I like learning new words, and its even better if the word is obscure. The Dictionary of Difficult Words immediately caught my eye, and I wanted to see what additions to my vocabulary I could find.

Before you get into the definitions, there is a brief overview of the book and what you’ll find, then a short lesson on parts of speech and how you can work out definitions and pronunciations of words. Then, at least for me, the fun begins.

There is a mix of commonly used and more obscure words. Some of them I grew up hearing, but there were several that I had not heard of, but will start looking for ways to drop them into my conversations. I think that anyone who likes words will find something to like in the book.

Even though it contains difficult words, they are defined in a simple way. In fact, even older kids could probably learn with them fairly easily. The definitions are in plain language and the pronunciation guides are easy to follow. There are colorful pictures on each page that show some of the definitions.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.