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The Best Books That Fit You

July 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

What kind of reader are you? If you have an interest, there’s a book about it. Books open possibilities to those who venture in. Whether you think so or not, you can be a reader.

The Eternal Knowledge Seeker

This person lives with his head in a National Geographic, so he enjoys non-fiction that will teach him something. If this fits you, try these titles.

  • The Human Difference: Animals, Computers, and the Necessity of Social Science by Alan Wolfe
  • Anything by Stephen E. Ambrose. He’s one of the great authors of American history.
  • The End of Empire: Attila the Hun and the Fall of Rome by Christopher Kelly

The Hopeless Romantic

This is probably your mom. She has a pile of romance novels by her bedside. To bring her into the 21st century, try these titles. Canada 411 will guide you to a bookstore full of romance.

  • Hidden Star by Nora Roberts. This is part of a collection of books.
  • Chasin’ Eight by Lorelei James. This series will give Mom that manly man love affair of the Harlequins.
  • Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin. It’s a little more hip, and moms need that.

I Only Read Literature

You know this guy. He’s read the classics three times, and he has collections of poetry and drama on his coffee table. His contemporary collection includes:

  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  • Everything Michael Chabon ever wrote
  • Secret Lives of Great Authors by Robert Schnakenberg is hidden under his pillow to protect his cred.

The point is to have fun while you read so that you keep on doing it!

Filed Under: Books, Education Tagged With: , ,

Better Education Makes Brighter Future

January 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Education plays a very vital role in building up a brighter future. This doesn’t mean that education is essential only to build up a career. Education is equally important in shaping a person to a perfect person who knows his responsibilities in life and also the culture that he should follow. With the help of education our culture is transmitted from one generation to next generation and it continues till the existence of life.

In today’s world more and more choices have come up for selecting a career. But for getting into any of these careers education is mandatory. Normal education will help you to join a normal career but competition in such field are more; to achieve the career goals and to attain a better future people are opting for higher studies. Most of the universities provide many courses for higher education. This will help them to compete at the next level of their career. It has become very tough for the children to select a career from a wide range of options. For a brighter future and better quality of education is must. Due to high demand in brighter future and good education many of the educational institutions have come up with many new courses.

Better education makes good future for the people and this will automatically help to makes the future of the country better. Making majority of the people literate will help the country also. It will help the country to develop more. Through education problems like poverty, unemployment can be controlled to a larger extent. Abroad countries like United States, Middle East, United Kingdom and many more will always look for educated people across the world for giving them job.  Getting education through this way will help both the individual and the country. Foreign money will flow into our country and this can help for the growth and development of our country.

Filed Under: Education, General Tagged With: , ,

Humor Books For A Better Life

January 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Reading is known to be a very noble and decent hobby. The practice of reading provides you with immense happiness and satisfaction. The joys of reading and the kinds of experience readers can achieve, is incomparable to any thing else in the universe. All readers have various tastes, and there are huge varieties of the books for everyone to pick according to their moods, preferences and area of interest. Books become the basic requirement for addicted readers.

Books also prove to be a fountain of inspiration. Humor books are a good choice as they relieve you from tensions and depressions. These books bail you out of all this and provide new experiences that uplift your mood and provide relaxation.
As we all know, happy people live longer, laughing is really good for our health. Good humor books refresh our minds and provide us with the quota of laughter that we often miss due to our competing targets and schedules. If a person takes up reading humorous book, on a daily basis, he is likely to have a healthy lifestyle. He would live and enjoy an impressive life. His life would revolve around cool and soothing environments. A regular or daily dosage of laughter greatly improves the performance and capacities. This transition is easily noticed.

Humor books can be purchased through several shopping portals, book shops; fares etc. If possible readers must read reviews and compare the costs of the books they choose to buy. Books that have humor in them, take readers to a fantastic world which is full of laughter. In a world, which is now driven by technology, books can be easily purchased online through various online stores. You may browse through a wide variety of choices before buying the books which fits your range of choices.

Filed Under: Education, General Tagged With: , ,

Education For The Mind

January 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

To fully understand the valuable quote by Coco Chanel, we must try and open our minds to education. It is important to prohibit formal education from rusting our minds. Learn to comprehend instead of following blindly. Educating the mind helps in combining your learning and actions. This also allows inevitable errors to drive you and seek better understanding. Today’s bureaucratic age has successfully wound down college degrees to a level of urgency and requirement. However, independent visionaries and leaders do not subscribe to this. Inculcating the love of learning and educating the mind is imperative for attaining success.

