Adventures in Retirement: A hilarious journey into the unknown world of excess time, limited responsibilities and an uncertain future.


Lawrence Doyle - 2017
    Along the way, readers join the author in discovering: • The scary side of fishing; • Why it’s wrong when board games become blood sports; • The unexpected connection between cooking classes and true romance; • How the author's cat convinced him to take up yoga (and why that was a terrible idea); • Golfing for the ball challenged; • The thrill of jumping out of an airplane without risking your life; • The eternal appeal of Elly May Clampett; and, • How to do nothing without feeling guilty about it.

Olives, Lemons & Za'atar: The Best Middle Eastern Home Cooking


Rawia Bishara - 2014
    But she takes cues from other cuisines, too. An eggplant napoleon is an ode to its principal ingredient, as well as an inspired marriage of textures: layers of feathery fried eggplant rest daintily between smears of baba ghanoush. Musakhan―flatbread topped with sumac-spiced chicken, slow-cooked onions, and almond slivers piled high, and sliced like a pizza―is a near-perfect harmony of sweetness and pungency.

Making Artisan Pasta: How to Make a World of Handmade Noodles, Stuffed Pasta, Dumplings, and More


Aliza Green - 2012
    As if you were standing by her side in the kitchen, Aliza offers a thorough course on the art of making pasta, from selecting ingredients and mastering different types of doughs to making a range of classic and creative shapes and flavors. This foundation combined with helpful tips from her many years of experience and bits of history on pasta traditions in Italy and around the world make this the only pasta-making book you’ll need.  Making Artisan Pasta features:Recipes for pasta doughs made completely from scratch, with delicious ingredients including buckwheat and whole wheat flour, roasted red pepper, asparagus, squash, porcini mushroom, and even squid ink and chocolateFully illustrated step-by-step instructions for rolling, shaping, and stuffing dough for gnocchi, lasagna, cannelloni, pappardelle, tagliatelle, ravioli, and dozens of other styles of pastaDetailed instructions on how to make the ultimate in pasta: hand-stretched doughChinese pot stickers, Polish pierogi, Turkish manti, and other delectable pastas from beyond its traditional Italian bordersArtisan tips to help anyone, from novice to experienced, make unforgettable pastaMaking Artisan Pasta brings to you the satisfying pleasure of working with your hands using simple tools to create fresh artisan pasta to share with your family and friends.

The Life of Graham


Bob McCabe - 2006
    He was the policeman's son whose tweed-jacketed demeanour belied his true anarchic nature. More than any other Python he lived the complete lunacy of the show. Chapman was John Cleese's writing partner from their early days at Cambridge Footlights right through the Monty Python years. But it was Chapman's off-screen antics that are closest to the surreal qualities of a Python sketch. Terry Gilliam remembers how he would go into a restaurant and suddenly disappear: "He'd be under somebody's table licking the girl's feet while her date was there!" Chapman was a founder member of an infamous drinking club with The Who's drummer, Keith Moon. Chapman had a wine cellar stuffed full with bottles of gin and at the height of his drinking - which started out as a nerve-calmer for performances - he would consume eight pints of gin a day. He fearlessly flaunted his homosexuality at a time when it was certainly not the done thing. To add further mix to his personal life, Chapman and his partner David Sherlock adopted a 14-year-old boy. Graham Chapman died in 1989 with brilliant comic timing on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the first recording of Python. A huge celebratory Python party was cancelled as a result and Terry Jones harrumphed Chapman's death as "the greatest act of party-pooping in history". Bob McCabe has had the full co-operation of Sherlock and the Pythons in writing this fascinating and revealing account of the life of one of British comedy's best-loved figures.

