I write poetry... I believe poetry is a primal impulse within all of us. I believe we are all capable of it and furthermore that a small, often ignored corner of us positively yearns to try it. —Stephen Fry, The Ode Less Travelled Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. Many of us have never been taught to read or write poetry and think of it as a mysterious and intimidating form. Or, if we have been taught, we remember uncomfortable silence when an English teacher invited the class to "respond" to a poem. In The Ode Less Travelled, Fry sets out to correct this problem by giving aspiring poets the tools and confidence they need to write poetry for pleasure. Fry is a wonderfully engaging teacher and writer of poetry himself, and he explains the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. His enjoyable exercises and witty insights introduce the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics. Aspiring poets will learn to write a sonnet, on ode, a villanelle, a ballad, and a haiku, among others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of, but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try. BACKCOVER: Advanced Praise: “Delightfully erudite, charming and soundly pedagogical guide to poetic form… Fry has created an invaluable and highly enjoyable reference book.” —Publishers Weekly “A smart, sane and entertaining return to the basics… If you like Fry’s comic manner… this book has a lot of charm… People entirely fresh to the subject could do worse than stick with his cheerful leadership.” —The Telegraph (UK) “…intelligent and informative, a worthy enterprise well executed.” —Observer (UK) "If you learn how to write a sonnet, and Fry shows you how, you may or may not make a poem. But you will unlock the stored wisdom of the form itself." —Grey Gowrie, The Spectator (UK) “…intelligent and informative, a worthy enterprise well executed.” —Observer (UK)

    This indifference has become a grievous loss to our standing as a great nation--and a personal loss, too, for millions of teenagers who may turn into adults with limited understanding of themselves and the world.Can teenagers be turned on to serious reading? What kind of teachers can do it, and what books? To find out, Denby sat in on a tenth-grade English class in a demanding New York public school for an entire academic year, and made frequent visits to a troubled inner-city public school in New Haven and to a respected public school in Westchester county. He read all the stories, poems, plays, and novels that the kids were reading, and creates an impassioned portrait of charismatic teachers at work, classroom dramas large and small, and fresh and inspiring encounters with the books themselves, including The Scarlet Letter, Brave New World, 1984, Slaughterhouse-Five, Notes From Underground, Long Way Gone and many more. Lit Up is a dramatic narrative that traces awkward and baffled beginnings but also exciting breakthroughs and the emergence of pleasure in reading. In a sea of bad news about education and the fate of the book, Denby reaffirms the power of great teachers and the importance and inspiration of great books.

    Here, Stevenson shares about the turmoil of his early life, the rejection and pain faced in his initial attempts to launch his music career, the grief experienced during his mother’s long battle with cancer, the stress and burnout of his days working as a paramedic, and how an unexpected lightning storm gave him a front-row seat to a miracle that would turn his life around. When the dark clouds roll in, Stevenson has learned to listen to that still, small voice he hears—the voice of a trustworthy God who holds on to him even during the fiercest storms.

    Knowing the necessity and value of prayer isn't necessarily enough to make it a pleasant task. This best-selling book can how you how to make the time you spend with God each day a delightful one. Lea shares the teaching and experiences that have helped him to transform his prayer life from drudgery to delight. It can do the same for yours. Using the Lord's prayer as a model, Lea will show you how to spend an hour each day in prayer and find joy in it. Learning to "tarry one hour" will help you discover a way of entering into God's presence that will change your life. "Lea's book is sparking church growth and influencing the prayer lives of thousands." Yoida Full Gospel Church bulletin Seoul, Korea "Using the revelation on the Lord's prayer as Larry Lea teaches in Could You Not Tarry One Hour? over 100 people rally together for an hour of prayer daily. This has radically transformed our state resulting in approximately 50,000 salvations." Rev. Gary Whetstone, pastor Victory Christian Fellowship, New Castle, Delaware

    One minute we were living life and doing our thing, the next, most of us were advised to stay at home for a month or more.

    Therese's mother herself a saint? The Church now says "Yes!" Zelie Martin and her husband, Louis, were declared Venerable by the Church in 1994 for their heroic virtue, and the couple's cause is now complete, ending with their cannonization in 2015. Zelie married at 27, bore 9 children, ran a home business and did a superb job of raising 5 daughters, including "the greatest saint of modern times" (St. Pius X). She died of breast cancer at 45, but her greatness was recognized by her family and friends, and is now known to the world. Zelie suffered many of the ordinary burdens of life, yet she was happy, loved her children madly and enjoyed them immensely. This book was written by her daughter, Celine, who had access to Zelie's letters and to the reminiscences of her older sisters in the Carmel of Lisieux. It is authentic and inspiring, showing what a tremendous life's work and accomplishment it is to be a truly Catholic mother. Looking at Zelie's picture, one can see her incredible character, integrity, goodness, constancy and love.

    Here is a portrait of our lifelong love affair with bookstores that is at once heartfelt, bittersweet, and filled with good cheer.

