Negotiating for pay and perks requires you to sell yourself as a brand. How you walk, talk, and look reflects on that brand. Do you come across as inspiring, confident, and competent, or blah, boring, and bored? Not sure how you come across? Tape yourself and watch, or do a mock interview with a trusted friend—one you can trust to tell you the truth.
Your body language tells people more about who you are, how confident you are about your abilities, and how much you might be worth, than you can express in words—or in a résumé. Great leaders have commanding presence. They exude authority, confidence, and control when entering a room. Develop the nonverbal skills of great leaders to make a strong impression during your next negotiation. Here are six nonverbal habits that will leave others wowed by your presence:
Make Eye ContactEye contact makes you appear confident and competent. Shifty, or wandering, eyes reflect a lack of confidence and could damage your ability to negotiate the best package. When you ask for a substantial increase in salary or benefits, you must appear as though you deserve it. Eye contact not only helps create a stronger bond between you and your listener; it leaves a powerful impression that you are confident about yourself. In a business setting, it is not only acceptable but appropriate to maintain eye contact 80% to 90% of the time.
Avoid Tapping, Fidgeting, and FumblingNervous gestures can undermine your efforts to appear confident and competent. Be aware of the small ticks that might reflect a case of nerves. The most common is toe tapping. Have you ever sat across from someone whose feet are jiggling a mile a minute? It's obvious and annoying. The same goes with fidgeting with your fingers or fumbling around with a notepad or pen. When you are seated behind a table or desk, avoid tapping your fingers on the surface. Again, it's a subtle nervous gesture that works against a powerful impression.
Lean ForwardLeaning back in a chair makes you appear distant, disinterested, and disconnected. A trick I learned as a TV anchor is to lean forward by positioning yourself near the edge of the chair. If you lean slightly forward, you will appear far more engaged. If you are seated behind a table or desk, rest your hands comfortably on the surface in front of you without invading the space of the other person.
Use Appropriate Hand GesturesWhether you are standing or sitting, hand gestures are important. Dr. David McNeil at the University of Chicago has discovered that complex gestures (two hands above the waist) reflect complex thought. Hand gestures actually give the listener confidence in the speaker.
However, hand gestures during a negotiation must be used sparingly and carefully. Too few hand gestures and you risk looking stiff and wooden; too many hand gestures and you appear out of control. Strive for a balance but don't be afraid of using your hands to emphasize key points.
Maintain an Open Posture"Closed" posture simply means placing a barrier between you and the listener. For example, standing behind a lectern is sometimes off-putting because it creates an artificial barrier between people. In the context of negotiating, reduce barriers. The most obvious barrier is the one you create with your own body. Crossed arms are "closed," as are clasped hands and crossed legs. Crossing your arms or legs across your body at any point during a conversation probably won't make or break the negotiation, but doing it too often might keep you from establishing a strong connection with the other person.
Engage in Active ListeningDuring negotiations, people want to know that the other party is listening. Show genuine interest by maintaining a warm smile, making eye contact, and nodding your head when appropriate. Pause for a second before answering. It shows you are listening and sincerely considering the other person's position.
I have no doubt that you work hard and deserve more pay and perks. In addition to knowing where you stand, the value you provide, and what you plan to say during your negotiation, don't forget to match your nonverbal language with the power of your words. Your body speaks volumes. Make sure it talks confidently!
Monday, August 06, 2007
Saturday, August 04, 2007
'Deathly Hallows' a literal page-turner
Fans adore it. Critics love it. It's flying out of bookstores at a record-setting pace.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the much-anticipated final book in J.K. Rowling's fantasy series, sold 8.3 million copies in 24 hours starting Friday at midnight, U.S. publisher Scholastic reported Sunday. First printing: 12 million, the most ever for a Potter book. The books are out; the word is spreading. "The last Potter is amazing. It has definitely gone way beyond what I expected," Deb Kiehlmeier, 16, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, said of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was released on Saturday to worldwide ecstasy.
