The Art of the Interesting


Book Description

Philosopher and popular Middlebury professor Dr. Lorraine Besser reveals the missing third piece in our search for the Good Life—what she calls The Interesting—and teaches us how to cultivate it in our lives. Do you know anyone who's truly living The Good Life? Traditionally, philosophers and psychologists have thought of the Good Life in terms of happiness or meaning, or some combination of both. But, if it’s really that simple, if all you need is more happiness or meaning to get to the Good Life, why aren’t more of us achieving that truly “good” life? You’ve hit all the traditional markers, jumped on the happiness train, committed to a gratitude practice, sought purpose in your work, and yet The Good Life you’re seeking, is still out of reach. Emerging research is revealing that there is, in fact, more to the good life than the current —and even ancient—conversation suggests. This has been identified as psychological richness. Dr. Lorraine Besser, a founding investigator in these studies, shows how psychological richness helps to make our Good Lives more interesting. Interesting experiences captivate our minds, engage our thoughts and emotions, and often change our perspective. What’s interesting is different for everyone, and everyone can obtain and strengthen the skills necessary to access the interesting. In this illuminating book, you’ll take a deeper dive into the ways that you can cultivate the interesting in your everyday life, including: How to develop an interesting mindset How to harness the power of novelty How to turn obstacles into adventures Through delightful stories, powerful tools, and new mindsets, you’ll learn how to “keep it interesting.” Whether you feel like something is missing from your life, or you’re yearning for more, Besser's groundbreaking manifesto will guide you toward a fuller, more satisfying life.




Elements of Wit


Book Description

Got wit? We’ve all been in that situation where we need to say something clever, but innocuous; smart enough to show some intelligence, without showing off; something funny, but not a joke. What we need in that moment is wit—that sparkling combination of charm, humor, confidence, and most of all, the right words at the right time. Elements of Wit is an engaging book that brings together the greatest wits of our time, and previous ones from Oscar Wilde to Nora Ephron, Winston Churchill to Christopher Hitchens, Mae West to Louis CK, and many in between. With chapters covering the essential ingredients of wit, this primer sheds light on how anyone—introverts, extroverts, wallflowers, and bon vivants—can find the right zinger, quip, parry, or retort…or at least be a little bit more interesting.




The Art of Witty Banter


Book Description

Think quickly on your feet: be smooth, funny, and clever – all at once. Goodbye awkward silences, hello conversational agility! No matter where you lie on the spectrum of awkward to engaging, witty banter is always the end goal – and it should be. Witty banter, and all the steps that lead to it, allows you to (1) disarm and connect with anyone, (2) immediately exit boring small talk mode, and (3) instantly build rapport like you’re old friends. Flow with the conversational twists and turns like water. The Art of Witty Banter carefully examines the art, nuance, and mechanics of banter and charm to make you witty comeback machine, the likes of which your friends have never seen. You’ll be able to handle, defend, disarm, and engage others in a way that makes you comfortable and confident with each growing day. Transform "interview" conversations into comfortable rapport. Patrick King is an internationally bestselling author and Social Skills and Conversation Coach. As someone who teaches people to speak for a living, he’s broken wit and banter down to a science and given you real guidelines on what to say and when. Make a sharp, smart, and savvy impression – every time. There’s no guesswork here – you’ll get exact examples and phrases to plug into your daily conversations. 18 specific points to up your charisma quotient. How will you be clever, be quick, and be interesting? •Why the questions you use make people freeze. •How to master teasing, witty comebacks, and initiating jokes and humor. •What free association is and how it makes you quick-witted. •How to create an instant “in-group” and inside joke with someone.




Windswept & Interesting


Book Description

In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life. Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of 4, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds. Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart. As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal. It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings... and writing. Windswept and Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend. 'I didn't know I was Windswept and Interesting until somebody told me. It was a friend who was startlingly exotic himself. He'd just come back from Kashmir and was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs. He said: "Look at you - all windswept and interesting!" I just said: "Exactly!" After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation...'




What Is Interesting Writing in Art History?


Book Description

This is a book about how art history is written. It includes detailed analyses of a dozen important texts, and theories about what counts as "interesting" or "experimental" writing on art. There are chapters on texts by Rosalind Krauss, T.J. Clark, Alexander Nemerov, Gilles Deleuze, Helene Cixous, Leo Steinberg, Jean-Louis Schefer, and others; a chapter on institutions that teach experimental writing on art; analyses of rival concepts of the essay; and chapters on the absence of literary criticism in the disciplines of art history, visual studies, art theory, and art criticism.




How to Be Interesting


Book Description

An inspiring visual guide to a richer life. “If there’s a thinker to steal from, it’s Jessica Hagy.”—Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist and Newspaper Blackout How to Be Interesting is passionate, positive, down-to-earth, and irrepressibly upbeat, combining fresh and pithy life lessons, often just a sentence or two, with deceptively simple diagrams and graphs. Each of the book's more than 100 spreads will nudge readers a little bit further out of their comfort zones and into a place where suddenly everything is possible. It’s about taking chance—but also about taking daily vacations. About being childlike, not childish. It’s about ideas, creativity, risk. It’s about trusting your talents and doing only what you want—but having the courage to get lost and see where the path leads. Because it’s what you don’t know that’s interesting.




The Art of the Interesting


Book Description

Philosopher and popular Middlebury professor Dr. Lorraine Besser reveals the missing third piece in our search for the Good Life—what she calls The Interesting—and teaches us how to cultivate it in our lives. Do you know anyone who's truly living The Good Life? Traditionally, philosophers and psychologists have thought of the Good Life in terms of happiness or meaning, or some combination of both. But, if it’s really that simple, if all you need is more happiness or meaning to get to the Good Life, why aren’t more of us achieving that truly “good” life? You’ve hit all the traditional markers, jumped on the happiness train, committed to a gratitude practice, sought purpose in your work, and yet The Good Life you’re seeking, is still out of reach. Emerging research is revealing that there is, in fact, more to the good life than the current —and even ancient—conversation suggests. This has been identified as psychological richness. Dr. Lorraine Besser, a founding investigator in these studies, shows how psychological richness helps to make our Good Lives more interesting. Interesting experiences captivate our minds, engage our thoughts and emotions, and often change our perspective. What’s interesting is different for everyone, and everyone can obtain and strengthen the skills necessary to access the interesting. In this illuminating book, you’ll take a deeper dive into the ways that you can cultivate the interesting in your everyday life, including: How to develop an interesting mindset How to harness the power of novelty How to turn obstacles into adventures Through delightful stories, powerful tools, and new mindsets, you’ll learn how to “keep it interesting.” Whether you feel like something is missing from your life, or you’re yearning for more, Besser's groundbreaking manifesto will guide you toward a fuller, more satisfying life.




The Art of Interesting


Book Description

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.




ART OF INTERESTING ITS THEORY


Book Description




The Manifesto on How to be Interesting


Book Description

Apparently I'm boring. A nobody. But that's all about to change. Because I am starting a project. Here. Now. For myself. And if you want to come along for the ride then you're very welcome. Bree is by no means popular. Most of the time, she hates her life, her school, her never-there parents. So she writes. But when Bree is told she needs to stop shutting the world out and start living a life worth writing about, The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting is born. A manifesto that will change everything... ...but the question is, at what cost?