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When my 13-year-old son recently used the word schadenfreude in casual conversation, I snapped to attention. "Where on earth did he learn that?" I wondered. This marvelous but obscure German word, which means "to feel joy at another's misfortune," is hardly everyday fodder for teenagers.  Continue reading...

If you love to read -- and we know you do -- check out these online communities where you can share book lists, recommendations, reviews, previews, discussions, blog posts and oh so much more...

Wordsy

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What Should I Read Next

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New York Magazine came up with a novel, so to speak, idea: Ask a bunch of critics to share their favorite underrated book of the past decade. Check out the entire list here. Below are a few of the intriguing titles:

Experience by Martin Amis

Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah

The Tender Land: A Family Love Story by Kathleen Finneran

The Fall of a Sparrow by Robert Hellenga

Found a word on the Visual Thesaurus that you'd like to share with someone? Email them a word map! It's easy. Just click on the "Email" button at the top right corner and follow the instructions on the screen.

I confess, I'm a word nerd. When I was a kid, I didn't keep a diary (grasping even at eight that the exploits of an introverted bookworm with a peaceful home life were perhaps not the stuff that formed a fascinating read), but I did keep a list of words that I liked: Burble. Murmur. Placate. Superfluous. Chaos. It's the specificity that got -- and gets -- me. My mom isn't just "kind" -- she's compassionate, altruistic and decent.

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