Within 24 hours after J K Rowling opened her copy of the book at London's Natural History Museum a minute past Friday night, the book has become the fastest-selling novel in publishing history. Bloomsbury, the publisher, estimated three million copies were sold in the first 24 hours, almost a million more than the last Potter book. "Harry Potter fans are always trying to predict what will happen next, and J K Rowling always gives them something different," Kiehlmeier said. On Day 1 of the A H (After Harry) Era, reviewers and readers mourned the end of a historic series that proved young people can still crave the written word like the crispiest French fry.
Parties to herald the arrival proliferated around the city and across the country. At the Barnes & Noble in Union Square in Manhattan, lines snaked around the block as police officers ordered fans off the street. Downtown in SoHo at the McNally Robinson Bookstore, an adults-only group swilled “magic punch.” And at the Borders at Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle, fans who had been given numbered wristbands earlier in the day thronged around the front of the store at midnight. “Are we ready for Harry Potter?” yelled the manager. “Yea!” the crowd screamed back.
In London, where the book went on sale five hours before New Yorkers could get their hands on a copy, Tineke Dijkstra, a 15-year-old fan from the Netherlands, had waited in line outside the Waterstone’s in Piccadilly Circus for two days to ensure that she was one of the first ones to buy the book. “I slept three hours in the last two days in the rain,” she said after emerging from the store with her copy. “I’m going to go and read one chapter and then go to sleep
Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the study appears in the July 26 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The epilogue has happy families seeing off a new generation of Potters, Weasleys et al to Hogwarts and a sense of things coming full circle. J K Rowling has left her options open — she can always dash off a whole new set of adventures if she ever gets bored of spending her billions. A wonderful feeling of peace pervades the last few pages — the only part of the book where you get the feeling. The rest of it is packed with action, intrigue, thrilling duels and violent deaths.
Scores are settled; the young boys and girls who grew up before your eyes metamorphose into battle hardened warriors. The bumbling Neville Longbottom comes into his own; so does ‘Looney’ Luna Lovegood.
There’s enough gore to satisfy the most bloodthirsty reader. If you’re sentimental, you may weep for some of the prominent characters who meet a bloody end. But the chances are, you’ll be too busy turning pages to get to the latest twist.
If you’re wondering about the title, the deathly hallows are three objects which, united, make the possessor the master of death.
Incidentally, one of the three hallows has long been in Harry’s own possession — the Invisibility Cloak, which he has used to such good effect in several adventures.
Other familiar magical objects like the Polyjuice Potion, and Fred and George Weasley’s bag of tricks too return, and play pivotal roles. And of course, there are the Horcruxes to be tracked down.
New light is shed on important characters like Dumbledore and Snape, which makes you re-assess whatever you may have thought about them so far. And insignificant characters — like the bar man at Hog’s Head — suddenly leap into the limelight.
Instant assessment: The Deathly Hallows is Rowling back in fine form. Forget the meandering Order Of The Phoenix and the flabby, self-indulgent Half-Blood Prince.
Rowling loyalists will argue that those two books were necessary to tie up loose ends. Well, they served that purpose and set the stage for a stirring, no-holds-barred, cutthe-talk and bring-on-the-battles finale.
Rowling delivers. In style. And reminds you exactly what made the series such a huge cultural landmark to begin with.
For more information on Deathly Hallows visit our http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk websites.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the much-anticipated final book in J.K. Rowling's fantasy series, sold 8.3 million copies in 24 hours starting Friday at midnight, U.S. publisher Scholastic reported Sunday. First printing: 12 million, the most ever for a Potter book. The books are out; the word is spreading. "The last Potter is amazing. It has definitely gone way beyond what I expected," Deb Kiehlmeier, 16, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, said of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was released on Saturday to worldwide ecstasy.