Why We Snap: Understanding the Rage Circuit in Your Brain


R. Douglas Fields - 2015
    Douglas Fields, PhD, reveals in this essential book for our time.  The daily headlines are filled with examples of otherwise rational people with no history of violence or mental illness suddenly snapping in a domestic dispute, an altercation with police, or road rage attack. We all wish to believe that we are in control of our actions, but the fact is, in certain circumstances we are not. The sad truth is that the right trigger in the right circumstance can unleash a fit of rage in almost anyone. But there is a twist: Essentially the same pathway in the brain that can result in a violent outburst can also enable us to act heroically and altruistically before our conscious brain knows what we are doing. Think of the stranger who dives into a frigid winter lake to save a drowning child.Dr. Fields is an internationally recognized neurobiologist and authority on the brain and the cellular mechanisms of memory. He has spent years trying to understand the biological basis of rage and anomalous violence, and he has concluded that our culture’s understanding of the problem is based on an erroneous assumption: that rage attacks are the product of morally or mentally defective individuals, rather than a capacity that we all possess. Fields shows that violent behavior is the result of the clash between our evolutionary hardwiring and triggers in our contemporary world. Our personal space is more crowded than ever, we get less sleep, and we just aren't as fit as our ancestors. We need to understand how the hardwiring works and how to recognize the nine triggers. With a totally new perspective, engaging narrative, and practical advice, Why We Snap uncovers the biological roots of the rage response and how we can protect ourselves—and others.

100 Cats Who Changed Civilization: History's Most Influential Felines


Sam Stall - 2007
    12), the cat who single-handedly wiped out an entire species. Or Ahmedabad (p. 61), a Siamese kitten who sparked riots throughout Pakistan. Or Snowball (p. 14), the cat who helped to convict dozens of murderers and criminals. Or Felix (p. 155), the first cat to explore outer space.These are just four of the 100 Cats Who Changed Civilization, and this book honors their extra-ordinary contributions to science, history, art, government, religion, and more. You'll meet a cat who filed a lawsuit (p. 66) and a cat who was slapped with a restraining order (p. 75). You'll meet cats who have inspired great works of literature (p. 90) and classical music (p. 102). You'll even meet a cat who telephoned the police to save the life of his owner (p. 162). These beautifully illustrated true stories are a tribute to the intelligence, bravery, and loving nature of cats all over the world.

Silhouettes from Popular Culture


Olly Moss - 2012
    Find your favourite pop-culture character in this collection of silhouettes from well-known movie, television, comics and video game characters!

Vintage True Crime Stories Vol 2: An Illustrated Anthology of Forgotten Tales of Murder & Mayhem


Robert Patterson - 2019
     Let me test my presumption with a preview of four these ‘old’ stories. If I told you there was once a west coast sex cult with dozens of young girls, single ladies, and married women, who all fornicated with one well-endowed “prophet,” and he occasionally found it necessary to carry-out bondage S&M sessions here and there, you may not be surprised at all. But what if that sex cult began in 1903 and ended in 1906 with a couple of murders and suicides, does that sound like anything you have read about before? Or, how about a cheater who murders his inconvenient wife, disassembles her over a fifteen hour period, then puts her bones in the same stove he cooks breakfast for his sons before sending them off to school? If that doesn’t surprise you, perhaps the ending will–but you’ll have to find out for yourself. In ‘The Dandy and the Squire,’ a smooth-talking peacock from Kentucky visits his northern ‘cousins,’ and charms three of the women into his bed. He’s a big time operator who talks fancy, dresses fancy, and tells great stories of his days as an adventurer, riverboat gambler, and sharp-minded deal maker. He’s so smooth, he’s able to murder the patriarch’s son, make him look like the bad guy, and marry the boy’s tender-hearted sister before the Yankees get wise to his lies. Good thing, too, because he had also talked the father into giving him the family farm. Chapter Five is the stranger-than-fiction story of ‘Shoebox Annie.’ During the early 20th Century, this trollish-looking woman introduced her freakish-looking son to a life of crime. Their decade’s long spree of lyin’, cheatin’, and stealin’ led them to become America’s first mother and son team of serial killers. They were so good at disposing of bodies, none of their four victims have ever been found. If ‘old’ stories sound boring to readers of contemporary true crime, I hope this book will change minds, and fully reveal just how wicked and decadent our ancestors were. And deadly. Volume II in the Vintage True Crime Stories series is a wrecking ball that smashes to pieces that phrase, “The Good Old Days.” Maybe you will believe me when you get to the last page.

This Much is True


Miriam Margolyes - 2021
    Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?'From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.

