And yes, I love cool and unusual words.

If you'd like some new ones, I strongly recommend books by Robertson Davies, a Canadian author and scholar whose books regularly send me to my dictionary, which is a rarity among authors these days.

And his books are wonderful meandering journeys among characters and places that you'll come to deeply care about before he is finished. Truly one of the greats, at least for me.

My favorite of those I've read is "Murther and Walking Spirits," which opens with a man being murdered by his wife's lover after walking in on them, whereupon he finds himself suddenly transported to a movie theatre, where he begins seeing scenes from his life and the lives of his ancestors play out on the big screen before him, with the man who just murdered him as his companion. Definitely not your standard fare.

He is a thinking person's author, occasionally makes you really work for it, but always it is a worthwhile endeavor, as his breadth of knowledge (he was a college professor) makes each book a joy, and a rare gem. I only wish he had written more.

I also recommend "The Deptford Trilogy," which brings three of his finest novels together into one volume; and "Ghost Stories," which is a collection of his shorter stories about ghosts. Great stuff all.