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From Wikigogy

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.

-- Mark Twain (1835-1910), American humorist

1. Did your mother read to you as a child? Did you have a favorite story?
2. What did you like to read in high school? Why?
3. What was your favorite book that you had to read in school?
4. What was your least favorite book that you were assigned to read? Why?
5. Do you read emails? Postcards? Websites? Newspapers? Magazines?
6. Which magazine or newspaper sections do you scan? Why?
7. Who are some famous writers from your country?
8. Can you think of some movies that are adapted from novels?
9. Can you suggest a good movie that was originally a book?
10. Do you prefer to read poems, essays, or short stories? Why?
11. Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction? Why?

[edit] Vocabulary

Circle the words that you know. Then discuss unknown words with your teacher. Think about: meaning, pronunciation, part of speech etc....

literature 
browse 
genre 
essays
novels  
memoir  
re-read  
poem
poet 
biography  
autobiography 
scan

1. Do you have a favorite poet or short story writer? Who?
2. Where do you find books? Have you bought any books online?
3. Have you read any good biographies? Memoirs? Self-help books?
4. Have you ever re-read a book? Which? Why? How many times?
5. Do you have a library card yet? Do you like to browse in bookshops?
6. What book, or author, has influenced you the most? How?
7. Have you ever been in a book club? Did your club focus on a genre?
8. Are you reading a book now? What is it? Can you describe it?
9. What are your friends reading these days? Relatives?
10. Do you think books make good gifts? Why?
11. What books are you looking forward to reading in English in the future?

[edit] Quotations

Pick your favorite quotation, memorize it and the author. Share at home.

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

-- Richard Steele (1672-1729), Irish writer

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.

-- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), British author/critic

The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books.

-- Katherine Mansfield (1888 - 1923), short story writer and poet

However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act upon them?

-- Buddha (563-483 BC), founder of Buddhism

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

-- Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862), essayist

A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.

-- Robertson Davies (1913-1995), Canadian novelist

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

-- Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English essayist

I would rather be poor in a cottage full of books than a king without the desire to read.

-- Thomas B. Macaulay (1800-1859), historian

This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.

-- Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), screenwriter

A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.

-- Franz Kafka (1883-1924), novelist

There is a great deal of difference between the eager man who wants to read a book and the tired man who wants a book to read.

-- G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English essayist and novelist

Any book that helps a child to form the habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.

-- Maya Angelou (1928-), American poet