Book picks similar to
Ifferisms: An Anthology of Aphorisms That Begin with the Word "IF" by Mardy Grothe
reference
non-fiction
nonfiction
humor
A Way with Words: Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion
M.D.C. Drout - 2006
Drout brings his expertise in literary studies to the subject of rhetoric. From history-altering political speeches to friendly debates at cocktail parties, rhetoric holds the power to change opinions, spark new thoughts, and ultimately change the world. The study of rhetoric not only leads to a greater understanding of how personages such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Winston Churchill elevated the power of speech to majestic heights, but also to a stronger proficiency in using rhetoric in anyone’s day-to-day life. Professor Drout examines the types of rhetoric and their effects, the structure of effective arguments, and how subtleties of language can be employed to engage in more successful rhetoric. Drout also ponders the role of rhetoric in our world and the ageold question of whether it is just a tool for convincing people of things that aren’t true, or whether it is indeed a force for good that will ultimately lead to truth.
Rip the Page!: Adventures in Creative Writing
Karen Benke - 2010
M. Mayo, Elizabeth Singer Hunt, Moira Egan, Gary Soto, Lucille Clifton, Avi, Betsy Franco, Carol Edgarian, Karen Cushman, Patricia Polacco, Prartho Sereno, Lewis Buzbee, and C. B. Follett. This is your journal for inward-bound adventures—use it to write, brainstorm, explore, imagine—and even rip!
The Illuminati Papers
Robert Anton Wilson - 1980
His best-selling books, The Illuminati Trilogy and Cosmic Trigger, have delighted readers the world over and made the Illuminati conspiracy the perfect metaphor for our time. In the Illuminati Papers, Robert Anton Wilson speaks through characters from his novels and other realities and presents his views on our future way of life.
How to Swear: An Illustrated Guide
Stephen Wildish - 2018
Offering history and etymology along with guidance, quips, insults, answers to lingering questions, and much more, How to Swear celebrates the rude ingenuity of using a naughty word to express surprise, excitement, anger, joy, or disgust, limited only by the imagination. It's inspiring. It's educational. It's dirty. It's here to change lives or, at the very least, add some f*#&ing color to the conversation.
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010
Dave Eggers - 2010
Ott --Ideas / Patricio Pron --Vanish / Evan Ratliff --Seven months, ten days in captivity / David Rohde --Tent City, U.S.A. / George Saunders --The nice little people / Kurt Vonnegut --Freedom / Amy Waldman
Words
Kenneth E. Hagin - 1979
Hagin has spanned more than 50 years since God miraculously healed him of a deformed heart and incurable blood disease at the age of 17. Today the scope of Kenneth Hagin Ministries is worldwide.t
The Hero: The Enduring Myth That Makes Us Human
Lee Child - 2019
He demonstrates how hero stories continue to shape our world – arguing that we need them now more than ever.From the Stone Age to the Greek Tragedies, from Shakespeare to Robin Hood, we have always had our heroes. The hero is at the centre of formative myths in every culture and persists to this day in world-conquering books, films and TV shows. But why do these characters continue to inspire us, and why are they so central to storytelling?Scalpel-sharp on the roots of storytelling and enlightening on the history and science of myth, The Hero is essential reading for anyone trying to write or understand fiction. Child teaches us how these stories still shape our minds and behaviour in an increasingly confusing modern world, and with his trademark concision and wit, demonstrates that however civilised we get, we’ll always need heroes.
The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time (In Two Lines or Less)
John Shanahan - 1999
Here's a collection of the most profound and provocative wit and wisdom in the English language in two lines or less. Edited by entrepreneur John M. Shanahan, who created the wildly successful Hooked on Phonics program, this wonderful book presents the best that has been thought and said on every imaginable topic.Classified by such themes as "Truth, Lies, and Deception," "Men, Women, and Relationships," and "Passions, Virtues, and Vices," these quotes contain timeless messages for all humankind. Oscar Wilde: "A man who marries his mistress leaves a vacancy in that position." Charles de Gaulle: "The cemetery is filled with indispensable men." Abraham Lincoln: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Sophocles: "Men of ill judgment oft ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it."Perfect for anyone who has ever been left speechless, this book will make you as glib as Oscar Wilde, as profound as Winston Churchill, and as wise as Aesop. Inspirational, entertaining, and thought-provoking, this is one collection that no library or bookshelf should be without.
Napalm & Silly Putty
George Carlin - 2001
I THINK.In Napalm & Silly Putty, George Carlin, the thinking person's comic, offers a hilarious new collection of razor-sharp observations on God, language, death, pets, driving, food, sports, airplanes, advertising, news, businessmen, and much, much more!* Just when I discovered the meaning of life, they changed it.* If people climb Mt. Everest because it's hard to do, why do they go up on the easy side?* With a little effort, oxen can be trained to genuflect and whistle softly in the moonlight.* How can it be a spy satellite if they announce on TV that its a spy satellite?* If people stand in a circle long enough, they will eventually begin to dance.* Guys don't seem to be called "Lefty" anymore.* No one quite knows what's next, but everybody does it.* I think it would be great if you could make a guy's head explode just by staring at him.* Am I the only one who's noticed that the Lone Ranger and Tonto never got their laundry done?You'll learn what Carlin thinks of saving the planet, his suggestion for revamping the prison system, and why he prays to Joe Pesci. Add to the mix "The Ten Most Embarrassing Songs of All Time," "The 20th Century Hostility Scoreboard," and "People I Can Do Without," and you have an irresistible assortment of quips, probes, thrusts, and verbal ordeals that are as smart as they are infectiously funny.
