Success is Not a Fluke


Book Description

Success is not a fluke. It has clear rules that can be learned. Alon Ulman, Ironman, bestselling author and renowned practical success speaker, shares how to gain immediate control of your life, and make any dream a reality. "An amazing life is a matter of choice." Success in any endeavour can be achieved in just six essential steps. With these six steps, anyone can consciously elevate their life beyond their wildest expectations. Alon Ulman knows how unexpected life can be. In a plane above the Mediterranean Sea, Alon suddenly found he couldn't breathe. After landing he was rushed to hospital where his survival from a spontaneous collapsed lung was deemed a medical miracle. A few years later Alon would complete the famously gruelling Ironman. From the moment he crossed the finish line, he realized his life's purpose: dedicating himself to exploring the DNA of practical success and making it accessible to people everywhere. Everybody wants success and fulfilment, but even people who work hard miss out, and when they do succeed, they often chalk it up to luck. But success isn't a fluke. It has rules that can be learned and harnessed with unbelievable ease, speed and power. In his vivid style, Alon tells his own story of transformation and the lessons he learnt along the way. He shows how you can instill practices to harness genuine passion every day, including journalling prompts, practical models for happiness, ways to exercise your courage, and guidance to create a bespoke action plan.




Fluke


Book Description

“Readers new to the work of Christopher Moore will want to know two things immediately. First: Where has this guy been hiding? (Answer: In plain sight, since he has a cult following.)...[H]e writes laid back fables straight out of Margaritaville, on the cusp of humor and science fiction.”—Janet Maslin, New York Times Whale researcher Nathan Quinn has a problem. It’s not a new problem; in fact, it’s been around for nearly 20 million years. And Nate’s spent most of his adult life working to solve it. You see, although everybody (well, almost everybody) knows that humpback whales sing (outside of human composition, the most complex songs on the planet) no one knows why. Nate, a Ph.D. in behavior biology, intends to discover the answer to this burning question—and soon. Every winter he and Clay Demolocus, his partner in the Maui Whale Research Foundation, ply the warm waters between the islands of Maui and Lanai, recording the eerily beautiful songs of the humpbacks and returning to their lab for electronic analysis. The trouble is, Nate’s beginning to wonder if he hasn’t spent just a little too much time in the sun. Either that, or he’s losing his mind. Because today, as he was shooting an I.D. photo of a humpback tail fluke, Nate could’ve sworn he saw the words “Bite Me” scrawled across the whale’s tail. . .




There Will Be No Miracles Here


Book Description

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2018 BY NPR AND THE NEW YORK TIMES A PBS NEWSHOUR-NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB PICK "Somehow Casey Gerald has pulled off the most urgently political, most deeply personal, and most engagingly spiritual statement of our time by just looking outside his window and inside himself. Extraordinary." —Marlon James "Staccato prose and peripatetic storytelling combine the cadences of the Bible with an urgency reminiscent of James Baldwin in this powerfully emotional memoir." —BookPage The testament of a boy and a generation who came of age as the world came apart—a generation searching for a new way to live. Casey Gerald comes to our fractured times as a uniquely visionary witness whose life has spanned seemingly unbridgeable divides. His story begins at the end of the world: Dallas, New Year's Eve 1999, when he gathers with the congregation of his grandfather's black evangelical church to see which of them will be carried off. His beautiful, fragile mother disappears frequently and mysteriously; for a brief idyll, he and his sister live like Boxcar Children on her disability checks. When Casey--following in the footsteps of his father, a gridiron legend who literally broke his back for the team--is recruited to play football at Yale, he enters a world he's never dreamed of, the anteroom to secret societies and success on Wall Street, in Washington, and beyond. But even as he attains the inner sanctums of power, Casey sees how the world crushes those who live at its margins. He sees how the elite perpetuate the salvation stories that keep others from rising. And he sees, most painfully, how his own ascension is part of the scheme. There Will Be No Miracles Here has the arc of a classic rags-to-riches tale, but it stands the American Dream narrative on its head. If to live as we are is destroying us, it asks, what would it mean to truly live? Intense, incantatory, shot through with sly humor and quiet fury, There Will Be No Miracles Hereinspires us to question--even shatter--and reimagine our most cherished myths.




Strawberry Shortcake Murder


Book Description

In her debut mystery, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, intrepid amateur sleuth and bakery owner Hannah Swensen proved that when it comes to crime, nothing is sweeter than a woman who knows how to really mix it up. Now, the flame-haired, tart-talking (and baking) heroine is back, judging a contest where the competition is really murder. Strawberry Shortcake Murder When the president of Hartland Flour chooses cozy Lake Eden, Minnesota, as the spot for their first annual Dessert Bake-Off, Hannah is thrilled to serve as the head judge. But when a fellow judge, Coach Boyd Watson, is found stone-cold dead, facedown in Hannah's celebrated strawberry shortcake, Lake Eden's sweet ride to fame turns very sour indeed. Between perfecting her Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie and Chocolate Crunchies, Hannah's snooping into the coach's private life and not coming up short on suspects. And could Watson's harsh criticism during the judging have given one of the contestants a license to kill? The stakes are rising faster than dough, and Hannah will have to be very careful, because somebody is cooking up a recipe for murder. . .with Hannah landing on the "necessary ingredients" list. "Another delicious adventure. . .a superior cozy sure to leave readers satisfied. . .but hungry for more." --Publishers Weekly Includes seven delicious recipes!




