as the title says, can someone recommend some GOOD books that use strong vocabulary?? some uncommon, old, and deep words to tell the story.
i need to improve my vocabulary bc i need it to pass my CET. studying words through flashcards and games won't help me because i need to imagine what the word means in order to remember them. any help would be appreciated :)) thank u sm!
by reiii_reiii
6 Comments
you will get better answers if you can explain approximately what you current reading level is
but, in general, it might be better to concentrate on non-fiction or philosophical works. perhaps Guns, Germs and Steel
again, impossible to say for sure without knowing where you’re at
How about a dictionary?
Cormac McCarthy is the king of nomenclature.
Really broad ask. But maybe Moby Dick?
I think the best books for this purpose are really gripping kids’ books with advanced vocabularies—the ones you won’t put down—preferably read on a Kindle so that you can quickly look up words as you go. My son is absolutely addicted to the (cat) Warriors books and to the Harry Potter series. Both have surprisingly advanced vocabularies, but you read for context so you don’t notice that you’re learning. This actually makes sense with the way we learn language (as a whole language, rather than word-by-word, by speaking, listening, reading and writing). That means that audiobooks could also count towards your vocabulary building, because listening and speaking are just as important as reading and writing. Figure out what’s addictive for you and have fun reading it! If kids’ books don’t appeal, then find a genre fiction book (sci fi, fantasy, mystery) that’s really plot driven but well-written and try that.
On top of that, get whatever SAT prep book/flashcard set is supposed to be the best. It’s far better to learn vocabulary in English (using materials for an English speaker) than to learn it in translation from a Chinese language like Mandarin. That way, you’re forcing your brain to think in English.
The best would be to get an older work when sophisticated language was more in fashion than the current trend of more spare and easier texts.
Some ideas for some short classics you can engage with: The Turn of the Screw, The Picture of Dorian Grey, Silas Marner, Heart of Darkness.