Category Archives: Languages

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan

Posted on December 17, 2012 by bookvolunteer

This book was a publishing sensation. The cover of our copy, produced in the year of publication (1954), shows that 250,000 had already been printed. The author was 19 at the time. ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ is so embedded in the French consciousness that … Continue reading →

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Magyar Helysegnev-Azonosito Szotar by Lelkes Gyorgy (Enthusiastic George)

Posted on November 21, 2012 by bookvolunteer

If you are wondering what on earth this book is, so am I. And I have it here in front of me. It was published in 1998 and apart from some shelfwear on the jacket, it looks, feels and smells … Continue reading →

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It’s all in a Word by Vivian Cook

Posted on November 2, 2012 by bookvolunteer

This book celebrates the sheer joy of words. If you teach English, have learnt a foreign language, love the spoken word, are interested in crosswords and word games, are bi-lingual or simply fascinated by how we communicate, this book is for … Continue reading →

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Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology

Posted on October 11, 2012 by bookvolunteer

This dictionary offers hours of browsing-pleasure to word obsessives. It appears to be brand new and so, with a RRP of £60, it could be a bargain to celebrate. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology is on sale at Oxfam … Continue reading →

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Chinese Creeds and Customs by V R Burkhardt published 1953

Posted on August 25, 2012 by bookvolunteer

Valentine Rudolphe Burkhardt had British titles before (and many letters after) his name but this book springs from a lifetime’s immersion in the life and culture of China. He arrived in Peking 1913 as a language student and qualified as … Continue reading →

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Fishing and Folk: Life and Dialect on the North Sea Coast by Bill Griffiths

Posted on May 25, 2012 by bookvolunteer

This lovely book has introduced me to the extraordinary life of Bill Griffiths, concert pianist, poet and former Hells Angel  who had a doctorate in Old English and a reputation as the foremost dialect scholar of the North East. His obituary in … Continue reading →

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Sosban Fach 30 rugby club songs

Posted on March 23, 2012 by bookvolunteer

Have you ever been at a rugby match, engulfed by the enormous crowd, and your team’s winning and tears are streaming down your cheeks with the emotion of it all and the singing would be lifting you, with at least … Continue reading →

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One Thousand Basic Chinese Characters : Flash Cards

Posted on March 3, 2012 by bookvolunteer

The arrival of this little box in the Oxfam Wilmslow sorting room gave me yet another chance to marvel at the unpredictable pleasures of being a book volunteer. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had the only example of these flash cards in … Continue reading →

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Mots d’Heures: Gousse, Rames The d’Antin Manuscript

Posted on February 28, 2012 by bookvolunteer

At first glance this is a scholarly work, incomprehensible to all but students of early French. Each page has a short rhyme, heavily annotated, and is illustrated with woodcuts. The introduction makes reference to Nostradamus, The Divine Comedy and Rabelais. There is, however, … Continue reading →

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