Happy Shakespeare Day!

    The 23rd April is World Book Day, but did you know that it is also Shakespeare Day? Everybody has heard of Shakespeare, but do you know many plays he wrote? Have you heard of many of his poetry?

    Shakespeare's plays fit into three categories: tragedies, comedies and histories. Perhaps his most famous play is the tragedy story of Romeo and Juliet, which deals with two young lovers who are forbidden to marry by their parents. Other tragedies include Hamlet, a play about a vengeful ghost Othello, about an army general who is manipulated(操纵) into killing his wife, and Macbeth(麦克白). If you've seen Harry Potterandthe Prisoner of Azkaban written which is sung in the Great Hall after the Sorting Ceremony. These words come from the Witches in Macbeth!

    Shakespeare's comedies include Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is a play about confusing identities. Two twins are shipwrecked and the sister, Viola, dresses up as her brother, Sebastian, who she thinks is dead. It's hilarious, because the brother reappears without Viola realizing and there's a big love triangle going on: Viola is in love with the Duke Osino, who is in love with Olivia, who falls in love with Sebastian, except she doesn't realize that Sebastian is actually Viola dressed up! Everybody falls in love with the wrong person, but it is all made right in the end.

    The history plays, such as Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III and Henry V are based on the lives of real historical people. Antony and Cleopatra is a story about a doomed romance in ancient Egypt. Cleopatra becomes Antony's mistress and Antony becomes so obsessed with her that he loses his military might. Cleopatra kills self by letting a snake bite her after Egypt's army has been defeated by Octavius and Antony kills himself too.

    Shakespeare's plays can be very heavy going sometimes. Some of the themes they deal with are heavy and complex, so they almost always contain a lighter subplot with characters who aren't closely linked to the characters in the main plot. They are often used in tragedies to lighten the mood of the play and to keep the audience interested in the main plot.

    Fall in Love With Your Writing With These Books!

    Write Naked

    ByJennifer Probst

    WAS: $16.99

    NOW: $15.99

    Bestselling author Jennifer Probst reveals her pathway to success, from struggling as a new writer to signing a seven-figure deal. Written in Probst's unmistakable and honest voice, Write Naked mixes personal essays on craft with down-to-earth advice on writing romance in the digital age.

    Just Write

    ByJames Scott Beli

    WAS: $17.99

    NOW: $10.99

    Write yourself past fears, doubts and setbacks, using your desire writing excellence to deeply involve yourself in the craft. In Just Write, you'll learn how to master the nuances(细微差别) of fiction, discover what readers really want, and persevere through the challenges of getting started, conquering writers block and dealing with rejection.

    Damn Fine Story

    By Chuck Wendig

    WAS: $17.99

    NOW: $8.99

    Great storytelling is making readers care about your characters. And to tell a damn fine story, you need to understand why and how that caring happens. Using a mix of personal stories, pop fiction examples and traditional storytelling terms, The New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig will help you internalize the feel of powerful storytelling,

    Fearless Writing

    By William Kenower

    WAS: $16.99

    NOW:$15.99

    Filled with insightful wisdom and practical advice, Fearless Writing teaches you how to accept the inner value of your work, enter a flow state while writing and overcome rejection, delay and other obstacles that prevent your creativity. With Fearless Writing, you'll find the inner strength to set on a brave journey and build a lifelong career in the process.

    The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found. Keeping the mind occupied with tasks—no matter how meaningless—keeps off negative emotions, the study found.

    However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.

    In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that about two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.

    Professor Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications (暗示).

    “Governments may increase the happiness of idle (无所事事的) citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he proposed.

    At the personal level, he advised, "Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it." He added, "Incidentally, thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too."

