Cultural English 60 - Bestselling books in the 2000s; Thanksgiving traditions; Q&A

Complete Transcript

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 60.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 60. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

On this Café, we’re going to talk about some of the best-selling books – the most popular fiction and nonfiction books – in the United States. We will also be going over a little bit about Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving traditions in the United States. And, as always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let’s get started!

Our first topic today is best sellers. A “best (best) seller (seller)” – two words – is a book that is very popular and that has sold many more copies than other books of its kind. In most places, best-selling books are divided into hardcover and softcover, and into fiction and nonfiction.

A “hardcover” (hardcover) book is a book that has a cover (the cover is what is on the outside the book) that is made of some hard material such as cardboard or very thick paper. Hardcover books are usually bigger books, and they are often the first version of a book that a publisher – someone who makes books – releases.

The opposite of a hardcover book would be a “softcover” (softcover) book. A softcover book, as you can probably guess, does not have a hard cardboard front and back, but instead has a thinner, softer paper cover. Softcover books are usually cheaper, lighter, and smaller than hardcover books. Both hardcover and softcover books are divided into two categories or types: fiction and nonfiction. Fiction describes things that aren’t true, and nonfiction describes things that are true.

One of the best sellers in fiction recently in the United States was a book called Rise and Shine. The words “rise” (rise) and “shine” (shine) are both what we would call “command” forms of the verb, or “imperatives.” These forms are used when you are telling someone to do something. “Rise” means “get up,” usually said to someone who is in bed sleeping. “Shine” can mean to have a bright light on something, but it can also mean to do a good job, to be excellent at what you do, or to be completely awake and ready to do a good job.

So, the expression “rise and shine” is something you might say to someone who is still in bed sleeping. It’s something a mother might say to her children: “Rise and shine, kids! Today is Monday. You have to go to school.” Which I think is wonderful, when the children go to school – especially the children who live next to me here in my house in Los Angeles, because they’re very noisy during the week, so school is a good place for them.

Well, the book Rise and Shine is about a woman named Anna Quindlen (Quindlen) – not related to me, McQuillan. And it’s a novel, a fictional story, about a woman who works in a women’s shelter. A “women’s shelter” (shelter) is a place for women who perhaps don’t have homes. It is often for women who are in marriages or relationships where there is some violence, and they need a safe place to go. The government runs some shelters, but most women’s shelters are run by private organizations – churches and other groups. These shelters are places where women can go to be safe.

This is a novel about a woman who works in a women’s shelter. One person described this novel as “engrossing.” “To be engrossing” (engrossing) means that you get very involved in it – that it is very, very interesting. You “can’t put it down,” we would say – you can’t stop reading. And it’s a novel about what one person calls “family dynamics.” “Dynamics” (dynamics) are, in this case, the way that two people or a group of people interact, communicate, talk to each other. Family dynamics are the way that you get along with – or don’t get along with – other people in your family.

Rise and Shine is a well-written book. One reviewer – someone who writes about books – said “the prose is top-notch.” The “prose” (prose) just means the writing. We also use the term “prose” to describe something that is not poetry. You can have a poem, like Shakespeare’s poems or Jeff McQuillan’s poems: “Roses are red, violets are blue – the sky is sunny, and so are you.” Thank you, I just . . . I just made that up. I just invented that poem.

Prose is different from poetry in that it is usually longer and uses sentences to tell a story or to make a point. The reviewer said the prose – the writing – in this book was “top-notch” (top-notch). Top-notch means the very best – very, very good. So, if you are interested in this book, it’s called Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen.

Another popular book in the United States recently is one called Judge and Jury. A “judge” (judge) is the person who is the leader, if you will, of a trial. When you go to court, you have a judge. In some cases, you have a “jury” (jury). A “jury” is a group of people who decide whether you are guilty or innocent.

Judge and Jury is a novel by a famous American novelist, James Patterson. It’s about an FBI agent. The “FBI” stands for the “Federal Bureau of Investigation,” which is one of our national police organizations. The book is about an FBI agent who is investigating the mob. The “mob” (mob) here means the same as organized crime. We also sometimes call it the “Mafia” (Mafia). The mob, the Mafia, and organized crime all mean basically the same thing – they are a group of people who are criminals and who are organized into a group.

This is the subject of a popular American television show called The Sopranos, which is about a group of, in this case, Italian Americans who are involved in the mob – involved in organized crime. The Mafia was also the topic of two famous movies in the 1970s called The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. So, if you are looking for a best seller in fiction about organized crime, you might enjoy Judge and Jury by James Patterson.

