Over the past few years, I feel like my vocabulary has severely languished. I used to read like a fiend. Then I got into chick lit, and went to university – and I seriously did not have the time to read. When I did, I just wanted to relax – usually with an undemanding romance or crime fiction.
Now I’m trying to read 100 books this year, and really branch out. Catching up on some classics, and giving new, creative authors a go. Some of these are challenging, to say the least. I’m dog-earing plenty of pages, and Googling words when I next get to a computer.
I also signed up to A Word A Day last year, and have been getting one new word each morning in my inbox. Some are plain ridiculous and I’ll never use again, but some I keep around for reference.
Thing is, my brain doesn’t seem to want to take these new words on. I can’t get them to stick!
Do you have any good memory tricks?
LIFE
Sandy gets a little riled up by some blatant stereotyping.
The minefield of dating has Andhari a bit flustered.
Sometimes we need to shed the cloak of anonymity in the big city, writes NYC Love Addict.
Meanwhile, Lesley talks anonymity and finding the right balance when blogging.
It’s true, Cordelia: Even revolutionaries have to do chores.
Her Every Cent Counts ponders city vs suburban living.
Laura from Stratejoy talks about making daily life a little more like a holiday.
No matter how long you’ve been together, it’s still nice to go on the odd date, writes 20 and Engaged.
And sometimes bribery works, too, says A Lotta Lettuce.
Here are 10 not-so-obvious things to pack for a long trip, care of Alexis Grant.
Maternal instinct is funny, isn’t it? There’s something about those tiny little hats, socks, dresses, shirts, playsuits that turn the best of us clucky.
Laura adds up her “instead-ofs” and explains why the non-traditional accomplishments matter too.
E-bay expert Lindy shares her best tips for selling your stuff online.
Over at Eat Move Write, a lively discussion on flirting while in a relationship.
And Yes and Yes offers an insight into what it’s like living on the streets.
FOOD
This was cute and reminded me a little of my younger days… Dinner: a Love Story explains how to make one meal fit all.
Lisa asks: What makes a foodie, exactly?
Pizza dip!!! How good does that look?
WORK
Two great posts from Life Without Pants on kicking Mondays to the curb, and work vs play. He quotes a great Forbes blog post, which pretty much sums up my perspective on the topic.
“…This absurd axiom suggests that you can simply take what you already love, turn it into something for which you get paid (meaning, you have clients and bosses and deadlines and obligations…) and it won’t ever feel like anything other than that thing you love.
This is a blatant, hurtful lie that far too many people fall for. And they end up feeling like something is wrong with them, when really something is wrong with the idea they’ve been sold…”
Amen. This is exactly the same conclusion I reached.
Moving on. I found this fascinating: What military and civilian PR pros can teach each other, via Journalistics.
I’m not real good with criticism. Kid gloves, please. But if you’re like me, Zen Habits explains how to handle it gracefully.
Ms Career Girl is leaving the world of corporate finance at 26. Congrats!
Penelope Trunk talks about the new rules of self-publishing.
Good management involves finding out what’s not getting done, according to Alison at Ask A Manager.
Jess at Makeunder My Life says it’s a good thing to hate your job… honestly.
A great post from Passive Panda about how to email important people. I’ve said it before…they need to teach email etiquette in school!
Three months on, Budgets Are Sexy is still “unemployed” and thriving!
Yay! Thanks for sharing my post about foodies. And I was happy to see that you use Goodreads too – just added you as a friend. I’m always happy to get different suggestions for new books to read. 🙂
I just finished reading the first book I’ve read in ages. I’ve had a really stressful couple of weeks at work..I don’t mind busy, but this was annual review time and I’m having some damage control I need to be doing and it’s really been draining.
Anyway, I spent almost all of yesterday just reading and it was such a welcome escape from it all. I forgot how effective reading is at escaping from the world. I find it much more effective than movies or surfing the web.
Thank you for the link.
Here is my teacher advice for learning new words: Use them. Even if you think they’re totally useless words, you will never remember them unless you practice using them. Look up sample sentences with them and write a paragraph based entirely around incorporating that word. It seems like a lot of work, but that’s what we make the kids do and it’s a good way for them to fully have the word fit in a place in their vocabulary, as a part of their version of English, if that makes sense.
Thanks for including me 🙂 Love your layout btw
Thanks for the link, though I might dispute the use of the word “expert” to describe me. 🙂
I second the advice to use those vocab words if you want to remember them. Though the thought does sound a little tedious. I love your plan to read more books. Thanks to Borders bookstores closing down, I’ve gotten my hands on a few new ones at 50% off.