Language Arts Audiobooks | Language Instruction

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

In 2002 Lynne Truss presented Cutting a Dash, a well-received BBC Radio 4 series about punctuation, which led to the writing of Eats, Shoots & Leaves. The book became a runaway success in the UK, hitting number one on the bestseller lists and prompting extraordinary headlines such as Grammar Book Tops Bestseller List (BBC News). With more than 500,000 copies of her book in print in her native England, Lynne Truss is ready to rally the troops on this side of the pond with her rousing cry, Sticklers unite!Through sloppy usage and low standards on the Internet, in e-mail, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. If there are only pedants left who care, then so be it. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. From George Orwell shunning the semicolon, to New Yorker editor Harold Ross's epic arguments with James Thurber over commas, this lively history makes a powerful case for the preservation of a system of printing conventions that is much too subtle to be mucked about with. From the Compact Disc edition.

Lynne Truss (Author), Lynne Truss (Narrator)

Audiobook

Communication Matters I: He Said / She Said: Women, Men and Language

When I wrote You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation I didn't know that what everyone would respond to most strongly is the question, "Why don't men like to stop and ask for directions?" (Before the book was published, no one talked about this gender difference; as a result of the book, it is now the ubiquitous subject of jokes, cartoons, skits, greeting cards, and casual conversations.) The answer to this question will be revealed in the lectures that follow, as it captures the essence of what this course will address: the patterns that tend to distinguish how men and women use language in their everyday lives, and the consequences of these differences (as well as similarities) for conversations and relationships between women and men. My goal in this series, in addition to illuminating the patterns of women's and men's uses of language, is to enhance understanding of how language works in everyday life. I am told by students who have taken my courses that this understanding helps them in their everyday lives, as every aspect of our lives involves talking to people of the other sex-in our personal relationships, our families, at work, and in trying to get just about anything done. My research on cross-gender communication grew out of my linguistic research on how people use language in conversation. I was invited to take part in a research project organized by a psychologist, Bruce Dorval, that was funded by the Social Science Research Council. We examined videotapes of children talking to their best friends across a range of ages. In looking at Dorval's videotapes, I noticed a pattern of physical orientation: At every age, girls and women sat face to face and looked directly at each other when they talked, whereas boys and men sat at angles, or parallel, and looked around the room. Seeing this pattern span such a range of ages is what prompted me to think of cross-gender communication as cross-cultural. ** Please contact Customer Service for additional content**

Deborah Tannen (Author), Deborah Tannen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hollywood Animal

He spent his earliest years in post WWII-refugee camps. He came to America and grew up in Cleveland-stealing cars, rolling drunks, battling priests, nearly going to jail. He became the screenwriter of the worldwide hits Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, and Flashdance. He also wrote the legendary disasters Showgirls and Jade. The rebellion never ended, even as his films went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the box office and he became the most famous-or infamous-screenwriter in Hollywood. Joe Eszterhas is a complex and paradoxical figure: part outlaw and outsider combined with equal parts romantic and moralist. More than one person has called him "the devil." He has been referred to as "the most reviled man in America." But Time asked, "If Shakespeare were alive today, would his name be Joe Eszterhas?" and he was the first screenwriter picked as one of the movie industry's 100 Most Powerful People. Although he is often accused of sexism and misogyny, his wife is his best friend and equal partner. Considered an apostle of sex and violence, he is a churchgoer who believes in the power of prayer. For many years the ultimate symbol of Hollywood excess, he has moved his family to Ohio and immersed himself in the midwestern lifestyle he so values. Controversial, fearless, extremely talented, and totally unpredictable, the author of the best-selling American Rhapsody and National Book Award nominee Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse has surprised us yet again: he has written a memoir like no other. On one level, Hollywood Animal is a shocking and often devastating look inside the movie business. It intimately explores the concept of fame and gives us a never-before-seen look at the famous. Eszterhas reveals the fights, the deals, the extortions, the backstabbing, and the sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll world that is Hollywood. But there are many more levels to this extraordinary work. It is the story of a street kid who survives a life filled with obstacles and pain . . . a chronicle of a love affair that is sensual, glorious, and unending . . . an excruciatingly detailed look at a man facing down the greatest enemy he's ever fought: the cancer inside him . . . and perhaps most important, Hollywood Animal is the heartbreaking story of a father and son that defines the concepts of love and betrayal. This is a book that will shock you and make you laugh, anger you and move you to tears. It is pure Joe Eszterhas-a raw, spine-chilling celebration of the human spirit.

Joe Eszterhas (Author), Eric Bogosian (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hollywood Animal: A Memoir

Joe Eszterhas (Author), Scott Brick (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Roots of Violence

In this dialogue, Susan Griffin explores the relationship between what happens in our intimate lives and the violence we express individually and as a nation. She explains, 'The idea that we have to get somebody with a lot of muscles to take care of us happens when our core relationship to our own feelings has been erased.'