King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis


Shawn Levy - 1996
    A portrait of one of America's most influential comedians analyzes the complex, sometimes disturbing world of Jerry Lewis, from his rise to fame and his philanthropic work to the dark side of his career and personal life.

Ingredients: A Visual Exploration of 75 Additives & 25 Food Products


Steve Ettlinger - 2015
    But what do all those mysterious-sounding chemicals and additives actually do?Focusing on 75 of the most common food additives and 25 ordinary food products that contain them, acclaimed photographer Dwight Eschliman and science writer Steve Ettlinger demystify the contents of processed food. Together they reveal what each additive looks like, where it comes from, and how and why it is used.Essential for everyone who is concerned about the wholesomeness of their diet or merely curious about “polysorbate 60” or “tertiary butylhydroquinone,” Ingredients is a visually and scientifically stunning journey from ketchup to Cool Whip.You’ll be surprised at what you find.Ingredients focuses on processed food additives from acesulfame potassium to xanthan gum, including artificial and natural flavorings, sweeteners, colorings, preservatives, thickeners, emulsifiers, dessicants, and more.

The Younger Next Year Back Book: The Whole-Body Plan to Conquer Back Pain Forever


Chris Crowley - 2018
    It’s an epidemic, with a cost to society in medical expenses and lost productivity that is steeper than heart disease. But remember the 80% figure—that’s the astonishing cure rate at Dr. Jeremy James’s Aspen Club Back Institute. A Doctor of Chiropractic who took that path because of his own severe injury-induced back pain, he has developed a revolutionary behavioral/whole-body approach to help sufferers heal—and often eliminate—back pain forever. Co-written with Chris Crowley, The Younger Next Year Back Book follows the alternating chapter format of the #1 New York Times bestselling Younger Next Year and other books in the series. And just as millions of readers positively changed their lives following Harry’s Rules in Younger Next Year, the millions of back pain sufferers can find relief following Jeremy’s rules, including Stop Doing Dumb Stuff, Be Still So You Can Heal, and Stand Tall for the Long Haul. He explains the workings of the spine and muscles, and then why back pain is almost never a disease, per se, but the result of behavior. He then shows how to change our behavior, find a neutral spine, and begin a regimen of simple exercises—with step-by-step two-color illustrations—to realign our core to virtually eliminate back pain forever. Chris Crowley, in his been-there-done-that-and-you-can-too-damnit! voice, provides all the motivation and patient perspective we need.

Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries


Jon Ronson - 2012
    Collected here from various sources (including the Guardian and GQ America) are the best of his adventures. Always intrigued by our ability to believe the unbelievable, Jon meets the man preparing to welcome the aliens to earth, the woman trying to build a fully-conscious robotic replica of the love of her life and the Deal or No Deal contestants with a fool proof system to beat the Banker. Jon realises that it’s possible for our madness to be a force for good when he meets America’s real-life superheroes or a force for evil when he meets the Reverend ‘Death’ George Exoo, who has dubiously assisted in more than a hundred mercy killings.He goes to a UFO convention in the Nevada desert with Robbie Williams, asks Insane Clown Posse (who are possibly America’s nastiest rappers) whether it’s true they’ve actually been evangelical Christians all along and rummages through the extensive archives of Stanley Kubrick. Frequently hilarious, sometimes disturbing, always entertaining, these compelling encounters with people on the edge of madness will have you wondering just what we’re capable of.

Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated


James Thurber - 1940
    The fables are imperishably illustrated, and are supplemented by Mr. Thurber's own pictorial interpretations of famous poems in a wonderful and joyous assemblage.

The Knowledgeable Knitter: From Planning Your Project to Fitting and Finishing, All You Need to Know to Unlock Your Knitting Potential


Margaret Radcliffe - 2014
    Whether you’re looking for a suitable substitute yarn, trying to modify a pattern, or fixing a mistake, Margaret Radcliffe offers proven advice that will help you solve all of your knitting quandaries. With this definitive guide, you’ll not only learn how to adjust armholes and shape collars, but why certain techniques work best in different situations. Radcliffe gives you the confidence and inspiration that will help you become a better, happier, and more confident knitter.