Book picks similar to
Harry Potter Smart Talk by James W. Thomas


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Holy Bible: The One Year Chronological Bible


Anonymous - 1995
    In addition, The Daily Walk Bible features 365 daily devotional readings from Walk Thru the Bible Ministries within the Bible text.-- Popular New International Version text-- 365 daily readings to help you read the entire Bible chronologically in one year-- Scripture index in canonical order

How Music Works


David Byrne - 2012
    In the insightful How Music Works, Byrne offers his unique perspective on music - including how music is shaped by time, how recording technologies transform the listening experience, the evolution of the industry, and much more.

The Secret Library: A Book-Lovers' Journey Through Curiosities of History


Oliver Tearle - 2016
    As well as leafing through the well-known titles that have helped shape the world in which we live, Oliver Tearle also dusts off some of the more neglected items to be found hidden among the bookshelves of the past.You’ll learn about the forgotten Victorian novelist who outsold Dickens, the woman who became the first published poet in America and the eccentric traveller who introduced the table-fork to England. Through exploring a variety of books – novels, plays, travel books, science books, cookbooks, joke books and sports almanacs – The Secret Library highlights some of the most fascinating aspects of our history. It also reveals the surprising connections between various works and historical figures. What links Homer’s Iliad to Aesop’s Fables? Or Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack to the creator of Sherlock Holmes?The Secret Library brings these little-known stories to light, exploring the intersections between books of all kinds and the history of the Western world over 3,000 years.

Novel Destinations: A Travel Guide to Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West


Shannon McKenna Schmidt - 2008
    For vacationers who crave meaningful trips and unusual locales, cue National Geographic's Novel Destinations a guide for bibliophiles to more than 500 literary sites across the United States and Europe. Check into Hemingway's favorite hotel in Sun Valley, or stroll about Bath's Royal Crescent while entertaining fantasies of Lizzie Bennett and her Mr. Darcy. The fully revised second edition includes all of the previous sites with updated locations plus color images and an expanded section on all things Bronte. The book begins with thematic chapters covering author houses and museums, literary festivals and walking tours. Then, in-depth explorations of authors and places take readers roaming Franz Kafka's Prague, James Joyce's Dublin, Louisa May Alcott's New England, and other locales. Peppered with great reading suggestions and little-known tales of literary gossip, Novel Destinations is a unique travel guide, an attractive gift book, and the ultimate bibliophile's delight."

Sherlock: The Casebook


Guy Adams - 2012
    BBC hit Sherlock has brought Conan Doyle's legendary detective to a whole new audience and Sherlock: The Casebook is The Great Game for the next generation. This is no ordinary guide. Each case is brought to life on the page and re-examined through Dr Watson's blog, Inspector Lestrade's police reports, newspaper articles about the crimes, Sherlock's detective notes and any other surviving clues from the cases. Interspersed amongst the evidence are exclusive interviews with the stars of the show, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Rupert Graves, writers and co-creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat and the production team on everything from writing the scripts and bringing the characters to life on screen to set design and production. This is a multi-dimensional companion to Sherlock and a glorious tribute to the world-famous detective.

The World of RWBY


Daniel Wallace - 2019
    Go behind the scenes with exclusive commentary from Rooster Teeth and explore the show’s creation through in-depth interviews with the writers, animators and voice artists. With comprehensive analysis of key characters and iconic episodes, and showcasing stunning visuals from the series, this is the must-have book for RWBY fans around the world.

The Great Snape Debate


Amy Berner - 2007
    With sections on Snape's history, Slytherin House, and Snape actor Alan Rickman's past roles, as well as Snape as villain and as hero, the book scours the Harry Potter novels for hints about Snape's final loyalty and the series' end. There's food for thought for any Snape fan, including those who like him, hate him, or just want to speculate about the contents of his iPod, the greasiness of his hair, or why his name is an anagram of A Perverseness For Soups.

The Tiniest Mansion - How To Live In Luxury on the Side of the Road in an RV


Tynan - 2012
    The Tiniest Mansion will teach you how to convert a small RV into a rolling palace with all the comforts of your home, plus the freedom to live anywhere you want without paying rent.The Tiniest Mansion covers everything from the essentials like choosing an RV, generating power, and dumping your tanks to more extravagant projects like installing marble floors and building an entertainment system.This book is a practical guide for anyone who is living in an RV or is considering it. Tynan, who has been living in an RV since 2006, shares all of his hard won secrets of RV living in this book.

