Aspects of the Novel


E.M. Forster - 1927
    Forster's Aspects of the Novel is an innovative and effusive treatise on a literary form that, at the time of publication, had only recently begun to enjoy serious academic consideration. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction by Oliver Stallybrass, and features a new preface by Frank Kermode.First given as a series of lectures at Cambridge University, Aspects of the Novel is Forster's analysis of this great literary form. Here he rejects the 'pseudoscholarship' of historical criticism - 'that great demon of chronology' - that considers writers in terms of the period in which they wrote and instead asks us to imagine the great novelists working together in a single room. He discusses aspects of people, plot, fantasy and rhythm, making illuminating comparisons between novelists such as Proust and James, Dickens and Thackeray, Eliot and Dostoyevsky - the features shared by their books and the ways in which they differ. Written in a wonderfully engaging and conversational manner, this penetrating work of criticism is full of Forster's habitual irreverence, wit and wisdom.In his new introduction, Frank Kermode discusses the ways in which Forster's perspective as a novelist inspired his lectures. This edition also includes the original introduction by Oliver Stallybrass, a chronology, further reading and appendices.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) was a noted English author and critic and a member of the Bloomsbury group. His first novel, Where Angels Fear To Tread appeared in 1905. The Longest Journey appeared in 1907, followed by A Room With A View (1908), based partly on the material from extended holidays in Italy with his mother. Howards End (1910) was a story that centered on an English country house and dealt with the clash between two families, one interested in art and literature, the other only in business. Maurice was revised several times during his life, and finally published posthumously in 1971.If you enjoyed Aspects of the Novel, you might like Forster's A Room with a View, also available in Penguin Classics.

Don't Reply All: 18 Email Tactics That Help You Write Better Emails and Improve Communication with Your Team


Hassan Osman - 2015
    You'll get research-based guidelines for improving the way you communicate with your team members. Here is a partial list of what's covered:  -How to use the "3Ws" to clearly assign tasks in emails and get things done. -Four recommendations to help you create powerful subject lines to ensure that your emails are read. -How to use "If...then..." statements in your messages to improve clarity, increase accountability, and reduce the amount of follow-ups. -Tips to show you how to format your email so readers will easily be able to see the most important parts of your message.  -How to list questions and present options instead of asking open-ended queries to reduce back & forth emails.  -How to improve your email open-rate by using the "Delay Delivery" feature to schedule your emails in advance.  Here's what's included in the book:Tactic #1: Assign Tasks in an Email Using the "3Ws"Tactic #2: Write the Perfect Subject LineTactic #3: TL;DR - Write Emails That are Five Sentences or LessTactic #4: Break Long Emails into Two PartsTactic #5: Make Your Emails ScannableTactic #6: Show Instead of Tell by Attaching ScreenshotsTactic #7: Spell Out Time Zones, Dates, and AcronymsTactic #8: Use "If...then..." StatementsTactic #9: Present Options Instead of Asking Open-Ended Questions Tactic #10: Re-Read Your Email Once for a Content CheckTactic #11: Save Drafts of Repetitive EmailsTactic #12: Write It Now, Send It Later Using Delay DeliveryTactic #13: Don't Reply All (Unless You Absolutely Have To)Tactic #14: Reply to Questions InlineTactic #15: Reply Immediately to Time-Sensitive EmailsTactic #16: Read the Latest Email on a Thread Before RespondingTactic #17: Write the Perfect Out-of-Office (OOO) Auto ReplyTactic #18: Share the Rules of Email Ahead of Time Free Bonus As a free bonus for purchasing this book, you'll get a downloadable cheat sheet (a PDF file) that summarizes the content on one single page. You'll also get a PowerPoint presentation (a PPT file) that also summarizes the tactics in the book, but in more detail so you can share the deck with your team.

A Rulebook for Arguments


Anthony Weston - 1986
    Readers familiar with the previous edition will find a text that retains all the features that make Rulebook ideally suited for use as a supplementary course book -- including its modest price and compact size. Unlike most textbooks on argumentative writing, Rulebook is organised around specific rules, illustrated and explained soundly and briefly. It is not a textbook, but a rulebook, whose goal is to help students get on with writing a paper or assessing an argument.

