Books With Low Vocabulary

It may be a bit controversial, but when I read books I also demand a decent vocabulary. I loved to read Crime Fiction and there are awesome books, no doubt about it, but it appears to me that many authors reduce the number of words to a minimum to get the maximum number of readers.

Of course, this is all interconnected with what you can see on TV. It appears to me that it all goes down the gutter. As a non-native English speaker, a bibliophile and logophile person, I have my expectations. However the same applies to my mother tongue as well.

So what do you think about it from this perspective? Are you happy if everything gets simplified ad nauseam? Or what are your thoughts in general?

Greetings

ps: The best book I have ever read (and it is obviously no crime fiction LOL) is Lord of the Rings. But I have such a huge list of books I want to read, I guess I won't read another fiction book in the near future.

[edit on 9-2-2009 by TheWriter]

reply to post by TheWriter


It would help it you could post examples of what you consider dumbed down literature?

I hate to see classroom work dumbed down, especially at a collegiate level. Another thing that bugs me is an author trying to spell out a regional accent or using obscenities in his description but I am not so sure that could be considered dumbed down.

I think he means just about anything on the NYT best seller list.

Originally posted by Hellish-D
I think he means just about anything on the NYT best seller list.

You are absolutely right. Two authors that come to my mind are Stuart Woods and James Patterson that keep their vocabulary extremely low. But there was a time I really loved these authors.

I feel that Lord of the Rings was "the reading experience" par excellence.
But I am only one person and I can only represent my own thoughts and opinions.

@Hellish-D
As you were spot-right with your assumption, I guess you thought about it before too?

@asmeone2
That's why I would never read translations. Many things get lost or distored in meaning.

PS: I haven't grown into an intellectual beast LOL. My dictionary is my best friend

Greetings

[edit on 9-2-2009 by TheWriter]

I have. Many of the books that I've read for entertainment have been translations. Unfortunately, as you say, there's often something lost in not knowing the original language. It's been a long time since I've read anything for fun though. It's now mostly assigned readings for class. Luckily, my professors think highly enough of their students to give us challenging texts.

Originally posted by Hellish-D
I have. Many of the books that I've read for entertainment have been translations. Unfortunately, as you say, there's often something lost in not knowing the original language. It's been a long time since I've read anything for fun though. It's now mostly assigned readings for class. Luckily, my professors think highly enough of their students to give us challenging texts.

You know, someone who has read "Lord of the Rings" in translation never actually has read "Lord of the Rings". It is like someone who has lived many years in country and someone else saw a few pictures on Google Earth.
I hope you are not laughing, but even Winnie the Pooh in the original language can never be translated and convey the real spirit of Winnie.

Then, on the other hand, I have got to say that if you only know one reality, this becomes the one and only reality. And so my statement above is invalidated.

Oh, I think you should read stuff "for fun" and this doesn't mean that you have to read fiction stories. Anything from a linguistical point of view that you find amusing and funny would do the trick. Reading dictionaries can be extremely funny too, if you are a word lover.

You may find this one not only extremely interesting:
www.waywordradio.org...

Maybe you care to tell me what you think of it?

Greetings

Have you ever read 'The laws of Magic' from Terry Goodkind. ?

I was really pulled in from the first chapter to the last. 11 Books later.
Still am.

I also loved the 'Wheel of fortune' Series from Robert Jordan.
I would consider it at least just as epic as the LOTR.

Both are considered fantasy.

Well i guess I am one of those people that tend to read low vocabulary books most of the time. Here is a list of books that i really liked. (i hope this on topic.lol.)

Artemis Fowl
Charlie Bone
Harry Potter
Cirque De Freak
Lord Loss
Cradle and All
Lucifer Messiah
Devil's Labyrinth
Redwall Series
DragonLance books

Just to name a few. Atleast the ones that really stood out to me.

I like fantasy books the most, closely followed by science fiction. Normally, I like books with a complex vocabulary and wide choice of language, but there is something to be said for a piece of writing where the author can make a powerful statement with just simple words. As an example (though it wasn't from fiction) a news reporter once asked Gandhi what he thought of Western civilization. Gandhi replied that 'I think it would be a good idea'. The implication of the statement is truly profound, even though all the words are ones a five year old would know.

Originally posted by DragonsDemesne
A news reporter once asked Gandhi what he thought of Western civilization. Gandhi replied that 'I think it would be a good idea'. The implication of the statement is truly profound.

Gandhi was a wise man. I'll bet he wished he made an even wiser decision if he new what the world would be like 60 years later.

I absolutely like that quote. Are you sure it's Gandhi's

[edit on 5/9/2010 by Sinter Klaas]