1. What are you reading?

Transcript item

What are you reading?

Jo: I'm reading this book at the moment. It's called Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine, by Hannah Fry.

Kirk: The Amber Spyglass, which is the third book of His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman.

Jonathan: At the moment I'm reading this book, called Do Nothing.

Joanne: At the moment I'm reading, or rather rereading, this book. The title is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and the author is Mark Haddon.

What's it about?

Jo: So, it's basically about the power, but also the dangers, of algorithms.

Kirk: The story really involves a young man and woman, named Will and Lyra, who are trying to escape from the authorities, who don't like something that they've discovered.

Jonathan: This book is about doing nothing! Yeah, so, in modern life, we often work quite hard and we're quite busy. And it can be stressful. And the book explains how life came to be that way and what could be the downsides of living that way.

Joanne: The main character in the story is a 15-year-old boy named Christopher. Christopher has high-functioning autism. He's really, really good at maths, but there are some everyday situations that he finds really difficult. And anyway, the story, it's sort of a murder mystery. It starts when he decides to solve the mystery of his neighbour's dog being murdered. But then as he does all the detective work, he discovers lots of other secrets about his family.

Are you enjoying it?

Jo: Yeah, I'm really enjoying it! It's very clear, very stylish, with lots of really interesting examples.

Kirk: It's philosophical, it makes you think. But it's also very engaging. There are adventures, the world is rich, the characters are believable and very interesting.

Jonathan: Yes, I am enjoying this book. Yeah, I think it's really good, and I've learned a lot so far, but I've only just started, really.

Joanne: I'm really enjoying this book. What I really like is seeing the world through Christopher's eyes.

Would you recommend it?

Jo: So, yes, I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who is interested in technology and society.

Kirk: Almost everyone I know who's read it has really enjoyed it. I think the only people who maybe wouldn't enjoy it are people who really, really dislike fantasy. But it's not a normal fantasy book.

Jonathan: Yes, I would recommend this book so far. But I have only just started it, so I'll tell you later once I've finished it.

Joanne: I'd definitely recommend this book. It's a really good read. And I think that it could be good for people learning English, as the language used in it is quite simple.

Watch the video and find out what the LearnEnglish team are reading these days.

Your turn

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What are you reading? (title and author)
What's it about?
Are you enjoying it?
Would you recommend it?

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I'm hala from Egypt and i love reading novels that make me uncomfortable so i reading now "دوائر الانتقام"by Amir Atif it's Based on man looking for find his wife and revenge for his killed children

https://www.speakpipe.com/voice-recorder/msg/f9csq4jmxkwcq2fd

Hi, I´m Nusly from Honduras

I´m really interested to be immerse in English, so I´m reading the book "Look" number 5, it´s focus in grammar and real stories by National Geographic.

In all my lectures I try to understand gramma. I had learned a lot, but I know I have to practice, practice to improve my English skills every day. With this book my grandchild Danna studies every day at school.

I recommend it because it has very good stories.

Hi Nulsy,
I think it's a good approach - to use the books of your grandchild.
I look through the school books of my daughter (she's 13 years). It's a simple and effective way to refresh some common knowledge.
Good luck with your studying!

I am currently reading a book based on a girl who achieved her dream of becoming a nurse despite obstacles such as family struggles. The title is Florence Nightingale, also known as The Lady with the Lamp, and was written by Kitson Jazynka. I truly recommend this book since it is about the story of an inspiring woman who is also a part of history. It also has some illustrations in it, so it doesn’t make you feel overwhelmed. The book only contains a few pages, so I am sure you can finish it in a short time.

Thank you for your suggestion Jane. That book sounds interesting.

I have read an English stories that might help to improve my English skills especially writing ✍️ 😅

Hi everyone!

That's so cool :)

I'm reading The Power of Habit (by Charles Duhigg), I started today.. I want to be more discipline and then to reach my goals!

Sound interesting. I'd read that.Thanks.

Hi there!
I am reading some books at the moment, trying to finish all of them, but one of them is about hope and it has been really interesting because the language is accessible and anyone can understand it. I recommend it for people who want to know more about hope. The title is Espeança Viva, uma escolha inteligente by Ivan Saraiva.

I read a lot of books when I was studying English in an institute, but there is one that I loved the most, It was called History about planes. I loved reading that book because it showed how aviation was born. and why planes are important now.

I am reading (born a crime) by Trevor Noah at the moment, it is a very interesting book, well written and I am completely immersed in it.
The book is a biography of the South African stand-up comedian who hosted the daily show for a few years in the USA, at the book Noah tells his story as a colored child who was born during apartheid time in South Africa to a black mother and a Swiss father (which was illegal that time and forbidden by the low) so he chose this title (born a crime)!

Although the book is written with his great sense of humor, reading this book and wearing Noah’s shoes for while made me feel heartbroken many times.

I recommend the book to everyone because it's easy to read and it was my first time reading a big book in English without using a dictionary.
It's a good read for beginners and those who avoid reading because of their limited vocabulary. (:

Thank you for sharing, Roye.
This book is in my wish list for a long time and I'm glad to hear that it is understandable for beginner students.
Eloiza

You are welcome.
Would like to read your review after finishing reading it as well. (:

Thank you so much for your information.
I am also interested about this book.
After finishing to read Atomic Habit I will definitely read that book.

I'm reading two books, Spare by Prince Harry and Determined: The Story of Holocaust Survivor by Avraham Perlmutter. Excellent books, I love real life books.

thank you for sharing. I admit i'm a bit curious about the one on title "doing nothing "

Thanks for uploading the video. It was really helpful. Currently, I am re-reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It's a philosophical novel based on the philosophy Objectivism given by Ayn Rand. It is a wonderful read and you will get a clear distinction between the words self-less and selfish after reading this book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Philosophy. This is a deeply engaging book which grips you and ruthlessly shatters the foundations of some of your beliefs.

The video is great ! Thank you for sharing. I read 'Oxford Reading Tree' with my daughter every day. It's a good way to learn English for us . The book is about a family's daily life .Their stories are really interesting. I would like to recommend this book / this set of books to parent whose English is as limit as me. Read it with kid together. It would be fun and helpful.

Hello Helen-75,

That's wonderful! Thanks for mentioning these books here. Which of the stories do you children like the most?

If you can, it would be great if you could write a review on our Book recommendations page!

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hello,
I will come back later for comments, but I would like to let you know the audio of the videos is low.
Except for Jo, in general the audio is low and it is difficult to listen to.
This happens not only on this topic, but also on all subjects of the Learning hub.