How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading


Mortimer J. Adler - 1940
    It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated. You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them – from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading, you learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science. Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension and speed.This a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780671212094

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World


Maryanne Wolf - 2018
    Since then, the ways we process written language have changed dramatically with many concerned about both their own changes and that of children. New research on the reading brain chronicles these changes in the brains of children and adults as they learn to read while immersed in a digitally dominated medium.Drawing deeply on this research, this book comprises a series of letters Wolf writes to us—her beloved readers—to describe her concerns and her hopes about what is happening to the reading brain as it unavoidably changes to adapt to digital mediums. Wolf raises difficult questions, including:Will children learn to incorporate the full range of "deep reading" processes that are at the core of the expert reading brain?Will the mix of a seemingly infinite set of distractions for children’s attention and their quick access to immediate, voluminous information alter their ability to think for themselves?With information at their fingertips, will the next generation learn to build their own storehouse of knowledge, which could impede the ability to make analogies and draw inferences from what they know?Will all these influences, in turn, change the formation in children and the use in adults of "slower" cognitive processes like critical thinking, personal reflection, imagination, and empathy that comprise deep reading and that influence both how we think and how we live our lives?Will the chain of digital influences ultimately influence the use of the critical analytical and empathic capacities necessary for a democratic society?How can we preserve deep reading processes in future iterations of the reading brain?Who are the "good readers" of every epoch?Concerns about attention span, critical reasoning, and over-reliance on technology are never just about children—Wolf herself has found that, though she is a reading expert, her ability to read deeply has been impacted as she has become, inevitably, increasingly dependent on screens.Wolf draws on neuroscience, literature, education, technology, and philosophy and blends historical, literary, and scientific facts with down-to-earth examples and warm anecdotes to illuminate complex ideas that culminate in a proposal for a biliterate reading brain. Provocative and intriguing, Reader, Come Home is a roadmap that provides a cautionary but hopeful perspective on the impact of technology on our brains and our most essential intellectual capacities—and what this could mean for our future.

With Rigor for All: Teaching the Classics to Contemporary Students


Carol Jago - 2000
    Suggests ways to overcome the problems teachers face when teaching the classics--length, challenging vocabulary, complex syntax, and alien times and settings--and lists suggested titles.

The (Un)official Teacher's Manual: What They Don't Teach You in Training


Omar Akbar - 2017
    Many of the difficulties however, are not in the classroom... In The (Un)official Teacher's Manual, Omar Akbar offers direct, humorous and accessible advice on how to deal with the daily issues faced by a teacher- none of which involve teaching! Includes guidance on: lesson observations, emails, promotions, avoiding meaningless extra work, meetings, parents, maintaining a work-life balance, dealing with workplace bullying, and much more. While Omar pulls no punches on the reality of working in a school, a positive streak is maintained throughout. A must read for any teacher or potential teacher. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Contents: Introduction: Why This Book Was Written 1. How to Get the Most from Observations, Learning Walks, and Book Scrutinies 2. The Don’ts of the School Email System 3. How to Get Promoted and Other Things to Consider 4. How and When to Say No and Yes 5. The Dos and Don’ts of Meetings 6. How to Get Parents on Your Side 7. Guidance for Trainee Teachers 8. Ensuring a Life-Work Balance 9. Bullying: the Problem and the Solution 10. How to Get the Teaching Job You Want 11. Maintaining Good Relationships 12. Why It’s All Worth It

Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions


Robert McDowell - 2008
    Reading and writing poetry creates clarity, deepens and expands spiritual inquiry, and cultivates wisdom, compassion, self-confidence, patience, and love. In author Robert McDowell's words, poetry makes you into a tuning fork of the Divine. But poetry has disappeared over the centuries from religious ceremonies, academic curricula, and public discourse. In Poetry as Spiritual Practice, the first inspirational and instructional guide to combine poetry and spirituality, McDowell restores poetry as the natural language of spiritual practice and invites you to recognize poetry as "the pure sound and shape of your spirit." Vividly illustrated with a wide range of poems from all historical eras and poetic traditions, numerous religions and faiths, and McDowell's own and his students' work, Poetry as Spiritual Practice will reintroduce you to the unique pleasure of verse. And meditations throughout will allow you to integrate reading and writing poetry into your spiritual journeys and daily life. Since many of us have long forgotten, or never learned, the mechanics and terminology of poetry -- trochaic feet and tropes trip us up; we can't tell a villanelle from its shorter cousin, rondeau; and a terza rima may as well be a tanka -- this is also an instructional handbook on reading and writing poetry. An engaging guide through the landscape of world poetry, McDowell argues along the way for the many practical benefits of poetic literacy. Making poetry an essential part of daily rituals, aspirations, and intentions will put you on the path to greater meaning, growth, and peace in your life. At once an engaging technical primer, a profound meditation on the relationship between poetry and the Divine, and an inspirational guide for integrating poetry into spiritual practice, Poetry as Spiritual Practice will become a cherished companion.

