Analyse English Tutorials: 2009

1001 Books to Read Before you Die

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro
Saturday – Ian McEwan
On Beauty – Zadie Smith
Slow Man – J.M. Coetzee
Adjunct: An Undigest – Peter Manson
The Sea – John Banville
The Red Queen – Margaret Drabble
The Plot Against America – Philip Roth
The Master – Colm Tóibín
Vanishing Point – David Markson
The Lambs of London – Peter Ackroyd
Dining on Stones – Iain Sinclair
Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
Drop City – T. Coraghessan Boyle
The Colour – Rose Tremain
Thursbitch – Alan Garner
The Light of Day – Graham Swift
What I Loved – Siri Hustvedt
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
Islands – Dan Sleigh
Elizabeth Costello – J.M. Coetzee
London Orbital – Iain Sinclair
Family Matters – Rohinton Mistry
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters
The Double – José Saramago
Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
Unless – Carol Shields
Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami
The Story of Lucy Gault – William Trevor
That They May Face the Rising Sun – John McGahern
In the Forest – Edna O’Brien
Shroud – John Banville
Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
Youth – J.M. Coetzee
Dead Air – Iain Banks
Nowhere Man – Aleksandar Hemon
The Book of Illusions – Paul Auster
Gabriel’s Gift – Hanif Kureishi
Austerlitz – W.G. Sebald
Platform – Michael Houellebecq
Schooling – Heather McGowan
Atonement – Ian McEwan
The Corrections – Jonathan Franzen
Don’t Move – Margaret Mazzantini
The Body Artist – Don DeLillo
Fury – Salman Rushdie
At Swim, Two Boys – Jamie O’Neill
Choke – Chuck Palahniuk
Life of Pi – Yann Martel
The Feast of the Goat – Mario Vargos Llosa
An Obedient Father – Akhil Sharma
The Devil and Miss Prym – Paulo Coelho
Spring Flowers, Spring Frost – Ismail Kadare
White Teeth – Zadie Smith
The Heart of Redness – Zakes Mda
Under the Skin – Michel Faber
Ignorance – Milan Kundera
Nineteen Seventy Seven – David Peace
Celestial Harmonies – Péter Esterházy
City of God – E.L. Doctorow
How the Dead Live – Will Self
The Human Stain – Philip Roth
The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood
After the Quake – Haruki Murakami
Small Remedies – Shashi Deshpande
Super-Cannes – J.G. Ballard
House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski
Blonde – Joyce Carol Oates
Pastoralia – George Saunders
1900s
Timbuktu – Paul Auster
The Romantics – Pankaj Mishra
Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
As If I Am Not There – Slavenka Drakuli?
Everything You Need – A.L. Kennedy
Fear and Trembling – Amélie Nothomb
The Ground Beneath Her Feet – Salman Rushdie
Disgrace – J.M. Coetzee
Sputnik Sweetheart – Haruki Murakami
Elementary Particles – Michel Houellebecq
Intimacy – Hanif Kureishi
Amsterdam – Ian McEwan
Cloudsplitter – Russell Banks
All Souls Day – Cees Nooteboom
The Talk of the Town – Ardal O’Hanlon
Tipping the Velvet – Sarah Waters
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
Glamorama – Bret Easton Ellis
Another World – Pat Barker
The Hours – Michael Cunningham
Veronika Decides to Die – Paulo Coelho
Mason & Dixon – Thomas Pynchon
The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
Great Apes – Will Self
Enduring Love – Ian McEwan
Underworld – Don DeLillo
Jack Maggs – Peter Carey
The Life of Insects – Victor Pelevin
American Pastoral – Philip Roth
The Untouchable – John Banville
Silk – Alessandro Baricco
Cocaine Nights – J.G. Ballard
Hallucinating Foucault – Patricia Duncker
Fugitive Pieces – Anne Michaels
The Ghost Road – Pat Barker
Forever a Stranger – Hella Haasse
Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
The Clay Machine-Gun – Victor Pelevin
Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood
The Unconsoled – Kazuo Ishiguro
Morvern Callar – Alan Warner
The Information – Martin Amis
The Moor’s Last Sigh – Salman Rushdie
Sabbath’s Theater – Philip Roth
The Rings of Saturn – W.G. Sebald
The Reader – Bernhard Schlink
A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
Love’s Work – Gillian Rose
The End of the Story – Lydia Davis
Mr. Vertigo – Paul Auster
The Folding Star – Alan Hollinghurst
Whatever – Michel Houellebecq
Land – Park Kyong-ni
The Master of Petersburg – J.M. Coetzee
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami
Pereira Declares: A Testimony – Antonio Tabucchi
City Sister Silver – Jàchym Topol
How Late It Was, How Late – James Kelman
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres
Felicia’s Journey – William Trevor
Disappearance – David Dabydeen
The Invention of Curried Sausage – Uwe Timm
The Shipping News – E. Annie Proulx
Trainspotting – Irvine Welsh
Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
Looking for the Possible Dance – A.L. Kennedy
Operation Shylock – Philip Roth
Complicity – Iain Banks
On Love – Alain de Botton
What a Carve Up! – Jonathan Coe
A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields
The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides
The House of Doctor Dee – Peter Ackroyd
The Robber Bride – Margaret Atwood
The Emigrants – W.G. Sebald
The Secret History – Donna Tartt
Life is a Caravanserai – Emine Özdamar
The Discovery of Heaven – Harry Mulisch
A Heart So White – Javier Marias
Possessing the Secret of Joy – Alice Walker
Indigo – Marina Warner
The Crow Road – Iain Banks
Written on the Body – Jeanette Winterson
Jazz – Toni Morrison
The English Patient – Michael Ondaatje
Smilla’s Sense of Snow – Peter Høeg
The Butcher Boy – Patrick McCabe
Black Water – Joyce Carol Oates
The Heather Blazing – Colm Tóibín
Asphodel – H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)
Black Dogs – Ian McEwan
Hideous Kinky – Esther Freud
Arcadia – Jim Crace
Wild Swans – Jung Chang
American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis
Time’s Arrow – Martin Amis
Mao II – Don DeLillo
Typical – Padgett Powell
Regeneration – Pat Barker
Downriver – Iain Sinclair
Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord – Louis de Bernieres
Wise Children – Angela Carter
Get Shorty – Elmore Leonard
Amongst Women – John McGahern
Vineland – Thomas Pynchon
Vertigo – W.G. Sebald
Stone Junction – Jim Dodge
The Music of Chance – Paul Auster
The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien
A Home at the End of the World – Michael Cunningham
Like Life – Lorrie Moore
Possession – A.S. Byatt
The Buddha of Suburbia – Hanif Kureishi
The Midnight Examiner – William Kotzwinkle
A Disaffection – James Kelman
Sexing the Cherry – Jeanette Winterson
Moon Palace – Paul Auster
Billy Bathgate – E.L. Doctorow
Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
The Melancholy of Resistance – László Krasznahorkai
The Temple of My Familiar – Alice Walker
The Trick is to Keep Breathing – Janice Galloway
The History of the Siege of Lisbon – José Saramago
Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
London Fields – Martin Amis
The Book of Evidence – John Banville
Cat’s Eye – Margaret Atwood
Foucault’s Pendulum – Umberto Eco
The Beautiful Room is Empty – Edmund White
Wittgenstein’s Mistress – David Markson
The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie
The Swimming-Pool Library – Alan Hollinghurst
Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey
Libra – Don DeLillo
The Player of Games – Iain M. Banks
Nervous Conditions – Tsitsi Dangarembga
The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul – Douglas Adams
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – Douglas Adams
The Radiant Way – Margaret Drabble
The Afternoon of a Writer – Peter Handke
The Black Dahlia – James Ellroy
The Passion – Jeanette Winterson
The Pigeon – Patrick Süskind
The Child in Time – Ian McEwan
Cigarettes – Harry Mathews
The Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolfe
The New York Trilogy – Paul Auster
World’s End – T. Coraghessan Boyle
Enigma of Arrival – V.S. Naipaul
The Taebek Mountains – Jo Jung-rae
Beloved – Toni Morrison
Anagrams – Lorrie Moore
Matigari – Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
Marya – Joyce Carol Oates
Watchmen – Alan Moore & David Gibbons
The Old Devils – Kingsley Amis
Lost Language of Cranes – David Leavitt
An Artist of the Floating World – Kazuo Ishiguro
Extinction – Thomas Bernhard
Foe – J.M. Coetzee
The Drowned and the Saved – Primo Levi
Reasons to Live – Amy Hempel
The Parable of the Blind – Gert Hofmann
Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel García Márquez
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit – Jeanette Winterson
The Cider House Rules – John Irving
A Maggot – John Fowles
Less Than Zero – Bret Easton Ellis
Contact – Carl Sagan
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Perfume – Patrick Süskind
Old Masters – Thomas Bernhard
White Noise – Don DeLillo
Queer – William Burroughs
Hawksmoor – Peter Ackroyd
Legend – David Gemmell
Dictionary of the Khazars – Milorad Pavi?
The Bus Conductor Hines – James Kelman
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis – José Saramago
The Lover – Marguerite Duras
Empire of the Sun – J.G. Ballard
The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
Nights at the Circus – Angela Carter
The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera
Blood and Guts in High School – Kathy Acker
Neuromancer – William Gibson
Flaubert’s Parrot – Julian Barnes
Money: A Suicide Note – Martin Amis
Shame – Salman Rushdie
Worstward Ho – Samuel Beckett
Fools of Fortune – William Trevor
La Brava – Elmore Leonard
Waterland – Graham Swift
The Life and Times of Michael K – J.M. Coetzee
The Diary of Jane Somers – Doris Lessing
The Piano Teacher – Elfriede Jelinek
The Sorrow of Belgium – Hugo Claus
If Not Now, When? – Primo Levi
A Boy’s Own Story – Edmund White
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
Wittgenstein’s Nephew – Thomas Bernhard
A Pale View of Hills – Kazuo Ishiguro
Schindler’s Ark – Thomas Keneally
The House of the Spirits – Isabel Allende
The Newton Letter – John Banville
On the Black Hill – Bruce Chatwin
Concrete – Thomas Bernhard
The Names – Don DeLillo
Rabbit is Rich – John Updike
Lanark: A Life in Four Books – Alasdair Gray
The Comfort of Strangers – Ian McEwan
July’s People – Nadine Gordimer
Summer in Baden-Baden – Leonid Tsypkin
Broken April – Ismail Kadare
Waiting for the Barbarians – J.M. Coetzee
Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
Rites of Passage – William Golding
Rituals – Cees Nooteboom
Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
City Primeval – Elmore Leonard
The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting – Milan Kundera
Smiley’s People – John Le Carré
Shikasta – Doris Lessing
A Bend in the River – V.S. Naipaul
Burger’s Daughter - Nadine Gordimer
The Safety Net – Heinrich Böll
If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler – Italo Calvino
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
The Cement Garden – Ian McEwan
The World According to Garp – John Irving
Life: A User’s Manual – Georges Perec
The Sea, The Sea – Iris Murdoch
The Singapore Grip – J.G. Farrell
Yes – Thomas Bernhard
The Virgin in the Garden – A.S. Byatt
In the Heart of the Country – J.M. Coetzee
The Passion of New Eve – Angela Carter
Delta of Venus – Anaïs Nin
The Shining – Stephen King
Dispatches – Michael Herr
Petals of Blood – Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison
The Hour of the Star – Clarice Lispector
The Left-Handed Woman – Peter Handke
Ratner’s Star – Don DeLillo
The Public Burning – Robert Coover
Interview With the Vampire – Anne Rice
Cutter and Bone – Newton Thornburg
Amateurs – Donald Barthelme
Patterns of Childhood – Christa Wolf
Autumn of the Patriarch – Gabriel García Márquez
W, or the Memory of Childhood – Georges Perec
A Dance to the Music of Time – Anthony Powell
Grimus – Salman Rushdie
The Dead Father – Donald Barthelme
Fateless – Imre Kertész
Willard and His Bowling Trophies – Richard Brautigan
High Rise – J.G. Ballard
Humboldt’s Gift – Saul Bellow
Dead Babies – Martin Amis
Correction – Thomas Bernhard
Ragtime – E.L. Doctorow
The Fan Man – William Kotzwinkle
Dusklands – J.M. Coetzee
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum – Heinrich Böll
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John Le Carré
