Download or read book The Self Help Compulsion written by Beth Blum and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Samuel Beckett as a guru for business executives? James Joyce as a guide to living a good life? The notion of notoriously experimental authors sharing a shelf with self-help books might seem far-fetched, yet a hidden history of rivalry, influence, and imitation links these two worlds. In The Self-Help Compulsion, Beth Blum reveals the profound entanglement of modern literature and commercial advice from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Blum explores popular reading practices in which people turn to literature in search of practical advice alongside modern writers’ rebukes of such instrumental purposes. As literary authors positioned themselves in opposition to people like Samuel Smiles and Dale Carnegie, readers turned to self-help for the promises of mobility, agency, and practical use that serious literature was reluctant to supply. Blum unearths a series of unlikely cases of the love-hate relationship between serious fiction and commercial advice, from Gustave Flaubert’s mockery of early DIY culture to Dear Abby’s cutting diagnoses of Nathanael West and from Virginia Woolf’s ambivalent polemics against self-improvement to the ways that contemporary global authors such as Mohsin Hamid and Tash Aw explicitly draw on the self-help genre. She also traces the self-help industry’s tendency to popularize, quote, and adapt literary wisdom and considers what it might have to teach today’s university. Offering a new history of self-help’s origins, appeal, and cultural and literary import around the world, this book reveals that self-help’s most valuable secrets are not about getting rich or winning friends but about how and why people read.
Download or read book Get to the Point written by Joel Schwartzberg and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2017-10-16 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you want to improve your impact in speeches, staff meetings, pitches, emails, PowerPoint presentations, or any other communication setting, this book provides a novel approach that teaches you how to go from simply sharing a thought to making a difference. --
Download or read book The Queen Of The Night written by Alexander Chee and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and a Best Book of the Year from NPR, Boston Globe, BuzzFeed, and others. The mesmerizing story of one woman's rise from circus rider to courtesan to world-renowned diva—"a brilliant performance" (Washington Post). The Queen of the Night tells the captivating story of Lilliet Berne, an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept into the glamour and terror of Second Empire France. She became a sensation of the Paris Opera, with every accolade but an original role—her chance at immortality. When one is offered to her, she finds the libretto is based on her deepest secret, something only four people have ever known. But who betrayed her? With epic sweep, gorgeous language, and haunting details, Alexander Chee shares Lilliet’s cunning transformation from circus rider to courtesan to legendary soprano, retracing the path that led to the role that could secure her reputation—or destroy her with the secrets it reveals. “It just sounds terrific. It sounds like opera.”—The New Yorker “Sprawling, soaring, bawdy, and plotted like a fine embroidery.”—NPR
Download or read book How To Write An Autobiographical Novel written by Alexander Chee and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Best Book of 2018 by New York Magazine, the Washington Post, Publisher's Weekly, NPR, and Time, among many others, this essay collection from the author of The Queen of the Night explores how we form identities in life and in art. As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as “masterful” by Roxane Gay, “incendiary” by the New York Times, and "brilliant" by the Washington Post. With his first collection of nonfiction, he’s sure to secure his place as one of the finest essayists of his generation as well. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author’s manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him. In these essays, he grows from student to teacher, reader to writer, and reckons with his identities as a son, a gay man, a Korean American, an artist, an activist, a lover, and a friend. He examines some of the most formative experiences of his life and the nation’s history, including his father’s death, the AIDS crisis, 9/11, the jobs that supported his writing — Tarot-reading, bookselling, cater-waiting for William F. Buckley — the writing of his first novel, Edinburgh, and the election of Donald Trump. By turns commanding, heartbreaking, and wry, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel asks questions about how we create ourselves in life and in art, and how to fight when our dearest truths are under attack. Named a Best Book by: Time, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Wired, Esquire, Buzzfeed, New York Public Library, Boston Globe, Paris Review, Mother Jones,The A.V. Club, Out Magazine, Book Riot, Electric Literature, PopSugar, The Rumpus, My Republica, Paste, Bitch, Library Journal, Flavorwire, Bustle, Christian Science Monitor, Shelf Awareness, Tor.com, Entertainment Cheat Sheet, Roads and Kingdoms, Chicago Public Library, Hyphen Magazine, Entropy Magazine, Chicago Review of Books, The Coil, iBooks, and Washington Independent Review of Books Winner of the Publishing Triangle's Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction * Recipient of the Lambda Literary Trustees' Award * Finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay * Finalist for a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir/Biography
Download or read book Esquire s Big Book of Fiction written by Adrienne Miller and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 822 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anthology of short fiction from the pages of "Esquire" magazine from the early 1930s to the late 1990s showcases contributions by such authors as Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, Jack Kerouac, Flannery O'Connor, and Saul Bellow.
