Having grown up bilingual and studied linguistics, I thought Wyner had a fantastic balance of practical tasks/suggestions and the science behind them — plus emphasis on efficiency over grinding (work smarter not harder), and some genuinely funny jokes too — even phonetics and IPA, which I've struggled with since my first Intro to Linguistics class, is presented in a really approachable way.

That makes this a really useful and (I'm anticipating) effective resource to customize your language learning experience based on your goals, experience and comfort levels, target language(s), etc. There are modifications for first-time learners, languages with different writing systems (such as Chinese and Japanese), people looking to refresh intermediate/advanced fluency, nerds like me who want to dig deeper into particular aspects of language learning.

Pure, awesome Dessen! A mother obsessed, a rough but realistic sibling relationship, good friends, and the boy next door who challenges her beliefs and lifestyle. A comfortable but never dull plot, great study in relationship dynamics.

A little bit preachy/corny, but considering the narrator is Death it's a forgivable minor offense. Interesting that Zusak chose to associate the book thief with the same colors as Death - the symbolism is worth further thinking.

Totally my favorite in the series (sorry, Queen of Attolia). Gen at his finest, by which I mean sweet and petulant and clever and arrogant and disingenuous and loyal all at the same time.