Hi David,
I think that is very good idea for us who learn English, but...actually, I have little read books which were written in English except English textbooks, so I'm not sure if I can do it.

Amica

•  Amica
• 2009年2月17日 14:34

Hi David,
Now you are in proof-reading hell? Hope you'll be out from there soon!
You have an idea to form a book club on the web?
That sounds a good idea! The point is what book we should choose, I think. Anyway, I do think it's good for us to widen our vocabulary range.
And one more thing I'm worried about is that before joining this blog, we need to read some pages, and it could be sometimes tough.
Talking of a book club, it reminds me of a movie" The Jane Austin Book Club"(ジェーンオースティンの読書会）；the movie that some members start a book club to discuss the works of Jane Austin. I missed watching it, so I want to watch it on DVD. Sorry, my idea always seems to be related to the movies.

Personally, I'm interested in your idea, and I like it.

See you soon,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2009年2月17日 15:05

Hi David,
Forming a book club sounds interesting.
It is an essential part for us ,English learners, to
learn lots of new phrases and vocabulary.
So it would be a great help.
I hope you'll choose something interesting not so difficult .

I'm looking forward to that new method.

•  kiki
• 2009年2月17日 16:55

Hi,David.

It's sounds nice ,isn't it?
I understand well that reading english books is
an essential part in learning english, but it's
a tough thing to do it by myself.

Although I am a little bit worried if I can keep up with the book club, because I have read only two english books written by Enlish and American authors so far, I would like to take part in the club as often as possible.

Hiro

•  Hiro
• 2009年2月17日 19:59

Hi Daivd,

I have some idea.
Why don't we use some idiom when you post here?
For example

"I'm going to post some idioms for learner without strings attached."

I knew this phrase "strings attached"
It is easier to memorize for you what someone said.
Especially, the closer relationship the easier.
People who are participating this blog try to post some idioms it could be a big database.
I think this way is more natural to improve your English.
You can copy and paste to your word processor and modify it as you like.
All you have to do is just post it with some idioms in this blog.
How about you all?

Kazu

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月17日 21:05

Hi David,
That's a good idea. Reading the same book as you and everyone sounds interesting and fun, but I think it might be a bit difficult for some people because we have a lot of members who have different levels of English. I understand that it's impossible to adjust the blog to everyone, but I don't want to leave anyone out. If we do this, I think the book should be interesting and easy so that everyone can try, or I think it might be better to choose a book which is written both in English and Japanese. What do you think?

Hi Kazu,
Sorry if I got you wrong, but if your idea is that we just post some idioms on the blog to memorize(or make a database), I'm afraid I disagree with you. If you just memorize some new words or idioms, you can't use them naturally. When you study new words or expressions, you also need to learn when it is appropriate to use them. You need to know when and how they are used. That's why reading books is useful.

See you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月17日 22:30

Hi　Tomo、

コメントありがとう。
私が一番言いたかった事は、何かを課すことは時に負担に感じてしまう場合があると思うから、それが一番心配。英語学習者にもさまざまなレベルがあるので「難しいな嫌だな～」って感じてしまう事が一番不利益なパターン。それよりもここで話される他愛のない話の中にこそ学ぶべきものがあるかな～って思っています。
つまり今のままの方が気楽でいいな～って思っています。
あくまでも個人的意見です。ブログ離れを懸念しての発言です。

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月17日 23:07

Hi David,
"A book club"?! First of all, it reminds me of the movie which Anne mentioned. I also haven't watched it yet and I'd like to do, though I read its story. Sorry, I get off the track...

It sounds a good idea! I think that it is good for us to extend the range of our vocabulary. But as some members said, it seems to be a bit difficult what book we should choose, and for me, it might be tough to keep up with you all sometimes.
Anyway, I'm interested in your idea.

