When the Porch Light's On. . .Stories of People, Popcorn, and Parasails


Book Description

When The Porch Light's On is a look at life through the eyes of a man who says he would have enjoyed being Walter Mitty's little brother. Don Newbury has long been regarded as unconventional, and he admires the Mitty kind of life - going most places on purpose and then letting the wind take over. Newbury is a keen observer of life as it exists on the slower side of the street. He may feel at home in the nation's larger cities, but Newbury prefers the pace and rhythm, the wit and wisdom of Small Town America where a man on the other side of town can become a friend for life, even if you've met him only once and hardly ever remember his name. He relishes the day's news, particularly the common man who makes it, tweaking, twisting, and turning these accounts into the warm, gentle humor and sometimes heartbreaking stories that can have an impact on anyone's life. When the Porch Light's On makes you laugh a lot, cry a little, and appreciate the foibles of the human condition. It is littered with an odd assortment of the most extraordinary characters you will ever meet. As one columnist wrote: "Newbury is a master of humor, timing, and inspiration. He is determined to find healthy humor in at least every other link in the chain of human events. He refuses to take himself or his world seriously for more than a few minutes of time." But, no matter, how hilarious he writes, he leaves his readers remarkably enriched - a rare and important talent.




That Time of Year


Book Description

With the warmth and humor we've come to know, the creator and host of A Prairie Home Companion shares his own remarkable story. In That Time of Year, Garrison Keillor looks back on his life and recounts how a Brethren boy with writerly ambitions grew up in a small town on the Mississippi in the 1950s and, seeing three good friends die young, turned to comedy and radio. Through a series of unreasonable lucky breaks, he founded A Prairie Home Companion and put himself in line for a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures. PHC lasted forty-two years, 1,557 shows, and enjoyed the freedom to do as it pleased for three or four million listeners every Saturday at 5 p.m. Central. He got to sing with Emmylou Harris and Renée Fleming and once sang two songs to the U.S. Supreme Court. He played a private eye and a cowboy, gave the news from his hometown, Lake Wobegon, and met Somali cabdrivers who’d learned English from listening to the show. He wrote bestselling novels, won a Grammy and a National Humanities Medal, and made a movie with Robert Altman with an alarming amount of improvisation. He says, “I was unemployable and managed to invent work for myself that I loved all my life, and on top of that I married well. That’s the secret, work and love. And I chose the right ancestors, impoverished Scots and Yorkshire farmers, good workers. I’m heading for eighty, and I still get up to write before dawn every day.”




Feed


Book Description

Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains. Winner of the LA Times Book Prize. For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play around with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who knows something about what it’s like to live without the feed-and about resisting its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., M. T. Anderson has created a brave new world - and a hilarious new lingo - sure to appeal to anyone who appreciates smart satire, futuristic fiction laced with humor, or any story featuring skin lesions as a fashion statement.




Everyday Resilience for Everyday Heroes


Book Description

We all have the capacity for resilience. We all have the capacity to overcome our everyday challenges and move forward with a positive attitude. Sometimes, we just need a little encouragement. Everyday Resilience for Everyday Heroes highlights the four major facets of resiliency: Adversity, Perspective, Passion and Appreciation. Through personal anecdotes, newsworthy tidbits and descriptive analogies, Rob Clark leverages classic storytelling to guide us all down a path toward resilience. Resilience is not complicated. But just because it is simple does not mean it is easy. We all face a spectrum of challenges in our own lives. Everyday Resilience for Everyday Heroes provides us the structure and the strength we need to move forward with courage.




Free Souls


Book Description

True Souls Two strangers embark on an adventure in a strange city. The stars above and the waves beyond witness their souls getting entangled in a beautiful mess. Funky Piya, nerdy Siddhanth. She is a hot mess, he is a philosopher. And a life story. Before it could turn into a happily ever after, life happens and they are torn apart. Will the hope and true love be enough to reunite after they stumble upon each other after five years?Will they pick up where they left off or will they choose different paths all over again?Get ready to laugh, cry and relate to the story of love, family and life.




The Outdoor Athlete


Book Description

Take outdoor experience to the next level. The Outdoor Athlete will prepare athletes for adventure with performance training programs designed to maximize outdoor enjoyment. Authors Courtenay and Doug Schurman use their extensive outdoor and training expertise to provide conditioning programs developed for the unique demands of 17 activities.




Molvania:A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry


Book Description

The funniest book about travel you will ever read: a travel guide to the fictional European republic 'Molvania', birthplace of the polka and whooping cough. The text and design draw on the standard travel guide format and include: background information on the destination, including cultural details, useful phrases, holidays, and calendar of events; accommodation and restaurant listings; activities and excursions; as well as text break-outs, colour photos and maps throughout.




YouTube For Dummies


Book Description

YouTube For Dummies takes the classic Dummies tact in helping tech novices get a handle on a popular technology that more tech-savvy audiences consider "simple." With so much content on YouTube getting media attention, more first-timers are jumping on the site and they need help. The book also helps the next step audience of users looking to add content to YouTube. Content includes: Watching the Tube - includes getting your PC ready for YouTube viewing, finding video, signing up for an account, and creating favorites. Loading Video to YouTube—covers the nuts and bolts of shooting video, transferring it to a PC, editing it, and sending it up to YouTube. Bringing Along YouTube—covers the various ways you can use YouTube video in places other than on the site. Includes mobile YouTube and adding videos to your MySpace page or another Web site. I Always Wanted To Direct—explores how to use YouTube's directors program to upload longer video, use the site for marketing, or launch your own videoblog.




Madi's Secret


Book Description

SHE HAS A DEADLY SECRET. IF ONLY SHE KNEW WHAT IT WAS. Madeline Baxter has kept other secrets for seventeen years. Now God has called her back to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin to face her fears. She obeys and mysterious threatening messages begin. Everyone she loves could be in danger. Including her first love—Parker. Parker has loved Madi for twenty years. As graduating high school sweethearts, they planned to marry, but the girl of his dreams vanished without a trace. He went on with life, wed and widowed, but Madi's back, more beautiful than ever, and his heart is twisted in knots. What is Madi hiding? How can Parker trust her when he doesn't understand why she left? And why does his heart still beat for her?




The Future of Happiness


Book Description

Technology, at least in theory, is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication. The one thing it's not doing is making us happier. We are experiencing historically high levels of depression and dissatisfaction. But we can change that. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and well-being. Technology can drive—not diminish—human happiness. In The Future of Happiness, author Amy Blankson, cofounder of the global positive psychology consulting firm GoodThink, unveils five strategies successful individuals can use, not just to survive—but actually thrive—in the Digital Age: • Stay Grounded to focus your energy and increase productivity • Know Thyself through app-driven data to strive toward your potential • Train Your Brain to develop and sustain an optimistic mindset • Create a Habitat for Happiness to maximize the spaces where you live, work, and learn • Be a Conscious Innovator to help make the world a better place By rethinking when, where, why, and how you use technology, you will not only influence your own well-being but also help shape the future of your community. Discover how technologies can transform the idea of "I'll be happy when . . ." to being happy now.