Category Archives: Vocabulary via Books

A VOCABULARY BOOK REVIEW: FLY AWAY

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Fly Away is an intense romance by Kristin Hannah with the expected character development that makes Hannah a go-to author. Hannah weaves the human experiences of grief, hope, expectation, obligation, and more into a fantastic tale of love. Not only romantic love, but also a mother’s love, and the love between best friends. Fly Away is also about the promises we keep and the ones we can’t. 

In addition to Fly Away, Hannah is the author of Firefly Lane, now a Netflix series. Published in 2013 by St. Martin’s Press, Fly Away is among many titles by Hannah. Find her on Facebook or at kristinhannah.com. 

I haven’t read them all, but books by Hannah I haven’t read are on my TBR list. I love her writing, her characterization that makes me care, and her descriptions. Her plotting, twists, and turns keep me reading. I can’t comment on Hannah without pointing out the beautiful covers for most of her books, including the cover for Fly Away.

In this blog, I offer a different type of book review — one that’s combined with vocabulary building. The definitions here are for just a few words from Fly Away that I found interesting, unfamiliar, or unusual in use:

grief: noun 1. Deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone’s death. 2. Informal trouble or annoyance. 

From Fly Away: 

“Grief is a sneaky thing, always coming and going like some guest you didn’t invite and can’t turn away.”

AND

“Johnny closed his eyes. He’d worked so hard in the past few years to move past grief and fashion a new life for his family. He didn’t want to remember that terrible year, but how could he not—especially now?”

flotsam: noun. (Anglo-French flotesom, from Old French floter to float. Of Germanic origin: akin to Old English flotian to float, float ship) (circa 1607) 1. Floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo; broadly: floating debris. 2. a: a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) b: an accumulation of miscellaneous or unimportant stuff. 

From Fly Away: 

“When she’d introduced him to her best friend, Kate Mularkey, who’d seemed paler and quieter, a bit of flotsam riding the crest of Tully’s wave, he’d barely noticed. It wasn’t until years later, when Katie dared to kiss him, that Johnny saw his future in a woman’s eyes.”

papasan chair: noun. a bowl-shaped cushioned chair often with a rattan base. 

From Fly Away: 

“His father-in-law, Bud, sat in the big papasan chair that easily held both boys when they played video games, and Sean, Kate’s younger brother, lay asleep on Will’s bed.”

de rigueur: adjective. (French)(1833) prescribed or required by fashion, etiquette, or custom: proper   

From Fly Away: 

“Her voice had that brittle sharpness that had become de rigueur since puberty. He sighed; even grief, it seemed, hadn’t softened his daughter. If anything, it had made her angrier.”

 Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or Merriam Webster.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

A VOCABULARY BOOK REVIEW: ONE TRUE LOVES

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One True Loves caught my devoted interest in the first chapter. That’s when Emma Blair’s husband, lost at sea in a helicopter crash years before, calls just as she’s finishing up a family dinner with her financé. The plot enfolds two love stories and Emma must make a choice, her forever choice. Author Taylor Jenkins Reid yanks a rope around your heart and keeps it restrained between the pages in this beautifully written tale that could have no better ending.

In addition to One True Loves, published in 2016, Reid has a number of titles under her belt including Daisy Jones &The Six, now a miniseries on Prime video. Visit her website at TaylorJenkinsReid.com for more information. 

In this blog, I offer a different type of book review — one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included here are a few interesting words I found in One True Loves, written by Taylor Jenkins Reid and published by Washington Square Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

The definitions here are for just a few words from One True Loves that I found interesting, unfamiliar, or unusual in use:

hooligan: noun. (perhaps from Patrick Hooligan—Irish hoodlum in Southwark, London 1898) Ruffian, hoodlum. 

From One True Loves: 

“To them, I had gone from a precious little girl to a hooligan overnight.”

conciliatory: adjective. 1. a. not flowing in a current or stream (stagnant water) b. Stale 2. Not advancing or developing. 

From One True Loves: 

“’I’m going to give Eli a conciliatory hug and then, Olive, we can head home,’ she said.”

gamine: noun. (French feminine of gamin) 1. A girl who hangs around on the streets. 2. A small playfully mischievous girl. adjective Of, relating to, or suggesting a gamine.   

From One True Loves: 

“The only change she can see is my short, blond hair.