Talk to you soon,

Maki

•  Maki
• 2009年2月17日 23:33

Hi Kazu,
なるほど、そういうことでしたか。　私は誤解して読んでしまったみたいです。　ごめんなさい。。
そうですね、「しなくちゃ」って思うと楽しくなくなってしまう・・というのはありますね。　いろんなレベルの人がいるし、仕事が忙しい人もいるだろうし。　みんなが楽しく参加できるように、というのは私も賛成です。　もちろん、今のままでも学ぶことはたくさんあるし、何よりブログ離れはダメです！(笑)

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月17日 23:37

Hi Tomo、

こめんとありがとう。(^_^;)

そこで思ったのが、他愛のない話の中に少しのTipをプラスして、
ある程度の英語力を持った方たちがほんの少しだけ、たとえばイデオムを使って表現したりすると、「ああ、こんな使い方をするのか～なるほど～」と言う発見があり、あの時こんな話題の中でtomoさんがこんな表現したな～Kazuさんがこんな表現をしてたけどどう言う意味なんだろう？tomoさんやKazuさんが親密感があればあるほど発せられた英文は学習者の記憶に強く残るのではないか？　というのが私の最初の提案なのです。
そうであるなら私は見返りなしにこのブログにちょっとしたTipとともに書き込みをするでしょう～という趣旨でした。
"I'm going to post some idioms for learner without strings attached."

Kazu　(^_^;)

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月18日 05:15

Hi Maki、

I get off the track...

これってイデオムなんですね？　知りませんでした。
(^_^;)　勉強になりました。

失礼しました。m(_ _)m

Kazu

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月18日 05:54

Hi David,
The idea to form a book club on this blog sounds interesting for me. It might be difficult at first, but it's worth trying. I think the most important point will be which books you are going to chose.
In addition to your idea, I think it's very useful to summarize the main points of the book. You will like this idea hopefully.

•  Misty
• 2009年2月18日 08:03

Hi Kazu,

私はまたKazuのコメントを誤解して読んでいるのかもしれませんが・・。　Kazuの提案が、「お互いのコメントから新しい表現を学ぼう」ということなら、それはもういつもやっていることだと思います。　‘イディオム’というのは「成句・熟語」、つまり、2つ以上単語の組み合わせで意味を成すものですよね。　他の人のコメントを読むと分かると思いますが、そこにはいろんなイディオムが入っています。　例えば、Hiroのコメントには‘keep up with’、‘take part in’、なんていう表現(イディオム)が入っていますよね。　なので、それは意識してなくても、いつもやってることかなぁ・・と思います。
これは前にも言ったと思いますが、一つの日本語訳を覚えて、いつも同じように日本語に当てはめて使うと、とても不自然になることがあります。　英語と日本語では意味にずれがあるからです。　実は最初にKazuが書いたこの文、 "I'm going to post some idioms for learner without strings attached." を読んだ時は、意味がよく分からなかったんです。　私は‘strings attached’という表現は知らなかったので、辞書で調べました。　そこに載っていた例文も全部読みましたが、Kazuの言いたかった事が「見返りなしに」なら、これは使い方が違うかな・・と思いました。　私は、単語・イディオムなどの日本語訳を覚えることと、使い方を覚えることはまた別だと思うんですよね。　意味だけを覚えても使い方を覚えたことにはならないからです。　使い方をマスターするには、その表現がいろんな状況で使われているのに何度も出会う必要があると思うんです。　それはとても時間のかかる作業ですが、自然な英語を学びたいと思ったら、そこは避けては通れない道かな・・と思います。

長くなりましたが、言いたかったのは、「お互いのコメントから新しい表現を学ぼう」ということは、私達がずっとやってきていることなので、改めて「やりましょう」ということではないかな、と思います。

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月18日 10:26

Hi David,

It's an interesting suggestion. I think the members of this blog already do that in some extent. I've seen some exchanges of comments on some books. (Or was it Tomo's?? :)) I guess it'll be more involved than that. It can really take off, or just die down because it'll be too hard to keep up with as some members already said.
You've got to pick an interesting book! :) Otherwise, I don't think I can keep up. I don't get to read during my commute, so the only time I get to do is before going to bed... I used to pick an english book when I had hard time going to sleep! (^_^;)

Actually, it's so lively. Following everyone's comment is hard enough for me at this point. I realized that I missed entire entry over the weekend.

