Learn to navigate the perils of everyday awkwardness with this smart, funny and charmingly illustrated guide. Homo sapiens have been speaking for thousands of years—and yet basic communication still stymies us. We freeze up in elevators, on dates, at parties, and just about everywhere else. We stagger through our exchanges merely hoping not to crash, never considering that we might soar. But no more. With What to Talk About you’ll learn to speak—fluently, intelligently, charmingly—to family, friends, coworkers, lovers, future lovers, horse trainers, children, even yourself. This hilarious manual, written by two award-winning authors and illustrated by legendary cartoonist Tony Millionaire, is tailor-made for anyone who might one day attend a dinner party, start a job, celebrate a birthday, graduate from school, date a human, or otherwise use words. What to Talk About is not rocket science, but it is a lot like brain surgery, in the sense that is terrifying, risky—and could change you forever.

Homo sapiens have been speaking for hundreds of years—and yet basic communication still stymies us. We freeze up in elevators, on dates, at parties, under Dumpsters. We stagger through our exchanges merely hoping not to crash, never considering that we might soar. We go home sweaty and eat a birthday cake in the shower. But no more. With What to Talk About you'll learn to speak—fluently, intelligently, charmingly—to family, friends, coworkers, lovers, future lovers, horse trainers, children, even yourself. This hilarious manual, written by two award-winning authors and illustrated by legendary cartoonist Tony Millionaire, is tailor-made for anyone who might one day attend a dinner party, start a job, celebrate a birthday, graduate from school, date a human, or otherwise use words. What to Talk About is not rocket science, but it is a lot like brain surgery, in the sense that is terrifying, risky—and could change you forever.

If getting the most out of life is important to you, you must read Life-changing Conversations!' - Eldon Taylor PhD, FAPA, radio personality and New York Times bestselling author of Choices and Illusions and Mind Programming This book explains why effective talk can be truly transformative and provides a practical guide to having the kinds of conversations that will turn your life around. Expert psychologist and coach Sarah Rozenthuler provides the seven keys to success: calling up your courage, focusing on your intention, creating positive space, speaking your truth, having a flexible style, cultivating constructive controversy, and obtaining closure. Throughout the book you will find real-life examples of problem situations, including negotiating with difficult neighbours, asking for a raise and ending a long-term relationship. The author shows through extended sample dialogue how, in each case, a difficult situation was worked through and a positive result achieved. Improving our effectiveness at having good conversations is the single most important way to bring about positive change in our lives.

Reports of the death of reading are greatly exaggerated Do you worry that you've lost patience for anything longer than a tweet? If so, you're not alone. Digital-age pundits warn that as our appetite for books dwindles, so too do the virtues in which printed, bound objects once trained us: the willpower to focus on a sustained argument, the curiosity to look beyond the day's news, the willingness to be alone. The shelves of the world's great libraries, though, tell a more complicated story. Examining the wear and tear on the books that they contain, English professor Leah Price finds scant evidence that a golden age of reading ever existed. From the dawn of mass literacy to the invention of the paperback, most readers already skimmed and multitasked. Print-era doctors even forbade the very same silent absorption now recommended as a cure for electronic addictions. The evidence that books are dying proves even scarcer. In encounters with librarians, booksellers and activists who are reinventing old ways of reading, Price offers fresh hope to bibliophiles and literature lovers alike. Winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Christian Gauss Award, 2020

Learn how to reverse the effects of negative self-talk and embrace a more positive, optimistic outlook on life

'This book isn't a memoir. It is a love letter to the phenomenon of autistic hyperfixation.' In What I Want to Talk About popular autism advocate Pete Wharmby takes readers on a journey through his special interests, illuminating the challenges of autistic experience along the way. Funny, revealing, celebratory and powerful in equal measure, this is a book that will resonate with many, and which should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand autism with more accuracy and empathy.

