English Book Club: 2008

mardi 2 décembre 2008

I chose one book in English in the library at school.
This was Nine stories by J.D Salinger. There are nine short stories which J.D Salinger wrote and these novels were first published a newspaper.
The two stories which are famous are A perfect day for a bananafish and Uncle wiggily in connecticus.There is one film on this story it's My foolish heart.
J.D Salinger is famous especially for his story which is The catcher in the rye. I've already read this book.I like it.
I like his way of writing.It's original and good. We can identify with the characters. Like in Nine stories there are nine different stories, which are about war, friendship, trust, artistic life, dinical depression... .
There are about the common problems in life.It's very varied and this book can please everyone.
In the whole book I prefered reading A perfect day for a bananafish.I was surprised by the end
I like this book, it's strange sometimes but it's its charm.

Cry Freedom

"Cry Freeedom" by John Briley

During my summer break last year I read Nelson Mandela's book "Long walk to freedom". I was really aware of the situation in South Africa during apartheid in the XX century and non violent movement for the equality of rights between black and white people. The movement was conducted by the new generation of slaves such as Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko in this book which represents the black youth who want to change their life. There were also whites involved in the movement and "liberals" such as Donald Woods. They liked the advantages of being white (nice car, big house with pool and black maides) but criticized the system which was unfair to blacks with the raid in their neighbourhood.

Biko and Woods met. Biko changed Woods conception of life, by bringing him to black townships. That's what is beautiful about this book. Despite their skin color and thoughts, especially on Woods behalf, a true friendship was shaped.
After Biko's death Woods didn't belief in the change. It grew stronger. He was as determined as ever to change South Africa. In some parts, especially towards the end, I felt like the story was rewritten with Woods in Biko's skin, at the head of the "Black Consciousness".

The book stresses on a part of the apartheid which is the movement of the equal rights for the people of Southe Africa; black and white hand in hand.
After acknowledgement I can say that the black condition is much better than it was 10 years ago in South Africa. Indeed Nelson Mandela bacame president in South Africa in 1994 and Barack Obama bacame president (elected) in the United States of America where slavery is part of the American heritage.
Black people have come from far and had to struggle join by whites like Woods whose spirit evolved thanks to Biko.

That's the reason why I enjoyed the book so much because it makes you think about the true meaning of the word "humanity" and its emancipation throughout the decades. Love and determination are the keys to anything as well as hope.

mardi 25 novembre 2008

Sugar and Other Stories

Antonia Byatt was born in 1936, in Shieffield , England. She was a journalist and wrote novels . Among these acclaimed novels we can find Shadow of a Sun and Still Life.
Sugar and Other Stories contains eleven short stories , which all basically deal with love , fear
and relationships between people . I chose this book because I usually like short stories and the
subject of those seemed interesting . In the story Racine and the Tablecloth the main character is Emily Bray . Emily is a kid who lives in a boarding school , she is a very intelligent girl but has no friends , maybe because she's kind of an early feminist in a catholic school . She grows up there and the headmistess , Mrs. Chrichton-Walker , seems to hate Emily in a way which has no sense because the girl is only fourteen . Emily Bray's character is very interesting because she's complicated and somtimes acts in a weird , almost absurd way .
The July Ghost is a story about a man who was just dumped by his girlfriend and he can't get over it . The man needs another place to live so he rents a room in a woman's house . The weirdness of the woman troubles a little the young man but when he gets to see the husband , he kinda understands it . Noel , the husband, is a journalist who is pretty much never home and when he finally comes he fights with his wife . The young man ,who is a writer , has a lot of work to do therefore he decides to sit in the wonderful garden but children keep bothering him with their screams or their lost balls they'd like to retrieve. By a beautiful summer day , the writer's attention is caught by a kid who lies on the branches of a tree next to the fence of the house , the kid has beautiful blond hair and a smile that illuminates the place . One day the young man sees the boy leaving the kitchen as though it were his home , so the man decides to talk to the woman about it . She says that it must have been a friend of her son who died in a car crash . But when the writer describes the kid an expression of horror appears on the woman's face : it was her lost son he saw on that tree . Since then woman and the young man have a weird relationship because she usually was a strict woman but now she often cries or shouts as if the "ghost" seen by the man had driven her mad . The madness and the grief of the two characters is touching and makes the reader think twice . The characters of each one of the stories are unpleasant ,weird,touching, lovely or shocking.

BLACK BOY

I chose this book because I had never read this book and the title " black boy " understated , it was about racial segregation in America .

I liked this book because it's an autobiography by Richard Wright , and we can feel the fears and fright of an American black child during racial segregacion .