•  Kunchan
• 2009年2月18日 10:47

Hi everyone,

I am not suggesting that the blog becomes only a book club, just that we try it as an experiment. I will give you some suggestions for books we could try next week.

By the way, I am proof-reading the new version of my vocabulary book this week. If anyone has time to help out, please send me an e-mail at
info at btbpress.com
I will send you the file and the list of things to check. If you want to help but don't have much time, please tell me that, and I will send you just a small part of the file. If a lot of people help, it will be easy to check.

Bye for now,

David

•  David
• 2009年2月18日 11:29

PS
As before, I will send a free copy of the book to anyone who volunteers to help.

•  David
• 2009年2月18日 11:31

Hi David,

I got what you meant, and it would absolutely become a good experience for us. You will give us some suggestions for books next week? Oh, I'm going to be away from this blog for a week, so I have to wait. OK, I'll try to catch up with your suggestions after coming back to this blog. I'm thrilled with your idea, and I didn't imagine forming a book club on the web!
PS.
I sent an e-mail.

Hi everyone,

I'd like to share what I felt when I was reading member's comments this morning.
When I was reading Misty's comment, one question came up with me. Misty, please get me wrong.
ここからは日本語で行きます。
今回のDavidのエントリーに対して、私は「何の本を選ぶのかがポイントだと思う。」と言う事で、
【The point is what book we should choose, I think.】と書きました。これに対して、Mistyは
【I think the most important point will be which books you are going to chose】とされていました。お互いに言いたい事は同じだと思うのですが、which book とwhat book　の違いがあります。この違いが面白いなーと思ったので書きました。（Misty勝手にごめんなさいね。）

また今回の私のコメントでは、意識的にthrilledを使ってみました。少し大げさかな、とは思ったのですが、先回間違えて使ってしまって、どこかで使おうと思っていたので。
さらに、今回のＤavid のエントリーではproof-reading hell の使い方が面白いなー、と思っています。いつかそのうちに使う機会をねらっています！！

なぜ私がこんな事を書いたのかと言えば、kazuのコメントを読んでいて、Tomoがすでに書いていますが、私の考えを少しだけ。。。

See you soon,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2009年2月18日 14:17

Hi David!
Thank you very much for your comment.
I missed you too!!

I understand a little that they're talking. I'm not good at reading English because I need lots of time and the dictionary! I tried to read a book written in English but it was too difficult for me.
Even writing my opinions and comments in English here, it's hard for me. So if this projest will be more difficult, I might be unable to write here anymore.

I would like to help you, but my schedule is full of school exams. I'm sorry.

•  yukina
• 2009年2月18日 16:22

Hi Yukina,

Like I said, it would just be an experiment that we could try once. People could write sentences that they didn't understand on the blog, and then everyone could try to translate them. This would be good practice even for people who were not reading the book.

Good luck with your exams!

•  David
• 2009年2月18日 16:28

Hi Tomo,

コメントありがとう。
私の言いたかった事はまさにTomoが言い換えてくれた

「お互いのコメントから新しい表現を学ぼう」　です。

改めて言う必要は無かったかもしれませんね。
失礼いたしました。m(_ _)m

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月18日 18:41

Hi　Anne,

which book とwhat book　の違い、自分なりに考えてみました。

which book　は頭の中にすでに何冊かの選択肢があってどれにするか？　what bookは頭の中に何もない状態でどんな本があるか探している感じがします。いかがでしょうか？　(^_^;)

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月18日 18:59

Hi David,
I understand what you mean, and I agree with your idea. I'm looking forward to your suggestions for books!
As for your new book, it would be great if I can help you! I'll send an email later.

Hi Anne,
I also think about the point you mentioned. It's interesting, isn't it! それに、thrilled使ってる！って思いましたよ。;-)

By for now,

Maki

•  Maki
• 2009年2月18日 21:47

P.S.
I'm glad to help you, even a little bit!

