Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary By Charles Harrington Elster
五星！ 496 very good book, recommend it highly to all adults. 496 50 quizzes. 12 tests.
Mean score: 83%
2nd read: Improvement.
Senility theory debunked. 🤪 496 I read only eight chapters of it. As an non-native speaker it was really helpful for me, while it is arduous to remember that much advanced keywords, when you get used to study and read outside of your specialty that would be easy too. 496 Should read, over and over and over and over... Only way to master. 496
First time in book form! A successful program for teaching 3,500 vocabulary words that successful people need to know, based on America's #1 bestselling audio vocabulary series.
People judge you by the words you use. Millions of Americans know this phrase from radio and print advertising for the Verbal Advantage audio series, which has sold over 100,000 copies. Now this bestselling information is available for the first time in book form, in an easy-to-follow, graduated vocabulary building program that teaches an outstanding vocabulary in just ten steps.
Unlike other vocabulary books, Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.
A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms.
Lively, accessible writing from an expert author and radio personality. Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary
Not really wanting to READ vocabulary. I like gaining it through context. 496 I own the paper version, the Kindle Version, and the entire audio set. Yes, I know that’s insane, but I put myself on a mission. Just as I build my body, I have challenged myself to build my vocabulary. Who knows where an increased vocabulary will take me, but I’m up to it! I’m actually excited about it. As Mr. Harrington Elster clearly put it, the importance of read, repetition, review will follow me along my journey. I seriously can’t be the same person. I’m sure how I read, write, think, and speak will change. I shall, however, not become altiloquent. I won’t accept that! (No way, no how.) Anyway, I have read the book before, and I shall read it and listen to it for as long as I live. Let’s see where that’ll take me. 496 One of the Best books that I have ever read. It took me 3 years to go through the whole thing. 496 This book is awesome. I did not always agree with Elster's opinions on words, especially their pronunciations and the subtle nuances of how to use them, but he taught me so much and showed me that I have been mispronouncing and misunderstanding some words for years without even realizing it. I loved this book and will read it again. It has to be among the best vocabulary builders out there.
Now if only I could remember all those words I read about . . . 496 Let's be clear-this is a pretentious book. All books about language guidance, rules and advice are. I did not expect this to be an unpretentious book for the simple reason that they don't exist.
I read this book in a day, which is NOT advised. The only reason it worked for me (I think) was because most of the words were not new to me-as much as the author claimed we were climbing a mountain in our vocabulary. This book really helped solidify some murky words for me, that I know when I read them, but when asked to define I'm at a bit of a loss. At times, I felt the definitions were a bit lacking-not much effort was given to using the word in a sentence or explaining the part of speech, but for the most part, good context is provided. I found the definitions to mostly be more helpful in terms of usage than a dictionary would have been. There were a couple dozen totally new words to me-and these were all great words! Except, why was chrysalis included? How is that a winning word. It reminds me think of an old vocab test I took in school. Mostly new, challenging words, and then kayak-REALLY?
My most favorite part of the book are the essays that the author featured between word lists, or to begin or wrap up a lesson. There are about 5 word lists per lesson, each featuring 10 new words. I enjoyed the author's prose, even if I did, occasionally, find myself disagreeing with his more traditional viewpoint. I am a snob about language-and in that way, we are kindreds. He hit on all my pet peeves, and it was awesome, finally, my gripes had a voice! I was also gratified to find that I wasn't grossly mispronouncing too many words-some were pretty egregious though :( Some of the articles I only gave cursory review-especially the one recommending a reading habit of at least 6 books a year (this book is #45 for me). Others simply didn't apply.
I would definitely recommend this book to anybody looking to expand their vocabulary, the book is engaging and interactive, and really built to get you engaged. I will definitely be using this book to brush up on my vocabulary in years and months to come, in an effort to solidify some of the awesome words contained within this volume. 496
