Book recommendations

Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project, and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. Gretchen McCulloch explores the deep forces that shape human language and influence the way we communicate with each other. "Because Internet" is essential reading for anyone who's ever puzzled out how to punctuate a text message or wondered where memes come from.

Gestures convey meaning with a flourish. A vigorous nod of the head, a bold jut of the chin, an enthusiastic thumbs-up: all speak louder than words. This volume is the reference book we didn't know we needed -- an illustrated dictionary of 850 gestures and their meanings around the world.

With "Grammar 101", you'll get an engaging, comprehensive guide to grammar rules with easy explanations of why and how to apply them to your own writing. Real-life examples of grammar errors show you what to avoid and how to correct them with ease. Whether you're looking to improve your writing or just need a refresher to keep on your desk, you will find everything you need to get your writing into shape in "Grammar 101".

As Random House's copy chief, Dreyer has upheld the standards of the legendary publisher for more than two decades. He is beloved by authors and editors alike for deconstructing the English language with playful erudition. Now he distills everything he has learned from the myriad books he has copyedited and overseen into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best prose foot forward.

Gavin Francis fulfilled a lifetime's ambition when he spent fourteen months as the basecamp doctor at Halley, a profoundly isolated British research station on the Caird Coast of Antarctica. So remote, it is said to be easier to evacuate a casualty from the International Space Station than it is to bring someone out of Halley in winter. Antarctica offered a year of unparalleled silence and solitude and also a rare opportunity to live among emperor penguins, the only species truly at home in the Antarctic.

Japanese written characters, or kanji, have their origin in a picture-language developed in ancient China. Over time this language evolved into stylized abstract forms that are hard to memorize. In "Kanji Pict-o-graphix", Michael Rowley offers a whole new set of contemporary visual and textual memory aids -- mnemonics -- that reveal the meanings of over 1,000 Japanese kanji.

This brand-new title in Barron's foreign language vocabulary building series replaces a previous Spanish vocabulary-building volume that had the same focus and general purpose. However, this new larger book presents approximately 10,000 entries.

Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, "Notes from a Small Island" is a delightful irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey.

In this new edition of the most comprehensive guide to the trails of Virginia, Allen de Hart gives directions to and descriptions of more than 1,400 trails, noting nearby points of interest, botanical and zoological features, and characteristics of the region's terrain.

Take your fiction to that next level, where agents and editors sit up and take notice -- and where readers keep coming back for more! "Writing Fiction for All You're Worth" contains the best of James Scott Bell's articles and blog posts on writing.