On Reading, Writing and Living with Books PDF Download

Author:
Publisher: Pushkin Press
ISBN: 1782272615
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
The London Library is the world's largest independent library. Founded in 1841 by Thomas Carlyle (in reaction to the "museum headache" brought on by the crowds in the British Museum Reading Room), it has become a haven for readers, writers and all who draw strength, solace or inspiration from the presence of books. Some of the most illustrious figures of the last two centuries have written, thought and walked there: George Eliot, Charles Dickens, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf and many more were members. And over time, some of these celebrated members have shared--with each other, or with an interested public--their views on the delights, challenges and joys of reading, writing and living with books. The books in "Found on the Shelves" have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over seventeen miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it. From essays on dieting in the 1860s to instructions for gentlewomen on trout-fishing, from advice on the ill health caused by the "modern" craze of bicycling to travelogues from Norway, they are as readable and relevant today as they were more than a century ago.

Author: Rebecca Solnit
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101622776
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award A personal, lyrical narrative about storytelling and empathy, from the author of Orwell's Roses Apricots. Her mother's disintegrating memory. An invitation to Iceland. Illness. These are Rebecca Solnit's raw materials, but The Faraway Nearby goes beyond her own life, as she spirals out into the stories she heard and read—from fairy tales to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein—that helped her navigate her difficult passge. Solnit takes us into the lives of others—an arctic cannibal, the young Che Guevara among the leprosy afflicted, a blues musician, an Icelandic artist and her labyrinth—to understand warmth and coldness, kindness and imagination, decay and transformation, making art and making self. This captivating, exquisitely written exploration of the forces that connect us and the way we tell our stories is a tour de force of association, a marvelous Russian doll of a book that is a fitting companion to Solnit's much-loved A Field Guide to Getting Lost.

Author: Lynn Freed
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547940645
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
“In her keen-eyed and hilariously funny new book . . . novelist and memoirist Lynn Freed tells how writers deal with life’s large and little tribulations” (O, The Oprah Magazine). These eleven essays combine a memoir of an exotic life, reflections on the art and craft of writing, and a brilliant examination of the ever-complex relationship between fiction and life. “Taming the Gorgon,” an account of translating a difficult parent into fiction becomes a poignant and funny meditation on the intricate knot binding mothers and daughters. The story of a scandal created by publication, “Sex with the Servants” is an inquiry into the porous boundary between private truth and public betrayal. “Distinguished by its emotional honesty and stylish prose,” this blend of lively autobiography and inspiring wisdom puts aside all the fictional disguises and exposes the human being behind the artist (Chicago Tribune). “Lynn Freed is a beautiful writer, dead-on brilliant, rich in humor, possessing a dark and comforting wisdom.” —Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird “To the tiny list of necessary books for people who aspire to the writing life . . . must now be added Reading, Writing, and Leaving Home.” —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World

Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 147357949X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
'A rich feast of his essays, reviews, forewords, squibs and conversations, in which talent and passion are married to deep knowledge.' Matt Ridley 'Enjoy the unfailing clarity of his thought and prose, as well as the grandeur of his vision of life on Earth.' - Mark Cocker, Spectator 'Richard Dawkins is a thunderously gifted science writer.' Sunday Times Including conversations with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Steven Pinker, Matt Ridley and more, this is an essential guide to the most exciting ideas of our time and their proponents from our most brilliant science communicator. Books Do Furnish a Life is divided by theme, including celebrating nature, exploring humanity, and interrogating faith. For the first time, it brings together Richard Dawkins' forewords, afterwords and introductions to the work of some of the leading thinkers of our age - Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, Jacob Bronowski, Lewis Wolpert - with a selection of his reviews to provide an electrifying celebration of science writing, both fiction and non-fiction. It is also a sparkling addition to Dawkins' own remarkable canon of work. Plenty of other scientists write well, but no one writes like Dawkins... here is Dawkins the teacher, the scholar, the polemicist, the joker, the aesthete, the poet, the satirist, the man of compassion as well as indignation, the slayer of superstition and, above all, the scientist. - Areo Magazine

Author: Peg Kehret
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101574941
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
A moving memoir from an award-winning author A mother cat and her kittens, shot with a pellet gun. A poacher illegally stalking a bear. Peg Kehret tells these true stories and more as she invites readers into her life on a small wildlife sanctuary. Vividly showing the joys of animal rescue while providing facts about the animals and birds she encounters, Kehret also shares the tragedy of her husband's sudden death, and the pain of losing Pete, the shelter cat who co-authored three of her books. Written with honesty, heart, and humor, Animals Welcome is a personal glimpse into the life of an author who loves animals, and the philosophy by which she lives.

