Books & Literature
“In Summer” by Lord Alfred Douglas
This sensual poem by Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas celebrates the joy and excitement of a summer romance. [The post contains a vocabulary exercise for English language learners.]
“Summer Moods” by John Clare
Clare’s short poem “Summer Moods” wonderfully captures the sense of enjoyment in a simple nature walk on a summer evening.
Quotes from Anne Brontë’s novel “Agnes Grey”
Instead of writing a proper book review, in this post I'll share a few memorable quotes from this lovely novel that have stayed with me after I’d recently read it for the first time.
Culture & Media
TV review: The Essex Serpent
Based on Sarah Perry’s novel by the same title, The Essex Serpent is a miniseries originally released on the Apple+ streaming platform in 2022. It’s an interesting blend of period drama, gothic romance and folk horror.
Learning English
English vocabulary: difference between coast, shore, beach, and bank
Here's a question I often get during the summer months: what's the difference in meaning between the words coast, shore, beach, and bank? I admit, it can be confusing, but I hope this post will help out a bit.
Do you know how many beans make five? – Expressions with the word “bean”
Apart from being the key ingredient in many popular dishes all over the world, beans also happen to be an ingredient in a number of phrases and idioms in English. Let’s learn a few!
Listening tips
BBC Radio 4 | Shinto
In this episode of In Our Time, Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Japanese belief system Shinto. A religion without gods, scriptures or a founder... [Duration: 45 min.]
NPR Fresh Air | The Promise & Peril Of AI
Gary Rivlin, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of "AI Valley," talks about some of his fears about artificial intelligence. [Duration: 45 minutes]