Riduan Mohamad Nor's Blog, page 5
October 16, 2018
Got Grammar Games? Try Diagramming Sentences
Grammar games can add some needed zest to your English grammar instruction. Looking for a new game? Try diagramming sentences! Seriously, your students will think that it’s fun. There are a few ways that you can turn sentence diagramming into a classroom game.
1. Competitive Sentence Diagramming
Most students love a chance to get up to the whiteboard and show their skills. After teaching students some basic sentence diagramming, have them split up into teams. Write a sentence on the whiteboard. Students then work as a team to diagram the sentence. Teams earn points based on the accuracy of their diagram and the amount of time that it took them to complete the diagram.
One teacher I interviewed who teaches middle school English had this to say about competitive sentence diagramming:
“I have discovered that students LOVE to compete at sentence diagramming – even if they are not very good at it.”
He even started a sentence diagramming club since the kids loved it so much.
2. Diagramming Puzzles
I like to make little sentence diagramming puzzles for students to solve. First, think of a good sentence to diagram. Then, make clues for the diagram. Make your clues similar to the clues in a crossword puzzle. Next, the students have to use the clues to guess the sentence and diagram it. It’s great fun for all!
Here is an example:
Clue #1: This sentence is a famous slogan for Nike.
Clue #2: It is an imperative sentence. That means that it is giving a command.
Clue #3: It has only three words.
(Answer: “Just do it.”)
3. Diagram Famous Quotes
Who doesn’t love a good quote? Diagramming quotes is a great way to integrate other lessons into your English grammar class. You can use quotes from a literature book that your students are reading or from a famous person living during a period in history that you are studying. It’s fun to integrate topics. Write out the quote and have the students diagram it, or diagram it as a class.
Don’t Remember How to Diagram a Sentence?
Most likely, you have no idea how to diagram sentences. It’s okay. I have started a whole website devoted to teaching grammar with diagrams.
The site includes free lessons, exercises, and diagrams so you can keep one step ahead of your students!
October 15, 2018
100 Promises to My Baby (Book Review)
When I read the first few pages of this book, I thought to myself that I had come across, finally, a book that goes further than a how-to baby book in the physical sense.
I also have to admit that what hooked me in the beginning was the quote from Tagore, opposite the contents page. “Every child is born proof that God has not given up on human beings.” That is a quote I have always repeated to myself all through my life and all through the hectic times of our present-day history.
We take our baby raising tasks as if our babies are objects and they should be handled in a certain way. We always forget that there is a person inside that tiny being, and more importantly, that person has a soul. In contrast, Mallika Chopra’s book raises our understanding of having children to a higher level, to the level of the soul, by reflecting her deep awareness of the responsibilities of becoming a mother.
The author, who has a physician’s training, started writing this book when she was expecting her first child. In the introduction of the book she says she wanted to bond with her baby early on and started making her promises as a mother. Thus, this book was born out of the author’s pledge to her baby so the baby could fulfill her potential and her purpose in life.
The author may have addressed the mothers, but fathers, too, can benefit greatly from this book. In close inspection, the book does not only relate the author’s personal stories and commitment, but also, it influences mothers as well as fathers everywhere to think about their roles as parents.
“100 Promises to My Baby” has about ten chapters with titles like values, purpose, love, miracles, spirit, lessons, and traditions. With love and compassion as its highest goal, the book is interspersed with poetry, like that of Khalil Gibran, quotes from the Bhagavad Gita, definitions, and at the end of each chapter, some very precious reflections.
What I liked most about the book was the charming style of telling personal stories. I believe, in a book, almost any reader looks for the personal touch or for anything of human interest, and here, that human interest gives this book its true depth.
The book, with ISBN:1594861293, has 252 pages and is in hardcover with an elegant white overlay.
The author, Mallika Chopra, is daughter of Deepak Chopra and mother of two children. A partner in Chopra Media and in the K Lounge in New York City, she is an author and producer with a medical school background. Her book, “100 Promises to My Baby” is a gift to mankind that will never go out of style.
Nick Carraway, a Reliable Narrator?
