Suitable for raw beginners to intermediate-level language learners, this popular title features engaging readings of progressive difficulty that allow you to rapidly build your comprehension. Find out what unfamiliar words and phrases mean with the book's helpful glossary Discover the nuances of French language and culture as well as the country's history through engaging texts Get a feel for authentic French society with readings from contemporary literature

    Voila!” —Mark Greenside, author of I’ll Never Be French (No Matter What I Do) William Alexander is more than a Francophile. He wants to be French. There’s one small obstacle though: he doesn’t speak la langue française. In Flirting with French, Alexander sets out to conquer the language he loves. But will it love him back? Alexander eats, breathes, and sleeps French (even conjugating in his dreams). He travels to France, where mistranslations send him bicycling off in all sorts of wrong directions, and he nearly drowns in an immersion class in Provence, where, faced with the riddle of masculine breasts, feminine beards, and a turkey cutlet of uncertain gender, he starts to wonder whether he should’ve taken up golf instead of French. While playing hooky from grammar lessons and memory techniques, Alexander reports on the riotous workings of the Académie française, the four-hundred-year-old institution charged with keeping the language pure; explores the science of human communication, learning why it’s harder for fifty-year-olds to learn a second language than it is for five-year-olds; and, frustrated with his progress, explores an IBM research lab, where he trades barbs with a futuristic hand-held translator. Does he succeed in becoming fluent? Readers will be as surprised as Alexander is to discover that, in a fascinating twist, studying French may have had a far greater impact on his life than actually learning to speak it ever would. “A blend of passion and neuroscience, this literary love affair offers surprise insights into the human brain and the benefits of learning a second language. Reading William Alexander’s book is akin to having an MRI of the soul.” —Laura Shaine Cunningham, author of Sleeping Arrangements   “Alexander proves that learning a new language is an adventure of its own--with all the unexpected obstacles, surprising breakthroughs and moments of sublime pleasure traveling brings.” —Julie Barlow, author of Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong

    Written in fifty semi-discrete entries, Fifty Sounds is a personal dictionary of the Japanese language that draws together a variety of cultural reflections – from conformity and being an outsider, to the gendering of Japanese society, and attitudes towards food and the cult of ‘deliciousness’ – alongside probing insights into the transformative powers of language-learning. Candid, humane, witty and wise, Fifty Sounds is remarkable work that takes a transparent look at language itself, lifting the lid on the quietly revolutionary act of learning, speaking, and living in another language.

    I'm sure it will be ...

    Each book takes place in a unique setting! Let these stories lift your spirits, make you laugh, and get you decking the halls! This Collection Includes The Following Books: In From New York, With Love, we join Emily and Josh as they confront some of life's trickier decisions. Can a big city girl survive the holidays in her boyfriend's small hometown? Throw in a Christmas tree farm visit, some warm apple cider, good Southern cooking, and everyone's favorite little town of Magnolia Harbor. Watch the downtown come alive under the twinkling holiday lights and find out if Emily and Josh will be celebrating the New Year alone or together.In A Whole Latte Christmas, Sonia returns to her hometown of Evergreen Valley from teaching abroad, wishing for a simple Christmas with her family. When her character is put to the test, she saves a life and in the process earns the gratitude of Aiden, the charming new café owner in town. Sparks fly, but can Sonia overcome her own doubts and at the same time save the youth choir's Christmas Eve performance? Travel to the beautiful Canadian Rockies for a sweet story and a good latte to find out!In A Girl's Guide To Creating Christmas, single mom Natalie is overwhelmed running her small flower shop. Can her precocious daughter Fiona convince her after-school mentor, Paul, to help her plan a magical Christmas for her mom, and hopefully remind Natalie of the true meaning of the holidays?In Key West Christmas, Josie makes a dramatic life change but quickly realizes the realities of paradise may be a little more than she bargained for. Can her new friend Nate help her find her holiday spirit in the not-so-snowy Key West, Florida?In Santa Baby, Maybe, we take two strangers whose paths can't stop crossing and sprinkle in a little art, coffee, and an opulent holiday party. Mix it together, and you have been whisked away to the scenic Great Smoky Mountains for a cute, clean holiday romp! A Christmas story of family, faith, and finding out that sometimes the mall Santa is more than meets the eye!In Scottish Holiday, a journey of self-discovery leads New Yorker Jillian on a quest across the Atlantic. Will her Christmas holiday home provide the quaint getaway she has in mind...or will a chance occurrence with a local Scotsman change her plans completely? Venture to the wee Scottish Isle of Lewis and help Jillian track down her roots.

    Featuring noted authors and journalists as well as the brightest up-and-comers writing today, this collection provides a comprehensive look at the fascinating, innovative, and trailblazing scientific achievements and breakthroughs of 2011, along with elegant and thoughtprovoking new takes on favorite topics. This is the sixth anthology of online essays edited by Bora Zivkovic, the blogs editor at Scientific American, and with each new edition, Zivkovic expands his fan base and creates a surge of excitement about upcoming compilations. Now everyone's favorite collection will reach new horizons and even more readers. Guest-edited and with an introduction by the renowned science author and blogger Jennifer Ouellette, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 marries cutting-edge science with dynamic writing that will inspire us all.

