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Small Moves, Big Life: 7 Daily Practices to Supercharge Your Energy, Productivity, and Happiness (in Just Minutes a Day)
by Andrea Leigh RogersDeveloped for women with busy schedules, discover a truly achievable daily routine to boost energy and motivation—and make you unstoppable.Feeling frazzled or frustrated? Caught in a feedback loop of scrolling and anxiety? Do you have a sense of longing that&’s growing more and more urgent as time passes? What if the way to get unstuck and reshape your life into something more fulfilling is to do . . . less? Celebrity trainer, motivational coach, and founder of Xtend Barre, Andrea Leigh Rogers&’ solution is to think small. Her 7 tried-and-true practices—adding up to an easy 30-minute routine spread throughout your day—are proven to improve mobility, strength, emotional resilience, self-esteem, and even help you get the best sleep of your life. An upbeat, often humorous how-to guide backed by modern science, Small Moves, Big Life will help you set consistent habits to transform your life as you: Super-charge your energy for the day through morning breathwork and stretching. Upgrade stamina, strength, and mobility with impactful, easy to schedule mini workouts (and become one of those exercise-every-day people). Achieve healthy, intentional eating with a breakfast routine that transforms your relationship with food. Throw out the endless to-do list and embrace a new strategy for action and real progress. Learn a sleep strategy to overcome anxiety and overwhelm and prep you for the best sleep of your life. Drawing on contemporary research behind habit formation, Small Moves, Big Life distills essential self-care practices for optimal physical and mental health to help women find energy and calm in the chaos. Feel empowered to crush challenges with confidence while reserving space (and time!) to care for the people in your life who matter most—especially yourself.
Fizz: 70+ Homemade Artisan Sodas
by Andrea LynnA playful, modern guide to crafting artisan sodas at home, Fizz bubbles over with 70+ recipes that turn simple ingredients into sparkling delights—no bottled soda required.Whether you have a SodaStream or prefer to use bottled sparkling water, this visually stunning cookbook shows you how to infuse fizz into everyday life. From fruity blends like Apricot-Cinnamon to bold flavors like Mango-Chile, plus inventive agua frescas and tangy shrubs, these recipes are designed to impress guests, elevate casual meals, or simply make a weekday feel special.Here&’s what makes Fizz pop: • Artisan Soda Made Easy: Recipes work with a SodaStream, siphon, or pre-carbonated water—no fancy bartending required. • Naturally Better: Craft sodas that are lower in sugar and full of fresh fruits, herbs, and spices. • Versatile for Any Occasion: Includes optional boozy variations for sparkling cocktails and party-ready drinks. • Gorgeous Inspiration: Packed with mouthwatering photos and step-by-step ideas that make every page a treat.Fizz is your ticket to ditching the store-bought bottle and discovering just how fun (and flavorful) homemade soda can be.
The Pursuit of Home: A Real Estate Guide to Achieving the American Dream
by Scott HarrisA real estate veteran and Wall Street Journal Real Trends Top 250 agent offers a &“code to the lockbox&” of the oftentimes mystifying home-buying process, providing unconventional and overlooked keys to success centered on self-awareness and vision-building for potential homebuyers. Buying a home is as much a transition as it is a transaction—the process will change not only where you spend much of your life but who you become in that space. Scott Harris, founder of Magnetic Real Estate, has spent more than two decades equipping his New York City clients with the tools to uncover what they really want in a home and fulfill their ownership dreams, and in The Pursuit of Home he shares proven strategies for home-buying success anywhere. Dig deep and better understand: Your buyer personality, including your pre-existing real estate baggage How to choose an agent who best suits your communication style and make the most of your work with them How to identify your must-haves and create a vision for your dream home The trouble with trying to time the market (you can&’t) What&’s really going on when you hate every house you see Why you&’re losing out on deals The practical, emotional, ethical, and spiritual challenges of the journey What home really means to you From deciding it&’s time to move to the final walkthrough and possession, Scott serves as your guide—inspiring you with a wealth of client success stories and empowering you with knowledge about the process and yourself. You&’ll find provocative personality questionnaires, practical checklists, and common-sense definitions of esoteric real estate terms. The Pursuit of Home is a timely course correction to the broken home-buying process and a faithful companion for your journey to home.
