Golden State


Book Description

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling novelist Ben H. Winters comes a mind-bending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder. In a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else, Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, a nation standing where California once did, a place where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life and governance impossible. In the Golden State, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime -- and stopping those crimes is Laz's job. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths, to "speculate" on what might have happened. But the Golden State is less of a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. And when those in control of the facts twist them for nefarious means, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back.




Ask a Manager


Book Description

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together




The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers


Book Description

The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers is unique in providing, in one volume, an in-depth guide to each of the multiple approaches available for coding qualitative data. In total, 29 different approaches to coding are covered, ranging in complexity from beginner to advanced level and covering the full range of types of qualitative data from interview transcripts to field notes. For each approach profiled, Johnny Saldaña discusses the method’s origins in the professional literature, a description of the method, recommendations for practical applications, and a clearly illustrated example.




Mastering Color Knitting


Book Description

One of the reasons knitting and colorwork master Melissa Leapman first learned to knit was her wish to make one special project—a sweater using Fair Isle technique. Now, for the first time, she brings her passion for advanced color knitting to knitters who want to knit with any and every color of yarn they can wrap around their needles. Conquer classic stranded knitting, “draw” images in yarn using intarsia, and make two projects in one with reversible double knitting. Leapman’s clear instruction proves that knitting with multiple colors may appear more complex, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. She includes the quickest, easiest, and most intuitive methods for each technique, using knowledge honed over years of color knitting workshops with knitters from across the country. Once you’ve learned the basics, practice your new skills by creating projects for yourself, your friends, and everyone on your gift list. Each chapter includes a handful of sample projects to get you started, a Designer Workshop that teaches you important concepts in every designer’s toolbox, and a pattern treasury of unique patterns to apply to projects of your own creation—more than 50 patterns and 12 projects in all. Throughout, Leapman’s helpful collection of how-tos, diagrams, tips, and hints (including a refresher course in color theory to help you choose the perfect color combinations) makes Mastering Color Knitting the book you’ll turn to for information and inspiration time and time again.




Work Optional


Book Description

A practical action guide for financial independence and early retirement from the popular Our Next Life blogger. In today's work culture, we're expected to hustle around the clock. But what if you could escape the traditional path and get on one that doesn't require working full-time until age 65? What if you could wake up every day without an alarm clock and do the things you love most? Tanja Hester and her husband Mark left their crazed careerist lifestyle to live their dream life in Lake Tahoe, retiring early from high-stress careers. Now Tanja will help you map out a customized plan for freedom and make it easy to succeed, whether you're good at math and budgeting -- or not! Work Optional is more than just a financial plan: it's a plan for your whole life -- designed by you, not by an employer or clients. Tanja walks you through envisioning your dream life, accounting for variables such as health care and children, protecting yourself from recessions and future unknowns, and achieving a purpose-filled early retirement, semi-retirement, or career intermission with completely doable, non-penny-pinching steps. You can live a happier, more meaningful life, free from the daily grind. Regardless of where you are in your career, Work Optionalwill get you there.




Gone Viking


Book Description

Bill Arnott guides readers on an epic literary odyssey following history's most feared and misunderstood voyageurs: the Vikings! To "go Viking" is to embark on an epic journey. For more than eight years, Bill Arnott journeyed throughout the northern hemisphere, discovering sites Scandinavian explorers raided, traded, and settled - finding Viking history in a wider swath of the planet than most anthropologists and historians ever imagined. With a small pack and weatherproof journal, Bill explores and writes with a journalist's eye, songwriter's prose, poet's perspective, and a comedian's take on everything else. Prepare yourself for an armchair adventure like no other! From Europe to Asia, the Mediterranean to the British Isles, through Scandinavia to Iceland, Greenland, and the New World, with further excursions around Thor Heyerdahl's Pacific, Roald Amundsen's Arctic, and Olaf Crowbone's stormy North Atlantic, Bill takes readers on a mythic personal adventure in real time - a present-day Viking quest.




