Customer Reviews

Comic Vocab: Laugh Your Way to a Better Vocabulary

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I couldn't have imagined actually enjoying learning vocab words! Some of the jokes were great, and the imagery is still stuck in my head. This is definitely the way to go if you want to remember vocabulary. Highly recommended!

So, I've wanted to improve my vocabuary for a long time. I've bought the "expand your vocabulary" books, and they're all sitting in a box under my closet, providing endless enjoyment for my cat but, alas, no benefit to me (or my verbiage). Why, you might ask? Because too many of these approaches are either boring ("Word Smart" for the GRE"), involve too many words for me to remember at a time ("Tooth an Nail" for the SAT, a rather novel approach to the problem of vocabulary...literally), or are simply irrelevant, causing them to leave no permanent imprint on my brain.

Enter "Comic Vocab" - finally, a vocabulary strategy that is actually relevant enough to deliver results! I would strongly recommend this to anyone who's interested in improving his/her vocabulary. Before I prattle on further, here's a list of pros and cons to the CD:

PROS:
1) It fulfills it's promist to entertain you; I definitely laughed out loud (and scared my coworkers).
2) The strategy rests not only upon creating funny stories relating to vocab words but also upon using rhyming schemes, which make the jokes that much more memorable. For example, for the word "moxie," the comic tells a joke about a girl named "Roxy" who is "foxy." This double pronged approach makes it more likely you'll retain the meaning of the words.
3) Along the same lines, the strategy is varied. Some jokes rely on rhyming schemes, while others are said in a memorabe tone of voice (such as that of a small child or of a commercial). Because of this, i'm not only prevented from being bored but i'm more likely to remember the words.
4) As mentioned before: cool extras on website!
5) The words are grouped together in an entertaining, memorable way (my personal favorite: "quick, call the fasion police!").
6) A word on this strategy in general: I find it preferable to books because it alows you to learn words while muti-tasking! I listened to this CD a couple different ways - first while I was editing digital pictures at work, second when I was cleaning my kitchen, and third while in the shower. I could never do that while studying from a book.

CONS:
1) If you are listening to this on a CD player, it's hard to skip around if you hear a word you already know since the tracks each have 5 words that are played in sequence.
2) Comedy is subjective; understandably, I found a few of the jokes/voices grating.
3) There aren't as many words/definitions as you'd find in a big book (but i think the CD makes up for it in that you are actually going to remember these words).

In general, Thirsty Brain LLC and "Comic Vocab" succeed due to the relevancy and memorable nature of their strategy. I'm looking forward to the next CD!

All the test prep companies seem to have a vocab CD. Some even attempt to make it interesting (pretty much in vain). I was pleasantly surprised with comic vocab. The voices on the CD were hilarious, and while it wasn't competing with Seinfeld for comedy, it was definitely amusing and memorable. In fact, I have some of the images running around in my head as I'm writing this. I was happy with the word selection, and actually saw two of them on a practice GRE exam today (thus my motivation for writing this review). None of my other vocab cd's have extra material online either. Overall, the best I've found thus far.

Don't waste your money on this item. Whoever wrote this clearly doesn't understand comedy. I couldn't stand it after a couple of minutes of listening. Look for something different if you really want to learn.

My teen couldn't stand it. Humor was lame. The pace was annoyingly slow and the choice of words seemed too advanced for the humor level. Total of 55 words. I like the idea of audio vocabulary but the content didn't work for us.

I smiled a lot while listening to Comic Vocab. =) The other reviews just confirmed my belief that humor and comedy are subjective. The humor in this product worked for me. It kept my attention and I learned a bunch of new words. There were only a few times when I laughed out loud, but most of the jokes managed to get me to smile, and that was enough for me to enjoy the product and learn from it.

I must say that I agree with all the points, pros and cons, that the first reviewer makes. For me personally this CD marked a breakthrough in what had been a long and frustrating search for a vocabulary system that actually works long term. The CD was easier to listen to than some of my music (no making fun please), and I now know the words inside and out. I can't wait until volume II comes out.

I wish I had this when prepping for the SAT's. Mom's, get it for your kids they'll thank you.

I found the voices in the CD quite annoying and the jokes weren't that funny.

I read the other reviews before buying this for my husband and I am so disappointed that I was persuaded to buy this item based on the good reviews. I just popped it in 30 minutes ago and we could only take about 15 minutes of listening to it before I had to turn it off. Just the first 5 minutes alone let you know exactly how stupid the comic vocab audiobook is. Maybe I am just a tough critic with comedy, but I found this audiobook difficult to listen to because it was so ridiculous (and not ridiculously funny). My husband really didn't like it either. I'm sorry that I ever purchased this item and I hope my review will help others. If you think that weird voices and lame jokes are funny, such a "magician" telling you to lick your elbow, then this cd is for you. If you don't find that funny, DO NOT buy this audiobook or you may regret it like I do.

Based on other reviews, I was expecting something, well, funny. They were not so much jokes as they were a very poor attempt at Monty Python genre skits. However, the ultimate goal was met since they were successful at improving my vocabulary.