INTRODUCING OUR BLOG: READING ENGLISH BOOKS TOGETHER

'Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body', said Joseph Addison, an English essayist, poet, and dramatist. I do agree. Moreover, I am convinced that reading is a tremendously enjoyable way of boosting your vocabulary and honing your English skills. So as you will have understood by now this blog run by me and my friends is for learners of English who know enough to function confidently in most settings but still would like to maintain and even improve what they already know.

The main goal of the blog is to promote reading as a rewarding activity, as a way for you not only to go further as a student of English but also to mature as an individual via getting valuable insights into what language is like, what sort of people famous writers like Jack London and Agatha Christie were, what messages art (painting, sculpture, architecture) gets over to us.

I am a professional English teacher and I have successfully practised reading English books with my students and I have seen books change them because when you have read a book, you come with your ideas to the class but other people have a totally different perception and in the heat of the argument the most profound thoughts are born.

I want to transfer what I successfully do in the classroom to the web, to stimulate worldwide online discussions of the best works of English and American literature. I am helped by my friends, teachers of English and English language enthusiasts, who are as passionate about the language as I am.

To cut a long story short, read this blog if

you are tired of coursebooks and want to look at and discuss new, thought-provoking topics

you have an avid interest in art, history, philosophy, literature

you believe that reading British and American fiction is a sure recipe for enhancing your language skills

you feel like exploring the finer points of English grammar

you are keen on learning English idioms, proverbs and phrasal verbs

you want to have no doubts as to which word to choose: base or basis, present or represent, committee or commission etc.

Image Credit: Disclaimer

This blog includes only texts written by me as well as by my friends but we use images we have found on the web, mostly in google pictures. If you find an image of yours and want it to be removed, or would like us to give credit to you as the author of this image, please let us know and we will be happy to do it.

Commonly confused words: concept or conception?

For most of us happiness is the overriding aim in life but there is one formidable obstacle to achieving it – few of us have a clear CONCEPTION of what happiness is. For Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher, there was an inextricable link between a person’s well-being and knowledge. You can become truly happy once you have rationally examined every aspect of your life and made sense of the world you live in. Socrates is supposed to have said: ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’. Rational examination of your life is all about CONCEPTS. For example, you have chosen the career of a judge in the hope of promoting justice. Whether your decisions as a judge will make you happy or not will hinge on how clearly you have formulated the CONCEPT of justice. However, the answer to the question ‘What is justice?’ may elude you. What method did Socrates suggest for defining CONCEPTS ? Socrates’s mother was a midwife – she helped women to give birth to babies. Socrates compared

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Grammar spot. ARTICLES with nouns in apposition

Which is correct: The President Obama or President Obama? Lionel Messi, a first-class foorball player or Lionel Messi, the first-class foorball player ? The writer Joanne Rowling or W riter Joanne Rowling? Read our post to find it out. Have you ever heard of George Bernard Shaw, THE IRISH PLAYWRIGHT? He wrote more than 50 plays including ‘Pygmalion’ and is the only man in history to be awarded both the Nobel Prize and an Oscar. Besides, he had a reputation for being a wit. Anecdotes abound featuring Shaw responding in an amusing and clever way to all sorts of situations he found himself in. Here are some of them: ANECDOTE 1 THE DANCER Isadora Duncan once wrote to George Bernard Shaw suggesting that they should have a child together: “Think of it!” she remarked. “With my body and your brains, what a wonder it would be.” “Yes,” Shaw replied. “But what if it had my body and your brains?” ISADORA DUNCAN ANECDOTE 2 Shaw decided to invite Winston Church

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Grammar alert: Plurals of English nouns with Greek or Latin roots

Is ‘media’ singular or plural? Would it be correct to say: Managerial excellence is an important criteria? Which plural should I use: referenda or referendums? Read our post below to find it out. There is a small group of nouns in English which are of Greek or Latin origin. For example: an analysis, a criterion, a stimulus. These nouns still form plurals in the same way as they did in Latin or Greek. Let us focus on the most common nouns of this type and divide them into 5 groups. Group 1 -is [ ɪ s] ending in the singular -es [i ː z] ending in the plural a crisis crises an analysis analyses Group 2 -on ending in the singular - a ending in the plural a criterion criteria a phenomenon phenomena Group 3 - um in the singular -a in t

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Reading English Books Together

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