Recommendations based on "A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: From the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo"

With universal appeal (everyone poos, after all), this witty, illustrated description of over two dozen dookies (each with a medical explanation written by a doctor) details what one can learn about health and well-being by studying what's in the bowl. A floater? It's probably due to a buildup of gas. Now think back on last night's dinner, a burrito perhaps?All the greatest hits are here: The Log Jam, The Glass Shard, The Deja Poo, The Hanging Chad ... the list goes on. Sidebars, trivia, over 60 euphemisms for number two, and unusual case histories all make this the ultimate bathroom reader. Who knew you could learn so much from your poo?Previously published as The Book of Poo

Bestselling author of Ella Enchanted and fairy-tale master Gail Carson Levine shares her secrets of great writing in this companion to the popular Writing Magic.Have you ever wanted to captivate readers with a great opening, create spectacular and fantastical creatures, make up an entire country, realize a dastardly villain, write an epic love story, or make your characters leap off the page? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Gail Carson Levine can help you achieve your goals.Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine offers a behind-the-scenes take on writing and teaches you how to become a world-class author. Drawing from her popular blog, Gail answers readers' fiction- and poetry-writing questions and dives into how to make a story come alive. If you're interested in writing prose and poetry or just want to be a better and more rounded writer, this book will help you on your creative journey.With her trademark humor and vast writing knowledge, Gail Carson Levine reveals the tricks of her trade, writer to writer.Supports the Common Core State Standards

A stunning and timely creative call-to-arms combining four extraordinary written pieces by Neil Gaiman illustrated with the striking four-color artwork of Chris Riddell.“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”—Neil GaimanDrawn from Gaiman’s trove of published speeches, poems, and creative manifestos, Art Matters is an embodiment of this remarkable multi-media artist’s vision—an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives.Art Matters bring together four of Gaiman’s most beloved writings on creativity and artistry: “Credo,” his remarkably concise and relevant manifesto on free expression, first delivered in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings “Make Good Art,” his famous 2012 commencement address delivered at the Philadelphia University of the Arts “Making a Chair,” a poem about the joys of creating something, even when words won’t come “On Libraries,” an impassioned argument for libraries that illuminates their importance to our future and celebrates how they foster readers and daydreamersFeaturing original illustrations by Gaiman’s longtime illustrator, Chris Riddell, Art Matters is a stirring testament to the freedom of ideas that inspires us to make art in the face of adversity, and dares us to choose to be bold.

'The best book on the subject I've read. Quite brilliant' Tony Jordan, creator/writer, Life on Mars, HustleWe all love stories. But why do we tell them? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke, creator of the BBC Writers' Academy, has brought a vast array of drama to British screens. Here he takes us on a journey to the heart of storytelling, revealing that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative forms - one that echoes the fairytale journey into the woods and, like any great art, comes from deep within. From ancient myths to big-budget blockbusters, he gets to the root of the stories that are all around us, every day.'Marvellous' Julian Fellowes'Terrifyingly clever ... Packed with intelligent argument' Evening Standard'The most important book about scriptwriting since William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade' Peter Bowker, writer, Blackpool, Occupation, Eric and Ernie

'Art can amaze us into changing our minds. This remarkable book teaches us how' En DevlinArtists have learnt to pay attention. The rest of us spend most of our time on autopilot, rushing from place to place, our overfamiliarity blinding us to the marvellous, life-affirming phenomena of our world. But it doesn't have to be this way.In his typically engaging style, Will Gompertz takes us into the minds of artists - from emerging stars to old masters - to show us how to look at and experience the world with their heightened powers of perception.In See What You're Missing we learn, for example, how Rembrandt can help us see ourselves, how David Hockney helps us to see nature, and how Frida Kahlo can help us see through pain. Each artist has their own unique way of looking, which when applied to our own lives stimulates our senses so we might know the intoxicating feeling of being truly alive.'Highly engaging and thought-provoking' Philip Hook, author of Breakfast at Sotheby's"Lucid and Revealing" Michael Prodger, The TimesWill Gompertz is the best teacher you never had' Guardian

