Download or read book The Secret Lives of Words written by Paul West and published by Houghton Mifflin. This book was released on 2000 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Word-lovers rejoice! This fascinating book reveals the amazing and bizarre histories of language's building blocks. "A sorcerer of language".--"Publishers Weekly".
Download or read book The Secret Life of Words written by Henry Hitchings and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2009-09-29 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Words are essential to our everyday lives. An average person spends his or her day enveloped in conversations, e-mails, phone calls, text messages, directions, headlines, and more. But how often do we stop to think about the origins of the words we use? Have you ever thought about which words in English have been borrowed from Arabic, Dutch, or Portuguese? Try admiral, landscape, and marmalade, just for starters. The Secret Life of Words is a wide-ranging account not only of the history of English language and vocabulary, but also of how words witness history, reflect social change, and remind us of our past. Henry Hitchings delves into the insatiable, ever-changing English language and reveals how and why it has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages—many originating from the most unlikely of places, such as shampoo from Hindi and kiosk from Turkish. From the Norman Conquest to the present day, Hitchings narrates the story of English as a living archive of our human experience. He uncovers the secrets behind everyday words and explores the surprising origins of our most commonplace expressions. The Secret Life of Words is a rich, lively celebration of the language and vocabulary that we too often take for granted.
Download or read book Word by Word written by Kory Stamper and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets.” With wit and irreverence, lexicographer Kory Stamper cracks open the obsessive world of dictionary writing, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it to the knotty questions of ever-changing word usage. Filled with fun facts—for example, the first documented usage of “OMG” was in a letter to Winston Churchill—and Stamper’s own stories from the linguistic front lines (including how she became America’s foremost “irregardless” apologist, despite loathing the word), Word by Word is an endlessly entertaining look at the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language.
Download or read book The Secret Life of Pronouns written by James W. Pennebaker and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of Opening Up draws on groundbreaking research in computational linguistics to explain what our language choices reveal about feelings, self-concept and social intelligence, in a lighthearted treatise that also explores the language personalities of famous individuals. 40,000 first printing.
Download or read book The Secret Life of Books written by Tom Mole and published by . This book was released on 2020-12-02 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We love books. We take them to bed with us. They weigh down our suitcases on holiday. We display them on our bookshelves, give them as gifts, write our names in them. We take them for granted. And all the time, our books are leading a double life. The Secret Life of Books is about everything that isn't just the words. It's about how books transform us as individuals, the stories they tell us about ourselves. It's about how books - and readers - have evolved over time. And it's about why, even with the arrival of other media, books still have the power to change our lives. In this stylish and thought-provoking meditation, Tom Mole looks at everything from binding innovations to binding errors, to books defaced by lovers, to those imprisoning professors in their offices, to books in art, to burned books, to the books that create nations, to those we'll leave behind. A striking text in a stunning package, it will change how you think about books.
Download or read book The Secret Life of Language written by Simon Pulleyn and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2018 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks at how language has evolved around the globe from ancestral proto-languages to our recognisable modern tongues. It demonstrates how language has been shaped by social and cultural influences, and even explains how our anatomy affects the articulation, and therefore evolution, of words. Discover the surprising stories behind the origin of the written word, the difficulties of decipherment and the challenge of inventing from scratch languages such as Dothraki. Combining expert analysis with accessible narrative and fun illustrations, The Secret Life of Language makes even the complex topics of philology, morphology and phonology easy to understand.
Download or read book The Secret Life of Language written by Simon Pulleyn and published by Secret Life of. This book was released on 2018 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like its companion titles, The Secret Life of Language uses quirky illustrations, helpful diagrams and clear text to unlock the fascinating workings behind the development of the world's languages. Readers will gain insight into the extraordinary underlying stories and facts about the language (or languages) they speak, as well as those that they perhaps would like to learn. Six chapters cover all of the world's language groups from their historic origins to today as well as the physical mechanics of speech. Language is essential to us all -- spoken, heard, written, read -- no matter which we use. Today, cultures move and meld across the globe in waves of migration taking their languages with them. The Secret Life of Language is sure to pique the interest of all general readers, language learners and those curious about the future of language.
Download or read book The True Secret of Writing written by Natalie Goldberg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-02-11 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author draws on her teaching background to share new writing guidelines and outline the steps for a personal or group writing retreat, providing coverage of such topics as working in silence and writing without criticism.
Download or read book The Secret Life of Water written by Masaru Emoto and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-07-05 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From its arrival on earth to the vast areas it traverses before emptying into the sea, water holds all the knowledge and experience it has acquired. As phenomenal as it may seem, water carries its whole history, just as we carry ours. It carries secrets, too. In The Secret Life of Water, bestselling author Masaru Emoto guides us along water’s remarkable journey through our planet and continues his work to reveal water’s secret life to humankind. He shows how we can apply its wisdom to our own lives, and how, by learning to respect and appreciate water, we can better confront the challenges that face the twenty-first century—and rejuvenate the planet.
