“…Wow. Although this is NOT my usual genre I was totally immersed in the story. Ogres and elves and flying dragons began to seem the norm, and yes I too was upset when they died. Great characterisation throughout. Brilliant dialogue. I don’t know what genre I would call it – perhaps science fantasy. Thank you for choosing me as a winner otherwise I would not have chosen to read this marvellous book by Christopher Bramley.”
Christine Andrews, Goodreads competition winner
Verified Involve Me: ...and I Will Understand: Highly engaging with practical tips As a trainer and lecturer who has had to learn by experience, I thought it would be interesting to check out some actual theory of the craft. I wasn't disappointed. The author succinctly and efficiently breaks down his theory and practice, all the while offering his reflections on how learners best process and retain information. I appreciated the asides, which explained why he used such techniques as palette cleansing, and an informal atmosphere which encouraged questions. I also find myself in agreement about using incentive over fear, motivation over control, and building 'elbow room' into your curriculum as a trainer: clients often want as much bang for their buck as possible - but as the author points out, a crammed session with little retention is inferior to a more relaxed approach with high engagement. Additionally, the format of this book makes it fly - I kept thinking to myself, "one more chapter" and ended up consuming the whole thing in two sittings. Having sat through many terrible lectures during 11 years of post-school education, I can honestly say I wish my lecturers had been made to read this. I'll be revisiting this over the years, I'm sure.Verified Notes On Dragons: A short companion to The Serpent Calls: Enjoyable as all of Mr. Bramley's books are! Really good to go a bit more in depth on Dragons after reading "The Serpant Calls" (which I highly suggest reading!)Verified The First Vampire: Amazing writing, can't wait to read the trilogy now! The writing in this brief prequil the the ChaosWar Trilogy was really enjoyable! The descriptions caused me to pause and reread in order to fully digest all of the nuance. Mr. Bramley has a way with words that allow you to feel and see what the characters are experiencing. Though an avid reader, this isn't a genre I'm experienced in and I have to say I'm really excited to read more after reading The First Vampire!!Verified The First Vampire: violent and sad glimpse into the creation of the vampires on Kuln I read this companion to The Serpent Calls very shortly after finishing. It's a brief, violent and sad glimpse into the creation of the vampires on Kuln. There's a great mixture of sorrow and horror, captured with visual writing that carries you along at a good clip. For such a short read it expands on the magic, races and enemies within the world of The Serpent Calls yet stands alone with strength to be enjoyed by fans of vampires, of creation myths and of very good short story writing.Verified Notes On Dragons: A short companion to The Serpent Calls: Worth the read! A useful, helpful and well written companion to The Serpent Calls.Verified Notes On Dragons: A short companion to The Serpent Calls: Loved this book Loved this book. The whole science behind dragons (use of Dark Matter!), how they age, the social protocol they demand, language, and just the sheer awesome size of them. You don't have to be a 'dragon anorak' to read this (I'm not), but always good to see someone write about something they are obviously passionate about. I would like the author to release more books like this, which focus intently upon the many creatures of myth and legend as feature in the excellent 'The Serpent Calls'.I hope you can find time at some point to oblige such a request, Mr Bramley. Good job anyways.Verified Notes On Dragons: A short companion to The Serpent Calls: 'Tips the Scales' in favour of Fantasy Highly entertaining and a 'difficult ask' for a monograph on Dragons. Interesting writing style and I look forward to forthcoming books from this author.Verified Notes On Dragons: A short companion to The Serpent Calls: Five Stars Brilliant read! Nice one buddyVerified Involve Me: ...and I Will Understand: intresting read some very interesting stuff near the end about teaching to improve your own memory retention.Mostly of use to people involved with teaching but applicable to others.Verified Involve Me: ...and I Will Understand: Useful Combining sage insights from the disparate likes of Confucius, Bruce Lee and Phil Collins with his own experience as an international IT trainer; Christopher Bramley has compiled a deceptively concise and readable guide to effective teaching. Full of useful tips and sensible information, 'Involve Me' asserts virtually any subject can be made interesting and engaging. What you need is flexibility, creativity, humour, a good, honest relationship with students - and a few tricks up your sleeve. These include "mental parsley" in the form of regular off-topic breaks to "cleanse the mental palate". "Elbow Room" allowing time for the unexpected and unplanned. "Deep Ending" to challenge students "to the nth degree." And the ability to "flow around a problem like water" - an attribute of which the late actor Bruce Lee would apparently have been proud. Boring "information crammed dumps" and "death by PowerPoint" are out.. With quirky asides (Bramley describes how he has deep-ended himself many times) the author's infectious enthusiasm comes across loud and clear. This is not a training manual he insists but; "a set of observations and techniques that I believe make a difference." And they are as relevant to other fields as they are to his own area in IT, he adds. A recurring theme is that the learning process is not for the students alone. Tricky questions, class discussions and joint problem solving means the teacher learns too. Don't claim to know the answer to every question, says Bramley. It can look very cool if you solve a thorny issue by working it out in-front of, or with, your class. Championing the principle of "student driven" learning; 'Involve Me' is full of helpful information written in a simple, engaging style. It ranges from optimal class size, course structure, pace and timing to how to manage personal connections and different cultures, classroom atmosphere and tricky students. The book also deals with presentation techniques, the use (or not) of handouts and PowerPoint and how to respond to feedback and criticism. It takes its title from a 2500 year old saying by Confucius which is just as relevant today; 'Tell Me and I Will Forget, Show Me and I May Remember, Involve Me and I will Understand...