The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
The author of the acclaimed The Lost Continent now steers us through the quirks and byways of the English language. We learn why island, freight, and colonel are spelled in such unphonetic ways, why four has a u in it but forty doesn't, plus bizarre and enlightening facts about some of the patriarchs of this peculiar language. BBC R4
Being Bindy is funny, sad and moving - but most of all it is very real. The problems faced by Bindy and Janey will touch a nerve with teenage girls. Author Alyssa Brugman doesn't preach and doesn't provide easy answers. There is nothing as simple as happily-ever-after - but there is a feeling of hope which makes the novel uplifting but not unrealistic. This is Brugman's third novel for young adult readers, although this one is aimed at a slightly younger audience than the previous two. What it does have in common with her earlier offerings is Brugman's superb blend of insight and writing skill.
32 Candles is the slightly twisted, utterly romantic, and deftly wry story of Davie Jones, who, if she doesn't stand in her own way, just might get the man of her dreams.
Simply Wild: The wealthy owner of a Colorado mining empire, Luke Taggart has seen and done it all. Now, bored with saloons, gambling and loose women, he feels a restless yearning—for what, he doesn't know. Until he meets a woman as fresh and pure as a spring morning—and vows to possess her...at any cost.
Ebenezer Scrooge doesn't like Christmas. He doesn't like people. He only likes money. But when the ghost of his friend Old Marley visits him on Christmas Eve, it's the beginning of a very strange night. Next morning he wishes everybody a Merry Christmas! So what has changed bad, old Mr. Scrooge? Since it was published in 1843, Charles Dickens's celebrated story about the meaning of Christmas has captured the hearts of millions of people all over the world.
