Word of the day: Bildungsromans

I am reading a delightful book. It’s called The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. As I was looking at the record in our catalog, I noticed it had a subject heading of “Bildungsromans.” I had never heard of this word before. I had no idea what it could even mean, so I looked it up (oh wiki, what don’t you know?). Basically it’s a coming of age book where the young protagonist goes on a journey and learns about himself. I love bildungsromans. I love the word. I love that Microsoft Word does not acknowledge it as a word, and yet it is a Dewey Decimal subject heading. In my delighted state, I decided to fill up my Mentor’s Reader book display with bildungsromans. A whole display devoted to bildungsromans—imagine!! And, enjoy.