•  Maki
• 2009年2月18日 21:50

Sorry!
P.S.は、Kazuへのmessageです。

•  Maki
• 2009年2月18日 21:52

Hi Maki,

コメントありがとう。(^_^;)
まだしっくりこない表現なんですが。。
I get off the track...この表現ってのは
話の話題を変えるときに使うことが多いのかな？
よかったら教えてください。(^_^;)

Kazu

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月18日 22:23

Hi Kazu,
「本題からそれている」という意味で使いました。
もしかしたら、"I'm getting off the track."とした方がよかったかも。。。

Maki

•  Maki
• 2009年2月18日 22:52

Hi everyone,
I know you've been talking about the book club. I didn't know about that but I think we can just give it a try. As far as I'm concerned, I'd prefer 'The Beatles lyrics' as a subject.
To tell the truth, I was reading 'American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009' until just now.
As you probably know,it was the most watched law just signed by President Obama to stimulate the economic crisis. You can find it if you check US Congress web page. I'm sure you're going to fall asleep soon! However, if you think you need to get refreshed while studying English, it might work well. Just try it. You'll see lots of unusual words, phrases and structures.

Hi Tomo,
Did you think I was in good mood? Please read my poem again. You'll see it's filled with my sorrow.
Anyway, I know you've always been sincere and are thinking of what's the best for everyone in this blog first. Thank you indeed.

Hi Kazu,
I'm sorry but I don't know idioms very much. So I can't give you new expressions. I only get from all of you but I'll try to use new phrases when I tell my short stories to newcomers.

Hi Yukina,
Go for it!

Appoh

•  Appoh
• 2009年2月19日 00:40

Hi Anne,
Thank you for your comment. When I wrote "which books", I simply didn't think of using "what". So sorry for not being able to explain the reason why I used "which".
I found my typing error, by the way. "chose->choose"

I guess you were going to write "please don't get me wrong" not "please get me wrong". Otherwise, It will be embarrass me.

•  Misty
• 2009年2月19日 00:58

Hi Misty,

Yes, I meant "Please don't get get wrong,"!! I dropped "don't".
And please don't say ,"Sorry"! I just wanted to say we can learn a lot of things from member's comments. There are a lot of ways to express one thing, right? Thank you!

Anne

•  Anne
• 2009年2月19日 06:18

Hi again,
get get wrong→get me wrong

post する前にもう少し注意が必要なようです。２回も間違えるとは！
ここではメンバーからのコメントから多くのヒントを得て、勉強させていただいています。今回のwhich もあー別の方法があるんだ、とMistyさんが意識されていたかどうかは別にして考える機会をいただきました。感謝！です。

Anne

•  Anne
• 2009年2月19日 06:28

Hi Maki、

なるほど～そういうことでしたか～(^_^;)
コメントありがとう～。

Hi　Appoh、

またまたご謙遜を～(^_^;)
I'm looking forward seeing your short stories.

Kazu

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月19日 06:37

I'm looking forward to seeing your short stories.

To が抜けました。m(_ _)m

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月19日 06:40

Hi team,

David - As for forming a book club on the blog, if it would just be an experiment that we could try once, I guess we can have a go at it, but I'm not sure if I can find time to read the book next two or three weeks.

Kunchan - Yes, I'm reading the same book as one of the blog members, and we talked about it on my blog. It's fun, but we just talk about the book, not about the English. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to read at the moment, so I'm taking a break from reading the book.
As you say, the blog is so lively that it's sometimes tough to just follow everyone's comment even for me!

Anne & Maki - Are you going to help David with proof-reading? So am I, of course;-)

Appoh - Thanks for your kind message. It made me happy. By the way, you read 'American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009'? It sounds difficult. If I try to read it, I'm sure I would fall asleep in a minute!(笑)

Everyone - I have to go to my son's school today(yes, again! There are a lot of school events around this time, and I have to go to my daughter's kindergarten as well next week), but I'll try to post my translation of the entry later.

See you soon,

Tomo

PS Yukina - Good luck!