Escaped Nuns


Book Description

Just five weeks after its publication in January 1836, Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery, billed as an escaped nun's shocking exposé of convent life, had already sold more than 20,000 copies. The book detailed gothic-style horror stories of licentious priests and abusive mothers superior, tortured nuns and novices, and infanticide. By the time the book was revealed to be a fiction and the author, Maria Monk, an imposter, it had already become one of the nineteenth century's best-selling books. In antebellum America only one book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, outsold it. The success of Monk's book was no fluke, but rather a part of a larger phenomenon of anti-Catholic propaganda, riots, and nativist politics. The secrecy of convents stood as an oblique justification for suspicion of Catholics and the campaigns against them, which were intimately connected with cultural concerns regarding reform, religion, immigration, and, in particular, the role of women in the Republic. At a time when the term "female virtue" pervaded popular rhetoric, the image of the veiled nun represented a threat to the established American ideal of womanhood. Unable to marry, she was instead a captive of a foreign foe, a fallen woman, a white slave, and a foolish virgin. In the first half of the nineteenth century, ministers, vigilantes, politicians, and writers--male and female--forged this image of the nun, locking arms against convents. The result was a far-reaching antebellum movement that would shape perceptions of nuns, and women more broadly, in America.




All the Single Ladies


Book Description

"Today, only twenty percent of Americans are wed by age twenty-nine, compared to nearly sixty percent in 1960. The Population Reference Bureau calls it a 'dramatic reversal.' [This book presents a] portrait of contemporary American life and how we got here, through the lens of the single American woman, covering class, race, [and] sexual orientation, and filled with ... anecdotes from ... contemporary and historical figures"--




Basic Witches


Book Description

A magical lifestyle guide for everything from powering up a stylish crystal to banishing terrible Tinder dates Want to feel terrifyingly beautiful? Wear the right color of eye shadow to project otherworldly glamour. Need to exorcise a toxic friendship? Repeat the proper incantation and make it disappear. Want to increase your energy? Whip up a tasty herbal “potion” to rev up your stamina. DIY projects, rituals, and spells—along with fun historical sidebars—summon the best trends of the modern witchy lifestyle and the time-trusted traditions of the hell-raising women of the past. With humor, heart, and a hip sensibility, Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman dispense witchy wisdom for the curious, the cynical, and anyone who could use a magical boost. Selected Table of Contents: CHAPTER 1 - Self-Initiation: An Induction into Basic Witchery What We Mean by “Witchcraft” Our Favorite Pop Culture Witches CHAPTER 2 - Glamours: The Power to Change How You Look How to Clothe Yourself in Literal Darkness The Dark Magic of Unfeminine Haircuts A Spell for Self-Care CHAPTER 3 - Healing: The Power to Care for Yourself A Spell to Make Peace with Your Body Magical Exercise A Ritual for a Relaxing Netflix Binge CHAPTER 4 - Summoning: The Power to Care for Others (and Have Them Care for You) The Transformative Power of Vulnerability A Collaborative Ritual to Deepen Friendship CHAPTER 5 - Enchantment: The Power to Make Choices about Love and Sex Conjuring Your Perfect Mate The Magic Circle of Consent A Spell for Talking about Sex CHAPTER 6 - Banishment: The Power to Avoid What Brings You Down Expelling Social Toxicity The Different Types of Personal Demons A Spell to Counter Impostor Syndrome CHAPTER 7 - Divination: The Power to Decide Your Destiny A Spell to Name Your Heart’s Desire How to Read Tea Leaves




Key Lime Pie Murder


Book Description

It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the Tri-County fair, she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters. With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping–only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why? Now Hannah needs to crank up the heat, hoping that Willa’s killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last… Features Over a Dozen Cookie and Dessert Recipes from The Cookie Jar!




The Artist's Suitcase


Book Description

It's time to finally unlock your creative potential. In this game-changing guide for creative people, you'll discover: - The most important quality for success (hint: it's not talent). - The four questions you should ask when you're criticized. - A strategy for making failure your best friend. - Why you must learn to say "no" and take back control of your time. - And much more! In The Artist's Suitcase, Kent Sanders pulls back the curtain on creativity and shows you the essentials in bite-sized chapters. Prepare to reignite your creative life!




Psychology of Success


Book Description

Every life revolves around success and the means to success. People tend towards happiness in all aspects of life with being outstanding and able to achieve something special or amazing to set them apart from the rest. But success has different definitions according to its psychology. Success is a sense of satisfaction to many. However, success should not be taken lightly. It demands a lot but promises a lot as well. One should have a strong belief in oneself and a growth mindset and absolutely no fear of failure in order to achieve success. The route to success is a long and difficult one but guarantees that it will never be tedious or boring and demands perseverance to relish the journey.