Bøger af Ian Burns

Readers may be aware that Thomas Bulford died recently (though not as recently as before), and that I had what I then regarded as the onerous honour of editing his lexicographical work.Following this, his son presented the Publisher with a box of scribblings that he said were his 'distinguished' father's.My impression was that they were, indeed, Thomas Bulford's (the senior).Firstly, they bore a striking resemblance to the 'essays' that the Publisher insisted on being incorporated in the English Companion as introductions to the various definitional categories.Secondly, and I say this with as much grace as I can, they, whilst being somewhat idiosyncratic in construction and questionable in logic, contained a number of insights into the human condition that were also occasionally present in the earlier volume.Accordingly, with less reluctance than before, I agreed to edit this material, and offer it to readers for their judgement.Editor

ADULTSThe Alone Man is a simple story full of understated insights that will have deep emotional resonance with readers all over the world. It tells of a pioneering man's life, and his love for his land, his wife, his children.You can find out more about Ian's books at http://lulu.com/spotlight/ianburns

An extraordinary book, giving seminal insights into such diverse matters as Amazons and aardvarks, and the mythical or legendary Eve (of Eden), Helen (of Troy), and Joan (of Arc ).Of great importance is the clever Table of Contents - located conveniently for Americans near the beginning of the book - setting out the subjects of the book's twenty-seven categories, together with the page numbers that each of these categories begins on.As an additional aid the publishers have included an Index at the end of the book, listing, in very sensible alphabetical order, the countless selected words or phrases which are defined (1,654 times, or perhaps more), clarified, or otherwise articulated in the preceding pages, although not in the Table of Contents.Saying anything else, at this stage, would be entirely superfluous, and probably an insult.

CHILDREN 9-12Possum and Python is a story from the rain forest, of birth and love and companionship - of a most unusual (but splendid) kind. You can also find out more about Ian's books at http://iansbestchildrensbooks.googlepages.com and http://www.thegreathallofdreams.com

Have you ever wondered why clocks have hours, and minutes, and seconds...but not firsts?You will not find the answer to this question in this book, but Scratcher will tell you what happens ifyour dog goes wild in a butcher's shop,or if an eel gets up your trouser leg when you're standing in the middle of the creek in the rain,or if you fall in love with your teacher.And he'll tell you about the McPhees, and his friends, and about the cat whose feet never touch the floor,and what happened when a swan's EGG learnt to fly,and about the world's only fat butter of a dog,and...and...and, well about one or two other things as well...

…before then, all birds were white. They didn't mind. They were happy, though sometimes there were little problems-when it snowed, you can imagine, for instance. Life could generally go on, however, with few serious collisions, as only some places had snow.But change was coming. Change in its common guise, unnoticed. Stealthily.Until parrot…And thirty-eight other stories…Australia; England; France; Ireland; Holland; India; Africa; America…in the past; far into the future; '…sometimes heart-warming, sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes soul-stirring, sometimes soul-searching…from the immediately recognisable to the most unlikely and obscure, dipping into life's truths and fantasies along the way.'

It's only four years after the end of WW2, when there were no great cricket matches. But now things are getting back to normal: the Australians have thrashed the Poms in England, India has played its first Test series in Australia, and 'the Don' has retired. In a small Bangalore village young Ranganathan Rao is musing about life in general and cricket in particular. The weather's been hot and dry for ever - everyone's eyes are skywards, looking for the monsoon. Except for Ranga's, whose spinning fingers begin to itch. Kumar, Ranga's English/Geography/History teacher, as part of a discourse on the strangeness of the English language, introduces his pupils to an especially strange word - that he heard an Australian say during the war - and invites them to try to pronounce it and identify its meaning. After many unsuccessful attempts Kumar reveals both the word's pronunciation and meaning, and suggests that everyone might remember this, as one day they might go to Australia. This starts Ranga thinking.

A new compendium of words by a little-known but infinitely-self-important, self-proclaimed aficianado, on why English is the greatest language.

An anthology of stories, written between 1984 and 2017. Where do they come from? They must come from somewhere, and these certainly do. From outback Australia, from England, from France, Malaya, Singapore, Thailand... From the past...drama and farce; fantasy and stark reality; the deeply personal and the absolutely frivolous. Childhood escapades. ...and more...

Lissie Pendle is about trouble. But not trouble with a capital T. It's trouble which just...well, it just happens. Usually with the help of her little brother, or Scratcher and his friends, or just....things.Lissie is busy, pre-occupied, if you like, coping with events and trying to sort out and put in their proper place (ie beside and slightly in awe of her) the various eligible boys of the town. In these endeavours she succeeds quite gloriously, although she's actually the only person who understands this.In the course of telling us about a number of pretty unusual events, such as the case of the killer koala, or what happened in old-fashioned trains' toilets, or when she met a lady who inserted capital letters into her conversation, or when there was blood instead of ink in the inkwell, or....well, a pile of other things, we discover an Australia of another time.When things were clear, including the air, and life was simpler and, yes, funnier.

Quong was a creature of the olden olden days, even before grandmother. He was a short fellow, or, at least, that's what they said, with long, thin legs and an even longer, thinner tail. His face was fat and wrinkly, and big bushy eyebrows kept out the sun and flies. At least that's what I think he looked like, though no-one has actually seen him that I'd believe. Which, of course, was the trouble. Some people say that there are no such things as quongs, that it's a stupid name, and that if there were any there'd be pink elephants, too. But those people don't think Father Christmas comes every year, either. Of course this is all nonsense. There must be quongs and we must find them. And, if this story's any good, we will. So let's begin the search!

It's Jess's thirteenth birthday. She's been in bed for nearly a year, the result of a car accident that killed her father. Surprisingly, she finds a birthday present from him, an unusual gift for a girl and one which she, her mother, and her grandfather, puzzle over. In the course of playing with it, Jess discovers that it has some highly-unexpected properties. But then, purely by accident, she discovers its most amazing feature.