Book - The Complete Book of Questions:

1001 Conversation Starters for Any Occasion

This book provides groups with 1,001 engaging and thought-provoking icebreaker questions to start and sustain meaningful conversations.

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Pivotal Gold Members – request this book for free. Not a member yet? Information here

More on Communication and conversation

Book: You’re Too Kind : A Brief History of Flattery

You’re Too Kind : A Brief History of Flattery

by Richard Stengel

From the reviews

Stengel (a senior editor at Time magazine) ponders the meaning of flattery and illustrates that more than mere praise, flattery is praise with a motive, be it benign or grasping.

You’re Too Kind is a witty, colorful, fast-paced trip through history. It’s meticulously researched and comprehensive. .... more

This week's Must-reads

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Latest children's book reviews at the Pivotal Network

(click on the pictures to go to the reviews)

The 39 Clues: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis	39 Clues. Book 1 - The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan	Payback by Melody Carlson	The Runaway Dolls by Ann M. Martin	Remember as you pass me by by L. King Perez

Icoste books

http://www.icoste.com/538_Books.htm Icoste features thousands of books for many types of interest. They also claim to find the cheapest one for you on the internet saving you time and effort.

Books _ This week’s Must-reads …

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Stolz

The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes by Mandy Sayer

Under a Blood Red Sky by Kate Furnivall

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville

You can read all the reviews of these books at http://www.pivotalbookclub.com/read_right_now.htm

Modern and Creative Bookshelf Designs

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20 Essential Non-fiction Books

"20 Amazing and Essential Non-fiction Books to Enrich Your Library" from the Zen Habits blog This list is of his favorites. http://adjix.com/hr3z

Pick of the Paperbacks for 2008

Captivating fiction, epic histories and science with universal appeal - Observer writers choose the year's most memorable reads http://adjix.com/vgx

Two Paths for the Novel

From two recent novels, a story emerges about the future for the Anglophone novel. Both are the result of long journeys. Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill, took seven years to write; Remainder, by Tom McCarthy, took seven years to find a mainstream publisher. The two novels are antipodal—indeed one is the strong refusal of the other. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22083

Book - Messages

: the Communication skills book

This is a self-help book that cuts through all the big words and psychological concepts and gets immediately into helping you change. There is something for everybody here -- parents, teens, managers, and children.

(... more)

This week's Must Reads

Torn Apart

by James Patterson

Honour Thyself by Danielle Steel

The birthday present by Barbara Vine

To Love, Honour and Betray

Cathie Lette

The Persimmon Tree

by Bryce Courtenay

More about the books here

The Definitive Book of Body Language

by Barbara and Allan Pease This international bestseller reveals the secrets of nonverbal communication to give you confidence and control in any face-to-face encounter–from making a great first impression and acing a job interview to finding the right partner.

(... more)

Prime Minister's Literary Awards

The Prime Minister has announced the winners of the new Prime Minister's Literary Awards, an inititiative celebrating Australian literature. Chosen from over 200 entries, these titles will make great reading. Fiction The Zookeeper's Warby Steven Conte Nonfiction Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers by Philip Jones Click here for more information on the Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

This week's must-reads

More details here...

Novel Writing Made Easy

Want to write a novel? Learn the way to connect the dots from novel idea to novel sale. A published author takes you through the steps of turning your idea for a novel into a published book. Novel writing can be easy when you follow a blueprint plan.

The Online Books Page

Listing over 25,000 free books on the Web

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

espresso publishing

From ITI Newslink From Paula J. Hane's article .....New Publishing Models Brewing—Espresso to You

With all the emphasis on digitizing texts, ebooks and ejournals, and new ebook readers, you might be surprised to hear of a recent development in printing technology. Yes, a new company is hoping to brew some espresso buzz around printing a paperback book. New York City-based On Demand Books (ODB; www.ondemandbooks.com) is planning to become the first company to globally deploy a low-cost, totally automatic book machine. The Espresso Book Machine reportedly can produce 15–20 library-quality paperback books per hour, in any language, in quantities of one, without any human intervention. This technology and process will produce one each of 10 different books at the same speed and cost as it can produce 10 copies of the same book.

Top 100 Fantasy Books

This website lists the Top 100 Fantasy Books. I find it wonderful that a book published in 1937 is sitting at Number 2 as I write this. G0 and vote for your favourite. http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/fantasy100/lists_books.html

Book owners burn books in protest

I had this saved to share and got busy doing other things - strange publicity!! Book Store Owners Protest 'Decline In Reading' KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The owner of a midtown bookstore set fire to hundreds of books on West 39th Street on Sunday. "We hope to spark a conversation about the importance of books in the face of a marked shrinking in reading trends, and staggering waste streams of actual books," said Prospero's Books owner, Tom Wayne. Prospero's has publicized for months that it was looking for a good home for thousands of books, and saying it would burn the books if no one wanted them. Read more