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I always had a nearby paperback dictionary when I read at home and I always stopped to look up words that were either new to me or used in ways I was unfamiliar with. I've always enjoyed learning. Probably as much as I enjoy reading.
Now with the Kindle I do the same thing more often, a lot more often, and I take it a step further and look up concepts that are either new or that I'd like to know more about on Wikipedia.
Another big advantage of the Kindle (and other readers) is the translation feature. I never used to look up foreign phrases when I encountered them and now I usually do. It helps me with the book and I sometimes learn a new word or phrase in some language. And that sometimes teaches me a bit about English as well.
Decades ago I read the middle English version of "The Canterbury Tales" in a volume with a very thick glossary in the back and I spent a lot of time looking up words I read and I probably learned more about modern english from that than from any other single experience I've ever had. I've never had a course in linguistics but I've done a bit of reading about it as well as about the history of English and that's where my interest in this began. It's been one of my most enjoyable hobbies.
Barry
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