Best Linguistics
Using dozens of examples, The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need provides guidelines for: Understanding the parts of speech and elements of a sentence Avoiding the most common grammar and punctuation mistakes Using correct punctuating in every sentence Writing clearly and directly Approaching writing projects, whether big or small. She edits and publishes Class Act, a national magazine that features grammar, writing, and ideas for English teachers, and has written more than fifty articles on English instruction, as well as a number of study guides. If a sentence contains a misplaced or dangling modifier or is essentially illogical, it becomes confusing at best and ludicrous at worst. This chapter will give you some pointers for looking critically at your sentence construction as well as the tools to fix any problems you find. The way the sentence is written, the ambulance driver is barely speakingbut surely thats not what the writer meant. Witnesses reported that the woman was driving the getaway car with flowing black hair. Witnesses reported that the woman with flowing black hair was driving the getaway car. Mrs. Anderson could not stop thinking about her sick baby running in the six-mile road race. The clause running in the six-mile road race is out of place; it should be closer to the noun it modifies (Mrs. Anderson).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The problem is that often the description is useful, but the example given is so incredibly bad that one wonders if they missed something. For instance, in the section on plural possessives, the author correctly points out that plural possessives are usually formed with an apostrophe but not 's' on the end. All that noise related only tangentially to the actual point—how to punctuate plural possessives, NOT how to find plural nouns (as if finding the word with the "s" on the end is like divining water or casting magic spells). My guess is that readers will be more rather than less confused after reading this section. Meanwhile, the author adds sections about predicates, gerunds, and similar concepts that most beginning students will find quite difficult to understand because they are more nuanced than simple subject–verb constructions."
"I would suggest purchasing The McGraw-HIll Book of English Grammar and Usage, along with this book and workbook, should you need more explanations on some of the topics. However, I will say that the commonly misspelled words in this book is more comprehensive than any other grammar books I've taken a look at recently."
"Small enough to fit in a purse or bag and easy to read/find what you need quickly."
"Excellent book on Grammar, with this one, you won't need any other!"
"Using this text for a homeschool study skills class."
"Good book for learning a new word each day."
"Purchase it to review English grammar."
"Arrived quickly and as described."
From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logisitical breakthrough that made Internet commerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the most powerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy. Singh's compelling history is woven through with stories of how codes and ciphers have played a vital role in warfare, politics, and royal intrigue. The major theme of The Code Book is what Singh calls "the ongoing evolutionary battle between codemakers and codebreakers," never more clear than in the chapters devoted to World War II. In an enthralling tour de force of popular explication, Singh, author of the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, explores the impact of cryptographyAthe creation and cracking of coded messagesAon history and society. Some of his examples are familiar, notably the Allies' decryption of the Nazis' Enigma machine during WWII; less well-known is the crucial role of Queen Elizabeth's code breakers in deciphering Mary, Queen of Scots' incriminating missives to her fellow conspirators plotting to assassinate Elizabeth, which led to Mary's beheading in 1587. He closes with a fascinating look at cryptanalysts' planned and futuristic tools, including the "one-time pad," a seemingly unbreakable form of encryption.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The author does a brilliant job of telling the history of encryption and cryptanalysis including the consequences of each."
"What is in the book –. The book goes beyond many others in the area of codes and ciphers in that it discusses very up to date topics (at least up to 1999 when the book was written), such as the ciphers being used for Internet transactions and questions of privacy and code breaking. However, this material is not as detailed as the material in books such as Budainsky’s “Battle of Wits”, Kahn’s “Seizing the Enigma” or Sebag-Montefiore’s “The Battle for the Code”, so if this is your primary interest I would direct you to these sources."
"A very thorough, detailed (perhaps even so not exhaustive) coverage of a very complex subject."
"From secrecy during wartime, hieroglyphics, encrypting emails and online transactions, it was fascinating reading how various forms of cryptography were developed, decoded, cracked and then improved upon."
"The various techniques for creating and breaking secret messages throughout history are explained well and made more interesting by the historic contexts of those techniques."
"I'll be honest I'm a complete novice and just picked this book up because it really drew my attention."
"The book is well written, and provides an excellent look at the history of cryptography and cryptanalysis, covering in detail the impact that these two competing disciplines played in the outcomes or many wars and key political events of post medieval times, It also provides a very accessible introduction into how cryptography works (i.e. it spares the reader the mathematical details of the more advanced algorithms)."
"Read it for history, entertainment, enjoyment, and a few laughs."
-- rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources. With empathy for the language-challenged and abundant humor, Wyner deconstructs the learning process, revealing how to build a foreign language in your mind from the ground up. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day. Fluent Forever won't teach you French, or German, or any other language -- but it will teach you how to learn whatever language you do want to learn, and to learn it faster, and more efficiently. If you want a new language to stick, start here.” --Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero “Aspiring polyglots of the world, take note: this book will help you pick up any new language in record time. I've never been so excited to challenge my mind.” --Karen Schrock Simring, contributing editor at Scientific American Mind magazine “Fluent Forever more than meets the daunting challenge of learning a new language by giving the reader a solid game plan based on how people actually learn and memorize information. His writing is engaging, smart, and conversational, making learning a real joy. If you've ever wanted to become fluent in another language, do yourself a favor and start reading Fluent Forever now.” --Melanie Pinola, Contributor Writer for LIfehacker.com and author of LinkedIn in 30 Minutes " Fluent Forever is the book I wish I had had during my numerous failed attempts at learning different languages. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is serious -- not just aspiring but really serious -- about becoming fluent in a foreign language.” --Kevin Chen, Co-Founder, italki.com “Mash up the DNA of Steve Jobs and Aristotle, add training in engineering and opera, and you get Gabriel Wyner, whose ingeniously elegant system helps us knuckleheads learn not just foreign languages but, well, everything. Pick a foreign language (yes, including English) and voilà : el futuro es tuyo . "Fluent Forever more than meets the daunting challenge of learning a new language by giving the reader a solid game plan based on how people actually learn and memorize information. His writing is engaging, smart, and conversational, making learning a real joy. -Melanie Pinola, Contributor Writer for LIfehacker.com and author of LinkedIn in 30 Minutes " Fluent Forever is the book I wish I had had during my numerous failed attempts at learning different languages. It employs an intelligent mix of the latest methods for learning a language on your own using the web, apps, and voice training tips in an accelerated time frame.--Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick for Wired Magazine and author of What TechnologyWants "I know what you're thinking: But learning a new language is soooo hard ! Pick a foreign language (yes, including English) and voilà : el futuro es tuyo .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The use of minimal pairs (two words like cat and cut that differ by only one sound). He has a way of using these to train you to actually hear the differences, which can be very tricky in some foreign languages. The pronunciation material should help you master individual words. But an equally, if not more, important part of conversation is called prosody and concerns the rhythm and stress applied to a string of words. Even without knowing a word of French and Italian, you could easily distinguish the difference in rhythm in a typical conversation. You will pick this up in conversation (slowly) but can speed this up by learning poetry in the foreign language, because typical poetry emphasizes prosody. A simple example is: I pick up the book; I open the book; I look at a page in the book; I close the book; I put the book down. The only truly negative is that much of the material talked about in the book is not yet available on the website."
"There are a lot of books and web products lately that are designed to help anyone learn a language, even those of us who gave it a good try for several years in high school and barely came out of it knowing enough to ask how to find a toilet. The short version of my feeling about this is that if you want a lot of control over your learning process, you're really serious about learning a language, and you like the idea of using techniques that have a lot of scientific and research backing behind them, this book is VERY much worth it. It teaches in a way that can FEEL harder at first than other approaches, but the goal is to ultimately make total learning process a lot easier by not cutting corners and taking shortcuts that could hurt you in the long run. He advocates spending time working on learning sounds early because a) you have to learn pronunciation eventually, and you might as well not spend a few years practicing pronouncing something wrong before going back and trying to fix it, and b) knowing what a word sounds like makes it a lot more memorable. Once you're past the sound issues and learning the spelling rules, he advocates only using the language you're learning on the flashcards, including lots of pictures, and really trying to tie words and meanings to things in your life. (In fact, some of what he covers also shows up in another book "A Mind for Numbers" that just came out a couple of days ago, that focuses on similar "how to learn" research and tricks with an emphasis on learning math and science. FYI there's also a "Learning How to Learn" MOOC available through Coursera based on that book.). So he views the flashcard creation process as when you teach yourself something, and then you have a connection to your flash cards that makes it easier for you to understand what they were meant to remind you of, and to learn the material on them. The biggest barrier that I see here is that you have to be willing to take a lot of control over your own learning process, because you're building the materials. I think that there'll probably be some people who will end up doing better following a lesson plan from some other learning system (like a grammar book or Duolingo or whatever) and using this to strengthen and fill in their learning."
Best Translating Reference
This classic work was translated from the Latin by Robert Graves, renowned classicist, historian, and historical novelist. In addition to novels and poetry, he published groundbreaking analysis of Greek mythology, as well as memoir. From the letters of Suetonius’ close friend Pliny the Younger we learn that he practiced briefly at the bar, avoided political life, and became chief secretary to the Emperor Hadrian (AD117-38).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"But still, it's a great history and this version, with the great pictures, make it all come alive."
"Thanks. I read this book as I knew that Caesars were delicious salads."
"This is one of my favorite books of classical literature."
"Interesting as well as enlightening."
"It opened my eyes for Suetonius' descriptions tend to be, at times, at odds with what one generally reads in the more general history books."
"Robert Graves is the best!"
"Suetonius's biographies of twelve Roman emperors from Julius Caesar to Domitian stands today as one of the primary sources of our information on these Roman emperors, along with other great Roman historians and biographers (Tacitus, Plutarch, and the like)."
"To survive Amazon policy of conflating reviews, use "Look Inside the Book" to confirm the intended publisher."
Best Semantics
This bestselling textbook provides an engaging and user-friendly introduction to the study of language. Torill Hestetr'et, University of Bergen. "... an excellent overview of the central topics in linguistics and how linguists study language."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I purchased this book for a communications class I took last fall, the book was very helpful, I did very well in the class and attribute that much to this book."
"This book deals with broad issues about the language."
"This is a must have for Linguistic major and is not that hard to read but it is hard to understand and master."
"okay, but confusing and not memorable."
"Arrived in perfect condition."
"The clearest book I have had to study."
"The book targets large audiences, so it's very easy to read."
"Very easy to follow along and the information is very useful as well as current."
Best Literacy
Originally published in 1940, this book is a rare phenomenon, a living classic that introduces and elucidates the various levels of reading and how to achieve them—from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading. MORTIMER J. ADLER (1902-2001) served as the chairman of Britannica's Board of Editors, director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, and senior associate and founder of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. He authored the well-known How to Read a Book and the intellectual autobiography Philosopher at Large, and was co-editor, with Charles Van Doren, of Great Treasury of Western Thought, declared the reference book of 1977 by the American Library Association.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The second reading involves digging in, an attempt to understand and analyze the author's central argument or thesis, and the third reading is for the purpose of argument, i.e., of reflecting on where we agree with the book and where we disagree, and why... 50 years after that first reading, i still try to follow the advice (above), and find it as helpful and true today as it was back then."
