December 31st, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
This is an old and charming story about a girl called Dorothy whose house was picked up by a cyclone and carried from the gray and dreary Kansas to an unknown land of wonders, magic and unbelievable beauty. The little girl soon finds out that the land is surrounded by an enornous and deadly desert, so her way home won’t be easy.
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Posted in Fairy Tales | Tags: Dorothy, L. Frank Baum, Oz |
2 Comments »
December 29th, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
This relatively short, but charming, story of an old English Ghost trying hard to scare an American family is full of warm irony, refreshing humour and strong belief that a kind heart can make true miracles.
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Posted in Fairy Tales | Tags: Oscar Wilde |
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December 27th, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
“Through the Looking-Glass” is the second book dedicated to Alice and her wonderful adventures in her dreams. This time Alice finds herself inside a weird chess game and meets a lot of funny characters who do and say strange things and recite a lot of poems. At last she becomes a Queen, though it doesn’t make her life in the looking-glass world much easier.
One would think the world on the other side of the looking-glass is an exact reflection of our own world. How boring and unimaginative we adults must be to think so! As Alice soon finds out, it’s as different from our world as could be.
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Posted in Fairy Tales | Tags: Alice, Lewis Carroll |
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December 25th, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is a beautiful and cosy fairy tale that has been making generations of children and adults alike smile and feel happier. Very unusual for the genre, it’s not really a fairy tale, but a child’s dream – too logical and clear for a dream, but way too muddled and crazy for our boring real world.
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Posted in Fairy Tales | Tags: Alice, Lewis Carroll |
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December 23rd, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
This wonderful story was originally written as a fairy tale for children, and served its purpose well – but now it’s mostly known for the fact that the famous “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy grew out of it.
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Posted in Epic Fantasy, Fairy Tales | Tags: Bilbo Baggins, Hobbits, Tolkien |
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December 21st, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
Jim Qwilleran is an American reporter – formerly well off, famous and married – now divorced and struggling to make ends meet. When he hears about Junktown, he naturally assumes that “junk” refers to narcotics and volunteers to write a series of articles about Christmas in Junktown. When he finds out that “junk” actually means antiques, it’s too late: he’s received an assignment.
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Posted in Detective Stories | Tags: Koko, Lilian Jackson Braun, Qwilleran, The Cat Who |
3 Comments »
December 19th, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
A small village just after the Second World War – very cosy, very English and apparently the safest place in the world. When a weird announcement appears in the most popular local newspaper stating that there is going to be a murder in one of the houses and inviting friends to take part, most people assume it’s just about a murder game – and many of them arrive just in time, rather impatient.
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Posted in Detective Stories | Tags: Agatha Christie, Miss Marple |
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December 18th, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
I came across this book in a local bookstore. The choice of books in English in our local stores leaves something to be desired, but sometimes I manage to find a hidden gem or two. My husband, who’d read it translated a few years ago, wanted me to read it as soon as I could, but I had other plans. Finally, yesterday I picked the book up from the shelf where it patiently waited for me – and my journey to Earthsea started.
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Posted in Epic Fantasy | Tags: Earthsea, Sparrowhawk, Ursula Le Guin |
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December 17th, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
Everyone believed Rosemary Barton’s death to be suicide. She was poisoned by cyanide at her own birthday party. She had been depressed, unhappy, deserted by her lover – she’d been actually caught writing a letter to her sister instructing her what to do with her things. Everyone accepted the suicide version.
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Posted in Detective Stories | Tags: Agatha Christie, detective story |
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December 16th, 2009 by
Foreign Reader
Lord Peter Wimsey falls in love. The woman he is in love with doesn’t belong to aristocracy, but this is not what bothers Lord Peter, and he doesn’t care what his family might say. The trouble is, she is suspected of poisoning her ex-lover, and the case is watertight. She is saved by a miracle: the jury fails to agree upon an apparently obvious verdict, but the second trial is to take place in a month. The miracle won’t happen twice.
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Posted in Detective Stories | Tags: Dorothy L. Sayers, Harriet Vane, Lord Peter Wimsey |
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