1 . Misery by Stephen King (1987)
On my first tour at 23, I bought Misery for one of countless flights. I found myself onstage thinking, occasionally, “This is an enjoyable and exciting experience, but I can’t wait to get back to the hotel to read the next chapter.” The film doesn’t do justice to the original suspense (悬念) of King’s novel. It made me a reader for life.
The Day After Tomorrow by Allan Folsom (2008)
All of Folsom’s novels are worth your time, but his first, which is totally unrelated to the movie of the same name, is the most entertaining work of fiction I know. You’re attracted from the first chapter, taken on a ride of action and passion right to the last jaw-dropping sentence.
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen (1903)
I’ve gifted this to countless friends. A century before Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret came this brilliant exposition of how thoughts influence quality of life. It’s a life-changing 64 pages. I always keep it in my bag when I travel and on my nightstand at home. I consider it my Bible (圣经).
America’s Reluctant Prince by Steven Gillon (2019)
This bio (自传), written by a longtime friend of John F. Kennedy Jr., was a great companion during my tour in 2019. As someone with thorough knowledge of and deep affection for his subject, Gillon skillfully walks the line between exposure and respect.
1. Which book first led the author into the world of reading?| A．Misery. | B．The Day After Tomorrow. |
| C．As a Man Thinketh. | D．America’s Reluctant Prince. |
| A．likes fiction stories most. | B．regards The Secret as his Bible. |
| C．enjoys some reading while traveling. | D．hopes to find a companion in his tour. |
| A．To compare several best sellers. | B．To share some books worth reading. |
| C．To explore the value of reading. | D．To introduce some famous novelists. |
2 . Book fairs can give a book lover an exciting rush. Here's a list of book fairs taking place in 2022.
F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival
FLORIDA, US Jan 6-8, 2022
It's a weekend of entertainment in the form of films, books, author presentations, focus groups, and good music. Writers visit F.R.E.S.H to network with fellow authors, meet with readers and fans, and sell books. There's something every reader is addicted to.
Havana Book Fair
HAVANA, CUBA Feb 4-11, 2022
Havana's 10-day International Book Fair features book sellers，poetry readings, children's activities, art exhibitions, and parties in the evenings.
Leipzig Book Fair
Leipzig, LITHUANIA Mar 17-20, 2022
Leipzig Book Fair is the most important get-together in the spring for the book and media industry, connecting readers with authors, publishers and media companies from Germany and around the world. They all visit Leipzig to experience a diversity of literature, discover innovations and gain new angles. It presents the spring's new releases, current themes, and trends. Also, it exhibits new German-language literature.
Brussels Book Fair
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Mar 10-13, 2022
It's a non-profit event promoting books and reading to all audience since 2016. Each year it presents 255 exhibitors and 500 publishing houses, and 1,200 authors in meetings and dedications (题词). The event is visited by 72,000 visitors every year.
1. Which one would catch your eye if you are a music lover?| A．F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival. | B．Havana Book Fair. |
| C．Leipzig Book Fair. | D．Brussels Book Fair. |
| A．Three days. | B．Four days. |
| C．Eight days. | D．Ten days. |
| A．It's open to all people. | B．It's the most important. |
| C．It starts the latest. | D．It's a charity activity. |
3 . However young or old you are, writing can be so rewarding.
Tip 1: Try Lots of Different Types of Writing
As a beginner, you’re in a great position to try out lots of different types of writing, without needing to commit to one in particular: no-one’s (yet!) demanding your next book.
Tip 2: Read Some Good Writing Blogs or Books
There are some brilliant books and blogs out there that’ll teach you the basics of writing:
Tip 3:
If you’ve never written much before, launching straight into a novel probably won’t work: It’s better to perfect your skills on smaller projects first: think short stories if you’re a fiction-writer, or short articles or blog posts if you’re a non-fiction writer.
| A．Write a novel |
| B．Start with small projects |
| C．For some writers, it’s a fun hobby |
| D．So have a go at a wide range of styles |
| E．Daily Writing Tips is a great place to begin, of course |
| F．As a writer, use the word that best fits what you mean |
| G．These can be a great way to explore potential ideas and topics |
4 . Sometimes a book comes along that isn’t just “interesting” or “well done”— it’s a book where it seems like the author looked into your brain and wrote a book specifically for you. A book like that for me was released this week. It’s called 100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet, written by editor Pamela Paul.