Download or read book The Secret Lives of Colour written by Kassia St Clair and published by John Murray. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer.' Simon Garfield The Secret Lives of Colour tells the unusual stories of the 75 most fascinating shades, dyes and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso's blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acidyellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. In this book Kassia St Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colours and where they come from (whether Van Gogh's chrome yellow sunflowers or punk's fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilisation. Across fashion and politics, art and war, TheSecret Lives of Colour tell the vivid story of our culture.
Download or read book The Secret Life written by Jeffrey Katz and published by Humanix Books. This book was released on 2019-01-22 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: He is one of the wisest men of all time. Since the time of the Bible, he is the only man to be celebrated by the three major Western religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His name is Maimonides. A philosopher, rabbi, physician, religious thinker and logician, today this sage is considered among the greatest thinkers. The Secret Life reveals his ancient teachings in modern terms. In The Secret Life, you will discover true wisdom and success in every aspect of life comes not from our public persona and life — as so many believe — but in our secret thoughts and actions. Maimonides shows how every person can find their true and best self, not only deriving happiness for themselves, but spreading that bliss to everyone they touch. The benefits of living the Secret Life are countless. Changing your approaches to giving charity, to seeking justice, to loving others, and to believing in yourself enough to find and act on your true calling will lead you to remarkable heights. You will find a new resilience against the difficulties and turmoil in life, a new inner power that will keep you focused on the things that really matter, and an inner peace few will ever have. The Secret Life is, quite literally, life changing. “Whatever you do should be done out of nothing else but pure love.” — Maimonides
Download or read book The Secret Life of the Red Fox written by Laurence Pringle and published by Astra Publishing House. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This gorgeous and lyrical picture book follows a year in the life of a red fox named Vixen. Kids will learn about a common backyard neighbor as they read how Vixen finds food, hunts, escapes threats, finds a mate, and raises her kits—all the way to the day that she and her mate watch their kits head off to lead their own secret lives. Stunning, realistic illustrations celebrate the beauty of these mysterious creatures as readers learn important facts through an engaging and fascinating story. The book also includes back matter with more in-depth information, a glossary, and further resources.
Download or read book The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson A Novel written by Jerome Charyn and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2011-02-14 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this brilliant and hilarious jailbreak of a novel, Charyn channels the genius poet and her great leaps of the imagination." —Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review) Jerome Charyn, "one of the most important writers in American literature" (Michael Chabon), continues his exploration of American history through fiction with The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson, hailed by prize-winning literary historian Brenda Wineapple as a "breathtaking high-wire act of ventriloquism." Channeling the devilish rhythms and ghosts of a seemingly buried literary past, Charyn removes the mysterious veils that have long enshrouded Dickinson, revealing her passions, inner turmoil, and powerful sexuality. The novel, daringly written in first person, begins in the snow. It's 1848, and Emily is a student at Mount Holyoke, with its mournful headmistress and strict, strict rules. Inspired by her letters and poetry, Charyn goes on to capture the occasionally comic, always fevered, ultimately tragic story of her life-from defiant Holyoke seminarian to dying recluse.
Download or read book The Secret History written by Donna Tartt and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-10-19 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK • INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A contemporary literary classic and "an accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (Village Voice), from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Goldfinch. Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality. “A remarkably powerful novel [and] a ferociously well-paced entertainment.... Forceful, cerebral, and impeccably controlled.” —The New York Times
Download or read book The Secret Life of Bees written by Sue Monk Kidd and published by Penguin Books. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback comes the intoxicating debut novel of "one motherless daughter's discovery of ... the strange and wondrous places we find love" ("The Washington Post"). Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing work is set in South Carolina in 1964.
Download or read book The Secret Lives of Animals written by Ann Squire and published by Children's Press(CT). This book was released on 2005 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes four animals that are currently being investigated by researchers--ocean sunfish, great white sharks, mandrills, and fossas--some of which are endangered.
Download or read book Secret Life written by Theo Ellsworth and published by Drawn & Quarterly. This book was released on 2022-03-28 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An uncanny and eye-opening journey into a mysterious building, adapted from a short story by Jeff VanderMeer To the west: trees. To the east: a mall. North: fast food. South: darkness. And at the centre is The Building, an office building wherein several factions vie for dominance. Inside, the walls are infiltrated with vines, a mischief of mice learn to speak English, and something eerie happens once a month on the fifth floor. In Secret Life, Theo Ellsworth uses a deep-layered style to interpret Nebula award-winning author Jeff VanderMeer’s short story. What emerges is a mind-bending narrative that defamiliarizes the mundanity of office work and makes the arcane rituals of The Building home. When his manager borrows his pen for a presentation, a man is driven to unspeakable acts as he questions the role the pen has played in his workplace success. The despised denizens of the second floor develop their own tongue, incomprehensible to everyone else in The Building. A woman plants a seed of insurgency that quickly permeates every corner of the building with its sweet, nostalgic perfume. With deft insight, Secret Life observes the sinister individualism of bureaucratic settings in contrast with an unconcerned natural world. As the narrative progresses you may begin to suspect that the world Ellsworth has brought to life with hypnotic visuals is not so secret after all; in fact, it’s uncannily similar to our own.
