I started 2025 with a goal that the last thing I did before closing my eyes to sleep every night would be read a book. I figured if I read before bed every night, I’d end up reading much more than I had the past few years. This started out pretty well. I was reading a lot through February and March and got through a handful of books, putting me ahead of pace to average one per month for the year. Fantastic. I fell off the wagon a bit for chunks of the year, but maintained the habit well enough that I got through 12 paper books on the number. I also do a fair bit of audiobook listening, but there are no words from those on this list; because none of them used words I was unfamiliar with or because I process language more visually, I’m not sure. I think it’s possible there were unfamiliar words in audiobooks that I didn’t notice due to context clues helping me fill in blanks. If I don’t recognize the shape of a word visually, it’s much harder to ignore.
Below is the complete list of words I learned this year and where I learned them. Some were brand new to me, some I recognized from high school or before and have forgotten what they mean. My rule was that if I couldn’t reasonably define it, it belonged on the list. All words will be grouped by which book I found them in. I suspect the list’s length owes much to the fact that I read a number of books this year by authors from Europe or books which were written a while ago. I intended to pull definitions from the OED, where possible, but they want me to pay them to tell me what words mean. Merriam and Webster will do it for free. Thanks, guys.
Winter’s Tales by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)
- perdition – eternal damnation, hell
- apotheosis – the perfect form or example of something : quintessence; the highest or best part of something; elevation to divine status : deification
- animadversion – a critical and usually censorious remark; adverse criticism
- I knew this one a while back but couldn’t define it
- caprice – a sudden, impulsive, and seemingly unmotivated notion or action; a sudden usually unpredictable condition, change, or series of changes; a disposition to do things impulsively
- thrall – a state of servitude or submission, a state of complete absorption; an enslaved person who performs the duties of a servant
- nobody should be surprised that this is related to the word “enthrall”, but it was used in this book to mean servant/slave, so I did not make the connection
I was a little bit embarrassed by the number of unfamiliar words in this book as it was written by somebody whose first language was not English. She knew a lot of words.
The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed by John McPhee
- pari-mutuel – a betting pool in which those who bet on competitors finishing in the first three places share the total amount bet minus a percentage for the management
- I’ve heard this word every time I’ve watched “Ocean’s 11” when Frank is giving his pitch for his new casino dominoes game “‘Nuff Said.”
- sui generis – constituting a class alone: unique
- I had a pretty good guess on this one based on my knowledge of Latin, but looked it up anyway, so it’s on the list.
- gallimaufry – hodgepodge
- The definition of this on my original list (usually pulled from whatever definition Google search spits out) described that it could also mean “a hash or ragout dish made with minced meat,” though McPhee meant hodgepodge.
The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian
- saccharine – of, relating to, or resembling that of sugar; overly or sickishly sweet; ingratiatingly or affectedly agreeable or friendly; overly sentimental
- I am pretty sure Trevanian meant the latter.
- involute – curled spirally; involved or intricate
- concomitant – accompanying especially in a subordinate or incidental way
- I found myself using this word (upon checking, correctly!) in a text to my uncle a week or so ago, which was an encouraging sign that keeping this list was actually helping me learn some of the new words.
- insouciant – showing a casual lack of concern, indifferent
- Merriam and Webster gave me “exhibiting or characterized by insouciance” which I thought was lazy. The definition above comes from the original list.
- morganatic – of, relating to, or being a marriage between a member of a royal or noble family and a person of inferior rank in which the rank of the inferior partner remains unchanged and the children of the marriage do not succeed to the titles, fiefs, or entailed property of the parent of higher rank
- My note on the list says “basically heavy, multi-generational prenup”
- strabismically – an invented (by Trevanian himself, it seems) adverb from “strabismic,” the adjective form of “strabismus” – inability of one eye to attain binocular vision with the other because of imbalance of the muscles of the eyeball
- I don’t remember how this was used, but I think he was describing something sort of coming in and out of focus. Of interest, “strabismally” is an adverb form of the adjective “strabismal” – of, relating to, or typical of strabismus
- clerestory – an outside wall or a room or building that rises above an adjoining roof and contains windows
In this book, I found myself wanting to pronounce “involute,” “concomitant,” and “clerestory” incorrectly. Not having a good guess at the pronunciation of a word feels like a sure sign you definitely don’t know it.
Silk Parachute by John McPhee
- indurate – physically or morally hardened
- prestidigitational – invented adjective form of “prestidigitation” – sleight of hand, legerdemain
- Keep an eye on that second part.
- bathetic – characterized by bathos – the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style; exceptional commonplaceness; insincere or overdone pathos: sentimentalism
- legerdemain – sleight of hand; a display of skill or adroitness
- A couple of months after I added this to my list, a band led by a friend’s partner released a single titled “legerdemain.”
- multiguous – entailing numerous possibilities
- Merriam and Webster don’t think this is a word
- Somebody somewhere thinks it’s an invented counterpart to “ambiguous,” which itself is not limited to two possibilities. Maybe a pointless word.
- querencia – an area in the arena taken by the bull for a defensive stand in a bullfight
- From the Spanish for “fondness, haunt of an animal, favorite spot”
- I really like this word.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré
- gimcrack – a showy object of little use or value; cheap, shoddy
London Rules by Mick Herron
- concupiscent – lustful
- apophthegm – chiefly British spelling of “apothegm” – a short, pithy, and instructive saying or formulation: aphorism
- gibbet – gallows; to expose to infamy or public scorn
Unknown
There is at least one word I read for the first time last year that did not make it on the list. I read it in another book at the start of this year and went to my list to confirm the definition, but it wasn’t there. I don’t remember which book this word came from.
- otiose – producing no useful result; being at leisure; lacking use or effect
I am pleased to have learned so many new words this year. Keeping the list was a choice prompted by the fact that Dinesen dropped a few new words on me right out of the gate and I didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by. Learning is fun, and I’m glad I’ve found another engaging way to do it.
Full list of books I read in 2025
Not in order
- Winter’s Tales by Isak Dinesen
- The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed by John McPhee
- Pro Cycling on $10 a Day by Phil Gaimon
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré
- James by Percival Everett
- Standing by the Wall by Mick Herron (anthology)
- Silk Parachute by John McPhee
- The Brain-Dead Megaphone by George Saunders
- I don’t remember reading this whole book. I think it’s more likely I read “The United States of Huck” from this collection before our family book club discussion for James.
- Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian
- London Rules by Mick Herron
Audiobooks I listened to in 2025
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- Midnight in Siberia by David Greene
- Call for the Dead by John Le Carré
- The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carré
- A Murder of Quality by John Le Carré
- The Looking Glass War by John Le Carré
- Dead Lions by Mick Herron
- Real Tigers by Mick Herron
- Spook Street by Mick Herron
- Nobody Walks by Mick Herron
Elliot DH 