I've got some great books you can read (for me)... I'd like a summary on "Political Science: State of the Discipline," "Against the Dead Hand" by Brink Lindsey, "The Improving State of the World" by Goklany, "Race to the Bottom," and "Globalization and Inequality." Just whenever you have time... Sometime before December please... :-)
WHAT SORT OF NOVELS ARE BEST FOR THE ENGLISH-HUNGRIES?
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Outsourcing your homework, Skip? Now that's globalization in action! I think you just might ace that class....
I'd start with popular fiction, I think, because the plots will be fun and make you want to read more, the characters will use dialogue that illustrates how normal people actually talk, complete with slang and idioms, while the exposition (non-dialogue parts) will probably be more standardized. There's good fiction from all of the major parts of the Anglosphere out there -- American, British, and Australian. Might be nice to read some from each to get the local flavor. Harry Potter (especially the later books) is a good choice for getting your British on, although you will have to be careful with some of the characters whose speech is written phonetically to indicate their distinctive accents. But it gives you a nice feel for British society, especially if you see the parallels between the fictional state of affairs and the real ones the author is commenting on. For Australian, I really liked Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan books, like Nice Try and Stiff, which are highly entertaining murder mysteries that are both cleverly plotted and terribly funny, almost in a Carl Hiaasen way. And if you like that style, Hiaasen is the American version -- his books are sharply cynical and very funny takes on the local scene in Florida. I've only read one New Zealand book, and that was Rain .... it's not bad, but I honestly liked the movie better. But the prose is quite lyrical and evocative. There isn't much dialogue, though.
If you want something more form your neck of the woods, I'm sure there are plenty of good South African writers, as well as others from other African countries. I only had to read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (?) and some anthology of short stories by a South African woman in college (as far as African writers go), but I did read the Flame Trees of Thika as a child. Just don't remember it well!
I'd start with popular fiction, I think, because the plots will be fun and make you want to read more, the characters will use dialogue that illustrates how normal people actually talk, complete with slang and idioms, while the exposition (non-dialogue parts) will probably be more standardized. There's good fiction from all of the major parts of the Anglosphere out there -- American, British, and Australian. Might be nice to read some from each to get the local flavor. Harry Potter (especially the later books) is a good choice for getting your British on, although you will have to be careful with some of the characters whose speech is written phonetically to indicate their distinctive accents. But it gives you a nice feel for British society, especially if you see the parallels between the fictional state of affairs and the real ones the author is commenting on. For Australian, I really liked Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan books, like Nice Try and Stiff, which are highly entertaining murder mysteries that are both cleverly plotted and terribly funny, almost in a Carl Hiaasen way. And if you like that style, Hiaasen is the American version -- his books are sharply cynical and very funny takes on the local scene in Florida. I've only read one New Zealand book, and that was Rain .... it's not bad, but I honestly liked the movie better. But the prose is quite lyrical and evocative. There isn't much dialogue, though.
If you want something more form your neck of the woods, I'm sure there are plenty of good South African writers, as well as others from other African countries. I only had to read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (?) and some anthology of short stories by a South African woman in college (as far as African writers go), but I did read the Flame Trees of Thika as a child. Just don't remember it well!
I've often wondered why teachers always want foreign language students to read fiction or literature (except, of course, for advanced students who already know the language quite well and want to get into the literary tradition of the language). Back when I was a beginning/intermediate foreign language student, they has us reading such horrendous things as Phedre (by Racine) and Tartuffe (by Molliere). Of all the stuff we had to read, at most 5% was marginally interesting (Candide (by Voltaire), for example).
Why not just read articles in newspapers, magazines, or even websites, covering subjects of interest to you. For example, you can read the news and editorials at the BBC website. There are websites that cover just about any imaginable topic, from astrophotography to termites, from home winterization to Delaware County online tax maps, or from the yearly local bear harvest statistics to narrowband H-alpha filter passband/transmission curves, for example. Go read up on whatever topic interests you -- a whole world of information is at your fingertips.
Why not just read articles in newspapers, magazines, or even websites, covering subjects of interest to you. For example, you can read the news and editorials at the BBC website. There are websites that cover just about any imaginable topic, from astrophotography to termites, from home winterization to Delaware County online tax maps, or from the yearly local bear harvest statistics to narrowband H-alpha filter passband/transmission curves, for example. Go read up on whatever topic interests you -- a whole world of information is at your fingertips.
I did my undergrad at San Diego State but now I'm at LSU in Baton Rouge.
You're best off starting with something short like newspaper articles (even poetry or song lyrics). Nursery rhymes and children's stories are always helpful because it's kind of fun to relive your childhood... lol
I bought "Im Westen nichts Neues" (All's Quiet on the Western Front is the English title) and a couple of other German books, but I can't force myself to sit down and read them... It's kind of daunting to take on so many pages in a your native language, much less a foreign language. (We had to read "Am kuerzeren Ende der Sonnenallee" which was hard for me...)
And actually, unless a foreigner is going to write my summaries, it's not outsourcing, it's delegating :-)
You're best off starting with something short like newspaper articles (even poetry or song lyrics). Nursery rhymes and children's stories are always helpful because it's kind of fun to relive your childhood... lol
I bought "Im Westen nichts Neues" (All's Quiet on the Western Front is the English title) and a couple of other German books, but I can't force myself to sit down and read them... It's kind of daunting to take on so many pages in a your native language, much less a foreign language. (We had to read "Am kuerzeren Ende der Sonnenallee" which was hard for me...)
And actually, unless a foreigner is going to write my summaries, it's not outsourcing, it's delegating :-)
Thanks again for all your help, especially for the help proffered by Damian in London. However, I would like to pin-point advice by Guest. Newspapers and stuffs like it are everyday things, but how broad and good does your local paper is what that matters. I do pick up my local papers every now and then, but one thing I see is that , apart from the latest news, clips from foreign newspapers are pasted here and there. but this captures my interest because those clips are the only means of clear English written. Nigerian journalist and most of their writers believe in long, but unnecessary words. That alone turns me off; let's face it, long words are not in themselves unnecessary, but when they're employed unwisely they become. Chambers English Dictionary, amongst a few others of people and books, say mostly in long-vocabs, but in interesting ways, e.g the double barrel word KNOW-ALL is defined as SOMEONE WHO FLAUNTS SUPERFICIAL KNOWLEDGEABLENESS; a captured Arab in U.S custody who was educated at Cambridge, sent a message to his wife verbatim: TELL HER THAT I AM VEGETATING IN SOLITUDE, DEGRADED (NEWSWEEK); my father had to tell me I was lying in no uncertain terms and managed to spit out this: YOU ARE VITUPARITIVELY MENDACIOUS. To qoute but a few.
Guest and Damian, have you seen what I mean by not been interested in my local newspapers? They don't give you straight English. They use a lot of long words and jumble them up--very unlike the above examples from Chambers English Dictionary, the Arab, and my father.
Guest and Damian, have you seen what I mean by not been interested in my local newspapers? They don't give you straight English. They use a lot of long words and jumble them up--very unlike the above examples from Chambers English Dictionary, the Arab, and my father.
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