Within 24 hours after J K Rowling opened her copy of the book at London's Natural History Museum a minute past Friday night, the book has become the fastest-selling novel in publishing history. Bloomsbury, the publisher, estimated three million copies were sold in the first 24 hours, almost a million more than the last Potter book. "Harry Potter fans are always trying to predict what will happen next, and J K Rowling always gives them something different," Kiehlmeier said. On Day 1 of the A H (After Harry) Era, reviewers and readers mourned the end of a historic series that proved young people can still crave the written word like the crispiest French fry.
Parties to herald the arrival proliferated around the city and across the country. At the Barnes & Noble in Union Square in Manhattan, lines snaked around the block as police officers ordered fans off the street. Downtown in SoHo at the McNally Robinson Bookstore, an adults-only group swilled “magic punch.” And at the Borders at Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle, fans who had been given numbered wristbands earlier in the day thronged around the front of the store at midnight. “Are we ready for Harry Potter?” yelled the manager. “Yea!” the crowd screamed back.
In London, where the book went on sale five hours before New Yorkers could get their hands on a copy, Tineke Dijkstra, a 15-year-old fan from the Netherlands, had waited in line outside the Waterstone’s in Piccadilly Circus for two days to ensure that she was one of the first ones to buy the book. “I slept three hours in the last two days in the rain,” she said after emerging from the store with her copy. “I’m going to go and read one chapter and then go to sleep
Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the study appears in the July 26 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The epilogue has happy families seeing off a new generation of Potters, Weasleys et al to Hogwarts and a sense of things coming full circle. J K Rowling has left her options open — she can always dash off a whole new set of adventures if she ever gets bored of spending her billions. A wonderful feeling of peace pervades the last few pages — the only part of the book where you get the feeling. The rest of it is packed with action, intrigue, thrilling duels and violent deaths.
Scores are settled; the young boys and girls who grew up before your eyes metamorphose into battle hardened warriors. The bumbling Neville Longbottom comes into his own; so does ‘Looney’ Luna Lovegood.
There’s enough gore to satisfy the most bloodthirsty reader. If you’re sentimental, you may weep for some of the prominent characters who meet a bloody end. But the chances are, you’ll be too busy turning pages to get to the latest twist.
If you’re wondering about the title, the deathly hallows are three objects which, united, make the possessor the master of death.
Incidentally, one of the three hallows has long been in Harry’s own possession — the Invisibility Cloak, which he has used to such good effect in several adventures.
Other familiar magical objects like the Polyjuice Potion, and Fred and George Weasley’s bag of tricks too return, and play pivotal roles. And of course, there are the Horcruxes to be tracked down.
New light is shed on important characters like Dumbledore and Snape, which makes you re-assess whatever you may have thought about them so far. And insignificant characters — like the bar man at Hog’s Head — suddenly leap into the limelight.
Instant assessment: The Deathly Hallows is Rowling back in fine form. Forget the meandering Order Of The Phoenix and the flabby, self-indulgent Half-Blood Prince.
Rowling loyalists will argue that those two books were necessary to tie up loose ends. Well, they served that purpose and set the stage for a stirring, no-holds-barred, cutthe-talk and bring-on-the-battles finale.
Rowling delivers. In style. And reminds you exactly what made the series such a huge cultural landmark to begin with.
For more information on Deathly Hallows visit our http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk websites.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
School Violence in US
As the nation remembers the victim's of the Virginia Tech Massacre, we still wonder why this happens and continues to happen. One local man has his ideas.
Twenty-five years ago, A teacher was teaching at a high school, when a student shot and killed another teacher in the building. Since then, researched school violence. He says for 25 years, almost all school shootings are the same story: a quiet, loner student, is bullied for years and eventually goes on a shooting spree. In his earlier interview, he told us how frustrating that is. and he tells us how we can break the trend.
This culture of violence that permeates us, as a people in America, I don't think we've done enough to address that issue He was sickened by this week's events in Virginia, but as sad as it sounds, he was not surprised by the shootings. He is seen it happen too many times and he says if we are going to stop them, we need start thinking straight. "You should first divest yourself from the idea that it cannot happen here.
