The man from nowhere

‘That’s not possible. I can’t remember. Oh, this is stupid. I can’t even remember my name. This is terrible. What’s wrong with me?’ (p.30)

     A family is enjoying their private flight above Wahiba which is near the Arabian sea. Suddenly, their plane falls and crashes, which injured the family. The father starts finding someone because they are in desert and can’t use radio at all. He is keeps walking, but unfortunately gets faint. He is rescued by the residents in the Island and after several days, he wakes up, but he can’t remember who he is, where he comes from, and what he does. At the same time, his wife and son get weaker and weaker in the desert. Can he help his family? Also, are they still alive? I thought this story has few explanations at a first part and there are lots of conversation like movies. Therefore, it’s easier to imagine the story.

     This is Cambridge English Readers series. I’ve read this story many times and every time I read it, I rediscover some new information and enjoy it again and again. I want you to read the same story many times and find out tips.

Smith, Bernard. (2001). The man from nowhere. Cambridge; Cambridge.

Bad company

‘I like having a sergeant who uses his brain.’ (p.47)

     Helen is a detective Inspector and Webb is her assistant. One day, a murder happens in Hythe in which you can walk along the beach and stay at fancy hotels. Claudia who is working in MMI is killed at night. MMI is a music company and she and the members stay at a hotel to talk about the music. All her colleagues hate her because she is doing all the job on her own, so everyone could do that. It’s difficult for readers to solve the problem. I want you to pay attention to two points. First, the relationship among characters. She had a lover who is one of the members and her friend’s boyfriend. Maybe I think you can image the following story from this. Second, MMI members don’t want to talk about their job. I think they are doing bad things they must not tell anybody. I want you to read not only the story but also become a detective Inspector.

     This is Cambridge English Readers series. I’ve read this series’ mysteries, but it’s not easy to explain the entire story because the characters have the same ideas. However, I think you should have critical thinking and think through the problem when you open the book.

MacAndrew, Richard. (2011). Bad company. Cambridge; Cambridge.

A Christmas Carol

'I'll be kind at Christmas and all year,' he said again. (p.31)


     Scrooge is a cold and harsh man who is crazy about money. Poor people in the him ask for his help, but he doesn't care about them, so they don't like him. It is Christmas Eve, Marley who was his partner and passed away shows up as a ghost. It tells him that Scrooge sees three ghosts at  three nights in a row. He doesn't know the reason, but he follows them over three nights. The first two ghost take him to the past, and they show him how cruel he did. He is the different person now, and they want him to recall his love and mercy. They tell that if he thought people and share love, they would live longer and happier. The last ghost takes him to the possible future and he sees it and rethink about himself from a different point of view. If he changes his thought, he will never gain the true happiness. I'll tell you some points. First, the ghosts fill the role of Scrooge's assistants. They show him his bad points, but they never give him punishments. Second, Scrooge has few family. He has felt alone because his family don't want to see him. I can't tell you the ending in detail, but he gets a newer in his family with a way. His last decision makes us more impressed in comparison with the former figure. When you read this book, I want you to guess his change of feeling and see his self-awareness.


     This book is Penguin Readers series. I've read A Christmas Carol many times with different series and I think Penguin Readers series is the best because it's easier for readers to know the past situation and young Scrooge. Every time the ghosts take him to the scene, it tells him the solution and we also need these things in daily life. You can enjoy reading even if it is not winter.


Dickens, Charles. (2000). A Christmas Carol. Edinburgh;Pearson Education Limited.

Within high fences

George showed me that I could change. (p.47)


     I've showed you some kind of love stories, but this story is more complicated. Nancy lives with Tom who is rich and likes buying her everything. However, she is not satisfied with the life because she is forced to be with him all the time. She is working as a guard in an asylum center and comes across George who escapes from his country. When she talks with him, she feels more comfortable than staying with Tom and knows that he is trying to change his country by taking pictures and showing other counties. After he leaves the center, they becomes a couple. Tom hates it because Nancy is falling love with an asylum seeker with no money. Therefore, a incident happens which changes her life. I think this book is based on two themes. First of all, rich people like Tom tend to believe that asylum people try to invade a country such as jobs, life, and money and so on. He is thinking that his country is for the people, so there are no way which they can help the poor. Second, Nancy and George's love are possibly a controversial issue because they are in serious situation. This is similar to Romeo and Juliet. It is important to pay attention to a point. That is how they deal with hard situations and this is related with the title 'Withn high fences.'