Seuss-isms
Dr. Seuss - 1997
Seuss have helped many a child (and grownup) along the complicated road of life. For those who need reminders, here is a collection of some of the good doctor's wisest and wittiest sayings, on subjects as varied as "Equality and Justice" and "Facing Up to Adversity" to "The Art of Eating" and "The First Nerd"! A perfect gift for all occasions, ideal for sharing among generations--now with a "gift tag" on the jacket flap for consumers to personalize!
Thug Notes: A Street-Smart Guide to Classic Literature
Sparky Sweets - 2015
Inside, you'll find hilarious plot breakdowns and masterful analyses of sixteen of literature's most beloved classics, including: Things Fall Apart, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, The Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Pride and Prejudice, and more! The series Thug Notes has been featured on BET, PBS, and NPR and has been used in hundreds of classrooms around the world. Whether you’re a student, teacher, or straight-up literary gangster like Dr. Sweets, Thug Notes has got you covered. You'll certainly never look at literature the same way again.www.wisecrack.co/book
Oxford Guide to English Grammar
John Eastwood - 1994
It is equally suitable for quick reference to Details and for more leisured study of broad grammar topics.The book is trorough in its coverage but pays most attention to points that are of importance to intermediate and advanced learners of English, and to their teachers.• The emphasis is on meanings and how they govern the choice of grammatical pattern.• Each chapter starts with a summary which reviews the topic as a whole and shows readers where to find the particular information they need.• Authentic texts are used to demonstrate features of discourse.• Many single-sentence example are also authentic.• Wherever it is helpful, examples are marked as formal or informal, literary or conversational.• Dependable advice is give on the avoidance of non-standard and incorrect usage.• A chapter is devoted to differences between American and British grammar.• Technical terms are used sparingly, and defined in a glossary.
The Superior Person's Book of Words
Peter Bowler - 1979
Peter Bowler will teach you the practical riches of saying it well with good words, neglected words, and precise words for vocabular exultation!
The Lynne Truss Treasury: Columns and Three Comic Novels
Lynne Truss - 2005
Her previous works are now available stateside in one volume, complete with a new preface. With One Lousy Free Packet of Seed, a raucous comedy of errors, follows the exploits of Osborne Lonsdale, who writes a weekly column called "Me and My Shed" for a floundering gardening magazine. When the publication is taken over by a gung-ho management team, Lonsdale must learn to cope with his new coworkers. In Tennyson's Gift and Going Loco, Truss turns a fiendishly clever eye to the literary world. Tennyson's Gift is an imaginative cocktail of Victorian seriousness and farce that re-imagines the world of the nineteenth-century English poet laureate, placing him in the midst of eccentric company that includes dodgy Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). Going Loco features a critic trying to write a definitive account of the doppelg�nger in gothic fiction, amidst the chaos of her domestic life, including paranoia that her cleaning lady is taking over her life. Making the Cat Laugh is a riotous collection of columns about single life. Truss comments on dating, secondhand smoking, shopping, holidays, and people who ask, "How's the novel going?" All the while, she continues an eighteen-year quest to make her cat laugh. Reportedly, the feline remains unimpressed. A feast of wit, The Lynne Truss Treasury will delight fans of Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Praise for Lynne Truss and her work: With One Lousy Free Packet of Seed Lynne Truss has written a perfect comic novel at the first attempt a witty, ingenious romp. Daily Telegraph This book will become a perennial comic delight this Truss must never be stopped. Sue Limb Sex, violence, murder and psychoanalysis lurk in the garden shed - a breezy, rude, pleasurable alternative to cutting the grass. Obeserver Making the Cat Laugh A small masterpiece of comedy...with abundant close observation, the familiar is made fresh...A continual hoot. The Times A truly inventive comic writer ... You should not attempt to read Making the Cat Laugh while travelling on public transport The Irish Times [Lynne Truss is] a social humorist of sharp insight and startling candour. Scotland on Sunday Tennyson s Gift A comic novel of subtle distinction ... richly entertaining and at times very moving. The Times The perfect summer book. No deck-chair will be complete without it. The Independent Terrific...Tennyson's Gift is witty, surprising, oddly compassionate and hugely assured. The Sunday Times Going Loco Truss lets her imagination explode in what can only be described as a riddle devised while coming down of hallucinogens. Time Out A classic comic novel, unashamed, exuberant, fiendishly clever, and a joy to read. The Daily Telegraph Going Loco is wonderfully underplayed, unpredictable and unexpectedly sinister. Sunday Express Author Bio: Lynne Truss is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, which has sold nearly one million copies and won Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. A novelist and journalist, she is also the author of numerous radio comedy dramas and for many years served as a television critic and sports columnist for The Times (London).
All About Words: An Adult Approach to Vocabulary Building
Maxwell Nurnberg - 1968
Here's an exhilarating, easy way to learn a word...and never forget it! With games, puzzles, exercises, and whole battery of challenging tests.