‘It’s very gamine.’”

assuage: verb. 1. To lessen the intensity of (something that pains or distresses): ease. 2. Pacify, quiet. 3. To put an end to by satisfying: appease, quench.  

From One True Loves: 

“It was gestures like that, small acts of intimacy between them, that made me think my parents probably still had sex. I was both repulsed and somewhat assuaged by the thought.”

stagnant: adjective. 1. a. not flowing in a current or stream (stagnant water) b. Stale 2. Not advancing or developing. 

From One True Loves: 

“People aren’t stagnant. We evolve in reaction to our pleasures and pains.”

 Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or Merriam Webster.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

My Vocabulary Book Review of FORGET ME NOT by Julie Soto

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Forget Me Not is a romantic tale that I picked up at the library and had to include here. The story is very well written with a plot that had me rooting for both lead characters and turning the page to see if they’d finally end up together. One’s a florist, the other a wedding planner, and you can’t get more romantic than that. Author Julie Soto does a captivating job of weaving just enough spicy scenes with conflict over a big wedding that could set them both up for promising professional futures. You’ll have to pick this one up to see if or how they work it out. 

In this blog, I offer a different type of book review — one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included below are a few interesting flower/plant names I found in Forget Me Not. Julie Soto included several of them, and I found myself looking them up for images after a few scenes. Not until the scene was over, I couldn’t stop reading! 

The definitions here are for just a few words from Forget Me Not that, as it turns out all start with A, and I found them interesting:

astilbe: noun. an Old World plant of the saxifrage family, with plumes of tiny white, pink, or red flowers. ORIGIN — modern Latin, from Greek a- ‘not’ + stilbē, feminine of stilbos ‘glittering’ (because the individual flowers are small and inconspicuous).

From Forget Me Not: “I built a chandelier by suspending a rectangular tray from the ceiling in the back room with a lightweight chain. I filled it with pink baby’s breath and feathery blush flowers from an astilbe.”

amaranth: noun. 1 any plant of the genus Amaranthus, typically having small green, red, or purple-tinted flowers. Certain varieties are grown for food. Family Amaranthaceae: several genera, especially Amaranthus 2a purple color. 3an imaginary flower that never fades. ORIGIN — mid 16th century: from French amarante or modern Latin amaranthus, alteration (on the pattern of plant names ending in -anthus, from Greek anthos‘flower’) of Latin amarantus, from Greek amarantos‘ not fading’.

From Forget Me Not: “I shrug. ‘There are so few A-M-A words in the world. Amaranth?’

‘You are conveniently forgetting amazing. What is Amaranth?’

‘I didn’t forget; I disregarded. Amaranth is a plant. Drooping pink flowers that I use in bouquets sometimes.’”

amaryllis: noun. a bulbous plant with white, pink, or red flowers and strap-shaped leaves, of the type genus of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. A South African plant (Amaryllis belladonna, also called belladonna lily), and (popularly) a tropical South American plant that is frequently grown as a houseplant (hybrids of the genus Hippeastrum, formerly Amaryllis) ORIGIN — modern Latin, from Latin Amaryllis(from Greek Amarullis), a name for a country girl in pastoral poetry.

From Forget Me Not: “‘Amaryllis,’ I say, my voice soft in the quiet shop. I lift my eyes to her, and she’s pressing her lips together, a blush on her cheeks, a stain on her neck as vibrant as the Red Pearl amaryllis. ‘Is your mother a fan of musicals, or…?’

Her eyes sparkle again. ‘How does someone like you know a minor character from The Music Man.’”

 Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or The New Oxford American Dictionary.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Riley’s Ghost by John David Anderson

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Riley’s Ghost is an enchanting tale that was listed as “SCARY” for middle-grade readers at my local library. As an author, I’ve taken an interest in middle-grade fiction. I’ve written a Christmas and have plans pending for a somewhat scary middle-grade novel in the future.

Riley’s Ghost was a great choice as a writing sample in the genre because it is so well done. Author John David Anderson goes deep into the character’s head as she deals with a scary night, recalls memories both good and bad, and learns a lot about herself. I enjoyed the tale and the character, but I was very impressed with the writing skills. Anderson also throws in some words to challenge the young readers who pick up this book and won’t be able to put it down until Riley’s nightmare of a night comes to an end.

