General | The World's Festival of Books

Knowledge is Power

October 22, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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One of the wonderful things about books is that they can give the reader power over things that they never knew they had. In many cases, knowledge is power. Knowing where you are going wrong on just about any subject can be a helpful way to get yourself back on track.

There are many financial advisers who have become very popular due to their books on financial responsibility. These books highlight the mistakes that people make every day and show readers how to escape that type of revolving lifestyle. Susie Ormon and Dave Ramsey are two of the most well known financial writers.

Often though, a person will have read every book that he or she can find on financial health and still find themselves in serious financial trouble. Usually this happens due to more money being spent than people are earning. These debts can include credit cards, store accounts, household bills that are behind, doctor bills, and many more financial encumberances.

When this happens, debt consolidation services may be helpful. People with these services are specially trained to tell consumers where to put their money first and how to pay down debt faster.

These companies usually have some type of rapport with the credit card companies and may be able to negotiate down interest rates, balances, and payments due. Often, debt consolidation agencies will also be able to help a customer get a loan so that they can pay off the debts and start again at a new low interest rate.

Unfortunately, all of this help is not enough without the willpower to stick with it. It is very easy for someone to fix their credit, pay off their bills, and then be back in debt within a few months.

Filed Under: Books, Education, General Tagged With: Credit card, Dave Ramsey, Debt, Debt consolidation, Finance, Loan, Personal Finance, Scientia potentia est

The Second Coming of the Book and Online Education

October 14, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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Ever since the printing press was invented and bookmaking was mechanized, books and the knowledge they hold have mesmerized people. Everyone can tell you about a book that in some way changed their lives or helped to shape the person they became. Books have been called the original escapism. Books are a way for us to explore our interests and broaden our horizons from our own home. They afford the luxury of a mental vacation to anyone, regardless of whether you can afford to reach far off destinations or not.

Due to modern technology, the written word and knowledge are more accessible than ever. The advent of the Internet has allowed countless books to be added to an ever growing online library. Project Gutenberg and Google Books are just two of the online libraries that offer great classics as well as textbooks for free over the Internet. Many people have chosen to take advantage of these online libraries. If you are contemplating a more comprehensive educational experience, then use sites such as www.onlineeducation.com to help you decide which online degree you want to pursue. This is another way that the Internet is revolutionizing learning and access to knowledge.

While reading books online and downloading PDFs onto your mobile device for free is quite revolutionary, there are many other ways that technology is being used to stimulate online education. In recent years, iTunes has allowed anyone with a digital camera or recorder to upload college and high school lectures and materials to the iTunes store for free. Other websites such as Academic Earth have taken this idea to a whole new level. The site gives access to some of the most prestigious universities in the country. They offer access to a whole semester’s worth of lectures. This allows all Internet users to enjoy and learn without having to pay a large tuition bill.

Filed Under: Books, General, Reading, Writing Tagged With: E-book, E-learning, Education, Google Books, ITunes, ITunes Store, Portable Document Format, Technology

Gain More Knowledge: Read More Books

October 10, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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With the advent of the internet and its rapid growth, the world is now turning a blind eye to the primary source of knowledge – books. It is very easy to see why that is happening but efforts must be taken to see that the process is reversed. Parents must encourage their children to read and they too must pick up novels, journals and papers that they enjoy reading.

Inculcating the habit of reading is rather easy. If you are a student, you can simply go to the local library and pick up a few books that grab your attention. It isn’t necessary for you to study literature in order to read it at leisure. You can be a student who is graduating with a sports management degree and still have an ardent love for books!

While it may be relatively easy for students to pursue their love for reading, those who are not within easy reach of readily available resources should look at literary clubs and book clubs that can be joined to gain maximum exposure towards reading books. Various schools and colleges host book meetings where particular books are discussed in great detail. You can be a part of those groups as well and make reading a regular part of your life.

However, if you find yourself a member of the newer generation where everything is sourced from the computer, look at the internet for some bookish knowledge too. With e-book readers available far and wide, you could invest in one and start reading classics on the new-age e-book readers. With various free titles available and many paid ones as well, you’ll find yourself shifting through millions of options within seconds.

And when you readily have such options available to you, why think twice before picking up a book?

Filed Under: Books, Education, General Tagged With: Arts, Book, Comparison of e-book readers, E-book, IPad, Literature, Reading, Student

Never Too Late to Hit the Books

October 9, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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The competition for jobs these days is so intense that you need to stack your resume with qualifications which will make you stand out. Special job training and higher education degrees are ways that you can distinguish yourself from the others applying for the same position. It is also more convenient than ever before to complete the classes by being able to earn a degree online.

