Practical English Level 365 Volume 1 - Author - Kaakyire Akosomo Nyantaki - Book Review

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We all have heard the old adage "Never judge a book by its cover," but let's face it, we all make snap judgments about everything, everyone, all of the time. The way someone dresses, their hairstyle, mannerisms or the way they speak makes us think highly, or perhaps not so highly of that person. It is very important you make a lasting impression on people, and "Practical English Level 365 Volume 1 (Day 1 - Day 200)," by Kaakyire Akosomo Nyantakyi gives us the essential skills to communicate and write more effectively. Furthermore, it provides lessons for substantially increasing your vocabulary.

Mr. Nyantakyi stresses from the very beginning of his book one has to be consistent about studying the English language and work hard in order to see results. Homework is necessary and a fundamental aspect of knowledge acquisition. The famous phrase "No pain, no gain" is made clear in his book.

"Practical English" is not an in depth study of grammar, but rather a highly practical overview of grammar, punctuation and usage. It starts from basic sentence structures to verbs, nouns then moves on to punctuation, dialogue and more advanced writing skills. Many of the topics covered are those one encounters when writing, making "Practical English Level 365" extremely useful. Frequent and common errors are identified and discussed, clarifying the reasoning behind such rules. Examples are given of both incorrect and correct writing styles in a clear and non-judgmental fashion. In some sections, the formal and informal methods are demonstrated, both of which are correct, depending upon the context.

Reading the "Instructional Dialogue" examples followed by the "Workshop" wonderfully illustrates the techniques of writing. The reader is not just told, but also shown, how to use these skills. Moreover, the practice exercises are both realistic and designed to test your understanding of what you have read, insuring a higher level of retaining what you have learned. The book is paced so that each day you are given a different exercise to study with two reading and writing assignments. I envision the exercises to be an easy and intuitive way for people learning English, perhaps as a second language (ESL), to acquaint themselves with the basic fundamentals of grammar without feeling overwhelmed.

As an editor, I often find in other people's work frequent misuse of certain words, punctuation, tense and sentence structure. Proper use of English was taught in grade school, but many people forgot or simply are in need of a refresher course. I would encourage anyone, at any skill level, to read each exercise as instructed, as "Practical English" can be used as a resource to enhance your writing skills. "Practical English Level 365 Volume 1 (Day 1-Day 200)" is easy to read, logically organized and the approach is just right! I highly recommend this book to students, adults and anyone who would like to review the nuances of the English language. Simply put, it is an invaluable tool to enhance the reader's skill level.

Nicole Sorkin is the Managing Editor for Pacific Book Review. Please visit Pacific Book Review at: http://www.pacificbookreview.com/

A Canadian Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker

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If you have room for just one writer's reference beside your computer monitor or writing area, make it Diana Hacker's A Canadian Writer's Reference. This handbook answers all the questions of grammar, style, and format that come up while you are writing. Now in its third edition, A Canadian Writer's Reference stays up to date and grows with the times: the newest edition includes advice on the production of electronic documents and web site design as well as instructions for properly citing an electronic source in several citation systems.

A number of special features make this writer's reference particularly easy to use. A sturdy plastic coil binding makes it easy to open the book to any page and have it remain open on the desk while you work. It is easy to flip from page to page and from section to section. It's easy to find things as well: a main menu inside the front cover divides the book up into twelve sections - four under "Composition/Style," four under "Correctness," and the remainder under "Research/Basic Grammar." Within the text, these sections are easily located with index style tabs, and within each section there's a more detailed menu of the section contents. At the back of the book, writers find all of the section menus together in a single detailed menu inside the back cover as well as an index.

Special features of Diana Hacker's writer's reference include detailed instructions for using the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) styles of documentation. There is a whole section written for speakers of English as a second language (ESL), and text boxes throughout the book highlighting ESL issues. Other text boxes contain quick checklists, examples to illustrate a point, or cautions about common problems with electronic grammar checkers.

A new feature for the third edition of A Canadian Writer's Reference is a companion website that greatly expands the content of the book for writers connected to the internet. Throughout the book, On the Web text boxes provide information about the web site content and how it can be integrated with material in the book. Web site content is particularly useful for students, who will find many practice exercises there.

Anyone searching for a comprehensive writer's handbook should consider A Canadian Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker. This invaluable book clearly describes the correct approach to problems with English composition, grammar, documentation and other writing pitfalls. While it is endlessly useful to all English speaking writers it is particularly valuable to students and those grappling with ESL issues. Earlier editions are still relevant; however, the most current edition provides the best value.

Hacker, Diana. A Canadian Writer's Reference 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004

ISBN: 0-312-41683-0

Rosemary Drisdelle is a freelance writer with a particular interest in science and health writing for a general audience. She is the author of "Birds" for Suite101.com, and is available for writing projects on a contract basis. Contact Attica Freelance Writers.

Understanding Surgery By Doctor Joel Berman Presents Medical Info for Families!

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I highly recommend Dr. Joel Berman's Understanding Surgery for your home medical reference bookshelf! I was pleased to be asked to review the 2008 second printing of this major effort, and found that, just as the title says, it is A Comprehensive Guide for Every Family!

One thing I want to quickly point out. Although this book is geared toward Surgery; i.e., Dr. Berman provides complete information that is needed as you are considering surgery, I found that the book is so well presented and written, that it is easily also a wonderful overall medical reference manual. For instance, if you have something that is bothering you in your chest, there is an extensive index that can be used to find different issues to review. Also, since there is no way to totally eliminate the use of hard-to-understand medical terms, Dr. Berman has included an extensive glossary that is written in easily understandable words.

I admit that I'm one of those individuals who is afraid to hear "the bad news" because I find it hard to understand and thus fear interactions with doctors and potential surgeons. However, right from the start of the book, Dr. Berman has taken the time to make readers feel more comfortable--he has written silly, funny, and sometimes outrageous limericks to start each conversation. Then he moves very professionally into describing exactly what is involved and what the patient and family needs to know as they explore the option for surgery.

The manual is divided into two parts. The second part includes a single chapter on anything and everything that may be operable (and even a little about what is not). Dr. Berman moves from his own "general surgery" area, which includes such things as gall bladder, appendix, and transplants. Then he moves into areas for which specialists are normally sought, moving through various parts of the body from head to feet, (including plastic surgery) describing what may be problems, and then what can and would be done through surgery. Each narrative includes detailed diagrams of the affected body area, clearly marked for use in understanding the actual process.

While Part II will be the more important part of this reference manual on an ongoing basis, I found Part I to be very informative. Oftentimes, professionals, especially specialists, are brought in to handle a specific task, or surgery. While we, the patients are grateful, we have no idea what has actually taken place!

Dr. Berman, in Part I, has taken care of this problem! He begins with a brief history of surgery, education of the surgeon and then specialties that have been developed. He talks about the details that we, the patients, wouldn't immediately think about if we were in pain, but that would be very important to us, if we weren't seeing the individual for an immediate medical reason. The book includes what questions to explore with the surgeon(s).

Part I takes us into the surgeon's office, into the operating room and/or an outpatient surgical center, as well as the emergency room. He ensures that we need to talk to our surgeon, consider second opinions, credentials, and qualifications of the individuals involved. Then the issues of postoperative care, complications, infections and antibiotics are covered.

The potential use of lasers or laparoscopy (a method of operating which uses only a few small openings into the abdomen) are, first, explained, and then reviewed as options. The importance of rehabilitation is covered thoroughly. Then more detailed information on problem areas, such as hemorrhage, the issue of diabetes and surgery and problems with wound healing, as well as the importance of anesthesia and the professional in that area are discussed.

In fact, as I reviewed the book, I could not think of anything that I could want to know that was not at least mentioned by Dr. Berman. And, if more information was suggested, then he also provided references, including his first book, Comprehensive Breast Care.

Unfortunately we oftentimes do not think about valuable health-care information until it is too late to spend time reading and learning what we want to know. For this reason, I consider this a must-read/home library requirement! Spend some time right now and prepare for responding to life-threatening issues!

Understanding Surgery: A Comprehensive Guide for Every Family

By Dr. Joel Berman

Branden Books

ISBN: 0-8283-2061-6

496 Pages

G. A. Bixler is co-owner of an online review site of Independent Professional Book Reviewers. She has over 40 years experience in educational administration and publishing. New or well-known, self-published, or small press authors are all welcomed! Compare our prices to other professional book review sites!

http://www.bookreviewers.org/

Online Oxford English Dictionary

The most popular and widely accepted dictionary all over the word is Oxford English dictionary. There were two editions of this earlier and the third one is about to launch. The head of the Oxford university press, Mr Nigel Portwood said that the third edition of the dictionary will only be in electronic form. The online version of the Oxford English Dictionary was a great success and this was the inspiration for them to publish the third edition electronically. The first edition of Oxford English Dictionary was printed in 1928 and in the year 1989 the second edition was printed.