Paul lists 100 things we used to do that the Internet has either changed or taken over completely: writing letters, print newspapers, the joys of being bored, and not having all the knowledge in the world in your pocket.
As I’m a longtime accumulator of random knowledge, certain entries on the list—Being the Only One, Figuring Out Who That Actor is—hit me where live; remembering detailed facts is no longer nearly as impressive when everyone has the capability to find the answer in seconds.
On and on the list goes, with every minor shift adding to the pile. What this book does so well is illustrate the growth of that pile; while any individual item might be no big deal, the collected set is significant. It’s a list of ways in which the world now is different from the world then.
Obviously, Paul isn’t saying that everything back then was better. Time marches on, after all. and it’s tough to argue against the many benefits that the Internet has brought into our lives. But that isn’t really the point. It’s not about whether it used to be better. It’s that it used to be different.
100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet is a fun read for those of us who share some of Paul’s memories and experiences. We remember what it was like and we like to remember. The landscape has shifted, and no doubt it will shift again as technology’s advancement continues apace. This book serves as a reminder of the simple truth that when gains are made, sometimes something is lost.
1. What is the purpose of the text?| A．To review and recommend a good read. |
| B．To comment on the effect of the Internet. |
| C．To argue for the viewpoint of a new book. |
| D．To urge the readers to value what they have. |
| A．Maps and Eye Contact. |
| B．E-pay and Compact Disks. |
| C．Postcards and Homeschooling |
| D．Bad Photos and Washing Machines. |
| A．Prove what I’m good at. |
| B．Introduce how I grew up. |
| C．Describe the place I live in. |
| D．Speak out what is on my mind. |
| A．Things in the past are better. |
| B．There’re no gains without pains. |
| C．The internet is a double-edged sword. |
| D．Technology is constantly changing the world. |
5 . The Internet, search engines, virtual worlds. Have you ever got the feeling that you’re living in a science fiction?
Well, indeed you are.
For more than a century, inventors have been driven to create what sci-fi writers have imagined long before. Buck Rogers inspired a generation of scientists excited about space exploration. Ray Bradbury predicted home-theater systems. William Gibson dreamed up the Internet while writing Neuromancer on a typewriter. Not long after him, Neal Stephenson predicted virtual worlds in his 1991 novel Snow Crash. One of his readers was Philip Rosedale, who loved it so much that he wanted to build a virtual world based on it.
By the late 1990s, technology caught up to the novel, and Rosedale built the virtual world Second Life based on the “Metaverse” from the novel. With 1 million active users, Second Life offers virtual shops, bars, houses and even virtual television studios with virtual celebrities (名人) on virtual talk shows.
“I think it is pretty much what I imagined,” Stephenson says. “I just shoot for the stars, while he makes great things happen.”
But Snow Crash is a dark book. The world in the novel is filled with criminals, violence and environmental problems.
“Science fiction not only puts stars in our hands, it also helps us see the meaning of our work,” Philip Rosedale admits. “It makes it possible for us to see what all of our efforts could eventually lead to.”
In fact, most science fiction authors admit that their work is usually cautionary (警示性的). “While the inventors are rushing ahead and excited about this possibility or that possibility, we’re always standing there warning, ‘Hang on just a second. Let’s think about this a little more’” author William Gibson says. “But most of them will ignore you because they think they already know all things about any given hot topic of the day. But if you can convince them that you’re talking about a planet millions of miles away and hundreds of years in the future or the past, you can actually get them to examine more closely what’s going on right now.”
1. Who was inspired by Neal Stephenson’s work?| A．Buck Rogers. | B．Ray Bradbury. |
| C．William Gibson. | D．Philip Rosedale. |
| A．It is a very violent virtual world. |
| B．It is not based on his fiction strictly. |
| C．He is satisfied with the “Metaverse”. |
| D．More activities should be added to it. |
| A．Sci-fi writers are much wiser than inventors. |
| B．Most inventors do not respect sci-fi writers. |
| C．Sci-fi can help inventors to think more carefully. |
| D．People can easily get excited about the inventions. |
| A．Book review. | B．Technology. |
| C．Economy. | D．Psychology. |
1. Who is probably the man?
| A．A teacher. | B．A writer. | C．A student. |
| A．Its words. | B．Its illustrations. | C．Its topic. |
| A．From a secondhand store | B．From an online bookshop. | C．From the school library. |
What would you do if you couldn’t hold the hands of someone you love? That is the problem 17-year-old Stella Grant and William Newman face.