"This level means “skimming systematically” to grasp as much as you can from a book in a limited time-frame (possibly just a few minutes). If “Customer’s Review” sections existed during their time, I am sure they would also have devoted a portion of Chapter 4 to provide insights on how to better profit from them. These note-taking techniques are indispensable to read well and the reader is advised to experiment with them and adapt them to his own style of understanding and to the new types of media now available. The authors present these questions in sequence, but they are quick to explain that in practice (and with experience) we should try to answer them mostly simultaneously. You should then proceed to outline its main parts, each of which should be treated as a subordinate whole and have its unity also expressed. This process could continue ad aeternum, but “the degree of approximation varies with the character of the book and your purpose in reading it”. This means first reconciling the grammatical and the logical aspects of what he writes by matching his chosen words with the terms they express. Part 3 is useful in that it provides some interesting aspects of specific types of reading material, namely practical books, history (including biographies and current events), imaginative literature (including plays and poems), science and mathematics, philosophy and the social sciences. There is, however, a lot of value in this part of the book, specially in the later chapters, and the reader is strongly advised to read it. One thing I should say is that, while they detail interesting aspects of reading imaginative literature, their techniques mostly apply to expository works. You are simply trying to understand the controversy itself, to establish the many voices you hear in a pure exercise of dialectical objectivity. This is a fantastic topic, which the authors have materialised in their greatest contribution to mankind, in my opinion — the Syntopicon, volumes II and III of the Great Books of the Western World. ), but the authors are prompt to address the reader and explain that the list does not have any time frame attached to it. For a much more restrictive (but also magnificent) reading list, the reader is referred to the 10-year-reading plan provided in Adler’s Great Books. Like they state at the beginning of the appendix, the selected texts are "themselves worth reading", so you can’t lose much by doing so. It is a delightful taste of what awaits you in your future exploits of the Great Books — if you do well and accept the challenge, of course. I’ll be forever in debt with two of the greatest absent teachers I’ve had, Dr. Mortimer J. Adler and Dr. Charles Van Doren."
"This is an excellent book for any one who loves reading or wants to better understand any written material."
"definitely a must read if you're having issues comprehending books."
"We will sometimes forget overtime that reading and scholarly analysis of the reading we become immersed in is a learned skill involving multiple levels of discipline, technique, and style."
"As bonuses, it also includes tests to help you understand how to use these techniques on passages from famous books and it has Mortimer Adler's famous bibliography that he developed while creating his famous Great Books program."
"I'm sure this will improve any students or casual readers ability to fully grasp the totality of what their reading."
Best Spelling
Spelling Made Easy is part of the Instant Learning series by best selling author Pat Wyman which includes, Vocabulary Made Easy:Learn Your Words in Half the Time (ASIN B00CIH36IG); Math Facts Made Easy, ( B00D4R7YCI ) Amazing Grades and others. Instead of prescribing medication, I have them read this Spelling Made Easy: Learn Your Words in Half the Time book first. Almost exclusively, these patients come back with A+ spelling grades and what parents and teachers thought looked like ADHD, was really not understanding a learning styles strategy for spelling." Here is the solution to spelling success and as one reviewer says, "The strategies in the book helped my daughter go from F's to A's in spelling." When you use the Spelling Made Easy Success System, you not only cut your learning time dramatically but have a proven way to quickly recall your spelling words for the test and in your writing. Be sure and look for upcoming titles such as Math Facts Made Easy: Learn Addition and Subtraction in Half the Time; Math Facts Made Easy: Learn Multiplication and Division in Half the Time and Vocabulary Made Easy and more... Almost exclusively, these patients come back with A+ spelling grades and what parents and teachers thought looked like ADHD, was really not understanding a learning styles strategy for spelling." "Any parent or teacher who wants their child/students to do exceptionally well in spelling needs this book.When your child succeeds your home is more peaceful, your child becomes a more curious learner, and it encourages passion about new learning too. Wyman invites you to visit HowToLearn.com to find out how you learn best by taking the free Learning Styles Quiz, and free Eye-Q Reading Inventory (located under the navigation bar) to determine what is really happening when you read and to help make reading faster and easier.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Being the homeschooling mother of two children with autism, I am always searching for ways to help them learn and retain information."
"I never would have thought to teach him to visualize it in his mind like a photo, even though that's what I do when I'm spelling all the time."
"The strategies inside: 1) show your child "how to learn" and not just what to learn which obviously creates a life-long learner who knows how to spell not just for a test but in their writing too. 2) reveal a visual learning strategy that precisely matches how kids are tested on written tests so this helps your child in every subject - not just spelling. 3) gives you a way to quickly raise your child's self-esteem."
"As a University Professor I read this book and knew that every teacher in our program should use it to help their students achieve top grades in spelling. Use this book to ensure that your child or student achieves high marks in spelling and what you will also find is that their belief in themselves to succeed in other areas will improve at the same time."
"I have tried the up to the left tip, it works... We also use the take a picture and make a camera click sound... we also know about playing with words and decorating them or making pictures out of them. I plan to use the suggestions and get out the colorful markers, shorten the spelling list and take the time to make the words into mental pictures..."
"Once you know where your child stores their visual memory, you can quickly show them how to learn their spelling words very quickly."
"I liked the facts that there are direct links in the book to resources and strategies."
