Language Archives - Michael O'Mara Books

Life Lessons from Literature

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 03:10:12 +0000

Life Lessons from Literature is a must for all bibliophiles, providing a concise and highly accessible bucket list of must-read books that teaches us so many fundamental truths and broadens our minds.

‘I read a book one day and my whole life was changed’ … So confesses the narrator of Orhan Pamuk’s novel The New Life. But what can we learn from reading books? Life Lessons from Literature poses this broad question by examining the works of some of the greatest writers in history.

In it, we can draw wisdom from Charles Dickens’ views on poverty and wealth; seek comfort from ideas about love from Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. Yet books are about much more than just romance and money. Through careful examination of over one hundred classic works of world literature, life lessons are also drawn from themes such as conflict and oppression, identity and psychology, showing how literature enriches and informs our understanding of ourselves and the wider world around us.

From Brazil to Japan, the Americas to Africa; from Victor Hugo to Mark Twain and Chinua Achebe to Haruki Murakami, you will find literature from around the world in this gem of a book, in which the plots may differ but the themes and the lessons they have to teach us are entirely universal.

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Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright

alex — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 03:08:12 +0000

Great poetry 'finds its way to the hearts of many, not just the minds of the few', and this delightful collection is the ideal way to browse, remember and enjoy some of poetry's greatest hits.

The new hardback edition of the first poetry anthology from Ana Sampson, Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright contains verses from more than eighty of the world's favourite poets, from the thirteenth century to the present day.

It includes such leading lyricists as Burns, Keats, Tennyson, T. S. Eliot, Philip Larkin and Seamus Heaney – taking in the work of W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, Wilfred Owen, and many others along the way.

Perfect to dip into on the reader's whim, the chapters cover childhood and youth, nature, love and romance, home and travel, elegies, and more – each poem set in context with a lively introduction and entertaining notes on the poets themselves.

This anthology is a lovely reminder of the nation's finest poems, and the perfect addition to any poetry lover's collection.

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A Parliament of Owls

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 03:05:49 +0000

Why are geese in a gaggle? Are lions actually proud? And do crows deserve their murderous moniker?

Collective nouns are one of the most bizarre and baffling aspects of the English language, and this absorbing book tells the stories of these evocative phrases, exploring and explaining the etymology behind them.

Each collective noun summons up the animal or event it describes. But where did they come from? 'A parliament of owls', for example, seems to have its origins in the 1950s children's classic The Chronicles of Narnia in which C.S. Lewis references a phrase from Chaucer, 'the parliament of fowls'. Lewis' version changed 'fowls' to 'owls' and due to the international success of his books it caught on and is now recognised as dictionary compilers as the 'correct' term for a group of owls.

Perfect for any history or language buff, this is an entertaining and fascinating look at many of the bizarre phrases which have stood the test of time.

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Literary London

alex — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 03:02:09 +0000

Discover one of the best cities in the world through the lens of some of the most iconic writers who have ever lived.

London has long inspired and celebrated books and writing, and some of the most well-known and beloved names in English Literature have all passed through the city – William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf and Oscar Wilde, to name a few. With Literary London as your guide, walk in their footsteps, discover their old stomping grounds and shine a new light on both the authors and their city.

Decorated with illustrations, maps, and interspersed with fact boxes about the lives of major London writers, this book delves deep into literary history to reveal a hidden world of spies, romantic poets and revolutionary outcasts, journeying via the publishing houses, cafes and parks that have played their part in inspiring them over the years.

Traversing both genres and historical periods, Literary London is a snappy and informative guide to a city steeped in history and culture, telling the stories behind the stories.

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Humble Pie and Cold Turkey

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 02:52:56 +0000

‘Caroline Taggart has carved out a niche for herself in user-friendly, wittily written factual books.’ – Yorkshire Post
______________________

The huge variety of colourful phrases contained in the English language are notoriously varied and, often, notably odd. From blue-blooded (an invention of aristocratic Spaniards) to limelight (a way of lighting Victorian theatres), passing an exam with flying colours (an image from sailing ships) to winning hands down (from horse racing), the fascinating expressions that make up our language are explored in Humble Pie and Cold Turkey.

In this highly entertaining book, language enthusiast and Sunday Times best-selling author Caroline Taggart browses through thousands of years of history to shed light on why we use the words and phrases we do. Arranged by themes including food, the household, childhood, romance and more, this intriguing book looks at the origins of our language from their historical context. For example, did you know that:

If you rest on your laurels, you’re imitating a complacent Roman general?
If you eavesdrop, you’re likely to get wet?
If you’re taken aback, you should, strictly speaking, be a sailing ship?
If you’re galvanized into action, you’re behaving like Frankenstein’s monster?

Humble Pie and Cold Turkey will prompt you to question the downright bizarre idioms we use to express ourselves, and answer questions you may never have thought to ask. Including why turkeys need to be cold and how pies came to be humble.

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A Word a Day

alex — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 02:20:07 +0000

A Word a Day contains 365 carefully selected words that will enhance and expand your vocabulary, along with their meanings, origins and sample usage and fascinating word-related facts and trivia.

