Question 1

The last book I finished was A Dance With Dragons, which is the fifth volume in the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. I read it over the period of a couple of months, three years ago. I was reading it slowly because I wanted the experience to last.

Question 2

I think that all of the books in the series A Song of Ice and Fire are good, but this was not my favourite book of the series... however, I did enjoy it much more than the previous book, A Feast for Crows (Which I found a little disappointing). The author has a real gift for creating fascinating characters and putting them in shocking and thrilling situations.

Question 3

A Song of Ice and Fire is an epic fantasy with dozens of important characters and several intertwining storylines. It would be impossible to sum up the plot in the time I have available. Very basically, it is about people scheming to take control of The Seven Kingdoms while a much greater threat approaches from The North.

Question 4

I chose it because I enjoy the series and wanted to find out what happens next. There is also a TV series based on the books, but the books include more characters and details.

Question 5

I read every day but recently I haven't been finishing books because I have no room on my bookshelves for any more books! I have mainly been reading non-fiction recently, books like The Insiders Guide to Classical Recordings or The Story of Art, that do not need to be consumed from cover to cover like a novel. I read and re-read certain parts of those books, rather than finishing anything. As a child and as a teenager I used to read one to four books a week, every week. I highly recommend both The Insiders Guide to Classical Recordings and The Story of Art. Both are well-written and entertaining as well as educational.

Question 6

I don't use Reading Tree because I am a native speaker of English. However, I certainly recommend that my students use it!

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
intertwining	相関関係

Question 1

The last book I finished was a fantasy novel called "A Memory of Light". It is the fourteenth and final book in the "Wheel of Time" series. The original author of the series, Robert Jordan, died before the series could be completed. Another fantasy author, Brandon Sanderson, was able to finish the series using Jordan's notes. I think I finished it in 2016. I don't know how long it took to finish but the series took me two-and-a-half years to read in its entirety. I'm a slow reader and it's a pretty dense series. Everything I have read since has been non-fiction: textbooks, how-to manuals, and the like. I don't know that I've actually "finished" any of those.

Question 2

I thought it was great! The whole series was working towards an epic fight between good and evil called "The Last Battle". Over the course of the series, I kept thinking that the ending would have to be a huge anticlimax, that there was no way it could live up to expectations. I was wrong. There were still a few surprises left to be had and "The Last Battle" was as exciting as promised.

Question 3

That's a really difficult question. I guess it was a typical fantasy series: good vs evil, magic and monsters, heroes triumphing against all odds. Not so different from any other random fantasy series. For some reason, it holds a special place in my heart though. I will read it again some day but not for a while yet.

Question 4

I'm a huge fan of fantasy as a genre. I think there are a lot of interesting philosophical ideas to be explored in fantasy. I also really dig dragons.

Question 5

I used to be a voracious reader but not so much these days. It's not that I don't enjoy reading, I just don't have the time that I used to. In my teens, I would devour books, reading for pleasure instead of studying. Now, I enjoy reading when I can, which isn't often. Most of my reading time is spent on websites and blogs, checking the news or looking at movie reviews. Other than that, I read books on how to improve my Japanese or be a better teacher.

Question 6

No, I don't. Until recently, I didn't think the Reading Tree was there for teachers to take advantage of. In the near future, I plan to borrow a few books for my daughter so I can read them at home to her. I hope to cultivate in her the same love of reading I once had. Still have, I suppose, even though I don't get to indulge myself as often as I'd like!

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
in its entirety	全体として
dense	濃い
and the like	など
epic	エピック
anticlimax	アンチマックス
live up to expectations	期待に応える
triumph against all odds	あらゆるオッズに勝利
I dig it	私はそれが好きです
devour	貪欲
cultivate	耕す
indulge	ふける

Question 1

"Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss I finished it yesterday. I read it to my son. It's a very short children's book.

Question 2

It's a wonderful children's book. It's very nostalgic for me, as my mother always read Dr. Seuss books to me.

Question 3

It's about a character who is trying to get another character to try Green Eggs and Ham. Dr. Seuss books are written in rhymes format so they have a nice flow. The one character refuses to try Green Eggs and Ham.

Question 4

I will always choose to read Dr. Seuss books to my children.

Question 5

I enjoy reading very much, but lately I haven't had any time for recreational reading. I like Hiroki Murakami. i enjoy his style of writing. I usually read non-fiction.　I really enjoy books about history, travel, and biographies. In Japan it's difficult for me to find books in English at the library. So, I bought an Amazon Kindle and read ebooks.

Question 6

I have borrowed some Japanese children's books from the Reading Tree to read to my children. They are all Hiragana so it's ok for me to read.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
nostalgic	懐かしい
recreational	レクリエーション
rhymes	韻