Review: The One Plus One

The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I listened to this audiobook while I was reading my hard copy. You can read my thoughts on the book itself here: My Thoughts. As far as the audiobook is concerned, I liked that they used four different narrators. Each chapter of the book is told from the point of view of one of the four main characters, and the audiobook emphasizes this aspect and also helps you a lot to follow the story and to better understand the feelings/personality of the different characters. I truly liked Ed's voice, but didn't really like Jess's first. However, after a while I got used to it and could even enjoy it. And, the reading speed was just perfect for me.



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Review: The One Plus One

The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Ugh. This book was so hard to read and it is so hard to rate it. Jojo Moyes is clearly a wonderful author, and I will probably read more books by her. But this book was very depressing most of the time. Sometimes I even had to put it down and read something lighter (compared to this book, a crime by Agatha Christie with lots of people dying is light), because I couldn't cope with the depression it made me feel. The worst thing about it was that I couldn't even cry, as I often do. I just had this heavy feelings in my chest and couldn't let them out. I kept thinking that there are indeed women who live in this kind of wretchedness with their children, who and whose children have no hope, and whose Prince Charming will never come. I was prepared for reading a fluffy, light, and funny romance, upon reading the reviews on Goodreads. However, what I got was a heavy drama, even though this is a Cinderella story and there's a happy ending. The heroine and her little family, together with the hero experience almost every kind of problems you could imagine. Even at moments where you think it can't get worse, it just does. There were some moments where I had a moment of happy feeling and found myself laughing out loud. (Moyes clearly has a good sense of humour.) But in the next second, something bad happens, and your feeling of happiness disappears by the "speed of light". Only in the last 4-5 chapters can you enjoy lasting happiness, if you refrain from thinking - what I was thinking - that in real life things definitely wouldn't turn out like this. Of course, I too believe in the "the kindness of strangers" and "forgiveness", but very often, if you make a mistake, you have to live with it, and won't get back what you have lost. So actually, the happy ending felt somewhat odd in light of the whole book. All in all, if you are not as highly emotional as me, or if you don't mind feeling depressed all the time, you will very much love this book, because it is well written and the characters are all very likable. You may also want to re-read it. As for me, I'm not sure when/if I'll ever be able to re-read it.



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Review: New English File: Intermediate Teacher's Book

New English File: Intermediate Teacher's Book by Clive Oxenden

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



As I mentioned in my review of the Student's Book, this edition has some flaws. My problem with the Teacher's Book consists mainly in the following things: Firstly, the communicative activities are not very innovative and regrettably, you can only copy the materials; they are not available for download as PDF, even for teachers not. Secondly, I wish there was a section with exercises (gap fill, sentence completion) for each lesson's vocabulary. There are some good exercises for grammar practice and vocabulary recycling, but I think that after teaching/learning new words, students should do a controlled practice with those very words. Thirdly, I wish there was some information on the time frame of the lessons / exercises. I've got the impression that the material this book suggest covering in one lesson is too much for the usual 90-minute-lesson. Finally, I wish some publisher would recognize that what really would help teachers' work were a Student's Book for Teachers, i.e. a Student's Book that looks like the book that the students use, but with filled-in answers and comments. Of course, as a teacher you would know the correct answers to the exercises, if you had time to think. But you don't have time during a lesson. I to carry both books with you, is not really practicable. Hence, I usually copy the answers and comments from the Teacher's Book into the Student's Book before the lesson, so that I'm able to concentrate on the students and their problems during the lesson. I'm afraid, even the new, third edition [b:English File: Intermediate Teacher's Book with Test and Assessment CD-ROM|24558963|English File Intermediate Teacher's Book with Test and Assessment CD-ROM|Clive Oxenden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421577430s/24558963.jpg|44162911] is not better in this respect, but at least, there seem to be more digital resources to that one.