Source by Matthew Alexander Jackson
If you have read or are reading The Great Gatsby you may be aware that one of the biggest themes is whether Nick is a reliable narrator. Since the entire story in told through his perspective whether or not we trust Nick could effect out entire interpretation of the story.
This is especially important if you are planning to write any essays or papers on the book because whether or not you trust Nick will affect you opinion of almost everything else in the novel.
First off lets look at the positive side, what Great Gatsby quotes suggest we can trust Nick. A good place to start would be that he calls him self one of the few “honest people” he has ever met. That great, but isn’t it exactly what a liar would say to trick you?
So he calls himself honest is he just saying that to look good. Well probably not he tells us lots of things that don’t him look so good, he mentions his war dodging ancestor, he admits he is boastful about himself, he even calls himself and his father a snob. So it looks like he is giving us a fair picture about himself, not just all the good bit, and this probably means he will tell the truth about everyone else too.
Looking good so far Nick. But wait everything is not as it seems. Under the influence of alcohol everything becomes dim and hazy, including an alarming scene where suddenly Nick is in Mr McKee’s bedroom with a semi-naked Mr McKee then just as quick he is in a train station getting the 4am train home, what happened there Nick?
There is also the problem with his “partial” view. This quote came from his partial view of Gatsby’s garden but houses are often used as symbols in the book to represent people and this could point to Nick’s inability to judge Gatsby.
Unlike the other characters in the book who Nick keeps an impartial distance from his closeness to Gatsby seems to impair his ability to judge him. Despite all the praise Nick showers him with Jordan, a far more impartial character notes “he’s just a man call Gatsby” and underneath all the smoke and mirrors that’s all he is.
So with all this information what can we conclude. Well my own opinion is Nick is a great narrator perfectly placed to see all the main events and quiet enough that people say things they really shouldn’t in front of him. But, and its a big but, when it comes to Gatsby I take what ever he says with a pinch of salt.
3 Must-Read Books for Bloggers
Source by Jim Estill
A lot of bloggers read blogs, but there are also some very valuable books out there on blogging. The three books that I recommend for bloggers are Blog! by David Kline and Dan Burstein, The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil, and Naked Conversations by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble.
1. Blog!: How the newest revolution is changing politics, business and culture by David Kline and Dan Burstein.
This book talks of the power and influence of blogs. It uses political examples. Through these examples we can learn what good blogging is (honest, open) and what it is not (poorly written, blatant marketing). It talks about freedom of the press and countries and companies that try to suppress blogs. It also warns and gives examples of blogs that share insider or confidential information and what happens.
To quote from it: “most people or at least most of the media’s coverage of business issues in blogging are missing the fact that the real excitement here is not how much money business can make from blogging, but how dramatically blogging will reshape the world of business from top to bottom and create new sources of competitive advantage for firms that learn how to use this new medium intelligently… Bloggers not only tend to be more passionate about their interests and hobbies than other people, they also have marketplace influence far beyond their numbers.”
This is a highly inspirational read for anyone who blogs. We live in revolutionary times and as bloggers (and blog readers) we see history being made. We are truly cutting edge. The world is changing before our eyes.
As A. J. Liebling, a great 20th century journalist, said: “Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.” With blogs, anyone can.
2. The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get it Right by Debbie Weil.
Debbie is one of the pioneers of corporate blogging. She is not only an advocate but she explains the pros and cons of corporate blogs.
A section from the book: “Blogs are a key enabler of this new way of talking with customers, employees, the media and other constituencies. Packaged, filtered, controlled conversation are out. Open, two-way, less-than-perfect communications with your customers and employees are in….Listen, learn, debate, be willing to change, admit mistakes, be equals, with your children, be fair to others with whom you have an adversarial relationship. Acting like a dictator will get you nowhere.”
She has top 20 questions about corporate blogging and in one of those she talks about the three most important things to know before starting blogging. The book also has good examples of blogging policies.One of her points is savvy bloggers read other blogs. My advice is the simplest way to do this is to subscribe to them.
