How to Pick a Great Book

 

It's not news that we spend more time than ever texting and online. But did you know that we also spend more time reading? Yep, that's right: a 2010 study shows that more teens are reading good old-fashioned, ink-on-paper books.

Reading is a good way to discover the next big thing and to learn a little more about yourself while you're at it. But while you may know how to find the best app for your phone, do you know how to pick a book you'll really like? Here are some tips.

Start With Your Interests

Reading on your own isn't like reading for school (although chances are, you'll end up loving some of the books you read for school and want to read more by those authors). You can pick something that's all about your interests, whether it's ancient martial arts, computers, or fashion design. You name it, there are bound to be books about it.

What's Your "Type"?

Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction (or both)?

Fiction books like novels or short-story collections can transport you to another world or help you imagine something beyond your own experience. Not all fiction is the same — maybe you like the classics, or sci-fi, mystery novels, or ghost stories. Maybe historical fiction is more your thing. Try a range of types of fiction and see what you prefer.

Nonfiction books give you the who, what, when, and why of something. They tell stories using facts —but that doesn't mean they're dull. Nonfiction books can bring to life the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington or help you see inside a Chinese dynasty. Many of them read like novels from start to finish.

Take a Hybrid out for a Spin

Maybe you want to try a "graphic book," which can be either fact or fiction, and is written with text and images, similar to a comic. There are a lot of great graphic novels, from Maus to Persepolis.


Read the "Blurbs"
The reviews and quotes on the back and inside covers of many books are called "blurbs." They give you an idea of what the book is about, but can also help you pick future books too. If you find a book you really like, take a minute to read the quotes (if there are any) and see which authors praised the book. Often, they'll have similar styles and you might find you like books by those authors too.

Find a Family Favorite

What was your mother's favorite book when she was your age or your dad's? How about a sibling's? Find out and give it a read — then you can share your thoughts about the book. After all, what better way to connect with that cousin you only see in the summer than trading reading recommendations and discussing your reactions?

Join the Club — Online or In Person

Get your friends together and swap recommendations of authors, prose styles, and story types. Most social networking sites also have book-club sections. Join a group with your friends and people you trust (avoiding sharing personal information with people you don't know, of course).

Ask an Expert

Your local library can hook you up with a whole lot of great book ideas. Explain your interests — rock stars, sports teams, historical events, humor, whatever you're into — and any writers you like, and your librarian can point you toward books that you'll love.

Finally, you'll probably enjoy what you're reading a lot more if you find a quiet place and make time for the book. We all multitask, but most reading is best enjoyed when you can concentrate and focus on it. You can put on some good music (ideally without lyrics), get yourself some tea and a comfy spot, and let yourself be carried away by the book.

You'll see that time does fly when you're reading something you love!

Reviewed by: Eric J. Gabor, JD
Date reviewed: February 2010

Source: 

http://teenshealth.org

5. about to

5. about to

About + infinitive (with to) means 'going to very soon'; 'just going to'.
    Don't go out now - we're about to have lunch.
    I was about to go to bed when the telephone rang.


Not about to can mean 'unwilling to',
    I'm not about to pay 100 dollars for that dress.






Source:

5 Ideas for Better Sleep

Most teens need about 8½ to more than 9 hours of sleep each night. But about 1 in 4 teens has trouble sleeping. Lack of sleep can affect everything from our emotions to how well we focus on tasks like driving. It can affect sports performance, increase our chances of getting sick, and may be linked to weight gain in some people.

How can we get the sleep we

 need? Here are some ideas:

1. Be active during the day. You've probably noticed how much running around little kids do — and how soundly they sleep. Take a tip from a toddler and get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. Physical activity can decrease stress and help people feel more relaxed. Just don't work out too close to bedtime because exercise can wake you up before it slows you down.
2. Avoid alcohol and drugs. Lots of people think that alcohol or drugs will make them relaxed and drowsy, but that's not the case. Drugs and alcohol disrupt sleep, increasing a person's chance of waking up in the middle of the night.
3. Say goodnight to electronics. Experts recommend using the bedroom for sleep only. If you can't make your bedroom a tech-free zone, at least shut everything down an hour or more before lights out. Nothing says, "Wake up, something's going on!" like the buzz of a text or the ping of an IM.
4. Keep a sleep routine. Going to bed at the same time every night helps the body expect sleep. Creating a set bedtime routine can enhance this relaxation effect. So unwind every night by reading, listening to music, spending time with a pet, writing in a journal, playing Sudoku, or doing anything else that relaxes you.
5. Expect a good night's sleep. Stress can trigger insomnia, so the more you agonize about not sleeping, the greater the risk you'll lie awake staring at the ceiling. Instead of worrying that you won't sleep, remind yourself that you can. Say, "Tonight, I will sleep well" several times during the day. It can also help to practice breathing exercises or gentle yoga poses before bed.