14 COUNTRIES, 42 WOMEN - FROM PERIODS TO ORGASMS TO FGM. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OVERSHARING. 'Nimko's book is going to shift the conversation around women's bodies. Our bodies, and everything they do, make us who we are' - Amika George, founder of Free Periods Campaign ______________________ What do you do when you're homeless and on your period? What does it feel like to have a poo following childbirth? How do we learn to love our bodies again after they've been abused? It's rude. It's improper. It's disgusting. All justifications that leave women's questions about their bodies unanswered. And activist Nimko Ali has had enough of it. Following her own experience of FGM and rebuilding her relationship with her body, this important book contains the true stories of women sharing what they've always been told is secret and shameful - from east London to Ethiopia, from pregnancy to menopause. This is a call to arms. This is a cry to reclaim the narrative around our fannies and to refuse the taboos that silent us. ______________________ 'A beautiful book with such a wide range of uplifting but often heart-breaking stories. Made us cry and think in equal measure' - Pandora Sykes, co-host of The High Low 'Nimko has blown apart all taboos, blown apart the echo chamber and included all women in the feminist conversation.' - Scarlett Curtis, author of Feminists Don't Wear Pink 'There is no subject too taboo for her to tackle. We should all be talking about our vaginas and she is leading the way' - Bryony Gordon, author of Mad Girl 'Nimko Ali is heroine for our time, she destroys the notion of things being too rude to discuss' - Caitlin Moran, author of How to Be a Woman

It is about facing your fears. It is about believing in yourself. It is about following those 'I cannot explain' feelings. It is about chasing your dreams and it is about daring, attempting and trying. It is about learning from failures and from mistakes. It is about acceptance and forgiveness. It is about putting yourself out there. It is about listening to your inner voice and it is about listening to everyone, being opened and following your heart. It is about learning new things and improving continuously. It is about the journey and not the arriving. It is about life and it is about those 'coincidences' those 'mmm, that's a sign!'. It is about the awe of wild things, the whispers in the trees, the songs of birds, the 'silence' in the mountains, the calling in the waves, and about the sound of your steps in magical forests. It is about what you cannot explain, but you feel when you look at the starry sky. It is about our path until this moment. It is about how life works when you look back at your life. It is about perspective. It is about faith and it is about hope, strength, gratitude, willingness and putting in the work. It is about decisions, choices and interpretations. It is about the most precious currency, time. It is about the beauty of discovering for yourself, remaining curious and inquisitive. It is about work, hard work and focused work. It is about passion, discipline, commitment, habits and dedication. It is about adjusting along the way, it is about taking care of yourself, body, mind, heart and soul, and it is about helping others with what you can. It is about staying on your path. It is about letting go, trusting and patience. It is about health, healthy habits and healthy lifestyles. It is about overcoming and the power of one moment, one day. It is about the power of words and it is about the power of our imagination and creativity. It is about asking yourself, and life what's your purpose. It is about wondering and wandering whilst chasing that 'what if'. It is about being lost and it is about the purpose in striving. It is about people, all of us, what do we really want, and imagining what we can do and accomplish when we work together. It is about transparency and intentions. I feel like when we're going through a kind of inquiry like this will actually lead us to a better understanding of ourselves, and in this way we can make better decisions. For ourselves, for the ones we love, for the ones around us. It is like the gift we'll give back to life itself for the present of being here. At the least, for me, it is a cause living for it.

Equal parts useful and esoteric, the collection of facts in How to Talk Like You Know What You're Talking About clears your path to sounding like the smartest person in any room you find yourself in. Your path to sounding like the smartest person in the room is clear thanks to How to Talk Like You Know What You're Talking About. Equal parts useful and esoteric, a collection of facts related to intriguing topics such as Stanley Kubrick, the cause of World War I, and the theory of relativity makes you a must-have on the guest list for any gathering. Expertise has never been so effortless, as a few easy-to-digest talking points are all that stand between you and a well-rounded intellect.

"Originally published in 2007 as The essential guide to talking with teens: ready-to-use discussions for school and youth groups"--T.p. verso.