One concept that she talks about is citizen journalist and citizen media. Blogs are a new media and it is run by the citizens. Blogger Halley Suitt explains, “The word PR will be gone; the word blog will be gone. Your employees will be your ad agency and your customers will be your back-up ad agency”
3. Naked Coversations:How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble
This is an excellent book. I am passionate about business blogs. I truly believe they have value for a business. The book re-affirms this. Naked Coversations is easy to read, fast and well organized. It combines advice on blogging (and why blogs help companies) with stories of real bloggers.
Blogs have dangers but those dangers tend to be overrated. Not blogging is a greater danger. As I have said many times, blogs are a new media. Companies that ignore it do so at great peril. At the same time, blogs cannot be blatant self or company promotion – readers (and other bloggers see right through that and can decimate a company).
How do I know if a book is good? If I make a change as a result. I turned off word verification on my blog to make it easier to comment (I still review all comments and don’t let spam through but am trying to make it easier to have a conversation). I get twice as many emails as comments on my blog as a result of my blog. The book drives home that comments and conversations are good.
I also know a book is good if I buy multiple copies for people that I think should read it. And in this case I did.
All three of these books, Blog! by David Kline and Dan Burstein, The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil, and Naked Conversations by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble should be read by anyone who has a blog or anyone interested in blogging.
Book Review – Aspire by Kevin Hall
Source by Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha
You have read books but you have not read a book like Aspire: discovering your purpose through the power of words. In this great book, Kevin Hall enlightens us by showing us the magnificent power of words – tools we can use to shape our thoughts, beliefs and destinies – to help us create favorable occasion for ourselves and entire humankind. In this book you will come to focus with eleven (11) words which is the foundation for the eleven chapters of this book that will change your life forever. It is a must read!
Aspire is a masterwork from a master. The title alone is very inspiring, mind – provoking and captivating. Published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins publishers, printed in the United States of America is a first class life enrichment book. The title design was done by Iskar and book design by Francine Eden Platt, Eden graphics. From page layering, font size, paper texture, ISBN, color to size, everything about this book is great. It’s a book you must read to be upward and forward in life.
Kevin Hall, a highly sought after business consultant, speaker, leadership and life coach is gifted and has been recognized for his groundbreaking approach to uncovering the hidden and secret meaning of words. The author is a powerful wordsmith. As a leader and authority on power of words, he has empowered humanity by putting down theses timeless truths in this book titled “ASPIRE: Discovering Your Purpose through the Power Of words” for us to read, get wise and be tremendously blessed. This book is the genre of leadership of leadership, communication, inspiration, biography, life and general books.
Synergy is truly the sagacity that builds and leads cities. The forward of this book was written by Stephen R. Covey, bestselling author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and 8 Habits – Effectiveness to Greatness. Just as Stephen R. Covey broke new ground in human development over twenty years ago by uncovering the habits that makes a meaningful and effective life, Kevin Hall breaks new ground by uncovering and revealing the true intent and meaning of words. This book dedicated to the indisputable master of words Professor Arthur Watkins must be your companion if you want to lead and excel in life. The afterword was written by Dr. Gerald Bell, founder of the Bell leadership institute. This book is an excellent compendium of the wisdom and sagacity of sages. In it you will meet Marianne Williamson, Buddha, Victor Frankl, Mother Theresa, Art Berg, Og Madino, Pravin Chekoori, and other great personality. In this book, it features quotes and thoughts of sapience and you will surely enjoy Kelvin’s journal of thoughts and book of greats.
The book has an author’s note. You can’t drop this book, in it you will commune with immortals. While reading this book I was brought to the level where humanity meets divinity, tears rolled down my eyes and I was quickened to do more to better the system that drives progress of our world. I have used what I learned from this book to facilitate positive changes in my community.
This book will help you find the right path, teach you humility, inspire your passion for greatness, coach you on how to be a person of influence and integrity. One thing I know is that this best-selling book Aspire: Discovering Your Purpose Through the Power of Words by Kelvin Hall will ignite the fire within you to be a success. You can get you copies at Amazon, Barnes and nobles and other leading book stores in the world. Get your copy, read and be blessed.
