It’s a textbook for learning French in Quebec so you’ll read about the passé surcomposé for example.
Excellent intermediate grammar notes. I really like how the illustrative sentences stick to the theme of each chapter (language and communication, journalism, entertainment, school, work, economics, accommodation, food, personal care, … Read more
Magnifiquement illustré et avec un peu d’humour. L’illustration de la lettre “T” dans l’alphabet n’est cependant pas très claire.
An excellent mix of reading, vocabulary, grammar notes, exercises, and suggested discussions and other oral activities for the classroom. It’s well-formatted as well which is unfortunately uncommon in language learning textbooks and goes a long way in making a textbook a pleasure to study.
My … Read more
Five pages in, fully invested in the myth of meritocracy. A ratio of one to twelve signals neither sexism nor racism, and the Nobel prize is apolitical.
Full chapters in half a thousand pages aggravatingly steeped in Christian patriarchy, with moderate compensation in a playfulness of language. Lucy must perform for and soothe a domineering, needling, petty, and creepily hovering M. Emanuel, who at a switch is transformed into her life’s hero.
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A fantasy I could indulge in but philosophically unimaginative, positing only that power corrupts. A simple reversal without consideration of history of oppression, blanketing humanity with the empathic capacity of a child wanting to be king of the hill.
The title is excellent.
Incidentally, my favourite short stories by Chekhov are not found in this collection. They are: “At Christmas Time”, “The Horse-Stealers”, and “A Nincompoop”.
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The most frustrating aspect of Adulthood Rites and Imago is the same as in Survivor, the book Octavia disowned, which is the essentialism of race. In Survivor, blue Kohn are leaders; in the Xenogenesis series, humans and Oankali are also set in their respective singular … Read more
“Bloodchild” is my favourite short story of hers. I would avoid “Near of Kin” and “Crossover”.
Octavia ejected Survivor from the canon of her work because of its racial essentialism, with the Kohn having strict social classes according to colour. Aside from this element, Octavia’s exploration of space is utterly absorbing, whether humans believe they are graduating from the earth or … Read more
A rare English-to-Cantonese textbook that includes dialogue and vocabulary with Chinese characters. There are unfortunately racist illustrations throughout the book in addition to some backwards conversations. As a language learning resource the vocabulary in use and grammar points are excellent. However, the exercises only in … Read more
This is not written in Maya’s voice. Her previous six autobiographies are among my favourite books. Mom & Me & Mom is largely a diminished retelling—of an incredible and heartening life.
Great intermediate textbook with reading, vocabulary, grammar notes, exercises, pictures.
Excellent balance of reading, vocab, grammar notes, exercises. I like a lot of reading and self-study and I got to a B1 level with this.
