Why read non-fiction? Is it just to find things out? Or is it for pleasure, challenge, adventure, meaning? Here, in seventy new pieces, some of the most original writers and thinkers of our time give their answers.br>br>From Hilton Als on reading as writing''s dearest companion to Nicci Gerrard on reading for her life; from Malcolm Gladwell on entering the minds of others to Michael Lewis on books as secret discoveries; and from Lea Ypi on the search for freedom to Slavoj Zizek on violent readings, each offers their own surprising perspective on the simple act of turning a page. The result is a celebration of seeing the world in new ways - and of having our minds changed.>
Why do we want to write and what stops us? How does the urge to express ourselves fight with the worry that no-one will care or that we will get in trouble? How do we identify and overcome everything that gets in our way so we can start making work? Sunday Times bestselling author Cathy Rentzenbrink shows you how to tackle all this and more in Write It All Down , a guide to putting your life on the page. This is a kind, encouraging and stimulating book that explores the nature of memoir writing and offers helpful guidance on how to write your life on paper. Rentzenbrink will help you to discover the pleasure and solace to be found in writing; the profound satisfaction of wrestling a story onto a page and seeing the events of your life transformed through the experience of writing the self. Perfect for both seasoned writers as well as writing amateurs and everyone in between, this helpful handbook will steer you through the philosophical and practical challenges of writing the self. Intertwined with reflections, anecdotes and exercises, Write It All Down is at once an intimate and enjoyable narrative and an invitation to share your story.
Whether you want to write a Petrarchan sonnet for your lover's birthday, an epithalamion for your sister's wedding or a villanelle excoriating the government's housing policy, this book gives you the tools and the confidence to do so with enjoyable exercises, insights and simple step-by-step advice.
Over a million copies sold Clear writing is the key to clear thinking. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible. That's the thinking that underpins this much-loved guide, and the mantra for anyone wanting to communicate with the clarity, style and precision for which The Economist is renowned. The Economist Style Guide guides the reader through the pleasures and pitfalls of English usage. It offers advice on the consistent use of punctuation, abbreviations and capital letters, identifies common errors and cliches and contains an exhaustive range of reference material - covering everything from business ratios to mathematical symbols and common Latin phrases. It also tackles the key differences between British and American English. But this is no ordinary guide to English usage. It has a wit, verve and flair which make it much more than a simple work of reference. Here are just some examples: - anticipate does not mean expect. Jack and Jill expected to marry; if they anticipated marriage, only Jill might find herself expectant. - Take care with between. To fall between two stools, however painful, is grammatically acceptable. To fall between the cracks is to challenge the laws of physics. - critique is a noun. If you want a verb, try criticise. - use words with care. If This door is alarmed, does its hair stand on end? The Economist Style Guide is required reading for anyone who wants to communicate with style.
Harness creativity for self-care. The Happy Writing Book helps readers develop self-confidence and personal resilience, calm stress and anxiety and discover greater well-being by learning the art of creative writing. Features 100 prompts and exercises specially devised by Elise Valmorbida, an award-winning novelist and creative writing teacher with over twenty years' experience. Through self-expression and self-exploration, this book will help readers to write better and feel better too.
Steven Pinker, the bestselling author of The Language Instinct , deploys his gift for explaining big ideas in The Sense of Style - an entertaining writing guide for the 21st century What is the secret of good prose? Does writing well even matter in an age of instant communication? Should we care? In this funny, thoughtful book about the modern art of writing, Steven Pinker shows us why we all need a sense of style. More than ever before, the currency of our social and cultural lives is the written word, from Twitter and texting to blogs, e-readers and old-fashioned books. But most style guides fail to prepare people for the challenges of writing in the 21st century, portraying it as a minefield of grievous errors rather than a form of pleasurable mastery. They fail to deal with an inescapable fact about language: it changes over time, adapted by millions of writers and speakers to their needs. Confusing changes in the world with moral decline, every generation believes the kids today are degrading society and taking language with it. A guide for the new millennium, writes Steven Pinker, has to be different. Drawing on the latest research in linguistics and cognitive science, Steven Pinker replaces the recycled dogma of previous style guides with reason and evidence. This thinking person's guide to good writing shows why style still matters: in communicating effectively, in enhancing the spread of ideas, in earning a reader's trust and, not least, in adding beauty to the world. Eye-opening, mind-expanding and cheerful, The Sense of Style shows that good style is part of what it means to be human.
Susie Dent is the resident word expert in Dictionary Corner on C4's Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown , has been on every programme about words: 15 x 15 , Word of Mouth , More or Less ; and is a regular panellist on R4's Wordaholics. Susie also writes a weekly column for the Radio Times , reviews for the Spectator and has over 86,000 followers on Twitter. This is the book she has always wanted to write.>
Umberto Eco''s wise and witty guide to researching and writing a thesis, published in English for the first time. By the time Umberto Eco published his best-selling novel The Name of the Rose , he was one of Italy''s most celebrated intellectuals, a distinguished academic and the author of influential works on semiotics. Some years before that, in 1977, Eco published a little book for his students, How to Write a Thesis , in which he offered useful advice on all the steps involved in researching and writing a thesis--from choosing a topic to organizing a work schedule to writing the final draft. Now in its twenty-third edition in Italy and translated into seventeen languages, How to Write a Thesis has become a classic. Remarkably, this is its first, long overdue publication in English. Eco''s approach is anything but dry and academic. He not only offers practical advice but also considers larger questions about the value of the thesis-writing exercise. How to Write a Thesis is unlike any other writing manual. It reads like a novel. It is opinionated. It is frequently irreverent, sometimes polemical, and often hilarious. Eco advises students how to avoid "thesis neurosis" and he answers the important question "Must You Read Books?" He reminds students "You are not Proust" and "Write everything that comes into your head, but only in the first draft." Of course, there was no Internet in 1977, but Eco''s index card research system offers important lessons about critical thinking and information curating for students of today who may be burdened by Big Data. How to Write a Thesis belongs on the bookshelves of students, teachers, writers, and Eco fans everywhere. Already a classic, it would fit nicely between two other classics: Strunk and White and The Name of the Rose . Contents The Definition and Purpose of a Thesis - Choosing the Topic - Conducting Research - The Work Plan and the Index Cards - Writing the Thesis - The Final Draft
The essential guide to twentieth-century literature around the worldbr>br>For six decades the Penguin Modern Classics series has been an era-defining, ever-evolving series of books, encompassing works by modernist pioneers, avant-garde iconoclasts, radical visionaries and timeless storytellers.br>br>This reader''s companion showcases every title published in the series so far, with more than 1,800 books and 600 authors, from Achebe and Adonis to Zamyatin and Zweig.br>br>It is the essential guide to twentieth-century literature around the world, and the companion volume to The Penguin Classics Book.br>br>Bursting with lively descriptions, surprising reading lists, key literary movements and over two thousand cover images, The Penguin Modern Classics Book is an invitation to dive in and explore the greatest literature of the last hundred years.>