There are many benefits for the online version. The online version is more economic. Usually the printed edition was sold for about nine hundred and ninety-five dollars and the online version is available for two hundred and ninety-five dollars. It is always easy to use your desktop or lap to check the word meaning rather than checking the big book with your hands. The space for keeping the book in your shelf can also be saved if you are subscribing the online version.

There are frequent updates provided to the online version which will not be available in the printed version. The printed version contains the meaning of the word, its usage in the history, the proper pronunciation and the etymology. About eighty lexicographers are working for the third edition of Oxford English dictionary. The revised entries will be updated to the online edition every three months. The Amazon has reported a great hike in the sales on online books. Therefore it is sure that the online dictionary will be accepted wholeheartedly by the language lovers. But still then there are many people who prefer to buy the printed version still sticking to the traditional way of reading. But during the time of power loss everyone will be thinking of having a printed edition of the books.

Online Oxford Dictionary [http://www.buzzycode.com/ShowArticles-Online-Oxford-English-Dictionary-602.aspx]

Book Review - "Reading Like a Writer," by Francine Prose

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It may seem like ridiculously obvious advice, but it's one of those bits of ridiculously obvious advice that bears repeating over and over again: In order to be a great, or even good, writer, you have to read. Read a lot. And read good writing. In Francine Prose's recent bestseller Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, she suggests going a step further and reading in a more careful, thoughtful way. After all, what good is recognizing that Virginia Woolf wrote beautifully complex sentences if you don't understand how she pulled them off?

Prose takes the reader chapter by chapter through various elements of writing that can be examined upon a close reading of a text. And they're not all as simple or common as character arc or the use of active verbs. For example, how often have you thought about paragraph breaks? How does a paragraph break affect a reader, and how should you decide when to break them? I get the feeling that most writers, especially new writers, don't think about this at all. If they did, they might say something like "they just break naturally" or "when a new thought begins."

But the point of Prose's observations is that books and stories don't write themselves. Every letter and comma is the result of a decision by a writer--a decision that could have been made differently and changed the meaning of an entire sentence, passage, or story. Try taking a piece of your own writing and playing with the paragraph breaks. Free yourself from the constraints of your first draft; you can always restore it. See how breaking differently makes the text read differently. As Prose puts it, "merely thinking about 'the paragraph' puts us ahead of the game." She makes the following lovely analogy: "The paragraph could be understood as a sort of literary respiration, with each paragraph as an extended--in some cases, very extended--breath."

It's difficult to describe a book such as this by quoting its author, since her entire purpose is to convince you to read other authors. You may not see a paragraph as a breath; you may see it as a story or a question or a piece of information. But in order to discover what role paragraphs play in your own writing, it's useful to read as many other writers as possible, and stop to see what paragraphs mean to their work.

Prose cites mostly older, classic works (though some are fairly obscure), and some more contemporary examples would have been nice--but they also would have caused a nightmarish situation in her publisher's permissions department. The classics, of course, have plenty to teach, and studying them is less likely to make you think, "But I don't want to copy [insert dead white male here]." But in the rather overwhelming "Books To Be Read Immediately" list at the end, you'll find Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son and Alice Munro's Selected Stories alongside Austin and Hemingway.

Let's say you're writing a thriller, and the last thing you want to do is be seen as just another Dan Brown want to-be, so you're staying as far away as possible from anything remotely related to The Da Vinci Code. That doesn't mean you can't attempt to emulate its page-turning style. Read it closely, and look at the paragraphs. The sentences. The chapter breaks. Read other thrillers you like as well, so you'll feel less fear of copying one particular author... but if you have your own story to tell, and your own style, that won't happen anyway. Good writers can learn from one another's work without committing plagiarism or losing their own voices.