PPS Kazu, please don't apologize. I hope my comment didn't make you feel bad.

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月19日 11:49

Here's my translation of the entry.

『昨日はブログを更新できなくてごめんね。　でも今また校正地獄にはまってるんだ。
とにかく Yukina、おめでとう。　またブログに戻って来てくれて嬉しいよ。　みんな待ってたよ。

先週、ブログの新しいアイディアを思い付いたから、みんながどう思うか知りたかったんだけど・・　

イギリスやアメリカでは何人かで集まってブッククラブを作ることがあるんだ。　毎月違う本を選んで、みんなで集まって話す、というものなんだけど、これを英語の本でみんなとできないかな、と思ったんだ。　週に（または月に）一度、一章ずつ読んで、みんなで本について話す。　もし分からないところがあったらコメントに書いてみんなに聞いてみる。　いろんな新しいフレーズやボキャブラリーを学べるし、すごくいい練習になるんじゃないかな。

とにかくただのアイディアだから、みんなが興味があるかどうか教えてね。

さて、proof-reading に戻ります・・。』

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月19日 12:45

Hi everyone,

I just got an e-mail from Kazu, and he said that he could take a day off on March 21st, so he'll also be at the dinner party!
Kazu, I'm looking forward to meeting you at the event!

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月19日 13:44

Hi David and evryone,
I skipped to send a comment to the last
entry,because it was difficult for me to be a poet.
How tallented the regulars are!

'A book club ' sounds interesting.
Even if it's tough to challenge the topic,I am sure that you will get something important from that.
I'm thrilled to have another new try.

•  May
• 2009年2月19日 16:46

Hi Tomo,
Yes, I'd love to help him if possible.;-)

Hi Kazu,
I'm looking forward to seeing you at the event!

I'm just wondering how many people will attend it.
Anyway, it should be fun!!

Maki

•  Maki
• 2009年2月19日 22:09

Hi Maki,
There will be 10 people in all, and yes, it should be fun!

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月19日 22:20

Hi everyone,

As Tomo mentioned it, I can take part in the dinner party.

I'm really looking forward to meeting you all.

Tomo, thank you for everything.
Your action was so fast.(^_^;)

Kazu

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月19日 22:28

Hi Kazu,
Thank you for sharing your ideas.
Look forward to meeting you at the event.

Anne

•  Anne
• 2009年2月19日 23:21

Hi　Anne、＼(^_^)／

みなさんに会えるの楽しみにしていま～す。

ところで質問です(^_^;)

Anneが書かれたように
Look forward to meeting you
をよくこのブログでお目にかかりますが私が”正しい”と
習ったのは
I'm looking forward to meeting you
（Toは不定詞のToじゃない）と文法書で習った気がします。

文法的な事は何も分からず、とにかく
I'm looking forward to meeting you これが正しい！
そう頭にたたき込んで覚えてきたものですからAnneさんが
書かれたようなLook forward to meeting you を目に
すると、どこかもっとカジュアルな言い方なのかな～？何かこう
洗練された言い方とでも言うのでしょうか？そんな印象さえ持ちいつも不思議に思っていました。(^_^;)
この言い方は実際に多く使われるのでしょうか？　またあえて
日本語に訳すとしたらどんな感じになるのでしょか？
前からずっと疑問に思っていたこの言葉、どうぞAnneさん
およびどなたか、教えてください。m(_ _)m

Anneさんのコメントを質問に変えちゃってゴメンね～(^_^;)

•  Kauz
• 2009年2月20日 05:05

Hi Kazu,

以前に同じ質問をした人がいましたが、Look forward to ... はメールや手紙などでよく使われる決まり文句です。　See you soon./Talk to you later. などと同じで主語が省略されているパターンですが、意味は同じだと思います。

参考に・・

お返事をお待ちしております。／お返事を頂ければ幸いです。
I am looking forward to your reply.《末文》 // I will look forward to hearing from you (again).《末文》 // Looking forward to hearing from you.《末文》

（英辞朗より）

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月20日 10:34

Hello, David and everyone!
It's nice to meet you. My name is Fumin.
A book club? That sounds interesting. Actually I've been thinking of joining some online community where members can discuss about their favorite mystery novels. I'm not sure how they do it and what level of English is requred.. so I'm just thinking..thinking..and learning to improve my English for that. I really hope David choose an easy and interesting book. It might be tough to have our own ideas if the theme is far from everyone's interest.
See you again.

