Modern Essays

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 486K words
Chapters: 49

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Modern Essays by Harry Morgan Ayres et al.Author: ,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 11, 2011

Editor's review

This is an English essay anthology from Project Gutenberg, written by Harry Morgan Ayres and others and collecting a number of modern essays. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies in giving readers low-threshold access to the varied character of early twentieth-century English essays: the subjects touch on literature, culture, and social observation, and the style falls between formal argument and personal expression, making it suitable as an introductory text for reading English prose. Its strengths are that the pieces are relatively short and independent, so readers need not read them in order and can pick and choose as interest dictates. For reading situations, it suits reading one or two pieces in fragmented time such as commuting or before bed, and it is also suitable for English learners as material for intensive reading and imitation writing. One caveat: the book is in the original English and was published quite early, so some expressions are distant from today's English and readers must supply the historical background themselves; it is therefore better suited to readers with some English foundation who are willing to actively check things.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to improve their reading through short English essays
Literary readers interested in early twentieth-century English prose
Commuters and students who need fragmented reading material
Writers who want to build up material and sentence patterns for English writing

Not a good fit for

Beginners with a weak English foundation who need Chinese annotations
Readers who want contemporary hot topics or time-sensitive content
Readers who prefer long, coherent narratives and need a complete plot

Reading tips

First browse the table of contents and pick topics of interest, then intensively read one piece at a time and note new words and good sentences.
After reading, retell the main idea of the piece in two or three English sentences to check comprehension and practice expression.
When encountering an unfamiliar cultural background, do a brief check first, then reread the original to avoid misreading.
You can read it alongside other English essay collections and compare the stylistic differences between authors.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

This is an original English ebook published by Project Gutenberg; the main text is in English, with no Chinese translation or annotations. It suits readers with some English reading ability; beginners may need a dictionary or a parallel translation.

Do I need to read it in order from beginning to end?

No. The book is a collection of separate essays that are relatively independent, so you can pick topics of interest from the table of contents and skip around. If using it for study, it is best to focus on one piece at a time and move on after fully understanding it.

Is the content too dated?

The book was published quite early, so its language style and some social background are distant from the present; this is also its period characteristic. Readers can treat it as material for understanding the character of early English essays while noting expressions that differ from today's views.

Is it suitable for preparing for English exams?

It can serve as supplementary material for extensive reading and developing language feel, but the book is not compiled according to exam question types and lacks exercises and explanations. If your goal is explicitly exam-oriented, it is best to use targeted textbooks alongside it and treat this book as extended reading.

Comments

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