5月 13

EL本棚紹介 (42) Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook, by Micheal Geisen

[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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This is a big—a very big—textbook introducing basic scientific concepts. It was written for middle school students in the US, but it can be useful for you, too. As a general introduction, there are units on all physics, chemistry, engineering, outer space, biology, weather, ecology, and a lot more. The vocabulary is a little challenging, but important words are underlined and definitions are highlighted. There are lots of pictures and some jokes that make reading a pleasant experience.

Don’t borrow this book and expect to read all 533 pages! Look at the table of contents (目次) and skip to a unit that you are interested in. Even reading just one unit will be an accomplishment, and you might even learn something interesting, too.

My two cents: Science books are good for “learning what you already know.” I think you will learn more English by choosing a topic you already know about in Japanese than by reading something completely new.

4月 22

EL本棚紹介 (41) Time for Kids: Ready, Set, Write!, by Time for Kids

[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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You have probably heard of Time magazine because it is very famous around the world. Well, Time also makes interesting and easy to read books called Time for Kids. Even though this book is “for kids,” it actually has a lot of really good writing tips.

When I teach academic writing, I talk about brainstorming and prewriting, topic sentences, proofreading, etc. This book teaches all of the same topics using simple language and examples. There are sections on non-fiction writing (like writing essays for class), and also fiction (stories), poetry, newspaper reporting, and more. I think any English student could learn something useful from the Section 1: Prewriting pages about “choosing a topic” and the Section 2: Drafting pages about “nonfiction writing.”

My two cents: You do NOT have to read every page in this book. Find the topics that look useful for YOU and read those first.

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4月 22

EL本棚紹介 (40) Time for Kids Science Scoops: Planets! (Lisa Jo Rudy), Earthquakes! (Barbara Collier), Volcanoes! (Jeremy Caplan)

[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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These three books are easy-to-read introductions to the planets, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Yes, they are “for kids,” but they are well written and teach a lot of good vocabulary.

One of my learning philosophies is that “it is easier to learn what you already know.” These books teach science for children, so you probably already know most of the facts inside. But that’s a good thing! If you already know a lot about the topic, then reading should be much easier. Also, it is a good way to improve your English vocabulary by learning concepts you already know in Japanese in a new language.

My two cents: If your teacher wants you to do extensive reading (多読) but you don’t like fiction, try one of these books.

Time For Kids: Volcanoes! (Time for Kids Science Scoops ...

4月 22

EL本棚紹介(39) Redwall, by Brian Jacques

[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 know The Lord of the Rings （ロード・オブ・ザ・リング）? Now, imagine that story, but with mice and rabbits instead of humans and elves. That’s what Redwall is.

This is a really good book to get lost in. Many of the characters are very likable, there is a lot of humor, and there is a lot of drama as well. Redwall is the story of the Redwall Abbey, where the peaceful mice of Mossflower live. Suddenly, the abbey is attacked by an evil rat, Cluny the Scourge, and all of the good animals have to work together to protect their way of life.

Redwall is a children’s fantasy book, like Harry Potter, but that does not mean it is not worth your time. It is often beautifully written, and you can learn a lot of good nature vocabulary from it. In addition, it uses British English, and there are a lot of words you are probably unfamiliar with.

My two cents: I read this book as a child, and I want to share it with you. The language may sometimes be difficult, but give it a chance, and you might find you love it!

4月 15

EL本棚紹介 (38) Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier

[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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Have you seen the movie Coco (リメンバー・ミー) about the Mexican festival of the dead? If you enjoy that world or are interested in Mexican culture, you should look at Ghosts. This is the story of Catrina and her sister Maya moving to a new town in California. Maya is very sick, and Catrina tries to care for her and be a responsible big sister. But they are both children, and it is very difficult.

What happens when they find out that everyone in their new neighborhood is obsessed with ghosts? And what happens when they find out that the ghosts are real? Don’t worry—nothing scary happens: the answer is just a weird, fun, and sometimes heartwarming little story. This is a light read with a fun art style, and definitely is worth your time.

My two cents: A very little bit of the dialogue is written in Spanish, and there is some Mexican culture from this book, so some of it might be unfamiliar to you. That’s a good thing—you can learn something as you read.