Many of the best-selling nonfiction books have to do with politics, because politics is a popular topic. There is one book in this category called Fiasco (Fiasco), by Thomas Ricks. A “fiasco” is something that goes wrong. A fiasco is similar to a disaster, but it’s something caused by humans – it’s something that people do that ends up creating a lot more problems. The book Fiasco is, I believe, about the war in Iraq.

Another recent popular nonfiction book is called Marley and Me, by John Grogan. “Marley” (Marley) is not Bob Marley, the famous reggae singer from the Caribbean – this is a dog named Marley. The book is a story about a man who gets a dog and what happens to him and his dog. The book is called Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog, and this dog is apparently very naughty and hyperactive.

“Naughty” (naughty) is kind of an old word which means to be bad. And “hyperactive” (hyperactive) is when you are very active, too active. We would call somebody who is always jumping up and down or someone who is always talking or doing something “hyperactive.” Well, this is a hyperactive dog. So, if you like dogs, and I don’t, you can get this book called Marley and Me, by John Grogan.

So, these have been some of the most popular books in the U.S. recently. I haven’t read any of these books, but I did read about them on the web, and someday, maybe, I’ll watch the movie.

On our second topic today, we’re going to talk a little bit about the holiday of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a national holiday, which means that most people do not have to work on that day. It’s a day for people to come together and give thanks for the good things that they have in their lives.

Now, if you listened last year on Thanksgiving, we had a podcast about the traditional Thanksgiving meal in the United States, and I talked about the holiday of Thanksgiving, which comes every year on the fourth Thursday of November. For some general information about Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving dinner, you can listen to podcast episode 91 – just go to our website and search for “Thanksgiving.”

I thought I would talk today about some other popular things that happen on or around Thanksgiving that most Americans know about. One of the things that many Americans do on the morning of Thanksgiving is to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. A “parade” (parade) is when you have a group of people who walk down the middle of a street to celebrate something.

The Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City is sponsored by a national store called “Macy’s” (Macy’s) that sells all sorts of things – clothes, jewelry, shoes, and so forth. Macy’s helps pay for this famous parade in New York City. The parade is on television on Thanksgiving morning, and you can see lots of what we call “floats” (floats). A float is a big car – a truck, usually – that has been decorated and moves slowly down the street with people on top of it. The parade is also famous for its balloons – big, huge, gigantic balloons of Snoopy and other cartoon characters – and it’s a fun time for children.

At the end of the parade, there is always Santa Claus. The reason Santa Claus appears at the end of the Thanksgiving Day parade is that the day after Thanksgiving – the Friday after Thanksgiving – is considered the first important day for people to go out and start buying presents, buying gifts, for Christmas. So, the beginning of the “Christmas shopping season,” we would call it, is the day after Thanksgiving.

And in fact, more people go shopping on Thanksgiving weekend – especially the day after Thanksgiving – than any other time in the year. Many stores have early morning sales – special sales at five o’clock, six o’clock in the morning. They reduce, or lower, the prices on things to get more people to buy. It is one day that you do not want to go to a big store in the United States unless you like having thousands of people around you. I don’t. I never go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, but it is a popular tradition.

Another popular tradition on Thanksgiving Day is to watch American football. There are always at least two American football games on television the afternoon of Thanksgiving. One of them is in Detroit, Michigan, which also has its own Thanksgiving Day parade. The Detroit Lions, which is the name of the Detroit team, have a game, and there’s also a game in Dallas with their team, the Dallas Cowboys.

So, those are some popular things that people do on Thanksgiving, and things that you can see on American television. Thanksgiving is, of course, the week of this Café. So, if you live in the United States, you don’t have to work tomorrow! I have to work, of course, because ESL Podcast never takes a vacation.

Now let’s answer some of the questions you have sent to us.

Our first question today comes from Cassius (Cassius) in Brazil. Cassius wants to know the meaning of the verb “to figure out.” “To figure (figure) out (out)” – two words – is one of those phrasal verbs, or verbs with two words in it, that is very popular in English. “To figure out” means to solve, or to find a solution to, a problem – to understand something that you didn’t understand before.

For example, I was talking to my wife yesterday, and I “figured out” that she was very angry with me. And the reason I figured it out – the way I figured it out – was because she wasn’t talking back to me. I talked to her, but she didn’t say anything back to me. I figured out that she was mad – she was angry – at me. You can also figure out a math problem or figure out the answer to a puzzle – anything that you have to try to find a solution for. So, that is the meaning of “to figure out,” a phrase that we use it very often.

Our next question comes from from Satsuki (Satsuki) in Japan. Satsuki’s question is a pronunciation question about the difference between the word “can” and the word “can’t,” which is the short version of “cannot.” When you say these words very quickly, it is sometimes difficult to hear the difference.

