In this superb anthology can be found the best of the English-speaking world’s inspirational and reassuring verse, including such classics as Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’ and W.H. Davies’ ‘Leisure’. This beautifully illustrated collection of over 120 poems is sure to offer solace, hearten the soul and motivate the human spirit.

    Talk of Dumb Lukey's crazed acts and the romance between Lucinda and Joe Lee, the Thames bargee. Talk of the Crimea and the terror of Napoleon.At the tavern, hard-headed Beatrice and her sister Dot care for their invalid father and for Lucinda, their pretty orphaned niece. The inn is their livelihood but village business is ever Beat's business too. And now some dark cloud has descended on them all . . .

    The end of a marriage doesn't mean the end of life After the sudden and brutal breakdown of her marriage, Jenny finds herself alone for the first time in her life when she leaves the comfortable farmhouse with her four-year-old daughter. Taking refuge in a seaside town in North Wales, Jenny finds a room in a boarding house. It's difficult at first, but as she gets to know her fellow residents, she gradually begins to see that life has much more to offer than she could ever have dreamed. And when she meets Ben, the owner of the local coffee bar, she finally understands that she is far happier now, living on her own, than she ever was when she was married.

    There, Rachel is convinced her fate is sealed, but she has reckoned without the actions of handsome landowner Jared Lytton who comes to her rescue.Despite being vindicated, Rachel is forced to leave the village. Life is tough and she has to struggle to survive until she meets the widow Beulah Thomas and her son William. Working on their farm, she is treated with kindness and when William asks for her hand in marriage, she agrees - more out of gratitude than out of love. But Rachel cannot forget Jared Lytton, whose path seems destined to cross hers.

    Today every school in Germany offers English as school subject, even the primary schools. Consequently it must be put great emphasis on teaching it accurately by taking into consideration any aspect of English language acquisition when learning it, for example the acquisition of a distinctive vocabulary, the ability to use grammar rules correctly, the ability to spell correctly, the ability to understand what is been said when native speakers talk in English which we call listening comprehension. Another very important part of learning English as a foreign language is undisputedly reading comprehension. The ability to read out correctly, to understand what is been read and to be able to work with a text effectively is not only a competence that should be concentrated on in the foreign language but also in the mother tongue. The PISA Study is a perfect proof of this which will be mentioned later on. In this paper I will try to accentuate the importance and significance of reading in the English class. In order to illustrate this I will introduce the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, an American author and doctor with Afghan origins, and use it for the elaboration of the importance of reading activities in the English class. Initially I will focus on the didactic analysis which includes the reference to the syllabus. The syllabus is of course the signpost in terms of guidelines when planning the lessons, choosing age-appropriate media and methods. What role does reading play in this context? What is said in the syllabus when it come

    The resonance of this image grows through each section of the book as Hahn skillfully employs theme and variation, counterpoint and mirroring techniques. The ibis first appears as part of an illusion, the disappearing object in a magician’s trick, which then evokes the greatest disappearing act of all—death—where there are no tricks to bring about a reappearance. The rich complexity multiplies as the second section focuses on a disappearing lady and a dramatic final section brings together the bird and the lady in their common plight—both caged by their mortality, their assigned time and role.  All of the illusions fall away during this brilliant denouement as the two voices share a dialogue on the power of metaphor as the very essence of poetry. bird trick iv It’s all about disappearance. About a bird in a cagewith a mirror, a simple twiston the handle at the sidethat makes it come and go at the magician’s insistence. It’s all about innocence.It’s all about acceptance.It’s all about compliance.It’s all about deference.It’s all about silence. It’s all about disappearance.

    While some of these narratives are loosely based in fact, they are written with a large dollop of literary license. The characters are not "politically correct" in today's parlance and speak in the vernacular of their time and culture. Some of them you will like ...others you may not. No disrespect or offense is intended in the telling. These are their stories.The lead story "Fat of The Land" was a past runner-up in the national Raymond Carver short story awards.

    

    

    The Stories, set in Calcutta, bring to the fore the darkness lurking in the human psyche and bare the baser instincts. The stories, compactly written and marked by insightly dialogues that raise contemporary issues like man-woman relationships and its strains, moral and ethics, environmental degradation, class inequality, rapid and mass-scale unmindful urbanisation, are devoid of sentimentalisation. The result is they remained focused and move around the central character who is named Rahul in all the stories. We encounter the events that shape, mar, guide Rahul's life and also the lives of those around him, making us question the very essence of existence. Rahul symbolises modern man; he is not just one character, but all of us rolled into one. The story cycle stands out for two reasons - its brilliant narrative and the dispassionate style with which betrayal in personal relationships and resultant loneliness has been handled. The poems weave a maze of dreams, images, reflections and stories. They are written in a reflective and many a time in a narrative tenor within a poetic idiom. The poems are inseparable in a hidden way and are magically sequenced like various kinds of flowers in a garland or chapters of differing shades in a novel. Calcutta features in some of the poems like the looming backdrop of Gotham City in a Batman movie.

    She loves Jack, with his dark good looks but loyalties are threatened as World War Two approaches and Meg realises that the only thing she can count on is her passion for the land she loves. Until a stranger arrives in the dale and her world changes for ever.

    This is a short collection of poetry from the pen and mind of Nyles Adams, most of which originally appeared in other Alexandria House works.Read, absorb and snap your fingers if you are so inclined.

    From the author of My Song For Him Who Never Sang to Me and We Hardly See Each Other Any More, another intimate, illustrated collection of verse to share with those we love.

    But soon Josie realises she's made a mistake, and she and Suzy flee Liverpool and a man they now fear. But will they be safe from the past in Birkenhead?

    An anthology of some the best poems written by Harivansh Rai Bachchan,which have been selected specially for this anthology by himself.