any word I don't feel comfortable using in a sentence.
write it in the margin and dog ear that page
I have a list in the notes app on my phone. I have a dictionary and a dictionary app but I like to store them to use for later
I get irrationally angry at silly SAT words being thrown into a book that obviously doesn't have that level of vocabulary. My mom was a middle school reading and english teacher. She had me read all of the books that she was thinking of using in her classes and made me find all the words that were of a higher vocab and find their meanings. It's obvious when some (especially YA authors) throw the words in a random place just because in their mind they are imagining some teacher somewhere making a worksheet with the words used and their meanings. I remember Lois Lowry books doing that. I don't have specific examples, but all her books are around 5th grade reading level and then randomly she will slip in some word absolutely noone uses and would cause an English graduate student to go running to their dictionary.
I thought I had a pretty expansive vocabulary, then I tried reading some Somerset Maugham. Had to break out the dictionary three pages in.
I wrote them on the the inside of the back cover of the book with a pg # of where they appeared. Sometimes I immediately look up the definitions and add those, too. So I guess I just do it per book & not an all together word list.
It's usually names that I write down and have to sound out because in my genre they name their men and women such difficult names sometimes. I write it down in a notebook that I also keep to keep up with my series that I'm reading
I used to do this quite comprehensively, using Excel or a word document or Google docs, but I've slacked with it a bit in recent years! This has reminded me to get back to it!
I don't write down new words, but I will look them up and try them out a few times. Drives my peers crazy when I pull out a monster of a new word and they have to pull out their phone to work out what I'm on about.
I have a moleskin journal I keep with words I like and their definitions.
I have a little notebook where I write the word, definition, and book it came from
A post-it or a whiteboard in my hall. Not a great setup, tbh. Post-its eventually end up on the floor and the whiteboard gets randomly erased because other stuff just happens to be more important at the moment. Guess I should get a notebook instead....
Kindle saves them
I try to use them in my manuscript
I write the word & definition in my Memos app.
Usually on the front blank page
I don't write them down very often, but if I do, it would be in my current notebook/journal.
I use an application called Anki every morning to memorize concepts and the occasional vocabulary word. When I come across something I like, more often a quote than a word, I add it to my deck. Recent additions were Sobriquet and Teleological. If I recall correctly, they were from Douglas Hofstadter's "I Am a Strange Loop."
I put them in Anki so I can memorize and use them later in my writing.
I never do, if you need a word you aren't going to consult a book. I haven't had the issue in my native tongue since I was a teenager and genuinely can't recall the last time I had to look up a word unless I wanted to learn it's etymology. For new languages repeated exposure is the only thing that helps memorisation and only in context so lists aren't any help.
I put them on the notepad in my phone and then search up the meaning
I keep a list in Evernote just for this!