“Here’s something you should know – Dr. Hamilton has provided the most comprehensive “soup to nuts” book about online education on the planet. It’s a real hand-holder to get you started, guide you to a degree and beyond into the workforce.” Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant “Stuff You Should Know” Podcast Feel daunted and confused by the prospect of becoming an online student? The Online Student User’s Manual, by Diane Hamilton, Ph.D., addresses the challenges a student may face and provides a wide range of knowledge to help students succeed in their educational online journey. Students not only learn what they need to know about formatting papers, the new terminology (buzz words), and basic computer hardware and software requirements but gain in-depth information as to how they can learn to organize their time efficiently, communicate effectively with professors and their peers, track their assignments, study for optimum retention, and even learn how the type of students they are can affect their learning ability. After many years of teaching online students, Dr. Hamilton discovered there was a need for developing basic life skills in young adults. Her books and articles focus on understanding online education, personalities in the workforce, and personal finance. “Where so many books ...

John Grogan, author of the famous book 'Marley and Me' has released a new title called Life Is Like A Sailboat A former columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, John's biographical tale about the ups and downs of family life with his loopy labrador, Marley became an instant bestseller. The book was sentimental enough to make grown men with even the hardest of hearts shed a tear, and was adapted into a successful movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. In his new book Life Is Like A Sailboat, Grogan offers us a deeper insight into his private world and thoughts. On the official Website the book is described as follows: John Grogan shows us all sides of the human condition— pieces that reflect his unique understanding of the crazy-quilt world we inhabit. From the fragility of life almost gone in an instant at a crosswalk, to avoiding the shoals of adolescence, to cell phones driving us to distraction (as we drive!), to turning the tables on telemarketers, to the Iraq War coming home to a small town in Pennsylvania, these pieces are filled with insight and sensitivity, laced with humor and understanding. In his own very unique way, John Grogan makes all of us feel more connected to each other and less like strangers living in a strange ...

Becoming a mother is a daunting and baffling prospect. The sudden burst of responsibility for the complete care of a newborn child is over-whelming, yet wonderful in ways only a parent can truly understand. The feeling of being needed lasts for many years, until one day your little baby boy (who now stands at 6ft 1) pulls you to one side, because he has something sensitive to tell you. 'Mum, I'm moving out.' Many mother's have heard those shattering words, and I have yet to experience them. How will it feel? What does a mother do? Does she begin to feel redundant, free or a mixture of both? When my own child eventually leaves home, will I suddenly feel an awakening sense of liberation or an energising excitement at the prospect of being able to pursue all the personal hobbies, which devoted motherhood stole from me? Will I discover, that being left with 'myself' instills a sense of purposelessness, and causes me to plod through the last years of my life as a bereaved cast-off? I wonder if there is even a type of depression which settles over us like some sort of post-matriarchal slump? In my research I found some new titles released in the last couple of months which promise to open my eyes ...

"Fascinating, engaging and beautifully written. A masterpiece" --George Monbiot, author of Heat and The Age of Consent" When a Billion Chinese Jump: How China Will Save Mankind Or Destroy It - Jonathan Watts British author Jonathan Watts begins his tale by describing his childish fear of an apocalpytic jump by China’s 1 billion citizens, a threat that could (he was told) throw the earth off its axis. He explains:  "As a child, I used to pray for China. It was a profoundly selfish prayer. Lying in bed, fingers clasped together, I would reel off the same wish list every night: ‘Dear Father, thank you for all the good things in my life. Please look after mum and Dad, Lisa (my sister,) Nana and Papa, Toby (my dog), my friends (and here I would list whoever I was mates with at the time) and me.’ After this roll call, the signoff was usually the same. ‘And please make the world peaceful. Please help all the poor and hungry people, and please make sure everyone in China doesn’t jump at the same time."  In 2003, Jonathan moved to Beijing which had already begun to undergo a massive transformation into the modernised world, and he worried about the impact this ...

