How to Read a Book

By Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren
online access to this title (1967 ed.)
online access from EBSCOhost Audiobook Collection
online access from SuperStar Digital Library (Chinese)
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How to Read a Book, originally published in 1940, has become a rare phenomenon, a living classic. It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated.

You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them -- from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading, you learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science.

Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension and speed.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

讀書的情趣與藝術

培根(Francis Bacon)等 著；林衡哲，廖運範 譯
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
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讀書能給人樂趣、文雅和能力。人們獨居或退隱的時候，最能體會到讀書的樂趣；談話的時候，最能表現出讀書的文雅；判斷和處理事務的時候，最能發揮由讀書而獲得的能力。那些有實際經驗而沒有學識的人，也許能夠一一實行或判斷某些事物的細微末節，但對於事業的一般指導、籌劃與處理，還是真正有學問的人才能勝任。耗費過多的時間去讀書便是遲滯，過分用學問自炫便是矯揉造作，而全憑學理判斷一切，則是書呆子的癖好。學問能美化人性，經驗又能充實學問。天生的植物需要人工修剪，人類的本性也需要學問誘導，而學問本身又必須以經驗來規範，否則便太迂闊了。
機巧的人輕視學問，淺薄的人驚服學問，聰明的人卻能利用學問。因為學問本身並不曾把它的用途教給人，至於如何去應用它，那是在學問之外、超越學問之上、由觀察而獲得的一種聰明呢 ……
(摘錄自書中“談讀書”，培根)

How We Grieve : Relearning the World

Thomas Attig
online access from EBSCOhost Ebooks
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If we wish to understand loss experiences we must learn details of survivors' stories. The new version (2011 ed.) of How We Grieve: Relearning the World tells in-depth tales of survival to illustrate the poignant disruption of life and suffering that loss entails. It shows how through grieving we overcome challenges, make choices, and reshape our lives. These intimate treatments of coping with loss address the needs of grieving people and those who hope to support and comfort them. The accounts promote understanding of grieving itself, encourage respect for individuality and the uniqueness of loss experiences, show how to deal with helplessness in the face of "choiceless" events, and offer guidance for caregivers.

The stories make it clear that grieving is not about living passively through stages or phases. We are not so alike when we grieve; our experiences are complex and richly textured. Nor is grieving about coming down with "grief symptoms". No one can treat us to make things better. No one can grieve for us.
Grieving is instead an active process of coping and relearning how to be and how to act in a world where loss transforms our lives. Loss forces us to relearn things and places; relationships with others, including fellow survivors, the deceased, even God; and our selves, our daily life patterns, and the meanings of our life stories.
This revision adds an introductory essay about developments in the author's thinking about grieving as "relearning the world." It highlights and clarifies its most distinctive and still salient themes. It elaborates on how his thinking about these themes has expanded and deepened since the first edition. And it places his treatment of those themes in the broader context of current writings on grief and loss.
(Excerpt from amazon.com)

學習樂觀•樂觀學習 (Learned Optimism)

馬汀.塞利格曼 (Martin E.P. Seligman) 著
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你習慣用什麼方式、以什麼角度來解釋發生在你身邊的事？特別是每個人在生活中難免遇到的不愉快。有的人會因為小小的挫折而全盤否定自己，有的人卻能在失敗中找到改進的方法繼續努力。這些截然不同的發展結果，源自不同的解釋形態。
解釋形態是一種習慣性的思考方式，但這並不是先天的特質，而是後天學習得來的；我們在不知不覺中養成了這些慣性思維，但是既然是學習得來，就有改造的可能性。本書特別針對經常有負面思想習慣（或悲觀解釋形態）的人，提供一套改變的技巧：從分析遭遇到不愉快事件時產生的信念及後果，檢視自己是以什麼樣的方式跟角度解釋周遭發生的事情，找出其中不合理的地方，然後提出證據反駁悲觀信念、轉移注意力，練習自我激勵，就能漸漸改變思考的習慣，走出無助感。


掌握樂觀思考的技巧讓人在困境中不至於流於冷漠、憂鬱或沮喪，幫助情緒管理，還能帶來良好的健康狀態，同時有助於開創事業上的佳績。無論你從事什麼行業、在人際關係中扮演什麼角色，根據書中方法勤於練習，你也可以學習樂觀，樂觀學習。


(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Lifelines for Money Misfortunes : How to Overcome Life's Greatest Challenges

Stephen M. Pollan, Mark Levine
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…with Lifelines for Money Misfortunes, Pollan looks to share more of his cutting-edge ideas with a wide range of readers, regardless of their income level or comfort with handling money. Lifelines for Money Misfortunes takes a holistic approach to dealing with the unpredictable accidents, disasters, and crises that disrupt our carefully planned lives. Drawing on Pollan's expert legal and financial experience as well as the experiences of numerous savvy professionals—including mediators, career counselors, social workers, insurance adjustors, and more—this book reveals both the secrets of personal crisis management and the tactics for overcoming the most common and worrying disasters readers might face. It also outlines coping plans that can be used to handle financial and other matters during any crisis, and illustrates the most effective ways to implement them. Filled with real-world stories of individuals who have gone through the disasters discussed—including illness, job loss, and the death of a spouse—Lifelines for Money Misfortunes offers a plan for personal crisis management that can be used by anyone, no matter what type of catastrophic events they may be facing.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

平凡的世界

路遥
v.1 online access from Apabi
v.2 online access from Apabi
v.3 online access from Apabi
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《平凡的世界》是一部現實主義小說，也是小說化的家族史。作家高度濃縮了中國西北農村的歷史變遷過程，作品達到了思想性與藝術性的高度統一，特別是主人公面對困境艱苦奮鬥的精神，對今天的大學生朋友仍有啟迪。
這是一部全景式地表現中國當代城鄉社會生活的長篇小說。全書共三部。作者在近十年間廣闊背景上，通過複雜的矛盾糾葛，刻劃了社會各階層眾多普通人的形象。勞動與愛情，挫折與追求，痛苦與歡樂，日常生活與巨大社會沖突，紛繁地交織在一起，深刻地展示了普通人在大時代歷史進程中所走過的艱難曲折的道路。
(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

勞動著是幸福的，無論在哪個時代。《平凡的世界》正白紙黑字的告訴我們這樣的人生真諦。它響亮的提出，人，無論在什麼位置，無論多麼貧寒，只要一顆火熱的心在，只要能熱愛生活，上帝對他就是平等的。只有作一名勞動者，不把不幸當作負擔，才能去做生活的主人，用自己真誠的心去體驗，畢竟生命屬於我們只有一次。 這是一部用生命來寫成的書。在亙古的大地與蒼涼的宇宙間，有一種平凡的聲音，盪氣迴腸。
(摘錄自中國圖書網.台灣)