Making the most of the cover

to browse (verb) /bra_z/
when we browse in a shop, we spend time simply looking at the things for sale. Usually, we don’t intend to buy anything.

the blurb (noun)
the information about a book and its writer given on the back cover of the book.

Getting started

nerve-wracking (adjective)
a nerve-wracking task is one which you must do – but which makes you very nervous when you think of it.

off-putting (adjective)
verb = to put someone off something
A difficult novel can put you off trying to read English literature. if an aspect of a task is off-putting, it discourages you from attempting to try it.

novice (noun)
if someone is a novice, they are new to the task or job.
We can also use this as an adjective, e.g. a novice writer.

Following the plot

the plot (noun)
the events in a story or novel, and how they relate to each other. When we cannot understand how a story progresses, we say we can’t ‘follow the plot’.

chronological (adjective)
if actions are described in chronological order, it means that they follow each other in time, beginning with the first action.

a flashback (noun)
a writer uses flashbacks to show events which happened prior to those which he describes in the main part of the plot.

to modify something (verb)
to make changes to something

Finding the right perspective

to quarrel over something (verb)
to fight or argue about something unimportant.We often describe the arguments which children have as quarrels.

narrative (noun)
the narrative is the story, as told by one person or character – the narrator.

perspective (noun)
point of view

Getting into the atmosphere

to recur (verb)
to happen repeatedly

moral decay
when something decays, it goes bad. Moral decay is when people become corrupt, dishonest or bad in other ways.

symbolic (adjective)
Something is symbolic when it is used to represent something else. So,‘dust’ is symbolic of moral decay in The Great Gatsby.

Talking about reading

an internet chatroom (noun)
a chatroom allows a group of people to ‘meet’ on the internet and to ‘talk’ to each other by sending messages via their computers.

a prompt (noun)
verb = to prompt (someone to do something)
something we use to remind us what we must do or say. For example, if you are making a presentation at work, you may use notes written on cards as prompts to remind you of what you need to say.

Writing your own short stories

to curse (verb)
to use bad or rude language