Rani

Another idiom relating to death that I often think I often think about is "someone walking on my grave". It is that sudden chill that you feel on a warm day, or if a dark cloud passes in a sunny sky. You feel as if your death is imminent or that someone is plotting your demise. I find that very disturbing.

When I am nervous I often say I am "on tenterhooks" or that I am "walking on eggshells". The former idiom is problematic for me because I do not know where I learned it or where it comes from or even what it exactly means, I just always use it. The latter seems to make sense but when I try I to explain why walking on eggshells makes me nervous, I cannot really explain it. So if anyone has any thoughts on this, please share.

I do love graphic novels and there are so many classic ones at this point. Off the top of my head, MAUS by Art Spiegelman, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and Watchmen by Alan Moore are some of the finest works out there. Other graphic novels that I have not read but hope to read one day are Palestine by Joe Sacco and Fun Home by Alison Blechdel because those are amazing authors and artists. It is however extremely annoying that graphic novels are disregarded because great art and great storytelling should be combined. A great artist has the ability to bring characters to life and convey their thoughts with a single image. Their work is like that of a cinematographer who must learn to evoke emotion through light, color, shadow, and so much more. I really respect artists who tell their own stories and who understand when words and dialogue should be used and when an image can speak for itself.

There are tons of great contemporary authors and those whose books are considered modern classics. My favorite author is Margaret Atwood because her novels are extremely well-written and thought provoking. From her bibliography, I would recommend 'Cat's Eye', 'Alias Grace', 'The Handmaid's Tale', and 'Oryx and Crake'. Another up and coming author is Zadie Smith, whose first novel 'White Teeth' is absolutely wonderful and I am looking forward to reading her fourth novel N-W. Another great novelist, whose books I am a fan of is A.S. Byatt. I really enjoyed 'Possession' and 'The Children's Book'. There was a film adaptation of 'Possession' with Gwenyth Paltrow but I don't think it does the novel justice, just avoid it. I hope this brief list helps. Good luck.

Hey! I am an English speaker who is relatively fluent in Arabic (Iraqi dialect) and looking to learn Greek. I am happy to join this forum and looking to post a whole lot about language and learning.

The problem for me is that I can read and understand the Greek alphabet but do not ask me to recite it for you because I have totally forgotten the order and for the life of me, cannot remember how it goes. I have to say that as a recent Greek language student I find the combined letters that form other consonants and vowels really annoying, like μπ=b, ντ=d, ευ=f or v. On top of all that I really hate the τονος. I think I spend have my time to recognize where it goes and to apply it when pronouncing a letter. I mishear the τονος so often that I am starting to think that I am tone deaf.