Download or read book A World of Fiction written by Katherine Bode and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2018-07-05 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proposes a new basis for data-rich literary history
Download or read book The Man Who Invented Fiction written by William Egginton and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A heroic history of novel-reading itself.” --The Atlantic In the early seventeenth century, a crippled, graying, almost toothless veteran of Spain's wars against the Ottoman Empire published a book. It was the story of a poor nobleman, his brain addled from reading too many books of chivalry, who deludes himself that he is a knight errant and sets off on hilarious adventures. That book, Don Quixote, went on to sell more copies than any other book beside the Bible, making its author, Miguel de Cervantes, the single most-read author in human history. Cervantes did more than just publish a bestseller, though. He invented a way of writing. This book is about how Cervantes came to create what we now call fiction, and how fiction changed the world. The Man Who Invented Fiction explores Cervantes's life and the world he lived in, showing how his influences converged in his work, and how his work--especially Don Quixote--radically changed the nature of literature and created a new way of viewing the world. Finally, it explains how that worldview went on to infiltrate art, politics, and science, and how the world today would be unimaginable without it. William Egginton has brought thrilling new meaning to an immortal novel.
Download or read book When We Were Animals written by Joshua Gaylord and published by Mulholland Books. This book was released on 2015-04-21 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this chilling Shirley Jackson Award-nominated novel, a small, quiet Midwestern town is unremarkable save for one fact: when the teenagers reach a certain age, they run wild. When Lumen Fowler looks back on her childhood, she wouldn't have guessed she would become a kind suburban wife, a devoted mother. In fact, she never thought she would escape her small and peculiar hometown. When We Were Animals is Lumen's confessional: as a well-behaved and over-achieving teenager, she fell beneath the sway of her community's darkest, strangest secret. For one year, beginning at puberty, every resident "breaches" during the full moon. On these nights, adolescents run wild, destroying everything in their path. Lumen resists. Promising her father she will never breach, she investigates the mystery of her community's traditions and the stories erased from the town record. But the more we learn about the town's past, the more we realize that Lumen's memories are harboring secrets of their own. A gothic coming-of-age tale for modern times, When We Were Animals is a dark, provocative journey into the American heartland. Nominated for the 2015 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel
Download or read book Evangellyfish written by Douglas Wilson and published by Canon Press & Book Service. This book was released on 2012-01-31 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BEST FICTION AWARD - Christianity Today 2012 Evangellyfish is a ruthless, grimly amused, and above all honest look at one of the darkest corners in the western world. Douglas Wilson, a pastor of more than thirty years, paints a vivid and painful picture of evangelical boomchurch leadership. . . in bed. Chad Lester's kingdom is found in the Midwest. His voice crawls over the airwaves, his books are read by millions (before he reads them), and thousands ride the escalators into the sanctuary every Sunday. And Saturday. And Wednesday, too. He is the head pastor of Camel Creek--a CEO of Soul. And souls come cheap, so he has no overhead. When Lester is (falsely) accused of molesting a young male counselee, his universe begins to crumble. He is a sexual predator, yes. But strictly straight (and deeply offended that anyone would suggest otherwise). Detectives, reporters, assistant pastors, and old lovers and pay-offs all come out to play. John Mitchell is also a pastor, but he has no kingdom to speak of--only smalltime choir feuds. He is thrilled at the great man's fall, but his joy quickly fades when the imploding Lester calls him--and a lover or two--for help. How low can grace go? Whores, thieves, and junkies, sure. But pastors?
