As mentioned in the last post, I will be reviewing two new books that have intrigued my interest. Since I am only borrowing this one from the library, I will start with the “The Art of Civilized Conversation.” by Margaret Shepherd.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that it is precise and to the point. The book is not large at all, only 224 pages in all. I also loved that fact that you can basically skip to any chapter, which is great if you are pressed for time and only what information on one particular point.  There were chapters for every event you may encounter, from  conversations with strangers, conversations with old friends, or conversations between men and women, to name a few.

The book is laid out with specific chapters covering one interest of conversation. For example, there was a whole section about what conversation is made of.  Since there is sub-chapters in every chapter, it makes it really easy to navigate to a specific area that you need to work on, brush up on, or just want to learn more about.  Also, despite having a lot of information in every chapter, it is presented in very easy digestible chunks.  Moreover, there was helpful hints and how-to and how not-to converse in every chapter.

So, if you want to learn all about the art of conversation then this is the book for you. It is packed with so much information, helpful hints, as well as being a joy to read. I know I loved reading it, and learned much from it. I will end the book review with this quote from the book  “Good Conversation is classy, humane, practical, universal, and, when well done, seemingly effortless.” (pg. 3).