The Book of Questions


Gregory Stock - 1985
    Ask your parents. Ask someone you hardly know. THE BOOK OF QUESTIONS gives you permission to ask those things that are too bold, too embarrassing, or just too difficult to ask by yourself. You will find questions of integrity; of sex; of what you would do for money; even things too personal to talk about out loud.Whether you use it as a tool for self-discovery or as a provocative way to stimulate conversation, this book constantly challenges attitudes, orals, beliefs--and it challenges you.--back cover

The Art of Description: World into Word


Mark Doty - 2010
    "But try to find words for the shades of a mottled sassafras leaf, or the reflectivity of a bay on an August morning, or the very beginnings of desire stirring in the gaze of someone looking right into your eyes . . ." Doty finds refuge in the sensory experience found in poems by Blake, Whitman, Bishop, and others. The Art of Description is an invaluable book by one of America's most revered writers and teachers.

How to Read Literature


Terry Eagleton - 2013
    How to Read Literature is the book of choice for students new to the study of literature and for all other readers interested in deepening their understanding and enriching their reading experience. In a series of brilliant analyses, Eagleton shows how to read with due attention to tone, rhythm, texture, syntax, allusion, ambiguity, and other formal aspects of literary works. He also examines broader questions of character, plot, narrative, the creative imagination, the meaning of fictionality, and the tension between what works of literature say and what they show. Unfailingly authoritative and cheerfully opinionated, the author provides useful commentaries on classicism, Romanticism, modernism and postmodernism along with spellbinding insights into a huge range of authors, from Shakespeare and Jane Austen to Samuel Beckett and J. K. Rowling.

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century


Steven Pinker - 2014
    Rethinking the usage guide for the twenty-first century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of a century ago. Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose. In this short, cheerful, and eminently practical book, Pinker shows how writing depends on imagination, empathy, coherence, grammatical knowhow, and an ability to savor and reverse engineer the good prose of others. He replaces dogma about usage with reason and evidence, allowing writers and editors to apply the guidelines judiciously, rather than robotically, being mindful of what they are designed to accomplish. Filled with examples of great and gruesome prose, Pinker shows us how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right.

Beyond the Indigo Children: The New Children and the Coming of the Fifth World


P.M.H. Atwater - 2005
    This date represents a "gateway" of planetary development that will open humanity to new ways of living and new worlds of opportunity. Ancient traditions have foretold that our successful passage through this gateway depends on the "fifth root race"--new stock in the human gene pool--destined to help us through the exciting and massive changes ahead.In Beyond the Indigo Children P. M. H. Atwater illuminates the characteristics of the fifth root race, the capstone being the extraordinary "new children," those brilliant and irreverent kids born since 1982. She explores the relationship of the new children to the prophecies in the Mayan calendar and other traditions, providing extensive background information about the seven root races (the sixth and seventh of which haven’t yet appeared) and the great shifting of consciousness already underway. She reveals the connection of the seven root races to the seven chakras, and how the fifth chakra--the chakra of willpower--will be opened for humankind as the new children grow to maturity. She also discusses the phenomenon of soaring intelligence and undeveloped potential and provides concrete guidance and tools for those who seek to understand and help the new children achieve their full potential.Beyond the Indigo Children is the first major study of today's children, and their place in our rapidly changing world, that combines objective research with mystical revelation and prophecy.

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments


Ali Almossawi - 2013
    I have selected a small set of common errors in reasoning and visualized them using memorable illustrations that are supplemented with lots of examples. The hope is that the reader will learn from these pages some of the most common pitfalls in arguments and be able to identify and avoid them in practice.

The Ego and the Id


Sigmund Freud - 1923
    The heart of his concern is the ego, which he sees battling with three forces: the id, the super-ego, and the outside world.Of the various English translations of Freud's major works to appear in his lifetime, only one was authorized by Freud himself: The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud under the general editorship of James Strachey.Freud approved the overall editorial plan, specific renderings of key words and phrases, and the addition of valuable notes, from bibliographical and explanatory. Many of the translations were done by Strachey himself; the rest were prepared under his supervision. The result was to place the Standard Edition in a position of unquestioned supremacy over all other existing versions.