     This is Cambridge English Readers series. I do like the some stories with different series. Every time I read more difficult series, I rediscover my fascination for them and I find myself getting hooked by them again and again.Therefore, I recommend that you read the same stories many times with different series or movies.

Hancock, Penny. (2005). Within high fences. Cambridge; Cambridge.

Sweet Valley High

'I won't do it. I'll say I don't want to be queen now,' she said. (p.3)


     Jessica, a high school student wants to be a dance queen more than anything in the world and tries to realize it with every mean. She wants Bruce to be a king because she is in love with him. However, he is difficult person, so she hints that she wants him to be a dance partner, he doesn't know her feeling. One day, she comes up a method which makes Enid depressed and shows Bruce that they are suitable for a queen and a king because Enid would be a queen and Jessica is worried. Enid is a friend of her twin sister, so Jessica uses her sister to proceed this mean. I think this story plot is similar to Japanese dramas which teenagers like. There is are two girls who are apples and oranges, and the calm girl beats the ambitious girl and she loses something important. When you read this book, I want you to pay attention this point and compare to a drama called Gakuen drama.


     This book is Penguin Readers series. I think most of this series is a little longer than other book series, but it's easy to read it if you rethink about the characters, stories and author's intention.


William, Kate. (1999). Sweet Valley High. Madrid; Pearson Education Limited.

Circle games

'You must see it in your head, just like it was in front of you. Then, in a very carefully way, you make it with your hands...' (p.25)


     There are five stories in this book, and I'll introduce you my favorite story. It is Special Clay. Emilio is a boy with problems. He is an intelligent, but not understanding something makes him afraid and being afraid makes him angry. His parents want him to take better classes which meet with his personality, so he goes to special school and he is away from home for a while. In this school, he takes Mrs McFee's class and makes clay. Her class let him be himself and he is realizing how to control himself. As time goes by, he is calm and his clay is praised by a artist. He and his teacher go to his studio by car and occur the accident. In this time, he remembers the words and take some actions. What do you guess his action? I want you to see his growth as a boy in this story. I do know that young people have hard time in which they don't know themselves and allow other people to control them. If you also had such a time, I'm sure you can recognize him.


This book is Cambridge English Readers series. It involves some kind of genres based on Chinese culture. I read it for the first time, and I knew that some people tend to disregard some old culture such as trishaw which is bicycle with a kind of umbrella at the bank. If you're interested in Asian culture, I recommend it.

Brennan, Frank. (2005). Circle games. Cambridge; Cambridge.

The double bass mystery

‘Money, of course. I wanted more money.’ (p.43)

     I belonged to a brass band for almost 10 years, so this story made me more excited. The main character, Penny is playing the double bass and one day, she notices that her instrument’s case is gone during her music concert. In addition, there is a murder in which her band’s manager is killed. She feels strange about these accidents, so starts searching them. As time goes by, she thinks that her boyfriend, Simon is staying clumsy, and surprisingly he is involved an illegal syndicate. I think there are two clues in advance. First, Simon is also playing the double bass and know it quite well. Second, these accidents happen during their concert at a big city, which means the criminal can make the situation more complicated. Through these clues, readers can gain some new background and reach a fact.

   

     This is Cambridge English Readers series. In the mystery series, readers can share guess with the main character because most of them give us some lists. I’m trying to solve them by myself when I read this kind of stories and I think it is important for readers to think critically and have different ideas. I recommend that everyone read this book and have wider ideas.

Harmer, Jeremy. (1999). The double bass. Cambridge; Cambridge.

Different worlds

‘I know what I want, and that’s you. You are good for me, Sam. You’re very good for me.’ (p.38)

     This love story is different from other common stories because Sam, the main character was born deaf. She falls in love Jim as other teenager girls do. She wants to spend longer time with him and knows everything he does. However, there is a big problem. Jim plays in a band and that means everything to him. She can’t hear his music and share it, so feels as if they lived in different world. If you were Jim, what would you do for her? Could you be with Sam? He knows that she enjoys music by feeling vibration, so he teaches her playing the drum. You can see they’re showing us pure love. This means if you have your girlfriend or boyfriend and feels more comfortable than ever before, you will think you don’t need other things. The thought of love depends on people. What do you think?

     This book is in the Cambridge English Readers series. This series especially, this book is appealing to young people because their topic are the just our daily life. I recommend that everyone reads this book.

Johnson, Margaret. (2011). Different worlds. Cambridge; Cambridge