It doesn’t matter whether you want an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, or even an MBA. You can complete your coursework through one of a number of distance-learning programs. Universities are even offering doctorate programs online, with courses being held through webcasts and classroom discussions taking place on blogs. In some cases, a college may require you to travel to the campus once or twice during your classes, but for the most part, you can complete the work over the Internet when it is most convenient for you.

Online degrees are every bit as valid as any other degree from an institute of higher learning, and they will make you eligible for better-paying and more satisfying positions. Online colleges and universities offer programs on every subject matter that you can imagine, from the arts to religion to criminal justice. You can obtain vocational and career training, as well.

The online degree programs are especially helpful for older adults who want to return to school but may have family obligations that make it tough to go to class during the day. The programs are also good for the adult who has been away from school for awhile and would not be comfortable in a class with a large number of young people fresh out of high school. As the business world embraces electronic communication more and more, it only makes sense that the educational world does the same.

Filed Under: Books, Education, General Tagged With: Academic degree, Criminal justice, Distance education, Education, Higher education, Master of Business Administration, online degree programs, Online degrees

Bibliomania: The Unhealthy Cousin of Book Collecting

September 23, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

To a certain degree, it seems part of the human condition to accumulate. We “stock up” on toilet paper and batteries, add CDs to our home music libraries, or download new songs to our IPod playlists. Even our yards are full of swaths of nursery-purchased flower varieties, or house patio furniture, fireplace pits, hammocks and above-ground pools and trampolines.

For most of us, we grumble about “too much stuff,”but we do exercise some restraint. Our floors are clear and our “stuff” fits into our drawers and cabinets. We don’t need to accumulate. But for some, accumulation becomes a diseas: hoarding. And its pathology can take many forms, including bibliomania-the obsessive, compulsive accumulation and hoarding of books.

How exactly is bibliomania different than ardent book collecting? Book collecting is done be individuals passionate about books, who are vested in looking for, finding, purchasing and displaying or maintaining their collected books. They often specialize, and as such create library collections of value: that value can either be monetary value, or personal value-as in finding a first edition of a particular work by one’s favorite Western genre author.

Bibliomania, on the other hand, is characterized by the acquiring and keeping of books which may have no inherent value, whether personal or monetary. For example, multiple identical books (same story, author, edition) may be obsessively hoarded, and giant numbers of books are accumulated which are well beyond the capacity of any person to keep track of or enjoy. The books may not be maintained or even perhaps ever looked at. Bibliomania is one form of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder and indicates a hoarding problem in which a person’s social relationships or very health is negatively affected.

Although bibliophiles (lovers of books) certainly exist in abundance, these individuals do not suffer from bibliomania-a funny-sounding, although certainly entirely un-funny, disease.

Filed Under: Books, General, Reading Tagged With: Bibliomania, Book Collecting

Two New Moves by Literary Festivals

September 19, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

The world abounds with literary festivals. Usually the festivals follow a fairly typical format: choose-the-location-and-they-will-come. With the result being many festivals in many places.

But there are two festivals which are writing to a different beat, so to speak, both in the name of forward progress:

Palfest: Palestinian Festival of Literature. Since 2008 Palestine has held this annual festival to present Palestinian authors and their literature. Yet seemingly since time immortal Palestine has also been a hotbed of unrest, behind the Green Line as it were, with Israel’s military presence limiting Palestinian freedom of travel. For example, roadblocks created by Israeli security authorities make travel between towns and cities long and often onerous. Given such a situation, how exactly can a Palestinian Lit Fest expect a good turnout? Talk about a marketing challenge. It wasn’t about to wonder. Instead, the form of this litfest is as a kind of roadshow; more traveling circus than anything. The writers chosen for the festival take to the roads themselves, journeying en masse from city to city. They bring the festival to the audience, as it were, instead of the other way around. Certainly a creative solution to some very real festival roadblocks.

The Edinburgh Fringe & International Book Festival: Begun in 1947 as a way to throw of post-WWII gloom, this giant festival in the Scottish capitol includes artistic performance of every type, along with an internationally-renowned book festival. This year the founders of the book festival have taken things one step further: with the formation of a Word Alliance network, which, when complete, the founders hope will include participation from a wide array of international book festivals from Scotland, China, the U.S., South America, Africa, Germany, Canada, Australia and India. It’s a combined-forces kind of effort, bringing together directors of these book festivals to connect the literature of these countries, positively affecting the relationship of all authors and their audiences.

