Army paratrooper serving in Afghanistan—is called urgently to his Captain’s office, he fears he’s headed for a court martial. Coop has been keeping a terrible secret from his fellow soldiers, and worries he’s been discovered. Instead, his life is devastated in a different way: his wife, Kay, has been killed in a hit-and-run.Given a brief leave to fly back to New York and attend to Kay’s affairs, Coop is increasingly disturbed by the suspicious circumstances of his wife’s death. He decides to go AWOL, using his military training to uncover the real story behind Kay’s fatal accident. As he circles in on the truth, Coop must distinguish ally from enemy among a cast of players in the Bronx underworld: Albanian heroin smugglers, shady cops, corrupt rehab doctors, and his wife’s family, a powerful clan of financial elites. Navigating this new battlefield, he’ll have to find justice for Kay while also seeking his own redemption.Humming with mystery and grief, Fire in the Blood is a compulsively readable thriller about the wars we fight, whether overseas, in our city streets, or in the depths of our own hearts.

    Board of Education, educational opportunities remain so unequal for black and white students, not to mention poor and wealthy ones? In his important new book, Five Miles Away, A World Apart, James E. Ryan answers this question by tracing the fortunes of two schools in Richmond, Virginia--one in the city and the other in the suburbs. Ryan shows how court rulings in the 1970s, limiting the scope of desegregation, laid the groundwork for the sharp disparities between urban and suburban public schools that persist to this day. The Supreme Court, in accord with the wishes of the Nixon administration, allowed the suburbs to lock nonresidents out of their school systems. City schools, whose student bodies were becoming increasingly poor and black, simply received more funding, a measure that has proven largely ineffective, while the independence (and superiority) of suburban schools remained sacrosanct. Weaving together court opinions, social science research, and compelling interviews with students, teachers, and principals, Ryan explains why all the major education reforms since the 1970s--including school finance litigation, school choice, and the No Child Left Behind Act--have failed to bridge the gap between urban and suburban schools and have unintentionally entrenched segregation by race and class. As long as that segregation continues, Ryan forcefully argues, so too will educational inequality. Ryan closes by suggesting innovative ways to promote school integration, which would take advantage of unprecedented demographic shifts and an embrace of diversity among young adults. Exhaustively researched and elegantly written by one of the nation's leading education law scholars, Five Miles Away, A World Apart ties together, like no other book, a half-century's worth of education law and politics into a coherent, if disturbing, whole. It will be of interest to anyone who has ever wondered why our schools are so unequal and whether there is anything to be done about it.

    But today's woman needs more than a book of soppy affirmations to get her back on her feet and feeling great. I Used to Miss Him... is full of smart tips, sarcastic stories and hilarious ways to heal after a breakup. This book provides the sort of genuine advice you'd get from your best friend, but with a "rip his head off" attitude. By supporting a girl's right to be angry with her ex, this fun guide helps her rebuild her strength and confidence after he's gone.Features edgy advice on how to:Cash in on his lifelong guiltLook sexy and feel fabulous (then run into him at a party)Make an ex-boyfriend voodoo dollLose the guy, keep the jewelryAdvertise being singleStalk responsibly to keep him on his toesMaximize post-breakup pamperingI Used to Miss Him... is the ultimate breakup survival guide for today's woman!

