Reading English Books Together

'Pride and Prejudice', 'Sense and Sensibility', 'Emma' - you must have heard about these novels and have probably read at least one of them. How much do you know about the author - Jane Austen? Below are some truly interesting facts about this 18th century English writer. Enjoy! Jane Austen's famous characters - Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet On the 16th of December in 1775 Jane Austen, the 19th century novelist, was born in the Hampshire village of Steventon . Though Jane Austen led the quiet life of an unmarried clergyman’s daughter and wrote only five complete novels, her name has not been consigned to the dustbin of history. On the contrary, today, in the age of the Internet and mobile phones, digital television and supersonic aircraft, Jane Austen is enjoying a huge and enthusiastic following and there have been numerous TV adaptations, films, books and events devoted to her in the past thirty years. Jane Austen's house in Steve...

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 comp...

  'He was rock 'n' roll before there was rock 'n' roll' - otherwise how else can you explain that even now in the remotest corner of the world should anyone hear  'Strangers in the night exchanging glances ....' they are bound to say: 'Oh, that's Sinatra....' because very few people can still compare to Frank. 'Frank is just like you. Just like me. Only BIGGER.' The power of his voice, unmistakable male charisma, energy, strength of conviction, lust for life - all these signature qualities of his make Frank Sinatra stand out and pass any test of time that is to come... Having taken no vocal or music lessons and possessing a voice range that was by no means exceptional, Sinatra managed to achieve unprecedented popularity which can be compared only to the tremendous success enjoyed by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Michael Jackson.What helped him, the only son of Italian immigrants, become a cultural and music icon? First of ...

When Gustav Klimt’s ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’ was first shown to the general public in 1907, it must have IMPRESSED the viewers. The moment you see the portrait your eyes are riveted on the face of a strikingly beautiful young woman with a mysterious half smile playing on her lips. Yet, the gold background heavy with fabrics and decorative elements seems to have asserted dominance over her thus making her look detached and fragile. Gustav Klimt ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’ Our perception of any painting is INFLUENCED by its life: conception, execution and any twists of fate it has undergone since the artist first displayed it. ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’ also known as Austria’s Mona Lisa has an interesting history. To begin with, the author of the portrait, Gustav Klimt (1962-1918) was Austria’s most notable and fashionable avant-garde artist painting mostly women and enjoying the reputation of a Casanova.  GUSTAV KLIMT There is controversy as ...

Our world seems to be biased in favour of extroverts, those active, sociable people radiating confidence and energy. At work they easily take on leadership roles and actively engage in a host of activities. In their free time extroverts are brilliant conversationalists, the life and soul of any party and tireless generators of exciting ideas about where to go and what to do. We tend to admire extroverts and seek their friendship. What idioms and phrases do we use to describe extraverts? They are LIVE WIRES, which means they are lively and full of energy. They  have A BUBBLY PERSONALITY, which means they are always happy, friendly and eager to do things. They  WEAR THEIR HEART ON THEIR SLEEVE, which means they act the way they feel. Our world seems to be biased in favour of extroverts, those active, sociable people radiating confidence and energy. At work they easily take on leadership roles and actively engage in a host of activities. ...

When someone brings up the topic of entrepreneurship, the conversation veers towards Steve Jobs with his ambition to make technology user-friendly and accessible to anyone or to Harland Sanders, the founder of KFC, who made chicken a favourite choice for those eager to have a snack. Yet, few people remember the name of the creator of such beautiful things as you can see in the pictures below. The pictures show the products of the company Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, commonly known as Wedgwood.  Here are 5 amazing facts about its founder - Josiah Wedgwood. FACT 1  He transformed the way pottery was produced in Britain and was one of the first entrepreneurs to benefit from mass industrial production. FACT 2  He relied on science and once carried out 411 scientific experiments to discover a way to produce a perfect ceramic surface for his products. FACT 3  The bone china his company produced was so successfully competing with the original p...

Suppose you are stuck in a dead-end and boring job but you have done it for years and you can’t really imagine your life without having a friendly chat with your colleagues and going through your regular work routine. On the one hand, you are yearning for changes, but on the other hand, it is hard to leave behind something that has been part of your life for such a long time. How would you go about deciding whether to stay or to hand in notice? Why not flip a coin: heads or tails? If it comes up heads, you will quit. If it comes up tails, you will stay and put off taking this life-changing decision till next year. Which side of the coin is heads and which is tails? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work it out. Most coins have a side that shows the head of some prominent person. For example, all British coins have had a profile of the current monarch’s head since the 17th century and the most outstanding US presidents have been selected by Congress to appear on Ameri...