From there, he says every district, nation-wide, needs to take an assessment of just how safe their schools are. "Most people would say 'yes our schools are safe', but they're not always talking to the right people, because school violence generally occurs out of sight,". especially larger ones, may find they do have a violence problem that is based primarily on bullying.
Those schools should have workshops and extensive training to improve bullying and isolating students. He gives La Crosse credit for having one of these workshops at Logistics Health, just last week. "I think this is a good start, and, I think, some of these schools will see, will start to see some change," It's going to take more than one school, in one city, doing one thing, that's not going to change the culture."read more......
For more details on School Violence visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more information on books visit www.Lookbookstores.com
Twenty-five years ago, A teacher was teaching at a high school, when a student shot and killed another teacher in the building. Since then, researched school violence. He says for 25 years, almost all school shootings are the same story: a quiet, loner student, is bullied for years and eventually goes on a shooting spree. In his earlier interview, he told us how frustrating that is. and he tells us how we can break the trend.
This culture of violence that permeates us, as a people in America, I don't think we've done enough to address that issue He was sickened by this week's events in Virginia, but as sad as it sounds, he was not surprised by the shootings. He is seen it happen too many times and he says if we are going to stop them, we need start thinking straight. "You should first divest yourself from the idea that it cannot happen here.
From there, he says every district, nation-wide, needs to take an assessment of just how safe their schools are. "Most people would say 'yes our schools are safe', but they're not always talking to the right people, because school violence generally occurs out of sight,". especially larger ones, may find they do have a violence problem that is based primarily on bullying.
Those schools should have workshops and extensive training to improve bullying and isolating students. He gives La Crosse credit for having one of these workshops at Logistics Health, just last week. "I think this is a good start, and, I think, some of these schools will see, will start to see some change," It's going to take more than one school, in one city, doing one thing, that's not going to change the culture."read more......
For more details on School Violence visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more information on books visit www.Lookbookstores.com
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels by English author J. K. Rowling about a boy named Harry Potter. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) in 1997, the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success worldwide, spawning films, video games and assorted merchandise. The six books published to date have collectively sold more than 325 million copies and have been translated into more than 63 languages. The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is scheduled to be released on 21 July 2007.
Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the US alone.
Due to the success of the novels, Rowling has become the richest writer in literary history. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia and Raincoast Books in Canada.
The story opens with the unrestrained celebration of a normally-secretive wizarding world which for many years had been terrorised by Lord Voldemort. The previous night, Voldemort had discovered the refuge of the hidden Potter family, and killed Lily and James Potter. However, when he turned his wand against their infant son, Harry, his killing curse rebounded upon him. His body destroyed, Voldemort became a powerless spirit, seeking refuge in the undisturbed places of the world; Harry, meanwhile, was left with a distinctive lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the only physical sign of Voldemort's curse. Harry's mysterious defeat of Voldemort results in him being dubbed "The Boy Who Lived" by the wizarding world. read more…….
For more details on Harry Potter visit http://www.halfvalue.com/ and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk/ For more information on books visit http://www.lookbookstores.com/
Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the US alone.
Due to the success of the novels, Rowling has become the richest writer in literary history. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia and Raincoast Books in Canada.
The story opens with the unrestrained celebration of a normally-secretive wizarding world which for many years had been terrorised by Lord Voldemort. The previous night, Voldemort had discovered the refuge of the hidden Potter family, and killed Lily and James Potter. However, when he turned his wand against their infant son, Harry, his killing curse rebounded upon him. His body destroyed, Voldemort became a powerless spirit, seeking refuge in the undisturbed places of the world; Harry, meanwhile, was left with a distinctive lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the only physical sign of Voldemort's curse. Harry's mysterious defeat of Voldemort results in him being dubbed "The Boy Who Lived" by the wizarding world. read more…….
For more details on Harry Potter visit http://www.halfvalue.com/ and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk/ For more information on books visit http://www.lookbookstores.com/
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Twenty mostimpactful books
Books tell a story - about our reading proforences, certainly, but also about what's happening in our world. Here is a list of 20 books that made an impact on readers and the publishing industry over the past quarter-century.
