Book of Stories: UPDATE

Dlouho, dlouho, dlouho jsem zvažoval, které Book of Stories by měly přijít na řadu po Book of Stories Vol. 1, Book of Stories Vol. 2, Book of Stories Vol. 3 a Book of Stories Vol. 4. Nakonec jsem z nepřeberného množství kandidátů vybral

Book of Stories Vol. 5
Book of Stories Vol. 6

Vím, že u každé nové BoS píšu něco ve stylu BEST ONE YET. Vždycky to také platí. První díl byl kvalitní a každý další o něco lepší. V tomto trendu pokračuju – pětka a šestka nabízí handpicked vypiplané příběhy z posledních několika ročníků Bee’s Knees English Social Club. Slovní zásobu vystavím na web (zde a zde), abyste si ji ke každému příběhu mohli vytisknout podle svých potřeb.

Cena: 370 CZK za knihu

ÚVODNÍ SLOVO

In the mid-90s, the internet was barely a thing and I was barely a person. So, we went well together. I devoured every text I could get my hands on. I’d read the same stories over and over again, religiously: early blogs, celebrity profiles, movie transcripts, interviews, you name it.

I would read something and then reread it and then read it one more time. And then I kept returning to it. I did it because I loved to read and I loved the English language. I read to improve my English. I read to get inspiration for my own classes. I read for the sheer joy of seeing English at work. I couldn’t get enough of that stuff.

Recently, I went back into my personal archive to see if any of those stories would jog my memory. Now, I haven’t gone back to them in almost 30 years. By all rights, I should have no memory of them. Wrong. I open a random story and I’m immediately transported back in time. I also realize to what extent I still draw on these texts. I’ll see a turn of phrase and I’ll be like, Oh my God, I use that phrase all the time! So this is where I got it from!

Okay, why am I telling you this? Well, those stories turbocharged my English like no textbook ever had or would. And they weren’t even designed to do that! They were very imperfect in that regard. They contained tons of fluff, overly formal expressions, phrases no native speaker would ever use in casual conversation. And I had no way of knowing that—I had to figure it all out for myself. So I spent the next few years making sense of what I’d absorbed, separating the wheat from the chaff, discarding whatever did not pass the muster. Worked out great for me. So, y’know, no complaints.

Still, you know what would have worked even better? I’ll tell you what would have worked even better. Here’s what would have worked even better. What would have worked even better is if I’d had a f***ing Book of Stories is what would have worked even better. But here’s the thing: there was no Book of Stories back then. So, since I didn’t get to learn from a Book of Stories, I did the next best thing: I wrote one. (Well, six. So far.) To paraphrase an old song: Ain’t I sweet?

NOTES

1. Some of these stories originated in the 1990s. As a result, there’s talk of videotapes and landlines and DVDs and whatnot — things that will not make much sense to people born after 2000. People born after 2000, deal with it.

2. One thing I like about these stories is the variety of English you’ll find in them. Each story strikes a slightly different tone. Some are more on the formal side, others are very colloquial, most are somewhere in between. “Oh no! How shall I distinguish between the many tones?” — “I don’t know, man. Cope.”

3(a). Keep in mind that each of the highlighted bits has been highlighted for a reason. The reason may not immediately reveal itself to you, but trust me, there is one. (All right, I’ll level with you: I’m not overly confident in your grasp of this grammar / turn of phrase. Yes, yours, specifically.)

3(b). There are a lot of highlights. Very very many. Often, there’s more highlighted text than non-highlighted text. This may lead you to think I’m overreaching. If that’s the case, close the book and try to recount the last story you have read. See how many of the highlighted bits you’ve actually used. Then, and only then, get back to me.

4. Sometimes you’ll be three or four paragraphs into a story and you’ll have no idea what’s going on. There’s a nifty trick that allows you to figure it out. Keep reading.

BoS 5: TABLE OF CONTENTS

BoS 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS