English Recordings

Hello world

We’re often told that hard work gets us ahead. That’s true to an extent – if you put effort and focus into something, you’re going to achieve more than if you go at it in a half-hearted way. But it’s all too easy to get sucked into working long hours, ticking tasks off a list, without being all that effective or successful.

Instead of just working hard – putting in lots of hours – look for ways to work smart.

Why?

Because smart work means you’re more likely to reach your goals. Sadly, it’s all too possible to work hard without any recognition and without achieving success. Sure, you might be up to date with all your emails … but that might not bring you any nearer to winning a promotion, or to starting your own business.

Plus, when we’re working hard, other areas of our life get neglected. Maybe you’re working long hours but eating poorly and never exercising. It might not seem like such a bad choice now, but when you run into health problems a few years down the road, you’re going to wish you’d found a better balance.

Working too hard can have a really negative effect on your quality of life, too. Long hours and the pressure to keep doing more can lead to stress, burn out, depression, or just that miserable feeling of is this all there is to life?

So how can you get away from the mindset of working hard and start working smart?
1. Get Help

Yes, you might want to get to the top and say “I did it all myself.” The truth is, to succeed, you need to let other people help you. Read the acknowledgements in any bestselling book, and you’ll see the author giving credit to a whole host of supporters – editors, agents, friends, family.

Help can come in all sorts of forms. It might be emotional support. It might be someone taking care of the cooking or the housework so that you can focus on work. It could have a direct relation to your work – either by delegating tasks which don’t use your skills to the full, or by getting advice on an area which you’re struggling with on your own.
2. Rest More

I’m always a bit iffy about stories of people functioning on three hours sleep while they build their business empire. Sure, they might achieve something great – but I always wonder if they’d have done even better with a full night’s rest.

If you’re doing anything remotely creative or which requires concentration, you’re not going to be at anywhere near 100% if you’re not resting enough. That doesn’t just mean getting a good night’s sleep – it also means taking time off to relax and play. This isn’t “wasting” time – it’s ensuring that you can be on top form during your working hours.
3. First Things First

“First Things First” is one of Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits” in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It means taking care of the most important things in your life before turning to the rest.

If you tend to prioritize by urgency – dealing with whatever comes in by email or by phone – then find a way to structure your day so that your important work gets done first. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in a single focused hour at the start of the workday, when you’re feeling fresh and motivated.
4. Limit Your Goals

Of course, if you’re going to put first things first, that means knowing what’s really important. Chasing multiple goals at once isn’t usually a good strategy. You might be able to manage it if your goals support one another (e.g. “eat more healthily” might give you the energy for “launch my business”), but having lots of goals generally diffuses your attention.

Rather than trying to do everything at once, pick one or two key goals for each year, and focus wholeheartedly on those. It’s much better to actually accomplish a dream than to have a vague stab at lots of different things … only to end up making very little progress.

For anyone who doesn’t understand why learning a foreign language is a good idea, read 5 Great Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language. Everyone else, let’s get started.

Note: I don’t claim that following these instructions will make you fluent. Fluency requires time and immersion. What this post will help you do is become conversant. You will be able to have a simple conversation, ask for directions, order at a restaurant, make small talk, etc. You will also be able to read fairly well with the use of a dictionary. Following these steps will give you a great base in a new language.
Course Materials

The first step is acquiring the materials you will use to teach yourself. The first thing you need is an audio language course. This is essential for developing your basic vocabulary and, more importantly, your pronunciation. I can personally recommend the Pimsleur Language Programs (aff) because that is what I use and I’ve had a great experience with them. Pimsleur uses memorization techniques and question and answer prompts to keep you involved in the lesson and help you retain what you learn. The lessons are about 30 minutes long. A great place to do them is during your commute. This saves you time, makes the drive go faster, and is surprisingly fun. If you don’t want to go with Pimsleur there are plenty of alternatives, but from what I’ve read they are not as engaging.

The next thing you’ll need is a basic grammar guide and a dictionary for the language you want to study. This will help you understand the basic mechanics of the language and the differences and similarities with English. You will use this continuously as a reference.

You should also get some interesting books in the language. For me this is a huge motivator because reading something interesting is much more rewarding than reading a text book. The way to go in the beginning is dual language books (aff). These have the original language on the left side and a literal English translation on the right. This allows you to start reading great books without having to reach for a dictionary every other word. It is also great for learning idioms, expressions, and verb tenses.
Getting Started

Once you have your materials you are ready to learn. Start off by doing the first lesson of your audio language course. Continue doing a lesson a day. You can do these on your commute or while you exercise to save time. For a while I did lessons while walking up and down the stairs of my apartment building. (No, I don’t care if people think I’m weird.)

In conjunction with this you should read your introductory grammar guide. This will give you a foundation in the language and help you learn the different parts of speech and their English equivalents. Don’t worry about memorizing every single rule. It simply isn’t possible. The idea is to get a general understanding first. This is the most boring part of the process, but don’t give up because it’s well worth it.
Making Progress

When you finish the grammar guide you will also have completed several days of audio lessons. At this point you will feel much better about your learning ability. You will know the important basic phrases and speak much more naturally. This method of learning is much more effective than traditional school teaching because you are actively engaged the entire time. The audio lessons force you to listen and speak more than I ever did in school.

Now it’s time to start reading those dual language books. Digging into some interesting material will build your vocabulary. Whenever possible always read aloud. This helps your speech, memorization, and makes you start thinking in the new language. I’ve found reading and doing the audio lessons concurrently enhances both experiences. During the lessons, being able to visualize words makes them easier to understand. Likewise, while reading, the pronunciation experience improves your internal monologue.

Don’t be in a rush. Read slowly and reread until you understand. Don’t hesitate to look up verb conjugations in your grammar guide. The same goes for the audio lessons. If you have trouble with a lesson, repeat it the next day. As the lessons get more complicated, I start doing them twice. The second time is actually more enjoyable. Hitting each phrase right on the money is a huge confidence booster.
be consistent

It is extremely important to study for a short time every day. Daily repetition makes the language second nature. It is much better to read for a short time every day than to put in several hours once or twice a week. When you get a spare minute, try finding new things to read online. You will be surprised how good your comprehension is.

After a few months of consistent practice you will really start to see progress. Beautiful foreign phrases with be stuck in your head, your pronunciation will be damn near decent, and you will be able to read and understand whole paragraphs. Once you make it this far, you’ll have some serious momentum going. You will understand more than you ever did in school and you won’t want to stop.
Taking off the Training Wheels

Eventually you will complete all the audio lessons and a couple dual language books. You’ll be able to read well with a dictionary and carry on simple conversations. You are now ready to spread your wings and fly. Start reading the greatest books in your language and use a dictionary when you need to. Find someone who speaks your new language and talk to them. Go to online forums for your new language and make an email buddy. If you can, plan a trip to a country that speaks your language and experience the local culture. If you are curious about another language, then start learning that too!

Regardless of how you use your new language skills, you will have become a more educated interesting person. More importantly, you will have proven to yourself that you are much smarter than you thought.

Being an early riser has its benefits, but it isn’t for everyone. Some of humanity’s greatest minds (Voltaire for example) were renowned for sleeping in. Depending on personality, environment, and work schedule, being an early riser may not be practical.

A few months ago I gave early rising a try. I was able to wake up 1-1.5 hours earlier, but I couldn’t adjust to the early bed time. Each night around 10:00, no matter how tired I’d felt that day, my mind became active and I was unable to shut down until after 12:00. After a few weeks, sleep deprivation set in and I went back to my normal sleep pattern.

For those of us who experience a late night surge of mentally activity, waking before 6 a.m. can lead to exhaustion. Sleep schedule depends on many factors and is subject to change, but it’s important to find what works for you. Fortunately, those of us who aren’t suited to early rising can be just as productive by utilizing those quiet evening hours.

Late rising isn’t automatically beneficial. It has a negative connotation because, if poorly managed, sleeping late leads to perpetual grogginess and wasted days. Here are few strategies I’ve developed for effective late rising.
Don’t Over Sleep

The biggest temptation with late rising is to over sleep. Too much sleep is a bad thing. Rather than feeling more rested, it makes you lethargic. Having a regular wake up time is just as important for night owls as it is for early risers. If you don’t set a schedule, you’ll have a hard time being productive.
Don’t Sleep Too Late

Along the same lines, I’ve found that late rising is best in moderation. Sleeping until mid-afternoon can ruin an entire day. It throws off your biological clock, leaving you mentally dull, and makes it harder to get to sleep at a reasonable hour the following night. For me, the ideal wake up time is between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. This gives me a chance to get the 6-8 hours of sleep that I need without oversleeping or losing too much of the day.
Set a Cut Off Time

The challenge with being productive at night is that it’s hard to wind down. This can lead to late nights that throw off your schedule. The way to manage this is setting a cut off time. I set my cut off time for an hour before bed time, usually around 11:00-11:30. After the cut off time I stop working and wind down. I switch to mentally relaxing activities like minor household chores and light reading. I’d also recommend avoiding television and the computer completely. The brightness of the screen can trick your brain into thinking it’s day. Although there will always be those nights when I ride a rush of creativity until 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., it’s better to make that the exception.
Schedule Around Your Energy Cycle

To maximize productivity it’s important to leverage the natural peaks of your energy cycle. Late rising works best for people who peak in the evening. If this is the case, you should create a schedule that lets you work at night. I’ve found mid-mornings to be productive, so I’ve built my schedule around a morning and evening shift.

After getting up around 8:00 or 9:00, I eat breakfast and work for 3-4 hours. By early afternoon my energy fades and I switch from creative work to less demanding tasks like responding to email, reading feeds, and running errands. Around 8:00 p.m. I have another energy peak and work the night shift until my cut off time at 11:00. Although it can be tough to schedule around a 9-5 job, you can probably figure out a way to take advantage of your evening energy peak by working from home or on side projects.
Take Advantage of Distraction Free Evenings

Early risers rave about the productivity of the wee morning hours before the rest of us wake up. Late risers have a similar advantage on the other end. By working in the evening we can avoid the distractions of meetings, email, and other demands. For me, the evening is when I’m able to break free from the outside world and immerse myself in mentally challenging work. Some people can’t concentrate at night, but I’ve found it’s the easiest time get into creative work flow without interruption.

It’s all about finding what works best for you. As a night person in his early 20′s with roommates who tend to keep late hours, I found early rising problematic. As I get older and my living situation evolves, it’s entirely possible I’ll join the 5 a.m. club. Until then I’ll continue to take pride in being a highly productive night owl.

You're talking with a friend about your drinking habits. Your friend drinks almost every day, but you don't drink much at all because you get drunk easily off of just one glass of wine. You want to describe this, so you say:

I'm a lightweight.

a lightweight

A "lightweight" is someone who gets drunk easily.

The opposite of "a lightweight" is someone who "can hold their liquor".

When it comes to forming first impressions about others, you probably realize that what you see, hear, and maybe even smell influence your assessment.

But new research suggests the way things feel -- the chair you're sitting on, the mug of coffee you're holding -- may subconsciously but powerfully influence your attitudes and behavior.

In a series of experiments, researchers at Yale University showed that the weight, texture and the things people incidentally touched altered how they felt and behaved.

In one experiment, researchers had 54 passersby evaluate a job candidate by reviewing their resume. They did so while holding either a light clipboard or a heavy clipboard.

Participants who held the heavy clipboard judged job applicants to be better overall and more seriously interested in the job than did people who were holding a lighter clipboard.

In addition, those holding the heavy clipboard considered their own task of rating candidates as more important than those holding a light clipboard.

According to the authors, those attitudes are also reflected in people's everyday language -- "heavy weight," "heavy handed," "weighty matters," and "gravity of the situation," for example.

However, those candidates whose resumes were viewed on the heavy clipboards were not rated as being more likely to get along with co-workers, suggesting that the sensation of "heavy" corresponds to seriousness, but not necessarily likeability, the researchers noted.

"Experiences with the physical world, such as hardness, heaviness or smoothness, activate the physical meaning of those concepts, but it also activates the abstract meanings of those concepts -- hard may mean difficult, heavy may mean serious," explained senior study author John Bargh, a professor of psychology and cognitive science at Yale.

In another experiment, researchers found that sitting in hard, cushion-less chairs made people tougher price negotiators and less willing to compromise than people placed in softer, more comfortable chairs.

Researchers had 86 participants haggle over the price of a new car with a sticker price of $16,500.

After their first offers were rejected, participants made second offers. Those sitting on unyielding wooden chairs raised their offered price by less than $900, while those in padded chairs upped their offer by more than $1,200.

The rigidity of the chair, researchers said, appears to have influenced people to take a "hard line" in negotiations.

The study is published in the June 25 issue of Science.

Phrases that use physical sensations to describe abstract concepts -- such as "a rough day" or "a warm person" -- are such an ingrained part of our everyday speech that we hardly notice we're doing it, Bargh said.

That may be because these impressions of the physical world begin to take root in infancy, eventually forming a "scaffold for the development of conceptual knowledge," Bargh said.

At birth, babies use their hands to acquire information about their environment, and research has shown that when young infants touch various objects, they can tell the difference between heavy and light objects, rough vs. smooth, warm vs. cold and hard vs. soft.

"The perception of tactile information is the first sense to develop in utero," said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. "It makes sense that there are going to be these cross-connections between what we feel with our hands and these concepts of language."

It's well accepted that our other senses are connected with abstract language -- what we see, hear and even smell, of course, stir up all sorts of thoughts and memories -- but the impact of sense of touch has been less appreciated, Bargh said.

A third experiment by the Yale team found that people who'd handled rough jigsaw puzzle pieces were more likely to describe an interaction between two people as adversarial, compared to folks who'd first handled smooth pieces.

And a 2008 study by the same team showed that people were more likely to judge strangers as warm and trustworthy if they (the observers) were also holding a warm drink at the time.

There may be some lessons here for helping to get things to go your way, Bargh said.

"Someone said the best way to negotiate is to give a hot cup of coffee and sit them in a soft chair," he said. "The warmth helps them trust you, the soft chair will make the negotiator more yielding."

Educational TV Programs are highly recommended for children.
Educational TV shows are highly recommended for children.
I usually surf shopping channels to look for something that will interest me.
I usually surf news channels to look for something that will interest me.
Watching game show stimulates my mind.
Watching variety show stimulates my mind.
I used to watch cartoons when I was young.
I used to watch animated shows when I way young.

Remembering several words and rules can be difficult for adults.
Memorizing several words and rules can be difficult for adults.
I believe that people have different learning styles.
I believe that people have different learning methods.
To learn a language effectively, people should use it often.
To learn a language effectively, people should practice it often.
People can learn any language regardless of their age.
People can learn any language regardless of their gender.

I am an avid fan of the Korean baseball team.
I am an avid fan of the Korean soccer team.
Doing sports helps us stay physically fit.
Doing sports helps us stay physically active.
If I didn't have such a busy schedule, I would do sports more often.
If I didn't have such a full schedule, I would do sports more often.
Someday, I would like to try a more daring sport like skydiving.
Someday, I would like to try a more daring sport like bungee jumping.
I've heard that learning waterskiing is very difficult.
I've heard that learning waterskiing is very challenging.
I have researched this thoroughly.
I have researched this in detail.
The bass fishing there is world renowned.
The bass fishing there is world famous.
Waterskiing could be an) fun way to enjoy the water.
Waterskiing could be an) entertaining way to enjoy the water.

Swimming provides many physical benefits.
Swimming provides many psychological benefits.
Being in the water makes people feel relaxed.
Being in the water makes people feel calm.
Swimming is a good form of recreation.
Swimming is a good form of therapy.
Swimming strengthens the muscles.
Swimming strengthens the heart.

The winter period is boring for some people.
The winter period is depressing for some people.
It has been raining these past few days.
It has been snowing these past few days.
The weather can sometimes influence a persons' mood.
The weather can sometimes affect a person's mood.
Autumn is usually the best time for weddings.
Autumn is usually the best time for planting.

Healthy food strengthens the body.
Healthy food nourishes the body.
I usually shop for groceries on my day off.
I usually shop for groceries on my payday.
Fruits and vegetables can be bought from the nearby supermarket.
Fruits and vegetables can be bought from the nearby grocery store.
A Korean diet always contains vegetables.
A Korean meal always contains vegetables.

Hawaii is a favorite destination for tourists.
Hawaii is a favorite destination for vacationers.
People go abroad to tour and work at the same time.
People go abroad to tour and study at the same time.
Travelling helps people escape from routines.
Travelling helps people escape from stress.
By travelling, people can discover new cultures.
By travelling, people can discover new plants and animals.

People usually take the subway when there's too much traffic.
People usually take the train when there's too much traffic.
The bus is the cheapest way to get around my neighborhood.
The bus is the fastest way to get around my neighborhood.
I know how to drive a standard car.
I know how to drive an automatic car.
The minimum driving age in Korea is 18.
The legal driving age in Korea is 18.

People give gifts to show their appreciation.
People give gifts to show their affection.
It is common to give gifts on one another on Christmas Day.
It is common to give gifts on one another on Valentines Day.
It is always nice to receive a surprise gift from someone.
It is always nice to receive a handmade gift from someone.
We usually exchange gifts on special occasions.
We usually exchange gifts on special holidays.

Having a party is a common way to celebrate birthdays.
Having a feast is a common way to celebrate birthdays.
Some people prefer to have a simple gathering with friends and family.
Some people prefer to have a simple get-together with friends and family.
My friends gave me a puppy as a birthday gift.
My friends gave me a puppy as a birthday present.
My family prepared a surprise sleepover party for me.
My family prepared a surprise slumber party for me.

Music is a creative form of expression.
Music is a creative form of entertainment.
Young people prefer fast-paced music.
Young people prefer upbeat music.
Music can lift a person's mood.
Music can elevate a person's mood
Classical music is appreciated by people of different generations.
Classical music is appreciated by people of different backgrounds.

I prefer dark shades over bright ones.
I prefer dark hues over bright ones.
Colors can reflect a person's mood.
Colors can reflect a person's feelings.
I usually wear clothes pale in color.
I usually wear clothes light in color.
Colors can symbolize abstract concepts like war and love.
Colors can signify abstract concepts like war and love.

I have been living in this city since I was born.
I have been residing in this city since I was born.
The city has several convenient facilities.
The city has several convenient amenities.
The local government is very strict with waste management.
The local government is very strict with waste disposal.
Traffic jams are always a problem in my city.
Traffic congestion is always a problem in my city.

Clumsy people have a hard time with bicycles.
Uncoordinated people have a hard time with bicycles.
It is dangerous to ride bicycles on crowded streets.
It is risky to ride bicycles on crowded streets.
Effort is needed to prevent accidents on highways.
Effort is needed to prevent collisions on highways.
One needs balance to keep the bicycle steady.
One needs balance to keep the bicycle stable.

This apartment has been my home for 25 years.
This apartment has been my residence for 25 years.
I live in a small community.
I live in a small neighborhood.
It is important to show respect for others.
It is important to show consideration for others.
No individual can live in isolation.
No individual can live in seclusion.

Emails send information faster.
Emails deliver information faster.
We send business documents by email.
We send business documents by express mail.
Business letters are usually computer-generated.
Business memos are usually computer-generated.
Through computers, people can exchange information faster.
Through computers, people can transmit information faster.

Organizing a big party can be stressful.
Planning a big party can be stressful.
Housewarming parties are common in Korea.
Farewell parties are common in Korea.
In a party, the drinks are usually free-flowing.
In a party, the beverages are usually free-flowing.
Music helps set a party-like atmosphere.
Music helps set a party-like mood.

Entertaining visitors is an important social skill.
Entertaining guests is an important social skill.
The host's house should always be clean and orderly.
The host's house should always be clean and presentable.
People should be hospitable to visitors.
People should be accommodating to visitors.
It is customary to provide visitors with food and drinks.
It is customary to provide visitors with refreshments.

Everybody deserves a break from their hectic work schedules.
Everybody deserves a break from their busy work schedules.
Planning the budget for a trip is a smart thing to do.
Estimating the budget for a trip is a smart thing to do.
Experienced tourists book hotel rooms in advance.
Experienced tourists reserve hotel rooms in advance.
An itinerary is a schedule of things to do during a trip.
An itinerary is a timetable of things to do during a trip.

Some people are early risers.
Some people are late risers.
I've grown used to working 10-12 hours a day.
I've grown accustomed to working 10-12 hours a day.
It's not surprising to see people in a hurry to get to work.
It's not surprising to see people in a rush to get to work.
A routine schedule can be boring.
A fixed schedule can be boring.

I developed my liking for music when I took piano lessons.
I developed my appreciation of music when I took piano lessons.
I used to take painting lessons when I was a child.
I used to take painting classes when I was a child.
I can play a brass instrument.
I can play a percussion instrument.
Museums are like the window to a society's ancient past.
Museums are like the window to a society's distant past.

Paintings can express one's feelings.
Paintings can express one's opinions.
I visit art galleries every once in a while.
I visit art exhibitions every once in a while.
I have never been successful at drawing faces.
I have never been successful at sketching faces.
People need to be imaginative to creates something original.
People need to be inventive to create something original.

Diary entries are personal.
Diary entries are intimate.
People like to reflect on issues and write down their thoughts.
People like to ponder issues and write down their thought.
I write diary entries on casual topics.
I write diary entries on random topics.
A diary helps us remember important events and thoughts.
A diary helps us recall important events and thoughts.

Easy to read handwriting makes a good impression on the reader.
Legible handwriting makes a good impression on the reader.
Handwriting letters is considered old-fashioned by young people.
Handwriting letters is considered outdated by young people.
Writing by hand takes too much time.
Writing by hand consumes too much time.
Emails spread information faster.
Emails disseminate information faster.

When there are many choices, it's hard to pick one product.
When there are many choices, it's hard to settle on one product.
Online shops offer a wide variety of products to choose from.
Online shops offer a wide selection of products to choose from.
People who are picky take too long to buy things.
People who are hard to please take too long to buy things.
High quality products usually cost more.
High quality goods usually cost more.

It's important to wear formal attire to official events?
It's important to wear a formal outfit to official events?
I don't usually shop for expensive clothes unless it's for an important occasion.
I don't usually purchase expensive clothes unless it's for an important occasion.
Young people are more adventurous when it comes to clothes.
Young people are more daring when it comes to clothes.
Teenage girls like to follow the latest fashions.
Teenage girls like to follow the latest trends.

Friends try to stay connected despite their busy lifestyles.
Friends try to stay in touch despite their buy lifestyles.
Going out with friends helps me relax after a stressful week.
Going out with friends helps me unwind after a stressful week.
My friends comfort me when I'm down.
My friends comfort me when I'm depressed.
In times of trouble, a friend is someone you can rely on.
In times of trouble, a friend is someone you can count on.

The best feature of my house is its location.
The best aspect of my house is its location.
Framed pictures and posters decorate the walls of my room.
Framed pictures and posters adorn the walls of my room.
My house is conveniently located near commercial buildings.
My house is conveniently located near commercial establishments.
Visitors like the cozy atmosphere of my apartment.
Visitors like the homey atmosphere of my apartment.

People can connect to the Internet in many different ways.
People can access the Internet in many different ways.
An Internet company enables people to access the Internet in their homes.
An Internet provider enables people to access the Internet in their homes.
People of the younger generation like to use the Internet.
People of a younger age group like to use the Internet.
I pay a monthly fee for my Internet connection at home.
I pay a monthly bill for my Internet connection at home.

The media has the responsibility of providing reliable information.
The press has the responsibility of providing reliable information.
Controversial news reports attract many readers.
Intriguing news reports attract many readers.
News reports should be written without prejudice.
News reports should be written without bias.
Some teenagers are very enthusiastic about showbiz news.
Some teenagers are very keen on showbiz news.

Some books can be addictive.
Some books can be absorbing.
People enjoy reading in quiet places.
People enjoy reading in peaceful places.
When buying books, people sometimes look for the name of the author.
When buying books, people sometimes look for the name of the novelist.
Books covers are designed to capture the reader's interest.
Book covers are designed to capture the reader's curiosity.

Older people avoid oily food for health reasons.
Older people avoid fatty food for health reasons.
Chefs have superior cooking skills.
Chefs have superior culinary skills.
Sesame oil is often used to flavor Korean dishes.
Sesame oil is often used to season Korean dishes.
It is important to handle kitchen equipment with extra care.
It is important to operate kitchen equipment with extra care.

THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER is probably the most hyped thriller of the year. This debut novel, which takes place in New York during the summer of 1909, promises an exciting murder mystery where the legendary Dr. Sigmund Freud tries to track down a killer of a young society woman.

As a thriller, I must admit this novel really disappointed me. Freud is not a central character in this book at all. Instead, this novel features a large number of characters, and author Jed Rubenfeld keeps shifting the focus from one character to another. As a result, none of the characters are fully developed and many of them end up as slightly cartoonish.

In particular, I was heavily displeased with how Dr. Carl Jung was portrayed in this novel. Rubenfeld portrays Jung as a thoroughly unlikable person, a borderline psychopath with virtually no redeemable qualities whatsoever. Freud, by contrast, is portrayed as a virtual saint. Although I am not an expert on either man, I seriously doubt that these are fair and accurate portrayals of what these men were really like.

In the end, the large number of one-dimensional characters made this novel a somewhat sterile experience. I did not find this book the least bit emotionally engaging, which is a fatal problem for any thriller. In order to be thrilled by a book, I have to care for the people inside it. That did not happen with THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER.

I was also highly disappointed by the ending of this novel, when Rubenfeld reveals who the murderer is, and how the crime was committed. This is, quite simply, one of the most convoluted and unbelievable explanations for a crime that I have ever read. This book has an abnormally large number of plot twists at the end, but none of them were the least bit credible.

This book is further burdened by numerous subplots that do little to advance the story, most notably a rather dull subplot invovling a conspiracy to block Freud's lectures at Clark University. This subplot, which Rubenfeld openly admits has no basis in historical fact, has a remarkably anti-climactic ending. I wish this subplot had been eliminated, since it only serves to distract the reader from the much more interesting murder mystery.

So why read this book? First of all, Rubenfeld does an excellent job of recreating Manhattan in the year 1909. He obviously did a great deal of research for this book, and it shows on almost every page. I enjoy historical novels, and I found the level of historical detail in this book to be very impressive. I really felt like I transported to another place, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Second, this novel also serves as a very interesting introduction to the theories of Sigmund Freud. I have never studied psychology in depth. Despite this fact, I thought Rubenfeld did a good job making Freud's ideas understandable, largely through a series of dialogues between Freud and other characters. This novel made me more interested in Freud and his psychology, which I'm sure was Rubenfeld's intention.

In short, this book largely flops as a thriller. But I thought it was a decent historical novel, with a lot of material to stimulate the intellect. Rubenfeld deserves credit for writing something this ambitious, although he does not completely succeed. I therefore give this novel a mild recommendation.

• It's been a long time since I’ve written an entry in English . (= English in my journal.)
• Last week I caught a cold and I have been very tired.
• I'll try once again.
• Please correct/fix my mistakes!Thank you very much!

==<Be frozen Korean sky>=====================
• .The first image, (taken from a) Korean weather satellite on January 16th, 2011.
• It was taken when the cold front from China and Mongolia was moving over into the seas surrounding Korea.
• These peculiar cloud formations are created by the considerable pressure differences in the air..
• This clouds is looks like ground that was swept by a broom , it is called "적운열".The clouds look like (=The clouds appear as if ) (=The clouds give the impression )that the ground had been swept by a broom, called "적운열" in Korean.
• It is a kind of natural phenomenon.
• Take care of yourself, and don't catch a cold!
• The second picture: an young couple on the frozen Han-River.
• The third picture: street vendors who are heating themselves up before the fire.
=============================================

Korean Audio=> http://audioboo.fm/boos/258874-110120.mp3
==<얼어붙은 한국의 하늘>===================
•첫 번째 사진: 2011년 1월 16일 한국의 기상 위성에서 찍은 사진입니다.
이는 중국과 몽고 쪽에서 내려온 찬 공기가 한국 해면을 지나는 과정에 생긴 것입니다.
두 개의 기온 차가 너무 심한 탓에, 이런 형태의 구름이 생긴 것입니다.
이 구름은 마치 빗자루로 땅을 쓴 형태로, 이런 구름을 "적운열" 이라 부르며, 신기한 자연 현상 중의 하나입니다.
모두 감기 조심 하셔요.
•두 번째 사진: 얼어 붙은 한강에서 데이트를 하는 젊은 한 쌍
•세 번째 사진: 장작불로 추위를 녹이는 길거리의 상인 ----

We need to decide quickly where we want to go on vacation. If we keep dragging our feet, we will have a hard time finding a hotel.