📌 На заметку и в продолжении темы " Джейн Остин " Очень милая и лёгкая книга 🫰Заставила меня улыбаться )

Jane Austen's guide to dating

Published in 2005
Author : Lauren Henderson ( UK 🇬🇧 )
Level of English: B2 / C1
( full of spoken collocations and idioms but it doesn't make the book hard to read ! )


🤌Jane Austen's witty , perceptive and romantic novels have delighted readers for two hundred years. With clear sight,common sense and good judgment, she observed the hits and near-misses of her heroes and heroines in love.
Dating certainly hasn't got any easier since then and Lauren Henderson believes that today's singletons could use some of that Regency wisdom.

This is the only dating guide based on stories that really have stood the test of time. It's a fun , insightful book. Henderson deftly summorizes all the love stories in the books and provides us with psychological tests at the back of the book, which I think is sweet and looks like a treat ))

🤌Contents 🤌

1. If you like someone, make it clear that you do

2. Don't put your feelings on public display, unless they're fully reciprocated

3. Don't play games or lead people on

4. Have faith in your own instincts

5. Don't fall for superficial qualities

6. Look for someone who can bring out your best qualities

7. Don't settle - Don't marry for money,or convenience, or our of loneliness

8. Be witty if you can ,but not cynical ,indiscreet,or cruel

9.Be prepared to wait for the right person to come along

10. If your lover needs a reprimand,let him have it

My final words in favour of the book are the following:

" If you're exhausted and need something light,modern, juicy,romantic and a cut-out-and-keep guide available , it is all here , in these 267 pages . Light is a keyword ))"

🫴https://archive.org/details/janeaustensguide00hend

Хорошей недели вам, друзья 🫰

#janeaustenguidetodating

🫰Documentario Stupendo! 🫰

Il film sulle cita' piu importante della Russia 🇷🇺 davvero magnifico per la scelta dei paessaggi,l'alta qualita del video ,informazione eloquente sui luogi visitati, che dire : MAGNIFICO !

Если бы этот фильм был книгой, я бы ее читала с большим удовольствием.

Даже если совсем не понимать итальянского , то сами съёмки и музыка как огромный фотоальбом исконно русской красоты!

https://youtu.be/hG3wTuDl03I?si=zix6hIC_iEwyptsg

Buona settimana a voi !❤️

#meravigliedellarussia
#documentario

❓Что там читают у Опры Уинфри в книжном клубе в 2025?

About the Club :

In 1996, Oprah Winfrey announced the start of Oprah’s Book Club through the Oprah Winfrey Show. Over the next fifteen years, the Oprah book club list expanded to 70 books and became the most famous celebrity book club ever. An Oprah book was distinguished as being a thought-provoking book for you to read.

❗️SOME BRIGHT NOWHERE
(2025)

201 pages

ANN PACKER

The bestselling, beloved author returns with her first novel in over a decade, an intimate and profoundly moving look at a long marriage and the ways in which a startling request can change a couple’s understanding of who they are, together and apart.

Eliot and his wife Claire have been happily married for nearly four decades. They’ve raised two children in their sleepy Connecticut town and have weathered the inevitable ups and downs of a long life spent together. But eight years after Claire was diagnosed with cancer, the end is near, and it is time to gather loved ones and prepare for the inevitable.

Over the years of Claire’s illness, Eliot has willingly–lovingly–shifted into the role of caregiver, appreciating the intimacy and tenderness that comes with a role even more layered and complex than the one he performed as a devoted husband. But as he focuses on settling into what will be their last days and weeks together, Claire makes an unexpected request that leaves him reeling. In a moment, his carefully constructed world is shattered.

What if your partner’s dying wish broke your heart?
How well do we know the deepest desires of those we love dearly?

As Eliot is confronted with this profound turning point in his marriage and his life, he grapples with the man and husband he’s been, and with the great unknowns of Claire’s last days.

Ann Packer makes a triumphant return with this powerful novel that is tender and raw, visceral and unexpected. Emotionally vibrant and complex, Some Bright Nowhere explores the profound gifts and unexpected costs of truly loving someone, and the fears and desires we experience as the end of life draws near.

