Κοινότητα Αναγνωστών Βιβλίων - readers.gr

Brian Church, author of "Learn Greek in 25 Years", selects 30 memorable pieces from his Athens News column, "Church on Sunday". Is reversing on a motorway illegal in Greece? Why do Greeks always argue yet never fight? In which year will the 2004 Athens Olympics take place? Where did hunger-strikers find themselves next to a world-record attempt at making the largest-ever profiterole?

"In the old days, even fifteen years ago, you had to be tough to venture into most of Greece's mountains. And I don't mean just to walk or hike amongst the glorious peaks or verdant upper pastures. Surviving the nights in a bleak, unheated room required even sterner stuff. We faced the nights with the help of a small potbellied stove and immoderate quantities of rough local wine. But these days one doesn't have to suffer. There are signs that a revolution is taking place in formerly remote mountain regions". Whether in hot pursuit of a rumoured revival in the mounta...

Athens is not a city one normally associates with a creative street art culture. Yet, as Jerry Goldstein records in this 336-page, superbly illustrated hardback, wonderful works of street art can be found by exploring the backstreets of the Greek capital, in spaces not immediately obvious or visible. Most of the groundbreaking 410 murals and street logos in this book were produced between 2006 and 2007. As much of this artwork has since disappeared, this book is both a record of the boundless creativity of the genre and an appreciation of its artists. It will inspire and...

What does an urban British couple know about runaway turkeys, out-of-control egg production, and the finer points of manure selection? Not much! But that doesn't stop Michael and Pauline from embarking on their harebrained dream of building a home, and a new life, in a Greek village.

Spread over the shores of Europe and Asia, and heavy with the monuments and memories of two empires, Istanbul is destined to impress. It was called Constantinople until as recently as the early 1930s and has for centuries inspired poets, writers and mystified visitors. Those who promote Istanbul to the crowds of international tourists advertise its unparalleled natural beauty and its splendid architecture, legacy of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. The magic of this extraordinary city goes far beyond the cliches of tourist literature. Much of it lies in its tendency to...

The Greeks must accept unreservedly, unequivocally, unconditionally that they are in no way superior beings deserving special treatment. There are no such things as "the inalienable rights of Hellenism".

"Thank you for calling the Pasok hotline: · If you want to register a complaint, please press 1 · If you want to whine in mild frustration, please press 2 · If you want to stamp your feet and have a fit, please press 3" Mark Dragoumis puts Greece back on the therapy chair in Greece on the Couch 2, a new selection of 37 illuminating pieces from his popular Analyse This column in the Athens News. Join Mr Dragoumis as he tries to help the country move past its deep-seated corruption, fear of economic competition and status quo mentality. Hear his examination of Pasok's...

Landscape designer and Athens News columnist Jennifer Gay draws on a decade of experience in the Mediterranean to show you how to succeed in gardening without harming the environment. Whether you are coaxing climbers out of pots on a balcony or carving an oasis out of acres of scrubby hillside, this book offers invaluable advice on dealing with drought, pests, high winds, fires and soil erosion. Learn how to compost, mulch and turn one pest against another. Discover indigenous Greek species and the secrets of their survival.

Greeks and Turks in War and Peace chronicles the tumultuous road of Greek Turkish relations from the Ottoman conquest of 1453 to Turkey's current courtship dance with the European Union. Leading historian Thanos Veremis sheds light on the long nurtured dis trust that persists between the neighbours. At the same time, he highlights the areas of common interest between the two peoples and attempts an interpretation of their psyche, with all that may divide and unite them. Thanos Veremis is a professor of political history at the University of Athens. He is also the pres...

Greece is a country famed worldwide for its physical beauty, wealth of antiquities and other vestiges of its unsurpassed ancient civilisation. Yet despite over ten million annual visitors and an open and inviting culture, modern Greece is not an easy country for outsiders to understand or comprehend fully. Countless tourist guides extol its resorts and archaeological tomes unravel its classical past, but there are few books that attempt to explore the many complexities of Greek life and lifestyles right here in the present. Until now, that is, "It’s All Greece to Me: Im...

Trying to learn Greek but finding it far too hard? Just arrived and wondering where your suitcase has gone? Brian Church, cult journalist at the Athens News, has chosen 25 of the best lessons from his world-famous weekly column, "Learn Greek in 25 years", to help you understand even less of this beautiful language. Each lesson ends with a helpful table of Words I Really Must Learn Though I Know I Won't.

Paul Anastasi’s new book "Marathon Mysteries" takes the story of the Battle of Marathon and gives it a rich treatment, offering the reader a wealth of photos, maps, charts and more than 200 illustrations that make it a visual treat. But beyond the aesthetic attractiveness, Anastasi’s book features writing that recounts historical events in the style of an adventure novel, making it fast-paced and readable, suited not only to historians but also the lay audience. The book reminds us that at the turn of the 5th century BC the Persian Empire spread from the Indian Ocean to the...

Do I need a residence permit? How do I register a newborn? Who is eligible for military service? Can anyone marry in an Orthodox church? How should I draft a will? These are just some of hundreds of questions answered in Surviving Greek Bureaucracy, a guide to almost every aspect of your contact with the state, local government and the law. European Union citizens and non-Europeans residing in Greece will both find the answers they require. Drafted by Greece's most respected English-language publication, refined through years of news coverage and screened by lawyers...

Robert McDonald's book is a comprehensive survey of efforts in the Greek public and private sectors to modernise. It records the country's legislative efforts to harmonise business, labour and education practices with the rest of the European Union and keep up with the globalised marketplace. It draws on interviews with lawmakers, the executive and businesspeople to interpret the effectiveness of those efforts. The survey is broken down into the following chapters: · Economic environment · International rankings · Economic policy · Investment promotion · A...

The Competitiveness of the Greek Economy is the first comprehensive survey of efforts in the Greek public and private sectors to modernise. It draws on interviews with lawmakers, the executive and business people to record their progress across a 20-year period in drafting and implementing laws that harmonise Greece with the rest of the EU and the globalised marketplace. When the survey was first published in 2004, Minister of Development Dimitris Sioufas had it distributed to the members of the newly formed National Council of Competitiveness and Development as required re...

Greece's economic history reflects the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that have bedevilled the country ever since it bacame indepentent in 1832. The road to development has been full of pitfalls such as coups, one fully fledged civil war, several Balkan wars, two World Wars, one devastating occupation, one global crisis, and two outright bankruptcies. These have endowed Greeks with a sense of insecurity of varying intesity. This has led to a deep-rooted conservatism in natoinal economic planning and deep-seated protectionism on the part of industry and workers. Th...

Greece, a land of evergreen forests, towering mountains, lakes and rivers. It doesn't sound like the descriptions in most travel books. But when last did you venture into the country's four northern regions - Macedonia, Thrace, Epirus and Thessaly? Clearly laid out and stunningly illustrated, this book will take you far from the tourist-filled beaches and open your eyes to an area of Greece that deserves to be visited by everyone at least once. Discover Byzantine churches and Turkish mosques; silk towns, fur towns and even a reborn town; the legendary Mt Olympos and the...

When abroad, speak as locals speak, recommends an old expats' mantra on assimilation. Thanks to John Carr and Paul Anastasi's "Your eyes fourteen - The mad Greek dictionary", the time-consuming task of mastering colloquial Greek is no longer an arduous trip to "the devil's mother that will get the olive oil out of you". The authors discuss each saying's origins in terms of national history and psychology. Familiarise yourself "knife to the bone" with hundreds of the most frequent and colourful expressions Greeks use in everyday conversation - and show that you too can "...