Filed Under: Education, General Tagged With: Education, Literary Festivals

How to Create a School Writing Day

September 15, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

How to give your school a writing shot in the arm? Why not make a day of it? Whether a private or public school, an entire school day devoted to writing is possible. It requires a coordinator, an approved budget, volunteers, and a willingness on the part of the school to try something new.

As with any large effort, it is critical there be a coordinator. This person can either be a parent or community volunteer, or they can receive a stipend for their work. Ideally this person will be knowledgeable about writing, and passionate about its importance. It doesn’t hurt if they have a very creative mind, and happen to be an A+ problem-solver, too.

First, write up your proposal for such an event and ask for permission to present it to the school administration and faculty. Think about objectives, budget, staff, and operations. Be ready to provide possible solutions to questions. Make it easy for teachers to see the value, and make it clear this is a way to bring instruction to conclusion, with fun.

Once you receive approval, the organization begins. Many volunteers are needed. Create a process for recruiting such volunteers, and get them excited! Break them into categories: writing day activity brainstorm groups, program information messengers, supplies, accounting, and more. Breaking things down this way will allow for no volunteer to feel overwhelmed.

The writing day itself can be as creative as you make it: Create giant “Madlib” posters. Find an old block of wood and set it up in your school courtyard as the “Writer’s Block”where students scribble down writing tips. Cover a table with items and ask students to describe using their five senses. Bring in a dance instructor for students to move their bodies to express different adjectives.

A School Writing Day can be exactly what the writing doctor ordered: an opportunity to teach, excite, and renew interest.

Filed Under: Education, General, Writing Tagged With: Education, School

Like to Read? Online Universities’ Accredited Degrees are Available to You

September 12, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

When it comes to reading, there are all kinds of reasons why people do it. Some of them are just in love with books, and they’ll read almost anything they can get their hands on. Others read because it’s required of them for a class at school or a job they have. People read to learn, to relax, and for all kinds of other reasons. A lot of writers read so they can get ideas and keep up with what’s popular in the media. Whatever your reasons for reading, you can put your love of books to good use by going back to school.

You don’t have to spend a lot of time driving to a classroom and adjusting your schedule around class times, either. With the popularity of online universities accredited degrees are as close as your computer. That doesn’t mean you can get them without any work, though. You’ll still have to study, write papers, read, and pass tests. If you love reading, though—especially if you do it so you can learn—there’s no better way to do that than through schooling. You’ll have the opportunity to read all kinds of new things, and you’ll learn so much.

Once you get done with schooling and put it to good use in the job market, don’t stop reading. What kinds of books you pick up may change, but a love of reading should be embraced and enjoyed. There are always things to find out and adventures to have when you pick up a book. You can get lost in a world that isn’t yours, just for a little while. Books are great escapes from hectic lives that aren’t always as exciting as people would like them to be. No matter what kinds of books you like to read, keep enjoying them and appreciating what they have to offer.

Filed Under: Books, Education, General, Reading Tagged With: Accredited Degrees, Online Universities

Teaching Writing through Example

September 7, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

We’ve all heard that when children see their parents reading, they become better readers. It stands to reason that the more children see us write, the better or more prolific writers they may become. How often do your children see you write? What do they see you write? Is your writing limited to filling out checks, or typing in numbers to your online budgeting software? Do your children see you write letters and lists? Do they see you write longer pieces like poems, stories, informational essays, paragraphs, or songs?

It’s very easy to forget about the need to show writing through example. Often our children come home with homework which requires them to write a book report, or complete a story or poem. It’s necessary that we appreciate their efforts. But it can ring hollow to a child’s ears when they-not thrilled with their writing assignments-wonder to themselves,”Why do I need to do this? After all, Mom and Dad don’t write.” It can seem pointless to write-after all, it’s clear they won’t need it in the “real world.”

It may be difficult at first to begin to show more writing examples. We live in a technological age: the writing we do-often on a keyboard–may simply not be as noticeable. So make it obvious, with a good old-fashioned pen and paper. Start writing notes to your child in their lunchbox. If you need to help your teen remember appointments, write their schedule on a dry-erase board and tuck a note version of the same into their backpack. Start a family suggestion box. Write positive night-time notes to your children and leave them on their pillows; make them creative by writing riddles, poems, and small stories.

Follow the example of parents that read by becoming parents that write-and watch your children follow your example.

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