Critical Book Review – Selling Fearlessly by Robert Terson
Source by Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Imagine for just a moment being the King of the Jungle, the magnificent lion. Now replace the jungle with today's crazy busy marketplace where you as the professional sales person must find new sales leads (hunt), establish mutually beneficial positive relationships and ultimately increase sales. If you are not fearful, maybe you should be?
Selling in today's highly competitive and global market is definitely not that much different than years gone by. Sure technology has changed some of the communications channel, yet the essence that separates the truly successful top sales performers from the not so successful ones is well detailed in Robert Terson's book, Selling Fearlessly, where he shares a lifetime of personal stories. Bob talks from his heart and that is so rare to find in today's business books.
Human beings remember those stories from their older family members because they have such emotion and instill such a compelling memory into our brains. The wisdom transferred through that act of story telling is incredible and can not be replaced with some technical jargon.
Beyond the personal stories, Robert reawakens some long forgotten quotes from some old and probably even unknown journals and books. This quote is one of my favorites when asking the all too familiar question: "Are salespeople born or made?"
"While it is doubtless true that salesmen, like poets, are born, not made, it is also true that successful salesmen are those who, in most cases, have undergone a separate training in the school of hard knocks." Farm Journal (October, 1913)
Many of today's books on selling or sales are just a ploy to have you buy something else. This book is different because all Bob wants you to do is to consider sales from his years of practical success when it was just him and the customer.
To continue with a blow by blow review of each chapter, there would not be fair to you the reader as each of us has a different perspective and I do not want to take away any of the smiles, the nodding of the heads or Robert's generous sharing. There is something magical when you hold that book into your hands even it is a Kindle.
So invest a few dollars and read a book that is really for the major of salespeople in today's small business market place. Who knows beyond your ability to increase sales by becoming a top sales performer, you may even develop Robert's attitude of selling fearlessly?
How to Achieve Great Things by Burning Your Boats and Cutting-Off Your Retreat Routes
Famous quotes and sayings are great and invaluable nuggets that provide inspiration in the face of difficulties and uncertainties. Often, a dissipated and worried mind finds focus and motivation just by reading one appropriate quote, or a saying by another person who has experienced the same situation and overcame. Many noble achievements have been made possible by inspiration drawn from reading and carefully digesting what another person said about a particular challenge, problem or circumstance.
One does not need to read a whole book to find strength in the moment of weakness, or inspiration in the moment of desperation. When it comes to finding inspiration in moments of doubts and uncertainty, many people have found Napoleon Hill’s quotes as invaluable and very helpful resources.
This article is the first in a series of articles about self-motivation. In this series, we shall consider some of the most inspirational quotes by select authors on one of the quotes and famous sayings websites I just recently created. In this article, we shall touch upon the need to burn all sources of retreat in our undertakings, as advised by Napoleon Hill.
Burn the Boats
“Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win – essential to success.” – Napoleon Hill
“When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.” – Tu Mu
The Story of Alexander the Great
On October 1, 331 BC, with an army of 35,000 men, Alexander the Great defeated the Darius the king of Persia in one of the most decisive battles in history! Alexander’s army was greatly outnumbered by the Persian enemy. Historians agree that Darius’ army was made up of between 200,000 to 1,000,000 men. Yet in a series of dramatic and superior tactics, Alexander managed to defeat the Persians and route them.
Alexander was a military genius, and arguable the best military general that ever lived. However, something dramatic and decisive happened before this battle, which many historians believe may be responsible for this great victory.
Upon arriving the shores of Persia, Alexander and his army discovered that they were visibly outnumbered. Clearly at a disadvantage, his men lost heart and pleaded with their young leader (Alexander) to delay the attack. He was urged to go back and get more men and reinforcements. Alexander responded by ordering the men to burn their boats. As their only means of retreat went up in flames, legend has it that Alexander turned to his men and said, “We go home in Persian ships, or we die.”
This act of burning their boats sent a clear message among his army that to survive, they must win this war. They placed themselves in a “no retreat, no surrender situation.” Buoyed by this realization, Alexander’s and his men charged with a singular resolve, to win at all costs. It was with this same resolve that, at the battle of Issus, Alexander’s men forced Darius to flee, leaving the field and victory to Alexander and his army.
