Chapter 8 of The Book of Susan: A Novel is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Book of Susan: A Novel is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I was furious, and blasphemed her gods. I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.' She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room." "And you?" asked Susan. "I made the call."
Chapter 8 of The Book of Susan: A Novel is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
be present or associated with an event or entity
From this reading “I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'”
acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
From this reading “I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'”
present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development
From this reading “I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'”
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading “"I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.”
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “"I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.”
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading “I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'”
a sculpture representing a human or animal
From this reading “She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'”
In this reading “She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
be present or associated with an event or entity
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.
acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "And you?" asked Susan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "I made the call."
present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
one or the other of two
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading "I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading "I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "I made the call."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
a sculpture representing a human or animal
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And you?" asked Susan.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
in or at that place or location
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
close enough to be walked to
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I was furious, and blasphemed her gods.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She left me like a statue walking, and went to her room."
the words that are spoken
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
an affirmative
From this reading I insisted she should either accompany me, then and there, or I'd go myself and apologize for her--yes, these are the words I used--her 'congenital lunacy.'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "And you?" asked Susan.
Chapter 8 of The Book of Susan: A Novel by Lee Wilson Dodd holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 8 holds 395 sentences of The Book of Susan: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Book of Susan: A Novel by Lee Wilson Dodd exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 sentences, grouped into 79 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Book of Susan: A Novel by Lee Wilson Dodd on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6416 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33400 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33400, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 534 minutes of reading across 1284 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Book of Susan: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Book of Susan: A Novel to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Book of Susan: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
