THE WITCHES, a novel by Roald Dahl

PICTURES 1: http://www.bookchickcity.com/2011/11/lauras-top-10-stand-alone-novels.html
2 & 3: http://www.respect-authority.com/2008/10/angelica-houston-never-looked-so-bad/

   One of my favourite books for children is "The witches", by Roald Dahl. I read it for the first time a month before the author died. We were really shocked. After that, I have keep on reading the novel for my pupils every year and they have always enjoyed it.
  I love this novel. If you like magic, adventures and having fun, this is the book you are looking for.
  You can also watch the film on YOUTUBE:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvNqGtVjkpg&feature=related

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2QlWEtR6hU&feature=related

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxiAYTuAq3E&feature=related

Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muOYgvCJcWk&feature=related

Part 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axBqPc2DO74&feature=related

Part 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z138tXZgLY&feature=related

Part 7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?src_vid=1Z138tXZgLY&annotation_id=annotation_344266&feature=iv&v=Ky5kCSvKiok

Part 8:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFy411MANSE

Part 9 (final):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cOE9jUve0k&feature=related

YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK HERE:
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgS_hChR8FQ&feature=related
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAxrsZqfadM&feature=related
Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFLsGR8xG6k&feature=related
Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQJ8yjyUNA4&feature=related
Part 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQKZRtO3i8Q&feature=related
Part 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn9U8RyQ_Cg&feature=related
Part 7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3pSeezNSZg&feature=related
Part 8:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D35pK_nUXNE&feature=related
Part 9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ING9E-YYQ&feature=related
Part 10 complete:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrsw4XQQJI4&feature=related

ROALD DAHL (September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, fighter pilot and screenwriter.
Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander. Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors. He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". In 2008 The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour.
Some of his notable works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George's Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches and The BFG.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl

PICTURES OF THE FIRST "CUP OF LETTERS"

From left to right: José Verón Gormaz, Lucía Santamaría Nájara

Mª Dolores Tolosa, Blanca Langa.

Standing: Marga Verón explained the story of her wine cellar.

 Mª Dolores Tolosa, reading one of his short stories.

 José Verón Gormaz read some of his poems about wine.

José Verón Gormaz, Lucía Santamaría & Mª Dolores Tolosa.

  The event "Cup of letters" at Hotel Fornos was a real success. About eighty people tasted two red wines. The wine brads were LUG, from Bodegas Lugus. Marga Verón is the General Manager of this enterprise from Calatayud.

   Lucía Santamaría Nájara, Mª Dolores Tolores Tolosa and José Verón Gormaz were the guest writers.

   Lucía Santamaría Nájara told us about her new project in connection with her new novel. It will be a historical novel dated in the Middle Age.

   Mª Dolores Tolosa played one of her short stories, "Trío". After that, she read some poems from her last book of poetry. She is an Aragonese writer.

  José Verón Gormaz read some of his epigrams about wine.  He was accompaigned in the reading by Aurora Lassa, his wife, who read some poems, too. Verón is a writer and a photographer from Calatayud.

The AAE (Aragonese Association of Writers) were the organisers of this "Cup of letters". We want to thank Hotel Fornos for their generous hospitality and for lending us their dining room to hold this meeting.

  And of course, thank to the people who came and joined us.

 

FIRST CUP OF WINE

ORGANIZED BY:

ARAGONESE ASSOCIATION OF WRITERS 

Literature and wine.  Friday, 24th February, at 7 p.m., at   FORNOS HOTEL, in Calatayud (free wine tasting).

Guest writers:

Mª Dolores Tolosa, Miguel Ángel Yusta, Ángel Guinda, José Verón Gormaz y Lucía Santamaría Nájara Leaded by: Blanca Langa

                   

      With the collaboration of VINOS CIRIA and the bookshops:

COSTA, JESÚS, ZENTRO  y Donde los libros.

Guest wine cellar:

BODEGAS LUGUS

WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, WHITNEY

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMWcKZokhR0

   Dear Whitney,
   We are sunk now. The news in the newspapers said you had gone. And we couldn´t believe you won´t sing on a stage anymore. Nobody like you could touch our souls. And I want to tell you that you will be always with us. Your songs will always be in our hearts.
  We will always love you.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Houston was the most-awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records. Her list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide.
On February 11, 2012, Houston died of unknown causes at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston

CENTENARY OF ILDEFONSO MANUEL GIL, AN ARAGONESE WRITER

 
PHOTO: http://www.aragondigital.es/noticia.asp?notid=9371

WITH MICHAEL
The sun ascends to its fullness revealing
of the stone and the bird,
while you and me are playing in the garden without shadows,
with the naked souls dedicated
to the pure demand of the moment.

