Once a Week

A. A. MilneProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 420K words
Chapters: 43

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.Once a Week by A. A. MilneAuthor: Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander), 1882-1956,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 15, 2008

Editor's review

A light, lively collection of essays by A. A. Milne, published free in the original English by Project Gutenberg. Milne is best known for Winnie-the-Pooh, but these short pieces show a different side: London-gentleman humor and everyday observation. In an easy, unhurried tone he writes about the small stuff of life, books and writing, and human nature; the sentences are clean and the rhythm unhurried, like listening to a witty friend chat. Its value lies not in grand narrative but in stylistic training and linguistic pleasure: the pieces are short and self-contained, good for reading in spare moments and as models of English essay writing to study sentence patterns and tone. The electronic edition is easy to obtain and convenient for reading alongside notes. One caveat: the humor depends on a feel for early twentieth-century English life, so a first reading may seem flat; only by reading into it will you catch the irony and gentle self-mockery.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English essays and want light reading in spare moments
English learners who want to study idiomatic English prose sentences and humorous expression
Readers curious about Milne's non-children's work and hoping to broaden their reading
Teachers who need short pieces for classroom extensive reading or book-club discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a full plot and strong dramatic conflict
Beginners with weak English who don't want to look up words and notes
Readers who only want Winnie-the-Pooh-style children's stories

Reading tips

Read one or two pieces a day, then retell the gist in your own words to train English summarizing skills
When you hit a humorous passage, guess the meaning first, then check the notes; watch for irony and understatement
Pick three favorite pieces and write an imitation: a short life essay in their sentence patterns and tone
Read along with friends; for each piece choose the funniest sentence and compare how you each understood it

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

What is the relationship between this book and Winnie-the-Pooh?

Both are by A. A. Milne, but this book is a collection of English essays for adult readers, not children's stories; the style is humorous and chatty, suited to readers who want to see another side of Milne's writing.

Is the original English hard to read?

The vocabulary is generally not obscure, but the sentences tend to be long and often ironic, making it moderately to fairly difficult. Read piece by piece with notes or a dictionary: grasp the gist first, then the details; don't agonize over every word.

Why is it recommended for reading in spare moments?

The pieces are relatively independent and short, and don't depend on continuous plot, so you can pick it up and put it down anytime without losing comprehension—good for commutes, bedtime, and other odd moments.

Comments

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About the author

A. A. Milne Author · British · 1882–1956

A. A. Milne (1882–1956) was a British writer born in London. He graduated in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, and later edited the magazine Punch. He served in the First World War and afterwards made his name as a writer of comedy, with plays such as Mr. Pim Passes By. His work spans detective fiction, humorous essays, drama and children's literature; the library holds twelve of his titles, including The Red House Mystery, Happy Days, Not that it Matters, If I May, The Sunny Side and Second Plays. He is best known worldwide for his children's books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, and for the poetry collection When We Were Very Young. His gentle, humorous writing, full of childhood charm and close observation of everyday life, continues to delight readers around the world.