Breakfast of Champions – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Fear of Flying – Erica Jong
A Question of Power – Bessie Head
The Siege of Krishnapur – J.G. Farrell
The Castle of Crossed Destinies – Italo Calvino
Crash – J.G. Ballard
The Honorary Consul – Graham Greene
Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon
The Black Prince – Iris Murdoch
Sula – Toni Morrison
Invisible Cities – Italo Calvino
The Breast – Philip Roth
The Summer Book – Tove Jansson
G – John Berger
Surfacing – Margaret Atwood
House Mother Normal – B.S. Johnson
In A Free State – V.S. Naipaul
The Book of Daniel – E.L. Doctorow
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson
Group Portrait With Lady – Heinrich Böll
The Wild Boys – William Burroughs
Rabbit Redux – John Updike
The Sea of Fertility – Yukio Mishima
The Driver’s Seat – Muriel Spark
The Ogre – Michael Tournier
The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick – Peter Handke
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
Mercier et Camier – Samuel Beckett
Troubles – J.G. Farrell
Jahrestage – Uwe Johnson
The Atrocity Exhibition – J.G. Ballard
Tent of Miracles – Jorge Amado
Pricksongs and Descants – Robert Coover
Blind Man With a Pistol – Chester Hines
Slaughterhouse-five – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
The French Lieutenant’s Woman – John Fowles
The Green Man – Kingsley Amis
Portnoy’s Complaint – Philip Roth
The Godfather – Mario Puzo
Ada – Vladimir Nabokov
Them – Joyce Carol Oates
A Void/Avoid – Georges Perec
Eva Trout – Elizabeth Bowen
Myra Breckinridge – Gore Vidal
The Nice and the Good – Iris Murdoch
Belle du Seigneur – Albert Cohen
Cancer Ward – Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
The First Circle – Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend is Laid – Malcolm Lowry
The German Lesson – Siegfried Lenz
In Watermelon Sugar – Richard Brautigan
A Kestrel for a Knave – Barry Hines
The Quest for Christa T. – Christa Wolf
Chocky – John Wyndham
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test – Tom Wolfe
The Cubs and Other Stories – Mario Vargas Llosa
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov
Pilgrimage – Dorothy Richardson
The Joke – Milan Kundera
No Laughing Matter – Angus Wilson
The Third Policeman – Flann O’Brien
A Man Asleep – Georges Perec
The Birds Fall Down – Rebecca West
Trawl – B.S. Johnson
In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
The Magus – John Fowles
The Vice-Consul – Marguerite Duras
Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys
Giles Goat-Boy – John Barth
The Crying of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon
Things – Georges Perec
The River Between – Ngugi wa Thiong’o
August is a Wicked Month – Edna O’Brien
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater – Kurt Vonnegut
Everything That Rises Must Converge – Flannery O’Connor
The Passion According to G.H. – Clarice Lispector
Sometimes a Great Notion – Ken Kesey
Come Back, Dr. Caligari – Donald Bartholme
Albert Angelo – B.S. Johnson
Arrow of God – Chinua Achebe
The Ravishing of Lol V. Stein – Marguerite Duras
Herzog – Saul Bellow
V. – Thomas Pynchon
Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
The Graduate – Charles Webb
Manon des Sources – Marcel Pagnol
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – John Le Carré
The Girls of Slender Means – Muriel Spark
Inside Mr. Enderby – Anthony Burgess
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
The Collector – John Fowles
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
Pale Fire – Vladimir Nabokov
The Drowned World – J.G. Ballard
The Golden Notebook – Doris Lessing
Labyrinths – Jorg Luis Borges
Girl With Green Eyes – Edna O’Brien
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – Giorgio Bassani
Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein
Franny and Zooey – J.D. Salinger
A Severed Head – Iris Murdoch
Faces in the Water – Janet Frame
Solaris – Stanislaw Lem
Cat and Mouse – Günter Grass
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
The Violent Bear it Away – Flannery O’Connor
How It Is – Samuel Beckett
Our Ancestors – Italo Calvino
The Country Girls – Edna O’Brien
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Rabbit, Run – John Updike
Promise at Dawn – Romain Gary
Cider With Rosie – Laurie Lee
Billy Liar – Keith Waterhouse
Naked Lunch – William Burroughs
The Tin Drum – Günter Grass
Absolute Beginners – Colin MacInnes
Henderson the Rain King – Saul Bellow
Memento Mori – Muriel Spark
Billiards at Half-Past Nine – Heinrich Böll
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote
The Leopard – Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Pluck the Bud and Destroy the Offspring – Kenzaburo Oe
A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
The Bitter Glass – Eilís Dillon
Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – Alan Sillitoe
Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris – Paul Gallico
Borstal Boy – Brendan Behan
The End of the Road – John Barth
The Once and Future King – T.H. White
The Bell – Iris Murdoch
Jealousy – Alain Robbe-Grillet
Voss – Patrick White
The Midwich Cuckoos – John Wyndham
Blue Noon – Georges Bataille
Homo Faber – Max Frisch
On the Road – Jack Kerouac
Pnin – Vladimir Nabokov
Doctor Zhivago – Boris Pasternak
The Wonderful “O” – James Thurber
Justine – Lawrence Durrell
Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin
The Lonely Londoners – Sam Selvon
The Roots of Heaven – Romain Gary
Seize the Day – Saul Bellow
The Floating Opera – John Barth
The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Talented Mr. Ripley – Patricia Highsmith
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
A World of Love – Elizabeth Bowen
The Trusting and the Maimed – James Plunkett
The Quiet American – Graham Greene
The Last Temptation of Christ – Nikos Kazantzákis
The Recognitions – William Gaddis
The Ragazzi – Pier Paulo Pasolini
Bonjour Tristesse – Françoise Sagan
I’m Not Stiller – Max Frisch
Self Condemned – Wyndham Lewis
The Story of O – Pauline Réage
A Ghost at Noon – Alberto Moravia
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Under the Net – Iris Murdoch
The Go-Between – L.P. Hartley
The Long Goodbye – Raymond Chandler
The Unnamable – Samuel Beckett
Watt – Samuel Beckett
Lucky Jim – Kingsley Amis
Junkie – William Burroughs
The Adventures of Augie March – Saul Bellow
Go Tell It on the Mountain – James Baldwin
Casino Royale – Ian Fleming
The Judge and His Hangman – Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison
The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
Wise Blood – Flannery O’Connor
The Killer Inside Me – Jim Thompson
Memoirs of Hadrian – Marguerite Yourcenar
Malone Dies – Samuel Beckett
Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham
Foundation – Isaac Asimov
The Opposing Shore – Julien Gracq
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
The Rebel – Albert Camus
Molloy – Samuel Beckett
The End of the Affair – Graham Greene
The Abbot C – Georges Bataille
The Labyrinth of Solitude – Octavio Paz
The Third Man – Graham Greene
The 13 Clocks – James Thurber
Gormenghast – Mervyn Peake
The Grass is Singing – Doris Lessing
I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
The Moon and the Bonfires – Cesare Pavese
The Garden Where the Brass Band Played – Simon Vestdijk
Love in a Cold Climate – Nancy Mitford
The Case of Comrade Tulayev – Victor Serge
The Heat of the Day – Elizabeth Bowen
Kingdom of This World – Alejo Carpentier
The Man With the Golden Arm – Nelson Algren
Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
All About H. Hatterr – G.V. Desani
Disobedience – Alberto Moravia
Death Sentence – Maurice Blanchot
The Heart of the Matter – Graham Greene
Cry, the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
Doctor Faustus – Thomas Mann
The Victim – Saul Bellow
Exercises in Style – Raymond Queneau
If This Is a Man – Primo Levi
Under the Volcano – Malcolm Lowry
The Path to the Nest of Spiders – Italo Calvino
The Plague – Albert Camus
Back – Henry Green
Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake
The Bridge on the Drina – Ivo Andri?
Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
Animal Farm – George Orwell
Cannery Row – John Steinbeck
The Pursuit of Love – Nancy Mitford
Loving – Henry Green
Arcanum 17 – André Breton
Christ Stopped at Eboli – Carlo Levi
The Razor’s Edge – William Somerset Maugham
Transit – Anna Seghers
Ficciones – Jorge Luis Borges
Dangling Man – Saul Bellow
The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Caught – Henry Green
The Glass Bead Game – Herman Hesse
Embers – Sandor Marai
Go Down, Moses – William Faulkner
The Outsider – Albert Camus
In Sicily – Elio Vittorini
The Poor Mouth – Flann O’Brien
The Living and the Dead – Patrick White
Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton
Between the Acts – Virginia Woolf
The Hamlet – William Faulkner
Farewell My Lovely – Raymond Chandler
For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway
Native Son – Richard Wright
The Power and the Glory – Graham Greene
The Tartar Steppe – Dino Buzzati
Party Going – Henry Green
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
Finnegans Wake – James Joyce
At Swim-Two-Birds – Flann O’Brien
Coming Up for Air – George Orwell
Goodbye to Berlin – Christopher Isherwood
Tropic of Capricorn – Henry Miller
Good Morning, Midnight – Jean Rhys
The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler
After the Death of Don Juan – Sylvie Townsend Warner
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – Winifred Watson
Nausea – Jean-Paul Sartre
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
Cause for Alarm – Eric Ambler
Brighton Rock – Graham Greene
U.S.A. – John Dos Passos
Murphy – Samuel Beckett
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Years – Virginia Woolf
In Parenthesis – David Jones
The Revenge for Love – Wyndham Lewis
Out of Africa – Isak Dineson (Karen Blixen)
To Have and Have Not – Ernest Hemingway
Summer Will Show – Sylvia Townsend Warner
Eyeless in Gaza – Aldous Huxley
The Thinking Reed – Rebecca West
Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
Keep the Aspidistra Flying – George Orwell
Wild Harbour – Ian MacPherson
Absalom, Absalom! – William Faulkner
At the Mountains of Madness – H.P. Lovecraft
Nightwood – Djuna Barnes
Independent People – Halldór Laxness
Auto-da-Fé – Elias Canetti
The Last of Mr. Norris – Christopher Isherwood
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – Horace McCoy
The House in Paris – Elizabeth Bowen
England Made Me – Graham Greene
Burmese Days – George Orwell
The Nine Tailors – Dorothy L. Sayers
Threepenny Novel – Bertolt Brecht
Novel With Cocaine – M. Ageyev
The Postman Always Rings Twice – James M. Cain
Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller
A Handful of Dust – Evelyn Waugh
Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Thank You, Jeeves – P.G. Wodehouse
Call it Sleep – Henry Roth
Miss Lonelyhearts – Nathanael West
Murder Must Advertise – Dorothy L. Sayers
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas – Gertrude Stein
Testament of Youth – Vera Brittain
A Day Off – Storm Jameson
The Man Without Qualities – Robert Musil
A Scots Quair (Sunset Song) – Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Journey to the End of the Night – Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
To the North – Elizabeth Bowen
The Thin Man – Dashiell Hammett
The Radetzky March – Joseph Roth
The Waves – Virginia Woolf
The Glass Key – Dashiell Hammett
Cakes and Ale – W. Somerset Maugham
The Apes of God – Wyndham Lewis
Her Privates We – Frederic Manning
Vile Bodies – Evelyn Waugh
The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett
Hebdomeros – Giorgio de Chirico
Passing – Nella Larsen
A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
Red Harvest – Dashiell Hammett
Living – Henry Green
The Time of Indifference – Alberto Moravia
All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque
Berlin Alexanderplatz – Alfred Döblin
The Last September – Elizabeth Bowen
Harriet Hume – Rebecca West
The Sound and the Fury – William Faulkner
Les Enfants Terribles – Jean Cocteau
Look Homeward, Angel – Thomas Wolfe
Story of the Eye – Georges Bataille
Orlando – Virginia Woolf
Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D.H. Lawrence
The Well of Loneliness – Radclyffe Hall
The Childermass – Wyndham Lewis
Quartet – Jean Rhys
Decline and Fall – Evelyn Waugh
Quicksand – Nella Larsen
Parade’s End – Ford Madox Ford
Nadja – André Breton
Steppenwolf – Herman Hesse
Remembrance of Things Past – Marcel Proust
To The Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
Tarka the Otter – Henry Williamson
Amerika – Franz Kafka
The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
Blindness – Henry Green
The Castle – Franz Kafka
The Good Soldier Švejk – Jaroslav Hašek
The Plumed Serpent – D.H. Lawrence
One, None and a Hundred Thousand – Luigi Pirandello
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie
The Making of Americans – Gertrude Stein
Manhattan Transfer – John Dos Passos
Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Counterfeiters – André Gide
The Trial – Franz Kafka
The Artamonov Business – Maxim Gorky
The Professor’s House – Willa Cather
Billy Budd, Foretopman – Herman Melville
The Green Hat – Michael Arlen
The Magic Mountain – Thomas Mann
We – Yevgeny Zamyatin
A Passage to India – E.M. Forster
The Devil in the Flesh – Raymond Radiguet
Zeno’s Conscience – Italo Svevo
Cane – Jean Toomer
Antic Hay – Aldous Huxley
Amok – Stefan Zweig
The Garden Party – Katherine Mansfield
The Enormous Room – E.E. Cummings
Jacob’s Room – Virginia Woolf
Siddhartha – Herman Hesse
The Glimpses of the Moon – Edith Wharton
Life and Death of Harriett Frean – May Sinclair
The Last Days of Humanity – Karl Kraus
Aaron’s Rod – D.H. Lawrence
Babbitt – Sinclair Lewis
Ulysses – James Joyce
The Fox – D.H. Lawrence
Crome Yellow – Aldous Huxley
The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton
Main Street – Sinclair Lewis
Women in Love – D.H. Lawrence
Night and Day – Virginia Woolf
Tarr – Wyndham Lewis
The Return of the Soldier – Rebecca West
The Shadow Line – Joseph Conrad
Summer – Edith Wharton
Growth of the Soil – Knut Hamsen
Bunner Sisters – Edith Wharton
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce
Under Fire – Henri Barbusse
Rashomon – Akutagawa Ryunosuke
The Good Soldier – Ford Madox Ford
The Voyage Out – Virginia Woolf
Of Human Bondage – William Somerset Maugham
The Rainbow – D.H. Lawrence
The Thirty-Nine Steps – John Buchan
Kokoro – Natsume Soseki
Locus Solus – Raymond Roussel
Rosshalde – Herman Hesse
Tarzan of the Apes – Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – Robert Tressell
Sons and Lovers – D.H. Lawrence
Death in Venice – Thomas Mann
The Charwoman’s Daughter – James Stephens
Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton
Fantômas – Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre
Howards End – E.M. Forster
Impressions of Africa – Raymond Roussel
Three Lives – Gertrude Stein
Martin Eden – Jack London
Strait is the Gate – André Gide
Tono-Bungay – H.G. Wells
The Inferno – Henri Barbusse
A Room With a View – E.M. Forster
The Iron Heel – Jack London
The Old Wives’ Tale – Arnold Bennett
The House on the Borderland – William Hope Hodgson
Mother – Maxim Gorky
The Secret Agent – Joseph Conrad
The Jungle – Upton Sinclair
Young Törless – Robert Musil
The Forsyte Sage – John Galsworthy
The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
Professor Unrat – Heinrich Mann
Where Angels Fear to Tread – E.M. Forster
Nostromo – Joseph Conrad
Hadrian the Seventh – Frederick Rolfe
The Golden Bowl – Henry James
The Ambassadors – Henry James
The Riddle of the Sands – Erskine Childers
The Immoralist – André Gide
The Wings of the Dove – Henry James
Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Buddenbrooks – Thomas Mann
Kim – Rudyard Kipling
Sister Carrie – Theodore Dreiser
Lord Jim – Joseph Conrad
1800s
Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. – Somerville and Ross
The Stechlin – Theodore Fontane
The Awakening – Kate Chopin
The Turn of the Screw – Henry James
The War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells
The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells
What Maisie Knew – Henry James
Fruits of the Earth – André Gide
Dracula – Bram Stoker
Quo Vadis – Henryk Sienkiewicz
The Island of Dr. Moreau – H.G. Wells
The Time Machine – H.G. Wells
Effi Briest – Theodore Fontane
Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
The Real Charlotte – Somerville and Ross
The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Born in Exile – George Gissing
Diary of a Nobody – George & Weedon Grossmith
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
News from Nowhere – William Morris
New Grub Street – George Gissing
Gösta Berling’s Saga – Selma Lagerlöf
Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
The Kreutzer Sonata – Leo Tolstoy
La Bête Humaine – Émile Zola
By the Open Sea – August Strindberg
Hunger – Knut Hamsun
The Master of Ballantrae – Robert Louis Stevenson
Pierre and Jean – Guy de Maupassant
Fortunata and Jacinta – Benito Pérez Galdés
The People of Hemsö – August Strindberg
The Woodlanders – Thomas Hardy
She – H. Rider Haggard
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
The Mayor of Casterbridge – Thomas Hardy
Kidnapped – Robert Louis Stevenson
King Solomon’s Mines – H. Rider Haggard
Germinal – Émile Zola
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Bel-Ami – Guy de Maupassant
Marius the Epicurean – Walter Pater
Against the Grain – Joris-Karl Huysmans
The Death of Ivan Ilyich – Leo Tolstoy
A Woman’s Life – Guy de Maupassant
Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
The House by the Medlar Tree – Giovanni Verga
The Portrait of a Lady – Henry James
Bouvard and Pécuchet – Gustave Flaubert
Ben-Hur – Lew Wallace
Nana – Émile Zola
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Red Room – August Strindberg
Return of the Native – Thomas Hardy
Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
Drunkard – Émile Zola
Virgin Soil – Ivan Turgenev
Daniel Deronda – George Eliot
The Hand of Ethelberta – Thomas Hardy
The Temptation of Saint Anthony – Gustave Flaubert
Far from the Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
The Enchanted Wanderer – Nicolai Leskov
Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne
In a Glass Darkly – Sheridan Le Fanu
The Devils – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Erewhon – Samuel Butler
Spring Torrents – Ivan Turgenev
Middlemarch – George Eliot
Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There – Lewis Carroll
King Lear of the Steppes – Ivan Turgenev
He Knew He Was Right – Anthony Trollope
War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
Sentimental Education – Gustave Flaubert
Phineas Finn – Anthony Trollope
Maldoror – Comte de Lautréaumont
The Idiot – Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Thérèse Raquin – Émile Zola
The Last Chronicle of Barset – Anthony Trollope
Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Jules Verne
Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
Our Mutual Friend – Charles Dickens
Uncle Silas – Sheridan Le Fanu
Notes from the Underground – Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Water-Babies – Charles Kingsley
Les Misérables – Victor Hugo
Fathers and Sons – Ivan Turgenev
Silas Marner – George Eliot
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
On the Eve – Ivan Turgenev
Castle Richmond – Anthony Trollope
The Mill on the Floss – George Eliot
The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
The Marble Faun – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Max Havelaar – Multatuli
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Oblomovka – Ivan Goncharov
Adam Bede – George Eliot
Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell
Hard Times – Charles Dickens
Walden – Henry David Thoreau
Bleak House – Charles Dickens
Villette – Charlotte Brontë
Cranford – Elizabeth Gaskell
Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lonely – Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Blithedale Romance – Nathaniel Hawthorne
The House of the Seven Gables – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Moby-Dick – Herman Melville
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
Shirley – Charlotte Brontë
Mary Barton – Elizabeth Gaskell
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë
Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
Agnes Grey – Anne Brontë
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
The Count of Monte-Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
La Reine Margot – Alexandre Dumas
The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
The Purloined Letter – Edgar Allan Poe
Martin Chuzzlewit – Charles Dickens
The Pit and the Pendulum – Edgar Allan Poe
Lost Illusions – Honoré de Balzac
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Dead Souls – Nikolay Gogol
The Charterhouse of Parma – Stendhal
The Fall of the House of Usher – Edgar Allan Poe
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
The Nose – Nikolay Gogol
Le Père Goriot – Honoré de Balzac
Eugénie Grandet – Honoré de Balzac
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Victor Hugo
The Red and the Black – Stendhal
The Betrothed – Alessandro Manzoni
Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner – James Hogg
The Albigenses – Charles Robert Maturin
Melmoth the Wanderer – Charles Robert Maturin
The Monastery – Sir Walter Scott
Ivanhoe – Sir Walter Scott
Frankenstein – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
Persuasion – Jane Austen
Ormond – Maria Edgeworth
Rob Roy – Sir Walter Scott
Emma – Jane Austen
Mansfield Park – Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
The Absentee – Maria Edgeworth
Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
Elective Affinities – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Castle Rackrent – Maria Edgeworth
1700s
Hyperion – Friedrich Hölderlin
The Nun – Denis Diderot
Camilla – Fanny Burney
The Monk – M.G. Lewis
Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Mysteries of Udolpho – Ann Radcliffe
The Interesting Narrative – Olaudah Equiano
The Adventures of Caleb Williams – William Godwin
Justine – Marquis de Sade
Vathek – William Beckford
The 120 Days of Sodom – Marquis de Sade
Cecilia – Fanny Burney
Confessions – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Dangerous Liaisons – Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Reveries of a Solitary Walker – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Evelina – Fanny Burney
The Sorrows of Young Werther – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Humphrey Clinker – Tobias George Smollett
The Man of Feeling – Henry Mackenzie
A Sentimental Journey – Laurence Sterne
Tristram Shandy – Laurence Sterne
The Vicar of Wakefield – Oliver Goldsmith
The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole
Émile; or, On Education – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rameau’s Nephew – Denis Diderot
Julie; or, the New Eloise – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rasselas – Samuel Johnson
Candide – Voltaire
The Female Quixote – Charlotte Lennox
Amelia – Henry Fielding
Peregrine Pickle – Tobias George Smollett
Fanny Hill – John Cleland
Tom Jones – Henry Fielding
Roderick Random – Tobias George Smollett
Clarissa – Samuel Richardson
Pamela – Samuel Richardson
Jacques the Fatalist – Denis Diderot
Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus – J. Arbuthnot, J. Gay, T. Parnell, A. Pope, J. Swift
Joseph Andrews – Henry Fielding
A Modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift
Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift
Roxana – Daniel Defoe
Moll Flanders – Daniel Defoe
Love in Excess – Eliza Haywood
Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
A Tale of a Tub – Jonathan Swift
Pre-1700
Oroonoko – Aphra Behn
The Princess of Clèves – Marie-Madelaine Pioche de Lavergne, Comtesse de La Fayette
The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan
Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
The Unfortunate Traveller – Thomas Nashe
Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit – John Lyly
Gargantua and Pantagruel – Françoise Rabelais
The Thousand and One Nights – Anonymous
The Golden Ass – Lucius Apuleius
Aithiopika – Heliodorus
Chaireas and Kallirhoe – Chariton
Metamorphoses – Ovid
Aesop’s Fables – Aesopus

