MSI Press Blog

  Recently, Shai Tubali, author of two beloved MSI Press books, The Seven Wisdoms of Life and A Guide to Bliss , lectured about attention on Spotify. Listen to his podcast HERE . Read more posts about Shai Tubali and his books HERE. Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

  Carl and Murjan sharing a Thanksgiving dinner Gaudete Sunday is coming up--an oasis in Lent, and, like other Sundays, a time we can eat a full meal! If our beloved Murjan were still with us, he would be perching on his chair next to Carl (wish he, too, were still with us, 2021 stole two beloved members of our family), savoring the smells of the fat of the land (well, maybe, of pancakes -- he at those, too), and patiently (yes, he was a patient cat, almost humanly patient) for his share of the feast to be chopped up and presented for his enjoyment. Each of our cats had quite different personalities, but the two that stand in stark contrast to each other are Murjan and Intrepid . They were both born in Jordan, lived with us there, and came to California with us 15 years ago. Both are now on the other side of the rainbow bridge, ravaged by the same kind of cancer, feline lymphoma. Intrepid is interred with his devoted human to whom he was equally devoted, Carl, and Murjan's ashes

Watch the presentation HERE .  For more posts about Dr. Sabzevary, his lectures, and his book, click  HERE .

  MSI Press has added to its collection of affiliated books, a self-published book edited by Boris Shekhtman, a prolific author of MSI Press books and books published by Cambridge University Press. Contributing authors include Dina Kupchanka (Specialized Language Training Center), Natalia Lord (Foreign Service Institute), and Svetlana Sibrina (Specialized Language Training Center).   To purchase this book on Amazon. click HERE . For more posts and Boris Shekhtman and his books, click HERE . For more posts about Dina Kupchanka, click HERE . For more posts on language learning, click HERE . To see more affiliated books and learn about affiliated status, click HRE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

For those who have been enjoying various videos produced by a range of users of Boris Shekhtman's book, How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately , beloved by foreign language learners on four continents and in two dozen countries, here is yet another video: Anthony Lauder discussing the book . For mores posts on this book, click HERE . For more posts on Boris Shekhtman and his books (yes, several others), click HERE .

It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic  is the anatomy of a successful book. We are talking here about books by small presses, micro presses, and self-published authors. Large presses have a different sales volume and a different approach to marketing and sales not typically available to those without their big pockets. The image of a successful book is a high volume of sales from the get-go (and maybe even from pre-orders) that either steadily builds or starts big and stays there on a flat trajectory. Conversely, if a book starts slowly, stumbles, and has a long spell of poor sales, one often assumes that the book is and always will be a poor s

  Cancer has a way of knocking down the best and the brightest, no matter the fight they put up: Rith Bader Ginsburg, Colin Powell , and so many others. And this week, Madeleine Albright. Since I used to work at State Department, I saw M. Albright in action. Impressive action, I would add. For a short but impressive biography, click HERE . While she lived a long life and helped many women develop good careers in what are often male roles, one could wish that cancer had tiptoed away and not pushed her out the door. One can always wish... Unfortunately, this week we learned that another member of our family, like Carl , has been hit with a sudden and late diagnosis of Stage 4 metastatic cancer. Lord, have mercy! Not just for the people but also for the furry critters, like our Murjan and Intrepid , who died from cancer, and three other cats living with us who have survived it--so far. Finding cures will never be too soon. Finding cancer early is the key for now, and we are heartened by