    Observe. Ridicule.You run into them every day—the striped-shirt guy, the karaoke master, the dude with a pencil-thin beard, the guy who won’t shut up about his fantasy football team—characters who annoy, irritate, and incense us all. Based on the wildly popular essay on ThePhatPhree.com by Mike Polk, this book is a look inside the heads of the most infuriating douchebags on Earth. It’s the best of ThePhatPhree.com plus more than fifty all-new, hilarious pieces written by some of your favorite writers from this site.Everyone’s (Least) Favorite, The Striped-Shirt Guy…I will valet tonight! I will treat the valet with contempt and make sure that he knows that I am superior to him. I will tell him, “Take it easy on the brakes, champ”! When I do not hook up with a girl at the club, I will say that the place is “full of skanks” and wait in line at another bar, only to strike out again!Your “Cool” High School Teacher…Here are some things I allow in my class that other teachers don’t: eating, drinking,swearing, dancing, smoking, fighting, cell phones, Texas hold ’em, iPods, and sex. Like my Goo Goo Dolls tee? Anyone else here down with the Dolls? No? Me either. I’m just wearing it as a goof.The Guy with Amazing Taste in Music…Personally, I haven’t listened to the radio in fifteen years. If you have ever heard a band on the radio, then I can assure you, I am not a fan. I stopped listening to American music about ten years ago.

    and ad copy, corporate brochures and Web site headlines, too. His wide range of experience informs this collection of essays on writing and the writing life, taken from his popular personal Web site, The Whatever. Whether providing practical advice, discussing writing and writers or observing the state of the writing world, Scalzi lays it out in a sharp, no-nonsense way that assumes you want the lay of the land, without all the huggy-squeezy hand-holding. Notes on the writing life, unvarnished views of writers and books and (yes) even some practical advice: It's all here.

    Love provides a supernatural thriller of metaphysical and visionary fantasy with her own revolutionary philosophy and unique narrative skills to produce this emotionally invoking, heart-wrenching and gripping tale of a family's rise from poverty, oppression and abuse. Lilac Noble must face the traumatic experiences of her childhood before she can conquer the dark entities that have wreaked havoc on her family. On this epic journey, Lilac undergoes the destructive process of spiritual enlightenment in order to lift the veil of darkness and shame that has obscured her youth. As Lilac unlocks painful memories of abuse, suppressed in her subconscious from years of fear-based conditioning, she uncovers menacing secrets feeding the evil within her generational bloodline. In an attempt to vanquish the sinister energies, Lilac finds the courage to discover her inner truth, vulnerability, and authenticity, as she awakens her divine light and overcomes her debilitating fears of the past. Lilac's unconditional love for her family guides her through her process of healing and transformation, fuelling her instinct for survival and her burning desire to illuminate the world. Spanning two continents and three generations, this inspirational novel portrays the best and worst of humanity and shows how the "tiniest spark of light can overcome the darkness of any magnitude," through forgiveness, compassion, and the most powerful force in the universe – Love.

    Fantasy fans are guaranteed a laugh." Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEWSure, you think you know the story of the fearsome red dragon, Dragonia. How it terrorized the village of Skendrick until a brave band of heroes answered the noble villagers' call for aid. How nothing could stop those courageous souls from facing down the dragon. How they emerged victorious and laden with treasure.But, even in a world filled with epic adventures and tales of derring-do, where dragons, goblins, and unlicensed prestidigitators run amok, legendary heroes don't always know what they're doing. Sometimes they're clueless. Sometimes beleaguered townsfolk are more hapless than helpless. And orcs? They're not always assholes, and sometimes they don't actually want to eat your children.Heloise the Bard, Erithea's most renowned storyteller (at least, to hear her tell it), is here to set the record straight. See, it turns out adventuring isn't easy, and true heroism is as rare as an articulate villager. Having spent decades propagating this particular myth (which, incidentally, she wrote), she's finally able to tell the real story—for which she just so happened to have a front-row seat.Welcome to Erithea. I hope you brought a change of undergarments—things are going to get messy. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE PART ABOUT THE DRAGON WAS (MOSTLY) TRUE“Sean Gibson’s The Part About The Dragon Was Mostly True is the rare book that is full of action and excitement but is also a natural, effortless extension of the writer’s humor and personality. I felt like I was reading a version of Lord of the Rings, by way of Joss Whedon, only funnier, and with more Rock Giant poop jokes.” – Scott Weinstein, Author of Team of Steves and Weekend Update Co-Producer - "Saturday Night Live"“Friends and foes alike, what we have here is a genuine ripsnorter! Come hither, lords and ladies, and revel in the hijinks-laden misadventures of the strangest band of bumbling heroes this side of a discarded Monty Python sketch. Think Pratchett and Tolkien, only with an avalanche more puns and potty humor; enter for the comic fantasy, and linger for the playful tone, winking asides, and obscure, geek-approved references. Long live Rumscrabble Tooltinker and his merry mates!” – Eric Liebetrau, Managing Editor, Kirkus Reviews"Sean tells stories with the smirk of a mischievous child--a child that's smarter than you and somehow knows every word in the English language (and probably a few others he made up). The strange and funny fantasy world he creates in The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True is full of puns and smirks and gentle elbows in your ribs. You'll be charmed and drawn in from the first few pages." - Peter Martin, Senior Editor, The Strategist, NY Magazine “This is a book. What? You told me to be honest—wait, why are you making air quotes when I say ‘honest’? And why are you getting out your knife?” – Rumscrabble Tooltinker, Unlicensed Prestidigitator“Urk kunk grummh nuk kur grubble knuck.” – High Chieftain Gnurk Blurglesplick of the Orcs of the Gloom Forest (Hey, they can't all be complimentary)“Undoubtedly one of the best books I’ll never read.” – Kenneth the Pretty Okay Sometimes Wandering But Usually Sedentary Minstrel