The Story of Hernán Cortés
In the 1519, a Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, set out with 600 Spaniards to conquer Mexico, which was rich in priceless treasures of gold, silver and precious Aztec jewels among others.
This daredevil, daring undertaking was made further insurmountable by the fact that for more than 600 years, superior conquerors with greater military hardware and human resources who attempted to colonize the same region had failed woefully.
Aware of this, Hernán Cortés decided to do it differently. After landing with his military force of 600 men on the lands Mayans, Cortés prepared his troops by long oratory and careful speeches. However, before embarking inland to face his enemies, he commanded his armies to burn all their boats! By this singular act, he and his men destroyed their only exit strategy! By these decisive three words – BORN THE BOATS – there was only one resolve within his camp: victory! For defeat meant a certain death. Owing to this singular act, Cortés became the first man to conquer Mexico in 600 years!
This is the attitude necessary for success! For a person to succeed at great things, that one must cut off all escape routes and any means of retreat. Often, many great projects are abandoned at the verge of success by retreating just prior to a breakthrough. Adversity is a tempting premise for retreat. However, having no means of retreat, but forging on despite great difficulties is the surest way to great accomplishments.
The Story of General Tariq Ibn Ziyad
General Tariq Ibn Ziyad was a Muslim general who led the Islamic conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711-718 A.D. His famous military conquest of Spain happened when Musa Ibn Nusayr, the then Governor of North Africa (present-day Morocco) was approached by Count Julian to help him bring down the kingdom of King Roderic of Spain. It is recorded that when Roderic came to power, Julian, a nobleman, sent his daughter to the court of the Visigothic king to receive an education. However, the king (Roderic) raped Julian’s daughter. Julian was incensed. Following that, he vowed to bring down the kingdom of Roderic.
After Julian entered a treaty with Tariq, he secretly conveyed the Muslims under the command of Tariq across the Straits of Gibraltar to Spain.
Tariq and his men were vastly outnumbered by the Spaniards. His arrival at the shores of Spain made the Spanish King both surprised and angry. He publicly vowed to crush the invaders and push them into the sea to drown.
As Roderic approached with his vast, superior and formidable army, the Muslim invaders were shaken and many of the soldiers began to loose heart. When Tariq noticed this, he gave the most decisive orders of the expedition: He ordered his men to burn all the boats that had brought them across the strait of Gibraltar into Spain. After his orders were carried out, Tariq addressed his men thus:
“Brothers in Islam! We now have the enemy in front of us and the deep sea behind us. We cannot return home because we have burnt our boats. We shall now either defeat the enemy and win, or die a coward death by drowning in the sea!”
With this speech, the North Africans charged at their enemy with only one resolve – to win! The Spaniards were bewildered and defeated. King Roderic, with his great army was routed.
Today, the famous rock – Gibraltar – is named after this great general, Tarig. The name “Gibraltar” is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal-at-Tariq, meaning “mountain of Tariq”
Practical Applications
The three events above, both from history, clearly indicate that success is often made possible only when there is no any route for retreat. This is somewhat like the sage suggestion to put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket carefully! Cutting off your retreat routes helps you to focus your mind, energy and devotion on achieving whatever it is you have set out to achieve. A whole book can be written about the importance of burning one’s boats. In this discourse however, we shall just consider only a few applications, especially as it touches upon dealing with seemingly impossible situations.
Make up your mind that nothing you set out to achieve is impossible: One of the retreat boats every serious man and woman need to burn is the fallacy that the things you desire to do or achieve are impossible. This boat must be burnt in every project you set out to accomplish. And this boat must be burnt always at the onset of every project. Whatever you set your mind upon to achieve, you must firmly believe that it is possible to achieve it, or else you might as well just not bother to even try!
Jesus Christ, while teaching His disciples, told them “All things are possible to him who believes!”
Is it possible for you to be the wealthiest man in your country? The answer is, ALL things are possible to him who believes! Do you believe it? If you do, then it is definitely possible!
