FIRST-YEAR CZECH AT OXFORD: A READING LIST Our beginners’ textbook is James Naughton, Colloquial Czech (Routledge) – obtain the newest revised edition, 2011, preferably with its CDs. Try to study several of the units before coming up to Oxford (if you are a beginner). Also to be obtained during the first year: James Naughton, Czech: an Essential Grammar (Routledge, 2005), a concise reference book for learners. Some recommended dictionaries (of varying sizes): Ivan Poldauf, Velký česko-anglický slovník, WD Publications, Čelákovice / Hippocrene Books, New York, 1188 pp., various printings, large, gives the aspectual pairs of verbs Josef Fronek, Velký česko-anglický slovník, Praha: Leda, 2000, 1597 pp., easier to use Josef Fronek, Velký anglicko-český slovník, Praha: Leda, 2006, similar in size to the above Josef Fronek, English-Czech Czech-English Dictionary (Anglicko-český a česko-anglický slovník), : Leda, 1998 etc., a bulky but more concise two-way version, popular Ivan Poldauf et al., Anglicko-český česko-anglický slovník, various editions, 1073 pp., older two-way dictionary, concise, gives the aspectual pairs of verbs Josef Filipec et al., Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost, Prague: Academia, 1994 etc. (2nd ed.), one-volume monolingual dictionary When obtainable at all in this country, these dictionaries may unfortunately be somewhat overpriced, so obtain in the Czech Republic if possible. Some phrase-books etc. may also be useful, e.g. Berlitz, Rough Guide; Oxford Photo Dictionary. The freely available Lingea online dictionary is also very helpful: http://slovniky.lingea.cz/Home.aspx?set=encz&w= First-year texts: These may be hard to obtain in the original outside the Czech Republic, but sufficient copies of the plays will be available for borrowing in the Taylor Slavonic Library, and copies of the short stories and the longer poem will be supplied in class during the year. For some online texts and other reading see: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~tayl0010/czech.html Short stories: Milan Kundera, ‘Falešný autostop’; Bohumil Hrabal, ‘Pábitelé’; Ota Pavel, ‘Zlatí úhoři’; Jan Neruda, ‘Doktor Kazisvět’. The texts are taken from these collections: Kundera, Směšné lásky; Hrabal, Pábitelé; Ota Pavel, Zlatí úhoři; Neruda, Povídky malostranské. Plays: Karel Čapek, R.U.R. (many editions) and Václav Havel, Vyrozumění (e.g. in volume Hry). Poetry (third term): Mácha, Máj (classic 19th-century poem, numerous editions). Various translations and other suggestions for preparatory reading: Václav Havel, The Memorandum; Selected Plays. Milan Kundera, Laughable Loves; The Joke. Karel Čapek, R.U.R.; War with the Newts. Bohumil Hrabal, Closely Observed Trains; Too Loud a Solitude. Jan Neruda, Prague Tales. Ota Pavel, How I Came To Know Fish. Josef Škvorecký, The Cowards. Jaroslav Hašek, The Good Soldier Švejk. Anything else you can find by these or by other Czech authors. Jiří Holy, Writers under Siege: since 1945 (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2008). J. Naughton, ed., Traveller's Literary Companion to Eastern and Central Europe (Brighton: In Print Publishing, 1995). Maria Dowling, . R. W. Seton- Watson, A History of the and Slovaks. Piotr Wandycz, The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe. Lonnie R. Johnson, Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends. Peter Demetz, Prague in Black and Gold. Derek Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia. A. M. Ripellino, Magic Prague.

Last revised: March 2013, jdn