Best of
Nerd

2017

Her Best Friend


Claire Kingsley - 2017
    Noah had a hard time relating to other kids, and Charlotte was painfully shy. But once they found each other, they were inseparable. Now sixteen, Noah is starting to see Charlotte through new eyes. Maybe it’s just a crush. Charlotte is talented, fun, and pretty. What guy wouldn’t be attracted to her?But the threat of someone else dating his best friend brings out deeper feelings Noah didn’t realize he had. Can he risk telling her how he feels? Or are they better off as friends?Her Best Friend is the sweet-as-sugar love story of Caleb Lawson’s daughter, Charlotte, and her friend Noah, who meet as children in the novel Hot Single Dad. It’s a short story of approximately 6,000 words and is meant to be read after Hot Single Dad. It is available for free exclusively to newsletter subscribers. You can sign up here: www.clairekingsleybooks.com.

Horizon Zero Dawn Collector's Edition Guide


Future Press - 2017
    The terrain is rugged, the machines are deadly and your tools are primitive. This book will provide everything you need to overcome the odds, get a deeper understanding of this unique world and see all that the adventure has to offer.Get an Overview of How Things WorkOur breakdown of the game's systems is as in-depth as it gets. You'll have the benefit of countless hours' play at your fingertips, with analysis of the skills, crafting and rewards that makes knowing what to do next as clear as possible.Plan Your Route Through the GameWe provide everything you need to plot out your own route through the game, based on your way of playing. Tackle the main quests, side quests and activities in the order you want, or follow our recommendations for an easy, optimal experience.Hone Your Combat SkillsAloy has a staggering repertoire of hunting tools and abilities to learn and master. We'll provide all the information you need to choose the ones that suit you best. The Hunting Guide chapter lays bare all the workings of the game's enemies, weapons, tools and combat.Dig Beneath the SurfaceOur focus on dissecting Horizon Zero Dawn extends deeply into the game's story and its mysteries. This book is steeped in the game's lore and features design insights and artwork alongside interviews with the team at Guerrilla Games.A Beautiful BonusTo really know everything about the world of Horizon Zero Dawn you'll need to explore its outer reaches and collect every artifact and trinket you can. With that in mind, we've included a gorgeous world map poster to make sure you won't have trouble finding whatever you desire.

Chaos and Control


Season Vining - 2017
    And that reason has a hard body, a knowledge of vinyl, and a crooked smile that sends her reeling.Preston is a gorgeous, mysterious man, whose life is ruled by routine and order. Yet somehow, he finds Wren and her wild ways captivating. While their relationship grows in a delicate dance of chaos and control, the danger Wren thought she'd left behind during her travels is inching ever closer…and just may destroy them both.

Co-Wrecker


Meghan Quinn - 2017
     I wanted to be friends — I would have even settled for her seeing me as anything but a nerd — but there was no getting through. So just like any hard-headed, red-blooded man out there, I made up my mind. I’d make my coworker fall for me. I’d like to say it was simple, but like every other epic love story, all it took was one drunken night and a lot of naked courage to get the girl. For a moment, at least. Love with a coworker is never simple, especially since Sadie’s trying to keep us on the low. Not to mention her persistent ex-boyfriend who won’t leave her alone. But I’ve never been good at giving up, and I don’t plan to start now. The whole thing is a recipe for a rocky road, but I plan to eat the whole gallon, no matter how bad the brain freeze.

HYPERGROWTH: How the Customer-Driven Model Is Revolutionizing the Way Businesses Build Products, Teams, & Brands