In 1906, Simon Newcomb, a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, a leading authority in the search a flying machine, declared that “The demonstration that no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery and known forms of force, can be united in a practical machine by which man shall fly long distances through the air, seems to the writer as complete as it is possible for the demonstration of any physical fact to be.” Two months after this declaration, the Wright brothers made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, demonstrating once and for all that “impossible” is always just an opinion!
Below are carefully selected quotes I have compiled from some of the greatest sages in history. Read these quotes carefully and digest their essence!
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” – Charles R. Swindoll
“It always seems impossible until its done.” – Nelson Mandela
“Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others.” – Jonathan Winters
“The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer.” – Fridtjof Nansen
“By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.” – Mikhail Bakunin
“To achieve the impossible; it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.” – Tom Robbins
“The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke
“Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done.” – Robert A. Heinlein
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda
“I wouldn’t say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it.” – Michael Phelps
“Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.” – Louis D. Brandeis
“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” – Alexander the Great
“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation.” – Pearl S. Buck
Burn all the retreat boats at once – or go home! Every now and then, we all need to evaluate our lives and fish out the retreat boats which are hindering us from achieving the things we desire to achieve. Once these boats are identified, they must be burnt at once. Leaving these retreat routes open often hinder us from the progress we desperately seek.
A man may desperately desire to make his marriage work, however, because he still keeps extra marital affairs, his resolve to make his marriage with his legitimate spouse work will be hindered. In this instance, all extra marital affairs are escape routes that must be burnt. If these boats are burnt and done with at once, his mind will be free to focus on making his marriage work. A half-hearted resolve is almost always destined fail!
For some people, their present jobs are the retreat boats which must be burnt at once! If you desire a better and more fulfilling job, often, the only way to get that better job is by letting go of your current job. A cup that is full cannot be filled any further. For a cup to receive new and fresh content, the current content must be thrown out. The cup must be emptied. Empty your cup of the content you do not like. You are taking the right step. You are burning the escape boats of your life. This is often a necessary step towards your desired progress and success.
For some, they may find it necessary to withdraw from certain substances which they frequently abuse. Many people use substances such as beer and other drugs to temporarily ease their minds and escape reality. However, that is only temporal. Those substances are retreat boats luring us aware from the lives of fulfilment and success we hope for. Once such substances are identified as escape boats, we must emulate the great generals and military strategist above. Like Hernán Cortés, we must burn these escape boats and forge on with single-mindedness to victory.
Conclusion
In the Fast Company (August 2000), the entrepreneur Troy Tyler said “Strategy is all about commitment. If what you’re doing isn’t irrevocable, then you don’t have a strategy – because anyone can do it. That’s why burning the boats is so important. I’ve always wanted to treat life like I was an invading army and there was no turning back.”
All great military strategists, business gurus and life coaches place great importance on burning your boats and cutting-off all escape routes. If you desire to achieve something great, you must do likewise! I wish you the best in your pursuit of greatness!
Online Book Searches Courtesy of Google and Microsoft
Our two Internet biggies, Google and Microsoft, are duking it out in the book-search arena, with Microsoft’s new Live Search Books tool competing with Google’s more established Book Search .
In December 2006, Microsoft launched Live Search Books, which is still in beta testing. At launch, Live Search Books included content from the British Library, the University of Colorado and the University of Toronto, with other additions planned for later. Microsoft does not include copyright-protected materials within its data. All books are either in the public domain, or the publisher has given permission to include specific content. In time, Microsoft intends to incorporate book contents within its regular search engine.
Google’s Book Search is a component of the highly controversial Library Project–in which the multibillion-dollar corporation intends to digitize the world’s books, all in the name of public good, of course. The Association of American Publishers and the Author’s Guild object strongly to this plan, as does anyone else who sees a problem with one corporation controlling the world’s written information. Amid much debate and discussion of our admittedly murky copyright laws, Google eventually stated it would make only versions of public domain books online, while serving only “snippets” of copyrighted text. The debate continues.
Legal minds will sort this out as time passes. In the meantime, let’s see what the two Book Search tools have to offer the everyday user.
Microsoft Book Search
A visit to the Microsoft tool proves fruitful. Taking lessons from the Great Google, Microsoft has provided a clear, simple-to-use site with little to distract us.
