Is it me or has the vocab in recent novels kicked it up a notch? I can't tell you how many times I've read the word "truculent" in the past couple of weeks, when I'd never heard it before in my life. And always--ALWAYS--in reference to a teenager. The current word of the week is "coruscant." What gives?
I'm all for good vocab words. My favorite part of Reader's Digest is the vocab quiz, but when I see repeated verbiage while reading it pulls me right out of a story. I'm more likely to put the book down than go search for a dictionary...
~heather
LOL what kind of highly educational novels are you reading lately? Haven't noticed that...but can see where you'd be tempted to stop reading.
ReplyDeleteTry reading "A Clockwork Orange". The vocabulary will leave you crying like a little girl.
ReplyDeleteBTW, that hack Kubrick ruined the movie.
I haven't noticed it, but my editor asked me "WTF is this?" pointing to a word.
ReplyDeleteI think some authors use their thesaurus program so that their writing 'sounds' smarter. No giggling, I had to review a book where every fifth word was one I hadn't seen since high school when my English teacher gave out vocab lists for tests.
Melissa, I wish they were highly educational, maybe then it would make sense! They're just normal, everyday women's fiction.
ReplyDeleteJust finished Jane Green's Second Chance last night--saw two of "truculence". Ack!
Theo, no thanks.
Marissa, LOL on your editor. I understand. Came across "bifurcate" the other day in a Lindsay Graves book. And had much the same reaction. LOL. Maybe I need to brush up on my SAT words. :)