Churchill has once asserted, “to be young and not be liberal is to have no heart; to be older and not be conservative is to have no brain”. If this stands to be true than, why do we admit our children with institutions that only impart formal education, and do not spend any energy in shouting out ideas that children will probably need for a beautiful future.
If you are a student or have students at home, ignore those kinds of systems which impart repetitious bombasts, instead you must look for counter arguments that are convincing enough. After all this, a through synthesis is born out of contradictory views that help in making up your mind and shape new ideas. These ideas seem quite benefitting until you decide to change your thought process again. It is important to open your eyes to a new world and carefully observe even if your ears are badly assaulted.

Education for the mind will not only help in the birth on an enlightened individual but will also usher the growth of a healthy civilization. With the times soon changing, it is very essential to walk out of monotony into something different. This difference guarantees education, which is challenging and true test of an individual’s worth.

Filed Under: Education, General Tagged With: , ,

Re-Readers and One-Timers: Which Are You?

December 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

A question for book lovers everywhere: are you a re-reader or a one-timer?

As the term implies, re-readers will read the same book again, maybe even several times. One-timers will finish a book, then move along to the next one.

Re-readers enjoy peeling away layers, like an onion. Each time they read the book they gain new insights and connect with the story or information in a different way. Reading a book again may help a reader absorb the material on a deeper level. Or they may simply enjoy the characters or plot so much they want to re-enter that world and spend more time there.

Re-readers also may want to revisit a book they read years ago – the passage of time and life lived can make a book seem different the next time around. Or they skimmed through a book previously, and now want to take more time with it. Reading a favorite book again can be like putting on a soft, warm robe and remembering a different time in life than the one you’re presently in.

One-timers enjoy the accomplishment of reading a new book. Their analytical minds glean the key messages and themes, and they may reflect on how the book is similar or different than others they’ve read. They may silently rate the book and decide if they will recommend it to others. Then they’re back on the hunt for the next book to conquer. They may be continuously seeking fresh approaches and unique perspectives from new literary voices.

One-timers may be on a mission to read as many books as possible in their lifetime. They may have a list of all the books they plan to read, and add to it as they find interesting new titles. As one one-timer stated,”The world is too large, and life is too short. A book re-read steals time away from a new book I have yet to discover.”

Filed Under: Books, Education Tagged With: , , ,

The Tech-ation Dare: Take It

December 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Tech-ation Dare: Take It

On a Tyra Banks daytime talk show, Tyra challenged her guests to take a “tech-ation.” You know, a short vacation or a break from technology.

One of the guests on the show was so obsessed with tracking celebrity news online that it was interfering with school, friendships and work. This young lady was preoccupied with catching all the latest activities of her favorite actors and musicians. She found it difficult to concentrate on homework, interact with “real” people or tend to customers at a retail store where she worked.

Technology has crept into most of our lives, and some of us have become addicted to it in a most unhealthy way. While our gadgets and gizmos can be enriching and helpful, they also can be distracting and soul stealing.

Taking a conscious break from technology can help you reconnect with your own dreams and plans, and the important people in your life.

When was the last time you actually took a pen in hand and wrote a note or letter to someone? Or engaged in a conversation and really listened to the other person? When was the last time you sat with an actual book and engrossed yourself in a story unrelated to current events or celebrity foibles?

If you’re up for the tech-ation challenge, see if you can make it through one day without checking the internet or sending a text, tweet or email. You’ll have to read an actual newspaper, make an actual phone call, and spend time in your own life instead of shadowing someone else’s. If you’re really brave, don’t even turn on the TV. Instead, spend time writing notes to people you care about or talking to someone in person. Or curl up and crack open a book.

It would do all of us some good to step away from our electronic devices every now and then. We should schedule regular tech-ations to keep us grounded in real life.

Filed Under: Books, Education Tagged With: , , ,

Unpack the Bags to Better Understand A Book

December 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Unpack the Bags to Better Understand A Book

Admit it -you usually read a book, spend a few minutes thinking about the characters and plot and how it affected you on a personal level, and that’s as far as you go. Are you ready to take it to a deeper realm?

To sharpen your critical and analytical thinking skills and gain new insights, try “unpacking”  the book you’ve just read. You’ll need a pen and paper, or open up a blank document on your computer. Doing this exercise will take some time and thought. But you’ll feel the gears turning in your mind and you’ll fire up some neurons in the process.

Think about the book and consider the following:
- In your own words, write a brief summary of the story.
- What was the purpose of the story?
- What was the writer’s point of view?
- Do you agree with the writer’s point of view? Explain why or why not.
- Were there distractions in the book you had to overcome, such as word choices, technical or complex subjects, writing style, characters, story lines or dialogue?
- Did these distractions serve a purpose?
-Did you have to reread any parts of the book so you could understand them?
- What was your personal reaction as you read the story?
- Did you make predictions as you progressed through the book? What predictions did you make, and did they turn out the way you expected?
-Do you like the way the book ended, or would you prefer a different ending?
- What question or questions would you like to ask the author?
- Would you recommend the book to others?