To test it out, I tried to remember an exact quote from a book. I came up with, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times,” written by a fellow named Dickens. Running the search without quotes produced a number of unrelated results, but when I added quotes, sure enough, A Tale of Two Cities turned up immediately. Since the book is in the public domain, you can download the entire 498-page book in PDF format. What you’re doing to do with a 498-page PDF file is another topic.
Let’s see what we get with something that isn’t in the public domain. Fishing Steven King’s new offering, Lisey’s Story , out of the pile under my bed, I entered the first line of the book, “To the public eye, the spouses of well-known writers are all but invisible.” Nothing. Nada. Entering the title of the first chapter had similar results. Entering simply “Lisey” turned up various hits, but none pertaining to King’s new book.
Moving on, I tried searching for the first line of Joe Vitale’s Hypnotic Marketing . This time I got a hit. The book showed up, and by signing into one of my Microsoft accounts, I was able to search through the book, using key terms. But here I encountered something interesting. The publisher has decreed that only 58 pages of the book can be accessed. Although I didn’t scroll through 58 pages to see what would happen when I reached zero, I have faith that I would not have accessed any additional pages.
I like this feature. True, a search of an online library catalogue will turn up some information about the book in question, but it usually doesn’t allow you to peruse a number of pages in those books. This is great for those times when you can’t remember whether you’ve actually read a book, or just read a lot about a book. That happens to me a lot.
Next, I tried a keyword search to see what would turn up by topic. “Law of attraction” turned up plenty of hits–some pertaining to the Law of Attraction, and others related to various other subjects.
But what about those times when you remember the topic or a key term from a book, but you can’t remember the name of the book it appeared in? Can Live Book Search help? I searched for the term “Kunte Kinte,” hoping to discover the title of the best-selling book that had described Kinte’s life. I remembered the author and the storyline, but darned if I could remember the title of the book. Bingo! The very first hit was for another book that mentioned Kunte Kinte in the blurb, and referenced the TV mini-series, Roots . I remembered the book was also named Roots , but it did not turn up among Microsoft’s hits.
Google Book Search
Moving on, I decided to duplicate my efforts with Google Book Search. I found the same easy-to-use, uncluttered interface that Google is known for. However, Google also provides Advanced Book Search and Book Search Help -features lacking at Microsoft’s site. An FAQ page, also missing at Microsoft’s site, explains that Google gets its content from participating libraries (listed), and from individual publishers that make their books, or a specified number of pages, available.
My search for the first lines from the public domain book A Tale of Two Cities showed much the same results as Microsoft served. The book appears early in the list of hits, and is available as a downloadable PDF file.
I searched for Lisey’s Story next. This time, I had a hit, but the book isn’t searchable. You can click through to various reviews, search for it at a library, purchase it from a number of online booksellers, or purchase it as an audio file from a company using a sponsored link.
Next, I tried the first line from Hypnotic Marketing : “It’s time to awaken, you are getting sleepier . . . sleepier . . ..” Nothing. The search asked me if I misspelled anything. Next, I ran a search for the title. The book’s not listed, although I did get a few hits for other books written by Joe Vitale, along with a large selection of sponsored links.
Searching for the Law of Attraction, with and without quotes, turned up a few good hits. Google outperformed Microsoft by showing the more pertinent links near the top. As expected, the searchable content varied from book to book, depending on how many pages the author or publisher had authorized.
My search for “Kunte Kinte” turned up 101 references, making it easy to discover that the book title is Roots . I didn’t look through the entire 10 pages, but it doesn’t appear that Google has a Roots listing, either.
So, which is better? My personal vote goes to Microsoft’s search tool, but in actual practice, searchers will probably have to switch back and forth between the two to find specific information. It’s good to have two options instead of one.
Do It! – A Guide to Living Your Dreams
The other day I pulled the above book from my bookshelves in order to re-read it. I find whenever I re-read a book after a period of time, I discover something new within its pages. A little gem of an idea I had missed before. I can never throw interesting books out I just buy more book shelves. Neither would I get the same enjoyment reading from a mechanical device, I like the feel of the pages and the book in my hands.
