Read This!: The Lover's Dictionary

By David Levithan

I had been reading about this book and it intrigued me with its format so when the books I went to the library to get weren’t there, I got this out instead.

TLD is a novel told in the form of a dictionary.  There is a word and then a “definition” of that word.  All the definitions make up the story.  The narrator is in first person talking to his lover.

I have to say, I had my doubts going in but I highly enjoyed this book.  Some of the definitions were so fitting to me and Mr.’s relationship that I started putting post-its on the pages I wanted him to read until the book looked wild:

Mr. liked this definition:

cadence, n.

I have never lived anywhere but New York or New England, but there are times when I am talking to you and I hit a Southern vowel, or a word gets caught in a Southern truncation, and I know it's because I'm swimming in your cadences, that you permeate my very language.

Because we ALWAYS talk about how he has picked up my Pittsburghese, no longer using the verb “to be” as in that “needs cleaned” and I have started flattening my vowels in that lovely Midwestern way.  I cringe every time I do it. 

You have to get past some of the sap in this book to apply it to your life.  At least I did.  But, the theme of the definition is what matters.  

Mr. ended up caving and reading the whole thing so since I forced him into it, it satisfies his book challenge book spouse’s choice.  He got off easy with that one.

I will also admit that I am sad to return this to the library because I loved it so I may actually purchase it.