20.12.09

Some fun cheap holiday thrills.

Everyone (including myself) all have a wonderful long summer break ahead of us. Some people may have schedules which are just bursting at the brim, whilst others are struggling to find a cheap and simple holiday thrill. I like to think of myself as just in the middle of the two. Here is a list of some cheap (and chic) things to do in the holidays:

1. Have a picnic in Hyde Park or the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Grab your friends, a picnic blanket, basket and a pair of sunglasses and have a blast just chilling out in the beautiful grassy terrains of iconic parks in Sydney. Listen to the surrounding crowds and buskers for a true taste of the calmer city on the cheap. Sandwiches, baguettes and fresh fruit platters are a must.

2. Watch a movie at Dendy Cinemas on King Street in Newtown.

If you love anything out of the ordinary and alternative, Dendy Cinemas and Newtown is the place to be these holidays. Dendy Cinemas is my choice for the best place to watch movies (other than home) because there are usually less crowds and a lot of international and local films available to watch. It is less mainstream in content and far more interesting.

3. Visit Bondi, Glebe and/or Paddington markets

Visit some iconic Sydney markets and make the most of a budget savvy shopping day in the outskirts of Sydney city. Markets are perfect for cheap items, knick knacks, vintage, clothes, accesories and food. Affordable and stylish, markets are easy ways to go out and have a good time.

4. Go magazine shopping at Mag-nation on King Street.

Mag-nation is this new store which has recently opened with some great success. Supplying a large range of local and international magazines from all over the world, mag-nation is the tabloid lovers ideal inner city mecca. From the New York Times to Vogue Nippon, Dazed & Confused to Vanity Fair, you'll be able to spend hours pondering over these glossies for some time.

5. Eat Yum-Cha in Chinatown.

So cheap and so delicious, Yum-Cha would have to be the daily alternative to cocktails in the morning. Enjoy the fresh aromas of steaming tea along with the many exotic Asian influences in the dishes. Visit a Yum-Chas place with your friends as it's even cheaper.

I'm positive this short list will keep you busy for a little while, if you need any more ideas, let me know!

Studying the context of the 19th Century.

If you have an interest or will be studying the 19th Century in the near future, a site that may be of good reference to you would be Victoria Web. I used this site when I studied my Extension English core unit "Individual and Society" in the 19th century and it is extremely helpful contextually. It features an overview of the many events, significant values and individuals of the time which may be of some interest to you. This is the link: http://www.victorianweb.org/

Hope you learn something new.

Essay Writing: STAR method.

Here is an abbreviated way to revise and remember the basic form of an essay. It is called the 'STAR' method.

S- Statement

T- Textual evidence

A- Analysis

R- Related

Hope this helps!

Restaurants for the festive season.

I assume that the many students who won't be hosting a Christmas Eve, Christmas or New Years lunch or dinner at their place would perhaps instead be dining out, and this information has inspired me to create a list of the top five restaurants to splurge at for the festive season.

1. Wildfire

www.wildfire.com

2. Glass

www.glassbrasserie.com.au

3. Aria

www.ariarestaurant.com/Aria-Sydney

4. Ichi Ban Teppanyaki

www.ichicbanteppan-yaki.com.au

5. Sir Stamford Plaza

www.stamford.com.au

Enjoy!

7.12.09

Big Birthday Wishes: December 09.

Wishing a BIG Happy Birthday to the following English students:

- 13th of December: Daniel Nou
- 25th of December: Lisa Tran

PS: I need all of my students to email me with their birthday dates ASAP. If you want presents, let me know when your birthday is. The earlier, the better. Cheers.

Item Returns for the Holidays.

With holidays literally just around the corner, I am just reminding you all that if I have lent you any books, films etc. to borrow, read and/or watch, if I could please get these items returned to me before the Summer holidays officially take place. It'll just help avoiding further confusion and misplacement of items in the New Year. I appreciate your efforts. Hope the texts I lent you helped you felt inspired.

6.12.09

Last student survey for 2009.

Let's end the year happily with a randomly lovely last survey.

1. What are three things on your to-do list?
2. What are some things on your Christmas wishlist/to-buy list?

3. What are your Summer Holiday plans?

4. What are five of your current obsessions?

5. Where is your favourite place in the whole wide world?

6. What makes you happy?

7. What is your favourite music genre/artists?

8. Who inspires you?

9. What is your favourite food?

10. What is one word to describe you?

Write your responses in the comments section. Cheers.

Year Nine English Class Last Payment Due.

Just a reminder that the payment for the next two English lessons (12th of Dec and 19th of Dec) are due next week (12th Dec). I forgot to remind you in class so I'm hoping you can please have this ready by our lesson. Also, Kris Kringle gifts are due and must be brought in appropriately. Please make sure these are packaged neatly with a card, just out of courtesy. Thanks so much.

PS: I need to talk to you all about a last minute plan. Remind me.

Summer Holiday Reading List.

According to the Telegraph UK, this is a great list of 50 fabulous holiday novels for reading this Summer break:

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Three generations of Chinese womanhood survive the reign of the warlords, Japanese occupation, the Kuomintang, the Cultural Revolution and, finally, a writer's exile. This century-spanning brick of a book is biography staged as novelism: related with unsparing candour, it's horrible, evocative, engrossing and still banned in China. TM

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

Edward Gibbon saw it as his task both to instruct and entertain his audience. He succeeds magnificently in this epic history of the Roman Empire. It's all here: the brutal conquests, the internecine rivalry, the mad emperors and, most controversially, an account of the spread of Christianity which led Samuel Johnson to label him an "infidel".

