Me After You


Lucie Brownlee - 2014
    I slapped His face and told Him to wake up. Our daughter, B, appeared in the doorway, woken up by the screaming - I must have been screaming but I don't remember - and she was crying and peering in. I told her the ultimate adult lie; that everything was all right.' Sudden death is rude. It just wanders in and takes your husband without any warning; it doesn't even have the decency to knock. At the impossibly young age of 37, as they were making love one night, Lucie Brownlee's beloved husband Mark dropped dead. As Lucie tried to make sense of her new life - the one she never thought she would be living - she turned to writing to express her grief. Me After You is the stunning, irreverent and heartbreakingly honest result.

Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination


J.K. Rowling - 2015
    Rowling delivered a deeply affecting commencement speech at Harvard University. Now published for the first time in book form, VERY GOOD LIVES presents J.K. Rowling's words of wisdom for anyone at a turning point in life. How can we embrace failure? And how can we use our imagination to better both ourselves and others?Drawing from stories of her own post-graduate years, the world famous author addresses some of life's most important questions with acuity and emotional force.

Knit Your Own Cat: Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 16 Frisky Felines


Sally Muir - 2012
    With easy-to-follow instructions for 16 distinct felines, Knit Your Own Cat is the irresistible guide to knitting the pet you've always wanted. Cats and knitters are perfect companions. What's better together than a kitten curled up in a basket of wool or a frisky feline chasing a skein of yarn down a hallway? Since the instant success of Knit Your Own Dog, cat lovers have been clamoring for a book of their own. That time has come. Knit Your Own Cat is packed with knitting patterns for 16 different fanciful felines, from a pretty Persian to a sleek Siamese, from a cuddly kitten to a traditional tabby. The cats are surprisingly easy to make: With a few evenings of work, you can have a covetable companion for life. Each cat includes clear, step-by-step instructions for both knitting and assembling the parts. The cats can be knit into various positions such as standing, sitting, crouching, and curled up for a nap. You can add details like collars, bells, and bows. Photographs throughout show the finished cat from various angles, and each cat is accompanied by a description of its real-life temperament and physical characteristics. Cats include: Abyssinian, Bengal, Black Cat, Black & White, British Shorthair, Burmese, Devon Rex, Kitten, Maine Coon, Orange, Persian, Ragdoll, Siamese, Tabby, Tortoiseshell, and Turkish Van.

The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting: Learn to Knit with more than 30 Cool, Easy Patterns


Nancy Queen - 2008
    Let go of your fear of knitting, and take hold of The Chicks with Sticks® Guide to Knitting. With more than 30 simple, chic projects plus simple step-by-step instructions, this book is the complete guide to starting and enjoying this fun, rewarding hobby. New knitters can finish up their first projects in a weekend; more advanced beginners (that is, the ones who have knitted scarves before) can move to the next level. Call your posse and settle down in the living room or at the coffeehouse. The Chicks with Sticks will take care of the rest, from essential tools and materials to basic lessons to more than 30 doable projects, including cool belts, beautiful scarves, felted bags, stylish wraps, and snuggly sweaters.

Special Knits: 22 Gorgeous Handknits for Babies and Toddlers


Debbie Bliss - 2005
    Some designs are simple to make—their special quality lies in the softness of the knit, often a cashmere mix. Others are unique for their trimming—a scattering of beads, a velvet bow, an organza ribbon. For those who prefer more of a challenge, there is a sampler blanket or a cross-stitch embroidered gingham cardigan. With clear step-by-step instructions, simple charts, and charming photos, this is another irresistible collection from the foremost designer of knitwear for babies and children.

200 Fair Isle Motifs: A Knitter's Directory


Mary Jane Mucklestone - 2011
    From simple single row patterns to complex all-over motifs, you’ll find colorways that will thrill and inspire your knitting, whether you’re a beginner or experienced knitter.By using the easy-to-read charts, columns to illustrate color changes, and clear photographs of each sample swatch, you’ll find yourself creating beautiful Fair Isle designs in no time. Organized by row count and stitch count, 200 Fair Isle Motifs makes it easy for you to find the perfect motif for your projects.Confidently infuse colorwork into your knitting with 200 Fair Isle Motifs.

The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones


Anthony Bourdain - 2005
    In The Nasty Bits, he serves up a well-seasoned hellbroth of candid, often outrageous stories from his worldwide misadventures. Whether scrounging for eel in the backstreets of Hanoi, revealing what you didn't want to know about the more unglamorous aspects of making television, calling for the head of raw food activist Woody Harrelson, or confessing to lobster-killing guilt, Bourdain is as entertaining as ever. Bringing together the best of his previously uncollected nonfiction--and including new, never-before-published material--The Nasty Bits is a rude, funny, brutal and passionate stew for fans and the uninitiated alike. Anthony Bourdain is the author of seven books including the bestselling Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour. A thirty-year veteran of professional kitchens, he is the host of No Reservations on the Discovery Channel, and the executive chef at Les Halles in Manhattan. He lives in New York City.Praise for Anthony Bourdain: Bourdain's enthusiasm is so intense that it practically explodes off the page . . . Bourdain shows himself to be one of the country's best food writers. His opinions are as strong as his language, and his tastes as infectious as his joy.--New York Times Book Review[Writes] the kind of book you read in one sitting, then rush about annoying your coworkers by declaiming whole passages.--USA TodayBourdain's prose is utterly riveting, swaggering with stylish machismo and a precise ear for kitchen patois.--New York magazine

Knit One, Felt Too: Discover the Magic of Knitted Felt with 25 Easy Patterns


Kathleen Taylor - 2003
    The method is simple and magical — knit the project large and loose, wash it in hot water, and see it transformed into a soft and cozy garment or accessory. Kathleen Taylor encourages you to explore the possibilities of felted knitting with 25 spectacular projects that include mittens, slippers, hats, bags, stuffed animals, and more. Embellish your life with unique and stylishly comfortable creations.

