M A N T E X N E W S L E T T E R
Back to School! Back to work!
Number 54 - September 2001
------ ISSN 1470-1863 -----
Lots of goodies for writers and
designers in this issue! Plus some
basics for starting the new term.
0----- 'Writers' Questions and Answers'
Would you like to know how to find
a publisher for the work you have
written? Or how to generate ideas
for stories and articles?
How do you deal with agents? How do
you negotiate a good contract? How
do you present your manuscript so that it
might have a chance of being accepted?
Gordon Wells has put together a book
of advice for writers in the form of
answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
The questions are on the practical
issues of being a writer. His answers
are bracing, realistic and full of
very good advice.
If you want to succeed as a writer,
you should learn how the world of
publishing works. Full details at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/wells.htm
0----- 'Dictionary of Literary Terms'
If you are a student or a teacher
of literature, you'll know that it's
often hard to remember the exact
difference between some critical terms.
Could you quickly tell the difference
between 'realism' and 'naturalism' for
instance? We often need to refresh our
understanding of these items from the
vocabulary of literary criticism.
The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
is a compilation which contains everything
you will need - from short definitions of
terms such as 'the absurd' and 'Vorticism',
to mini-essays explaining contemporary
schools of criticism. Details at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/oxf-lit.htm
0----- Literary Quiz [answers below]
Which poet wrote 'we must love
one another or die'?
'Reader, I married him.'
Who married whom?
Who wrote a pamphlet entitled
'The Doctrine and Discipline
of Divorce'?
Which Irish author wrote the
novellas 'First Love' and
'The Expelled'?
0----- 'Computing Projects'
If you are an undergraduate in
sciences, business studies, or
information technology, you will
probably have to do a project as
part of your coursework.
Christian Dawson's book shows you
exactly what's required - from the
early stages of defining your project,
through the organisation of your
material, to writing up the finished
product.
He even deals with the skills you
will need for making an oral presentation,
and the book keeps its eye on your
career prospects too. Details at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/dawson.htm
0----- 'Oxford Everyday Grammar'
Do you need an easy reference to
explain points of grammar? This
guide aims to make it simple. It
does this by sticking to everyday
examples.
The first part of the book is an
explanation of the basics of
grammar - nouns, verbs, pronouns,
adjectives, and adverbs - plus an
account of how and why they can be
used to make meaningful statements.
The second part is a glossary of
grammatical terms. Diagrams usefully
break down passages of text, giving
explanations on sentence construction.
Details and full review at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/oxf-gra.htm
0----- FREE Software - Windows Registry Guide
The Windows Registry Guide is a
Windows help file that reveals all
the best tips, tricks, and tweaks
for the Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000.
The Registry is used to store settings
for Windows. It contains information
and settings for all of the PC's hardware,
software, users, and preferences.
This FREE software includes hundreds
of new tips and tweaks for Windows,
plus an expanded tutorial and FAQ.
Excellent program - but only for the
strong at heart.
http://www.webmasterfree.com/software/1347.html
0----- 'Writers + Artists Yearbook'
The latest edition of this best-selling
reference book has just appeared for 2002.
It's an encyclopedia of what writers,
journalists, and media workers need
for contacts with publishers, agents,
and anyone else in the communication
industries.
If you want to publish your writing,
locate outlets, mug up on copyright,
or see the best-seller lists for last
year - it's all here. Details at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/black.htm
There's a rival publication called
'The Writer's Handbook' which appears
at the same time. The main difference
is that the Handbook puts more emphasis
on journalism and the broadcast media.
See the difference at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/turner.htm
0----- XML + XHTML Reading List
XML and XHTML are now sweeping the
web design world as the replacements
for HTML.
We've compiled a list of guidance
on the latest developments. These
run from technical manuals on the
new markup languages, through
cascading style sheets, to popular
editors such as Dreamweaver. If
you want a handy page of good books
on the subject, bookmark this page -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/biblios/art-xml.htm
0----- 'Learning XML'
If you are interested in web
design, you will have noticed
lots of references to XML of late.
Extensible Markup Language goes
beyond HTML. It allows you to
create web pages which retain
their structure no matter how
and where they are viewed.
It is created with tags in much
the same way as HTML, but you
need to control the appearance
of the page by using cascading
style sheets.
Eric Ray shows how all this can
be done in his 'Learning XML' -
which takes you all the basic
principles, *and* points you
towards the free software you
will need to do it. Details -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/ray.htm
0----- 'Dreamweaver 4 - The Missing Manual'
Dreameaver is the most popular web
editor with both serious amateurs
and professionals alike. It offers
a wide range of features, plus some
powerful tools for web site management.
The 'Missing Manual' series is produced
by best-selling O'Reilly books - which
is a guarantee of good quality.
This explains all the menu options of
Dreamweaver, how to set up your own
pages, give them full interactivity,
and publish them on the Web.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/mcfar.htm
0----- 'Web Design - Tools & Techniques'
Graphic designers will love the new
edition of Peter Kentie's best-selling
guide to web page design.
He explains all the basics of creating
attractive web pages - but then really
concentrates on the latest techniques
using 3-D effects, Flash, animated
.gifs, and even movies and virtual
reality effects.
It's a glamorous, lavishly illustrated
book from Peachpit Press, who go in for
very high production values. Details -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/kentie.htm
0----- 'Education and Training on the Internet'
We gave the wrong URL for this book
in the last Newsletter. Thanks to
Jayne Dunlop for pointing it out.
The book lists details of government
portals, and sections on vocational
and occupational sites, plus
distance and online learning sites -
from the Open University to e-Colleges.
The correct URL is as follows -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/alex.htm
0----- COMING SOON
* 'Dictionary of English Folklore'
* 'XHTML Example by Example'
0----- Literary Quiz - the ANSWERS
Which poet wrote 'we must love
one another or die'?
W.H.Auden in 'September 1, 1939'
'Reader, I married him.'
Who married whom?
Jane Eyre married Edward Rochester
in Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'
Who wrote a pamphlet entitled
'The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce'?
The poet John Milton in 1643
Which Irish author wrote the novellas
'First Love' and 'The Expelled'?
Samuel Beckett
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News-54-September-2001
ISSN 1470-1863
The British Library