A Call at 4 AM: Thirteen Prime Ministers and the Crucial Decisions that Shaped Israeli Politics
by Amit SegalThe full and untold story of Israeli politics penned by one of Israel&’s most distinguished political journalists.&“The phones had been installed in every corner of the apartment, and all started ringing at once. Golda Meir knew exactly what the sound meant—but she was afraid to pick up. Then she woke up with a jolt, covered in a cold sweat. It was 4 AM, and she could not get back to sleep.&”In A Call at 4 AM, Israel&’s top political journalist, Amit Segal, takes you inside the moments when history was decided in real time. From Golda Meir&’s sleepless nights before the Yom Kippur War to Benjamin Netanyahu&’s power struggles during missile attacks, Segal uncovers the untold stories of war rooms, last-minute deals, and the relentless pressure of governing a country that never knows a quiet day.Through gripping storytelling and unprecedented access, Segal reveals how Israel&’s leaders navigate wars, terror waves, and global crises—while constantly fighting for their own political survival. What happens behind closed doors when a prime minister must decide whether to strike Iran? How do backroom betrayals and coalition battles shape military decisions? And why, in Israel, is every political crisis also a national emergency?Witty, fast-paced, and packed with revelations, A Call at 4 AM is the closest you&’ll ever get to standing in the prime minister&’s shoes when the phone rings—and the fate of Israel is on the line.
Advances in Swarm Intelligence: 16th International Conference on Swarm Intelligence, ICSI 2025, Yokohama, Japan, July 11–15, 2025, Proceedings, Part II (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #16012)
by Ying Tan Yuhui ShiThis two-volume set LNCS 16011 and 16012 constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Advances in Swarm Intelligence, ICSI 2025, held in Yokohama, Japan, during July 11-15, 2025. The 54 revised full papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 116 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Particle Swarm Optimization; Swarm Optimization Algorithms; Swarm of Large Language Models; Agent and Multi-agents; Vehicle Routing; Multiobjective Optimization; Approaches for Classification and Feature Selection; Prediction and Detection Algorithms; Machine Learning.
Radiation Tolerant Nyquist Analog to Digital Converters (Synthesis Lectures on Engineering, Science, and Technology)
by Paul Leroux Zheyi Li Laurent BertiThis book presents the detailed design considerations and techniques for radiation-tolerant (RT) Nyquist analog-to-digital converters (ADC). It begins with the fundamental radiation effects in space and its consequences in modern CMOS technology. Next, radiation effects on ADCs from the transistor level to the architectural level are examined and a detailed design tradeoffs and strategies for radiation-tolerant ADCs are described. The theory and hardening techniques are supported by measurement data from a high-performance RT-ADC prototype chip. Two important flows, which are a technology evaluation flow and an RT IC design flow, are also covered, in order to give a complete overview on how to achieve an effective RT circuits design.
Sprachliche Bildung im Fach Philosophie: Begründung und Entwicklung eines integrativen Konzepts sprachsensiblen Philosophierens (Philosophische Bildung in Schule und Hochschule)
by Kerstin Gregor-GehrmannDieses Open-Access-Buch ist der Entwicklung eines systematischen Konzepts sprachsensiblen Philosophierens gewidmet. Seit einigen Jahren besteht Konsens, dass sprachliche Bildung Aufgabe eines jeden Unterrichtfaches ist. Innerhalb der Philosophiedidaktik wird dies bislang allerdings kaum berücksichtigt, obwohl – oder vielleicht gerade weil – das Arbeiten mit und an Sprache seit jeher zentral für die Disziplin der Philosophie ist. Die Autorin bestimmt zunächst sprachphilosophisch und bildungsethisch, wie ein sprachsensibler Philosophieunterricht angesichts der sprachlichen Anforderungen und Besonderheiten des Faches angelegt sein kann und sollte. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird die damit verbundene Forschungslücke geschlossen, methodische Möglichkeiten eines solchen kritisch sprachsensiblen Philosophierens auf Basis sprach- und fachwissenschaftlicher Vorarbeiten herzuleiten. In diesem Sinne werden sogenannte (hermeneutisch-)phänomenologische sowie (sprach-)analytische Ansätze didaktisch transformiert. Die gewonnenen methodischen Prinzipien werden anschließend auf das Philosophieren mit Gedankenexperimenten angewandt und in Gestalt einer exemplarischen, methodisch wie sprachbildend integrativen Reihe für die Unterrichtspraxis nutzbar gemacht.