Best Phonetics & Phonics
Foundations of Voice Studies provides a comprehensive description and analysis of the multifaceted role that voice quality plays in human existence. Kreiman and Sidtis cover virtually every topic ever examined in voice science and blend in their own considerable experience and insight to produce a volume that is both readable and engaging." "Covering everything from anatomy, physiology and neural substrates to processing and even forensic applications-- in a highly accessible format--Kreiman and Sidtis have drawn together perspectives on voice from a wide range of disciplines, making this volume an excellent resource for students, clinical professionals, and scholars alike." The authors are not only pioneers themselves in carrying out fundamental research on many of the key topics covered in the book, but they have managed to organize and synthesize an enormous body of literature and put it together in one easily accessible place.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Although aimed primarily at researchers and practitioners in the field, for whom it seems an invaluable resource, this book is also of interest to anyone who uses or listens to voice; that is, virtually everyone. The authors also employ well-chosen humor, like a cartoon showing a blackboard with a complicated mathematical equation containing as one step, "then a miracle occurs" to illustrate one of a series of mental processes in voice perception which is not well understood."
"Kreiman and Sidtis do a spectacular job with lacing each chapter with poetic language and humor-not an easy thing to do with the topics outlined in the book."
"One concern my professor has is that they tend to reference every paper written in the related field without filtering."
"A clearly written comprehensive and scholarly review of voice science."
"make everyday use of analyzing and controlling communication by the non-word aspects of vocal production ("prosody" seems like the handiest single term for the phenomenon), and yet as thoroughly as we are enmeshed in this aspect of human communication we rely on common sense and guesswork. This was to me a wake-up call that in producing written advocacy (I'm at attorney) I should make liberal use of punctuation, contrasting fonts, page layouts, subheadings, and footnotes to approximate the clues I could be giving were I always given the luxury of presenting my points verbally."
"The only comprehensive overview of voice studies."
Best Rhetoric
This edition of 'The Elements of Style' details eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, "a few matters of form", and a list of commonly misused words and expressions. Here, succinctly, elegantly and without fuss are the essentials of writing clear, correct English. - Los Angeles Times "While The Elements of Style has never lacked fans or dutiful adherents, appreciation for this slim volume has taken a turn toward the whimsical and even surreal."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"edition (the one with the blue cover that is expanded) and I own the 3rd edition (which is not expanded). I've always struggled with being concise in my writing, and this book is THE book to help you maximize your writing."
"It is easy and pleasurable to read, with every writing-related subject you can think of (or should I state, of which you can think) nicely organized, complete with both correct and incorrect examples."
"I find this book to be so useful."
"What better way is there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "The Little Book" (The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition) than by reading the original source-text? The same outline format, the same structure, the same sage (and somewhat whimsical) advice that is in the current (4th) edition is there in the first--in all its unvarnished glory. White's introduction is helpful in explaining the whys and wherefores of "The Little Book," and about the man William Strunk, Jr. Roger Angell's foreword, thought interesting, is more for a book on motivating writers, such as "Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity" by Ray Bradbury. White kept most of Strunk's ideas, but excised the sections on outlining, and the paragraphs that were diagrammed. So it is worth the price and than bother to track this edition down just for Strunk's comments on outlining. Everything else a writer would need is found in the current edition--suggestions, clarifications, and Strunkian motivation and celebration: "Vigorous writing is concise ..." NOTE: Since the 1st edition has passed into the public domain, Amazon.com has been bombarded with various reprint editions. Other editions have reset type and text, and are easier on the eye. And, of course, the current edition, either hardback (The Elements of Style (4th Edition)) or softback (The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition)."
"Classic book, I don't know one better."
"I bought this for a family member who is writing a book."
"It is by-far the best book book for conveying a message with concision and clarity."
"Thumbnail shows 4th edition cover; ebook is actually the Project Gutenberg that is "for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost.""
Best Speech
Drawing from her popular book 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue (more than 500,000 copies sold), Deborah shares effective ways to exchange destructive language for productive communication in this insight-packed DVD series. Her guided lessons offer brief, no-nonsense approaches for examining our own words and ultimately lead to thinking more seriously about lifelong attitudes and behaviors reflected by spoken thoughts―and, more importantly, their long lasting ramifications. My students find Deborah’s approaches to ‘taming the tongue’ particularly appealing as they deal regularly with ‘the tongue beast.’ Through collaboration, role play and writing exercises, I have witnessed Deborah’s positive influence on America’s youth on a daily basis!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Gift, still waiting on results."
"Very good read."
"Amazing and Great perspective changing book!"
"Your actions and thoughts will be challenged, the chapters are to the point and easy to understand."
"I'm a big fan of Deborah Smith Pegues."
"Deborah Smith Pegues gives candid strategies taken from God's Word and her own experiences."
"While I won't tell a lie if you ask me how you look and i won't keep quiet if you doing your mate wrong but I have found a more refined way to say it ;-)."
"This book was an excellent read for those inquiring of or looking for help to "tame the tongue"."
Best Alphabets
key principles include the use of visual imagery, the visualization of short "stories," and the systematic building up of more complicated characters from basic building blocks. Although Learning Chinese Characters is primarily a book for serious learners of Mandarin Chinese, it can be used by anyone with interest in Chinese characters, without any prior knowledge of Chinese. All characters are simplified (as in mainland China), but traditional characters are also given, when available. "I highly recommend this approach to learning Chinese characters, especially for those who aren't native speakers and need motivation in the learning process." Plus, the bonus of learning characters in Chinese! "The teaching strategy of this book uses mnemonics for Chinese character learning. Learning Chinese Characters: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters , published by Tuttle, helps this process with a comprehensive method using story and image."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This an excellent manual and learning tool for learning Chinese characters."
"Mainly though quite a lot of thought went into this work on how we learn to speak another language, and many ingenious methods and clues are given to help guild a student into a deeper understanding and more thorough knowledge of each character."
"Just started."
