«Etiquette is synonymous with courtesy, honesty, authenticity and all the qualities that bring added value to the human capital. » - Cleo, 2009 «Sophisticated and charming, Ms. Shirley epitomizes the qualities she seeks to impart. » - Selections Education, 2008 «Shirley Shalaby has gone to great lengths to help others develop their personality and add beauty to their everyday lives.» - Identity, 2007 «Each one of us is blessed with an inner beauty struggling to be recognized. » - Al Ahram Weekly, 2007 «She was brought up in a home full of beauty; her mother, a fashion designer, taught her how to talk and walk nicely and basically, to behave. She hoped that her little daughter would one day become a famous fashion designer. In fact, the daughter has fulfilled her mother’s dream and more. » - Egyptian Mail, 2008

Charm in Literature from Classical to Modernism: Charmed Life discusses charm as both an emotional and aesthetic phenomenon. Beginning with the first appearance of literary charm in the Sirens episode of the Odyssey, Richard Beckman traces charm throughout canonical literature, examining the metamorphoses of charm through the millennia. The book examines the works of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Proust, Joyce, Mann, and others, considering the multiplicity of ways charm is defined, depicted, and utilized by authors. Positioning these poems, dramas, and novels as case studies, Beckman reveals the mercurial yet enduring connotations of charm.

Joseph Epstein takes on that most enchanting (and, alas, increasingly rare) of human gifts, charm. “Almost everyone will recognize when he or she is in the presence of charm,” he writes. “Charm is magic of a kind; it casts a spell. In the presence of charm the world seems lighter and lovelier. A charming person can cause you to forget your problems, at least temporarily, to hold the world’s dreariness at bay. Charm is a reminder that the world is filled with jolly prospects and delightful possibilities. Watching Fred Astaire dance, or listening to Blossom Dearie sing, or reading the poems of C.P. Cavafy, or merely looking at Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner, one recalls that the world can be a pretty damn fine place.”

Bestselling crafts book author Sherri Haab offers a new take on the classic friendship bracelet with 35 fresh, fashionable, and modern designs! A hugely popular rite of passage for girls all over the world, the friendship bracelet has recently become a fashion staple for women of all ages, incorporating various braiding, knotting, weaving, and embellishment materials and techniques. The techniques and materials of the classic friendship bracelet trace their roots to Central and South America, and the fashion world's renewed interest in all things ethnic have transported it to the runway, inspiring celebrities, models, and fashion mavens like Beyonce, Heidi Klum, Lauren Conrad, Bar Rafaeli, and Rita Ora to sport "stacks" of ultra-chic wrist candy and retailers to sell expensive versions. In Charm Love Friendship Bracelets, bestselling crafts book author Sherri Haab offers a new take on the classic friendship bracelet that shows how to make pretty, chic, and wearable polymer clay charms and beads and combine them with traditional knotting/macrame, braiding, wrapping, and other techniques using inexpensive threads, cording, beads, and findings to create 35 fresh, fashionable, and modern designs. The book covers essential supplies, knotting techniques (with step-by-step illustrations), and working with polymer clay. The designs take a timeless classic and give it a new twist with fun, fashion-forward projects that let you customize your creations with easy-to-make polymer clay charms and beads as well as other easy-to-find embellishments.

"Enchanting Visions" Windmills, community spirit, rooftop gardens – that is what young magician Enim knows. But when he travels out to the mountains, misery hits him in the face. Before he knows it, Enim gets adopted into a found family that is determined to take on the powerful owners, free the miners, and bring on a good life for all. The exact steps to saving the world are still a little unclear. But that won’t stop anyone from rushing ahead! Between the politics of the capital and the instruments of magic, a tangled love-tie and a popular uprising, their snug group of orphan kids and the inner strength to ban a demon – will they finally make it happen? “An inspiring tale full of gentle humor, vibrant zeal and ludicrous optimism.” “Perfect for fans of Becky Chambers, Ursula K. LeGuin and Studio Ghibli.“ This book is for you if you like: -) a fantasy world full of conviviality -) upliftingly stubborn activism -) the quiet wisdom of mountains -) a vision of children growing up free -) wealth beyond jewels -) small furry charmers -) fantastic challenges to common thought-patterns Other books in this series: The Starlight of Shadows (German editions: Der Zauber der Freiheit / Schatten aus Sternenlicht – Die Yurvanischen Wandelromane) These Yurvanian Transition novels can be read independently, in any order.

The author addresses such theological questions as What is God like? Why pray? Male and female-how are we related? How do people see Jesus? What is the shape of the godly life? If the Lord is with us, why do we suffer? How do we face death? through short meditations, each staring with a Bible verse and ending with a brief prayer.

This scholarly anthology presents a new framework for understanding early cinema through its usage outside the realm of entertainment. From its earliest origins until the beginning of the twentieth century, cinema provided widespread access to remote parts of the globe and immediate reports on important events. Reaching beyond the nickelodeon theatres, cinema became part of numerous institutions, from churches and schools to department stores and charitable organizations. Then, in 1915, the Supreme Court declared moviemaking a “busines, pure and simple,” entrenching the film industry’s role as a producer of “harmless entertainment.” In Beyond the Screen, contributors shed light on how pre-1915 cinema defined itself through institutional interconnections and publics interested in science, education, religious uplift, labor organizing, and more.

'IF YOU LIKE SCIENCE FICTION YOU WILL LOVE THIS. . . A ROLLICKING GOOD READ' Scotsman on Beyond the Hallowed Sky 'MACLEOD'S BEST BOOK TO DATE' SFX on Beyond the Hallowed Sky THE FERMI ARE AWAKE. With the invention of faster-than-light travel there is nowhere that humanity cannot go. New worlds are discovered, but with them come new dangers. At the heart of the discovery is the Fermi, mysterious beings that have survived on alien worlds for longer than humanity has existed. But now the Fermi are awakening, and they do not seem pleased to find humans in their midst. But for Lakshmi Nayak and the crew of the Fighting Chance, danger is a lot closer to home. Their search for answers will take them to places, and worlds, they never expected. Science fiction legend Ken MacLeod returns with book two in the Lightspeed trilogy, a gripping tale of first contact and dark conspiracies set among the stars. Praise for Ken MacLeod: 'An exceptional blend of international politics, hard science, and first contact' Michael Mammay, author of the Planetside series on Beyond the Hallowed Sky 'MacLeod is up there with Banks and Hamilton as one of the British sci-fi authors you absolutely have to read' SFX 'Prose as sleek and fast as the technology it describes. . . watch this man go global' Peter F. Hamilton on Star Fraction 'Ken MacLeod has an enviable track record of extrapolating from current trends to produce mind-bending novels of ideas' Guardian Also by Ken MacLeod: Lightspeed Beyond the Hallowed Sky Fall Revolution The Star Fraction The Stone Canal The Cassini Division The Sky Road Engines of Light Cosmonaut Keep Dark Light Engine City Corporation Wars Trilogy Dissidence Insurgence Emergence Novels The Human Front Newton's Wake Learning the World The Execution Channel The Restoration Game Intrusion Descent