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book


Gerard Jones - 2004
    "This history of the birth of superhero comics highlights three pivotal figures. The story begins early in the last century, on the Lower East Side, where Harry Donenfeld rises from the streets to become the king of the 'smooshes'-soft-core magazines with titles like French Humor and Hot Tales. Later, two high school friends in Cleveland, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, become avid fans of 'scientifiction,' the new kind of literature promoted by their favorite pulp magazines. The disparate worlds of the wise guy and the geeks collide in 1938, and the result is Action Comics #1, the debut of Superman. For Donenfeld, the comics were a way to sidestep the censors. For Shuster and Siegel, they were both a calling and an eventual source of misery: the pair waged a lifelong campaign for credit and appropriate compensation." -The New Yorker

The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting: Techniques for Rendering Sky, Terrain, Trees, and Water


Suzanne Brooker - 2015
    In The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting, established Watson-Guptill author and noted instructor/painter Suzanne Brooker presents the fundamentals necessary for mastering landscape oil painting, breaking landscapes down into component parts: sky, terrain, trees, and water. Each featured element builds off the previous, with additional lessons on the latest brushes, paints, and other tools used by artists. Key methods like observation, rendering, and color mixing are supported by demonstration paintings and samples from a variety of the best landscape oil painters of all time. With The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting, oil painters looking to break into landscape painting or enhance their work will find all the necessary ingredients for success.

Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything


David Bellos - 2011
    Using translation as his lens, David Bellos shows how much we can learn about ourselves by exploring the ways we use translation, from the historical roots of written language to the stylistic choices of Ingmar Bergman, from the United Nations General Assembly to the significance of James Cameron's Avatar.Is That a Fish in Your Ear? ranges across human experience to describe why translation sits deep within us all, and why we need it in so many situations, from the spread of religion to our appreciation of literature; indeed, Bellos claims that all writers are by definition translators. Written with joie de vivre, reveling both in misunderstanding and communication, littered with wonderful asides, it promises any reader new eyes through which to understand the world. In the words of Bellos: "The practice of translation rests on two presuppositions. The first is that we are all different: we speak different tongues, and see the world in ways that are deeply influenced by the particular features of the tongue that we speak. The second is that we are all the same—that we can share the same broad and narrow kinds of feelings, information, understandings, and so forth. Without both of these suppositions, translation could not exist. Nor could anything we would like to call social life. Translation is another name for the human condition."

Build Your Best Writing Life: Essential Strategies for Personal Writing Success


Kristen Kieffer - 2019
    Maybe you’re frustrated with your writing progress or overwhelmed by creative doubt, burnout, or writer’s block. Maybe you just can’t seem to sit down and write.No matter the roadblock standing between you and writing success, here’s the good news: You’re capable of becoming the writer you want to be—and that work can begin today. In this actionable and empowering guide to personal writing success, Kristen Kieffer shares 25 insightful chapters designed to help you:• Cultivate confidence in your skills and stories• Develop a personal writing habit you can actually sustain• Improve your writing ability with tools for intentional growth• Discover what you (really) want from your writing life—and how to get it! By the end of Build Your Best Writing Life, you’ll know how to harness the simple techniques that can help you win your inner creative battles, finish projects you can be proud to share with the world, and work with focus to turn your writing dreams into reality.

Not So Happily Ever After: The Tale of King Ludwig II


Susan Barnett Braun - 2012
    He ruled the German kingdom of Bavaria for twenty-two years, inspiring his people by his support for the arts. And yet, "Mad King Ludwig" rarely appeared in the capital or attended any government functions. He slept most of the day and stayed awake all night. He dined with his horse and waved pistols at servants. He created a fantasy world inside his castles, complete with caves and trap-door tables. To this day, no one is sure exactly what caused his untimely death in a lake. Who was this man: fairy tale king? Insane eccentric? Mad King Ludwig's life followed many twists and turns on its way to Not So Happily Ever After. The book's intended audience is young adults, but it is perfect for adults wanting to learn more about Ludwig also.

Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style


Tim Gunn - 2007
    As Bravo's style mentor and Chair of the Fashion Design Department at Parsons The New School for Design, Tim delivers advice in a frank, witty, and authoritative manner that delights audiences.Now readers can benefit from Tim's considerable fashion wisdom in Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style. He discusses every aspect of creating and maintaining your personal style: how to dress for various occasions, how to shop (from designer to chain to vintage stores), how to pick a fashion mentor, how to improve your posture, find the perfect fit, and more. He'll challenge every reader-whether a seasoned fashionista or a style neophyte-to "make it work!"

Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters


Matt Kaplan - 2012
    From the mythical beasts of ancient Greece to the hormonal vampires of the Twilight saga, monsters have captivated us for millennia. Matt Kaplan, a noted science journalist and monster-myth enthusiast, employs an entertaining mix of cutting-edge research and a love of lore to explore the history behind these fantastical fictions and our hardwired obsession with things that go bump in the night. Ranging across history, Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite tackles the enduring questions that arise on the frontier between fantasy and reality. What caused ancient Minoans to create the tale of the Minotaur and its subterranean maze? Did dragons really exist? What inspired the creation of vampires and werewolves, and why are we so drawn to them? With the eye of a journalist and the voice of a storyteller, Kaplan takes readers to the forefront of science, where our favorite figures of horror may find real-life validation. Does the legendary Kraken, a squid of epic proportions, really roam the deep? Are we close to making Jurassic Park a reality by replicating a dinosaur from fossilized DNA? As our fears evolve, so do our monsters, and Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite charts the rise of the ultimate beasts, humans themselves.