"The pictogram references help them memorize the words, and they enjoy drawing their own pictures to make connections."
"This new method for learning Chinese is a real gift to the student."
"Pretty good."
"I am about 2/3 of the way through the book and can remember most of the 500+ characters I've learned thus far - the method really does work as advertised."
"I have no idea and always wanted to learn the language, and to perhaps read a couple of signs or basic text."
Best Braille
One of the biggest problem areas for writers is conveying a character's emotions to the reader in a unique, compelling way. Angela and Becca also co-founded their popular Writers Helping Writers site, a hub where authors can hone their craft, as well as One Stop For Writers , an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In my opinion, this guide could be useful to both new and experienced writers of fiction. For the former, this is an amazing resource for learning how to write convincing characters and see how emotions translate into writing (then, hopefully, provoking sympathy, empathy, or whatever feeling you wish to evoke in the reader). For the latter, I would say that this can easily be a go-to reference for experienced writers to shake things up a bit and to avoid the long hours of research it would require to do the legwork already done in this guide."
"An extremely helpful resource."
"An absolutely awesome reference book for those who are writing or acting."
"It digs deep by talking not only about external signs, but internal as well, giving writers significantly more to play with in the wording of their novels."
"I'll definitely look to this when I'm stuck on just what emotion a character should be feeling."
"I've long been a fan of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi's blog, The Bookshelf Muse, as it offers great tools and resources for writers. From "Adoration" to "Worry", each entry includes the definition, physical signals, internal sensations, mental responses, emotional cues, and a writer's tip. For example, the physical signals for Loneliness include a longing gaze, sullenness, talking to oneself, a heavy sigh, and two dozen other ways to illustrate a lonely character."
"I write screenplays, focusing on additional aspects which leave emotions out on a ledge where I can poke them with a stick and hope I get the correct response."
"No book can elevate a writer to a whole new category of excellence, but this book is helpful when I just want to jar some fresh ideas loose."
Best Public Speaking
Now public speaking coach and bestselling author Carmine Gallo explores what makes a great presentation by examining the widely acclaimed TED Talks, which have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking. Carmine Gallo's top 10 Wall Street Journal Bestseller Talk Like TED will give anyone who is insecure about their public speaking abilities the tools to communicate the ideas that matter most to them, the skill to win over hearts and minds, and the confidence to deliver the talk of their lives. TED Talks have earned an enviable reputation for public speaking that likely only increases the jitters for most people called on to make presentations. He offers nine secrets, including mastering the art of storytelling, being passionate about the subject matter, speaking conversationally, using humor, delivering “jaw-dropping moments,” and keeping presentations to 18 minutes. “His advice goes far beyond the usual ‘think positive and show enthusiasm' generalities, focusing instead on specific tweaks and tactics to elevate the caliber of a presentation and explaining the science behind the secret… Gallo's book is crammed with valuable insights as well as practical do's and don'ts. “Communications guru Gallo ( The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs ) draws on the power of these [TED Talks] to reveal the secrets of effective public speaking… The result is a dynamic work focused on storytelling, filled with examples from TED Talks, including those given by notables like Bill Gates… The book is sure to be a hit with anyone who wants to be more a successful communicator.” ― Publishers Weekly (Pick of the Week, Starred Review). “Read this book to understand the secrets to delivering presentations that sell yourself and your cause by adopting techniques from some of the most notable speakers on the planet.” ― Dan Schawbel, New York Times Bestselling author of Promote Yourself and Me 2.0. Through story, detail, insight, and passion, Gallo gives us secrets we can apply to our own presentations so that people actually want to hear us talk.” ― Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin and Show and Tell.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I used this as a supplement for our homeschooled daughter."
"Liking this book, it got a little repetitive but was over all pretty good book required by course."
"Carmine is capable to deliver this book with such easy yet still inspiring me."
"This is simply one of the best books on public speaking I have ever read."
"Good book with helpful tips ... a bit repetitive at times, but still would recommend reading it if you have some fear of public speaking."
"I wanted to reverse engineer the most watched TEDtalks of all time to prepare my own talk for TEDxStanleyPark in 2016."
Best Reading Skills Reference
This edition of 'The Elements of Style' details eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, "a few matters of form", and a list of commonly misused words and expressions. Here, succinctly, elegantly and without fuss are the essentials of writing clear, correct English. - Los Angeles Times "While The Elements of Style has never lacked fans or dutiful adherents, appreciation for this slim volume has taken a turn toward the whimsical and even surreal."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"edition (the one with the blue cover that is expanded) and I own the 3rd edition (which is not expanded). I've always struggled with being concise in my writing, and this book is THE book to help you maximize your writing."
"Classic book, I don't know one better."
"I bought this for a family member who is writing a book."
"It is by-far the best book book for conveying a message with concision and clarity."
"If you are a writer and need some quick referencing for your style and answered questions about how to use elements of structure in the literary world, this book is perfect."
"William Strunk's original guide, before the modern updates by E. B."
"A beginner or novice needs another book on writing that includes those aspects of the written english language."
"Anyone who even thinks about wanting to write should have this book on the nighttable, or within easy reach of brief periodic readings. The underlying point, like all good English books, is that there really is no new way to say, "it is," although overuse of "be" is a detriment to vivid writing."
Best Handwriting Reference
Throughout the book, Dresbold explores the handwriting of sly politicians, convicted criminals, notorious killers, suspected cheats, and ordinary people who've written to Dresbold’s “The Handwriting Doctor” column for help. You may just learn something new—and shocking—about the person who penned them.”. — Charleston Post and Courier Michelle Dresbold, a graduate of the United States Secret Service's Advanced Document Examination training program, is considered one of the top experts in the nation on handwriting identification, personality profiling, and threat analysis.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A nice book just for a reader (anyone who is interested in detective stories or investigation etc.)."
