To Read English Literature or Not To Read English Literature, That is the Question...

Of course reading English literature is important, but how necessery all of it is for me, am I not so sure of yet. Nevertheless, reading English is important - to a certain point.

This spring we read an English novel at school. I read Matilda by Roald Dahl. I've already read it in Norwegian, but there's no doubt that I definately prefer the English version. If i am reading a book, i choose to read it in English, because i want to read the original text, not a translation. I've seen from earlier times that norwegian translations aren't always that good.I like reading English, and I like reading nice books and funny texts. However, (Astrid and Sven; kill me for saying this) I don't see the use of reading sonnets and works by Shakespeare. Of course I know that his works are a huge part of the English history, but I, personnaly, don't believe that this knowledge will benefit me later. If I could choose, we would have read more recent English literature, instead of something that happened a long time ago.

I have read The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, both in English. I loved reading them, and I would rather read more of these types of books instead of old sonnets. To not seem totally negative, I may add that I really liked all the short stories we have read so far these terms!

Dear Mr. Smith, 15.06.04

Mr. Geoffery Smith
Manager of BlueSky Hotels
California
United States

Dear Mr. G. Smith,

Three weeks ago, I booked a hotel room for two weeks at your hotel resort in South Nilandhe Atoll, The Maldives. The costs were not low, but the pictures made the place look like paradise. My family and I were looking forward to our holiday, and the happiness was too good to describe.

When we first arrived the hotel, a slightly unexpected sight struck our eyes. The resort was not as the pictures online, and the ocean was not as close the resort as written in the hotel description. Starting off our holidays quite bad, we decided to put the negative attitude behind us, for the stay to be as pleasant as possible – for us, for other guests, and for the hotel staff.
Entering our future home for the coming two weeks, the hotel room, we saw that the bad shape of the main building was not the only unexpected negativity. The toilets were not useable, and it was not possible to take a shower under hot water. I am normally not a high demander, but I feel I have the rights to express my complaints when I have put this amount of money into our stay, and small things we take for granted at a five start resort are out of order.

When we thought the bad things were about to come to an end, the opposite happened, and there were more surprises to come… We discovered the first night that that the AC was not working. My daughter woke up in the middle of the night caused by breathing difficulties. I checked the thermometer in the room. It showed 39 degrees C, inside. At a warm place like this, in a room supposed for four people, is it extremely uncomfortable to sleep with no air conditioner.

Returning Norway after two weeks of disappointments, I noticed that an extra charge of 900$ had been charged from my bank account. This unexpected expense was from watching cable TV, which neither my family nor I had been doing during the stay. This was the final happening that made me write this letter.

As a guest at your hotel, it is my job to give you my opinions and experiences from the resort, whether it is negative or positive. Our entire stay at your hotel was unpleasant, and the costs were far more that what it was worth. I do not expect a lot of money in return, but I think it would only be fair to cover the expenses I never should have had to pay in the first place, as the cable TV. I hope you understand my views upon this case, and I would not have written this letter unless I found it necessary for both of us.

When all of this is said, I will not exclude that South Nilandhe Atoll is a fantastic place. We were extremely lucky with the great weather, the food was delicious, and the service was extraordinary. Some improvements are still to be made, and if it turns out in success, I will definitely stay at your resort again. I wish you and the hotel all the best for the future; this place has great potential.

Yours sincerely,
Karoline Kroken,
Norway.