Susan Griffin (Author), Michael Toms (Narrator)

Audiobook

Engaging Life's Conversation

David Whyte (Author), Michael Toms (Narrator)

Audiobook

Writing From The Heart

If you've ever wished to sit down over a cup of tea and a plate of chocolates for an intimate conversation with a favorite author, you'll treasure this dialogue. Isabel Allende reflects on her early years in Chile, her decision to take her family into exile, the culture she left behind, and her views on politics and feminism in the world today. Ms. Allende shares the events and emotional experiences that inspired the writing of her books, and explains how storytelling defines her life. 'I see the world as stories, evolving stories, interconnected stories, and for me to explain something I always have to go to the story. If I have to tell you who I am, I will have to tell you my story. That's how I see the world.' (hosted by Michael Toms)

Isabel Allende (Author), Michael Toms (Narrator)

Audiobook

True Notebooks

When Mark Salzman is invited to visit a writing class at Central Juvenile Hall, a lockup for Los Angeles's most violent teenage offenders, he scrambles for a polite reason to decline. He goes, expecting the worst, and is so astonished by what he finds that he becomes a teacher there himself. True Notebooks is an account of Salzman's first years teaching at Central. Through it, we come to know his students as he did: in their own words. At times impossible and at times irresistible, they write with devastating clarity about their pasts, their fears, their confusions, their regrets, and their hopes. They write about what led them to crime and to gangs, about love for their mothers and anger toward their (mostly absent) fathers, about guilt for the pain they have caused, and about what it is like to be facing life in prison at the age of seventeen. Most of all, they write about trying to find some reason to believe in themselves, and others, in spite of all that has gone wrong. Surprising, charming, upsetting, enlightening, and ultimately hopeful, driven by the insight and humor of Salzman's voice and by the intelligence, candor, and strength of his students, whose writing appears throughout the book, True Notebooks is itself a reward of the self-expression Mark Salzman teaches: a revelatory meditation on the process, power, and meaning of writing. From the Hardcover edition.

Mark Salzman (Author), Paul Boehmer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers

Lawrence Block is a best-selling author of popular mystery fiction. With over 30 of his works in print, he is as prolific as he is skilled. This collection of essays and articles from his Writer's Digest columns has been in print for over 20 years. Here he provides invaluable advice to the aspiring writer and the established author. Featuring a witty and honest narration from the author himself, Block presents an illuminating look into the world of the professional writer.

Lawrence Block (Author), Lawrence Block (Narrator)

Audiobook

All-Audio Spanish

Speak Spanish Fluently with the Most Complete, Up-to-date All-Audio Course Available LEARN SPANISH ON THE GO-LEARN ANYWHERE If you have trouble finding time to fit in language lessons, All-Audio Spanish is the perfect solution. Developed by the experts at Living Language®, this program is designed for people on the move. You can learn Spanish as you drive, work around the house, or exercise at the gym. SHORT, EASY-TO-FOLLOW LESSONS-NO READING REQUIRED An English-speaking narrator guides you through 35 short lessons-just listen and repeat after native Spanish speakers. VOCABULARY-GRAMMAR-DIALOGUES-CULTURE Begin with vocabulary and grammar basics before hearing a lively dialogue that includes the most current Spanish idioms and usage. Interactive exercises reinforce what you've learned. You'll also learn some intriguing facts about Spanish customs and culture.

Living Language, Living Language (audio) (Author), Living Language (Narrator)

Audiobook

All-Audio German

With the relaunch of its All-Audio series, Living Language makes it simple to fit Spanish, French, Italian, or German into your schedule rather than the other way around. The packaging is all new, the content is updated, and the unique audio method is just as enjoyable and effective as ever! This series is the perfect way to learn a language for anyone who does not have the luxury of a lot of time to sit down with a book. The short lessons teach everything you need for basic to intermediate proficiency in "bite-size" portions without any reading or writing. The user just has to listen, repeat, and move at his or her own ideal pace. And with Living Language All-Audio it's possible to learn a language anywhere! -- Updated and revised with all of the most current language and culture -- A simple audio-only approach perfect for use on the go -- No reading required -- 35 lessons on six 60-minute cassettes or Cds. -- Everything the user needs to start speaking and understanding right away -- Six full hours of recordings on cassette or CD for a great price

Living Language, Living Language (audio) (Author), Unknown (Narrator)

Audiobook

All-Audio Italian

Speak Italian Fluently with the Most Complete, Up-to-date All-Audio Course Available LEARN ITALIAN ON THE GO'LEARN ANYWHERE If you have trouble finding time to fit in language lessons, All-Audio Italian is the perfect solution. Developed by the experts at Living Language', this program is designed for people on the move. You can learn Italian as you drive, work around the house, or exercise at the gym. SHORT, EASY-TO-FOLLOW LESSONS'NO READING REQUIRED An English-speaking narrator guides you through 35 short lessons'just listen and repeat after native Italian speakers. VOCABULARY'GRAMMAR'DIALOGUES'CULTURE Begin with vocabulary and grammar basics before hearing a lively dialogue that includes the most current Italian idioms and usage. Interactive exercises reinforce what you've learned. You'll also learn some intriguing facts about Italian customs and culture.

Living Language, Living Language (audio) (Author), Living Language (Narrator)

Audiobook

Language Arts Audiobooks in Language Instruction