•  匿名
• 2009年2月20日 15:02

Hi Kazu,
Thanks for your question.
Tomoが答えてくれているので、繰り返しませんが、無意識に使いました。
たしかにbe looking forward to ～ingとして習いましたが、進行形ではなく、look forward to ～ing (又は名詞）としても使われてますよ。

Hi Fumin,
Welcome to the blog! Have fun at the book club on the web.

Anne

•  Anne
• 2009年2月20日 17:14

Hi Tomo,

Thank you for your answer.
I completely got it.
Also thank you for your translating this blog.
I shouldn't have taken you for granted.
Even if you had to juggle house work and something you did it.
I have to say to you "thank you"
I think you are the one who are always thinking about readers of this blog.
Please take care of yourself too.
Anyway, let's have fun when we meet at the event.

Hi Anne,

Thank you for your comment.
You are always trying to use the sentence what you got, isn't it?
It must be useful for you.
I'm sure you'll improve your English skill more than now.
I'm always being impressed by your sensibility comment.

Look forward to meeting you.

Kazu

================================
備考
ｔake it for granted that
・・だということを当然のこととみなす。（当たり前に思う）
juggle 　A and B　　　　　　
AとBを上手くやりくりする。

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月20日 18:32

Hi Fumin,
Welcome to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you again.

Hi Kazu,
You are welcome, and thank you for your kind words! Yes, I've been trying to translate the entries for readers(It's also good practice for me, of course), and I'm hoping that they will find the courage to join us sometime.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the meeting event, and I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun!

Have a great weekend, and see you soon.

Tomo

PS 『備考』はいい考えですね～＾＾

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月20日 20:31

Hi team,

I just got back from Tokyo, so I'm a bit tired, but I have to do some more proof-reading before I can go to bed.

I'll do a proper entry on Monday.

Bye for now,

David

PS Hi Fumin. Nice to have you with us.

•  David
• 2009年2月20日 21:13

Hi David,

Don't work too hard, and take a good rest. I hope you'll get out of proof-reading hell soon!

Look forward to reading your new entry.

See you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2009年2月20日 21:43

Hi Fumin,
Welcome to the blog! It's so nice to have you with us.

Hi David,
I'm looking forward to your new entry! Hope you will get a time to relax during the weekend. Take care!

Everyone, have a lovely weekend!

Maki

•  Maki
• 2009年2月20日 23:10

Hi David,

I hope you'll have a time to relax this weekend, and look forward to your new entry.

Hi Everyone,

I'm going away from this blog for a week, so see you next Saturday!

Have a great weekend!

Anne

•  Anne
• 2009年2月21日 06:17

Hi Everyone,

I'm writing this from business hotel.
I can sleep more before I'll go to work.
But as usual, I couldn't help awaking.
So I'm writing this.
I was rushing around yesterday.
So I couldn't write here.

Hi David,

I hope you'll have a time to relax this weekend.
I'm looking forward to meeting you at the event.

See you later.

Kazu
==============================
備考　can't help doing = 何々せずにはいられない
rushing around =ドタバタする

•  Kazu
• 2009年2月22日 06:10

And some of the best one-liners ever, too, dudes: Its like an orgasm! Its fresh! (thank God)

•  Wilburn Pereira
• 2011年9月 2日 07:31

, !

•  sales jobs
• 2011年10月21日 08:41

Im somewhat more nervous than normal, given that NASA have apparently given the go-ahead for launch over the heads of the safety guys. Theyve apparently found cracks in the thermal shield but decided to launch anyway.

•  paralegal jobs
• 2011年10月24日 23:00