"This book about graphology is a great and easy text to read."
"I love this book."
"I can actually say that I enjoyed reading this book."
"I also purchased Karen Amend & Mary Ruiz's "Handwriting Analysis: The Complete Basic Book" and borrowed from my local library "Handwriting Analysis: How to make it work for you" by Andrea McNichol. Miss McNichol's book is more like a step by step process of guiding the reader into handwriting analysis; like a school syllabus, which makes for great reading for a first timer, and in fact one would be quite adept at Handwriting Analysis once finished."
"The author illustrates things in a way that makes them so easy to remember... buyer beware you can get yourself in to all sorts of trouble with this information."
"Good handwriting analysis book to add to my library."
"Handwriting really does tell you something about the person."
Best Etymology
A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to English grammar, punctuation, and usage. From the very basics—parts of speech and subject-verb agreement—to more advanced topics like the subjunctive mood, The Blue Book covers it all. You’ll also learn to differentiate between the most commonly confused words like infer and imply, its and it's, affect and effect ...and hundreds more. Filled with clear examples and self-assessment quizzes, the book allows you to test your knowledge and practice what you learn. JANE STRAUS (1954 - 2011) was an educator and best-selling author with extensive experience teaching English to adult learners.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In order to receive real quizzes and content, the authors of this book demand that you pay a substantial fee ($30.00 for a limited number of logins - one year or $129.00 unlimited logins - one year) in order to access their subscription area of the website that goes along with this book. You are able to go to GrammarBook.com and view this book in its entirety on the website and even take the menial quizzes online if you choose. This might be beneficial if you do not want to purchase the entire subscription package but want more practice in certain areas that need more work. The authors often keep you up to date with things such as the differences in the acceptable use of the word "none" in the SAT vs. the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage. The note section will have current information in relation to the English language as well as other things that may enhance the lesson itself. There is also an answer key provided at the back of the book, but it is not user friendly nor page numbered. You may purchase a subscription for more workable content and quizzes (which are desperately lacking in the book) if you choose, but it is fairly pricey."
"You need a grammar book that will allow you to reference something quickly, such as using the correct form of ‘effective’ or how you should avoid using the word ‘literally’ when what you really mean is ‘virtually’. If that’s what you’re after, then this is the book for you."
"Good simple reference book."
"Very useful and concise."
"Beginning with the parts of speech, with an idea that stands behind the rules."
"This book will be a great help."
"short and to the point."
Best Communication Reference
In this indispensable guide, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds–from the infamous “kidney theft ring” hoax to a coach’s lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony– draw their power from the same six traits. It’s a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures)– the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of “the Mother Teresa Effect”; the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice. Unabashedly inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling The Tipping Point, the brothers Heath—Chip a professor at Stanford's business school, Dan a teacher and textbook publisher—offer an entertaining, practical guide to effective communication. They illustrate these principles with a host of stories, some familiar (Kennedy's stirring call to "land a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth" within a decade) and others very funny (Nora Ephron's anecdote of how her high school journalism teacher used a simple, embarrassing trick to teach her how not to "bury the lead"). Adult/High School—While at first glance this volume might resemble the latest in a series of trendy business advice books, ultimately it is about storytelling, and it is a how-to for crafting a compelling narrative.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"An additional reason to read this book lies in its essence as a modern day "handbook of rhetoric" geared to current or aspiring managers, public policy analysts, journalists, designers, film directors and the like----namely those seeking to have their ideas be understood, remembered and have lasting impact. Look at this book for a "crash course" in learning an updated rhetoric for today (and for those who want a more comprehensive view also consult the other sources mentioned above to tie back to classic forms) for enlightening, entertaining, and moving to action."
"I originally picked up this book on suggestion from a coach I have, in order to help to build a presentation around an idea that will stick for the audience and make it memorable."
"For example urban myths... stories about people having their kidneys stolen, the "fact" that humans only use 10% of their brains, or stories of people poisoning Halloween candy. All of these are myths- there is not a band of organ harvesters that steals kidneys, humans actually use 100% of their brains in a given day, and there have only been 2 true cases of poisoned Halloween candy and both cases were done by the children's own family. The answer: sticky stories need to have 6 attributes. News casters do this with their 10 second commercials telling you what the news stories will be at the "9 o'clock news"- they will say something like "A gorilla escaped from the zoo and ended up at a children's birthday party, find out more at 9." My favorite way of presenting this was the Mother Teresa principle: If I look at the one, I will act. 2. (A video of a young girl sitting in the dirt) With your donation you could help Cindy... your donation would help feed Cindy, put a roof over Cindy's head, and help send Cindy to school. Stories: Get people to act. It's difficult to find these stories, but when you find them you have a gold mine. There are so many great stories and insights within the pages. I would be more than happy to help anyone that wants it."
"Chip and Dan cite people and companies who succeed by making good "stories" stick."
"Complete it, and you'd have more chances to create or spot this next sticky story."
Best Words & Language Reference
One of the biggest problem areas for writers is conveying a character's emotions to the reader in a unique, compelling way. Angela and Becca also co-founded their popular Writers Helping Writers site, a hub where authors can hone their craft, as well as One Stop For Writers , an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a very good tool for all writers, whether you are writing a book, writing a. school assignment, or writing a letter to motivate someone, this thesaurus will. be helpful."