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Review: New English File: Intermediate Student's Book

New English File: Intermediate Student's Book by Clive Oxenden

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



As a language teacher I must say, this coursebook is good, but has some weaknesses. First of all, the speaking activities are quite underdeveloped. Usually, there are some questions that students should ask each other in pairs. My students feel totally bored by such activities. Hence, I had to invest a lot of time into developing games and other speaking exercises to each topic. Also, I don't know how the authors could possibly think that it would be possible to teach 30-40 words in a lesson. In my experience, one can teach approximately 10-12 words per lesson. The Vocabulary Bank is full of words and exercises, but they can't be used in the lesson, as we have no time for that. Hence, I always had to assign those exercises and learning the words as homework, which is sub-optimal. Also, it would have been nice, if there had been a downloadable Picture Bank with the pictures of the Vocabulary Bank for teachers, so that I could have used the pictures for making flashcards. Instead, I had to browse the internet for ages in order to find some suitable pictures. My students also disliked the Practical English lessons and the love story of Allie and Mark. They found the story stupid, predictable, and clichéd. I found them OK, but once again, there were usually no speaking activities focusing on the use/practice of the functions that these Practical English lessons were intended to teach. Now, there is a fully revised new edition of this book ([b:English File: Intermediate Student's Book with iTutor|23023858|English File Intermediate Student's Book with iTutor|Clive Oxenden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421576605s/23023858.jpg|42594304]) which hopefully doesn't repeat the mistakes of this edition. I'm looking forward to teaching from that.



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Review: Nowhere but Home: A Novel

Nowhere but Home: A Novel by Liza Palmer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It took me some time to get into this book but in the end I really liked it. I just wish the romance between the heroine and the love of her life had been developed more fully. But what I really liked about the book was that it made me think a lot about the death penalty. Up until now I would have said that the death penalty is clearly a big NO, but reading this book exactly at the time when in Paris some very bad things were happening, made me realize that nothing is clearly white or black. I can see now why some people would argue in favor of the death penalty, even if I'm still against it. I also thought a lot about the people whose job is to carry out the sentence and how they can cope with these situations. In sum, if you're looking for a book that makes you do a lot of thinking and at the same time provides you with some beautiful family feelings and nice romances, don't look further! Grab this one!



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Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park encompasses not only Jane Austen’s great comedic gifts and her genius as a historian of the human animal, but her personal credo as well—her faith in a social order that combats chaos through civil grace, decency, and wit.

At the novel’s center is Fanny Price, the classic “poor cousin,” brought as a child to Mansfield Park by the rich Sir Thomas Bertram and his wife as an act of charity. Over time, Fanny comes to demonstrate forcibly those virtues Austen most admired: modesty, firm principles, and a loving heart. As Fanny watches her cousins Maria and Julia cast aside their scruples in dangerous flirtations (and worse), and as she herself resolutely resists the advantages of marriage to the fascinating but morally unsteady Henry Crawford, her seeming austerity grows in appeal and makes clear to us why she was Austen’s own favorite among her heroines.

/Source: Goodreads/

My Thoughts
I am a Jane Austen addict, there’s no doubt about that. And, it is a well-known theory of mine that everybody will find something in at least one of her works. The situations and characters depicted in Jane Austen’s books are absolutely natural – that is to say, everything looks true to life. She had a thorough knowledge of the human nature, which is why her books, her ideas are timeless and boundless. Someone who read her oeuvre will be able to recognize the Mr Collinses, Mr and Mrs Bennets, Mrs Jenningses, Mr Woodhouses, etc, etc among his/her relatives, friends, or acquaintances, and laugh at them heartily, if he/she has a good sense of humour. This is what the magic of Jane Austen consists in, and the primary reason why I adore Jane Austen.

Having said this, I must admit that Mansfield Park was a major disappointment to me. It wasn’t the writing or the plot that I disliked. There were lots of readers who emphasized in their reviews that the book had dragged. I don’t share this view. Even though there was something in the plot that I rather disliked – those long chapters in which the young people wanted to put on a play, and in the end, it was busted –, I didn’t find the story/book boring. That was no problem for me. What I had a problem with was the romance. . .