Cozy White Cottage


Book Description

Whether you live in a country farmhouse or an urban apartment, find inspiration for every room in your home. Come cozy up with your creativity and Liz's welcoming voice so you can love the feeling of being at home. In this beautiful book of house and garden photography and DIY inspiration, popular blogger Liz Marie Galvan shares: 100 tips and tricks to make your home feel cozy Budget-friendly hints to make decorating affordable Simple DIY projects for every room in your house In Cozy White Cottage, you'll get the help you need to create a space you love coming home to as Liz offers her best home décor and design tips. You'll love Liz's real-life, easy, and affordable ideas to get the most out of your home and discover things like: The passion and productivity that can pour out of an inspiring, functional workspace or home office The conversation and connection that flow out of a warm, well-arranged living room The thoughtful hospitality that can welcome guests, be it for a cup of coffee or an overnight stay The rejuvenation that can happen when we have quiet spaces for reading, prayer, and rest The calming routines and rituals that we can implement into our spaces and our lives The laughter, joy, and learning that can occur in adorable, functional playrooms The life-giving power that beats in the heart of our homes: the kitchen Join the hundreds of thousands of readers and DIY-ers who find design inspiration on Liz's blog, where she shares stories of life with her son, Cope, and veteran husband, Jose, in their 1800s Michigan farmhouse, and her home décor boutique. Cozy White Cottage offers inspiration for every style and makes the perfect self-purchase, housewarming gift, birthday treat, Mother's Day read, or holiday gift. Look for Liz’s other cozy home décor book of DIY inspiration, Cozy White Cottage Seasons.




Professional Scrum Development with Azure DevOps


Book Description

Professional Scrum Development with Azure DevOps stands apart from all other Scrum and Azure guides by focusing on the fusion of today's most popular agile framework (Scrum) and ALM/DevOps toolset (Azure DevOps). Hundhausen shows how a professional Scrum team can more effectively plan, track, and manage its work with Azure Boards, Azure Test Plans, and related Azure DevOps features. He offers detailed coverage of team formation, backlogs, sprints, test plans, collaboration, flow, continuous improvement, and the real-world tradeoffs between using tools and interacting directly with other team members. To make this guide even more valuable, Hundhausen has crafted it to complement Scrum.org's popular Professional Scrum Developer (PSD) program, which he personally created with Scrum.org's Ken Schwaber. Powerful techniques for the 80-90% of modern software teams that use Scrum and its variants Reflects state-of-the-art tools built into Azure DevOps, as well as its integration with GitHub Introduces high-productivity features for Scrum teams in Azure Boards and Azure Test Plans Complements Scrum.org's Professional Scrum Developer (PSD) program -- created by this book's author together with Ken Schwaber Richard Hundhausen helps software organizations and teams deliver better products by understanding and leveraging Azure DevOps and Scrum. He is a Professional Scrum Trainer, Professional Scrum Developer, author of Professional Scrum Development with Microsoft Visual Studio(Microsoft Press), and co-creator of the Nexus Scaled Scrum Framework with Ken Schwaber. As a software developer and consultant with 30+ years of experience, he understands that software is built and delivered by people, not by processes or tools.




The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You


Book Description

Networking, negotiating, communicating, leading, career planning--all skills critical to your career success. But did anyone ever teach you these skills? The Career Toolkit will help you master these vital skills and yield outsized returns for your career and your income. Every chapter is packed with dozens of actionable principles, exercises, and practices that will accelerate your success. It's a multivitamin for your career! The Career Toolkit shows you how to design and execute your personal plan to achieve the career you deserve, including: Negotiating a job offer. (This alone will pay for the book.) Creating a dynamic career strategy. Building a high-value network. Developing the fundamental leadership skills that matter most. Managing teams effectively, even as an individual contributor.




Bruised Passports


Book Description

As young kids, SAVI and VID, as they are popularly known to their followers, dreamt of travelling the world together. In 2013, they turned this dream into reality with the launch of their travel blog, BRUISED PASSPORTS. And now, countless flights, dreamy destinations and beautiful pictures later, the OG couple of travel has decided to reveal the secret of their carefree and footloose life. But this isn't just a book filled with dreamy stories of travel, people and culture; in these pages, Savi and Vid share their insights on how you, too, can live a life full of memories, adventure and the excitement of discovering a new place. With tips, plans and advice inspired by the hurdles and successes they have faced, Savi and Vid tell you how to be successful digital nomads in a post-pandemic world. From financial planning to, risk analysis, to taking that leap of faith, to how to create a brand of your own, BRUISED PASSPORTS promises to be a treasure trove for anyone who wants to take the plunge and set off on a journey to live life on their own terms.