1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
By J.K. Rowling (1998)
Midnight book parties, all night roadathons, overnight deliveries: A boy wizard named Harry got kids (and adults) thinking that reading was cool. And mega sales of the magical series redefined what it meant to be a best seller.
2 The Deep End of the Ocean
By Jacquelyn Mitchard (1996)
Whatever Oprah Winfrey was reading. The talk-show host became a publishing powerhouse on sept. 17, 1996, when she made Mitchard’s novel her first book club pick.
3. The Da Vinci Code
By Dan Brown (2003)
The religious thriller about jesus’s love affair with Mary Magdalene became the fastest selling adult novel in the history of publishing with 75 million copies in print worldwide.
4. The 911 Commission Report
By the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (2004)Praised for its riveting depiction of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, this is the only government report ever nominated for the National Book Award. read more.......
Find more about Impactful Books visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
Formore details on Books at www.lookbookstores.com
1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
By J.K. Rowling (1998)
Midnight book parties, all night roadathons, overnight deliveries: A boy wizard named Harry got kids (and adults) thinking that reading was cool. And mega sales of the magical series redefined what it meant to be a best seller.
2 The Deep End of the Ocean
By Jacquelyn Mitchard (1996)
Whatever Oprah Winfrey was reading. The talk-show host became a publishing powerhouse on sept. 17, 1996, when she made Mitchard’s novel her first book club pick.
3. The Da Vinci Code
By Dan Brown (2003)
The religious thriller about jesus’s love affair with Mary Magdalene became the fastest selling adult novel in the history of publishing with 75 million copies in print worldwide.
4. The 911 Commission Report
By the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (2004)Praised for its riveting depiction of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, this is the only government report ever nominated for the National Book Award. read more.......
Find more about Impactful Books visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
Formore details on Books at www.lookbookstores.com
Friday, March 02, 2007
The Sanskrit
The Sanskrit language is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. Its position in the cultures of South and Southeast Asia is akin to that of Latin and Greek in Europe. It appears in pre-Classical form as Vedic Sanskrit (appearing in the Vedas), with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved.
Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-Aryan sub-family of the Indo-European family of languages. Together with the Iranian languages it belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch and as such is part of the Satem group of Indo-European languages, which also includes the Balto-Slavic branch.
When the term arose in India, "Sanskrit" was not thought of as a specific language set apart from other languages, but rather as a particularly refined or perfected manner of speaking. Knowledge of Sanskrit was a marker of social class and educational attainment and the language was taught mainly to members of the higher castes, through close analysis of Sanskrit grammarians such as Panini. read more...
For more details on Sanskrit visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more information on books visit www.Lookbookstores.com
Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-Aryan sub-family of the Indo-European family of languages. Together with the Iranian languages it belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch and as such is part of the Satem group of Indo-European languages, which also includes the Balto-Slavic branch.
When the term arose in India, "Sanskrit" was not thought of as a specific language set apart from other languages, but rather as a particularly refined or perfected manner of speaking. Knowledge of Sanskrit was a marker of social class and educational attainment and the language was taught mainly to members of the higher castes, through close analysis of Sanskrit grammarians such as Panini. read more...
For more details on Sanskrit visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more information on books visit www.Lookbookstores.com
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The Best Ten books of 2006
A book is a collection of paper, parchment or other material with a piece of text written on them, bound together along one edge, usually within covers. Each side of a sheet is called a page and a single sheet within a book may be called a leaf. A book is also a literary work or a main division of such a work.
ABSURDISTAN
Absurdistan is a 2006 novel by Gary Shteyngart. It chronicles the adventures of Misha Vainberg, the 325-pound son of the 1,238th-richest man in Russia as he struggles to return to his true love in the Bronx via the invented country Absurdistan. Absurdistan debuted to mainly favorable reviews.
