This is not a book


Michael Picard - 2007
    Each section also includes quizzes, games, and mental exercises.

Anonyponymous: The Forgotten People Behind Everyday Words


John Bemelmans Marciano - 2009
    Eponymous, adj. Giving one's name to a person, place, or thing.Anonymous, adj. Anonymous.Anonyponymous, adj. Anonymous and eponymous.The Earl of Sandwich, fond of salted beef and paired slices of toast, found a novel way to eat them all together. Etienne de Silhouette, a former French finance minister, was so notoriously cheap that his name became a byword for chintzy practices—such as substituting a darkened outline for a proper painted portrait. Both bequeathed their names to the language, but neither man is remembered.In this clever and funny book, John Bemelmans Marciano illuminates the lives of these anonyponymous persons. A kind of encyclopedia of linguistic biographies, the book is arranged alphabetically, giving the stories of everyone from Abu "algorithm" Al-Khwarizmi to Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Along with them you'll find the likes of Harry Shrapnel, Joseph-Ignace Guillotine, and many other people whose vernacular legacies have long outlived their memory.Accented by amusing line portraits and short etymological essays on subjects like "superhero eponyms," Anonyponymous is both a compendium of trivia and a window into the fascinating world of etymology. Carefully curated and unfailingly witty, this book is both a fantastic gift for language lovers and a true pleasure to read.

The New Well-Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed


Karen Elizabeth Gordon - 1983
    Now Karen Elizabeth Gordon has revised and enlarged her classic handbook with fuller explanations of the rules of punctuation, additional whimsical graphics, and further character development and drama -- all the while redeeming punctuation from the perils of boredom. For anyone who has despaired of opening a punctuation handbook (but whose sentences despair without one), THE NEW WELL TEMPERED SENTENCE will teach you clearly and simply where to place a comma and how to use an apostrophe. And as you master the elusive slashes, dots, and dashes that give expression to our most perplexing thoughts, you will find yourself in the grip of a bizarre and beguiling comedy of manners. Long-time fans will delight in the further intrigues of cover girl Loona, the duke and duchess, and the mysterious Rosie and Nimrod. The New Well-Tempered Sentence is sure to entertain while teaching you everything you want to know about punctuation. Never before has punctuation been so much fun!

Photographing Your Family: And All the Kids and Friends and Animals Who Wander Through Too


John Healey - 2008
    Sartore’s photographs delight and inspire, from the first moments a newborn enters the house to Halloween parades, from visits with family and friends to fireworks on the Fourth of July. Easy-to-follow tips and instructions make the creative process simple, helping parents approach photography in a whole new way. Digital photographers will appreciate tips on editing techniques, album innovations, archiving methods, and printing. Sartore’s charisma and humor make learning a pure delight. Unlike competitive titles, Photographing Your Family is lavishly illustrated to show the many ways to make pictures, how Sartore captured these images specifically, and the philosophies a world-class photographer brings to his work at home—with emphasis on the contributions that relatives, friends, and pets can make to the story that is family. Early childhood is a fleeting time that parents and grandparents go to great lengths to capture in photos. This book will appeal to a vast audience: families who want to create memorable albums, parents with new babies, and everyone who wants to give a truly unique and useful family gift.

The Definitive Book of Body Language


Allan Pease - 2004
    Yet most of us don’t know how to read body language–and don’t realize how our own physical movements speak to others. Now the world’s foremost experts on the subject share their techniques for reading body language signals to achieve success in every area of life.Drawing upon more than thirty years in the field, as well as cutting-edge research from evolutionary biology, psychology, and medical technologies that demonstrate what happens in the brain, the authors examine each component of body language and give you the basic vocabulary to read attitudes and emotions through behavior. Discover:• How palms and handshakes are used to gain control• The most common gestures of liars• How the legs reveal what the mind wants to do• The most common male and female courtship gestures and signals• The secret signals of cigarettes, glasses, and makeup• The magic of smiles–including smiling advice for women• How to use nonverbal cues and signals to communicate more effectively and get the reactions you wantFilled with fascinating insights, humorous observations, and simple strategies that you can apply to any situation, this intriguing book will enrich your communication with and understanding of others–as well as yourself.

The Century vocabulary builder


Garland Greever - 2003
    This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries


Kory Stamper - 2017
     While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing them is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography--from the agonizing decisions about what and how to define, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why small words are the most difficult to define (have you ever tried to define is ?), how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. Throughout, Stamper brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a world inhabited by quirky, erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. A sure delight for all lovers of words, Word by Word might also quietly improve readers grasp and use of the English language."

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within


Stephen Fry - 2005
    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)

The Official Cambridge Guide To Ielts Student's Book With Answers With Dvd Rom


Pauline Cullen - 1899
    The Official Cambridge Guide To Ielts Student's Book With Answers With Dvd Rom

Manorama Yearbook 2016


Mammen Mathew - 2015
    It is the most sought-after book for youngsters preparing for various competitive exams ranging from Civil services, Banks, Railways, UPSC and PSC exams and Quiz Competition across the country. It also serves reference purpose covering varied topics besides Science and Medicine, Environment, Literature, Entertainment, History, 1000 Quiz and Sports, policies of government, census reports, election results, economic indicators, art forms, etc. It also features more than 20 articles by people of eminence such as former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, Philip Min, Dr Valson Thampu and many others. Manorama Yearbook also offers free Concise Britannica Encyclopedia, a set of 4 ebooks, Learner's Dictionary on CD and free online subscription to Britannica Online."

Cassell Dictionary of Superstitions


David Pickering - 1995
    Find a wealth of fascinating facts and a number of fun "spells" to try -- including a rhyme to say to the new moon for revealing the identity of your true love. For those who believe in "breaking a leg", or for anyone interested in folklore and popular culture, this is sure to be an entertaining read as well as an invaluable reference.

Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life


Douglas Wilson - 2011
    Through a series of out-of-the-ordinary lessons, each with its own takeaway points and recommended readings, Douglas Wilson provides indispensable guidance, showing how to develop the writer s craft and the kind of life from which good writing comes.

The Woeful Second World War


Terry Deary - 1999
    Find out who made a meal of maggots, or which soldiers were so smelly their enemies could sniff them out.

WWE 50


Kevin Sullivan - 2014
    Controversial figures and events from all eras. National expansion and the perilous risk involved. The legal and financial strife that nearly devastated WWE. Triumph in the Monday Night Wars. Innovations of WrestleMania, Raw, SmackDown, Survivor Series, and more!With Stunning Visuals and Insider Commentary.Only in "WWE 50" receive an exclusive Topps Collectible Trading Card.

Accidence Will Happen: A Recovering Pedant's Guide to English Language and Style


Oliver Kamm - 2015
    Yet, as Oliver Kamm cleverly demonstrates in this new book, many of the purists' prohibitions are bogus and can be cheerfully disregarded. Accidence Will Happen is an authoritative and deeply reassuring guide to grammar, style, and the linguistic conundrums we all face.