The very word 'Kama Sutra' always seems to bring about a giggle in people. It reminds me of my childhood days, when I would play 'dolls' with friends and we'd giggle away at those missing genitals! Thirty years on and I still had to stifle a laugh when I spotted the article 'The Kama Sutra on audio book: Will it prove popular without illustrations? by John Valeri. But hold on a moment, I thought the very point of Kama Sutra was the illustrations or did I miss something? With a newly released audio book we now have a complete manual with instructions, and a step by step guide on how to actually perform the so called kama sutra positions. It'll be more exciting than the manual for your washing machine, though one has to ponder the question of whether it will be anywhere near as popular as the illustrated version?  Plus what happened to good old imagination and letting instinct lead the way? Can you just imagine your partner interrupting your advances by shoving on some headphones to have a quick check on position 34? Not exactly romantic. Perhaps it's ideal though for the visually impaired. In any case, I sincerely hope that the 64 popular illustrations are well explained in plain english, or casualty ...

  'A book about raw humanity and human life'  If you haven’t yet heard of this book then you’re missing a beautiful story of innocence, despair, desire and hope.  The heroine of the story is a vulnerable London raised Bengali woman name Beauty, who fled Bangladesh after a forced married there at the age of fourteen.  Beauty returns home to England, only to continue a life of drudgery caring for her male dominated muslim family. Constrained by the violence and terror within her home, she works up the courage to leave and begins a new life in Wolverhampton where she befriends some very unlikely people, including Mark, an ex-convict, and strikes up an unlikely but touching friendship.  The story is evocative and direct covering many layers of injustice and social issues.  The Financial Times reviewed it as ‘Shocking, Explosive and Tender.’   But what makes it stand out from other books on similar themes?  One can easily envisage the author to be an authentic Bangladeshi female, so it was all the more surprising to find that Beauty was written by a young British citizen who studied Politics at Sussex University, and then moved to Italy to sell Scooters and TV Advertising. The portrayal is so accurate that one would be forgiven for ...

Few of us can forget the beautiful Demi Moore as the sexy young Molly played alongside Patrick Swayze in Ghost, or as the innocent young woman tempted by Robert Redford in the international blockbuster 'Indecent Proposal.' But the younger generation of Demi fans are probably more familiar with the actress through the social platform Twitter. Ever since the actress took a strange liking to this format of fan interaction and publicity, thousands of followers anticipate her updates round the clock. But what do we know about the woman behind the hollywood persona? Well we know she has three respectable daughters to whom she devotedly gave up her career to raise. She also had a rather ambiguous failed marriage to Bruce Willis (with whom she is still strangely close,) and is now contentedly married to Ashton Kutcher, sixteen years her junior. In 'Demi Moore - The Biography' released in Sept 2000, author Nigel Goodall sifted through her past and uncovered issues such as her step-father's suicide, her alleged affair with Leonardo DiCaprio as well as her troubled childhood, and association with drug and alcohol addiction.   Miss Moore had never been interviewed by Goodall during the writing of his book, yet he is said to have portrayed her favourably ...

When I spotted the cover of this book, the initial impression made me cringe. It reminded me of an incident I experienced a few years ago. A work colleague was passing around her honeymoon ski-ing  snaps. 'My God look at that massively hairy thing just behind that tree,' I pronounced, 'Is it Bigfoot?' 'No,' she replied blankly, whipping the photograph out of my hands.'It's my husband.' Needless, to say every time I spot the creature, I am reminded of that cringingly embarrassing moment. But casting confusingly hairy things aside for a moment, I believe it's been a rather long time since the media have reported on some of the weird and wonderful beasts which are said to occupy our world. In Monsters Caught on Film, Paranormal investigator Dr Melvyn Willin offers readers a thrilling collection of outstanding photographs covering every species, including some which are extinct. With authentic photographs of sea monsters and apes to dinosaurs and other slimy critters, one can't help but wonder how we are still unable to identify or capture these creatures if they do indeed exist. As the author mentions, how has mankind been so successful in reaching the moon, but still unable to identify everything within its own environment? But wouldn't life be ...