Book Club

Hello everyone!

So my good friend Danilo and I were talking about strategies for learning a foreign language, and we came up with a brilliant idea to start a book club!

Now, there are many different ways of learning a language, but the effective method is with cultural immersion. Of course, if you don't have the privilege of living in a country that speaks the language you are trying to learn this can be a major challenge. However, that's not to say that it can't be done, and reading literature that has had an influence on society is a great alternative!

Why?

Well my friends, because in most English speaking societies, especially North American ones, mainstream pop culture permeates (spreads throughout) society! By having read some of the most influential novels that have influenced society you will have a great understanding of idiomatic expressions, and recognize where they come from. Some examples: to gaslight someone; big brother is watching; drink from the kool aid; a sight for sore eyes.

How will this work?

Well I have only one suggestion. Those of you who are interested can send me a message and I can create a list of those involved. Once a week we'll read one or two chapters, and write a very short summary (1-2 paragraphs) that can be posted to italki in a journal entry. This way you can have your summary corrected, or can have a discussion. If there is only a small group I can guarantee to do any necessary corrections, or we can have a discussion group on Skype or something. If there are a lot of people interested this will obviously be difficult to guarantee or even organize, so then we might have to split up into small groups.

These would be the novels suggested to start:
- to kill a mockingbird
- of mice and men
- animal farm
- the catcher in the rye
- Lord of the flies
- 1984
- chrysalids
- death of a salesman

Let me know what you guys think!