What most delights his readers, though, is Gibbon's prose style: light but strong, complex but clear, and always elegant. His witty footnotes are also worth a look. One cross-dressing emperor appointed his lovers to important positions: "A dancer was made praefect of the city, a charioteer praefect of the watch, a barber praefect of the provinces. The three ministers, with many inferior officers, were all recommended, enormitate memborum." SR

The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas

Massive, sweeping, heartbreaking, the story of the war that tore Spain apart, left a mark on the conscience of a generation, and gave the world the monster of banal cruelty that was General Franco. This is still the definitive account of the battle for the soul of Spain, written with unrelenting drive. DS

The Classical World by Robin Lane Fox

The essential companion for anyone travelling to the Mediterranean, a wondrously rich patchwork of classical history from the first Greeks to the rise of Julius Caesar, told with great insight and a refreshing sense of humour. Even if you don't fancy temples and ruins, it's still an enlightening treat. DS

The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk

Even if its relevance today were not so obvious, this history of Anglo-Russian involvement in Afghanistan would still be a ripper. Into its colourful mix of history, geography, exploration and warfare, Peter Hopkirk adds superb insights into the lives of the young men who, for the sakes of their nations' imperial ambitions, trespassed in that bafflingly dangerous country. One for the boys, perhaps, but its lessons are timeless. TC

Diary of a Country Parson by James Woodforde

The boiled mutton and batter pudding that punctuate James Woodforde's story are among the details that give realism to the 40-year narrative of an 18th-century clergyman of steady appetites, humane interests and fundamental goodheartedness. It's as English as plumb (sic) pudding and green peas in season, and can be read in portions, making it perfect for consumption on train journeys. CSH

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

It may not be the Latin American wizard's greatest book, but Márquez's account of a lifetime of desire, disappointment and delay is the easiest to love, and the best introduction to his shimmering style.

Florentino's long wooing of Fermina, her marriage and all the other relationships of a long life paint a convincing tale of love as an incurable disease. A surrealist soap opera with a happy ending.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

The book that turned Sarah Waters into a superstar, this pacy and well-written piece of crime-'n'-crinoline Victorian grand guignol has it all: moustaches, dastardliness and lesbians. The plot twists like a greasy piglet, and is just as fun. SL

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Audrey Niffenegger's first novel is a knockout, marrying a deliciously mushy love story to a ruthlessly worked-out science-fiction premise. What would it be like to be married to someone who randomly travelled through time, and kept showing up starkers in your garden when you were a kid? Odd, clever, funny and tear-jerking. SL

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

A rollicking piece of spoof noir detective fiction set among the "frozen chosen" of a Jewish homeland in Alaska. Chabon has so much fun with his premise it's almost indecent - and he shares the fun with the reader. Yelp-makingly funny, sublimely well written, and as comforting as chicken-soup. SL

A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel

This perfect historical novel, given numerous bracing modern twists, is a classy character study of Danton, Robespierre and Desmoulins, the men behind the Terror of the French Revolution, and shows how fatal the combination of ego, ambition and misplaced idealism can be. As tumultuous, crowded and exciting as the storming of the Bastille, except it'll maybe take you a bit longer. TC

Possession: a Romance by AS Byatt

Byatt's Booker-winning potboiler (a term I use in praise) tells a double love-story: between two Victorian poets (a sort of nearly Browning and a sort of nearly Rossetti) and two modern-day academics who study them. One of the few books ever to make scholarship sound really exciting, it possesses the reader. SL

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

One night Sherman McCoy, a millionaire banker who thinks of himself as a "Master of the Universe", takes a wrong turn off a New York freeway and runs over a black teenager. This contact between the haves and the have-nots gives Wolfe licence to satirise the excesses of New York society, and he takes full advantage of it. It's witty, sprawling and ambitious, but read it lying down, with it propped on a cushion on your tummy, because it is nearly 800 pages long. TC

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

Before he was the Man Who Wrote The James Bond Book, Sebastian Faulks was The Man Who Wrote Birdsong. A deservedly huge bestseller, this is a great, absorbing, affecting Anglo-French love-and-bullets saga, fetchingly adorned with period hokum, whose most vivid scenes take place in and underneath the trenches of the First World War. If you're either of the people who didn't read it first time round, I commend it to you. SL

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

Jonathan Whicher was one of Scotland Yard's first detectives, and the model for many fictional detectives that followed. His career foundered because society could not accept his conclusion in the case of the Road House murder, when a young boy was found down a cistern with his throat cut.

An acutely observed, pinpoint sharp depiction of Victorian England, this is also braced with a galloping plot and it would be best read while travelling on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. TC

Blood River by Tim Butcher

In 2007, 130 years after H M Stanley made his insanely dangerous trip down the river Congo, Butcher retraced his route downstream - on a motorbike and in a river boat - and found the Democratic Republic of Congo no less risky. Since colonialism collapsed, kleptocracy and competition for the country's natural resources have left it reeling. The insights are sobering; the adventure is tense, and you'll be glad you're reading it in Ibiza. TC

The Chronicles of Barchester by Anthony Trollope

You start with The Warden, then Barchester Towers then (my favourite) Dr Thorne, then the next three. And what a treat you have, if you like Austen, or Pym, or anyone who gives an account of petty relationships in a Deanery Close or other small community. Why did Freud bother? This is so much better, and truer. AMcK

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain M Pears

A splendid whodunnit set in the 17th century. If not as good a detective story as the heights of Dickson Carr and Sayers, it's not far off. If not quite as clever as The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco, not far off. A rollicking read, and, unlike anything by Dan Brown, if you're seen reading it, you won't be pegged as an obvious moron (though - spoiler alert - its solution is nearly as blasphemous). AMcK

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." Or not so much a feast as a giant piss-up. But it is a beautifully evoked piss-up, and the atmosphere is wholly delightful as Hemingway recalls his younger days trying to make ends meet, knocking about with Joyce, Wyndham Lewis and Scott Fitzgerald in the cafés of Paris.

It is worth trying to retrace his journey south, matching him drink for drink (although better let someone else drive). Read it with no fewer than eight bottles of chilled Sancerre. TC

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell

George Orwell was so honest that it is no surprise he gets shot in Homage to Catalonia. He learns to love the Spanish, or rather the Catalans, and therefore be exasperated by them, though just as obviously he fails to understand a motive in the Spanish Civil War even greater than different brands of Marxism, which is to say religion. But how compellingly his prose moves us on. CSH

The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell

Set (for the first three volumes) between the wars, the ultimate romantic/coming of age/thriller/Gnostic fantasy novel. Overrated in the 1960s; underestimated now. Gripping, beautiful, irritating, intoxicating. It may change your life. Or you may hate it. AMcK

The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard

The novels that make up The Cazalet Chronicles (The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion and Casting Off) first appeared between 1988 and 1995: it's hard to see how fans stood the wait between volumes. The story of a family approaching, experiencing and surviving the Second World War unfolds at pace, with couplings, uncouplings, disappearances and reunions to hold the attention on the longest of holidays. AC

Riders by Jilly Cooper

Jilly Cooper has never been more sure-footed than in this 1980s blockbuster, a triumphant blend of the themes that have always preoccupied her: class, horses and sex. The men are stallions, the women fillies, and when they are not competing at the Olympics, they are romping on the sofas in gold-stoned Cotswold rectories. Best read by the fire in a cottage as the afternoon rain lashes down outside. TC

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

There's no shame for any adult in being seen reading this brilliant fantasy trilogy on the beach. Deeply pleasurable in the way C?S Lewis is - in its mythic range, its imaginative brio and its storytelling power - it has a real ability to make the reader think. Also, it has armoured polar bears beating seven bells out of each other. SL

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Lata has three suitors: which one will she pick? As she considers her choice, Vikram Seth takes us on a tour of 1950s India in the fictional city of Bramphur - its family strife, its politics, its hopes.

Apparently Seth began this book (of 1,500 pages) with no idea how it would continue. Yet its structure is as orderly as India is chaotic. You never feel lost or that the author is labouring. Doctors ought to prescribe this book for depression. Its entertaining stories and warm voice make it a perfect companion for a holiday alone, in India or elsewhere. SR

King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard

English hunter Allan Quartermain goes in search of the Biblical mines in the heart of darkest Africa. This classic adventure is today studied in universities for its dodgier aspects: the cruel King Twala who gets his head lopped off; the daring Englishman who must overcome Sheba's Breasts (a mountain range). But it's undeniably exciting, especially for boys of a certain age. SR

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

We haven't included Dune or The Lord of the Rings because if you wanted to read them, you would have done so already. Mieville's reinvention of science fiction and fantasy is genuinely scary, inventive, engrossing and beautiful. An essential classic for those who understand Mervyn Peake, have a strong stomach and a sense of humour. AMcK

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

If all popular fiction were as well written as Donna Tartt's first novel, and if all literary fiction were as exciting, our beaches, dinner parties and libraries would be brighter and better places. A murder mystery-cum-campus novel, Tartt's charismatic, incestuous cabal of student classicists made Greats sound, well, great. SL

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

I was glad I came to Rudyard Kipling's Kim as a grown-up, because its style is as fresh and clear as the air of its Indian mountains setting. The Tibetan magic in it appeals to children, the exotic spirituality to us workers and the dusty adventures of the Grand Trunk Road and the Great Game to anyone. CSH

The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz

The Egyptian master's three-volume, multi-generational family saga is something to sink deeply and gratefully into. Stately, plural, generous and humane, Mahfouz writes in the tradition of the great novelists of the 19th century. The Cairo Trilogy encompasses comedy and tragedy, the large movements of history and the tiniest domestic upset. It's really something. SL

Shogun by James Clavell

Perhaps the ultimate airport novel, this wholly involving blend of dense historical research and manly adventure posturing was based on the exploits of William Adams, a British navigator who reached Japan in the 17th century and was the first foreigner to be appointed samurai. A stalwart hero, scheming Jesuits, plenty of "pillowing" and swordfights and a large amount of period detail all clamour for the revival of that paperback cliché: unputdownable. TM

The Code of the Woosters by P G Wodehouse

Jeeves, Bertie, Totleigh Towers, Sir Watkyn Bassett, Roderick Spode, Gussie Fink-Nottle, and, of course, the cow-creamer. If you've read it, you'll want to read it again. If you haven't, it's a must. The ultimate holiday indulgence: gloriously funny, blissfully frivolous, overflowing with the joys of summer. DS

The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark

Lise, wearing ill-matching coloured clothes, travels to a European city looking for someone to kill her. She finds her murderer on the plane and, despite his best efforts, does not let him escape. At under 100 pages, this chilling novella has the atmosphere of a Greek Tragedy. SR

The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad was above all a virtuoso spinner of yarns. The Secret Agent is among his best, and takes place - which is nice, for readers prone to seasickness - on dry land, for once. Conrad's tale begins with a bang, and Verloc's pursuit thereafter of the sinister Professor is exciting, disturbing and absorbing. SL