In this blog, I offer a different type of book review — one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included below are a few interesting words I found in Riley’s Ghost. I love that a book written for middle-grade readers included words that challenged me! 

The definitions here are for just a few words from Riley’s Ghost that I found interesting:

sarcophagus: noun — särˈkäfəɡəs — a stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece. — ORIGIN: late Middle English: via Latin from Greek sarkophagos‘flesh-consuming’, from sarx, sark-‘flesh’ + -phagos‘-eating’.

From Riley’s Ghost:

“What had he called it? A vessel? It sounded like an old word, full of antiquity and ritual. It reminded Riley of a museum she’d gone to once that had a sarcophagus of some pharaoh on display; scattered around it were jars of limestone that supposedly held the dead man’s lungs and liver and stomach. Vessels.”

…

sharbade: noun. Sharbade is a game played on specialized scooters and is a mixture of hockey, soccer, and basketball. The name is derived from Shoulder Arm and Back Development- the parts of the body put to heaviest use in playing the game. Participants use only their hands and arms for propulsion of a scooter on which they lie while playing the game. A basketball court is typically used as the playing field. Each team has seven players on the floor at one time and another seven on the bench. A maximum of 15 players can be on a team. 

(I had to get this definition on the internet from Utah Valley University’s information on its intramural sports program page.)

From Riley’s Ghost:

“Of course Riley might have administered a few of those bruises herself. Like the time she rammed into Caroline Silton so hard in sharbade that she knocked the girl off her scooter and then accidentally—because it was an accident—rolled over Caroline’s hand, sending her to the nurse.”

…

tchotchkey: noun — tchotchke | ˈCHɒCHkə, ˈCHäCHkə | (also tsatske) — 1 North American English a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional; a trinket. 2 US English a pretty girl or woman. — Origin: 1960s Yiddish

From Riley’s Ghost:

“The librarian’s desk was much the same—perfect blocks of sticky notes and a tidy wire cup of sharp pencils punctuated by an odd assortment of tchotchkes accumulated from Mrs. Grissolm’s summer vacations: a conch from Costa Rica, a surfing Santa Claus from Hawaii, a miniature Big Ben that chimes out on the hour. Order and chaos. Just like life.”

…

zerbert: noun — 1 (informal) The sound made when someone places the mouth against skin and blows, imitative of the sound of flatulence. — Synonym: raspberry

From Riley’s Ghost:

“If the offense was minor—thrown broccoli, a scribbled wall, a dirty look—he would gobble her up in his arms and say, ‘You little monster’ before commencing to zerbert her into submission or swing her upside down by her ankles.”

…

 Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or The New Oxford American Dictionary.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Bride Swap — A Romance by Author Beth Carter

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In this blog, I offer a different type of book review — one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included here are a few interesting words I found in Bride Swap.

Bride Swap is a fun romantic read. Author Beth Carter provides a heartfelt tale of two female characters each struggling to make it on their own, one with a child to support. You’ll have to pick up a copy of Bride Swap to see who’s getting married or not.

The definitions below are for just a few words important for the telling of this absolutely adorable love story:

engaged: adj. 1. Busy; occupied. BRIT. (of a telephone line) unavailable because already in use. 2. Having formally agreed to marry. 3. (architecture) (of a column) attached to or partly let into a wall. 

From Bride Swap:

“She glanced at her bare ring finger. She was newly engaged but hadn’t yet told anyone at the station. She knew how some of her more cut-throat colleagues would be once they heard she was set to marry the top anchor at the rival television station across town.”

swag: noun. 1. An ornamental festoon of flowers, fruit, and greenery. 2. INFORMAL money or goods taken by a thief or burglar. 3. AUSTRAL/NZ a traveler’s or miner’s bundle of personal belongings. 

Slang definitions include: 1. Term for advertising merchandise, branded merchandise, or promotional products. 2. Formerly used for anything cool. 

From Bride Swap:

“Emma, you’re more creative than me, plus you make all of that beautiful swag for authors. You’re amazing with that stuff. I’d love for you to plan a gorgeous wedding for Trent and me.”

transfixed/transfix: verb. 1. Cause someone to become motionless with horror, wonder, or astonishment. 2. Pierce with a sharp implement or weapon.

From Bride Swap: 

“He stood transfixed as if he were a marble statue. The smirk Paige had seen one too many times appeared as Trent asked, ‘Did someone have a bad day? Is it that time of month, Paige, or is Zach-y boy going after your job like I knew he would?’”

 Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or The New Oxford American Dictionary.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Her Name Was Rose

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Her Name Was Rose is a wild ride of a psychological thriller that caught me up in the first chapter and kept my head spinning until the surprising turn of an end. Some of the language can be attributed to the novel’s setting on the Donegal Coastline of Ireland. 

In this blog, I offer a different type of book review­—one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included here, are a few interesting words I found in Her Name Was Rose by Claire Allan.

The following includes just a few words from Her Name Was Rose that I found interesting:

eejit: noun. Informal Irish and Scottish form of idiot. 

From Her Name Was Rose: 

“I want to be a complete madly-in-love eegit and wear a T-shirt that says I love Owen & Owen loves me! on it.”

klaxon: noun. <Trademark> An electric horn or a similar oud warning device. Origin — Early 20th Century from the name of the manufacturing company.

From Her Name Was Rose: 

“She’d spoken to my family, for God’s sake, sounded the ‘Emily is going off the deep end’ klaxon.”

 Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or The New Oxford American Dictionary.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

A Vocabulary Book Review of THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND

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This blog offers a different type of book review­—one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included here, following a short review, are a few interesting words I found The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford.

I read this book hoping to attend Ford’s visit to our local library. I missed the visit but enjoyed the book just the same. 

The book’s plot is sci fi and thriller skillfully combined to pull you along as you feel the main character, Teagan Frost, a psychokinetic working for a secret government team of experts in handling extreme situations, search for some sort of normalcy in her strange world.

The book is set in L.A. but written by an English author who had never been there. It makes for some interesting twists in spelling. Words like tyres and cheque and authorised were a little unexpected in spelling for a novel set in the states, but added to the fun read for me.   

The following includes just a few words from The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind that are important to the book, that I found interesting, or words used in an interesting way:

Psychokinetic/Psychokinesis: noun. Plural. The supposed ability to move objects by mental effort alone. (psychokinetic: adj.)

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, Page 1:  “Pro tip: if you’re going to take a high dive off the 82nd floor, make sure you do it with a psychokinetic holding your hand.”

Pugnacious: adjective. Eager or quick to argue, quarrel or fight.

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, Page 392:  “It’s a pugnacious, almost childish look: a look that says I know what I’m doing, and you couldn’t possibly understand. It’s raw, boiling arrogance.”

Rebar: noun. A steel reinforcing rod in concrete.

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, Page 93:  “It’s a piece of steel reinforcement bar—what house builders call rebar. It’s tough to see because it’s almost buried, twisted like it was nothing more than a length of wire. It wraps around his throat three times, dug in so deep that it’s almost decapitated him. 

Clusterfuck: noun. A disastrously mishandled situation or undertaking.

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, Page 1:  “I make my way over to find her staring at a clusterfuck of tangled cables spilling out of one of the servers.”

 Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or The New Oxford American Dictionary.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

The Language of Eldercare

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It’s been quite some time since I’ve officially blogged. Life!

To get back on my feet (or back at my writing desk), I’ll use this blog to define a few words I’ve learned the last few years caring for my elderly mother.

Most of the definitions below are from Merriam-Webster.com and are narrowed to the eldercare issues that have consumed my life these past four years.

Dementia: noun. A usually progressive condition marked by the development of multiple cognitive deficits (such as memory impairment, aphasia, and the inability to plan and initiate complex behavior).

Transient Ischemic Attack (a.k.a. ministroke): noun. A brief episode of cerebral ischemia (obstructed blood flow) that is usually characterized by temporary blurring of vision, slurring of speech, numbness, paralysis, or syncope (loss of consciousness) and is often predictive of a serious stroke. Abbreviated as TIA.

Hallucination: noun. A sensory perception (such as visual image or a sound) that occurs in the absence of an actual external stimulus and usually arises from neurological disturbance or in response to drugs.

Cognitive: adjective. Of, relating to, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering).

Mom having fun at the casino in healthier times just a few years ago.

Respite: adjective. Providing or being temporary care in relief of a primary caregiver.

Atrophy: noun. Decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue. Also, a wasting away or progressive decline.

Palliative: adjective. Something that palliates. From the verb, palliate: To reduce the violence of (a disease). Also, to ease (symptoms) without curing the underlying disease.

