I hate reading things online. I don’t mind (am not bothered by) reading short articles and emails, or a paragraph here and there from a blog post, but if the article is more than one or two pages long, I hit the “Print” button and read it the old-fashioned (out-of-date, no longer popular) way: on a piece of paper.  And yes, this is probably bad for the environment (imagine all the trees I’m killing!), but I don’t think I’m the only person who hates reading a 20-page article by looking up at a computer screen at one’s desk.

Here’s the problem with my approach: Web pages have lots of things on them besides (other than, in addition to) the text I want to read.  There are links, graphics, photos, menus – all things I don’t need to print out or even have on my screen in order to read the actual article.  Wouldn’t it be great if there were a way to look at a web page and have just the actual text (words) of the article I wanted to read, without all of the other things on that page?

Now there is.  It’s called Readability, a free web service that magically gets rid of (eliminates) everything on the web page but the words of the article you want to read.  It’s an amazing service! I’ve been using it for about three months.  Whenever I want to read something online or (more likely) print something out to read from a web page that doesn’t have a “printer-friendly” option (the ability to print out only the article, without all the extra stuff on the web page), I just click on a special link on my browser and the page appears with just the actual article.  I can then read it online, print it, or email a link for that page to a friend.

How do you use this service?  There is an excellent explanation in simple English here from Warren Ediger’s website for ESL students, SuccessfulEnglish.com.  Take a look at how it works and an example of the magic Readability can perform.

One more thing: Readable means “able to be read,” or “something that can be read without difficulty.”  Readability is technically the measurement of how easy something is to read, often expressed in school grade levels (for example, when we say something is at a “second-grade reading level”).  While Readability won’t make the English easier to read,  it will make it easier for your eyes to see what you want to see on the page.

~Jeff

P.S. Thanks to listener Pedro who told me about this service several months ago.

Fiction refers to stories not based on true events.  Historical fiction is made-up (not real) stories that are set (located) in the past and may be based on real events, real situations, or real people from the past.

In this week’s English Cafe 175, Jeff talks about Appalachia, a region (area) of the eastern United States.  There is a lot of historical fiction about Appalachia and other parts of the American frontier, the areas in the United States before very many people went there or lived there. Here are four books about the frontier that I would recommend.

The first book is called Christy by Catherine Marshall. The book is actually inspired by (influenced by) the author’s own mother who as a young woman, went to the Appalachian Mountains to teach in a missionary (religious) school in 1912. The people who lived in these mountains were very poor but strong, and the book does a very good job of showing the everyday lives of these Appalachian people and the struggles they went through. Christy, the teacher, herself is a strong, smart woman who is able to achieve a lot while teaching in a one-room schoolhouse. This book was later made into an American television series, but I haven’t seen that yet.

Another novel (fiction book) about a teacher on the frontier is a book called Tisha written by Robert Specht and Anne Purdy. Like Christy, this novel is based on true events. Anne Purdy, one of the authors, went to teach in a very small town in Alaska at the age of 19 in 1927. This is a story about her experience, but also one about the gold miners and Native Americans who lived there and the fate (one’s life events or outcome) of mixed-race children (children of white and Native American parents) at that time. This is a very interesting story.

The book Giants in the Earth was written by the Norwegian American author Ole Edvart Rolvaag. The author, a writer and professor, was born in Norway and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 20. He wrote this book based in part on his own experience, when he and his family settled (moved to live) in South Dakota, which was at that time–around 1900–mainly unsettled prairie (flat grassland). The U.S. government, wanting more people to move to these areas and to develop them, gave land to anyone who asked for it, and many people from Europe (including Scandinavia) moved there to farm. This book is about a family who moves there with three other families to start a new town and a new life. As you can imagine, life was not easy for these early pioneers (people who are the first to do something).

Finally, the book These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner is a book about Sarah Prine who, with her family, moves to the outskirts (the outer parts of a town or city) of Tucson around 1880 to live and to farm.  If the title sounds strange to you, it’s because it should read “These are My Words.”  When the story begins, Sarah is not highly literate (cannot read and write well), and the title reflects (shows) this, since the book is written as a diary (daily or regular writing you do about yourself).  However, her literacy improves quickly and the book is not difficult to read, even in the early chapters. Like the pioneers in the other three books, life for Sarah and her family is difficult and precarious (not secure; dangerous).  This novel is engrossing (difficult to stop reading), with well-drawn characters (characters that seem real), and for those with a tender (soft) heart, there is also a nice love story.

I recommend all four books. Not only did I think they were well-written and entertaining stories, I learned a lot about the American frontier. Check them out if you’re interested in the American frontier or just like a good story.

~ Lucy

As some of you probably know already, iTunes has a special section for university lectures and classes.  Different universities, including some of the best in the United States, provide free lectures and demonstrations on a variety of topics from some of their best professors.  You can find the free courses by clicking on iTunes U in the menu of the iTunes Store.

These videos audio lectures are especially good for those of you studying for the TOEFL or IELTS exams, since you will get a lot of native speaker speech on topics similar to those found on the tests.  Of course, you want to start with a subject you know something about, and (with luck) a professor who speaks clearly.

For some useful advice on how to use iTunes U, take a look at Warren Ediger’s Successful English website where he has a special section on the TOEFL.

~Jeff

As many of you know, California has many immigrants who speak English as a second language. The State of California has developed a special website to help adults learn English online. It is full of short, interesting news stories with additional materials to help you improve your English. These stories are good for both intermediate and advanced students. The site is called the California Distance Learning Project (CDLP).

How to use this site: Warren Ediger, one of the best ESL classroom teachers and online tutors I know, has detailed suggestions on how you can use this site to help improve your English. Warren gives you specific steps on how to make the best use of the articles and stories you will find on the CDLP website.

Warren’s website, SuccessfulEnglish.com, also has other good ideas on learning English through reading, on preparing for the TOEFL, and on some common questions related to English learning and teaching.

Take a look at both the CDLP and SuccessfulEnglish.com today for some good resources.

~Jeff

I like reading fiction (stories not based on fact or real events) and some of my favorite books are mysteries. Mysteries are fiction stories where a crime–usually murder (killing)–is committed and a detective, such as a police officer or a private detective, finds out who committed the crime. That’s why a mystery novel (fiction book) is sometimes called a “Who done it?” – Who has done this crime?

I recently read a book called, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency written by Alexander McCall Smith. The setting (location) of this book is Africa, in the country of Botswana. (The author was born in Botswana and now lives in Scotland.)

The main character in this novel is a woman named Precious Ramotswe who opens a detective agency (business). She is a smart woman who understands human nature, or the way people naturally think and act. This book, and the other six books in the series with the same characters, are about the cases she solves and also about her life and the lives of the people around her. The simple mysteries are, in many ways, not the center of the novels; her insights (deep understandings) into people and the events of people around her take precedence (priority; are most important). These books are simply-written and are charming (attractive; delightful).

There are many types of mysteries stories. Hard-boiled detective stories have tough men who carry guns and solve crimes with brains, but also with brawn (physical strength). In contrast, a cozy mystery has little violence and usually focuses on a small community of people, often in a village or small town. If you are familiar with the classic mystery writer Agatha Christie, then you know what a cozy is. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (and the other books in this series) are cozies.

If you like mysteries and are looking for books that are not too difficult to read in English, check this out.

~ Lucy