Everyone has a sleepless night once in a while. But if you regularly have trouble sleeping and you think it's affecting your mood or performance, talk to your doctor.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: May 2009

Source:  http://teenshealth.org

4. About and On

4. about and on

Compare:
- a book for children about Africa and its peoples
   a textbook on African history


- a conversation about money 
  a lecture on economics 

We use about to talk about ordinary, more general kinds of communication.
On suggests that a book, talk etc is more serious, suitable for specialists.

Resource:

Pic-your-wits

What's the picture? You have 20 seconds to beat the clock. The faster you guess the more you score. A really fun way to learn vocabulary!

Find out how well your friends have scored in the league table. They've not played the game yet? Invite them! Then practise your English with some more great activities related to animals.

quantifiers

We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many.

Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner:

Most children start school at the age of five.
We ate some bread and butter.
We saw lots of birds.

We use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:

all	any	enough	less	a lot of	lots of
more	most	no	none of	some

and some more colloquial forms:

plenty of

heaps of

a load of

loads of

tons of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

both

each

either

(a) few

fewer

neither

several

and some more colloquial forms:

a couple of

hundreds of

thousands of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

a little

(not) much

a bit of

And, particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money, trouble, etc:, we often use:

a great deal of

a good deal of

Members of groups

You can put a noun after a quantifier when you are talking about members of a group in general…

Few snakes are dangerous.
Both brothers work with their father.
I never have enough money.

…but if you are talking about a specific group of people or things, use of the … as well

Few of the snakes are dangerous.
All of the children live at home.
He has spent all of his money.

Note that, if we are talking about two people or things we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:

One supermarket	Two supermarkets*	More than two supermarkets
The supermarket was closed The supermarket wasn't open I don’t think the supermarket was open.	Both the supermarkets were closed. Neither of the supermarkets was open. I don’t think either of the supermarkets was open.	All the supermarkets were closed None of the supermarkets were open I don't think any of the supermarket were open

*Nouns with either and neither have a singular verb.

Singular quantifiers:

We use every or each with a singular noun to mean all:

There was a party in every street.	=	There were parties in all the streets.
Every shop was decorated with flowers.	=	All the shops were decorated with flowers.
Each child was given a prize.	=	All the children were given a prize.
There was a prize in each competition.	=	There were prizes in all the competitions.

We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years:

When we were children we had holidays at our grandmother’s every year.
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we went to the beach every day.
We visit our daughter every Christmas.

BUT: We do not use a determiner with every and each. We do not say:

The every shop was decorated with flowers.
The each child was given a prize.

Activities

definite article: the

The definite article the is the most frequent word in English.

We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the hearer/reader knows exactly what we are referring to.

• because there is only one:

The Pope is visiting Russia.
The moon is very bright tonight.
The Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979.

This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective:

He is the tallest boy in the class.
It is the oldest building in the town.

• because there is only one in that place or in those surroundings:

We live in a small village next to the church.	=	(the church in our village)
Dad, can I borrow the car?	=	(the car that belongs to our family)
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we went to the beach every day.	=	(the beach near my grandmother’s house)
Look at the boy in the blue shirt over there.	=	(the boy I am pointing at)

• because we have already mentioned it:

A woman who fell 10 metres from High Peak was lifted to safety by a helicopter. The woman fell while climbing.
The rescue is the latest in a series of incidents on High Peak. In January last year two men walking on the peakwere killed in a fall. 

We also use the definite article:

• to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:

The wolf is not really a dangerous animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals)
The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia)
The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies)

We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments:

Joe plays the piano really well.(= George can play any piano)
She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any guitar)

• to refer to a system or service:

How long does it take on the train.
I heard it on the radio.
You should tell the police.

• With adjectives like rich, poor, elderly, unemployed to talk about groups of people:

Life can be very hard for the poor.
I think the rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to help the disabled.

The definite article with names:

We do not normally use the definite article with names:

William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
Paris is the capital of France.
Iran is in Asia.

But we do use the definite article with:

• countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic:

the United Kingdom; the kingdom of Nepal; the United States; the People’s Republic of China.

• countries which have plural nouns as their names:

the Netherlands; the Philippines

• geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and canals:

the Himalayas; the Canaries; the Atlantic; the Atlantic Ocean; the Amazon; the Panama Canal.

• newspapers:

The Times; The Washington Post

• well known buildings or works of art:

the Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Sunflowers

• organisations:

the United Nations; the Seamen’s Union

• hotels, pubs and restaurants*:

the Ritz; the Ritz Hotel; the King’s Head; the Déjà Vu

*Note: We do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner, e.g.,Brown’s; Brown’s Hotel; Morel’s; Morel’s Restaurant, etc.

• families:

the Obamas; the Jacksons