The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux

No doubt things have changed since this was written in the 1970s, but Paul Theroux's train trip from London Victoria to Tokyo, via Pakistan, India and Vietnam, and then back again through Russia, is more about people than places. His glimpses of the societies he passes through are revealing and teeming with colour and life. TC

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

If you enjoyed Barbara Pym's Jane and Prudence on the wireless, you'll enjoy reading Excellent Women more. It is a travel book to the post-war London of terrible food, slender means and celibate love among the jumble sales. Its humour and language give the novel a strength of flavour to withstand any foreign sojourn. CSH

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Dashing young sailor, unjustly denounced, imprisoned and left for dead, unearths a cache of medieval treasure, disguises himself as the mysterious and implacable count and sweeps to his revenge. One of Dumas's greatest tales, this is adventure in the classic mould, bursting with thrilling heroism, black villainy and a near-indecent number of vendettas and double-crosses. Nearly every payback thriller written since owes it a debt. TM

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

Coleridge said that Tom Jones - along with Oedipus Tyrannus and The Alchemist - had one of the three most perfect plots ever planned. The foundling, brought up by a benign landowner in Somerset, grows up to have lusty and comic adventures through England. Notable scenes include Tom's rescue of a topless woman who insists on remaining topless once she sees him. SR

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

Mikhail Lermontov's seductive, restless, cynical anti-hero Pechorin is one of the most enduringly vivid archetypes of 19th-century literature. Thrill to his death-defying Caucasian exploits! Gasp in dismay as he seduces and casts aside beautiful women! Wince as he courts destruction out of sheer boredom! He'll be, like, whatever… A pioneering existentialist; an essential novella. SL

Waverley by Walter Scott

A young Scottish officer is sent into the Highlands to help suppress the 1745 rebellion, but he is soon seduced not so much by the Jacobite cause as by the people and the scenery. Published in 1814, Scott's first novel is a sublime piece of propaganda for a Scotland that never existed but has none the less gone down as fact. Best read on the sleeper train home. TC

Byzantium: the Early Centuries; Byzantium: the Apogee; Byzantium: the Decline and Fall by John Julius Norwich

Narrative history at its epic best, with a thousand years of Byzantine tyrants, eunuchs and courtesans, from the emperor with the golden nose to the unfortunate ruler whose head ended up as a drinking goblet. Best read while sipping raki beside the Golden Horn – or shivering in a caravan in deepest Wales, dreaming of Byzantium. DS

A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul

This exquisitely written novel follows Salim, an East-African Indian, as he travels inland to a town at the end of the river. Alone in his shop, Salim grows bitter; but an affair with a beautiful married woman awakens his sensuality. Things begin to turn sour, though, as the Big Man who leads the country tightens his grip. SR

The Sicilian Vespers by Steven Runciman

In March 1282, as the bells of Palermo were ringing for vespers, the people of Sicily burst into history, roaming through the streets and slaughtering the soldiers of their French rulers. And this gem is not just the story of their rebellion; it's a fabulous history of the Mediterranean in the age of Dante. DS

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

Anyone who's had an argument with their partner on holiday will be grimly entertained by Port and Kit's antics in North Africa. There is some portentous stuff about the desert and the sky - but the real fun starts when the wife is kidnapped by Arabs towards the end. SR

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Set in the early 1900s among the Igbo of Nigeria, this classic novel describes the tragic downfall of Okonkwo, a fierce tribesman whose way of life collapses when the Europeans colonise his country. Though unsentimental about pre-colonial Africa, Achebe writes with great sympathy for his protagonist.

Reviews by Sam Leith, Toby Clements, Sameer Rahim, Andrew McKie, Dominic Sandbrook, Christopher Howse, Tim Martin and Alex Clark.

Happy Reading!

HSC Study tips for the Summer Holidays.

The Summer Holidays are the longest and perhaps the best time of the year to get productive although it might not feel like it. I mean, how often will you get a good two months or so school free? Other than having a good break and relaxing, this is my best time to get some work done ready for the beginning of 2010. Here are my HSC friendly study tips!

1. Write GOOD essays based on Belonging.
2. Develop your thesis statements.
3. Read the next HSC texts that you will study. Make notes as you go along.
4. Start writing/altering/shortening your study notes. This is good revision.
5. Write a few GOOD creative writing pieces which explore the area of study (AOS) best.

Let me know if you need more holiday study tips! Get working!

The World's Hardest Game.

With a mix of IQ, logic and computer skills, the World's hardest game is really one to remember. I've only had a peek at it but it seems rather intense, let me know how you guys go with the levels. Here's the link for your reference.

http://www.media.perthnow.com.au/multimedia/2008/07/html/hardgame.html

Have fun!

30.11.09

Year Nine English Classes for 2010!

If you are a current year eight student, you might be interested in joining our newest English Class program ready in early 2010. Following the astounding success of the year nine 2009 classes, we've decided to extend this warm welcome to the year nine students of 2010 with the introduction of Saturday morning English classes. In these English classes, you will learn in a focused yet fun environment, perfect for discussions and development of new ideas in a more social surrounding. We will explore different genres, texts, writing styles, literature pieces and many more. If you are interested for more information, please feel free to contact me or email me. I will be releasing more information regarding these lessons soon, so please keep your eyes peeled for more updates.

Kris Kringle Online.

So the Kris Kringle names are out and it's obviously time to start checking out cheap and chic gifts. Here are my favourite online sites which will have Christmas presents and cheaper than chips Kris Kringle sorted almost instantly!

- www.smiggle.com.au

- www.prettyinpink.com.au

- www.apple.com/itunes

- www.amazon.com/au

- www.thebodyshop.com.au

- www.toysonline.com.au

- www.sweetstems.com.au

So, a reminder that the budget is $10 and gifts should be wrapped/packaged/well presented with a Christmas card as it is just a polite thing to do. I hope no one gives their K.K a gift in a white Big W bag or whatnot as I will scream! Enjoy!

Communication Etiquette sorted.

I know that I am terrible when it comes to answering my mobile phone, you'd really be lucky to catch me on say, my home phone as I'm hardly at home and the reception at my place is so awful, I'd probably/most likely not pick up anyway. So if you do attempt to call/sms/email me, let's get some communication manners and etiquette sorted.

1. Mobile Phone:

- Call: Okay, so if you manage to get through, please don't just start the conversation with 'Hi Lisa, you know that task you gave me...' because chances are that I probably don't know exactly who you are and the task you are talking about. Like, how many tasks do I give you? Unfortunately I don't sit around the house rearranging my English notes in my spare time, waiting for a call like that even if I may look it. So my apologies there. Also, you should know that it is just manners and respect to call someone during business hours and not on night's before tasks are due and whatnot because I'm not interested. You have a week to contact me so don't leave it to last minute as I cannot and will not help you. At all. I also refuse to pick up phone calls at inappropriate times so calling me from 8.30am to 8.30pm is alright but any times before/after that, I won't pick up so don't bother.

- SMS: Alright, calling obviously didn't work and if you need me to urgently call you back, just text me (in capital letters) 'Urgent' and obviously let me know who you are and what this is in regards to (I'll let you know if I think it's urgent, just kidding). Usually if you can't get through me via calling, SMS is your next best option. I will most likely respond, or at least read, any SMS which is sent to me. If I don't respond, it is because the text you have sent me, does not require a response. If you would like a response, just write 'Please respond/let me know asap' and I will. Make sure you tell me who you are because I obviously don't have your number on my mobile phone book.

- Email: This is obviously more work-attachment based however if you are seriously convinced that I haven't seen your previous calls or text messages, you are very welcome to email me. Just make sure that you use correct email convention which includes a subject, heading, sign off etc. I refuse to respond to emails otherwise. If this is work related, make sure to text me beforehand so I am aware that an email is coming through.

Hope this helps!

23.11.09

Another tip for the ladies this time!

Sorry for being so random with the whole XMAS craziness, I just can't help it...and know that you all secretly love it. Anyways, to all of my lovely female students who had no idea what to put on their Christmas wishlists or just any wishlist, in general, let me introduce you to the fabulous world of luxury heels. You can stop reading as of now, if it really seems like a bore.

So here's my story: I was just browsing the sites for some new things to buy (actually let's call it 'online window shopping') and I came across these magnifique heels which I think some of my girly year nine students will absolutely adore. They are the cutest little heels ever and (if you do get them) it will be your first taste of the high life to come! I'm not sure if you know the designer Vivienne Westwood? Well, Vivienne Westwood is like one of Britain's most ahhhh-mazing eccetric designers who has dressed absolutely everyone (that needs to be dressed) and she's collaborated with Aussie shoe label, Melissa, in a creating the ultimate pair of girly chic heels which come at an affordable yet luxe price! These heels are so Alice in Wonderland-whimsical and timeless and I'm pretty sure your parents will let you get away with it! And if your parents don't let you get them, try saving your cash up. Seriously, a good $20 something a week saved, is money you can further spend later (on these shoes, of course!) My favourite is the Melissa/Vivienne Westwood 'Lady Dragon' heels in fuschia.

These will seriously be the best thing you'll ever buy to end 2009 and will take you from the Summer Christmas season to the parties, weekends, weddings, dinners and New Years instantly. Such an affordable investment piece. Anyhow, I have finished my ranting and hope you all heart the heels even if they didn't directly tickle your fancy...or you are in denial.

Check out frockaholics.com for more heels. I'm thinking of writing a separate shoe blog. Keep your eyes opened for it. Please comment or email me if you're interested.

Creative writing competition due soon!

Just a reminder that the creative writing competition piece is due very soon on the 12th of December 2009. Please make sure you have this ready as any last minute entries will be accepted however any late entries will be accepted yet might not qualify in the competition. Keep up the time management and before you all know it, the academic year will be over, so make the most of it. Check the link below for the competition details.

http://analyse-english.blogspot.com/2009/09/competition-win-1-of-3-prizes.html

Remember this is a compulsory task to complete! Good luck!

Christmas Treats for the ladies.