4月 15

EL本棚紹介(37) Watchmen, by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins

[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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Watchmen is hailed as one of the best graphic novels of all time, and for good reason. It poses serious questions about morality, personal responsibility, and the value of human life. By juxtaposing personal drama between a group of ex-superheroes, the chaos of the gritty crime-infested New York streets of the 1980s, and the Doomsday Clock counting down to nuclear holocaust, it forces the reader to consider things from a series of conflicting points of view. When nuclear war and total human annihilation are on the line, every line of text, every comic panel counts.

As you can guess from this introduction, Watchmen is not necessarily an easy book to get through. Although it should be read from beginning to end, I know that is a very difficult challenge. Instead, I strongly suggest starting with “Chapter IV: Watchmaker,” which stands by itself as a standalone character portrait. You could also just read the end of each chapter, which contain pages from books written by characters in the graphic novel.

Watchmen has been made into a movie (Watchmen (2009) – IMDb) and a TV series (Watchmen (TV Mini Series 2019) – IMDb) as well.

My two cents: Give Watchmen your time, and it will give a lot back.

4月 15

EL本棚紹介(36) Mooncakes, by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

[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 witches? Magic? Werewolves? How about young romance? A diverse ethnic mix of LGBTQ characters? A man who has a pigeon’s head? Mooncakes has all of this and more. It is a story of a family of witches attempting to protect their town from a dangerous horse demon…until they find out the surprising truth behind who summoned the demon in the first place, and why.

Mooncakes is a light read and has some colorful and sometimes creative artwork. The art style, characters’ speech, and values all feel exactly like contemporary internet culture. It is not just an interesting story. This book is also a good window into youth culture today—youth culture, from a much more feminine perspective than most of the other books in the EL library.

My two cents: This book has a non-binary character. Instead of “he” or “she,” they use “they/them” pronouns. You should become used to using these pronouns, even though they are probably not taught in your English textbooks.

4月 15

EL本棚紹介(35) Daytripper, by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba

[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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Some comic books are fun, light reading. Some are heavy, difficult books that deal with history or social issues. Daytripper is something else: it is a book about life, and it tells its story in a beautiful, sometimes heart-wrenching way.

This is the story of Bras de Oliva Domingos’ life. Bras writes obituaries (お悔み) for the newspaper. His father is a famous novelist, and he dreams of becoming a writer himself. Unfortunately, he dies at the young age of 32. Or does he? Bras dies at the end of each chapter of his story, at each stage of his life. But his story continues on the next page. This may seem confusing at first, but really it means that every chapter is an individual short story. These small parts add up to a really interesting whole, but you can start by just reading one or two.

My two cents: The whole book is set in Brazil, and so in addition to appreciating the authors’ poignant story, you can also learn a little bit of Brazilian culture, names, and a couple of onomatopoeia (擬態語・擬音語).

4月 08

EL本棚紹介(34) Chasin’ the Bird: Charlie Parker in California, by Dave Chisholm and Peter Markowski

[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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How do you write about music? One of the strengths of comic books is their use of color and shape to represent sound. This is one of the most important aspects of Chasin’ the Bird, which tells the story of a short period in Charlie Parker’s life. Charlie Parker was one of the most important saxophonists in jazz history. He was a pioneer of bebop. He was also a philosopher, a womanizer, and a drug addict.

This book is made up of several chapters. Each chapter is told by a different person in Charlie’s life and gives a different perspective on who he was. The art style of each chapter changes with the characters’ perspectives, so each chapter really stands alone. The pictures are full of color, and Charlie’s words will make you think.

My two cents: A good read if you are interested in jazz, US history, or just want to read a biography of an important but complicated character.

4月 08

EL本棚紹介(33) Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 1, by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima

[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 Tokugawa history? Do you like crazy violence? Do you like…little babies? If so, you may be interested in Lone Wolf and Cub (子連れ狼). It is the story of Ōgami Ittō, the former executioner or the Shogun, now an assassin, and his three-year-old son. He is an unbeatable warrior who will not stop until his enemies have all fallen.

Don’t be scared by the size of the book (over 700 pages!). Each story/chapter can be read alone as a short story. In fact, the first half of the book has very little story at all—just lots of fighting and killing. The second half introduces more backstory and Buddhist ideas. This book may be a good example of “culturally-familiar learning materials,” too. There are lots of Japanese names and words in this book, which can help you remember the story and read more easily.

My two cents: This manga looks and feels like Gogol 13: the hero is a super masculine, unfeeling killer. I didn’t personally enjoy reading a lot of this, but it was an interesting time capsule of when it was written in the 1990s.