I don’t know about you, but during this pandemic I have read more books electronically than ever. Without book stores or libraries, I have turned to e-books for my fix.
I prefer a paper book, but needs-must. The one thing I do like better about an e-book is the built-in dictionary. If I don’t know a word, I touch my finger and, voilà, there is the definition.
Here are some words I have learned in the past few months, used in a sentence:
glabellar: The smooth part of the forehead above and between the eyebrows. (Now that I’m older, my glabellar is not as smooth as this definition implies.)
synesthesia: A neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses. (Some people with synesthesia always see the letter A in the colour red, and when I see I word I don’t know in a book, I see red.)
faffing: [UK informal] To spend time doing a lot of things that are not important instead of the one thing you should be doing. (At a cottage it is easy to spend time faffing around instead of writing blog posts.)
hierophant: A person, especially a priest in ancient Greece, who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles. (I need a hierophant to help me understand some things in the books I’m reading.)
tricoteuse: A woman who sits and knits, a reference to women who did this at public executions during the French Revolution. (I would be willing to become a tricoteuse during the trial of a writer who uses the word tricoteuse.)
prelapsarian: Characteristic of the time before the fall of man [Editor’s note: they mean people], that is, innocent and unspoiled. (In the prelapsarian Eden, people used non-gender specific language.)
hoaching: Full of or swarming with people. (During this time of pandemic avoid hoaching places.)
How are you reading these days? What have you learned from that experience?
Somerton Smith 
I was aware of the word “synesthesia” but the other ones are new to me. I like “hoaching” which my spellcheck has changed to “coaching” then “poaching” then “hooting” all of which are not the word I typed.
My reading has been almost nil lately as I’ve been “faffing.” I need to have a stern talk with myself and get back to reading. I have the time. 🙄
It’s easy to spend time faffing around during a pandemic! I also loved hoaching. I’m going to start using it!
I would have to say I have spent pretty much all of the pandemic faffing around. Haven’t learned a new skill or language or even baked a single loaf of bread but have read a mighty stack of books so don’t feel my faffing time has been wasted in the least. Just started The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian – first chapter in is pretty good. Keep calm and faff on!
Ha, ha. That’s going to be my new motto: Keep calm and faff on! I have to say that I’ve done a fair bit of faffing myself, but I have checked some small thing off of lists most days. I’ve digitized my recipes to print them in a book and that kind of thing. My faffing balance has been pretty good. Reading is definitely not faffing, in my opinion. Look how much I learned!
You are reading much more challenging books than I am! But I love this idea of learning new words while we read. These are fabulous ones and I shall use faffing from now on, daily. I’m always a frequent reader probably with the same amount of books now during the lockdown. One a week at least. Unfortunately paperback books are hard for my eyes so I either read on the Kindle or order a hardback if I know a friend who would like to read the book after I’m done. I am actually teaching a lot of creative writing online during this time so I feel like I never have enough time to “faff”!!
I have been reading – purely by coincidence – a lot of books by British authors lately. Hence the faffing and the hoaching – British terms. My next book club choice is City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, so an American author is next. I’ll be on the lookout for American words I don’t recognize!