Hospice: noun. A program designed to provide palliative care and emotional support to the terminally ill in a home or homelike setting so that quality of life is maintained and family members may be active participants in care. Also, a facility that provides such a program.

PACE: proper noun. PACE stands for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. PACE is a national program working with nursing home-eligible individuals to provide day programs, general support, and medical care to keep them in their homes longer. It’s a Medicare/Medicaid benefit.

PACE of the Ozarks, the northwest Arkansas organization, has been a blessing for me and my mother!

Thanks for reading! I expect to soon return to my usual book review blog.

For more information about author Lori Ericson publications, including her Danni Deadline Thrillers, visit her on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Lori-Ericson/e/B00S5MJGM8/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Or try the QR code below:

Book of Words: “If the Creek Don’t Rise” by Nancy Hartney

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This blog offers a different type of book review­—one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included here, following a short review, are a few interesting words I found in If the Creek Don’t Rise, Tales from the South by Nancy Hartney.

Eighteen stories make up If the Creek Don’t Rise, each offering a glimpse of the deep south. They speak to the hardness of life, the goodness of life, and both the blessings and cost of love. What’s special about the stories in Hartney’s collection is her ability to layer in complexity in so few words. Complexity in the characters, complexity in the relationships between the characters, and complexity in the details of setting a scene. The tales come together quickly with careful precision of a truly talented writer who provides a satisfaction for the reader unheard of in most short stories. Think I’m kidding? Check out the short “postcard vignettes” where Hartney tells a story in just a few sentences.

One of my favorite tales in the book is King David and the Bookstore. I love the reminder of the goodness we gain for ourselves by being kind to others, and the thought of what missives we may leave behind to change another’s thoughts of our memory. Hartney’s expert weaving of words maximizes the emotional impact of her storylines. I loved the compassion I couldn’t help but feel for the plight of a prostitute and a man she befriends and loses in The Trickster. But every story pulled me in. Good writing makes for mesmerizing reading.

Reading If the Creek Don’t Rise makes me want to pick up Washed in the Water, Hartney’s first short story collection. Both of Harney’s books are published by Pen-L Publishing, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Just a Few Words from If the Creek Don’t Rise:

Withers: noun. Plural. The highest part of a horse’s back, lying at the base of the neck above the shoulders. The height of a horse is measured to the withers.

If the Creek Don’t Rise, Page 3: From separate vantage points they watched the jockey carefully balance his weight above the withers, grab a handful of mane, and will himself one with the chestnut colt for the thousand-pound jolt out of the gate.

Shedrow: noun. A row of sheds; especially referring to a row of barns for horses at the start of a race track.

If the Creek Don’t Rise, Page 5:  After the final race, with the track emptying, Lady shuffled toward shedrow.

Mucking: noun. Dirt, rubbish or waste; Farmyard manure, widely used as fertilizer. verb. (muck up) informal. Mishandle (a job or situation); spoil (something)

If the Creek Don’t Rise, Page 23: Up every day before 4:00 a.m., Belle struggled to keep her grooming, rubbing and mucking covered while she tended Charles Allen.

Pirogue: noun. A long, narrow canoe made from a single tree trunk, especially in Central America and the Caribbean.

If the Creek Don’t Rise, Page 38:  Kenetta Broussard, an olive complexioned girl-woman, had grown up on the edge of Chokeberry Bayou poling a pirogue through cordgrass and across open channels, first with her father, and later, only the hound.

Patois: noun. The dialect of the common people of a region, differing in various respects from the standard language of the rest of the country; the jargon or informal speech used by a particular social group.

If the Creek Don’t Rise, Page 39: While they worked, in his soft patois, he explained the shallow-water pathways, great blue herons, bull gators, and water moccasins.

Coquina: noun.1. A soft limestone of broken shells, used in road-making in the Caribbean and Florida. 2. A small bivalve mollusk with wedge-shaped shell which has a wide variety of colors and patterns.

If the Creek Don’t Rise, Page 99: Before Jackson could respond, a grey Blazer crunched across the coquina shell parking area.

Minced: verb.1. Cut up or grind (food, especially meat) into very small pieces, typically in a machine with revolving blades. 2. Walk with an affected delicacy or fastidiousness, typically with short quick steps.

If the Creek Don’t Rise, Page 143:  She minced into the church meeting hall behind her sister and waddled toward tables groaning under casseroles, whole hams, deviled eggs, and baked sweet potatoes.

