Reading Social

In any time of disruption or grief, many of us seek guidance in the work of great writers who endured similar circumstances. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, historian and biographer Robert Zaretsky did the same while also working as a volunteer in a nursing home in south Texas. In Victories Never Last, Zaretsky weaves his reflections on the pandemic siege of his nursing home with the testimony of six writers on their own times of plague: Thucydides, Marcus Aurelius, Michel de Montaigne, Daniel Defoe, Mary Shelley, and Albert Camus.

Do you want to know how to analyze people instantly? Do you want to know if someone is lying straight to your face? Do you want to avoid making the wrong assumption about someone? If you are tired of it, then you’ve just found the key to mastering it all! Knowing who people are, and what they want to do with you, gives you the power to decide how to deal with them. Most people are in your life for a reason. Some are bad, while some are good. You can make better choices if you analyze them correctly.

Do you worry that you've lost patience for anything longer than a tweet? If so, you're not alone. Digital-age pundits warn that as our appetite for books dwindles, so too do the virtues in which printed, bound objects once trained us: the willpower to focus on a sustained argument, the curiosity to look beyond the day's news, the willingness to be alone. The shelves of the world's great libraries, though, tell a more complicated story. Examining the wear and tear on the books that they contain, English professor Leah Price finds scant evidence that a golden age of reading ever existed.

The truth is, we all have a deep need to feel understood and connected to others. And yet, most of us do not know how to create those connections. Some may have given up all hope, but it does not have to be this way!

In 1919, Texas rancher J. Frank Norfleet lost everything he had in a stock market swindle. He did what many other marks did - he went home, borrowed more money from his family, and returned for another round of swindling. Only after he lost that second fortune did he reclaim control of his story. Instead of crawling back home in shame, he vowed to hunt down the five men who had conned him. Through Norfleet's ingenious reverse-swindle, Amy Reading reveals the mechanics behind the scenes of the big con.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible proclaims justice and abundance for the poor. Yet these powerful passages about poverty are frequently overlooked and misinterpreted. Enter the Poor People's Campaign, a movement against racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and religious nationalism. In We Cry Justice, Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the campaign, is joined by pastors, community organizers, scholars, low-wage workers, lay leaders, and people in poverty to interpret sacred stories about the poor seeking healing, equity, and freedom.

Derided by the Right as dangerous and by the Left as spineless, Barack Obama puzzles observers. In Reading Obama, James T. Kloppenberg reveals the sources of Obama's ideas and explains why his principled aversion to absolutes does not fit contemporary partisan categories. Obama's commitments to deliberation and experimentation derive from sustained engagement with American democratic thought.

American Libraries editor in chief Leonard Kniffel offers a compelling collection of interviews with prominent figures--all of whom have special connections to libraries. From President Barack Obama to actress Julie Andrews; from basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to former First Lady and librarian Laura Bush and many others, stars of literature, politics, entertainment, and the public arena speak with Kniffel about the ways libraries have been critical in their lives.

A must-hear for parents, teachers, and anyone interested in education, The Reading Gap: Journey to Answers is written by a former teacher who couldn't read and who later became a prominent literacy advocate. This book interweaves the author's personal story with the current state of research, teacher training, and instruction. It also addresses the uncomfortable truth about the scope of illiteracy and sub-literacy in the US, as well as the far-reaching consequences and devastating effects on our society. Included too is this powerful message: don't blame teachers; train them.

On sabbatical from teaching literature to undergraduates, and wanting to educate a different kind of student, Mikita Brottman starts a book club with a group of convicts from the Jessup Correctional Institution in Maryland. She assigns them 10 dark, challenging classics, including Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Poe's story "The Black Cat", and Nabokov's Lolita.

Does your lacking confidence hold you back? Do you struggle with social anxiety? Can’t remember the last time you went out and started a conversation with somebody? The good thing is, you’re not alone. An estimated 15 million adults in the US suffer from social anxiety or shyness. This volume is the go-to guide in becoming a master in the art of social interaction and freeing yourself from anxiety. There’s no gimmicks, extensive therapy or wacky techniques, it simply breaks down each vital component and will give you the confidence you need.

After living in the city of Orphalese for 12 years, a prophet is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a seeress and the people of the city, who ask him for his insights into life. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

Do you wish you could read faster? For decades, many people have turned to speed reading to become faster and more efficient readers. This is a new century and speed reading has progressed, assisted by technology and new ways of looking at how reading occurs and memory works.

Have you always wanted to sharpen up your memory? Think faster? Or even absorb information twice as fast? If this sounds like you, then you’ve come to the right place. You see, self-improvement is something that we all strive for, but fixing our flaws and weaknesses is something we often tend to avoid, when really we shouldn’t. By simply implementing the practical and highly effective methods of speed reading, critical thinking, and memory improvement taught in these books, you will finally be on your way to becoming the ultimate version of yourself.

Comprehension proposes a comprehensive new model of reading instruction that goes beyond teaching skills to fostering engagement and motivation. Using a structured, three-pronged approach—skill, will, and thrill—students learn to experience reading as a purposeful act and embrace struggle as a natural part of the reading process.

Just as people are intimidated by psychology, they can be too intimidated to learn about the brain, too. But the way we explain both of these topics in Psychology Manipulation is like no other audiobook. Not only do we apply psychology and the brain to manipulation, but we do it in a way that anyone can understand. All of us could benefit from learning more about subjects like mind reading, psychological manipulation, and lie detection. Knowing the fundamentals of psychology will benefit you.

Why is it that we read? Is it to pass time? To learn something new? To escape from reality? For Will Schwalbe, reading is a way to entertain himself but also to make sense of the world, to become a better person, and to find the answers to the big (and small) questions about how to live his life. In this delightful celebration of reading, Schwalbe invites us along on his quest for books that speak to the specific challenges of living in our modern world, with all its noise and distractions.

Interested in knowing what others are thinking before they speak? Do you want to speed read people and decode their body language? Effectively reading body language helps you empathize with others and make better decisions because you know what the other person is thinking. As a corporate productivity coach, I have spent years studying body language in the context of sales meetings, client presentations, and even direct selling. Being able to read both the room and an individual fosters better communication, self-understanding and greater professional success.

In a world where words often conceal the truth, Author Travis V. Brock invites you on a journey into the fascinating realm of the human psyche. Within this groundbreaking manual, Brock unveils the master keys to decipher the intricate cipher of body language and psychology, enabling you to peer directly into the inner workings of another person's mind. Uncover the hidden secrets to deciphering the subtle cues, gestures, and expressions that convey our deepest intentions and emotions: You will read people like a book!

This comprehensive guide combines the wisdom of two powerful audiobooks to equip you with a holistic understanding of human behavior, nonverbal communication, and the art of influence. Unleash the full potential of your interpersonal skills and gain an unparalleled advantage in decoding, analyzing, and positively influencing the people around you—there’ll be nothing you can’t do!