the 10 most beautiful words, january

Currently I'm reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, which is about an adopted girl who uses books as a medium to deal with and persevere through her struggles during WWII Germany. While the story itself is excellent (so far), the thing that strikes me the most about Zusak's writing is the luscious imagery he creates. To quote:

Oh, how the clouds stumbled in and assembled stupidly in the sky. Great obese clouds. Dark and plump.

So simple, so poetic—swoon! I know the key to becoming a better writer is to become a better reader so I'm trying to work on that. Lately, when I stumble across words that I sound beautiful to me I've been writing them down and looking up their definitions to use for future writing. Here are ten beautiful words I want to share with you:

flux the process of flowing in or out, continuous change

silhouette the dark shape and outline of something visible against a lighter background

peruse to read or look in a thorough and careful manner

quintessential representing the most perfect or typical example of quality or class

obscure shrouded in or hidden by darkness, not easily understood or clearly expressed

forage grazing food for animals, to search for provisions

wanderlust a great desire to travel or rove about

terrain a stretch of land (especially in regard to it's physical features)

ephemeral lasting a very short time, transient

ripple a small wave or series of waves, a sound or feeling that spreads through a person, group or place

This will be part of a monthly series so I can be held accountable in my search for new pretty words!

xo from catie

{ photo by Martha Stewart }