Hey guys, this is a bit different than a book rec, I love reading, however I lose my sense of escapism when hitting a word I don’t know and grabbing my phone to google it, usually forgetting it within a few minutes.
Does anyone have a process that they would recommend for not only learning the words but remembering them for future books?
Thanks and sorry if this is a stupid question
by spudonsteroids19
3 Comments
If I don’t know a word, I normally just rely on context clues to guess on what it could mean. Normally I encounter unfamiliar adjectives and metaphors using references I haven’t seen before. I can power through all of these, because the tone of the surrounding text typically clues me in on the tone/emotional meaning they’re meant to have.
If the word is actually crucial to understand what’s going on, I look it up. But I only look it up when I have already tried decifering it. The mental effort typically helps me remember it.
If you’re trying to not break away from the story, you can add paper post it’s or annotation flags to words you don’t know as you find them while reading. Try and see if you can make an educated guess about what they mean and keep reading. Finish your reading session and then look them up. Or look them up before you start your next reading session.
Anytime you look up a word, jot it down. Just writing it will help, and if you review them periodically you’ll learn them.
In 2024 I kept a list of words I looked up, what they meant, and what book they were in. Writing it down helped with retention, and it made a cool list of words I learned that year!