The Sum of My Parts


James Sanford - 2011
    At first I tried to deny my condition (trying to treat a tumor with hot baths and ice packs). Eventually, I decided I would learn as much about my illness as possible while trying to keep my emotions on hold.What followed was an experience that finally forced me to deal with issues about my body that I had tried to ignore for decades. Along the way I dealt with a physician who gave me ridiculous advice and acquaintances who asked unbelievable questions. But I was also fortunate to be surrounded by people who supported me and doctors who helped me through the process.

Arbitrary Stupid Goal


Tamara Shopsin - 2017
    The center of Tamara’s universe is Shopsin’s, her family’s legendary corner store/restaurant/hangout, run by her inimitable dad, Kenny—a brilliant, loquacious, contrary, huge-hearted man who, aside from dishing up New York’s best egg salad on rye, is Village sheriff, philosopher, and fixer all at once. We follow Kenny as he pursues his destiny through early factory jobs, superintendent gigs, and crossword-puzzle mania. His temper flares as often as his humor, keeping Tamara, her mom, and her siblings constantly off-balance but giddy to be along for the always bracing ride. And the cast of supporting characters is unforgettable—oddballs and misfits, cops and con men, sax players and waitresses, longshoremen and poets, and crafty Willoughby “Willy” Jones, an old-time swindler and lady-killer from the South who improbably becomes Kenny’s foil and best friend. All comers find a place at Shopsin’s table and feast on Kenny’s tall tales and trenchant advice along with the incomparable chili con carne.At its core, Arbitrary Stupid Goal is about the secrets of living an unconventional life, which is becoming a forgotten art. It’s a place where serendipity trumps logic and overplanning can cause you to miss out on the fun of a midnight walk to the giant bubbling margarita glass perched precariously over the Mexican joint on Seventh Avenue. It’s about taking the day as it flows, treasuring experiences over things, and embracing the crazy but essential messiness of relationships.Filled with clever illustrations and witty, nostalgic photographs and graphics, and told in a sly, elliptical narrative that is both hilarious and endearing, Arbitrary Stupid Goal is an offbeat memory-book mosaic that will encourage readers to rediscover the vital spontaneity that we may have unwisely traded for the shelter of predictability.

The Rules Do Not Apply


Ariel Levy - 2017
    A month later, none of that was true. Levy picks you up and hurls you through the story of how she built an unconventional life and then watched it fall apart with astonishing speed. Like much of her generation, she was raised to resist traditional rules—about work, about love, and about womanhood. “I wanted what we all want: everything. We want a mate who feels like family and a lover who is exotic, surprising. We want to be youthful adventurers and middle-aged mothers. We want intimacy and autonomy, safety and stimulation, reassurance and novelty, coziness and thrills. But we can’t have it all.” In this profound and beautiful memoir, Levy chronicles the adventure and heartbreak of being “a woman who is free to do whatever she chooses.” Her own story of resilience becomes an unforgettable portrait of the shifting forces in our culture, of what has changed—and of what is eternal.

Knitted Toys


Zoe Mellor - 2006
    From a cute chick and a stripy snake to colourful mice and a patchwork tortoise, this title presents 25 knitting patterns for adorable toys for newborns to teens.

Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet


Ana Paula Rimoli - 2008
    -Over 20 projects are super hip and super quick to make— you need only basic crochet skills and small amounts of yarn-Funky designs include mommy and baby owls, hedgehogs, and penguins, plus silly crocheted treats like cupcakes and ice-cream cones-Find complete instructions for crocheting designs and adding facial features and other embellishments

Regions of Thick-Ribbed Ice


Helen Garner - 2001
    Deceived wives and widowers, men who've never been loved and don't know why, Russian crew forced to leave their children behind for years at a time … And then there are the married couples: how calm the old ones, how eager the new! – but isn't a couple the greatest mystery of all?Regions of Thick-Ribbed Ice is the tale of a journey to Antarctica aboard the Professor Molchanov. With unmatched eloquence, Helen Garner spins a tale of ships, icebergs, tourism, time, photography and the many forms of desolation.

Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial


Rabia Chaudry - 2016
    Syed has maintained his innocence, and Rabia Chaudry, a family friend, has always believed him. By 2013, after almost all appeals had been exhausted, Rabia contacted Sarah Koenig, a producer at This American Life, in hopes of finding a journalist who could shed light on Adnan’s story. In 2014, Koenig's investigation turned into Serial, a Peabody Award-winning podcast with more than 500 million international listenersBut Serial did not tell the whole story. In this compelling narrative, Rabia Chaudry presents new key evidence that she maintains dismantles the State's case: a potential new suspect, forensics indicating Hae was killed and kept somewhere for almost half a day, and documentation withheld by the State that destroys the cell phone evidence -- among many other points -- and she shows how fans of Serial joined a crowd-sourced investigation into a case riddled with errors and strange twists. Adnan's Story also shares Adnan’s life in prison, and weaves in his personal reflections, including never-before-seen letters. Chaudry, who is committed to exonerating Adnan, makes it clear that justice is yet to be achieved in this much examined case.