Why do we speak the way we do, and what do our voices tell others about us? What is the truth behind the myths that surround how we speak? Jane Setter explores these and other fascinating questions in an accessible and engaging account that will appeal to anyone interested in how we use our voices in daily life.

From a lineup of acclaimed literary talents, wide-ranging works centering on books and bibliophilia. Writing about writing itself and about the books that are home to the written word. A library of ideas about language and the book in all their forms, Speaking Volumes collects poetry, fiction, and narrative nonfiction on historic, forbidden, repurposed, mistranslated, imaginary, lost, and life-changing books—books of every ilk.

An eclectic mix of short stories and poetry from a range of genres. This anthology is a collaborative work by writers who share a passion for what they are doing, rise to new challenges with a smile and who want to raise money for charities.

Ramona Koval has been praised as a master of the interview genre, renowned for engaging writers in conversations that are incisive, provocative, and often funny. In this new collection, Speaking Volumes: conversations with remarkable writers, she shares the most fascinating interviews from her 2005 book Tasting Life Twice, along with brand-new ones with some of the most important writers of our times. Through Koval, we are privy to the extraordinary minds of Joseph Heller, Joyce Carol Oates, Mario Vargas Llosa, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, David Malouf, P. D. James, John Mortimer, Ian McEwan, Amos Oz, Gore Vidal, Harold Pinter, John le Carré, Barry Lopez, Malcolm Bradbury, William Gass, Judith Wright, Les Murray, Fay Weldon, A. S. Byatt, Margaret Drabble, Martin Amis, Toni Morrison, André Brink, John Banville, Jeanette Winterson, Hanif Kureishi, and Anne Enright, among others.

When a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing, Brother Edik nurses her back to health. When he uncovers her dangerous secret, she is sent away into the world with a goat and a boy.

In a poem written in exile, Ovid pictures his latest book in conversation with his previous volumes, united in the bookcase containing his collected works back in Rome. One can imagine their dialogue - in the protected space of the whispering bookcase - as loaded with allusion and intertextuality. This collection of essays by the classicist Alessandro Barchiesi examines Ovid and his 'rationalistic art of illusion' along with intertextuality in Latin literature more generally, and in the wider context of the Graeco-Roman tradition. The book provides perspectives on the literary self-consciousness of the Latin poets, the allusive density of their texts, and the conflict between poetry and power in the Augustan age. The conflict between classicists and the texts they comment on, argue over and theorise about is also examined. Among the recurring topics in this book are the impact of intertextuality on the form of epic and epistle, the strategic significance of allusive poetics in a political context, and the importance of reading and interpretation as poetic themes.

The author, an American academic, presents the results of his interviews with 16 prominent Australian contemporary writers including Patrick White, Thea Astley and Peter Carey. He discusses with them themes such as national identity, American and English influences, literary criticism and sexuality. First published in 1991 by the University of Texas Press.

Decibella is a loud talker. A really loud talker. She’s so loud, she’s hurting ears, startling wait staff, disrupting classmates, and annoying moviegoers. She doesn’t realize different environments and situations sometimes demand a softer, quieter voice. That is until a caring teacher introduces her to the silly-sounding word “Slurpadoodle” and the five volumes of voice (Whisper, 6-inch, Table Talk, Strong Speaker, and Outside).

One woman proves that painfully shy children can become successful, even when raised by an emotionally unstable mother. In The Silent Speak Volumes, a mother responds to her grown child's question: "Why don't we know more about your childhood, Mom?" This sweet yet painfully honest memoir examines one woman's formative years, in which her mother's words and actions were not always rooted in loving guidance. Despite her resulting low self-esteem and crippling shyness, the author is able to overcome the emotional manipulation of her past in order to find success and happiness. Her memoir was written for her children, but it's a story that will resonate with everyone.