Author: Verlyn Klinkenborg
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307279413
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
An indispensable and distinctive book that will help anyone who wants to write, write better, or have a clearer understanding of what it means for them to be writing, from widely admired writer and teacher Verlyn Klinkenborg. Klinkenborg believes that most of our received wisdom about how writing works is not only wrong but an obstacle to our ability to write. In Several Short Sentences About Writing, he sets out to help us unlearn that “wisdom”—about genius, about creativity, about writer’s block, topic sentences, and outline—and understand that writing is just as much about thinking, noticing, and learning what it means to be involved in the act of writing. There is no gospel, no orthodoxy, no dogma in this book. Instead it is a gathering of starting points in a journey toward lively, lucid, satisfying self-expression.

Author: Joanna Penn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781912105571
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Would you like to make a living with your writing? This book will show you how. I spent 13 years working as a cubicle slave in the corporate world, then I started writing books and blogging, using my words to create products and attract readers. In September 2011, I left my day job to become a full-time author entrepreneur. You can do it too.

Author: Kerri Majors
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1599636948
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
Real-world writing advice, minus all the lectures. You're an aspiring writer. Maybe you've just discovered your love of words and dream of being a novelist someday. Maybe you've been filling notebooks with science-fiction stories since middle school. Maybe you're contemplating a liberal arts degree, but you don't know what the heck you're going to do with it. The last thing you need is another preachy writing manual telling you how you should write. This book isn't a writing manual. It is a series of candid and irreverent essays on the writing life, from a writer who's lived it. Kerri Majors shares stories from her own life that offer insights on the realities all writers face: developing a writing voice, finding a real job (and yes, you do need to find one), taking criticism, getting published, and dealing with rejection. Don't have enough time to write? Learn how to plan your days to fit it all in. Not sure how your guilty pleasures and bad habits translate into literature? Kerri explains how soap operas and eavesdropping can actually help your writing. Need a reader for your first novel? Find a writing buddy or a writing group that will support you. Nervous about submitting your first piece? Learn from Kerri's own roller coaster journey to find an agent and get published. This Is Not a Writing Manual is the writing memoir for young writers who want to use their talents in the real world. ATTENTION TEACHERS! The Teacher's Edition for This Is Not a Writing Manual is now available! This FREE supplemental PDF includes a series of lesson plans and writing class essentials that will improve the writing of students in middle and high school--and beyond. To access, e-mail us at [email protected] to receive your free download, or visit Kerri Majors's website.

Author: Dinuka McKenzie
Publisher: Canelo
ISBN: 1804366315
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
What deadly secrets have been swept away by the flood? In Northern New South Wales, heavily pregnant and a week away from maternity leave, Detective Sergeant Kate Miles is exhausted and counting down the days. But a violent hold-up at a local fast-food restaurant with unsettling connections to her own past, means that her final days will be anything but straightforward. When a second case is dumped on her lap, the closed case of a man drowned in recent summer floods, what begins as a simple informal review quickly grows into something more complicated. Kate can either write the report that's expected of her or investigate the case the way she wants to. As secrets and betrayals pile up, and the needs of her own family intervene, how far is Kate prepared to push to discover the truth? The Torrent is tense and atmospheric Australian crime at its best. Perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Chris Hammer.

Author: Stanley Fish
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062006851
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
A New York Times bestseller—“Part ode, part how-to guide to the art of the well-constructed sentence” (NPR). Some appreciate fine art; others appreciate fine wines. Stanley Fish appreciates fine sentences. The New York Times columnist and world-class professor has long been an aficionado of language. Like a seasoned sportscaster, Fish marvels at the adeptness of finely crafted sentences and breaks them down into digestible morsels, giving readers an instant play-by-play. In this entertaining and erudite gem, Fish offers both sentence craft and sentence pleasure, skills invaluable to any writer (or reader). How to Write a Sentence is both a spirited love letter to the written word and a key to understanding how great writing works; it is a book that will stand the test of time. “Both deeper and more democratic than The Elements of Style” —Adam Haslett, Financial Times “A guided tour through some of the most beautiful, arresting sentences in the English language.” —Slate