I am pretty sure I just made girly Christmas shopping for the boys (to buy for girls), a whole lot more easier. I am absolutely head over heels in love with this very tres chic range of delectable yet affordable designer chocolate by Jessica Walker. With chocolate designs ranging from a chic pair of chocolate stillettos or miniature handbags to designer chocolate cracker sets, Jessica Walker chocolates feature as a wonderful choice for a deliciously sentimental Christmas gift idea. The Jessica Walker signature "medium shoes in tube" chocolate is available for a generous price of just $11.84. That's a treat that's good enough to eat. Now I know what's on my list this festive season. Available at department stores, Big W, Target and online.

14.11.09

Relaxing summer holidays music list.

I have no idea what you all might be getting up to these upcoming Summer holidays. For some reason, I've always pictured myself lying on a woven hammock with a book and iPod in tow on a balmy summer afternoon just staring into the distance. Very idealistic, as you can imagine. Here is my top 10 relaxing Summer music list for your enjoyment.

1. Seven Days in Sunny June: Jamiroquai

2. Serve the Ego: Jewel

3. Make it Mine: Jason Mraz

4. Dancing with myself: Nouvelle Vague

5. Dream On: Kelly Sweet

6. Love: Matt White

7. Live High: Jason Mraz

8. Imagine: Eva Cassidy

9. The Last day on Earth: Lisa Mitchell

10. Don't know why: Norah Jones

Enjoy!

11.11.09

Your opinion.

Courtesy of The Blake Wright blog.

What I'm reading now.

Other than being busy as hell as the festive season is quickly approaching, I've been continuing my reading of spectacular novels by literature's greats. At the moment, I've just started a new novel by renowned author Jean-Paul Sartre. I've only just started so it's a bit early for my true critique or praise for the novel, however I do quite like it as of now.

Title:

The Age of Reason

Author:

Jean-Paul Sartre

Blurb:

Set in the volatile Paris summer of 1938, the Age of Reason follows two days in the life of

Mathieu Delarue, a philosophy teacher, and his circle in the cafes and bars of Montparnasse. Mathieu has so far managed to contain sex and personal freedom in conveniently separate compartments. But now he is in trouble, urgently trying to raise 4000 francs to procure a safe abortion for his mistress, Marcelle. Beyond all this, filtering an uneasy light on his predicament, rises the distant threat of the coming of the Second World War.

Enjoy.

9.11.09

Holiday Season: Tis the season to be reading.

With the Summer holiday season literally just around the corner, it only seems natural that this is the time of year when people slowly start to lose interest in more important, long term things...like studying and English, for instance. As a result, you can be sure that I most likely won't force you to submit a 2000 word essay and bibliography for marking, nor will I expect you to ( however this might apply only to a select few). If anything, I would just appreciate if your enthusiasm can last through our lessons together and to encourage you all to get READING. If there's anything that'll pay off, it'll be the fact you managed to read a few good novels and watch some amazing films in the extent of the holiday season and the time leading up to this break. Although it may seem like quite a burden, I'm positive you'll thank me later.

Inspiration of the day.

7.11.09

Term 4: Topics of Interest.

With the exam period almost coming to an end, it only seems inevitable that the workload decreases and the interest in the topic mildly comes to a distinctive halt. As a result, I've figured that (if you're in year twelve, please disregard) you probably might be more interested in learning aspects of English which may best relate to your knowledge and personal interests. These few weeks, I will be asking you which topics you would like us to go over.

Examples of topics may include:

- 19th Century Literature and values

- Australian poetry

- Film studies

- Novel and contextual studies

- Understanding literary genres

- Visual literature and picture books

- Revision of creative writing etc.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to email me prior to our lesson so that I can organise, otherwise please come equipt as usual to go over school based work and assignments and be prepared with a topic of interest in mind.

Year Nine English Class: Payment due.

Just an online reminder that payment for the next four lessons are due. Thanks.

26.10.09

Twitterature by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin.

Perhaps you once asked yourself, 'What exactly is Hamlet trying to tell me? Why must he mince his words, muse in lyricism and, in short, whack about the shrub?' No doubt such troubling questions would have been swiftly resolved were the Prince of Denmark a registered user on Twitter.com. This, in essence, is Twitterature.

Here you will find seventy-five of the greatest works of western literature – from Beowulf to Bronte, from Kafka to Kerouac, and from Dostoevsky to Dickens– each distilled through the voice of Twitter to its purest, pithiest essence. Including a full glossary of online acronyms and Twitterary terms to aid the amateur, Twitterature provides everything you need to master the literature of the civilised world, while relieving you of the burdensome task of reading it.

From Hamlet: WTF IS POLONIUS DOING BEHIND THE CURTAIN???

From Dante's Inferno: I'm havin a midlife crisis. Lost in the woods. Shoulda brought my iPhone.

From Oedipus: PARTY IN THEBES!!! Nobody cares I killed that old dude, plus this woman is all over me. Total MILF.

From Paradise Lost: OH MY GOD I'M IN HELL.

'The classics are so last century' Guardian

Picture books: Shaun Tan

If you are looking for some texts to use as related pieces, be sure to check our picture books and artwork by renowned author and artist, Shaun Tan. His pieces are deep and unique however provide enough scope to work with in terms of entertainment and annotating. I'm positive you will be mesmerized by his pieces.

25.10.09

Watch it: Beauty and the Geek

Tune in for Beauty and the Geek on channel 7 at 8.30pm to 9.30pm every Thursday night . It is lightly comical and quite interesting to watch as the 'beauty's and the 'geek's work together to give each other a glimpse into the best of both worlds.

24.10.09

HSC 2009 Paper One: Are you prepared?

Thanks to one of my newly finished year 12 student, I have managed to get a copy of the exam questions which appeared in the 2009 Higher School Certificate in Paper One. The questions are as followed:

1. "Drawing on the ideas in ONE of these quotations, write an imaginative piece that celebrates the ways relationships contribute to a sense of belonging." Stimuli were "Human beings, like plants, grow in the soil of acceptance, not in the atmosphere of rejection" or "When someone prizes us just as we are; he or she confirms our existence."

2. "Understanding nourishes belonging... a lack of understanding prevents it. Demonstrate how your prescribed text and ONE other related text of your own choosing represent this interpretation of belonging."

Would you be ready to answer these?

19.10.09

Good Luck Year 12!

I just want to wish all of the year 12 students good luck for the upcoming exam period! Hope for the best, revise your essays, refine your thesis statements, re-annotate your quotes and with that little bit of extra luck, you should all be fine. Avoid burning out by the middle of examination period and keep organised and confident. You will be so grateful for the moment it is all over. If you have any last minute pieces you wish for me to mark, email me and I will get it to you as soon as possible. Moderation, persistence and confidence is key. Good luck!

14.10.09

DVD sale at Target.

I'm just writing to let you all know that the DVD sales at Target are so incredible. The movies are extremely cheap and very good. I managed to pick up more than a few films to watch. Right now, I just love the idea of watching DVDs, making popcorn and snuggling on the couch on balmy mid-week nights. It's definitely my guilty pleasure. For instance, I managed to pick up a fantastic reinterpretation of the Charlotte Bronte classic, Jane Eyre film starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, for just $9. Check out your local Taar-jay store for more fabulous offers.

Some film titles I noticed which are worth getting:
- Paris when it sizzles

- The Da Vinci Code

- Funny Face

- She's the Man

- The Jane Austen book club

- Sabrina

- Jane Eyre

- Pride and Prejudice

And that's just to name a few! Happy watching.

PS: Malina, I picked up Breakfast at Tiffanys at my local Target for just $12.99!

What I'm reading now.

I'm currently reading The Bride Stripped bare by Anonymous. It's such a beautifully written text which I have been dying to get my hands on for a while. I am so glad to finally be able to read it.

Title:
The Bride Stripped Bare

Author:
Anonymous

Blurb:
A woman disappears, leaving behind an incendiary diary chronicling a journey of sexual awakening. To all who knew her, she was the Good Wife: happy, devoted, content. But the diary reveals a secret self- a woman who has desires her husband cannot fulfil. She tastes for the first time, the intoxicating power of knowing what she wants and how to get it. The question is: how long can she sustain a perilous double life? The Bride Stripped Bare tells shocking truth about love and sex. it will make you question whether it is ever entirely possible to know another person.

10.10.09

NY Times: Book Sales are down despite push.

After strong starts and huge marketing campaigns, some of the biggest books of the fall season — on which the struggling bookselling industry has pinned much of its hopes — are losing a little steam.

"The Lost Symbol" Dan Brown’s highly anticipated follow-up to "The Da Vinci Code." broke sales records on its first day and in its first week of release last month, selling nearly two million copies in the United States, Canada and Britain, according to the publisher. But according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of retail sales in the United States, the number of copies the book sold last week fell by 47 percent, to 214,000 from 401,000.

"True Compass" Senator Edward M. Kennedy's memoir, sold 39,000 copies last week, down 43 percent from the previous week’s tally of 69,000. And over all, according to BookScan, book sales were down about 4 percent compared with the same week last year, suggesting that neither of those titles or any of the other big fall books from heavyweights like Mitch Albom, Pat Comroy, E. L. Doctorow and Audrey Niffenegger were helping booksellers to overcome the sludgy economy.

“They are all great books, but they are all hardcover books,” said Ellen Archer, publisher of Hyperion, a unit of Disney that just released Mr. Albom’s “Have a Little Faith.” “How many hardcover purchases can one person make given these difficult times? Are they going to choose one of their nonfiction reads and one great novel and stop and wait for the paperbacks? Probably.” Both Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which released “The Lost Symbol,” and Twelve, the imprint of Grand Central Publishing Group that put out “True Compass,” said they were happy with the results so far and expected strong holiday sales.

“We are thrilled with the performance of the book,” Suzanne Herz, a spokeswoman for Knopf Doubleday, said in an e-mail message. “With such pent-up demand for a new novel by Dan Brown, it was not unexpected to see a decline in sales after the first week. It is the nature of the blockbuster book.”

Booksellers said other thrillers by name-brand authors had a similar trajectory. “ ‘The Da Vinci Code’ built by word of mouth, and this one came out of the gates really strong,” said Kathryn Popoff, vice president of the trade division at Borders Group, referring to “The Lost Symbol.” “For us it’s falling off as we projected.”

Gerry Donaghy, new book purchasing supervisor at Powell’s Books in Portland, Ore., said he and his co-workers wondered, “How many of the fall books are people holding off buying themselves and hoping to get them as gifts?” He added, “Maybe that’s just optimism.” Laurence J. Kirshbaum, a literary agent and former publishing executive, said the rule of thumb in the industry was to take sales figures from September and October and multiply them by three or four for holiday shopping in November and December.

