Sunday, June 15, 2008

This One's for Adults

"Talking Hands" by Margalit Fox is a fascinating book for anyone interested in linguistics or how our brains work. It's about a Middle Eastern community where the people have developed their own Sign Language because of frequent hereditary deafness. Even the hearing people who live there use that language in addition to their spoken one. 
The book is popular in style and comfortable to read, but it relates the experiences of scientists studying the local Sign Language as well as insights they're gaining about how our brains work to process language. I found it fascinating.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Money Saver

With the current economic problems many people won't be able to afford trips to amusement parks, movies, and other forms of entertainment. Here's a way to have fun without spending much money; READ! 
While many people enjoy curling up with a good book and little kids love to hear bedtime stories, lots of folks may not realize what a pleasure it can be for a family to share a good book by reading it aloud. Reading can take you anywhere in the world, to fantasy kingdoms, or even allow you to time travel to the past or future. Expensive destinations can't begin to compete with the possibilities, and sharing those wonderful experiences can bring families closer. So, why not try it?