any suggestions what books to read to enrich the vocab?....

Hi MisterE,

You might give this Google list a glance. It is a list of Free on-line courses for improving vocabulary.

Here is a beginning list:

Any good English translations of:

Plato's Diologues
Faust, Goethe
Inferno, Dante
Selected Papers, Voltaire

In English:

King James Bible
Shakespeare

Vanity Fair, Thackery
"On Liberty", J. S. Mills
Selected Stories, E.A. Poe
Red Badge of Courage, S. Crane
Moby Dick, H. Melville
Billy Budd, H. Melville
The Old Man and the Sea, E. Hemingway
Of Mice and Men, J. Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, J. Steinbeck
Babbit, S. Lewis
Gile's Goatboy, J. Barth
Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
Franny and Zoe, J.D. Salinger
Lonesome Dove, L. McMurtry
The Last Picture Show, L. McMurtry
Any of Stephen King's many novels

The Birth of the Modern, P. Johnson
History of the English Speaking Peoples, W. Churchill
History of the American Revolution, Morrison

That should get you started. There are 22 titles on this short list, all have been chosen for readibility, interest, and what you might learn about being human. Some, like The Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men, and Billy Budd, can be read in an afternoon. However, these books merit thinking about for a lot longer ... perhaps years. Other titles on the list are "difficult", or so long and complex that the student should not expect even a cursory reading in less than months. Shakespeare and the Bible are certainly in that category. Most however, can be profitably read in a week, or less. In any case, you should have a good dictionary at hand as you read.

Giles Goatboy will almost certainly require you to look-up "obscure" references from a wide variety of sources.

Finally, building a vocabulary by itself is no guarantee that your abiltiy to communicate orally, or in writhing, will significantly improve. You have to be able to string those words together in meaningful ways that clearly convey your thought. That is the function of grammar. Pardon me for saying it, but Mr. Ethoughts your postings seem to show a notable lack of care in composition. Use proper punctuation. There is no excuse for not using the grammar and spell checkers available. Think about what it is you mean to say, then take the time to choose the best words and means of saying it. At first, this discipline will seem to only slow you down and frustrate you. Writing will become easier with a whole lot of practice, but you will NEVER be entirely free of the need for self-criticism and editing, editing, editing.

Write at least 1000 words every day. That's not 1000 words as they spill out of your subconscious, but 1000 words that you've carefully chosen and edited to crystal clarity. Keep your sentences short, on average around 14 words. Let there be structure that leads the reader from the first sentence to the last. Paragraphs are wonderful ways of maintaining structure. Each paragraph should deal with one subordinate idea that contributes in some fashion to the overall thesis of your essay. Generally there should be an average of only 4 or 5 sentences to each paragraph.

Bon Appetite

thanks asherman and but thanks alot i hope this will hep

for a light read and play on words how about Terry Pratchett?

thank you so much everyone

What a wonderfully generous response! Thank
you Asherman!

I paint, Shepaints. Check out some of my paintings in the Arts and Original Photo forum. I'd love to see some of your work. Where is it?

yes, i have they are sure wonderful

I started out by reading magazines more than books, although I did read books. There is another thread here on a2k going on about what a2kers think are the best magazines. I think the vocabulary level in the New Yorker magazine is fairly high, and the level of writing is also high.
Each issue covers a fair number of subjects. I have been drawn in to long articles about subjects I never guessed I'd be interested in by the level of writing.

I am serious about suggesting a dictionary with a lot of examples.

Asherman,

The counsel and guidance that you gave in expansive form was so admirable that I have some misgivings about questioning one suggestion you made, but I lack misgivings strong enough to hold back one point.

You recommended the King James Version of the Bible as one of the resources, in response to MisterEThoughts' request for books to read for the purpose of enriching the vocabulary. Clearly, there is much value in reading the KJV, but the querist must be aware that it was written in an archaic form of English. Editions of the KJV vary, of course, but some of them include terms such as "ouches of gold" (Ex. 28:11) and "naughty figs" (Jeremiah 24:2). Some editions use the word "bowels" in places where modern English would refer to the heart.

Recently I have got a copy of the dictionary, "Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary & Language Companion" by Crystal, D & B.Crystal (Penguin Books). It can be read independently, and is fascinating.

As truely,

Yes, the King James is chock full of archaic terms and grammatical constructions. So is Shakespear, that is why I pulled both out into a separate category. Our intent was to provide a young person with the most elementary list of books that a beginning student should be familiar with. My foreign language category isn't likely to contain a whole lot of exciting vocabulary, but they will help to build the foundations on which the student will build their education.

One doesn't read just to build a vocabulary. after all that is a sterile and pointless goal if one doesn't also acquire the rudiments of education. My suggestions are intended to do double duty. Read this list, I suggest, and the student will be introduced to some of the primary materials that make up the intellectual foundations of Western Civilization. These works range from "very easy" reading (i.e. Poe), to "very difficult to understand" (i.e., Barth). In each case I hope to challenge the reader to think as well as savor the cadences of the language.

Included in this little list are some of the greatest influences in how the English language is used, and has been used by some of the greatest of our writers. The King James and Shakespear are the two most quoted writings in the language. How could a student NOT be informed by reading the lines that influenced so many? However, I also included on the list a far greater number of 19th and 20th century writers whose style and content made their work stand out. Vanity Fair will introduce the student to the long, complex plotting of 19th century writers, and at the same time reflects on human relationships. J.S. Mills was one of the brightest minds in the last couple of hundred years, and his thinking on the subject of Liberty and what it means is a primer on political analysis. Poe and Crane write compelling stories and are important progenitors to modern writing. Melville is a master of the language and in these two books, he is at his best. Teachers often point to Hemingways use of short active sentences as a desirable stylistic form. Both Hemingway and Steinbeck are masters of the our language and explore themes of universal interest. I couldn't help including Babbit for it's scathing depiction of how petty ordinary peoples lives can be.

In a list of 16 works, 6+ were written in the last 50 years. These later works will help the student's "ear" to contemporary use of language and expose them to modern idiom. In this group I tried to include both short and long works that range from "easy reading" to more challenging material. In each case, I also want the student to think about what it is the writer is trying to tell us about the human condition. Even the most popular of King's novels has merit in helping us to understand the fears and terrors that lurk deep in each of us.

The three histories should help the student put the other reading into context. The Birth of the Modern deals substantially with how society was changed by 19th century events. Many of the books on my list come from that period, and Johnson can help the student understand the context as well as provide some fundamental historical knowledge. This is a very well written and researched bit of historical writing and the student will learn a lot about use of the language. Churchill is so important a contributor to our language that his value is evident, and his history should add greatly to the student's education. Morrison wrote one of the essential histories of the American Revolution, and all too often we grow old never appreciating, let alone understanding, the nature of that struggle.

My greatest regret with providing a list like this, is that it must of necessity be far too brief. With the smallest of reflection, one could compile a list of literally thousands of books that are essential. One has to start somewhere, and to include too much may frighten the curious into immobility. Read these, and I think the new reader will be so fascinated and engaged that they will soon seek out their own list.

i say dictionary!

hi, giant piazza! I happen to love your screen name, I am mad for piazzas. Why in the world did you pick it?

dictionary. pick like 50 words everyday, write them down and memorise. old man and the sea = BORING(no offense meant)

giant=NY Giants Piazza=Mike (NY Mets)

Well, that makes sense. When I lived in LA he used to play for the Dodgers...

I suppose there's no accounting for taste, but how anyone can describe The Old Man and the Sea as 'boring' is waayy beyond me.