Social Linguistics

It only takes about seven seconds for the look on their faces to determine someone's mood. Body language is considered louder than talking directly. Your ultimate aim in relationships should be to be able to communicate appropriately. If your partner doesn't understand how you feel, not expressing yourself rightly can cause a lot of problems. Human beings must be able to express reasoning, solutions, and conclusions in ways that the listener is interested in or otherwise have no meaning.

L. Frank Baum called this and The Wizard of Oz his two best books! A magic umbrella transports Trot, Buttonbright, and Cap'n Bill to an island in the sky inhabited by the Blues, the Pinks, and the evil Boolooroo.

The Lady or the Tiger, which will it be? The unanswerable question, but certainly something to think about. And going even further, did the princess regret her decision later? Originally published in 1882, in The Century magazine by Frank R Stockton, this short story has become an allegorical expression for an unsolvable problem.

Socrates questions Ion, an actor who just won a major prize, about his ability to interpret the epic poetry of Homer. How does an actor, a poet, or any other artist create? Is it by knowing? Is it by inspiration? As the dialogue proceeds, the nature of human creativity emerges as a mysterious process and an unsolved puzzle.

Bring history back to life through Jim Hodges' historically accurate, exciting, and edifying audio recordings. The conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernando Cortez and a mere handful of Spaniards is one of the greatest romances of history. A writer of fiction would scarcely have dared to invent so improbable a story, but it is true. Fortunately Cortez was able to ally himself with many peoples conquered by the Aztecs who were all too happy to assist in their downfall.

It's normal to feel anxious about our relationships from time to time, but if you're feeling constantly overwhelmed and panicked then something needs to change. In fact, anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues in the United States. But that doesn't mean you have to suffer from it forever. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a powerful tool that can help you overcome your anxiety and improve your communication skills.

The Hairy Ape (1922) is an expressionist play by Eugene O'Neill. The protagonist, Yank, yearns for a sense of belonging in a world he perceives as being controlled by the rich. Initially, Yank enjoys his job stoking the engines of an ocean liner. Then the wealthy daughter of a steel magnate refers to him as a "filthy beast", and Yank starts experiencing an identity crisis. He leaves the ship, and while walking around Manhattan, comes to the conclusion that he does not belong anywhere; not with the rich on Fifth Avenue nor with the labor unions on the waterfront.

Sigmund Freud revolutionized the way in which we think about ourselves. From its beginnings as a theory of neurosis Freud developed psychoanalysis into a general psychology, which became widely accepted as the predominant mode of discussing personality and interpersonal relationships. Anthony Storr goes one step further and investigates the status of Freud's legacy today and the disputes that surround it.

For anyone communicating with other people, from nice people to complete jerks, neurolinguistic programming (NLP) can be life changing. People use these techniques to be more successful, to teach, to motivate, and to change relationships. In short, NLP has allowed many people to become more successful in everything they do.

A squire's mansion is mistaken for an inn. His daughter, pretending to be a barmaid, tries to win the love of the bashful Marlowe. Havoc ensues.

Recent research suggests there are only six basic emotions. But if that makes you feel uneasy, suspicious, and maybe even a little bereft, The Book of Human Emotions is for you. In this unique book, you'll get to travel across the world and through time, learning how different cultures have articulated the human experience and picking up some fascinating new knowledge about yourself along the way.

After the young Prince Edward VI of England and a peasant boy switch places, the "little king" tries to escape from a world in which he must beg for food, sleep with rodents, face ridicule, and avoid assassination. Meanwhile, the peasant, who is now the prince, dreads exposure and possible execution; members of the Court believe he has gone mad. As a result of the swap, both boys learn that social class, like so much of life, is determined by chance and random circumstance. With his caustic wit and biting irony, Twain satirizes the power of the monarchy, superstitions, and religious intolerance.

With so many Bible translations available today, how can you find those that will be most useful to you? What is the difference between a translation that calls itself “literal” and one that is more “meaning-based”? And what difference does it make for you as a reader or listener of God’s Word? How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth brings clarity and insight to the current debate over translations and translation theories.

This is the handwritten book that Carroll wrote for private use before being urged to develop it later into Alice in Wonderland. It was meant to entertain his family and friends. When a sick child in a hospital enjoyed it so much, the mother wrote him saying it had distracted her for a bit from her pain and led eventually to Carroll expanding the story.

In a fortuitous laboratory accident, crack scientist Richard Seaton has unlocked the secret of atomic energy. Now, partnered with his wealthy engineering-genius friend Martin Crane, he's preparing to give the world the gift of limitless, virtually free energy - and of space travel. But others want Seaton's secret for themselves.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, the English poet Francis Thompson (1859-1907) was a true mystic. While more celebrated poets, like Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Arnold, were content to express their religious leanings in traditional devotional formulae, Thompson strove to portray the divine directly, in all its terrifying majesty. In this way he is more akin to earlier masters, like Henry Vaughan and George Herbert, than to the poets of his own day.

Jude Fawley, the stonemason excluded not by his wits but by poverty from the world of Christminster privilege, finds fulfilment in his relationship with Sue Bridehead. Both have left earlier marriages. Ironically, when tragedy tests their union it is Sue, the modern emancipated woman, who proves unequal to the challenge. Hardy’s fearless exploration of sexual and social relationships and his prophetic critique of marriage scandalised the late Victorian establishment and marked the end of his career as a novelist. Part of a series of vintage recordings taken from the Penguin Archives.

In The Phoenix and the Carpet, five adventurous children are given a carpet that, unknown by their parents, contains a magic egg that hatches into a phoenix. A series of escapades ensues, some amusing, others dangerous and but all of which are entertaining.

From the instance of its first publication, in 1766, Oliver Goldsmith's novel of Christian piety and endurance has stood the test of time. The story is told in the first person by a vicar, Dr. Primrose, who, along with his wife and six children, lives a rural idyllic life in a country parish. It is a very sophisticated work which contrasts the forces that separate religious principal from the actual experiences of life. It is also a delightful, sentimental work whose amusing characters are both wise and foolish, brave and cowardly, rich and poor, as well as honest and knavish.

"The fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders, who was born in Newgate, and during a life of continue'd variety for three-score years, besides her childhood, was twelve year a whore, five times a wife (whereof once to her own brother), twelve year a thief, eight year a transported felon in Virginia at last grew rich, liv'd honest, and died a penitent."