Category Archives: Language

Facing Facebook Book Recommendations

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A while ago I asked my Facebook friends if they had to recommend one book (an almost impossible task, I know) which it would be. As I am aiming to increase the variety of what I read I summarised the responses and am slowly working through them (not to the exclusion of my usual choices though). What a great list it is turning out to be – which is no surprise given the erudition of my friends who span the globe. I thought others might like to see the list too. I hope I didn’t miss any, apologies if so.

Oh and my desert island book? That would have to be I, Claudius by Robert Graves. Anyway, here is the list (in no particular order):

cover title author
The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig
The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig
Zweig, Stefan
Post Captain
Post Captain
O’Brian, Patrick
Iacocca: An Autobiography
Iacocca: An Autobiography
Iacocca, Lee

 
The End of the Affair
The End of the Affair
Greene, Graham
The Painted Veil
The Painted Veil
Maugham, W. Somerset
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
The English Patient
The English Patient
Ondaatje, Michael
How To Be A Brit
How To Be A Brit
Mikes, George
Three Men in a Boat (Three Men, #1)
Three Men in a Boat (Three Men, #1)
Jerome, Jerome K.
Isle of Passion
Isle of Passion
Restrepo, Laura
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Cather, Willa
Oscar et la dame rose
Oscar et la dame rose
Schmitt, Éric-Emmanuel
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Kundera, Milan
The Fountain Overflows
The Fountain Overflows
West, Rebecca
The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
The Pillars of the Earth(Kingsbridge, #1)
Follett, Ken*
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
Assis, Machado de
Odd John
Odd John
Stapledon, Olaf
Star Maker
Star Maker
Stapledon, Olaf
Pilgrim's Inn (Eliots of Damerosehay, #2)
Pilgrim’s Inn (Eliots of Damerosehay, #2)
Goudge, Elizabeth
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Brontë, Charlotte
Don Quixote
Don Quixote
Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de
Mémoires d'Hadrien
Mémoires d’Hadrien
Yourcenar, Marguerite
A Christmas Memory
A Christmas Memory
Capote, Truman
Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain
Frazier, Charles
Death and the Penguin
Death and the Penguin
Kurkov, Andrey
Il cavaliere e la morte
Il cavaliere e la morte
Sciascia, Leonardo
cover title author
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide, #1)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker’s Guide, #1)
Adams, Douglas
Dune (Dune Chronicles #1)
Dune (Dune Chronicles #1)
Herbert, Frank
Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin, #1)
Master and Commander(Aubrey & Maturin, #1)
O’Brian, Patrick
Exodus
Exodus
Uris, Leon
The Sirian Experiments
The Sirian Experiments
Lessing, Doris

Bring it on!

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Graham – Would you like one?
Me (tired, hot, and distracted) – Go on then, you’ve brought it now.
Graham – I think you’ll find you mean “bought”.
Me – Pfffffft…

I have taught him too well!!

Where are you from?

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globe

When you’re scrolling through a web sign-up page, the only thing more annoying than not knowing if they’ve got your country down as “Great Britain”, “United Kingdom”, “Britain”, or “England” is seeing that they have decided to go against alpha-numeric equity and put “United States” first! Sorry US friends, but it pisses me off!

#firstworldproblems.