We are open from 10/1! Seminars begin on 10/8
Check out our new schedule.
Come and join us during the autumn season – join a seminar, practice your conversation in the conversation circle, find an interesting book, or just stop by and say “Hi”!
Sep 24
EL本棚紹介(8)Pregnant Butch: Nine Long Months Spent in Drag, by A.K. Summers
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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One of the strengths of comics and manga is their ability to show instead of just tell. Sometimes we cannot use words to express how we feel, so we can use pictures. This is exactly how Summers tells the story of her pregnancy, as a gay, butch (masculine-presenting) woman. And she tells that very personal story with a great sense of humor!
Pregnant Butch is written and drawn like a zine. “Zines” are handmade subculture magazines with a punk style. This is a good match with Summers’ experience as an “outsider”: few people around her even understood how a lesbian could get pregnant!
Note: While there are a few jokes and cultural references that you will probably not understand, there is a lot of information here about medical culture, pregnancy, LGBTQ culture, and more.
My two cents: One thing I appreciate from reading this book is Summers’ struggle with her identity as “butch” in a world where more and more people are coming out as transgender. This is a perspective you don’t often hear from, but it is important, too!
Sep 24
EL本棚紹介(7) Adrian and the Tree of Secrets, by Hubert and Marie Caillou
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Meet Adrian, a teenager trapped in a boring town with strict parents and catholic schooling. Like many young people, he struggles to find out who he is. He experiences rejection by his mother, classmates, and even his best friend as he explores a hidden romance with another boy at his school.
There are relatable themes here, but this book may also be a window into the heart and mind of someone who is very little like you. With very few people who accept him for who he is and nobody to listen to his story, Adrian is pushed to his emotional limits. The story climaxes with an homage to Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, reminding us that these themes are nothing new.
My two cents: The gentle art style reflects the “perfect” surface of Adrian’s life, hiding imperfections just as he hides his inner struggle.
Sep 24
EL本棚紹介(6) Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Ghost stories are often allegories: they use ghosts to represent the past or about characters’ hidden feelings. Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft is the first book in a series which does just that. After the horrible murder of their father, the Locke family moves away to live in a giant mysterious house. The house has a long history and contains many deadly secrets.
This first volume of Locke & Key is really about Tyler, the oldest boy, mourning the death of his father. But much of it also follows Bode, the youngest child, as he explores the strange place. He discovers the first of many magical Keys. This Key turns you into a ghost. Bode has fun with it, but there is something more dangerous waiting for him…
Netflix made a Locke & Key show. You can check out the trailer here: ロック&キー | Netflix (ネットフリックス) 公式サイト
My two cents: This is the best volume of the series that I have read, and I highly recommend it!
Sep 24
EL本棚紹介(5) Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Emily Carroll tells five scary stories (plus an introduction and conclusion), each one weirder than the last. The stories remind me of old-fashioned fairytales which were meant to protect children by teaching them to fear the unknown. In these stories, the forest is unknown, and there is always something strange and dangerous waiting there for you.
The art in this book makes it stand out. The woods are dark and dangerous, so many pages are covered with black, dark blue shadows, and red. Many of the panels have few words, so you can follow the story by looking at the pictures.
My two cents: Read the last story, “The Nesting Place,” if you have ever felt something was strange about someone you met who was “too perfect.”
Aug 27
EL本棚紹介(4) Criminal: Lawless, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Lawless is the story of Tracy Lawless and his family. When Tracy is released from the army after committing war crimes in Iraq, he discovers that his brother has been murdered and he makes it his mission to discover who the killer is. He uses a fake identity to join his brother’s old gang and help them plan a robbery…and then he discovers the truth.
This book is much uglier and crueler than Coward, and it contains more emotionally difficult themes. Tracy’s father was abusive, his brother is corrupted by his environment, and Tracy himself is controlled by both the military and the criminal world. There is a scene where Tracy tortures and old man for information and another where soldiers tell a racist and homophobic story. Be warned before reading.
My two cents: While much of Lawless may be uncomfortable to read, Brubaker and Phillips again tell a difficult story about family. Not as good as Coward, but still a good read.
Aug 27
EL本棚紹介(3) Coward: A CRIMINAL Edition, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Do you like crime drama movies, like Heat, The Godfather, or Goodfellas? Or heist movies like Oceans 11 or, well, Heist? Then you might like Coward, the story of Leo, a criminal involved in a plan to steal a big truckload of diamonds. But when they put their complicated plan into action, things go wrong: guns fire, people get hurt, and Leo escapes – not with a briefcase full of diamonds, but one stuffed with cocaine.
Although the first half of the story is about “bad people” committing crimes, the heart of the story is in the second half, when Leo is hiding on a farm with Greta, who was badly hurt in the robbery, and his elderly father, a compulsive thief suffering from dementia.
My two cents: The plot is about crime, but the story of the relationship between Leo, his father, and Greta is at times heartbreaking.
Aug 27
EL本棚紹介(2) Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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What would you do if you met a friendly ghost? What if that ghost started helping you out with your social life and schoolwork? And what if that ghost is carrying a big secret?
Anya’s Ghost is about Anya, a high school student who immigrated to the US from Russia. She has trouble fitting in, struggles with grades, and wants to get a boyfriend. Everything changes, though, when she meets Emily, a 90-year-old ghost and her new best friend. This book is full of humor, and it tells an honest story about the experience of a young immigrant family. On the other hand, the twist in the second half of the book changes everything.
My two cents: This is a light, fun read, and despite the “ghostly” subject matter, it is neither scary nor dark.
Aug 27
EL本棚紹介(1) The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Nguyen
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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The Magic Fish is told in a series of fairy tales – different versions of Cinderella and the Little Mermaid – which reflect the lives and emotions of the two main characters, Tien, a 13-year-old boy living in America, and his mother, a refugee from Vietnam.
This book does something special: it takes different themes (LGBTQ, Vietnam refugees, coming of age) set in different locations and different times, and tells a story that is very easy to follow and understand. Each scene is color coded: America is pink, fairy tales are blue, and Vietnam is yellow, so the story is not confusing at all.
My two cents: The characters tell a German version and a Vietnamese version of Cinderella, and you will be surprised by both!
Aug 20
Welcome to the new English Lounge website!
Welcome to the new English Lounge website!
This website is more dynamic than the old one and allows teachers to frequently make updates to the site, including blogs, the schedule for the seminars, information about the exchange students helping in the EL conversation space, and special activities at the EL – so bookmark the page and stay up-to-date with what’s happening at the English Lounge!
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