[Byjuak]

Originally Posted by SleepyBob

Here is a link to a list of the 10,000 most common words in English.

It's not automatic, but you can pull a book into Excel, and then do a match with the word list to see which words aren't on the common list. I did something similar to create vocab lists for foreign language books.

Thanks! I'll try that. Well, it's not entirely automatic but I can use the Replace to cut down on a large amount of the text, that way I avoid unnecessary spoilers too, I won't understand any context getting random but advanced words in a list.

Originally Posted by JKenP

I've always thought I had a good vocabulary. More and more I see words I need to lookup. Typically, it has a common synonym that we all can understand. It seems some books and some Internet spots have become elitist. Compare them to a Hemingway book that is a standard for clarity and the simple beauty of the language and they fall short.

I am of the opinion that it's up to the author. Mervyn Peake seems to have a very illustrative style, it makes sense to use more non-common words and metaphors to achieve the necessary language. I've yet to read Hemingway but very precise clarity is as hard as attaining a complicated, rich language without making it seem pretentious, a big mess or... generic.

Originally Posted by ekbell

I remember sampling the first Gormenghast book in my university days and being impressed by the richness of the vocabulary and metaphors. Not easy to read even for native english speakers.

It's impressive but the review at Goodreads that had me hooked to look it up recommended reading slowly and that's what I did and intend to do. It will be a challenge but one I'm looking forward to.