The book Five Feet Apart by US authors Rachael Lippincott, Tobias Iaconis and Mikki Daughtry
Grant is a CF patient who shares how she lives with this disease on YouTube to deal with her illness and tries to live
This book is not just about the romance between the
8 . Are you struggling to find reading materials for your kids? You can try these books.
Johnny Catching Fire
By Aaron Allen
www. xlibris. com
Hardback | Paperback | E-book
$22. 99 | $16. 99 | $3. 99
Johnny somehow gets the strength of super power. Now, he must decide whether to use his power for good or to get even with those who played tricks on him. Young readers can be inspired to think about the choice of life. To forgive? Or the other way around?
The Unequal Twins
By Sylva Kanderal
www. xlibris. com
Hardback |Paperback | E-book
$28.99 | $16.99 | $3.99
What if …the twins Ava and Zoe, who could hardly be distinguished from each other visually and who could not have been more different in character, had to go through severe envy, jealousy, and hate? Where does that road lead to? To a total loss of their connection, or are they finding the lost path to each other again?
How to Help Yourself to Be Who You Want to Be
By Pam Grewall
www. iuniverse. com
Hardback | Paperback | E-book
$23.99 | $13.99 | $3.99
This self-improvement book offers a simple handbook to help kids recognize their strengths and weaknesses and understand how to make their own destiny.
Quotes from the Quiver
By Dante P. Galiber, MD, FACC
www. authorhouse. com
Hardback | Paperback|E-book
$43.99 | $22.99 | $3.99
Inspired by time, space, and human interaction, this collection offers a series of original and thought-provoking ideas and quotations designed to uplift and enlighten young readers.
1. Which book mentions a teenager’s super power?| A．The Unequal Twins. |
| B．Johnny Catching Fire. |
| C．Quotes from the Quiver. |
| D．How to Help Yourself to Be Who You Want to Be. |
| A．$28.99. | B．$36.98. |
| C．$43.99. | D．$7.98. |
| A．They are designed to inspire young readers. |
| B．They help readers to understand adulthood better. |
| C．They help kids recognize their strengths and weaknesses. |
| D．They provide quotations to uplift and enlighten people. |
9 . Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight
Much has been written about Neil Armstrong, America’s modern hero and history’s most famous space traveler. Yet shy of fame and never one to steal the spotlight Armstrong was always reluctant to discuss his personal side of events. Here for the first time is the definitive story of Neil’s life of flight he shared for five decades with a trusted friend — Jay Barbree.
This New Ocean
It was all part of man’s greatest adventure — landing men on the Moon and sending a rover to Mars, finally seeing the edge of the universe and the birth of stars，and launching planetary explorers across the solar system to Neptune and be-yond.
Starman
Starman, Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony’s biography of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, was originally published in 1998 and rereleased in 2011 to capitalize on the 50th anniversay of the first manned flight into space. The book covers Gagarin’s childhood, his cosmonaut training, his historic flight as the first human being to leave the earth’s atmosphere, and his mysterious death.
Night Sky Almanac 2021: A Stargazer’s Guide
What belter gift for an amateur astronomer than an answer to all of their queries, pocket - sized companion? Connect with the universe that surrounds us with his stylish companion to the night sky. All evenly are clearly presented month-by-month with easy-to-understand explanations and charts, including stars, planets, comets, and so on.
1. What is Jay Barbree?| A．A spaceman in history. | B．A character in Starman. |
| C．A novelist on space adventure. | D．A friend of Neil Armstrong. |
| A．Science fiction. | B．Play. |
| C．Autobiography. | D．Biography. |
| A．They are intended for teenagers. | B．They are set in moon landing. |
| C．They are about space and astronomy. | D．They show concern over star wars, |
A yellow teddy bear, found in a dustbin half a century ago,
Along with the museum opening its doors in 2017, people were delighted to see the book
