Inside you'll find:25,000+ first names and surnames, and their meanings, listed by originNames and surnames from more than 45 countriesA reverse lookup of names by meaningAn alphabetical index of namesAn explanation of naming practices and historical context for each originA list of the top ten most popular names in the United States every year from 1880-2003Instruction on how to create believable names that fit your characters and your storyThis exciting new edition also includes advice from a number of best-selling authors, including Elizabeth George, Alexander McCall Smith, Homer Hickam, Marian Keyes, Big Fish author Daniel Wallace, and others. You'll get the inside scoop on their naming methods, plus the stories behind the names of their most famous characters.So throw out your old telephone books and baby-naming guides - The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook meets all your naming needs!

    Learning the skills and techniques of artful reading can improve your life in many ways, whether you're a fiction reader, an aspiring writer, a book club member, or a student.And the best part: These skills are not difficult or unwieldy; rather, they are well within your reach. This entertaining, 24-lecture course gives you a veritable toolbox of knowledge and methods to approach even the most daunting reading experience with increased confidence.You'll learn the definitions and characteristics of terms such as authorship, master plot, and genre. While some of these nuts-and-bolts concepts may be familiar to you, Professor Spurgin examines them from multiple angles, revealing hidden meanings that can escape even experienced readers.Practical tips and techniques will maximize your effectiveness as an artful reader. You'll see why holding an initial reading session will acquaint you with the author's writing style and the characters, making the book easy to return to even if you take a few days off.You'll also discover the benefits of "pre-reading" - exploring a book's organization and structure - and how to constantly ask questions to become more deeply involved with the characters and their stories.Throughout the course, a host of literary "case studies" will refine and elaborate on the concepts of artful reading. Literary examples show how you can finally approach works that, in the past, might have seemed intimidating - making your future reading experiences both more engaging and more enlightening.

    W. Norton changed the way world literature is taught by introducing The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Expanded Edition. Leading the field once again, Norton is proud to publish the anthology for the new century, The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Second Edition. Now published in six paperback volumes (packaged in two attractive slipcases), the new anthology boasts slimmer volumes, thicker paper, a bolder typeface, and dozens of newly included or newly translated works from around the world. The Norton Anthology of World Literature represents continuity as well as change. Like its predecessor, the anthology is a compact library of world literature, offering an astounding forty-three complete longer works, more than fifty prose works, over one hundred lyric poems, and twenty-three plays. More portable, more suitable for period courses, more pleasant to read, and more attuned to current teaching and research trends, The Norton Anthology of World Literature remains the most authoritative, comprehensive, and teachable anthology for the world literature survey.

    Chess Champion, International Chess Grandmaster, and longtime instructor, this book includes information for both novice and expert, including over 400 illustrated chessboards and photos; over 20 pages of detailed answer key notes; a completely new chapter on new evidence about chess and its impact on brain power; a guide to the art of chess collectibles; and more. • Foreword by Larry Evans, former International Grandmaster and author of 20 highly acclaimed chess books and a popular monthly advice column in Chess Life • Strong sales for previous editions • For the beginner or the champ, and for young and old • Author has a high profile in the chess community

    Stories of Ourselves is a set text for the Cambridge Literature in English courses at IGCSE, O Level, AS and A Level. The anthology contains stories by writers from many different countries and cultures.

    And your next, and your next... The technique I share within these pages is extremely easy to learn and do. You will be able to start using it now, today, and see immediate differences in your writing.It's also a fast read. I've condensed the book down to just a handful of pages, so you can read it all in less than an hour. I know what it's like to try and improve my writing by reading books on how to write. Too much time is lost wading through pages and pages of filler. And the more of these books that we read, the thicker our brains become, with too many details and steps and opinions. This book is different. Read it over lunch, and then go try it out. You'll see for yourself that it works.Here is a bit more about why Tell, Don't Show! is truly worth your time.First of all, the words will come much easier. I promise it. I've seen it transform the writing of many students and friends over the years, and before that, my own writing. The technique is so simple that you won't have any excuse for not using it the next time you sit down to write. It's a real pleasure to write this way. Forget about being a suffering writer. With this one little technique, you'll actually learn to love the process of writing.And do you ever wonder why you aren't writing so much? Do you think that if you could write faster, much faster, you'd want to write more? We're not talking about blindly banging away at the keys, but rather, quickly penning powerful stories and novels in a fraction of the time it takes you right now. That is, if you're even writing now. The truth is that when our writing is too slow and introspective, we lose momentum, and sooner or later, we finally stop. Don't do that. Write faster. The technique I'm sharing in this book will show you how to write faster and a lot more than you are now.Finally, by using this technique, you'll find your creativity expanding by the hour, by the day! It will free up your imagination to focus on the big picture, lifting you up and away from both micromanagement and nitpickiness, such common traps during first drafts. Your stories will grow richer and deeper, and you'll find yourself seeing your characters and settings more vividly. Subtext and subplots will rise up and beg for your attention. And this is just the beginning.You'll find all of the above and much more in Tell, Don't Show!