Here’s “can”: “I can go today. I can go today.” Here’s “can’t”: “I can’t go today. I can’t go today.” Listen again: “I can go today. I can go today.” Now with the “t”: “I can’t go today. I can’t go today.”

You’ll notice that there’s a small difference between “I can go today” and “I can’t go today” in the pronunciation of the “a,” and you can also just hear the “t” very, very softly. It’s a difficult distinction for some people to hear. “I can go today” means I can go today. “I can’t go today” means I cannot, or I can’t, go today.

So, that is the difference between these two. It’s difficult to explain – it’s something you really need to listen to many times just to hear the difference. This difference is sometimes difficult even for native speakers. Sometimes someone will say something to you and you’ll say, “You can or you can’t?” You sometimes have to ask, because when you say it very quickly, it is more difficult to hear the difference.

Well, if you have a question about something you don’t understand, email us at eslpod@eslpod.com. We’ll try to answer your question.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on the English Café.

Glossary

best seller – a book or other product that sells many copies

* When Dr. McQuillan’s new book about his life is published, it is sure to be a bestseller.

hardcover/softcover – a book with a cover that is made with strong paper with cloth over it (hardcover) or a book with a soft paper cover (softcover)

* I wanted to find a copy of this book in hardcover, but the store only had one in softcover.

Rise and shine! – Get up!, usually said to someone who is sleeping

* Okay, everybody. Rise and shine! After breakfast, we’re going to climb that mountain!

women’s shelter – a safe place where women can go if they are afraid of being hurt by someone in their house or if they are homeless (without a home)

* The new women’s shelter down the street will have 30 beds and will help women who are in danger or are homeless.

engrossing – taking all of your attention; very, very interesting; so interesting that all of your thinking is about this thing

* The movie we were watching was so engrossing, I didn’t hear the phone ring.

family dynamics – the way that people in a family interact with or affect each other; the relationship between the people in a family

* Kyle understood his new girlfriend better after visiting her family over the holidays and seeing their family dynamics.

prose – language in normal sentences (not poetry)

* I wonder what type of stories Shakespeare would have written if he wrote prose instead of plays.

top-notch – the best; highest quality; excellent

* Jorge is a top-notch pilot so I don’t think we need to worry about him crashing this plane.

mob/Mafia – an organized group of criminals who are very dangerous and who do serious crimes

* Have you seen the new play about a mob family living in St. Paul, Minnesota?

jury – a group of people, usually 12, who are responsible for making a decision in a court case

* The jury’s decision to send the women to jail for 70 years was a surprise to everyone.

naughty – someone who behaves badly, usually children

* Her father said, “We’re going to visit your grandparents and if you’re naughty again, you won’t be allowed to play with your friends for an entire week.”

hyperactive – someone who is too active or has too much energy

* How am I supposed to cut your hair if you’re hyperactive and won’t sit still?

parade – a public celebration where people march (walk) along the street while other people on the side of the road are watching and cheering

* We watched the parade from our second-story window and had a great view of all bands and performers.

float – in a parade, a truck with a large flat area that is decorated with a display, usually with people in costumes standing on top, as part of a celebration

* Each year, we have over 200 people help to decorate the floats for our holiday parade.

to figure out – to solve; to find the right answer; to understand something that wasn’t clear before

* I’ve looked at this map for over an hour and I still can’t figure out where we are!

What Insiders Know

A Presidential Pardon...for a Turkey

A “pardon” is an official action to forgive someone for a crime they have “committed” or done. Normally, only officials in an organization or of the government can give pardons. The president of the United States can give “presidential pardons” that allow prisoners to go free. Normally, people who are on “death row” (in prison waiting to be killed for a serious crime they have committed) hope for a pardon or a “reprieve.” Prisoners who get a “reprieve” have their “penalty” or punishment reduced, but their crime is not forgiven.

At Thanksgiving each year, however, the President uses his presidential pardon in a far less serious way. It is a tradition for the President to give a turkey a presidential pardon so that it won’t be killed as part of the holiday. This lucky turkey is allowed live the rest of its life on a peaceful farm. When the turkey is pardoned, there is an official ceremony that takes place in the Rose Garden of the White House (the house where the president lives). Of course, the turkey chosen for the pardon has not committed a crime, but Thanksgiving is the holiday when Americans eat a lot of turkeys. Some reports say that over 90 percent of Americans eat turkey for Thanksgiving.

Pardoning a turkey has been a tradition since 1947 when President Harry Truman pardoned the first turkey. Some people say that the tradition “dates back” or was started by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, when he pardoned his son’s pet turkey.