Download or read book Elements of Fiction written by Walter Mosley and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The renowned novelist and author of This Year You Write a Novel shares a “compact but insight-rich” guide to fiction writing (Publishers Weekly). In his essential writing guide, This Year You Write Your Novel, Walter Mosley supplied aspiring writers with the basic tools to write a novel in one year. In this complementary follow up, Mosley guides the writer through the elements of not just any fiction writing, but the kind of writing that transcends convention and truly stands out. For writers who want to approach the genius of Melville, Dickens, or Twain, The Elements of Fiction is a must-read. Mosley demonstrates how to master fiction’s most essential elements: character and char-acter development, plot and story, voice and narrative, context and description, and more. The result is a vivid depiction of the writing process, from the blank page to the first draft to rewriting, and rewriting again. Throughout, The Elements of Fiction is enriched by brilliant demonstrative examples that Mosley himself has written here for the first time.
Download or read book The Truth about Fiction written by Steven Schoen and published by Pearson. This book was released on 1999-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents readers and creative writing enthusiasts with comprehensive coverage of the elements of fiction and real-world writing techniques that help build skills--such as sensory detailing, character construction, and cause and effect plotting. Plenty of practical advice completes this treatment of the fiction genre. Chapter topics include character, plot, story structure, dialogue, point of view, style, and details. For writers pursuing a hobby or a dream--or just dabbling, this insightful guide will teach them how do it and "say" it better.
Download or read book The Half God of Rainfall written by Inua Ellams and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2019-04-04 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the award-winning poet and playwright behind Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall is an epic story and a lyrical exploration of pride, power and female revenge.
Download or read book The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction written by David Pringle and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For every science fiction fan, Pringle has compiled descriptions, reviews, and ratings of more than 3,000 science fiction books. Includes a unique rating system, brief statements and reviews by critics, and a guide to sequels, related titles, and film versions.
Download or read book The Course of True Love and First Dates written by Cassandra Clare and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-03-18 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood might fall in love—but first they have a first date. One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles. When Magnus Bane, warlock, meets Alec Lightwood, Shadowhunter, sparks fly. And what happens on their first date lights a flame... This standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. This story in The Bane Chronicles, The Course of True Love (and First Dates), is written by Cassandra Clare.
Download or read book The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto written by Mitch Albom and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2015-11-10 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the beloved author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven comes his most critically acclaimed novel yet—a stunningly original tale of love: love between a man and a woman, between an artist and his mentor, and between a musician and his God-given talent. Narrated by the voice of Music itself, the story follows Frankie Presto, a war orphan born in a burning church, through his extraordinary journey around the world. Raised by a blind guitar teacher in Spain and gifted with a talent to change people’s lives—using six mysterious blue strings—Frankie navigates the musical landscape of the twentieth century, from the 1950s jazz scene to the Grand Ole Opry to Elvis mania and Woodstock, all the while searching for his childhood love. As he becomes a famous star, he loses his way, until tragedy steals his ability to play the guitar that had so defined him. Overwhelmed by his loss, Frankie disappears for decades, reemerging late in life for one spectacular yet mystifying farewell. Part love story, part magical mystery, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is Mitch Albom at his finest, a Forrest Gump-like epic about one man’s journey to discover what truly matters and the power of talent to change our lives.
Download or read book The Man in the High Castle written by Philip K. Dick and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2011 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Slavery is back. America, 1962. Having lost a war, America finds itself under Nazi Germany and Japan occupation. A few Jews still live under assumed names. The 'I Ching' is prevalent in San Francisco. Science fiction meets serious ideas in this take on a possible alternate history.
Download or read book Azadi written by Arundhati Roy and published by Haymarket Books. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The chant of "Azadi!"—Urdu for "Freedom!"—is the slogan of the freedom struggle in Kashmir against what Kashmiris see as the Indian Occupation. Ironically, it also became the chant of millions on the streets of India against the project of Hindu Nationalism. Even as Arundhati Roy began to ask what lay between these two calls for Freedom—a chasm or a bridge?—the streets fell silent. Not only in India, but all over the world. The coronavirus brought with it another, more terrible understanding of Azadi, making a nonsense of international borders, incarcerating whole populations, and bringing the modern world to a halt like nothing else ever could. In this series of electrifying essays, Arundhati Roy challenges us to reflect on the meaning of freedom in a world of growing authoritarianism. The essays include meditations on language, public as well as private, and on the role of fiction and alternative imaginations in these disturbing times. The pandemic, she says, is a portal between one world and another. For all the illness and devastation it has left in its wake, it is an invitation to the human race, an opportunity, to imagine another world.