    Debbi Kempton-Smith's Secrets From a Stargazer's Notebook is the brilliant, witty, outrageous, groundbreaking, wildly popular book that forever changes the way people look at astrology. Surf the easy look-it-up tables (1930-2030)for all the planets plus Chiron and the X-O planets.

    Aside from the scavengers steadily stripping the empty city to its bones, only a few thousand people remain, content to live quietly among the crumbling metropolis. Many, like the narrator, are there to try to escape the demons of their past. He spends his time observing and recording the decay around him, attempting to bury memories of what he has lost. But it eventually becomes clear that things are unraveling elsewhere as well, as strangers, violent and desperate alike, begin to appear in the North End, spreading word of social and political deterioration in the South End and beyond. Faced with a growing disruption to his isolated life, the narrator discovers within himself a surprising need to resist losing the home he has created in this empty place. He and the rest of the citizens of the North End must choose whether to face outsiders as invaders or welcome them as neighbors. The City Where We Once Lived is a haunting novel of the near future that combines a prescient look at how climate change and industrial flight will shape our world with a deeply personal story of one man running from his past. With glowing prose, Eric Barnes brings into sharp focus questions of how we come to call a place home and what is our capacity for violence when that home becomes threatened.

    In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, best-selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers the most intriguing questions she’s ever received about what happens to our bodies when we die. In a brisk, informative, and morbidly funny style, Doughty explores everything from ancient Egyptian death rituals and the science of skeletons to flesh-eating insects and the proper depth at which to bury your pet if you want Fluffy to become a mummy. Now featuring an interview with a clinical expert on discussing these issues with young people—the source of some of our most revealing questions about death—Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? confronts our common fear of dying with candid, honest, and hilarious facts about what awaits the body we leave behind.