The social relationship between Richard and his family was interesting , the social relationship between the whites and blacks in the south was interesting too , this book was also interesting because we can see how a young child was born in an underprivileged class and how he could manage to take care of his mother who fell ill and of his trip to the north of the country .

Therapy of David Logde

To begin with, when I began to read the first pages I didn't like this because there were many descrpitions which I didn't understand the sense and the worst was, I wasn't able to distinguish if the main character was a man or a woman. And the more I read the passage over and over,the more the novel began to annoy me.
But as I advanced in my reading, I appreciated the book. So, I Knew that the character was a man who presented his life in the form of a persnal diary without any modesty. It was a man who had succeeded in his private life together with his professional life which was going to be upset by may events.
However, this novel finished with a good ending given that Lawrence got up and started from a new. I would like to tell something about this novel , according to me . I think that through the character Lawrence we can find a morality . The morality is even if you have many problems which annoy you, can surmount then and succeed.

Book: Harry Potter and the prizoner of azkaban

I chose this book because I like Harry Potter. I've ever seen Harry Potter's movies but I've never read these books. I like Harry Potter because it's not only a story of witches but we also see love and friendships between the characters. This story of Harry Potter's different from the others because there're a lot of new characters, like Sirius Black, the teacher Lupin..
I also like newthings like the magicbus, there back at the end of the book, different places where the characters are because those places are places that we've never seen before.
But there're several things that I didn't like. For example, the new Hagrid's house and his pet who is big and uggly.
I think this story's interesting but very long, too long. And for the children, I think it can make them scared, even if Voldemort, who's the meanest character, isn't very present in this story. I'd already seen the film Harry Potter and the prizoner of azkaban ,so I wasn't suprised by the story, but I appreciated it though. It's a little bit different from the film and I think I prefered reading the book.

Resume:

Frankenstein is a great novel from an English writer . This novel was written by Mary Shelley ,for a contest of ghost stories when she was nineteen .

The story is related by a see farer called Robert Walton .He met a doctor called Frankenstein , who relates his own story .

He was a brillant student and did some work about death . He withdraws himself in an old and lost house .He begins to create a monster with parts of dead humans . Some months later , Frankeinstein's creature is alive . It is ugly and strange , then it escapes . The narration is told by the monster . he tries to familiarise with humans, but they beat him and reject him. Then he begins to find his creator . Frustrated , he kills the humans and frankeinstein's friends and family , he chases the doctor to the end of the story .

Commentaire :

This was an interesting reading , because all the characters seem really alive and human . Reading in English is long and hard , I need a dictionnary always next to me ,It take me ten mins to read a page . I haven't undertood all the story , like the birth of the monster . I'm going to reread the book. I like this sort of gothic novel , Like Dracula and other ...
But there's one thing that I didn't like , when the doctor gave birth to the monster , we don't know how he did it.

mardi 29 janvier 2008

Le Club Lecture en Anglais est ouvert

Bonjour à toutes et à tous,

Hello everybody,

le club Lecture en Anglais est (désormais) ouvert à tous: élèves de la Seconde à la Terminale, étudiant(e)s en BTS et Prépas, élèves en spécialité anglais ou pas...

The English Book Club is now open to all students: from Seconde to Terminale, BTS & Prepas students too, advanced english or not...

Dans un cadre "cosy" (fauteuils, thé, café...) vous y trouverez un grand choix de livres, recueils de nouvelles, journaux, revues, magazines, tout ça en anglais.

In a cosy place (armchairs, tea, coffee...) you'll find all kinds of books, short stories, newspapers, magazines in English.

Un prof d'anglais (Mme BOUSLAMA, Mme PARRINELLO ou M. BOUDE) est là pour vous conseiller ou vous aider si besoin.
An English teacher (Mme BOUSLAMA, Mme PARRINELLO or M. BOUDE) is here to advise and help you if necessary.

Le club se trouve en salle 425 et il est ouvert:

It is in room 425:

- les lundis de 17h00 à 18h00 (à partir du mois de Février 2008)
- Every Monday from 5 to 6pm (starting in February)

- les mardis de 13h00 à 14h00

- Every Tuesday from 1 to 2 pm

Il est possible d'emprunter des livres.

You can even borrow books.

So come and join us!

Liste des livres disponibles

Voici la liste de tous les livres disponibles au Club Lecture en Anglais.
Here is a list of all the books available at the English Book Club.

