My Legendary Girlfriend
By Mike Gayle
Will Kelly is an English teacher, that is, not an extraordinary good one. He doesn’t like his job, but he would need further education to do something else and he’s not interested in further education. In fact, he hasn’t been interested in anything since his girlfriend left him three years ago.
Her name is Aggi and to him she’s the best girl in the world, although she left him. They didn’t stay in contact, because the very minute they split up, Aggi was over him. What she didn’t know was that it wasn’t as easy for Will. He still thinks about her all day long and hopes for her to come back to him.
The only one who understands him is Alice. She’s his best friend who is always there for him although they don’t meet regularly. Still, the phone each other all the time and of course she’s also the one who makes his dismal birthday, the very day Aggi dumped him, a nice day.
However, on his birthday weekend a lot of unbelievable things happen. His one-night-stand announces to be pregnant, Alice and her long-term boyfriend split up, Will gets to know the previous tenant of his apartment, who he decides to marry and he calls Aggi, after all. It’s probably the most chaotic weekend in all his life, but also a legendary one.
“My Legendary Girlfriend” is a funny book that is all about finding and losing love. The critics compare it to “Bridget Jones”, saying it’s the male version of that famous diary. It’s the show more obviously the same kind of girly humour and a good match for everybody who likes a bit weird but amusing love stories. show less
By Mike Gayle
Will Kelly is an English teacher, that is, not an extraordinary good one. He doesn’t like his job, but he would need further education to do something else and he’s not interested in further education. In fact, he hasn’t been interested in anything since his girlfriend left him three years ago.
Her name is Aggi and to him she’s the best girl in the world, although she left him. They didn’t stay in contact, because the very minute they split up, Aggi was over him. What she didn’t know was that it wasn’t as easy for Will. He still thinks about her all day long and hopes for her to come back to him.
The only one who understands him is Alice. She’s his best friend who is always there for him although they don’t meet regularly. Still, the phone each other all the time and of course she’s also the one who makes his dismal birthday, the very day Aggi dumped him, a nice day.
However, on his birthday weekend a lot of unbelievable things happen. His one-night-stand announces to be pregnant, Alice and her long-term boyfriend split up, Will gets to know the previous tenant of his apartment, who he decides to marry and he calls Aggi, after all. It’s probably the most chaotic weekend in all his life, but also a legendary one.
“My Legendary Girlfriend” is a funny book that is all about finding and losing love. The critics compare it to “Bridget Jones”, saying it’s the male version of that famous diary. It’s the show more obviously the same kind of girly humour and a good match for everybody who likes a bit weird but amusing love stories. show less
The Coldest Winter
By Elizabeth Lutzeier
The novel is set in Ireland in 1846-the period of the Potato Famine. It’s about the tragic life story of eleven-year-old Eamonn and his family.
The Kennedy’s used to live in a cabin in Ballinglas, Ireland. They were never rich, but had enough money not to suffer from hunger and felt comfortable living there with their friends. However, one summer the whole potato harvest goes rotten due to the blight and suddenly everything changes for them.
Their landlady decides that it would be more lucrative for her not to grow potatoes any more, but to keep cattle. So she has soldiers turning the families out of their homes and makes them tumble down every last one of the cabins.
So, Eamonn, his parents, his baby-sister, his two brothers and his grandmother have to find a new place for living soon, since it’s a very cold winter. It’s very hard to get new work for Eamonn’s father and so they starve nearly all the time, because the workhouses don’t provide enough food for the floods of poor people.
After all, they find a place to live in Tullamore, but also in this big city it’s nearly impossible for Eamonn’s father to find a job. Luckily, Eamonn gets to know a girl from a reach family who tries to support them as far as possible. Still, it’s hard for them to survive, because the prices rise dramatically and because of the outbreak of typhoid fever.
While the English don’t do too much to help the Irish people, the richer show more Irish set out for America. In Ireland only the poor people stay struggling for survival. Eamonn and his family have to suffer a lot until they raise hope.
It’s a really touching story and gives an insight into life back in 1846. Anyone who likes this book will be glad to hear that there is a second book telling about how live goes on for the Kennedy family that is much smaller by then. show less
By Elizabeth Lutzeier
The novel is set in Ireland in 1846-the period of the Potato Famine. It’s about the tragic life story of eleven-year-old Eamonn and his family.
The Kennedy’s used to live in a cabin in Ballinglas, Ireland. They were never rich, but had enough money not to suffer from hunger and felt comfortable living there with their friends. However, one summer the whole potato harvest goes rotten due to the blight and suddenly everything changes for them.
Their landlady decides that it would be more lucrative for her not to grow potatoes any more, but to keep cattle. So she has soldiers turning the families out of their homes and makes them tumble down every last one of the cabins.
So, Eamonn, his parents, his baby-sister, his two brothers and his grandmother have to find a new place for living soon, since it’s a very cold winter. It’s very hard to get new work for Eamonn’s father and so they starve nearly all the time, because the workhouses don’t provide enough food for the floods of poor people.
After all, they find a place to live in Tullamore, but also in this big city it’s nearly impossible for Eamonn’s father to find a job. Luckily, Eamonn gets to know a girl from a reach family who tries to support them as far as possible. Still, it’s hard for them to survive, because the prices rise dramatically and because of the outbreak of typhoid fever.
While the English don’t do too much to help the Irish people, the richer show more Irish set out for America. In Ireland only the poor people stay struggling for survival. Eamonn and his family have to suffer a lot until they raise hope.
It’s a really touching story and gives an insight into life back in 1846. Anyone who likes this book will be glad to hear that there is a second book telling about how live goes on for the Kennedy family that is much smaller by then. show less
Many Ways To Be Deaf
The book contains 15 articles about deafness, deaf culture and other deaf related topics. Each article is written by people from different countries who are deaf themselves or feel somehow connected to this culture.
A lot of these authors seem to spot the same problems in the deaf cultures they describe. Above all, the bad educational system for deaf and hearing impaired children is accused of harming the deaf community. Though, the book also points out, that not all countries face the same problems.
Reading through the book, one soon realizes that deaf people don’t belong to one culture as one might think. The cultures vary enormously according to their history and the view that hearing people take on deafness. As a result, some deaf cultures are characterized as more self-confident, whereas others tend to feel inferior to hearing people.
It’s a really interesting book for everyone who’s interested in different deaf communities or deaf culture in general. Previous knowledge on the subject deafness is not necessary because of the good explanations and the easy language.
The book contains 15 articles about deafness, deaf culture and other deaf related topics. Each article is written by people from different countries who are deaf themselves or feel somehow connected to this culture.
A lot of these authors seem to spot the same problems in the deaf cultures they describe. Above all, the bad educational system for deaf and hearing impaired children is accused of harming the deaf community. Though, the book also points out, that not all countries face the same problems.
Reading through the book, one soon realizes that deaf people don’t belong to one culture as one might think. The cultures vary enormously according to their history and the view that hearing people take on deafness. As a result, some deaf cultures are characterized as more self-confident, whereas others tend to feel inferior to hearing people.
It’s a really interesting book for everyone who’s interested in different deaf communities or deaf culture in general. Previous knowledge on the subject deafness is not necessary because of the good explanations and the easy language.
Bill Bryson travels through the US visiting the places he was as a boy at. Hitting the road he is very enthusiastic, but soon the excitement is dying down. The towns he gets to are mostly remote and boring. So he hilariously complains about one town after another and critiques nowadays America.
I really enjoy reading this book. It's about people describing their jobs honestly. They tell what they exactely do, whether they like what they do or not etc. Interestingly, I had no idea that some of these jobs even exist.