David Cancel - 2017
    The key to achieving HYPERGROWTH is being customer-driven. So if you’re ready to start putting your customers first, keep reading... What You’ll Learn: A New Approach to Product Management and Developing SaaS Products People Love Today, there’s no excuse for not communicating with customers on a daily basis. Messaging has exploded, new generations are focused on 1:1 communication by default, and artificial intelligence is finally coming so we can deliver 1:1 at scale. So why would you build a product, or a company, without leaning into the advantages of that ecosystem? In his new book, HYPERGROWTH, serial entrepreneur and Drift co-founder/CEO David Cancel shares a modern approach for building products and structuring teams that makes customer communication a central priority. The book tells the story of how Cancel’s customer-driven approach started out as a test with a product team (Performable), transformed an entire organization (HubSpot), and sparked a new movement (Drift). What’s Inside: Practical Advice and Frameworks for Becoming Customer-Driven and Growing Your Business Responsive Development (RD): a new approach to building products that adds the customer back into the equation The Burndown Framework: a framework for implementing Responsive Development that’s faster and more flexible than Agile. The Three-Person Team: the customer-driven way to structure engineering teams. Each team consists of a tech lead who manages two other engineers. Getting Rid of Roadmaps: through building a culture of transparency and accountability and working closely with internal customers, you can release product updates more rapidly and iteratively. The Spotlight Framework: a framework for helping you focus on the right parts of customer feedback so you can take the appropriate next steps. The framework breaks feedback down into three main categories: user experience issues, product marketing issues, and positioning issues. Who This Book Is For: Entrepreneurs, Startup Founders, Product Managers, Product Teams, Marketing Teams … Entire Companies! Every part of your business can benefit from being customer-driven. With the rise of SaaS and the on-demand economy, customer expectations have changed. Customers expect their voices to be heard. They find value in being part of a community, and being part of that journey of creating the product. So stop running your business like we’re still living in the 2000s. It’s time to take a customer-driven approach. Here’s what people are saying about the book: “David Cancel is one of the best when it comes to building products that customers love. And now he’s sharing his wisdom and writing the book explaining how he does it. This is a must read for any entrepreneur or business owner.” -MARK ROBERGE Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School, Former SVP of Sale and Services at HubSpot ”When it comes to building business software, there’s no one better than David Cancel, and I saw fi

Lottery


Robin Roseau - 2017
    "Ten days at Beginnings." She grinned. "For two. Be my plus one." Adventures of a livetime have started with less announcement than that, but not very often. Lottery is the first in a set of stories set at Beginnings, the alien resort from the Selected series. These stories can be read in any order after one has read the Selected series through Beginnings. Lottery is 90,000 words. The stories are meant to be shorter and simpler than the novels from the Selected series. In this story, we'll spend a little time with some of the familiar species from Selected while getting to better know a few others.

Love Connection


Annabeth Albert - 2017
    It's got some heat and sweet and a glimpse at a special moment.

The Heart of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A MBSR Guide for Clinicians and Clients


Elana Rosenbaum - 2017
     Using powerful, yet simple, tools and strategies, The Heart of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction guides how to heal through awareness and reinforcing what is right rather than what is wrong. A valuable resource in any practice, this workbook is filled with evidence-based approaches for healing and improving treatment outcomes for anxiety, depression, addictions, grief, trauma and catastrophic illness. * Tools to integrate MBSR into daily life * Using S.T.O.P. technique for mindfulness pauses to refocus and redirect * Body scan script and other guided meditations * 30 reproducible worksheets * Essentials to be an MBSR teacher

Confession of a Nerdoholic


Savannah Blevins - 2017
    Skinny jeans and black rimmed glasses. She’s a nerdoholic, and she isn’t ashamed… Eloise isn’t the party all night, keg stand kind of college girl. She works part-time at the Sugar Cube bakery, and keeps her nose in a book. Even with her above par study habits, she still manages to have a failing anatomy grade at mid-term. To cheer herself up, she stops by the library a few hours a week to check out Oliver Edwards, the guy of her dreams who doesn’t realize she exists. At least, not yet. Eloise has a plan. No guy, even nerds, can resist a good cupcake, and Eloise makes the best cupcakes on earth… She leaves one of her famous strawberry cheesecake cupcakes on top of Oliver’s chemistry book. It’s enough to brighten her mood, but not enough to bring her grade up. When she accidentally hits Oliver in the crotch with her anatomy book, it turns out Oliver isn’t just hot, he’s also nice and forgiving. He offers to tutor Eloise in exchange for an endless supply of sugary treats. It’s a daydream come true, but if Eloise doesn’t pass anatomy, her father will jerk her out of school… Her father never wanted her to go to Maryland. He wants her back on the west coast, following in his footsteps at Pepperdine. He’ll use her bad grade to bring her home. Will Eloise be able to tame her nerd lust long enough to make the grade she needs to pass her class, or will she have to leave her new love behind in… Confessions of a Nerdoholic?