THE COLLECTED STORIES OF AMY HEMPEL
Hempel has demonstrated unusual discipline in assembling her urbane, pointillistic and wickedly funny short stories. Since the publication of her first collection, "Reasons to Live," in 1985, only three more slim volumes have appeared - a total of some 15,000 sentences, and nearly every one of them has a crisp, distinctive bite. These collected stories show the true scale of Hempel's achievement. Her compact fictions, populated by smart, neurotic, somewhat damaged narrators, speak grandly to the longings and insecurities in all of us, and in a voice that is bracingly direct and sneakily profound.
THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. 431 pages $25. Alfred A. Knopf. Messud gracefully intertwines the stories of three friends, attractive, entitled 30-ish Brown graduates "torn between Big Ideas and a party" but falling behind in the contest for public rewards and losing the struggle for personal contentment. The vibrant supporting cast includes a deliciously drawn literary seducer and two ambitious interlopers, teeming with malign energy, whose arrival on the scene propels the action forward.
THE LAY OF THE LAND
The Lay of the Land is a 2006 novel by Richard Ford. It is the third in a trilogy. The third installment, following "The Sportswriter" (1986) and "Independence Day" (1995), in the serial epic of Frank Bascombe - flawed husband, fuddled dad, and writer turned real estate agent and voluble first-person narrator. Once again the action revolves around a holiday. This time it's Thanksgiving 2000: the Florida recount grinds toward its predictable outcome, and Bascombe, now 55, battles prostate cancer and copes with a strange turn in his second marriage.
SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS
Special Topics in Calamity Physics (2006) is a mystery novel by American writer Marisha Pessl. The antic ghost of Nabokov hovers over this buoyantly literate first novel, a murder mystery narrated by a teenager enamored of her own precocity but also in thrall to her father, an enigmatic itinerant professor, and to the charismatic female teacher whose death is announced on the first page. Each of the 36 chapters is titled for a classic, and the plot snakes ingeniously toward a revelation capped by a clever "final exam.
FALLING THROUGH THE EARTH
By DanielleTrussoni This intense, at times searing memoir revisits the author's rough-and-tumble Wisconsin girlhood, spent on the wrong side of the tracks in the company of her father, a Vietnam vet who began his tour as "a cocksure country boy" but returned "wild and haunted," unfit for family life and driven to extremes of philandering, alcoholism and violence.
THE LOOMING TOWER
By Lawrence Wright The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, John O’Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.
MAYFLOWER
By Nathaniel Philbrick This absorbing history of the Plymouth Colony is a model of revisionism. Philbrick impressively recreates the pilgrims' dismal 1620 voyage, bringing to life passengers and crew, and then relates the events of the settlement and its first contacts with the native inhabitants of Massachusetts. Most striking are the parallels he subtly draws with the present, particularly in his account of how Plymouth's leaders, including Miles Standish, rejected diplomatic overtures toward the Indians, successful though they'd been, and instead pursued a "dehumanizing" policy of violent aggression that led to the needless bloodshed of King Philip's War.
THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA
By Michael Pollan. "When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety," Pollan writes in this supple and probing book. He gracefully navigates within these anxieties as he traces the origins of four meals - from a fast-food dinner to a "hunter-gatherer" feast - and makes us see, with remarkable clarity, exactly how what we eat affects both our bodies and the planet. Pollan is the perfect tour guide.
THE PLACES IN BETWEEN
Rory Stewart's moving, sparsely poetic account of his walk across Afghanistan in January 2002 has been immediately hailed as a classic. Caught between hostile nations, warring factions and competing ideologies, at the time, Afghanistan was in turmoil following the US invasion. Travelling entirely on foot and following the inaccessible, mountainous route once taken by the Mohgul Emperor, Babur the Great, Stewart was nearly defeated by the extreme, hostile conditions.
For more information on Books visit at www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
ABSURDISTAN
Absurdistan is a 2006 novel by Gary Shteyngart. It chronicles the adventures of Misha Vainberg, the 325-pound son of the 1,238th-richest man in Russia as he struggles to return to his true love in the Bronx via the invented country Absurdistan. Absurdistan debuted to mainly favorable reviews.