Novels & Short Stories

1. ARDEN METHUEN, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
2. AUEL JEAN M., The Plains of Passage

3. AUEL, The Valley of Horses
4. AUSTER PAUL, Leviathan
AUSTER, Moon Palace
AUSTER, The New York Trilogy
AUSTER, Mr Vertigo

5. BALLARD J.G., Empire of the Sun
6. BALDWIN JAMES, Another Country
7. BENCHLEY PETER, Jaws
BENCHLEY, The Deep
8. BENSON ROBERT HUGH, The Average Man
9. BRESLIN JIMMY, How The Good Guys Finally Won
BRESLIN, The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight
10. BYATT A.S., Sugar and Other Stories

11. CLANCY TOM, Debt Of Honour
CLANCY, Patriot Games
CLANCY, The Hunt For Red October
12. CLAVELLS JAMES, Shogun
13. CLEAVER ELDRIDGE, Post-Prison Writings + Speeches
CLEAVER, Soul On Ice
14. COHEN LEONARD, The Favorite Game
15. COLLINS LARRY & LAPIERRE DOMINIQUE, Is Paris Burning?
16. CONRAD JOSEPH, Lord Jim (2)
17. CONDON RICHARD, The Manchurian Candidate
18. COOK ROBIN, Blindsight
19. CORNWELL PATRICIA, From Potter's Field

CORNWELL, The Body Farm
CORNWELL, Body Of Evidence
CORNWELL, Point Of Origin
CORNWELL, Post-Mortem
20. CRICHTON MICHAEL, The Andromeda Strain
CRICHTON, Disclosure
CRICHTON, Jurassic Park
CRICHTON, Rising Sun

21. DAHL ROALD, The Collected Short Stories
22. DEE BROWN, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
23. DEIGHTON LEN, Fighter
24. DEMILLE NELSON, Plum Island
25. DONLEA VY J.P., The Ginger Man
26. DOS PASSOS JOHN, The 42nd Parallel
DOS PASSOS, Journeys Between Wars
27. DOYLE CONAN ARTHUR, The Hound Of The Baskervilles
DOYLE, The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes
28. DURRELL GERALD, Birds, Beasts, and Relatives

29. ELLISON RALPH, Invisible Man
30. EVANS NICHOLAS, The Horse Whisperer
31. EYSENCK H.J., Know Your I.Q.

32. FARMER PHILIP JOSE, The Magic Labyrinth
33. FIELDING HENRY, Joseph Andrews
34. FLEMING IAN, James Bond Casino Royale

FLEMING, Diamonds Are Forever
FLEMING, Dr. No
FLEMING, From Russia With Love
FLEMING, Goldfinger
FLEMING, Live And Let Die
FLEMING, Moonraker
FLEMING, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
FLEMING, The Man With The Golden Gun
FLEMING, The Spy Who Loved Me

35. GIFFORD THOMAS, The Wind Chill Factor
GIFFORD, Hollywood Gothic
36. GOLDING WILLIAM, Lord Of The Flies
37. GOLDMAN WILLIAM, Marathon Man
38. GORDON RICHARD, Doctor And Son
GORDON, Doctor At Large
GORDON, Doctor At Sea
GORDON, Doctor In Love
GORDON, Doctor On The Boil
GORDON, Doctor On The Brain
39. GRANT DAVID, Emerald Decision

40. GRISHAM JOHN, The Chamber
GRISHAM, The Client
GRISHAM, The Firm
GRISHAM, The Pelican Brief
GRISHAM, The Runaway Jury

41. HARDY THOMAS, Jude The Obscure (Vol. 1 & 2)
42. HART JOHNNY, Back To B.C.
HART, Hurray For B.C.
HART, Hey! B.C.
43. HARRIS ROBERT, Fatherland
44. HARRIS THOMAS, Hannibal
45. HAWTHORNE NATHANIEL, The House Of The Seven Gables
46. HAMILTON DONALD, The Devastators
47. HERBERT JAMES, The Jonah
HERBERT, Moon
HERBERT, The Rats
HERBERT, Sepulchre
HERBERT, The Spear

48. IRVING JOHN, The 158-Pound Marriage
IRVING, Setting Free The Bears
IRVING, The Hotel New Hampshire
IRVING, The Water Method Man
IRVING, The Cider House Rules
IRVING, A Widow For One Year
IRVING, A Son Of The Circus
IRVING, A Prayer For Owen Meany

49. JACOBS JANE, The Death And Life Of Great American Cities
50. JAKES JOHN, Love And War
JAKES, North And South
51. JEROME K. JEROME, Three Men In A Boat
52. JONES T.H., Dylan Thomas

53. KANE HENRY, Who Killed Sweet Sue?
54. KENNEDY SARAH, Charlotte's Friends
55. KENRICK TONY, The Night-Time Guy
56. KING STEPHEN, Different Seasons
KING, Cujo

KING, The Tommyknockers
KING, The Green Mile
KING, Wizard And Glass
KING, Carrie
KING, Desperation
KING, The Waste Lands
KING, Christine
KING, Thinner
KING, Firestarter
KING, The Dead Zone
KING, The Talisman
KING, Bag Of Bones
KING, The Gunslinger
KING, Four Past Midnight
KING, Salem's Lot
KING, It
KING, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
KING, The Stand