“A lot of people buy books because they don’t know Uncle Harry’s shirt size, so at the last minute it’s either books or candy,” he said. “There’s no question that the business is in a lull right now, but I do think it’s a little early because the real Christmas business is still a month, maybe six weeks away.” But other publishing insiders suggested that because Knopf Doubleday had printed five million copies of “The Lost Symbol” and gone back to press for 600,000 more after the first day of sales, book sales would have to reverse dramatically for the title to meet the expectations of the publishing house. And with sales of “True Compass” dwindling, some within the industry wondered how Twelve would recoup the advance of more than $8 million it paid for the memoir.

Cary Goldstein, a spokesman for Twelve, said that sales of “True Compass” were meeting the publisher’s calculations and that it would cover some of the advance with sales of the rights to publish the book in Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Korea, China and other countries.
“The book has exceeded sales targets at all of our major accounts,” Mr. Goldstein added. “We expect to net at least one million copies.” Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Books & Books, a chain of independent stores in South Florida and the Cayman Islands, said Senator Kennedy’s memoir was likely to appeal to gift-buying customers. But he said the biggest successes were often books from unknown authors that built slowly by word of mouth.

He pointed to “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, which has stormed through book clubs and has sold 421,000 copies in hardcover and 583,000 in paperback. Mr. Kaplan, together with the producer Paula Mazur, has optioned the movie rights.

Other big titles showed mixed results. "Her fearful symmetry" the second novel by Ms. Niffenegger, author of the best-selling “Time Traveler’s Wife,” sold just 23,000 copies in its first week, according to BookScan. Publishing insiders suggested that was a disappointment given that Scribner, the unit of Simon & Schuster that published the book, paid Ms. Niffenegger close to $5 million for it.

“We all expect miracles, and some miracles take a little while,” said Susan Moldow, publisher of Scribner.

By Motoko Rich for the New York Times. Published: October 7, 2009

A version of this article appeared in print on October 8, 2009, on page C1 of the New York edition.

6.10.09

Wise words of the Day.

Literary critical perspectives.

This is a summarised list of some literary critical perspectives which you may encounter in senior English (especially 3U). I would keep these terms in mind if you are going to enter Year 10, 11 or 12. They might come in handy for future reference.

- Post colonial criticism
- Feminist criticism

- Marxist criticism

- Psychoanalytic criticism

- New historicism and cultural materialism

- Deconstruction

- Queer Theory

5.10.09

Instructions: How to make a stress ball?

I figured that since it is indeed the holidays for you all, it might be nice to get crafty every once in a while. I have come across the instructions on how to make stress balls as a completely random idea which will be great for examination periods and a fun activity to do when you have the time.

Need:
- Balloons (not water balloons)
- Flour/Sand/Rice/Corn starch
- Funnel
- Crafty things to decorate it with

Instructions:
1. Get your small round balloon and blow it up until it is about 4-5 inches around but do not tie it.
2. Pinch the top of the balloon shut whilst slowly placing a funnel into the tip.
3. Fill the top of the funnel with either flour/sand/rice/corn starch and slowly let go of the balloon so the filing is able to slide in.
4. Continue adding until you are happy with the amount and the firmness of the filled balloon.
5. Pull up the top of the balloon tightly and allow any excess air to be released.
6. Tie the balloon as closely to the tip as possible.
7. Decorate with permanent markers or whatever you wish.

Enjoy!

Gorgeous goodies for the girlies.

Just a completely random note for the lovely girls in my classes, I am totally in love with the amazingly sweet Pretty in Pink vanity cases which double perfectly as a cute pencil case, so perfect for back to school time. Priced at just $17.50, these vinyl cases will last forever as their style is timeless and the design is so chic. Buy them online at www.prettyinpinkdesigns.com.au/ or visit the gorgeous boutique at 533 King Street, Newtown. Enjoy!

PS: It did go through my mind as a possible XMAS present but I've resisted because I found something just as chic, if not more.

Great place to visit these holidays.

There is nothing that I adore more than a rainy grey day huddled up in a gorgeous dimly lit cafe with a hot chocolate by one side and a superb book on the other. My favourite place to do this would have to be the Guylian cafe. Located at The Rocks and Circular Quay, the Guylian cafe is a great hotspot in the heart of Sydney. Add a good book, the harbour view and a Degustation plate to share and your day is set. Check out www.guyliancafe.com.au/ for more information. Bon apetite!

4.10.09

Wise words of the Day.

Board of Studies.

To everyone who is either going to Year 11 in 2010 or Year 12 in 2010, please check the Board of Studies website so that you can have a look at what the English Syllabus requires of you. There are different categories of English which can be studied from Standard English (2U), Advanced English (2U), Extension One (3U) English, Extension Two (4U) English and ESL (2U). Hope the links below assist in your subject selection process.

Standard and Advanced English:
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/english-std-adv.html

Extension One English:

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/english-ext1.html

Extension Two English:

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/english-ext2.html

ESL:

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/english-esl.html

Watch it: Lost in Austen.

On the 4th of October at 7pm on channel ABC, a comical Jane Auten series 'Lost in Austen' will be televised. Quoted as "Delightfully witty" - The Times and "A dream of a show" - Mail on Sunday. This is a warm film which will gain laughter and enjoyment this Sunday night.

Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper) is a devoted Jane Austen fan; often immersing herself into a world of dashing gents, elegant corsets and picturesque manor houses.
Unsatisfied with her life and relationship in modern day London, Amanda's ordinary existence is changed forever when she discovers Elizabeth Bennet (Gemma Arterton) alive in her bathroom and ends up replacing her in the very 'real' fictional world of Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.
An all star cast brings Austen's classic characters to life in a cleverly modern context; with Hugh Bonneville as Mr Bennet and Alex Kingston as the irrepressible Mrs Bennet.

2.10.09

What keeps you sane?

Amongst the craze of the HSC, exams, assesment and assignments along with the countless pieces of homework and reading which needs to be done, I'm surprised at this point by the types of attitudes which many of my students are encompassing. Attitudes which comprise of a variety of wit, sarcasm, boredom and laziness. Considering that it is indeed your school holidays coming up, I'd be so interested in knowing the answer to this question: What keeps you sane?

1. Tiffany & Co.

2. Christian Louboutin Shoes

3. Buttercream Cupcakes and Cocktails

Please list three responses as mine are already featured as examples.

PS: I am like the Queen of baking cupcakes. On my to-do list: Make cupcakes for students for XMAS. Yum.

Buy it now: Penguin Classics Novels

Forget overpriced books which will do nothing except slowly rob your of your finances, luckily Penguin Classics novels provide a cheap and chic way to read amazing fiction (and non fiction) at lovely and forgiving prices. At just $9.99 at most retailers, Penguin Classics novels include the best pieces of writing of all time including works by Jane Austen, Truman Capote, Oscar Wilde, Anais Nin, Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf etc. You are sure to find something which you enjoy to read these holidays. This series of novels are honestly my absolute favourites and I can never resist getting a new (cheap) novel each time I go out as the price and content make this such a good purchase. Check out the list of novels available and find some good tales to read this holidays. Enjoy.

What I'm reading now.

I'm currently reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I came across this book as one of my lecturers had mentioned the idea of 'Lolita' and I was quite clueless on the concept or story behind this title. The story is quite scandalous but extremely well written.

Title:
Lolita

Author:
Vladimir Nabokov

Blurb:
Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is a dark and daring story of obsessive love and transgression. Humbert Humbert's lust for his pubescent step daughter, Lolita shocked readers when it was first published in the 1950's; yet the novel was also celebrated for its beautifully lyrical writing. Almost fifty years after it's first publication, Lolita remains a powerful tale of perversion and love gone wrong.

25.9.09

6 random blogs which may interest you.

1. http://www.drunkwritertalk.blogspot.com/

A site where alcohol and writing walk hand in hand. Check out the different rants over novels, movies and stories which a group of five writers come up with when their on the hard liquor. Mostly funny however at times, enjoyably random.

2. http://www.dabagirls.com/

Blogged by two fabulous New York women, the Daba girls represent the group of wives and girlfriends who date the elite group of bankers and expose their thoughts and opinions on the changing definition of romance during the recession.

3. http://www.4inchheelsonly.wordpress.com/

Any aspiring fashion journalists out there? This is a glimpse into the critical magazine world which is more 'Devil wears Prada' than a sample sale. The bitchiness is exposed, the superficiality is revered and the industry is still one of the world's most desirable.

4. http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/

Postsecret is a (at times) creepy blog where postcards are sent anonymously often revealing an unexpected secret. The postcards feature a combination of funny and eerie postcards and are great as conversation starters.

5. http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

One of the world's most iconic fashion photographers for Vogue magazine started out on this blog with a compilation of amazing photographs of the fashion elite. Take a trip to Paris, Milan, New York and more and check out what the runway stars are wearing off the catwalks and on the streets.

6. http://www.gawker.com/

A satirical take on the daily musings of a British gossip journalist and a journalist in Manhattan as they prepare to reveal the Hollywood world piece by piece. Really funny and uplifting interpretations of the actions of celebrities and their counterparts.

There are obviously more of my favourites but I cannot remember them all from the top of my head so if you are interested in more blogs and random things, check out The Blogger Choice awards for a taste of all good things online. http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/

Sydney Writers' Festival: Writers Talk 2009.

If you are interested in either improving your short story writing skills or one day becoming the next Stephanie Meyer and whatnot, the following website may be of interest to you. It is a compilation of interviews from the authors and writers who spoke at the Sydney Writers' Festival and the authors include Isabelle Carmody, Morris Gleitzman, James Roy and Danny Katz. Here, they speak about characters, plots, themes and storylines as well as any other tips and advice for young writers. Check out the interviews as I'm positive it will assist you in your own writing and production of creative stories. There are also archived interviews dating back to 2007.

I've made the site address a TinyUrl and you should be able to still access it. Let me know if there have any difficulties. http://tinyurl.com/ycqopgo or alternatively visit www.swf.org.au/news and find the direct link from there. Enjoy and get inspired!

23.9.09

Feeling inspired.

Instead of having a daily rant, I thought I'd just put in this very sweet paper picture to keep you all very inspired. Isn't it just lovely? I'm guessing it's perhaps easier than reading the book which she was cut out of? Metaphor anyone?

Enjoy!

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