It is an unusual book; on the pack of each page are quotes from influential people on all manner of things. Words of wisdom; you can either contemplate them as you turn the pages or ignore them and press on with the main message of the chapter, if you are eager to discover the road to your dreams.
It is a work book taking you through a series of activities to find your ultimate dream. First you discover your dream, then through the pages you are given techniques for achieving it whatever it might be.
All the distractions that could get in your way are pointed out and how to deal with them. How to deal with fear of the unknown and all the other negative problem areas you could encounter.
Be prepared for some soul-searching and thought-provoking activities as you learn to discover your dream and how you can achieve it. It is a work-book with exercises if you choose to complete them.
If you are serious in achieving your purpose in life and living your dream or finding out what has been delaying you up until now it is an interesting thought-provoking book, which can certainly lead you in the right direction.
Do you have an unfulfilled dream, or many? The book instructs you in discovering which is your main dream and how to tackle it first before moving on the others.
What is your dream? Maybe its like mine, you want to work at home using the internet. This enables me to work almost anywhere with an internet connection, as another of my dreams is to spend winters in a warmer climate. We are off to Spain in a matter of weeks.
Beginning an internet business takes time but a good mentor certainly helps speed up the process. Instead of wallowing in a sea of information you follow a tried and tested path. You also have a supply of excellent products to interest your customers and you get paid whilst you learn the techniques of affiliate marketing. Choose your mentor wisely, sample their products or look on YouTube for videos and a Google search for reviews.
It is possible that your mentor has a community of like-minded followers that you can communicate with as you learn the system. Having a good mentor has been a real help to me.
The book I am reviewing is: “Do It A Guide to Living Your Dreams” by John-Roger and Peter Mc Williams.
Other books you may like to read:
“Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” by Susan Jeffers.
“Ask for the Moon” by Percy Ross
Living with Passion” by Peter L Hirsch
“Thank God it’s Monday” by Charles Cameron and Suzanne Elusor, a book to offer strategies for making life more tolerable whilst you make changes.
“Awaken The Giant Within” by Anthony Robbins.
Developing a Personal Motto For Success
1. Read religious books. The Bible, Koran Torah, and other religious books are excellent sources of selecting a personal motto for success. These books have proven to be an excellent spiritual and even mental source for anyone who is searching for spiritual answers in times of calamity and trials in life! Religious books are filled with themes such as: faith, love, peace, personal joy, contentment, understanding life’s calamities and over-coming personal negative thoughts.
2. Connect to quotes and affirmations. Books that have quotes and affirmations can be a positive tool to shape our way of thinking. It may be our negative thoughts that are keeping us from going forward or individuals projecting a negative vibe towards us. Whatever it is, once it is negative in nature we should try to read books like Another Thought or other related books that will bring about positive thought processes in our lives.
3. Add positive words to your vocabulary. Every time you speak, let your words and thoughts be positive. Your words as well as your actions are vital elements to this positive experience. Avoid talking down to your peers and don’t encourage anyone to put you down; you can foster negative comments made to you by others simply by you allowing it. The positive words your speak will eventually bear fruits of inner contentment and personal joy!
4. Write your own motto for success. Like the little train who said “I think, I can!” You will truly believe every word you have written. The little train’s words were his personal moto and he believed that he truly can make it! Begin with a simple phrase and slowly add to it. Let it be your personal mantra. LIVE BY IT. Believe in the words you have written and success will be yours.
5. Apply your personal motto to your life. Don’t second guess yourself. The written word and the spoken word are combined to make your life a total success! Life has many paths that are paved with failures, calamities, successes and victories. Your personal motto is your road map to your success in your life. Apply your motto with a sense of understanding life’s paved paths and where you are presently placed. Your written motto should be placed prominently in your home, office, car, etc. Most importantly, place it in your heart and you will achieve everything you desire. Don’t procrastinate act NOW! Begin your personal journey to success today by simply writing your motto.
Anyone can develop their own personal motto for success. This is a personal exercise which usually brings great satisfaction. Your motto should define your personal goals and purpose for life. keep it simple and personal. This a personal endeavor that will bring success, joy and inner contentment.
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