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Do you ever notice an author using a word over and over again? (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by PastaConsumer@alien.top to c/books@metacritics.zone

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I’m currently reading The Duke and I and the author is constantly using the word “acerbic”. I had never heard of the word before now and had to google the definition. The word has shown up so much that I’m tempted to go through the book and count its appearances lol.

Have you noticed any authors having favorite words that they use page after page?

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[–] hurl9e9y9@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Southern Reach series by Jeff Vandermeer (Annihilation, etc.):

Terroir: 37 times

Banal: 20 times

Mote (as in dust mote): 11 times

Somewhat rarely used words that I would have overlooked a couple instances of, but just so heavily used in these books that it was laughable.

[–] solaramalgama@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

To be fair, words infecting people is a whole ass plot point, and a pretty central one.

"You prefer this place, you really do, don't you?"