These books include clear, innovative language that will improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension while keeping you engrossed in the narrative.
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
Put Margaret Atwood’s contemporary classic, which is currently a popular television program, on your list of books to read. The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel about a totalitarian, patriarchal society in the not-too-distant future that examines the agency of women and their control over their bodies.
This science fiction book is engrossing to read. Start here if you’re seeking books to expand your vocabulary because Atwood employs elegant metaphorical language and a large vocabulary in this book. To help you become more comfortable with the vocabulary used, Atwood provides more context clues throughout the book. The terminology used in this fictional society’s everyday existence is not something you’re likely to grasp the first time it’s used. Encouraging you to figure out the implicit meanings on your own, improves vocabulary learning and reading comprehension skills. Additionally, it contains a few Scrabble moments where two characters compete using the extensive language they are familiar with.
The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
This memoir by Jeannette Walls, who masterfully tells a story while providing great detail about her background, is the next title in our list of books to increase vocabulary. The Glass Castle’s major plot is framed by Walls’ eccentric family dynamic; the family struggles with poverty and moves between states as chances present themselves or financial hardships start to bear down on them. Hunger, abuse, bullying, and their father’s alcoholism are just a few of the challenges she and her three siblings are forced to deal with. These struggles eventually inspire each of them to move to New York City and chase their ambitions.
Walls, whose book was praised as “beautifully written in deceptively simple prose” by Alex Witchel in the New York Times, draws the reader in by telling stories straightforwardly and movingly using methodical, emotive language that is thoughtfully placed throughout.
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize laureate, is well known for her exquisite writings about the black experience in America. Her third book, Song of Solomon, is a coming-of-age tale set in early to mid-twentieth-century America. It chronicles the life of Macon Dead III, often known as “Milkman,” as he searches for freedom as a Black youngster (and subsequently as a man) while learning about his ancestry.
The narrative, which is rich with allusions to both African-American folklore and classical mythology, fits under the category of magical realism, which is emphasized and further confounded by Morrison’s use of language. Her use of figurative language and vivid imagery heightens the story’s reality, communicates her themes of flight and freedom, and animates the dialogue between her characters. To avoid giving anything away, we’ll keep this brief. This is an enticing read with carefully chosen terminology.
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The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
Another coming-of-age tale from 1984, Esperanza Cordero, a 12-year-old Mexican-American girl, recounts her early years in this book. The story of Esperanza’s childhood in a struggling Chicago neighborhood during the middle of the 20th century is portrayed in a series of vignettes, or little anecdotes. The House on Mango Street, a beloved and frequently mentioned work of literature in Chicane/x studies today, describes the development of a little girl who encounters mature subjects early in her life as she seeks out her identity and attempts to fit in.
Esperanza’s development as a character is highlighted by the language used throughout the work; although if it is primarily presented in simple terms, the diction used in descriptions and in dialogue helps the reader form a vivid picture in their minds. Additionally, it’s simple to get into this book: If you’re having trouble reading for pleasure (check out our advice for reluctant readers! ), Esperanza is a delightful and realistic character. or just not feeling like reading right now, this book can be the cure for you!
Although some of the other novels on our list contain a wider range of vocabulary words than this one does, we still believe this novel is an essential component of our library of books for vocabulary development. Long after you’ve finished the book, you’ll still be using the abilities you learn from Cisneros’ precise diction.
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
This dystopian story is the final contemporary book to enhance vocabulary. The story, which takes place in 2049, focuses on Guy Montag’s adventures as a fireman in a culture where reading is forbidden and books are destroyed. He spends his days destroying book-filled homes before realizing one day that books have worth. He soon starts removing books from the homes that he and his coworkers are tasked with burning.
The book is less than 200 pages long because Bradbury prefers quality over quantity in his writing. His diction is forceful yet sensitive. Therefore, this book can be among the best for slower readers to expand their vocabulary.
The work explores concepts related to censorship, conformity, the marginalization of literature, and the enduring significance of art, demonstrating its literary merit with rich imagery and fine detail.
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Little Women, an instant bestseller upon publication and today regarded as one of the best American coming-of-age stories, follows four sisters as they enter adulthood in the middle of the 1800s. Each sister—traditional Meg, independent Jo, sorrowful Beth, and materialistic Amy—is depicted by Alcott distinctively and realistically. Although each sister seeks pleasure and self-improvement in her own unique way, their love of family unites them.
Jo, the sister who receives the most of the story’s attention, has a rich vocabulary; both her discourse and Alcott’s descriptions of her are motivational and vivid. Alcott generally writes simply, simplifying otherwise complex sentences with mixed dialogue and conventional grammar. Many pupils become so engrossed in the narrative that they fail to remember that the goal of the book is to increase vocabulary!
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
The second book on our list deviates a little from the norm because, strictly speaking, it isn’t a book. Hamlet, regarded by many as the best play ever written in the English language, has it all: young love, family drama, crude humor, and retribution!
Shakespeare’s language is sometimes referred to as “Old English,” but this is incorrect—it is simply an earlier (and perhaps more formal) version of the English we use today. Try reading it out loud if you’re having difficulties comprehending the syntax. (Plays were created to be performed.)
When seeking for novels to expand your vocabulary, Hamlet’s more complex structure is a great resource. More than 1,700 new English terms are attributed to Shakespeare, many of which are still in widespread use today!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a classic American novel that combines a coming-of-age story with satire and themes from children’s folklore. Tom Sawyer is a cheeky Missouri lad who explores life’s messes and learns something about adulthood throughout Twain’s book.
The interaction between the characters showcases Twain’s diction. The dialect of Tom Sawyer and his friends is a form of English that is no longer widely spoken, and Twain uses stylistic tricks to elucidate the dialogue throughout. Understanding how to analyze a dialogue in a different dialect and decipher the intended meanings of characters are equally essential vocabulary skills for success in an English curriculum. The reader is introduced to increasingly sophisticated terminology throughout the book and the diction reflects a distinct period in American history.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, an 1813 classic that set the standard for romantic novels for decades to come, is a passionate and nuanced love story that touches on themes of family, sisterhood, wealth, and social hierarchy. To support their family and themselves, Elizabeth Bennet and her four other sisters look for respectable marriages with wealthy suitors in the novel.
One of Jane Austen’s many works to broaden vocabulary is Pride and Prejudice. Her writing investigates the social climate of her era and immerses the reader in her world through each story’s language. Other interesting books by her include Sense and Sensibility and Emma, but Pride and Prejudice are included on this list because of its enormous influence on romantic novels for more than a century and its profound connection with readers across generations.
Ulysses, James Joyce
Ulysses is a 1920 novel that chronicles Leopold Bloom’s life on a single day, using comparisons between that day and the epic poem The Odyssey to show how Leopold Bloom’s “ordinary” day is similar to that of the hero of The Odyssey. This book might be unlike any other you’ve read because it’s written in a “stream of consciousness” format, largely relies on the protagonist’s internal dialogue, and makes an effort to convey a realistic mental process. It’s a really interesting read because of the allusions and the different structure.
Given that Joyce utilizes more than 30,000 different words in his work, it is without a doubt a story that belongs on every list of novels to help you increase your vocabulary. But with 730 pages and a reputation for complex sentences and tricky syntax, it’s not a book for the weak of heart.
