Tag Archive for: books

Heart-Shaped Box                                                                                  
~ Joe Hill  
                                                                                       
http://www.pivotalbookclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/heart_shaped.jpg">Do you sleep with the light on? Are you in the habit of checking your doors and windows before you go to bed? Maybe even checking under your bed? If you are about to crack open Joe Hill's chilling thriller Heart-Shaped Box, you might want to rethink your nighttime habits--Hill's story about an aging rock star (with a penchant for macabre artifacts) who buys a haunted suit online will scare you silly.

Here are the latest booklists from Pivotal Kids Books

Read alouds

The ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009

Books about dogs for younger readers

Picture Books about Non-Traditional Family Units

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Read-alikes

You can get the links from the main page here => bit.ly/gya8CM

How much do you know about your grandmother? Do you know her favorite color? Her favorite childhood memory?

What about your grandmother's parents? Do you know what your great-grandmother wore on her wedding day? Do you know who the most influential person was in your great-great-grandmother's life?

For most of us, the answer is "no." In fact, we probably don't even know those facts about our own mothers. In an increasingly busy world, we often neglect time for sharing old stories and memories. And we forget to pass on our own tales to our children.

Florence Littauer said, "The beauty of the written word is that it can be held close to the heart and read over and over again."

Wouldn't it be great if we had autobiographies written by our mothers, grandmothers, and previous generations - something to preserve the memories through the ages?

That's the purpose of our newest book. We've partnered with our friends at Thomas Nelson to bring you A Mother's Legacy, a journal intended to help mothers leave the story of their lives written down for their children and future generations.

The greatest gift you can leave your children isn't cash, a large house, or expensive jewelry. The greatest gift you can leave your children is the gift of yourself.

A Mother's Legacy is filled with interesting prompt questions to help get the creative juices flowing, even for those who feel intimidated by writing. Sample questions include:
• What was your favorite meal when you were a child? What made it your favorite?
• What do you remember about your first kiss?
• Describe the most fascinating place you have visited.
• What are some of the things that make you smile when you think of them?

No matter what your age, memory and reminiscence open a richer and fuller understanding of who you are as a family.

May this memory journal be a starting point in your family - a door into discussing and sharing the unique qualities and experiences of your life.

And this beautiful journal makes a great gift for any mother or grandmother you know. Keep a few on hand for baby showers so young mothers can get started recording their stories early on!

Click here to learn more or to look inside the journal.

Reluctant Disciplinarian: Advice on Classroom Management From a Softy who Became (Eventually) a Successful Teacher
by Gary Rubinstein
As Rubinstein details his transformation from incompetent to successful teacher, he shows what works and what doesn't work when managing a classroom. 

More about the book here => http://bit.ly/hOGWq3

“I have tried to keep diaries before,” John Steinbeck writes in a giant ledger book filled with his methodical script, “but they didn’t work out because of the necessity to be honest.”

This particular journal, on display at the Morgan Library & Museum in a compelling exhibition that opened on Friday, “The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives,” has such a modest goal — chronicling Steinbeck’s work on “The Grapes of Wrath” — that it probably does not bend the truth too much. But spend some time with these diaries, intelligently culled from the Morgan’s archives by Christine Nelson, the museum’s curator of literary and historical manuscripts, and you see how fervently the keepers of journals labor to shape accounts of themselves.

http://nyti.ms/flSKHj

Digitising books is a problematic endeavour, not because of the technology, but due to the ethical issues that arise. Once a book becomes digitised problems with copyright and sales enter the frame. Nevertheless, Google Books has digitised more than fifteen million books which is about twelve per cent of all the books ever published. The digitising process has enabled a detailed analysis of the books’ content that would not be possible if done by individuals and some remarkable findings have resulted.
The analysis that has taken place was done on five million of the fifteen million digitised books. That meant that approximately 500 billion words were in the final data set. Digging into the words used in those books across time has revealed some fascinating facts about our evolving culture.

=> http://bit.ly/hLes0W

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5)
~ by Richelle Mead                                                                                            

Vampire Academy

If you've read all the Stephenie Meyer Twilight books and crave more vampire stories then sink your teeth into the Vampire Academy series of vampire books.

Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books follow the war between two races of vampires, living and undead. Rose Hathaway, a 17-year old half-vampire, is training to be a bodyguard for the living vampires and finds her life complicated by the constant danger. As well as an illicit romance with one of her teachers, Rose continually struggles to protect her best friend from the evils that surround them. If you like vampire stories, you'll love the Vampire Academy saga. => http://amzn.to/drEJBc

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
~ Stieg Larsson                                                                            

As the finale to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not content to merely match the adrenaline-charged pace that made international bestsellers out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Instead, it roars with an explosive storyline that blows the doors off the series and announces that the very best has been saved for last. ...Larsson's mastery of the unexpected is why millions have fallen hard for his work. But rest assured that the odds are again stacked, the challenges personal, and the action fraught with neck-snapping revelations in this snarling conclusion to a thrilling triad. This closing chapter to The Girl's pursuit of justice is guaranteed to leave readers both satisfied and saddened once the final page has been turned.

Buy the book here http://amzn.to/aqRErk

Today's read:  The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors And Closing Deals Online

by David Teten and Scott Allen 

If you want to sell to more clients, raise capital, find companies in which you can invest, recruit star employees, or even look for a new job: Let The Virtual Handshake be your guide...

The Internet offers powerful tools to help you find the right people, connect with them, and close deals with them quickly and cost-effectively. This book will give you all the tools you need to use the new generation of "Web 2.0 technologies" for sales, marketing, and capital-raising: blogs, social network sites, virtual communities, and many more.
The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online, is the manifesto... companies, technologies, and practices.

Andy Andrews is one of the most talented writers in the country. His books have sold millions of copies and have made it to the New York Times best-sellers list. But as a speaker...he's incredible!

When Andy speaks, he usually closes with his favorite story (he says it's the one that every client remembers)...The Butterfly Effect. We're honored to share Andy's story in a beautiful gift book.

Here is Andy's introduction to the book:

Introduction from The Butterfly Effect
By Andy Andrews
Not long ago, I finally told the story of when, at the age of twenty-three, homeless and scared, I was given guidance in a most unusual fashion by an old man named Jones. What the old man told me did nothing less than change my life and my future. He said..."With a little perspective you can live a life of permanent purpose."

When I asked what he meant, the old man answered with a question. "Do you sometimes find yourself unconsciously judging your actions by level of importance?" I frowned a bit, not certain I understood. "For instance," he continued, "the time you spend with friends is important, but the time you spend with family, is more important. You might rank an hour fishing as very important, thirty minutes visiting a sick friend in the hospital much more important than the fishing, and a sixty second conversation with a convenience store clerk as not very important at all."

I nodded my understanding and he returned to his initial point. "When you know that everything matters - that every move counts as much as any other - you will begin living a life of permanent purpose. A life of permanent purpose will make you a better parent, a better spouse, and a more valuable friend. Your productivity and financial success will soar to new heights while the old days of uncertainty, doubt, and depression fade into the past."

Of course, that conversation with Jones changed me. But even more, it became the guiding force that produced the kind of speaker and author I have become. You see, I understand fully that my very value as an author and speaker must ultimately be judged by the success you achieve. And as I consult with companies or speak to organizations and teams, I am keenly aware that much of my client's (your) ability to succeed beyond imagination depends upon my ability to prove this very concept!

When a sales organization sees proof that casual conversations in town matter just as much as an arranged meeting with a major prospect -

When the second string right-guard sees proof that his every action on and off the field, whether he plays or not, is as critical to the team's successful season as everything the starting quarterback does -

When a teenager sees and understands proof that every choice made in leisure today will affect the choices that will be available to him in more pressing times ahead -

When one lives a life of permanent purpose, sales figures soar, team chemistry thrives, and teenage decisions become wiser and more cautious. And these are just a few examples of what will happen...Simply put, when we understand that every action matters, every result of our actions immediately improves!

In these pages, I know you will find hope and direction for yourself, but I am most excited that you will now be equipped to lead others to their own life of permanent purpose! My hope for our families, our places of worship, our businesses, our nation, and our world is an incredible life of permanent purpose that can be achieved when at last we understand: Every move we make and every action we take, matters not just for us, but for all of us...and for all time.

Even small acts of kindness and faithfulness have the ability to impact the world!

Click here to look inside The Butterfly Effect or to watch the 3-minute inspirational movie included with each copy of the book.