How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read


Pierre Bayard - 2007
    (In fact, he says, in certain situations reading the book is the worst thing you could do). Using examples from such writers as Graham Greene, Oscar Wilde, Montaigne, and Umberto Eco, he describes the varieties of "non-reading"—from books that you've never heard of to books that you've read and forgotten—and offers advice on how to turn a sticky social situation into an occasion for creative brilliance. Practical, funny, and thought-provoking, How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read is in the end a love letter to books, offering a whole new perspective on how we read and absorb them. It's a book for book lovers everywhere to enjoy, ponder, and argue about—and perhaps even read.Pierre Bayard is a professor of French literature at the University of Paris VIII and a psychoanalyst. He is the author of Who Killed Roger Ackroyd? and of many other books. Jeffrey Mehlman is a professor of French at Boston University and the author of a number of books, including Emigré New York. He has translated works by Derrida, Lacan, Blanchot, and other authors.

Characters and Viewpoint


Orson Scott Card - 1988
    Use them to pry, chip, yank and sift good characters out of the place where they live in your memory, your imagination and your soul.Award-winning author Orson Scott Card explains in depth the techniques of inventing, developing and presenting characters, plus handling viewpoint in novels and short stories. With specific examples, he spells out your narrative options–the choices you'll make in creating fictional people so "real" that readers will feel they know them like members of their own families.You'll learn how to: draw the characters from a variety of sources, including a story's basic idea, real life–even a character's social circumstances make characters show who they are by the things they do and say, and by their individual "style" develop characters readers will love–or love to hate distinguish among major characters, minor characters and walk-ons, and develop each one appropriately choose the most effective viewpoint to reveal the characters and move the storytelling decide how deeply you should explore your characters' thoughts, emotions and attitudes

Oxford Guide to Plain English


Martin Cutts - 2004
    This text is a guide that explains how to write and communicate information clearly.

Living the Hero's Journey: Exploring Your Role in the Action-Adventure of a Lifetime


Will Craig - 2017
    Experience how to use movies and mythology to uncover the path that is truly yours.This is your Call to Adventure: Unroll the Map of Self-Discovery and embrace a whole new world of joy and wisdom. Gain access to the hidden location that holds the answers to the meaning of life and the secrets to happines. Explore the pathways and side roads of the Inner Journey with strength and confidence. Unlock the secrets of the Ancient Greeks who mastered the success principles of Know Thyself. Demystify the process of understanding and actualizing your purpose and passion. Meet your mentor and learn how to earn the essential and indispensable gift. Summon the courage to be the hero in the action-adventure story that is your life! In an age where people look outward for direction and upward for inspiration, Living the Hero's Journey provides a time-honored template for looking inward and going deep for the answers we seek.Begin your journey today!