So…two main things today. And surprisingly, no pictures of kids, food, or beer.
I discovered after I had kids that my quality of life is significantly affected by my ability to consume stories — TV, movies, or books. After Chilkat was born, the time when I could do this simply disappeared, which was miserable. After some time (I think after Chilkoot was born), I discovered Kindle (on my phone), and could suddenly start reading when I was sitting with a cranky child in the dark. And suddenly my life was better. Prior to this discovery, sitting in the dark with a screaming child was a grueling, tiresome chore. After this discovery, it was bearable — because I can read books on my phone in the dark!
Anyway, since that time, I’ve been reading consistently. Not as much as I used to, but so much more than the grim (in terms of story consumption) period after Chilkat was born. It’s nice.
Recently, I finished reading the entirety of HP Lovecraft‘s writings. I spend less time reading in the dark with my screaming children now, but still most of my reading is on a phone. I found many of the stories OK, a few bad, and a few very good. One of my standard frustrations with old (pre-40s) fiction is the collection of uninformed notions about health and science (yes, it’s because things were simply not known, not because the author or particular individuals were especially uninformed). One of the things I especially enjoyed about this was the vast collection of unfamiliar and/or archaic words or references — below, if you find yourself so inclined.
- Abysm
- Acheron
- Acidulous
- adumbration
- aedile
- aerolite
- Afrite
- agglutinative
- amanuensis
- Anacreontic
- Anent
- aneroid
- ansata
- antipodally
- apsidal
- Architraves
- Areaway
- armigerous
- Arras
- Asphodels
- asseverated
- Atys
- Audient
- Auriferous
- austral
- Baudelaire
- Bitumen
- bizarrerie
- bolection
- Burgomaster
- Cachinnate
- calcareous
- cartouches
- Cerulean
- Chaldee
- Chaplet
- Charles’ Wain
- Choler
- circumambient
- coleopterous
- Commoriom
- confute
- congeries
- cormophytic
- Cotton Mather
- Crenulate
- crinoid
- Crookes tube
- Crotale
- Cuspidor
- cycad
- dado
- Desiderate
- Domdaniel
- echini
- Eidolon
- Eikon
- Elagabalus
- Ensilage
- Espalier
- Fane
- fossiliferous
- frore
- Fulgurite
- Gambrel
- ganoid
- garret
- Gilles de Retz
- Goya
- Grimalkin
- Habitues
- Haeckel
- hippocephalic
- Horned moon
- Huitzilopotchli
- Hyaline
- immure
- Importunate
- Imputations
- Inchoate
- indite
- ineluctable
- irruption
- jocos
- Jocose
- kalends
- kalpas
- kylix
- labyrinthodont
- lambent
- Landgrave
- Lanthorn
- laocoon
- lekythos
- lictor
- Lineaments
- Litten
- lugubrious
- Lustrum
- Marmoreal
- Matutinal
- Mawkishness
- Mesalliance
- montane
- nefandous
- Nepenthe
- Nis
- Noden
- Olathoe
- ophidian
- outre
- palaeogean
- Parterres
- Parvenu
- Pelf
- Peristyle
- Phlegethon
- Phrensy
- phthisic
- pilum
- Polyphemus
- prefatory
- prothalli
- Pshent
- quaestor
- quondam
- radiata
- rhamphorhynci
- rugose
- sachem
- Saltant
- Salubriousness
- Sartain
- saxifrage
- Scoriac
- sedulous
- Sesquipedalian
- siliceous
- skyey
- spirifera
- Stridor
- superincumbent
- Swart
- Teian
- teliosts
- Tenebrous
- teratologically
- The King in Yellow
- toper
- Trimalchio
- tumulus
- Tyre
- Tyros
- ululant
- uncial
- uzuldaroum
- vigintillion
- Well of Democritus
My goodness! I hadn’t noticed there were so many odd words in Lovecraft, although quite a few of them are still used (at least I still use them now and then). This is the kind of thing I did with Mervyn Peake, who wrote the Gormenghast books. I think there was a word I’d never run across on about every third page. It was fun and illuminating.