    . . . Chesterton’s talent for paradox, and his ability to embodyprofound truth in simple images, makes him as compelling now as he was ahundred years ago. . . . He was a prophet in his own time and a prophet forours, speaking out against insidious evils and kindling us all again to acommon love of the common good.” —The Reverend Dr. Malcolm Guite, chaplain of Girton College,Cambridge University “This world of ours has some purpose; and if there is apurpose, there is a Person. I had always felt life first as a story: and ifthere is a story, there is a Storyteller.” —G. K. Chesterton A Year with G. K. Chesterton daily brings this truth to life. And we areheir to the winsome, arresting, utterly original outpouring of Chesterton’sreasons for hope. During his lifetime, a host of perspectives clamored for hisattention, but he saw nothing as vital and alive as Christianity. Readers ofthis book will find their faith strengthened and enriched, even as they see themany reasons why George Bernard Shaw called Chesterton “a colossal genius.” A true anthology,the best of Chesterton’s many works are presented in concise, memorableselections. From New Year’s Day to New Year’s Eve, each page contains a passageof Scripture and myriad moments for reflection, appreciation, and laughter. “Chesterton once aday? Well, that’s a start. It is good to see that someone is finallyrecognizing the need for a daily minimum requirement of mirth and meditationfrom GKC.”—Dale Ahlquist, President, AmericanChesterton Society“Kevin Belmonte writes in the preface to this excellent bookthat his editing of it has been a gift. As an author who has written regularlyon Chesterton I can understand his sense of gratitude at having been able tospend so much time with a genius as genial as the great GKC. Thanks toBelmonte's labor of love we can all spend a few moments of every day of the yearin Chesterton's inimitable company. All admirers of Chesterton and theChristian truth he explicates so sublimely will be grateful to Kevin Belmontefor this gem of a gift.”—Joseph Pearce, author of Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K.Chesterton"Who could not be grateful for a year spent with GKC?The great subverter of everything taken for granted, he stretches and deepensus with his insights, shakes us with his startling paradoxes and delights uswith his wit. Thank God there is no getting to the end of Chesterton." —Os Guinness, author of A Free People's Suicide

    The thirst for blood and cry for deadly vengeance lie deep in humankind, as criminologist Colin Wilson authoritatively illustrates in this millennial history of the most heinous of human crimes. Analyzing the tangle of motives behind murder and examining an astonishing variety of homicidal methods over the past twenty centuries, Wilson not only profiles infamous historical figures like Vlad the Impaler, Ivan the Terrible, Gilles de Rais, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Marquis de Sade, and Jack the Ripper, but also studies particular categories of homicide and such phenomena as the Jacobean witch hunts and gangland killings of America's Jazz Age. Wilson's chronicle includes, too, the serial killings, random shooting sprees, and cult murders that have troubled more recent times. The comprehensive history and illuminating analysis of how humans kill, and why, make crime-expert Wilson's volume one that no true-crime fan or student of criminology will want to miss.

    However you feel (or want to feel), let 1001 Books for Every Mood be your guide. Acclaimed critic and novelist Hallie Ephron serves up a literary feast, sure to satisfy your emotional appetite. Whether you want to cry or laugh, remember or forget, behave or misbehave-it's all here. It's your must-have guide to hours and hours of reading pleasure, now and forever-no matter what your mood!Want even more?

    Midway is where these feelings of frustration and impatience are most commonly felt. It's also where our hidden doubts find their voice.  Where most beginnings start with energy and expectation for all that is ahead, and endings bring the joy of completion as you arrive at your desired destination, the middle is very different. This midpoint can too quickly become a low point, as energy is lacking and enthusiasm wanes. Yet how well you handle the middle reveals what is in the middle of you. The disciples found—in the middle of a lake—a revelation of Jesus that they had never seen on the shore. In the middle is where new navigational skills are found. It's also where some of the most significant lessons are learned.  Join Charlotte Gambill in this compelling, story-driven message that shows through biblical teaching and life application how those who persist through the middle will find that miracles await them on the other side.

    

    For Christians who are fans of Tolkien, Smith compares the tales of the Hobbits to those of spirituality, wherein God calls those that listen to embark on a journey.

    R. R. Tolkien is filled with strange creatures, elaborately crafted lore, ancient tongues, and magic that exists only in fantasy; yet the lessons taught by hobbits and wizards speak powerfully and practically to our real lives. Courage, valor, trust, pride, greed, and jealousy--these are not fictional virtues. This is the stuff of real life, the Christian life. Professor and author Louis Markos takes us on the road with Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, with looks at selected classic works of literature as well, to show how great stories bring us so much more than entertainment. They inspire and convict, imparting truth in unforgettable ways.Rediscover the virtue of great storytelling and the power of fantasy to transform our reality.

    Organized by such themes as Art, Choices, Families, Growing Old, Growing Up, Places and Homes, Power, and Work, this reference book presents classic and contemporary works, from Lady Nijo's thirteenth-century diaries to books by authors including Toni Morrison, Alice Hoffman, Nadine Gordimer, and Isabel Allende. With annotated entries that capture the flavor of each book and seven cross-referenced indexes, 500 Great Books by Women is a one-of-a-kind guide for all readers and book lovers that celebrates and recommends some of the very best writing by women.