It is estimated that on average an English-speaking adult has acquired a functioning vocabulary of 25,000 words by the time they reach middle age. That sounds like a lot – and more than enough for the daily purposes of communicating with each other in speech and writing. However, it is hard to feel quite so sanguine about our word power when considering those 25,000 words account for less than fifteen per cent of the total words in current usage in the English language. Furthermore, new words are created all the time and, as the word pool flourishes, can we afford to allow our vocabulary to stagnate?

Logophile Joseph Piercy has the answer: a simple challenge to learn A Word a Day from this user-friendly onomasticon (that’s a word list designed for a specific purpose – in case you were wondering …). Each of the 365 words have been carefully selected for their elegance and pertinence in everyday situations and every entry contains a clear and concise outline of meaning, origin and sample usage in context, alongside fascinating word related facts and trivia.

A Word a Day is a treasure trove of fascination and fun for all language lovers – delve in and enhance your vocabulary.

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500 Beautiful Words You Should Know

Publicity — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 02:02:51 +0000

CRESTFALLEN at CHICANERY and CIRCUMLOCUTION? Have no TRUCK with TOMFOOLERY and TRUMPERY? Or OMNISCIENT about OBLOQUIES and OPSIMATHS?

Whether you’ve answered yes, no or ‘sorry, I didn’t catch that’, 500 Beautiful Words You Should now is for you. It offers words that flow EXQUISITELY off the tongue; words that are just perfect for their meaning, like the lazy-sounding SLOTH and the heavy-footed GALUMPH; words that will make you sound clever, like DEUTERAGONIST and LETHOLOGICA; and words that are just fun to say, like LIQUEFACTION and LUXURIATE.

It’ll tell you where they come from, how to use them and whether you’re likely to BAMBOOZLE anyone who’s listening to you. With occasional special features on great words for colours, words from the Classics and words that make you laugh, this is a book to delight BIBLIOPHILES and BLATHERSKITES alike.

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Poems to Learn by Heart

alex — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 01:52:24 +0000

'Paths of glory', 'Theirs not to reason why', 'When you are old and grey and full of sleep', 'A handful of dust', 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day'.
___________

'Glorious' – Tribune

'Superb' – The Good Book Guide
___________

These and many others are famous lines of poetry that often occur in everyday speech. But do you know the rest of the verse, or even the rest of the poem?

An anthology to warm the coldest heart or charm the least romantic soul, this is a collection of poems (or in some cases, extracts) that are not only memorable, but lend themselves to being learned by heart.

This is the perfect book for anyone with even the vaguest interest in poetry, providing a wonderful opportunity to revisit those much-loved lines remembered from earlier days.

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Tell Me the Truth About Life

alex — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 01:44:11 +0000

CELEBRATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY, THE OFFICIAL NATIONAL POETRY DAY COLLECTION. CURATED AND INTRODUCED BY CERYS MATTHEWS.

Tell Me the Truth About Life is an indispensable anthology which celebrates poetry’s power to tap into the truths that matter. Curated and introduced by Cerys Matthews, this collection draws on the wisdom of crowds: featuring poems nominated for their insight into truth by a range of ordinary and extraordinary people: from Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, to sporting heroes and world-famous musicians, teachers, artists and politicians.

Their choices include contemporary work by Yrsa Daley-Ward, John Cooper Clarke and Kei Miller alongside classics by W H Auden, Emily Dickinson and Dylan Thomas. Here you will find poems to revive the spirit, ballads to mobilize and life-lines to hold you safe in the dark.

Compiled for National Poetry Day’s twenty-fifth anniversary, Tell Me the Truth About Life is a book that reminds us we are never completely alone in our search to glimpse the truth.

Containing nominations from a number of high-profile poetry lovers and poets, including Michael Morpurgo, Mark Gatiss, Dolly Alderton, and Helen Sharman, among others.

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Never Eat Shredded Wheat

alex — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 01:31:11 +0000

Our memories are mysterious things. One moment we might remember a lengthy poem or the exact street address of a restaurant from our childhood. But the next moment we can struggle to recall where we‘ve put our keys down or the name of the person we have just been introduced to. The human mind is not terribly good at remembering abstract data – but we can do it much more successfully if we create associations with more relatable bits of information, such as familiar people, places, colours, poems or jokes.

The mnemonics that many of us learned as children are simply a shortcut to help locate information within your memory. For instance, rather than remember that the clockwise order of the points of the compass is North, East, South, West, we remember the mnemonic ‘Never Eat Shredded Wheat’, and the combination of humour and a visual reference provides an instant cue for our brains.

This book is a cornucopia of mnemonics. Amusing as well as informative, it includes well-known examples that you might remember from school, some of which have been in use for centuries, as well as more recent ones and alternatives to the traditional versions. Ranging across history, science, language, numbers, business, art and much, much more, the mnemonics included here provide quick easy access to a vast amount of fascinating and useful information. In addition, there are sections on working out your own methods and systems to augment the existing mnemonics with your own aides-mémoire, which can help you with everyday tasks such as avoiding common misspellings, or remembering names, faces and numbers.

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