In the opening chapters of Reading Like a Writer, I found myself frustrated that Prose was bombarding me with examples without providing quite enough explanation of why she chose them. But, as she might have predicted, this bothered me less as I continued to read--because I found myself more and more able to follow her advice and read carefully (a nice experience for someone who's used to rushing to finish a chapter before the next subway stop).

A few final notes:

Learning to read carefully doesn't mean you have to do it all the time. You can and should still lose yourself in a good book without stopping to analyze the effectiveness of its use of gesture. But just as architects can both study the construction of great buildings and admire their beauty, writers can study the construction of great works, and apply some of the techniques they see to their own writing, without giving up the joy of reading. If you want only the latter, you're not willing to work hard enough to be a successful writer.As its subtitle suggests, Reading Like a Writer is not only a book for writers. I've recommended it to friends who are avid readers, because people who read a lot and like to discuss what they read are also eager to understand why they like what they like. Prose's writing is accessible and engaging, not pedantic or dry. She's expressing, more than anything, her love of great literature, and that's not a feeling exclusive to writers.Francine Prose really, really likes Chekhov's short stories. She devotes an entire chapter to why she likes him so much, one reason being that he was skillful enough to break every "rule" she's ever heard of in writing, including some she's mentioned previously in her very own book. I agree that he's a master of the short story; you should find out for yourself. If you already know you aren't a Chekhov fan, skip that chapter. But read the rest. And then go read all the books on that "Books To Be Read Immediately" list.

Lisa Silverman is a freelance book editor and works in the copyediting department at one of New York's most prestigious literary publishing houses. She has also worked as a ghostwriter and a literary agent representing both book authors and screenwriters. She founded BeYourOwnEditor.com in order to provide writers with free advice on both writing and the publishing business.

You Should Read the Dictionary - I Know it Sounds Crazy, But You Will Be Glad You Did

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Who on Earth would bother to read the dictionary? Well, you are reading an article about someone who did and has read several dictionaries from cover to cover, and I must say has learned a lot along the way. And just in case you think I am crazy, did you know Bill Gates read the entire encyclopedia? Do you think Bill Gates is crazy? What is it that people who read reference books gain? Hmm, well, I think you ought to find out that answer to that yourself.

In fact, I am going to recommend that you read the dictionary, no, not the unabridged Oxford version that is one foot square and ten inches high, yes, I have one of those. It does have just about every word you'll ever read except for the create-a-word blogging bandits vocabulary. Rather, I am going to recommend that you read a smaller version with adequate print. My choice is the;

"Webster's Dictionary" with over 50,000 entries for home, school and office. Edited by John Gage Allee, Ph.D. 1978.

Why do I recommend an older version? Well it does not have all the new buzz words or recent words that you already know, so you are do not have any silly distractions. It's only 446 pages and that is not much bigger than a long novel. Yes the print is smaller than a novel, so maybe its equivalent to a 892 page book, but you can handle that, you are a grown up now. And even if you read only one letter per day you will finish in a month without breaking a sweat and your mind will have more time to soak it up too. Go for it.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio

Practical Poetic Anthology

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The A to Z's of poetic styles is a teaching tool every poet should own. It is also extremely entertaining. With Pat Simpson at the helm, the project began.

Patricia Ann Farnsworth-Simpson put out the call to poets from all over the world to poets who knew how to write in particular forms to submit them to this book.

It did help that Patricia is partners with Daveda Gruber and together they own their own poetry site, Poetry with Passion.

Many of the Poets-World-Wide group began submitting poems done in specific poetic styles. This book took time and energy from many poets who worked very hard to produce poems that would entertain the reader while showing the different styles.

Not only is there a genuine glossary, but examples of how to put the tools into effect. This book could help students of poetry and should be available in libraries.

The diversity of the subject matter and the forms used to portray them has brought about a book superior to most. The poets you will find within the pages are talented and some of the best of this generation.

The writers involved are most definitely a 'who's who' in the poetry world. Daveda Gruber, Patricia Ann Farnworth, Tina R. Jussaume, Joseph Spence Sr., Erich Goller, P. F. Kosack, Helen Mcmanus, Joe Hartman, Jacquelyn Sturge, Michael L. Schuh, J. Elwood Davis and Mary Ann Duhart (winner of the best poem for 9/11 competition presented by Poetry with Passion) are just a few of the published authors within the covers of this teaching book.

With pride, the Poets-World-Wide group, have once again, combined for a an outstanding accomplishment.