Beauty, Bookmarks & Branch

Today, I am going to reveal my obsession with all things beautiful in general and Susan Branch’s illustrations in particular, as well as to share with you some photos of my bookmark collection.

What constitutes beauty? Nobody knows. The same thing can be perceived both beautiful and ugly, depending on the beholder. There are certainly lots of people who find beauty in Francis Bacon’s paintings, but I truly dislike them. By contrast, I’m a huge fan of Gainsborough or Monet. Also, even though it is considered stylish and modern, and costs a fortune, I would never ever live in a concrete cube, such as this. But, I would love to live in a charming Georgian mansion house, such as this, even if I would be deemed old-fashioned. Likewise, I prefer pretty dresses to jeans, silk and lace to cotton, roses to daises, nail polish and make up to bare face and nails etc. etc. I am very Anneish in this respect . . .

This is also the reason why it is and has always been very important to me how my books and bookmarks look like. There is nothing more disappointing than a book printed on a rough and stinky paper. I don’t like to touch such books and can’t even fancy reading them. Likewise, I always need some pretty bookmarks to accompany my readings; otherwise, I would feel uncomfortable. Hence, I always looking and searching for stylish bookmarks when I go shopping. Here is a picture of some of the many bookmarks, I have collected over the years.

However, about two years ago, when I used to live in Switzerland, I somehow wasn’t able to find any “decent” bookmarks. So, I went online and searched, and searched, and searched. And, after many hours I came across Susan Branch’s website and blog, and, as it was one of the most beautiful websites I had ever seen, I fell in love with it immediately. If you haven’t heard of her yet, you should go and check out her site (don’t forget to subscribe to Willard, the best newsletter you’ve ever received), because besides being a highly talented illustrator, she IS a kindred spirit.

Susan’s works seem to be inspired by her adoration of Beatrix Potter, but they are nevertheless highly original. She is also an avid fan of Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, and all things British. And she is, of course, a passionate cook and gardener, and a bookworm. Susan is also the author of several cookbooks and books about housekeeping, all of which she has written and illustrated by hand. Her newest book, A Fine Romance, is about to be published and recounts the events of her visit to England last summer. This book is highly recommended to readers who love the English countryside, would like to read a rather extraordinary travel book, and prefer watercolour illustrations to fancy high-gloss photos.

So, back in 2011, I discovered Susan Branch’s world and have stalked followed her ever since. And, I have happily printed, cut out, and added the bookmarks provided by her for free to my collection. Aren’t they just beautiful?

On June 26, 2013 then, Susan told her followers in a post that she would give away a Beatrix Potter bookmark to someone lucky. This bookmark wasn’t meant to be a bookmark; originally, it was planned to be an illustration for the new book, but Susan was somehow unhappy with it. So, she had used it as a scrap paper, before deciding to cut it up and making bookmarks from the strips. And, guess who was the lucky one who won the Beatrix Potter bookmark? Yeah right, it’s ME! When I got the email from Susan, I just went crazy . . . And, a couple of weeks later, one of the most stylish and beautiful envelopes ever arrived in Hungary, containing a short note by Susan and the bookmark. This is how it looked like:

As you may see, the bookmark is also signed and personalised by her! Can you imagine how excited and happy I was and have been since? And, because I’m so glad, I wanted to thank her publicly. Which is why this post came into being . . . So, thank you indeed, Susan!

PS: In case you are wondering how you could have your own Susan Branch bookmarks, be sure to check out these posts over on her blog: The Wonderful Magical Moon . . . Bella Luna; Hearts and Flowers; Went to a Garden Party . . .; Blessings; Critters, Springtime and YOU!; Here Comes Summer . . .; Minutia (of the best kind); as well as the "free stuff section" of her shop.