Even if you’re a diehard fan of the national pastime—admit it: sometimes the umpire’s call can be a little baffling. And if you’re relatively new to the game, there’s certainly more than enough to keep you asking questions about the fine points of Major League Baseball. This revised and updated edition of the Baseball Field Guide explains the rules in plain English, enhanced with plenty of examples and illustrations you won’t find anywhere else. The result is an easy-to-use and entertaining reference guide that’s designed for quick and intuitive searches, helping you understand every aspect of the game while adding to your enjoyment of the sport. Inside you’ll find:  the rules that apply before, during, and after the game equipment specifications and field requirements the duties of the coaches, managers, and umpires the rules for spectators (yes, they have rules, too) the clearest explanation anywhere of the infamous Infield Fly Rule!

NATIONAL BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION A captivating memoir that immerses readers in the life of a Scottish carpenter as he perfects his craft, builds a business, and reflects on what inheritance and shared responsibility really mean The eldest son of a master woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing lessons in his father's workshop. In time he became his father's apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path--to chase ever bigger and more commercial projects and establish a workshop of his own--drew him away. Faced with the end of his business, his team, and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most. In beautifully wrought prose, Callum tells the story of returning to the workshop and to the wood, to handcrafting furniture for people who will love it and then pass it on to the next generation--an antidote to a culture where everything seems so easily disposable. As he does so, he brings us closer to nature and the physical act of creation--and we begin to understand how he has been shaped, as both a craftsman and a son. Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on community, consumerism, and the beauty of the natural world--one that asks us to see our local trees, and our own wooden objects, in a new and revelatory light.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings is firmly established as the world's leading guide to recorded jazz, a mine of fascinating information and a source of insightful - often wittily trenchant - criticism. This is something rather different: Brian Morton (who taught American history at UEA) has picked out the 1000 best recordings that all jazz fans should have and shows how they tell the history of the music and with it the history of the twentieth century. He has completely revised his and Richard Cook's entries and reassessed each artist's entry for this book. The result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike.'It's the kind of book that you'll yank off the shelf to look up a quick fact and still be reading two hours later' Fortune'Part jazz history, part jazz Karma Sutra with Cook and Morton as the knowledgeable, urbane, wise and witty guides ... This is one of the great books of recorded jazz; the other guides don't come close' Irish Times

Pete the Cat’s guide to living a groovy life!Everyone's favorite cat shares his favorite inspirational and feel-good quotes in Pete the Cat's Groovy Guide to Life.Pete's glass-half-full outlook on life shines through as he adds his fun take on well-known classics attributed to luminaries from Albert Einstein to Confucius to Abraham Lincoln to Shakespeare and more!Fans of Pete the Cat will delight in this amusing look at quotes that are accompanied by Pete's witty responses and Pete illustrations by New York Times bestselling artist James Dean.

This volume aims at cultivating and enlightening our philanthropic imagination. It addresses us all as present and future philanthropists, as human beings who give, serve, and seek to promote the well being of others. It suggests that we are continually confronted with choices about giving, and offers a collection of writings intended to help us reflect more seriously on these choices, and to make philanthropic acts, when they are undertaken, more meaningful. The readings contained in The Philanthropic Imagination come from a variety of cultures, time periods, and genres. They represent classical works of literature, philosophy, and religion, but also contemporary and popular writings. Selections are drawn from the works of Aristotle, Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, C. S. Lewis, Alexis de Tocqueville, Martin Luther King, P. G. Wodehouse, Sholom Aleichem, and Shel Silverstein, among others. They are organized by the specific question they address: When, why, how, to whom, and what should we give? Amy Kass provides a general introduction to the book, as well as introductions to each selection. The introductions offer context for each reading and questions to guide reflection, but they do not supply uniform answers. The answers must come from the reader.