🔗I'll leave the pdf copy for you to upload and read below

I've just finished reading " Глазами клоуна" Генриха Белля ...
I need time to process this deep and emotionally touching novel

Ann Packer is a new name for me.

❓Have you read anything by this writer?

Love,
Yulia 💖

#annpacker
#oprahwinfreybookclub
#somebrightnowhere

🕯 " ДАРЫ ВОЛХВОВ "
О.ГЕНРИ 🕯

" THE GIFT OF THE MAGI "
by O. Henry

If you're looking for a Christmas story that doesn't feature either a nativity or Santa , this story is for you .

This classic story was first published in 1905 . It reinforces the value of selfless giving.

👼 ...." The magi,as you know , were wise men - wonderfully wise men - who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents 🎁 Being wise,their gifts were no doubt wise ones,possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house .....👼

Enjoy the story! I loved reading it . It's worth your free time.

Level of English : B1 + / B2 / C1

🔔⭐️Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! 🎄🔴

Buona Vigilia di Natale a tutti ! 🌲🫐


P.S. Историю оставлю для вас ниже в двух версиях - на русском и английском

With love ,
Your Yulia ☕️

#ohenry
#thegiftofthemagi
#дарыволхвов
#Merrychristmas

🪄My Storyline and Reading Year 2025 in review 🪄

Dear friends, it is not as though I'm following everybody else's " end-of-the-year trends " now. No. What I really want is to list all my book recommendations in one New Year post and feel fully satisfied with what a wonderful Reading Year was it in our cosy community with cosy reading nooks and cosy time !

I didn't have any reading goals when 2025 started. My reading was in one speed : I see something, open it, it sparkes my interest,I read it , I share it with you. Simple arithmetic,isn't it? No magic is involved 😉

My review post begins with the list of books in English posted in my channel:

1. Alan Sillitoe " The loneliness of the long distance runner"

2. Edgar Allan Poe " The murders in the Rue Morgue"

3. Ann Patchett " State of wonder"

4. Madeleine Thien " Simple recipes "

5. Gwyneth Paltrow " The Clean plate "

6. Dr Ruth K Westheimer " Musically speaking "

7. Janice Miller " Fashion and Music "

8. Kathleen Krull " M for music "

9. Olivia Laing " The lonely city "

10. Charles Spencer " Gastrophysics"

11. Graded readers " Dear Diary

12. Jennifer Keishin Armstrong " Sex and the City and Us "

13. Caroline Jones " Little Book of Audrey Hepburn "

14. Axel Scheffler " Pip and Posy "
15. Somerset Maugham " The ant and the grasshoper "

16. Lauren Henderson " Jane Austen's guide to dating "

17. Somerset Maugham " The Painted Veil "

18. John Steinbeck " Of Mice and Men "

19. Ann Packer " Some Bright Nowhere "

20. O.Henry " The gift of the magi "

🧚‍♀20 books and 20 different worlds 🧚‍♀

I hope that my recommendation s were both useful and a memorable reading experience for you in 2025 💫

2025 for wasn't a book year for quantity !

It was my pleasure and a much bigger pleasure to share my reads with you ❤️

If you tell us which books have made your 2025 a pure enjoyment ,I'll understand your tastes better ⬇️

Your
Yulia ❤️

#2025readingyear
#booksinreview
#20booksinEnglish
#readingyear

" Мы открываем книгу. Её страницы чисты. Мы собираемся заполнить их собственноручно. Книга называется "Возможность", а её первая глава называется "Новый год "

Эдит Лавджой Пирс ( английская писательница и поэтесса )

⭐ Примите мои самые тёплые и искренние пожелания с Новым Годом , друзья !

Пусть ваша книга 2026 года под названием " Возможность " всегда следует за вами в ваших руках и вы не пропускаете ни одной её главы.
Начинаем писать Главу 1 уже в эту Новогоднюю ночь 🌛⭐
Достаём самые любимые цветные ручки,карандаши,акварели и создаём пейзажи на каждый день ,потому что как раз из них и состоит наша удивительная жизнь ⭐

Спасибо,что мы вместе ❤️
С Наступающим!