Reading doesn’t have to be a passive activity. By asking questions and deconstructing or “unpacking” the contents, you’ll become a more powerful reader and thinker.

Another benefit – post your critique on your favorite social media sites and on bookseller sites like Amazon. Others will appreciate your analysis and you’ll get an interesting dialogue going.

Filed Under: Books, Education Tagged With: , , ,

Literacy Times Three

December 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Literacy Times Three

Educators tell us there are three kinds of literacy, and all are needed to be successful in life. Some people are fluent in all three types, while others get by knowing one or two.

In today’s increasingly complex world, much more is expected in terms of literacy. Within each area there is a larger body of knowledge to master. Let’s explore the three types of literacy:
- Prose literacy – the ability to read and understand the written word, especially documents with continuous text. This type of literacy is crucial for following instructions, learning new information or being able to enjoy a story. Skilled readers have excellent vocabularies and quickly comprehend the material they are reading. They understand the many aspects of the written word, including sentence structure, tone, point of view, plot, themes, dialogue and character development. They are able to critique a piece of writing and think about it analytically. They are skeptical- they don’t just accept facts that are presented without a verifiable source for where the information was obtained.
- Document literacy- being able to comprehend documents without continuous text, such as forms, maps, charts, blueprints, tables of information and transportation schedules. People with this type of literacy can fill out a job application, be aware of the different time zones by looking at a map, understand a floor plan by looking at a blueprint and retrieve key pieces of data from a chart or table. They can visit any city and utilize its bus or subway system by looking at the times, routes and stops on a transportation schedule.
- Quantitative literacy – the ability to understand and perform computations. This comes handy for balancing your checkbook, calculating a tip at a restaurant, filling out an expense report, analyzing a business proposal or reading a credit card activity statement. People skilled in this area perform different types of mathematics, develop budgets, analyze numbers and find errors and discrepancies.

Filed Under: Books, Education Tagged With: , ,

Fancy Books Are a Handful

December 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Fancy Books Are a Handful

Books have been around a very long time. They serve the purpose of preserving information and history, as well as passing stories and ideas from one generation to the next. Books have two basic parts- a cover, and the pages inside. However, creativity coupled with new advances in printing and binding have enabled books to become works of art.

Go to any major bookstore and you’ll be delighted with what you’ll find in nearly every category for adults and children.

Printing companies are able to print on an astonishing array of materials (cloth, leather, metal, plastic, wood) using the most vibrant inks, including metallics and foils. You’ll notice that the pages in different books represent numerous varieties of paper: smooth coated finishes, uncoated dull surfaces, textured linen surfaces or pearlized coatings that add luster and shine. Pages can be thick, with deckled edges, or they can be extremely thin and nearly transparent, designed for a reader to look through them to words or images on the next page.

Debossing and embossing make images seem three-dimensional. Die cuts can create interesting shapes, patterns and edges. Pages can unfold, and messages can be pulled out from little envelopes and slots attached to the page. Pop-ups are more intricate than ever, with castles and cathedrals springing up in full detail with the flip of a page.

Computer-aided design and sophisticated printing presses enable publishers to create exquisitely rendered illustrations and photos. Varnishing techniques put a glossy coating over images, adding richness and dimension that practically leaps off the page.

Other innovations include sound chips embedded in a book to add music or dialogue. Some children’s books enable a caregiver to record themselves reading a story so a child can turn the pages and listen as many times as they like.

These beautiful books not only present information in a different way, they engage our senses in a manner unmatched by any other medium.

Filed Under: Books, Education Tagged With: , , ,

Books Provide an Entire World of Information

December 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment
a random compartment on the bookshelf
Image by jaffry, grace and eliza via Flickr

If you’re looking for information on just about anything, you can find it in books. A lot of people turn to the Internet, but books can still provide you with the kind of experience that being online doesn’t offer. Getting lost in a good book is a great way to pass an afternoon or evening, whether you like to read fiction or you want to read about something real that happened in the past or could happen in the future. Getting your children started on reading early in life can give them a lifelong hobby, which is great, and it can also help them do better in school.

They’ll understand concepts better, enjoy learning about new things, and take the initiative to explore more of the world through the printed word. Some books are a lot more interesting than others, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pick up a book or two that you might not normally choose. You could end up with a real treasure that you hadn’t expected. Looking for a good book is a little like looking for apartments for rent in Seattle or another big city. There are a lot of them out there, but only some of them will be right for you.

As long as you’re willing to look around and really see all that books have to offer, you’re bound to find something that catches your eye. Don’t assume that you won’t find anything interesting, because there are so many options. If you pick up a book from your local library and don’t like it, return it and select another one. No one will force you to read it if you really don’t like it, and there are plenty of other books out there that are just waiting for you to explore them.

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Filed Under: Books, Education, Writing Tagged With: , ,
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