    “You do not need to be running around. You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”

    When people find themselves in difficult conflicts, they often turn to mediation(调解). Mediator are advised to listen attentively, avoid favoring the ideas of one party, and make both sides feel at ease. Surprisingly, new research that my colleagues and I conducted shows that, to effectively help people settle their conflicts, mediators should adopt a hostile(敌对的) attitude rather- than a calming one. A hostile mediator, we find, brings better results than a nice one

    Why would adding more negativity to an already hostile situation prove beneficial? Consider how parents typically react when they can't get their children to stop quarreling: "I don't care who started it, both of you, go to your rooms!" At first sight, a calm mediator seems likely to be more effective. But as anyone with brothers or sisters knows, parents' seemingly unsympathetic treatment of the situation can have an unusual effect,

    In our research, we created situations in which pairs of negotiators were part of a heated conflict. In some cases, the mediator had a "nice" approach-calm and polite. In others, he was hostile-aggressive and somewhat rude. Across different types of conflicts, we found that negotiators were more willing and able to reach an agreement in the presence of a hostile mediator than in the presence of a nice one.

The main result of the test is not that hostility pays off. In fact, recent research has documented the social costs of negative behavior. For example, being the target of rude behavior reduces people's performance on a variety of tasks. Other research shows the social benefits of positive behavior. People are more likely to close deals and become future business partners.

    Even with the widespread social benefits of positive behavior and costs of negative behavior, hostility can pay off in certain situations.

    More primary care doctors in a community (社区)appear to lead to improved life expectancy for people living there, though a lack of such physicians across U.S. could be a cause of concern for overall population health in years to come.

    For the study, researchers looked at physician counts per 100,000 people in a range covering 2005 to 2015 in the U. S., along with life expectancy and specific causes of death. They found that an increase of 10 primary care physicians per 100,000 population was associated with a 51. 5-day increase in life expectancy, while an increase of 10 specialty physicians per 100, 000 population increased life expectancy by 19. 2 days. An increase in primary care physicians also was associated with reductions of many deaths including heart diseases and cancers.

    Along with those findings, though, the study said many communities did not have primary care physicians in 2015, with the decline in supply more prominent in rural areas than their urban areas. Many believe that a well-functioning health care system requires a solid foundation of primary care, however, payment difference between primary care and technical specialties continue to dispirit the U. S. primary care physician workforce.

    "Higher pay and lifestyle preferences lead most students to choose non-primary care fields, even when their hearts say primary care," the study said. "We must turn this trend around with practical changes in physician payment policy; no amount of superb primary care training or creative practice reform will prevent further declines in primary care physician, which will lead to worsening health for the United States."

    The study's researchers conclude that future research should focus on the "quality and cover of primary care, types of primary care physician training and service offerings, and effective access rather than just supply".

The Outdoor City Adventure Book Festival

    For one week in July, Sheffield Central Library becomes the center of adventure in the Outdoor City. Check out some of the events. Most of them are free but early booking is recommended.

    July 10

    Bee Quest - A Hunt for the World's Most Elusive (难以捕捉的) Bees Central library Carpenter Room, 7:00-8:30pm.

    A hunt for the world's most elusive bees leads Professor Dave Goulson from Poland to Patagonia, deep into the Ecuadorian Jungle. He also explores closer to home.

    Among secret places hidden right under our noses and through his scientific expertise (专业知识), shows us that beauty hides in the most surprising places.

    July 11

    Clarion Call: A Heartfelt Tribute to Sheffield's Access Pioneers

    Central library Carpenter Room, 10:30-11:30am.

    Well-known walker, activist and campaigner, Terry Howard takes us back a hundred years and shares the story of the role Sheffielders played in the first fights for our right to freely walk on the Peak District moors (旷野). The Clarion Ramblers is thought to be the first working class walking club. This is the story of their important role in gaining us the access we all enjoy today.

    July 12

    The Wainwrights in Color Central Library Carpenter Room, 1:30-2:30pm.

    Inspired by the work of the great Alfred Wainwright, over 10 years Andy Beck has reproduced in watercolor all 1, 500 pictures drawn in A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. Andy speaks about how the scenes in the Lake District have changed during the last 50 years.

    July 13

    Craft (制作) Your Own Adventure Journal-A Workshop Central Library Reading Room, 2:00-3:00 pm,￡5.

    Learn paper craft techniques to make your own beautiful travel journal. Get advice from our expert tutor on using old photos adventures and holidays.

    Collecting stories and memories from your.