Your
Yulia ❤️

#2026год
#Возможность
#Пожелания
#снаступаюшим

❄️ We are already in 2026 ❄️

Happy Orthodox Christmas to you all !


Do you have any predictions for 2026? (which,though optimistic and bright,are hard to make now )

The New York Times does 🎅
The newspaper article leaves room for our own thoughts.Rather, mine were mainly about the language and fancy English adjectives or collocations..or phrasal verbs hahaha) and I stopped reading through all 10 predictions ,then I scrolled back to the beginning to grasp what all 10 were practically about??!)) It might be diagnosed as " teacher's syndrom " I guess so )))

☕️What are you reading now, friends?

Your first book in 2026 ?

I'll be happy to know about it

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/style/trends-predictions-2026.html

Love,
Yulia 🌲

#2026
#predictions
#nytimes

💖 MY BOOK REVIEW 💖

" Convenience Store woman "
By Sayaka Murata

When the novel came out in 2018,it was an immediate hit,selling over 650 000 copies and winning the prestigious Akutagawa Prize. Contemporary Japanese literature remains in the shadow in the English-speaking world despite the fact that Japanese writers such as Haruki Murakami and Kazuo Ishiguro have already gained popularity worldwide. Russia is not the exception.

" Convenience Store Woman" tells about heartbreaking tale of 36-year-old combini ( Convenience store) worker Keiko Furukawa ,a lifelong singleton who has always felt out of place in society. The Japanese noscript is accurately translated as " Convenience Store Human ", which is " Человек-комбини ", a successful attempt to leave the original message of the book untouched.

In the book, we will find several issues facing Japanese society today. The most protruded,alarmingly acute social one is the pressure to conform. It is strongly felt from the first word. Told from the point of a customer stepping foot in the store,the story surrounds us with the familiar sights,sounds, conversations, and smells of a place we know all too well.
First, no stranger to being a victim myself of people who shamelessly break personal boundaries, though nice-sounding and friendly guys they are, are portrayed as a social NORM. In fact, the only way to social success is finding a stable full-time job, getting married, and having children. BUT IS IT THE ONLY WAY ?

" Convenience Store Woman " forces us to question what is " normal " and what is " social misfit " for those who do not fit the mold of " NORMALITY"

Far from being a devil-may-care persona, Keiko seems the most indispensable worker in the store, though it makes her see herself as just " homo kombini " , one more tiny part of a gigantic world mechanism called " шестерёнки этого мира " . However, it is not just Keiko who becomes an outcast, but also her mismatched partner , Shirakara. Sayka Murata describes him almost inhumanely. Similarly. Keiko ' s attitude to him as her pet whom she feeds " animal food " at feeding time gives us much food for thought.

Does she suffer from a mental disorder or is this at least her protection shield,her second skin which she had to wear for survival? Sadly, the issue Murata leaves hanging, tantalizingly , is of Keiko ' s childhood. The details are scant and there are more and more questions flying around us about WHO should we place guilt on !! ? She trained herself to put a lid on her individuality after she was stigmatized for it,at school, and clearly our thirst for finding JUSTICE and a plausible explanation fails every time we start searching for the latter.

Sometimes, I had mixed feelings about Keiko but I heard her voice distinctively while reading the story, and compassion arose inside of me.
If a hammer is always used to destroy instead of expressing sympathy and building a temple of Kindness , Mercy and Grace, our society is doomed to collapse soon..

Like a Convenience store, Murata draws a chilly fluorescent world, in which you want to put on a warm cosy sweater to feel HUMAN .

I believe Sayka Murata 's English debut is brilliant. Her story will have you race through the pages to see what happens next.
It is worth checking out.

( I was reading the novel in Russian)

✈️The pdf is in comment section as usual

#bookreview
#Sayakamurata
#человеккомбини