Book 10 2022 The Swimmer

She had been a primary school teacher for thirty-nine years. So much talking. Parents and pupils always wanting something. Now it was her time to sit and read.   

Here is my recommendation for our tenth book of the year: The Swimmer by Graham Norton. This is a really short book which, nonetheless, covers a number of issues such as love, loneliness, greed, selfishness, connection, contentment, obligation and family. Here is the worksheet. 

Book 9 2022 84 Charing Cross Road

I send you greetings from America - faithless friend that she is, pouring millions into rebuilding Japan and Germany while letting England starve. Some day, God willing, I'll get over there and apologize personally for my country's sins (and by the time I come home my country will certainly have to apologize for mine).   

Here is C's recommendation for our ninth book of the year: 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. An epistolary memoir made up of letters exchanged between NYC-based author Helen Hanff and an antiquarian bookshop in London, it is priceless in its depiction of the friendship that develops between a client and staff over the course of twenty years. This is a story about people who love books for readers who love books. Here is the worksheet.

Queen Elizabeth II

I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.

I know of no singular formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.

Book 8 2022 This is not a Pity Memoir

When the gods look down and fuck up your world, when the map you have laid out for your life has been ripped out of your hands, you are left somehow impotent and abandoned. And with the knowledge that the nature of your mortality is not a given. That life is a processor cause and effect, and however much you might side-step the cracks, stay away from the edge, keep on walking past the open windows, no one can prepare you for the utter shock of the backflip, the left-field pitch, the curveball, that knocks all that you are, all that you have known, for shit. If it's coming for you, it's coming for you. No point trying to hide from it.   

Here is my recommendation for our eighth book of the year: This is not a Pity Memoir by Abi Morgan. Recently published, this is a book based on a true story. It is living proof of how resilient people can be in the face of adversity. Here is the worksheet. 

Book 7 2022 Magpie Murders

I held out the packet and suddenly we were friends. That's one of the only good things about being a smoker these days. You're part of a persecuted minority. You bond easily.

Here is my recommendation for our seventh book of the year. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz is a book within a book. It is not only about murder, but also a writer's ego and the stigma the mystery genre has endured from readers and writers alike. Here is the worksheet.

Book 6 2022 Normal People

No one can be independent of other people completely, so why not give up the attempt, she thought, go running in the other direction, depend on people for everything, allow them to depend on you, why not. 

Here is my recommendation for our sixth book of the year. Let's read Normal People by Sally Rooney. Although the settings are quite different, the book, like the previous one, deals with the dynamics between men and women and the patterns of behaviour that happen between people in the way they relate, interact and communicate with each other. Here is the worksheet.

Book 5 2022 A Room with a View

This she might not attempt. It was unladylike. Why? Why were most big things unladylike? Charlotte had once explained to her why. It was not that ladies were inferior to men; it was that they were different. Their mission was to inspire others to achievement rather than to achieve themselves. Indirectly, by means of tact and a spotless name, a lady could accomplish much. But if she rushed into the fray herself she would be first censured, then despised, and finally ignored. Poems had been written to illustrate this point.

Good luck with our fifth book of the year, A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, a classic. It reflects the author's witty and keen insight into social class, values and morality. Here is the worksheet.

7 NA C1 2 Topic 12 Free Time & the Summer

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. (Sam Keen)

Grammar	Television
Language Function	Evaluating
Listening	Reality shows + audio
Reading	Reality TV
Speaking	Planning a trip
Vocabulary	Travelling
Writing	TV shows

 

6 NA C1 1 Topic 12 Free Time & the Summer

Aaah, summer - that long anticipated stretch of lazy, lingering days, free of responsibility and rife with possibility. It's a time to hunt for insects, master handstands, practise swimming strokes, conquer trees, explore nooks and crannies, and make new friends. (Darell Hammond)

Grammar	Reporting verbs
Language Function	Explaining
Listening	Holidays + audio
Reading	A letter of protest
Speaking	Silent retreat
Vocabulary	Television
Writing	Leisure time

5 NI B2 2 Topic 12 Free Time & the Summer

The summer night is like a perfection of thought . (Wallace Stevens). 

Grammar	The Longest Day
Language Function	Relating Past Events
Listening	Singapore + audio
Reading	Summer 2021
Speaking	On the move
Vocabulary	Driving
Writing	A complaint

4 NI B2 1 Topic 12 Free Time & the Summer

Summer break: the time when parents realise teachers are grossly underpaid. (Unknown)

Grammar	Sentence transfer
Language Function	Making arrangements
Listening	Flying + audio
Reading	Fun in Spain
Speaking	Travelling
Vocabulary	Holidays
Writing	A letter

3 NI B1 Topic 12 Free Time & the Summer

Do what we can, summer will have its flies. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Grammar	Say & tell
Language Function	Reporting
Listening	Bad service + audio
Reading	Travelling by train
Speaking	Travelling
Vocabulary	Travelling by plane
Writing	An interesting trip

2 NB 2 Topic 12 Home or Away

I love holidays. It's such a wonderful time for the whole family to be together and not have to worry about schedules and that kind of thing.  (Toni Collette)

Grammar	For & since
Language Function	Describing actions
Listening	Travel complaint + audio
Reading	A trip to England
Speaking	Summer holiday
Vocabulary	In the kitchen
Writing	Staycation

Book 4 2022 Mrs March

"I want to know where I stand with Johanna."

"Where you stand ..? She's a fictional character!"

"Then why does it feel like she exists and I don't?"

My next recommendation is Mrs March by Virginia Feito. Curiously enough, the author was born and now resides in Madrid, but writes in English; and although the book has been translated into Spanish, you should, of course, read it in its original version! Here is the worksheet.