    

    and this creature's home is the inarticulate as well as the articulate.’ John Berger's work has revolutionized the way we understand visual language. In this new book he writes about language itself, and how it relates to thought, art, song, storytelling and political discourse today. Also containing Berger's own drawings, notes, memories and reflections on everything from Albert Camus to global capitalism, Confabulations takes us to what is ‘true, essential and urgent’.

    He grows up in a world dominated by villagers/humans and has to attend school with them. There are ups and downs but in the end the enderman creates his own success! Read a story about the struggle of being an enderman! It really warms the heart. I hope you enjoy a story for all ages! KINDLE UNLIMITED MEMBERS READ FREE Tags: Minecraft, minecraft comics, minecraft game, minecraft games, minecraft xbox, minecraft magazine, minecraft secrets, minecraft revenge, minecraft mobs, free minecraft books, Minecraft stories, Minecraft Survival Guide, Minecraft redstone handbook, Minecraft combat, Minecraft building guide, computer games Humor & Entertainment Entertainment & Games Games & Strategy Guides Children's Nonfiction Games Minecraft, minecraft stories

    Ransacking his Paris flat, a group of his faithful companions trawl through his diary for any indication, for any faint hint, as to his location.

    But bestselling humorist Henry Beard has the perfect comeback for all prickly situations, offering a slew of quips your nemesis won't soon forget . . . or even understand.Beard's gift is his ability to make fun of popular culture and the current zeitgeist. In X-Treme Latin he provides Latin with an attitude, an indispensable phrasebook that taps the secret power of Latin to deliver, in total safety, hundreds of impeccable put-downs, comebacks, and wisecracks. Within its pages you will learn how to insult or fire coworkers; blame corporate scandals on someone else; cheer at a World Wrestling Entertainment match; talk back to your computer, TV, or Game Boy; deal with your road rage; evade threatening situations; snowboard in style; talk like Tony Soprano; and much more.With dozens more zingers for quashing e-mail pranks, psyching out your golf opponent, giving backhanded compliments, and evading awkward questions, X-Treme Latin is destined for magnus popularity and will have readers cheering, “Celebremus!”

    English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar."James D. NicollOrganized alphabetically for easy reference, A Certain "Je Ne Sais Quoi" is an accessible lexicon of foreign words and phrases used in English, containing everything from aficionado (Spanish) to zeitgeist (German). Inside you'll find translations, definitions, origins, and a descriptive timeline of each item's evolution. Entries include:À la carte: from the card or of the menu (French) Fiasco: complete failure (Italian) Dungarees: thick cotton cloth/overalls (Hindi) Diaspora: dispersion (Greek) Smorgasbord: bread and butter (Swedish) Cognoscenti: those who know (Italian) Compos mentis: having mastery of one's mind; with it (Latin)Attractively packaged with black and white illustrations, this whimsical yet authoritative book is a great gift for any etymologically fascinated individual. Use this book to reacquaint yourself with the English language, and you'll be compos mentis in no time.

    After this, Latin was purged from the courts of France by Francois 1st, giving root to French speakers' 21st century obsession with language protection. The obsession progressed as Cardinal Richelieu established the French Academy, a group entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the language pure and eloquent. As French circled the globe, the international cast of characters included Montaigne, Catherine the Great, Frederic II of Prussia, the guides of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Jules Verne, and others. Let Nadeau and Barlow guide you through the story of a language used to write some of the world's great masterpieces of literature, construct some of the most important documents of diplomacy, bedevil millions with its vagaries of pronunciation and beguile everyone with its beauty.

     Step into the hidden world of death care and explore the challenge of removing the deceased from the often-difficult, regularly awkward, and sometimes downright bizarre circumstances in which they die, the art and science of embalming, and the intrigue of forensic pathology. Sias is a veteran death investigator, former funeral director/embalmer intern, and paramedic with twenty-eight years of emergency response experience.

    To laugh when other people err is even more human. And Drummond Moir will make you feel very human when you read this book. Because you'll be laughing is what I'm saying. A lot." -- A. J. Jacobs, author of Drop Dead HealthyA charming collection of typographical errors, slips of the pen, and embarrassing misprints, Just My Typo celebrates the awful and the sublime mistakes that riddle our feeble human attempts at communication."ILLEGALLY PARKED CARS WILL BE FINE." --Anonymous sign"THOU SHALT COMMIT ADULTERY." --1631 edition of the Bible"I AM CERTAIN OF ONE THING. WHATEVER MAY COME BETWEEN US--AND WHEREVER HE MAY BE ON EARTH--ARTHUR WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT I LOVE HAM." --The Parting, Millicent Hemming