KING, Needful Things
KING, The Dark Tower
KING, Nightmares and Dreamscapes
KING, Pet Sematary
57. KOONTZ DEAN, Dark Rivers Of The Heart
KOONTZ, Watchers
KOONTZ, Ticktock
KOONTZ, The Servants Of Twilight

58. LEE JOHN, The Thirteenth Hour
59. LESSING DORIS, The Grass Is Singing
60. LODGE DAVID, Small World
LODGE, Therapy
61. LEASOR JAMES, A Week Of Love
62. LEVIN IRA, The Boys From Brazil
63. LOWRY MALCOLM, Under The Volcano
64. LUDLUM ROBERT, The Rhinemann Exchange
LUDLUM, The Matarese Circle
LUDLUM, The Osterman Weekend
65. LYALL, Moon Zero Two

66. MAILER NORMAN, The Naked And The Dead
67. MANSFIELD KATHERINE, Journal
68. MC BAIN, The Empty Hours
MC BAIN, The Pusher
MC BAIN, Ten Plus One
69. MACDONALD JOHN D., Cinammon Skin
70. MACDONALD FRASER GEORGE, The General Danced At Dawn
71. MEYER BILL, Ultimatum
72. MICHENER JAMES A., Poland
73. MIKES GEORGE, Little Cabbages
74. MURDOCH IRIS, Under The Net

75. OSBORNE JOHN, Look Back in Anger

76. PARKER BRANT & HART JOHNNY, The King Is A Fink
77. PARKER ROBERT B., Pastime
78. POTTER STEPHEN, The Complete Golf Gamesmanship
79. PRIESTLEY J.B., The Good Companions
80. PUZO MARIO, The Godfather

81. REICH CHARLES T., The Greening Of America

82. RICE ANNE, The Queen Of The Damned
83. ROTH PHILIP, Portnoy's Complaint
83. ROWLING JK, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
ROWLING, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
ROWLING, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
ROWLING, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
ROWLING, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
ROWLING, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

84. SALINGER J.D., Nine Stories
85. SANDERS LAWRENCE, The Sixth Commandment
SANDERS, The Tenth Commandmant
SANDERS, McNally's Caper
86. SEYMOUR GERALD, Red Fox
87. SILLITOE ALLAN, Saturday Night And Sunday Morning
89. SMITH WILBUR, The Dark Of The Sun
SMITH, Wild Justice
SMITH, River God
90. STEINBECK JOHN, Travels With Charley
91. STERN RICHARD MARTIN, Snowbound Six
STERN, The Tower
92. ST JOHN DAVID, Festival For Spies
93. STOKER BRAM, Dracula
94. STRAUB PETER, Floating Dragon
95. SWIFT JONATHAN, Gulliver's Travels

96. SHAKESPEARE WILLIAM, The Tragedies (vol. 1 & 2)
La Tragédie du Roi
Richard III
La Tragédie du Roi Lear
Mesure Pour Mesure
Un Songe d'une Nuit d'Eté
Un Conte d'Hiver
La Tragédie de Cymbeline
La Tragédie de Jules césar

97. TARTT DONNA, The Secret History
98. THACKERAY WILLIAM, The History Of Henry Esmond
99. THOMAS DYLAN, Under Milk Wood
100. TWAIN MARK, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

101. URIS LEON, Armageddon

102. VONNEGUT KURT JR., Breakfast Of Champions

103. WAMBAUGH JOSEPH, The Black Marble
104. WEBB CHARLES, The Graduate
105. WESTLAKE DONALD E., Cops And Robbers
WESTLAKE, Bank Shot
106. WILDE OSCAR, The Picture Of Dorian Gray
107. WODEHOUSE P.G., The Heart Of A Goof
108. WOUK HERMAN, The Caine Mutiny

Sociology / Politics / Urbanism / Environment

- Air and Water Pollution
- Anatomy of a Metropolis
- Blue Highways
- Scientific American
- Confrontation on Campus
- How To Scrape Skies
- The Modern American City
- The Negro in the City
- The Selling of the President
- The Westward Movement in the United States

Humour

- Mad About Mad! Sergio Aragones
- Mad's Don Martin Cooks up More Tales
- 2000 Insults for all occasions, Louis A. Safian

lundi 28 janvier 2008

newspapers & magazines

Toutes les semaines, vous pouvez consulter les récentes éditions de plusieurs journaux, magazines et de l'hebdomadaire "people" Now (nous sommes abonnés)!
*** Vous pouvez les emprunter ***