    It features 150 of the most common and interesting birds likely to be observed at backyard feeders, nesting nearby or just migrating through. An indispensable visual index of all 150 species appears on the inside front and back laminated covers, making identification a snap. Beginning with Backyard Basics, an easy-to-follow, richly illustrated presentation on observing and identifying birds-with tips on attracting and feeding your favorite birds, birdhouses, and bird-friendly landscapes to entice nesting-the book is full of National Geographic's iconic field guide images and maps. Core species on everyone's list-such as robins, woodpeckers, bluebirds and chickadees-are featured in two-page spreads including practical tips with additional imagery. Sidebars captivate with interesting and little known facts.

    The writing text helps students learn to analyze literature and develop responsible and persuasive claims about it — making it matter to them as it hasn’t before.Reading it — when it explores issues that matter. The stories, poems, plays and essays in the anthology are uniquely organized into thematic clusters focusing on life issues that speak to students and evoke their engaged response.

    This spectacular book offers the most authoritative account of the British monarchy ever published for the general reader. With over 400 illustrations--a third of them in color--it traces the crown's full history from Anglo-Saxon times to the present. The authors present a vivid picture of the lives of individual monarchs as well as of the monarchy as a political and social force. They begin the story in the fifth century with the rise of recognizable kingdoms in Scotland, Wales, and England and conclude with a discussion of the crown's constitutional role, which emerged in Queen Victoria's reign, and how this has affected the symbolic and popular monarchy of today. Along the way, we gain a clear view of how key traditions evolved: the right of succession, coronations and marriages, oaths of loyalty and military service, the granting of lands and titles, and the propagation of a powerful image of royalty. The book not only explains the monarch's political struggles and styles of governing; it is filled with fascinating details that give the story life. We learn, for instance, that Elizabeth I's famous journeys to various corners of her realm were not simply to show her off to her subjects: The standard of Tudor sanitation, the authors note, meant that the royal palaces became unbearable after several weeks of occupation and the court's absence for several months in the summer gave an opportunity to clean up. We discover that Victoria's coronation was a splendid mixture of majesty and muddle: when it came time for the Archbishop to bestow the ceremonial ring, the already befuddled cleric placed it on the Queen's wrong finger, causing considerable delay [and] some pain. And we read George VI's touching wedding message to his daughter (the present queen): Your leaving us has left a great blank in our lives but do remember that your old home is still yours. Supporting the text and carefully selected pictures are sidebars on each of the monarchs and on key general themes; color maps; an illustrated section on royal residences and tombs; a consolidated list of monarchs; genealogies; annotated lists of further reading; and a full index with personal dates.

    Each mating motif is carefully and simply explained, and several illustrative examples are given. A final test enables the reader to grade his pattern recognition abilities, and the last chapter explains what to do if your Dad is Garry Kasparov. Fun, instructive - and guaranteed to improve your game.

    The danger is not. Once the greatest samurai in all Rokugan, Toturi has managed to hold the Empire together despite warring clans and internal treacheries. But nothing has prepared him for the hordes of vile spirits ravaging his beloved realm. As the Spirit Wars rage, Toturi and his children are the only hope for Rokugan. The prelude to an upcoming Legend of the Five Rings series. This novel introduces new characters and settings based on the events in the" "Legend of the Five Rings": The Spirit Wars" card set. This book also sets up the story for future novels in the upcoming series The Four Winds Saga.

    Original.

    The Clans hover on the brink of ruinous war. Only one man, Toturi Sezaru, knows the true danger threatening the Empire. In a desperate attempt to stop chaos from destroying the world, he must travel beyond the mortal realms into the very heart of the universe.

    But the greatest advantage is this: You will know that you are doing more than providing exciting activities -- you are changing lives for eternity.A New Strategy for Youth MinistryAndy Stanley and Stuart Hall, both respected and effective leaders in the Christian Community, have developed a ground-breaking, dynamic plan for youth ministry of the coming decades. The Seven Checkpoints for Youth Leaders and the companion The Seven Checkpoints Student Journal presents a plan for a student's entire career in a youth group.The challenges facing our youth grow every year. Quick fixes and short-term programs will not provide the life-strengthening results needed for the teens of today. This revolutionary approach promises and delivers what is needed in the world of youth ministries around the country today.So what are you waiting for? You have a life to build. Open up this book and get the seven.

    Under the direction of Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor, the editors have reconsidered all aspects of the anthology to make it an even better teaching tool.