Your tender age and my weary years
get equal and pleasant
together in this enjoyement that denies their distances
that melts us in the cheerful cry, in the smiling
of the shared innocence.

I know without sadness the decline of the sun into the dark
rule of the blinding night,
I accept the illusion of the stopped time
in this top happiness of playing together,
now, in the garden, matched
my yesterday and your tomorrow,
you and me in endless hapiness.

                                              The tiny birds
the quiet flight of leaves,
the habbit of the intimate garden
come back,
as the unique luxury of an only rose
under the air, pierced by November.


 ILDEFONSO MANUEL GIL was born in the village of Paniza (Zaragoza) on the 22nd January, 1912, and he was buried in Daroca in 2003 at the age of 91. He defined himself as a "man of The Generation of 36". Law Degree from the University of Madrid abd PhD in Literature.
  He suffered the repression of Franco´s dictatorship and was imprioned in Teruel during the Civil Was, as a prominent Republican. Later, he was harassed for refusing to swear the principles of the national movement of Francisco Franco. He and his friend Ricardo Guillón founded a Literature magazine. He taught at Santo Tomás College in Zaragoza.
  In the 60s, he went to America to teach Literature at a university in New York, where he worked until his retirement. In 1983, during the transition from the dictatorship to democracy, he returned to Spain. He moved to Zaragoza. In this city, he led the Institution "Fernando el Católico" and was designed honorary counselor. He was a member of the American Academy of the Spanish Language, and as such, corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy. During these years he received several awards: in 1982, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Zaragoza; in 1993, he got the Medal of Santa Isabel de Portugal. Aragonese of Honor in 1996 and received the Medal of Honor from the Institution "Fernando el Católico" in 2000.  His death would come three years later, possibly due to a broken hip a few years ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLES DICKENS





PHOTOS: http://brexxy.blogspot.com/2011/05/control-de-lectura-domiciliaria.html

http://dvocion.diariovasco.com/famosos/charles-dickens-201202070958.php


   Today is Charles Dickens birthday. If you are one of his readers, I want to give you a present.
There is a good website where you can read and listen to some good novels by Charles Dickens:
http://openlibrary.org/search?q=Charles+Dickens

Some videos about Dickens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnxmldwzI24&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FUowQF6eMc

A film: "Great Expectations & Ellice Theatre"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEwXaF-y0Io&feature=related



Charles John Huffam Dickens ( 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic novels and characters.
Many of his writings were originally published serially, in monthly instalments, a format of publication which Dickens himself helped popularise. Unlike other authors who completed novels before serialisation, Dickens often created the episodes as they were being serialised. The practice lent his stories a particular rhythm, punctuated by cliffhangers to keep the public looking forward to the next instalment. The continuing popularity of his novels and short stories is such that they have never gone out of print.
Dickens's work has been highly praised for its realism, comedy, mastery of prose, unique personalities and concern for social reform, by writers such as Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton; though others, such as Henry James and Virginia Woolf, have criticised it for sentimentality and implausibility.

THERE´S NO SUCH PLACE AS FAR AWAY, by Richard Bach

 

PHOTOS: http://www.paperbackswap.com/Such-Place-Far-Richard-Bach/book/0440087805/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bach

  Rae Hansen, a little girl, invited Richard Bach to her birthday party. She was about to turn five. Though a thousand miles separated them, she wanted to be with him on that special day and celebrate her birthday together.

  There´s no such place as far away is a gift for her. Bach tries to explain that we are always with those we love. Miles, mountains, or deserts can´ t  separate friends. They are always in our hearts.

   This is a classical tale now. It was illustrated by Ron Wegen.

Richard David Bach (born 23 June 1936) is an American writer. He is widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-seller Jonathan Livinston Seagull, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, and others. His books espouse his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely appearance. He claims to be a direct descendant of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is noted for his love of flying and for his books related to air flight and flying and in a metaphorical context. He has pursued flying as a hobby since the age of 17.

 

     For more information about the author: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bach