Ocean State Libraries

When cell phones are banned at their school, students start communicating through sticky notes left all over the school, triggering a wave of bullying activities in the wake of a new girl's arrival.

Funny and surprising on every page, Is That a Fish in Your Ear offers readers new insight into the mystery of how we come to know what someone else means whether we wish to understand Asteerix cartoons or a foreign head of state. Using translation as his lens, David Bellos shows how much we can learn about ourselves by exploring the ways we use translation, from the historical roots of written language to the stylistic choices of Ingmar Bergman, from...

"Why does writing exist? What does it mean to those who write? Born from the interplay of natural and cultural history, the seemingly magical act of writing has continually expanded our consciousness. Portrayed in mythology as either a gift from heroes or a curse from the gods, it has been used as both an instrument of power and a channel of the divine; a means of social bonding and of individual self-definition. Now, as the revolution once wrought...

In twelve rewarding lectures, Professor Allison Friederichs shares the secrets to sharpening the written, oral, and interpersonal communications skills. With humor and enthusiasm, along with dozens of tools, examples, and exercises, Professor Friederichs will teach how to select the right words; ensure proper grammar and punctuation; and analyze, craft, and edit your message, all while using a reader-centric lens.

We are surrounded by documents of all kinds, from receipts to letters, business memos to books, yet we rarely stop to reflect on their significance. Now, in this period of digital transition, our written forms as well as out reading and writing habits are being questioned and transformed by new technologies ad practices. What is the future of the book? Is paper about to disappear? With the Internet and World Wide Web, what will happen to libraries,...

"Walter J. Ong's classic work provides a fascinating insight into the social effects of oral, written, printed and electronic technologies, and their impact on philosophical, theological, scientific and literary thought. This thirtieth anniversary edition - coinciding with Ong's centenary year - reproduces his best-known and most influential book in full and brings it up to date with two new exploratory essays by cultural writer and critic John Hartley....

Join in the fun with Marko, and learn how to brainstorm ideas for an assignment; find a hook to interest readers; organize sentences and ideas effectively; avoid unclear pronouns; use transitional phrases; involve readers with effective dialogue; enrich your work with similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, personification. Stories, essays, term papers, or standardized tests - whatever you write, Marko gives you proven strategies for getting remarkable...