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Book Review: Silence by Erling Kagge

I read this book in one day and couldn’t to put it down because it was so fascinating. The book is written by Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge who once spent 50 days in silence walking across Antarctica. The author explores the idea of silence by answering some fundamental questions: what...

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Book Reviews: Lagom, Lykke & Ikigai—the Art of Better Living

Last year, we explored the Danish word hygge: the essence of happy living in Denmark (you can read my reviews here). I must admit after reading books about hygge my usage of candles went up by 100%! Today, we’ll learn how to live a better life through exploring three concepts:...

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Book review: A Parents’ and Teachers’ Guide to Bilingualism by Colin Baker

“Children are born to become bilinguals and multilinguals.” Colin Baker This is a bible for any parent, teacher or professional dealing with bilingualism. The book is organised in a question-answer style and also contains some recommendations on further reading. There is no straightforward answer to some of the questions posed;...

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Book review: When in French. Love in a Second Language by Lauren Collins

What a treat for a linguist! I loved every single page for the author’s humour, curiosity, witty observations and passion for languages. It tells the story of an American who moves to London, then to Geneva and then to…? The book is also about communication between languages, countries and cultures....

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Book Review: Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier

“Life is not what we live; it is what we imagine living” (p. 436) A masterpiece. This is an excellent reading companion to Lisbon; it is rich, powerful and beautiful. It tries to answer existential questions by exploring one’s life and soul, our ancestors and socio-political influence. The philosophical side...

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Book Review: Essential Motivation in the Classroom by Ian Gilbert

This book is AMAZING! It’s fascinating, thought-provoking, funny and practical. If you want to read one book on motivation, this is the one! It’s a must-read for teachers and students, but I also recommend it for parents, business people, coaches and trainers. It is a guidebook of almost 200 pages...

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Book Review: My Reading Companions to Prague

Prague is a fascinating city. It’s beautiful and magic, but full of paradoxes. Reading about Prague is like discovering some secret spot that was once internationally recognised for its intellect, mystery, architecture and culture. Let me take you on this reading journey to discover Prague once again. Pocket Rough Guide....

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Book Review: My reading companions to Crete

What did I read when I travelled to Crete? A rather eclectic selection of travel writing, which I enjoyed reading and from which I learnt a lot more about Crete. Greek Islands, Lonely Planet I think I have a good relationship with the Lonely Planet guidebooks. I’ve been using them...

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Book review: The Journey. The Fine Art of Travelling by Train.

A beautifully photographed album of the world’s luxury and local long- and short-distance train journeys. Since reading Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky) by Bohumil Hrabal, I have become inspired by the romantic and sentimental vibes associated with trains and train stations, to such an extent that I now even...

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Book Review: Maintaining Your Second Language by Eve Lindemuth Bodeux

“The big ‘secret’ to improving second language skills is practice.” Eve Lindemuth Bodeux (p. 9) I became in love with this book from the very first page. The author, Eve Lindemuth Bodeux is an experienced second language user and the content is predominantly based on her own experience. This, I...

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