    Budget cuts. Missing teaches. A not-so-cozy mystery. You think you know the world of magical boarding schools? Not from a teacher's perspective at a school for at risk youth. This book bundle includes: Reading, Writing and Necromancy; Budget Cuts for the Dark Arts and Crafts; My Crazy Hex-Boyfriend; Spell It Out for Me; Hex Crimes, and BONUS MATERIAL. BerateMyTeacher.com and Dear Jezzy: How Can a Devil Make an Angel Say Yes are also included in this bundle. WARNING: These books contain hex-rated mysteries. Book 6: Reading, Writing and Necromancy Happily ever after is short-lived for Clarissa Lawrence while working as the arts and craft teacher at Womby’s School for Wayward Witches. Clarissa must solve the mystery of who has been killing people and draining them of their magic. If Clarissa doesn’t discover who the murderer is, and how to save Derrick in time, he may be lost forever. Worse yet, she might turn up dead next. Book 7: Budget Cuts for the Dark Arts and Crafts Clarissa Lawrence’s lifelong dream of being a witch living in a magical realm is shattered now that she has been drained of her magic. As if living without magic isn’t horrible enough, her situation only grows more complicated when she realizes the man she once loved wants her dead, and she must trust a Fae enemy to help her solve her problems. Book 8: My Crazy Hex-Boyfriend Clarissa Lawrence lives in a world of talking unicorns, djinn who grant wishes, and sirens who seduce with their voice. But not all magic is rainbows and sunshine. Magic comes with a price, every favor requires one in return, and bargaining with a Fae can be lethal. If she accepts help from a Fae enemy to solve her problems, she might lose her soul in the process. If she doesn’t, Clarissa and her students might end up dead. Book 9: Spell It Out for Me Clarissa Lawrence knew there would be a price to pay for accepting the assistance of a Fae’s magic, though she never thought it would cost her heart. . . . When Clarissa is forced to choose between regaining her magic and the man she loves, she doesn’t know which is more difficult to give up. Book 10: Hex Crimes A Hexy Mystery. The Raven Court and the Silver Court know what Clarissa is and understand she is the key to solving the Fae Fertility Paradox. They will stop at nothing to renew their numbers and enslave anyone who can bear their heirs. With no one she can trust, friends keeping mysteries of their own from her, and no one to turn to, Clarissa has to hide her forbidden magic—as well as her student’s magic—a difficult task when Clarissa uncovers a plot to expose their secret powers. BONUS MATERIAL: Funny Short Stories from the Womby’s World and the Wrath of the Tooth Fairy crossover world BerateMyTeacher.com Dear Jezzy: How Can a Devil Make an Angel Say Yes

    These tools range from annotations and literature circle notes to Venn diagrams and vocabulary squares. Each comes as a reproducible accompanied by:background information and theoretical foundations different ways to use each tool to help students read, write, speak, and think better a range of note-taking strategies to help students succeed in all academic classes student samples, including many from Jim's ACCESS (Academic Success) program for struggling students who want to succeed. In addition, three documents help you choose the right tool for the job. Use Jim's suggestions to help students take better notes and improve their critical thinking. Or use his visual directory to quickly evaluate what you need for an assignment. Tools for Thought works across the spectrum-helping students with learning differences, assisting struggling readers and writers, challenging students in advanced classes.

    This book will teach you how to become a fit, fast, and healthy lifelong runner by following the authors’ innovative 7-hour workout week. In this new approach, Bill Pierce and Scott Murr show how overall fitness and total body health are the secret to longevity as a runner.Runner’s World Train Smart, Run Forever is appropriate for all runners, but is especially helpful if you’re frustrated by injuries or looking to maintain your healthy lifestyle as you age. This book addresses the controversies surrounding the dangers of over training and the stress associated with the constant craving for faster race times. Complete with a comprehensive program to enhance overall fitness, improve race times,and support healthy aging, this book will show you how to achieve your fitness goals at any stage.

    Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.

    While other books may claim to tell you how to take down the Thought Police, only one book is taking the fight right to the top. Yes, from the mind that brought you the popular blog feature Sad Puppies Review Books comes this definitive takedown of the internet's culture of Social Justice as embodied by the man who controls it all: JOHN SCALZI. Read this book to learn everything you need to know about Social Justice Warriors, their tactics, their treachery, their perfidious entryism. Topics include: * John Scalzi's blog is not that interesting and no one reads it. * John Scalzi does not understand satire as much as I, Theophilus Pratt, understand satire. * John Scalzi did not get me, Theophilus Pratt, kicked out of the SFWA. * John Scalzi's deal with Tor was not a very good deal. And more!