Should a book contain words that are challenging to readers?

Discuss the May 2017 Book of the Month, Farmer Beau's Farm by Kathleen Geiger.

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Afuglsan
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Re: Should a book contain words that are challenging to read

Post by Afuglsan »

Of course books should contain challenging words! That's how children learn and grow! They will not only expand their vocabulary, but learn how to use context clues to figure out the meaning. I have a degree, and I love when I read a book and it has words in it I don't know, and I love to look those words up! Reading should be challenging. It's upsetting to think there are those out there who think otherwise.
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Post by Izesicle »

A definite yes to this question. Most of my vocabulary is from books and that has helped me pass entrance exams to universities.
My favorite feature in my Kindle is the capability to show the definition of a word if the reader taps on it.
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Post by Ljessup »

I actually love a book that has challenging vocabulary within it for myself and for my son. It helps to expand our knowledge and enjoy what we are reading as well as involve critical thinking on my son's part on what the word might mean. I especially love reading books like this on my kindle with word wise turned on so that I have the definition of the word right there along with it. I think it is good for books to do this as it means my son and I are going to be learning new things while reading and that is why I read to him right now. I absolutely look for books like this actually when choosing them just for these facts.
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Post by Kinnera »

I love challenging words in words and looking them up, as long as they do not feel forced in the story, like they were picked up from word-of-the-day. As the difficulty of the words increase, it somehow gives the reader a feeling of reading something complex and I like that.
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Post by Juliet Esther »

I guess that for both adult and children,it is important to have challenging words,i mean what better way to learn and expand ones vocabulary than coming across new challenging words, this broadens the knowledge and satisfies curiosity however on the other hand, some words can be very confusing for young readers.
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Post by Chelsy Scherba »

Yes, I think challenging words are an absolute necessity or there's really no point to reading, but then I love words and descriptive vocabulary. I always get irritated when there isn't enough variety in the words chosen and I lose interest in the story because it's the only thing I can focus on.

On the other hand, words become a lot more abstract in definition as you move on to "adult" books, especially if you read classics from the 1800's for instance. It's kind of strange, but a lot of the words I use in my own writing I have to check the definition of it because I have an idea of what it means, but can't really define it myself. So I double check just to make sure I'm using it correctly, and most times I am, thankfully, and that's all due to the vocab I learned from reading old books.
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Post by Muzammal Baig »

Yes off course but only a limited percentage (my opinion 0.5%) as spice in a nice meal, here and there (a little in each byte) to give the reader a nice taste. and this is not limited to children.
The correct use of common language with little new things is a good formula for learning and teaching.
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Post by Aohanlon86 »

I like challenging word. I may have to look them up to know what it means but I learn something new that way
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Post by EmSwan »

I definitely feel that reading as a child broadened my vocabulary massively, and that was all down to reading books that contained challenging vocabulary, as well as me reading older books, I think it'd be great if more books used more obscure word choices
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Post by raizenagallo »

For children, I believe that it would help them love reading a book more if the words are kept simple that way they can understand the story better. For adults, I like learning unfamiliar words that I can add to my vocabulary.
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Post by Mercelle »

Yes. New words encourage you to learn.
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Post by El-kanah »

Why not? If a book cannot pose a challenge to its reader, then I can't say such a book is worth reading.
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Post by Nimzy1 »

For me I think, u can learn new words. If u don't know the meaning of some words, u can find it in the dictionary..
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Post by michiness »

It depends on the book. I think yes, but it depends on the extent - if I just want to relax on a beach, I don't want to be looking up new words all the time, but if I'm reading something engaging, then definitely much more.
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Post by ritah »

It all boils down to the amount. A few here and there would be great for improving readers vocabulary whilst too many challenging words could prove distracting to the reader.
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