Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Saturday, October 4, 2008
say what?
because for hours now, and for the past two posts, i have been skirting around the issue - and i should just say it.
i'm a good evader.
but Brian McFarlan's Drop the Pink Elephant, which is devoted entirely to correctness in one's spoken interactions, has had me thinking. I can be unkind in speech.
I remember this allegory someone sent once. A boy's father tells him to hammer nails into the fence every time he feels angry. The boy starts out with many nails a day, and slowly there are less nails in the fence. Then for every day that he isn't angry, the father asks him to remove the nails.
Each nail, the father points out, is like a harsh word said in anger. The hurts go deep, and what's worse is that you cannot really take them back. When you remove the nail, the hole is still there.
And I've said harsh words in complete jest - because I find it makes one tough - what with one's British education. And I often find that among journalists - a clique to which I do not entirely belong, but to which I often aspire - snideness is the rule of the day; it's what sets you apart.
Because saying, "You're smart, aren't you?" is just so much more of a sharper nail than "Stupid."
i'm a good evader.
but Brian McFarlan's Drop the Pink Elephant, which is devoted entirely to correctness in one's spoken interactions, has had me thinking. I can be unkind in speech.
I remember this allegory someone sent once. A boy's father tells him to hammer nails into the fence every time he feels angry. The boy starts out with many nails a day, and slowly there are less nails in the fence. Then for every day that he isn't angry, the father asks him to remove the nails.
Each nail, the father points out, is like a harsh word said in anger. The hurts go deep, and what's worse is that you cannot really take them back. When you remove the nail, the hole is still there.
And I've said harsh words in complete jest - because I find it makes one tough - what with one's British education. And I often find that among journalists - a clique to which I do not entirely belong, but to which I often aspire - snideness is the rule of the day; it's what sets you apart.
Because saying, "You're smart, aren't you?" is just so much more of a sharper nail than "Stupid."
My bookshelf
1. Drop the Pink Elephant
By Bill McFarlan. This erstwhile BBC-walla will now tell us how to get the fat, unnecessary stuff out of the way in conversations, and perhaps get to the bone. I'm on chapter 3 - what I have learned so far seems insightful.
2. Not Buying It
Judith Levine goes on about a year of not shopping. Her style is known for engaging political, cultural and economic macro-concerns into daily life. I'm looking forward to being intimidated and enlightened in equal measure.
3. Eat That Frog
and once you get that over with, metaphorically speaking, says author Brian Tracy, you can spend the rest of your day working in the relief that the worst is over. The run-on title is "21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time."
4. Your First Novel
by Ann Rittenbergy and Laura Whitcomb - self-evident as to its content (another how-to guide), but has been lying around and been renewed for too long. Apparently someone at British Council Library wanted "How to Mind Map" by Tony Buzan and had it reserved, so I had to return it. It is both with relief and disappointment that I realised it wasn't the write your novel book they wanted but an organising tool. sigh.
5. Shantaram
by Gregory David Roberts, a tale of Mumbai's world of crime, sex, drugs, and anything else that sells I suppose. It's about a 1000 pages, and I've perhaps read 10, but hope springs eternal. The only element of fiction in my collection of self-improvement-centered reading. :)
Also:
Am watching a josei manga anime on youtube (thank you, youtube!).
and fawlty towers also sits on shelf waiting patiently to be viewed, and perhaps reviewed.
By Bill McFarlan. This erstwhile BBC-walla will now tell us how to get the fat, unnecessary stuff out of the way in conversations, and perhaps get to the bone. I'm on chapter 3 - what I have learned so far seems insightful.
2. Not Buying It
Judith Levine goes on about a year of not shopping. Her style is known for engaging political, cultural and economic macro-concerns into daily life. I'm looking forward to being intimidated and enlightened in equal measure.
3. Eat That Frog
and once you get that over with, metaphorically speaking, says author Brian Tracy, you can spend the rest of your day working in the relief that the worst is over. The run-on title is "21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time."
4. Your First Novel
by Ann Rittenbergy and Laura Whitcomb - self-evident as to its content (another how-to guide), but has been lying around and been renewed for too long. Apparently someone at British Council Library wanted "How to Mind Map" by Tony Buzan and had it reserved, so I had to return it. It is both with relief and disappointment that I realised it wasn't the write your novel book they wanted but an organising tool. sigh.
5. Shantaram
by Gregory David Roberts, a tale of Mumbai's world of crime, sex, drugs, and anything else that sells I suppose. It's about a 1000 pages, and I've perhaps read 10, but hope springs eternal. The only element of fiction in my collection of self-improvement-centered reading. :)
Also:
Am watching a josei manga anime on youtube (thank you, youtube!).
and fawlty towers also sits on shelf waiting patiently to be viewed, and perhaps reviewed.
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