"Both works start the same, but the book by Renni Browne and Dave King, which I reviewed prior to this book, continues as a lecturing text giving extended advice to writers of novels and short stories. As a reference tool, this work, like others, belongs within arm's reach of the writer's work station. For me, it was a matter of highlighting certain examples of words and phrases which showed what characters could be feeling, selecting words that I might use in my current work of fiction in progress, particularly works that would apply to the immediacy of a situation rather than to those that were more extensive and required reaching beyond a particular scene."
"It's really a desk reference to the way people react to various emotions, including how they look to the outside, how the react internally and mentally, and the long term effect of these emotions. Frankly, I'm an observant and emotional person, so I didn't feel like I needed a lot more insight into emotions. But it is a real handy tool to help writers get a handle on various ways emotions play out and helps the descriptions from becoming one-dimensional."
Best Reference Readers
Newly arrived in Berlin, a young man from Sicily is thrown headlong into an unfamiliar urban lifestyle of unkempt bachelor pads, evanescent romances and cosmopolitan encounters of the strangest kind. Using simplified sentence structures and a very basic vocabulary you can build upon, this set of 10 connected short stories is carefully crafted to allow even novice learners to fully immerse themselves in an authentic German language experience. Each chapter comes with a complete German-English dictionary with special emphasis on collocative phrases (high frequency word combinations), short sentences and expressions designed for improved memorization. 10 self-contained but connected stories phrases and words you will actually use in daily life detailed German-English vocabulary lists short quizzes to boost your text-comprehension a relatable protagonist and other fun characters hand-drawn illustrations by the author the beginning of a grand German learning adventure ... dull characters designed by academics archaic words and phrases nobody uses in real life wordy footnotes that get in the way of the reading experience childish storytelling that insults your intelligence a jumble of disconnected places, people and events a teaching approach which takes itself too seriously. The "Learn German with Stories: Cafe in Berlin" book is written for beginners, and it compiles 10 short stories to improve engagement and keep people motivated." "[André Klein's] books are now read in schools teaching German, and students get to enjoy language learning much more" - Kerstin Cable, author of The Vocab Cookbook and Fluency Made Achievable founder of Fluent Language. Today, his German story books, most notably Dino lernt Deutsch and Baumgartner & Momsen are being used by lecturers and teachers at universities, schools and private institutes around the globe to help engage students in immersive German learning experiences.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"HIs Sicilian character tells you all you need to know about being a foreigner in modern Berlin, trying to learn the language, fit in, have a good time, get a job and meet some girls. Everyone's experience will vary according to their mastery of the language, naturally, so I think it would be impossible to call it a one size fits all book."
"It is nice to have a recap of some key German words with definitions and a short quiz at the end of each section. In addition to this series helping with learning German words and vocabulary, I really enjoyed reading about the different cities and their characteristics, tourist sites, and things to do!"
"Thank you for allowing me to feel comfortable learning this language in an engaging and comical way."
"The German in this text is simple enough that if you have reached a slight stage past beginner, then you will find yourself actually reading a book in German, albeit with some words here and there that need to be learned, which the book does nicely at anticipating these words and providing translations to them."
"I found the stories just long enough to introduce a range of concepts and expressions. The sample of words chosen for explanation at the end of each is well thought out."
"Reading helps make sentence structure become second nature, and having a good German-English dictionary helps, too."
"I bought this to help my kids with the German language."
"This is a very good German language learning tool for the intermediate student."
Best Vocabulary, Slang & Word Lists
Fully updated and expanded, this edition of the copywriting classic is packed with inspiration-on-demand for busy professionals who need to win customers--by mail, online, or in person. More than 75 lists of powerful and persuasive words and phrases, including 21 new lists for this edition Cross-referencing of categories to jump-start creative thinking A crash course in basic copywriting techniques Helpful lists of commonly misspelled words, confusing words, pretentious phrases to avoid, and more. Roget's is fine for writing term papers and letters to the editor, but when it comes to the business of writing copy that translates into sales, there is no substitute for Words That Sell . Irresistible * winning * zesty * huggable * satisfying * You'll fall in love with...* Your ticket to... * king-size * Gives you the power * baby-soft *. Five-star quality * You're worth it * Don't fall for... * We make life easier * You're one of a select few... * discriminating * Your thoughtful gift. More than 6,000 words and phrases that make the difference between "yadda-yadda-yadda" and copy that sells. More than 75 lists of powerful and persuasive words and phrases, including 21 new lists for this edition Cross-referencing of categories to jump-start creative thinking A crash course in basic copywriting techniques Helpful lists of commonly misspelled words, confusing words, pretentious phrases to avoid, and more. Special strategies that seal the deal: Five-star quality * You're worth it * Don't fall for... * We make life easier * You're one of a select few... * discriminating * Your thoughtful gift. Richard Bayan spent over two decades as an award-winning advertising copywriter and copy chief.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"some of the words/phrases recommended are unbelievably mundane, that it's surprising they made it onto a book that sells for money."
"This book is super useful."
"I bought the print edition of this book several years ago and absolutely love it."
"This book should work for my project, but I was expecting more after reading some of the other reviews."
"Got an older version than what's here but still helpful."
"OK, I am hoping it will help me more with my writing."
"Great little book!"
Best Study & Teaching Reference
Originally published in 1940, this book is a rare phenomenon, a living classic that introduces and elucidates the various levels of reading and how to achieve them—from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading. MORTIMER J. ADLER (1902-2001) served as the chairman of Britannica's Board of Editors, director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, and senior associate and founder of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. He authored the well-known How to Read a Book and the intellectual autobiography Philosopher at Large, and was co-editor, with Charles Van Doren, of Great Treasury of Western Thought, declared the reference book of 1977 by the American Library Association.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The second reading involves digging in, an attempt to understand and analyze the author's central argument or thesis, and the third reading is for the purpose of argument, i.e., of reflecting on where we agree with the book and where we disagree, and why... 50 years after that first reading, i still try to follow the advice (above), and find it as helpful and true today as it was back then."