THE COLLECTED STORIES OF AMY HEMPEL
Hempel has demonstrated unusual discipline in assembling her urbane, pointillistic and wickedly funny short stories. Since the publication of her first collection, "Reasons to Live," in 1985, only three more slim volumes have appeared - a total of some 15,000 sentences, and nearly every one of them has a crisp, distinctive bite. These collected stories show the true scale of Hempel's achievement. Her compact fictions, populated by smart, neurotic, somewhat damaged narrators, speak grandly to the longings and insecurities in all of us, and in a voice that is bracingly direct and sneakily profound.
THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. 431 pages $25. Alfred A. Knopf. Messud gracefully intertwines the stories of three friends, attractive, entitled 30-ish Brown graduates "torn between Big Ideas and a party" but falling behind in the contest for public rewards and losing the struggle for personal contentment. The vibrant supporting cast includes a deliciously drawn literary seducer and two ambitious interlopers, teeming with malign energy, whose arrival on the scene propels the action forward.
THE LAY OF THE LAND
The Lay of the Land is a 2006 novel by Richard Ford. It is the third in a trilogy. The third installment, following "The Sportswriter" (1986) and "Independence Day" (1995), in the serial epic of Frank Bascombe - flawed husband, fuddled dad, and writer turned real estate agent and voluble first-person narrator. Once again the action revolves around a holiday. This time it's Thanksgiving 2000: the Florida recount grinds toward its predictable outcome, and Bascombe, now 55, battles prostate cancer and copes with a strange turn in his second marriage.
SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS
Special Topics in Calamity Physics (2006) is a mystery novel by American writer Marisha Pessl. The antic ghost of Nabokov hovers over this buoyantly literate first novel, a murder mystery narrated by a teenager enamored of her own precocity but also in thrall to her father, an enigmatic itinerant professor, and to the charismatic female teacher whose death is announced on the first page. Each of the 36 chapters is titled for a classic, and the plot snakes ingeniously toward a revelation capped by a clever "final exam.
FALLING THROUGH THE EARTH
By DanielleTrussoni This intense, at times searing memoir revisits the author's rough-and-tumble Wisconsin girlhood, spent on the wrong side of the tracks in the company of her father, a Vietnam vet who began his tour as "a cocksure country boy" but returned "wild and haunted," unfit for family life and driven to extremes of philandering, alcoholism and violence.
THE LOOMING TOWER
By Lawrence Wright The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, John O’Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.
MAYFLOWER
By Nathaniel Philbrick This absorbing history of the Plymouth Colony is a model of revisionism. Philbrick impressively recreates the pilgrims' dismal 1620 voyage, bringing to life passengers and crew, and then relates the events of the settlement and its first contacts with the native inhabitants of Massachusetts. Most striking are the parallels he subtly draws with the present, particularly in his account of how Plymouth's leaders, including Miles Standish, rejected diplomatic overtures toward the Indians, successful though they'd been, and instead pursued a "dehumanizing" policy of violent aggression that led to the needless bloodshed of King Philip's War.
THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA
By Michael Pollan. "When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety," Pollan writes in this supple and probing book. He gracefully navigates within these anxieties as he traces the origins of four meals - from a fast-food dinner to a "hunter-gatherer" feast - and makes us see, with remarkable clarity, exactly how what we eat affects both our bodies and the planet. Pollan is the perfect tour guide.
THE PLACES IN BETWEEN
Rory Stewart's moving, sparsely poetic account of his walk across Afghanistan in January 2002 has been immediately hailed as a classic. Caught between hostile nations, warring factions and competing ideologies, at the time, Afghanistan was in turmoil following the US invasion. Travelling entirely on foot and following the inaccessible, mountainous route once taken by the Mohgul Emperor, Babur the Great, Stewart was nearly defeated by the extreme, hostile conditions.
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