 Definitions are typically fromThe New Oxford American Dictionary.

Nancy Hartney, author and poet

FULL DISCLOSURE: Nancy is a beloved friend. We share a writing critique group, a publisher, and a love for the craft. She’s also a recently retired librarian for the Fayetteville Public Library, where both my daughters were lucky enough to work part-time as library pages while students in Fayetteville, Arkansas. But don’t let that diminish a word I’ve said about this fantastic storyteller or you’ll miss out on a great reading experience.

 

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

 

What interesting words have you taken note of lately?

Book of Words: The Math Tutor by Robert Laurence

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This blog offers a different type of book review­—one that’s combined with vocabulary building. Included here, following a short review, are a few interesting words I found in The Math Tutor by Robert Laurence.

Laurence’s main character, Sam Butler, is a retired professor of law and a widower who finds his life turned upside down after agreeing to tutor a home-schooled neighbor. Ellie, the sheltered young girl, takes to Butler’s life of caring for off-the-track Thoroughbreds and his enjoyment of state university track events. But Butler is also asked to mentor a law professor struggling to be published in his field. Laurence does an excellent job pulling the reader into the character’s psyche without overdoing it. We feel Butler’s emotions as he confronts difficult people, becomes injured and dependent on those around him, gains respect for Ellie’s young curious mind, and as he loses a very rewarding part of his life. This isn’t my usual mystery/thriller read, but I loved the story and Laurence’s ability to keep your attention glued to the page.

Just a Few Words from The Math Tutor:

  • Punctilio: noun. (Italian & Spanish; Italian puntigliopoint of honor, scruple, frm Spanish Puntillo, from diminutive ofpuntopoint, from Latinpunctum) (1596) 1 : a minute detail of conduct in a ceremony or in observance of a code 2 : careful observance of forms (as in social conduct) The adjective, punctilious: marked by or concerned about precise accordance with the details of codes or conventions. Synonym: careful   The Math Tutor, Page 140: “’Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive.’ But I’m not sure Gwen would agree that the not-honesty-alone part would apply to her. I don’t believe she thinks she has any higher obligation to tell the truth than the rest of us.”
  • Perspicacity: noun. The quality of having a ready insight into things; shrewdness. The adjective perspicacious is defined as “of acute mental vision or discernment: keen.” Synonym: shrewd.  The Math Tutor, Page 160: Rose raised his eyebrows to Lynda, who said. “I’d believe her. I’ve stopped being surprised by her perspicacity.”
  • Pedagogic: adjective.Of, relating to, or befitting a teacher or education.  The Math Tutor, Page 298: “I said that factoring was just like picking all of the oranges out of a basket full of apples, oranges and plums, which I thought was nearly brilliant pedagogic device, though she didn’t, probably because you didn’t say it.”
  • Dreadnought: noun.1 : a warm garment of thick cloth. 2 (Dreadnought, British battleship) : Battleship. 3 : one that is among the largest or most powerful of its kind. The Math Tutor, Page 233: “By the way. I looked up the origins of the word ‘dreadnaught.’ There was a British warship First World War vintage, of that name. H.M.S. Dreadnought, O-U-G-H-T. But Webster’s finds A-U-G-H-T an acceptable variation, though perhaps archaic. I thought you’d want to know.”
  • Entropy: noun.1 : a measure of the unavailable energy in a closed thermodynamic system that is also usually considered to be a measure of the system’s disorder and that is a property of the system’s state and is related to it in such a manner that a reversible change in heat in the system produces a change in the measure which varies directly with the heat change and inversely with the absolute temperature at which the change takes place; Broadly: the degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system. 2 a : the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity. b : a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder. Synonyms: chaos, disorganization, randomness  The Math Tutor, Page 216: Sam shrugged. “Things fall apart. The universe is winding down. Eventually that dike will fail and the water will head downhill. If you want to be precise, entrophy is on the increase.” 

“What was that word?” “Entropy.”

“Which is…?”

“A measure of the disorder around us. Which is increasing. Everything tends toward confusion and collapse. Every crystal vase on the Earth is destined by the Second Law eventually to break.”

 

Definitions are typically fromThe New Oxford American Dictionarythrough Kindleor Wikipedia.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?”

― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

What interesting words have you taken note of lately?