"This level means “skimming systematically” to grasp as much as you can from a book in a limited time-frame (possibly just a few minutes). If “Customer’s Review” sections existed during their time, I am sure they would also have devoted a portion of Chapter 4 to provide insights on how to better profit from them. These note-taking techniques are indispensable to read well and the reader is advised to experiment with them and adapt them to his own style of understanding and to the new types of media now available. The authors present these questions in sequence, but they are quick to explain that in practice (and with experience) we should try to answer them mostly simultaneously. You should then proceed to outline its main parts, each of which should be treated as a subordinate whole and have its unity also expressed. This process could continue ad aeternum, but “the degree of approximation varies with the character of the book and your purpose in reading it”. This means first reconciling the grammatical and the logical aspects of what he writes by matching his chosen words with the terms they express. Part 3 is useful in that it provides some interesting aspects of specific types of reading material, namely practical books, history (including biographies and current events), imaginative literature (including plays and poems), science and mathematics, philosophy and the social sciences. There is, however, a lot of value in this part of the book, specially in the later chapters, and the reader is strongly advised to read it. One thing I should say is that, while they detail interesting aspects of reading imaginative literature, their techniques mostly apply to expository works. You are simply trying to understand the controversy itself, to establish the many voices you hear in a pure exercise of dialectical objectivity. This is a fantastic topic, which the authors have materialised in their greatest contribution to mankind, in my opinion — the Syntopicon, volumes II and III of the Great Books of the Western World. ), but the authors are prompt to address the reader and explain that the list does not have any time frame attached to it. For a much more restrictive (but also magnificent) reading list, the reader is referred to the 10-year-reading plan provided in Adler’s Great Books. Like they state at the beginning of the appendix, the selected texts are "themselves worth reading", so you can’t lose much by doing so. It is a delightful taste of what awaits you in your future exploits of the Great Books — if you do well and accept the challenge, of course. I’ll be forever in debt with two of the greatest absent teachers I’ve had, Dr. Mortimer J. Adler and Dr. Charles Van Doren."
"The regular human will more than likely need to use the methods in the book to read the book..."
"This is an excellent book for any one who loves reading or wants to better understand any written material."
"definitely a must read if you're having issues comprehending books."
"We will sometimes forget overtime that reading and scholarly analysis of the reading we become immersed in is a learned skill involving multiple levels of discipline, technique, and style."
"As bonuses, it also includes tests to help you understand how to use these techniques on passages from famous books and it has Mortimer Adler's famous bibliography that he developed while creating his famous Great Books program."
Best Grammar Reference
Using dozens of examples, The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need provides guidelines for: Understanding the parts of speech and elements of a sentence Avoiding the most common grammar and punctuation mistakes Using correct punctuating in every sentence Writing clearly and directly Approaching writing projects, whether big or small. She edits and publishes Class Act, a national magazine that features grammar, writing, and ideas for English teachers, and has written more than fifty articles on English instruction, as well as a number of study guides. If a sentence contains a misplaced or dangling modifier or is essentially illogical, it becomes confusing at best and ludicrous at worst. This chapter will give you some pointers for looking critically at your sentence construction as well as the tools to fix any problems you find. The way the sentence is written, the ambulance driver is barely speakingbut surely thats not what the writer meant. Witnesses reported that the woman was driving the getaway car with flowing black hair. Witnesses reported that the woman with flowing black hair was driving the getaway car. Mrs. Anderson could not stop thinking about her sick baby running in the six-mile road race. The clause running in the six-mile road race is out of place; it should be closer to the noun it modifies (Mrs. Anderson).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The problem is that often the description is useful, but the example given is so incredibly bad that one wonders if they missed something. For instance, in the section on plural possessives, the author correctly points out that plural possessives are usually formed with an apostrophe but not 's' on the end. All that noise related only tangentially to the actual point—how to punctuate plural possessives, NOT how to find plural nouns (as if finding the word with the "s" on the end is like divining water or casting magic spells). My guess is that readers will be more rather than less confused after reading this section. Meanwhile, the author adds sections about predicates, gerunds, and similar concepts that most beginning students will find quite difficult to understand because they are more nuanced than simple subject–verb constructions."
"I would suggest purchasing The McGraw-HIll Book of English Grammar and Usage, along with this book and workbook, should you need more explanations on some of the topics. However, I will say that the commonly misspelled words in this book is more comprehensive than any other grammar books I've taken a look at recently."
"Small enough to fit in a purse or bag and easy to read/find what you need quickly."
"Excellent book on Grammar, with this one, you won't need any other!"
"Using this text for a homeschool study skills class."
"Good book for learning a new word each day."
"Purchase it to review English grammar."
"Arrived quickly and as described."
Best Vocabulary Reference
Written in a lively, accessible, and timeless style, and loaded with helpful reviews, progress checks, and quizzes to reinforce the material, this classic resource has helped millions learn to speak and write with confidence. Norman Lewis was born in 1912 in Brooklyn, New York, and died in 2006 in Whittier, California.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I ordered it for my son."
"Good book for anyone to use especially for students of all grade levels.Delivery came sooner than expected and packaged nicely without any damages."
"I am currently studying for the GRE and it has been great in helping me learn new words fast!"
"Loved the diversity of words in this book!"
"I just want to have more vocAbulary books like this."
"Delivered on time, Excellent product."
"I used this book many, many years ago and I still remember the words and roots I learned from it."
"Very enjoyable and interesting method of larning and understanding the roots of words."