Asynchronous Many-Task Systems and Applications: Third International Workshop, WAMTA 2025, St. Louis, MO, USA, February 19–21, 2025, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15690)
by Thomas Herault Patrick Diehl George Bosilca Qinglei CaoThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Asynchronous Many-Task Systems and Applications, WAMTA 2025, held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA during February 19–21, 2025. The 13 full papers and 2 short papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 18 submissions. The WAMTA 2025 conference proceedings help developers, users, and proponents of these models and systems share experience, discuss how they meet the challenges posed by Exascale system architectures, and explore opportunities for increased performance, robustness, productivity, and full-system utilization.
Random Vibration and Spectrum Analysis
by Jimin Zhang Hechao ZhouThis book provides an in-depth exploration of random vibration and spectral analysis theory, while emphasizing the completeness of knowledge. It incorporates fundamental theories related to the book's content, drawing from various fields such as theoretical mechanics, material mechanics, mechanical vibration, and engineering mathematics. The focus is on studying and solving the problem of random vibration response analysis in mechanical systems, locomotives, vehicles, and other engineering disciplines.The content includes fundamentals of vibration, probability theory, random variables and random processes, spectral analysis, transfer characteristics of single-degree-of-freedom and multi-degree-of-freedom random vibrations, and random vibration of rail transit vehicles. The book also presents essential theories and methods such as integral transforms, correlation analysis of random vibrations, spectral analysis, random excitation-response analysis of linear systems, statistical characterization of random responses, and random vibration analysis.
Linear Algebra and Optimization for Machine Learning: A Textbook
by Charu C. AggarwalThis textbook is the second edition of the linear algebra and optimization book that was published in 2020. The exposition in this edition is greatly simplified as compared to the first edition. The second edition is enhanced with a large number of solved examples and exercises. A frequent challenge faced by beginners in machine learning is the extensive background required in linear algebra and optimization. One problem is that the existing linear algebra and optimization courses are not specific to machine learning; therefore, one would typically have to complete more course material than is necessary to pick up machine learning. Furthermore, certain types of ideas and tricks from optimization and linear algebra recur more frequently in machine learning than other application-centric settings. Therefore, there is significant value in developing a view of linear algebra and optimization that is better suited to the specific perspective of machine learning. It is common for machine learning practitioners to pick up missing bits and pieces of linear algebra and optimization via &“osmosis&” while studying the solutions to machine learning applications. However, this type of unsystematic approach is unsatisfying because the primary focus on machine learning gets in the way of learning linear algebra and optimization in a generalizable way across new situations and applications. Therefore, we have inverted the focus in this book, with linear algebra/optimization as the primary topics of interest, and solutions to machine learning problems as the applications of this machinery. In other words, the book goes out of its way to teach linear algebra and optimization with machine learning examples. By using this approach, the book focuses on those aspects of linear algebra and optimization that are more relevant to machine learning, and also teaches the reader how to apply them in the machine learning context. As a side benefit, the reader will pick up knowledge of several fundamental problems in machine learning. At the end of the process, the reader will become familiar with many of the basic linear-algebra- and optimization-centric algorithms in machine learning. Although the book is not intended to provide exhaustive coverage of machine learning, it serves as a &“technical starter&” for the key models and optimization methods in machine learning. Even for seasoned practitioners of machine learning, a systematic introduction to fundamental linear algebra and optimization methodologies can be useful in terms of providing a fresh perspective. The chapters of the book are organized as follows. 1-Linear algebra and its applications: The chapters focus on the basics of linear algebra together with their common applications to singular value decomposition, matrix factorization, similarity matrices (ker
Group Sequential and Confirmatory Adaptive Designs in Clinical Trials (Springer Series in Pharmaceutical Statistics)
by Gernot Wassmer Werner BrannathThis book provides an up-to-date review of the general principles and techniques of confirmatory adaptive designs, a generalization of group sequential designs. With these designs, interim analyses are performed in order to stop a trial prematurely under control of the Type I error rate. In adaptive designs, it is also permissible to perform a data-driven change of relevant aspects of the study design at interim stages. This includes, for example, a sample-size reassessment, a treatment-arm selection, or a selection of a pre-specified sub-population.First introduced in the 1990s, this popular adaptive methodology has become the focus of intense discussion and is still a rapidly growing field of statistical research. The book describes adaptive design methodology at an elementary level, while also considering design and planning issues. It also looks at methods for analyzing an adaptively planned trial, such as estimation methods and methods for determining an overall p-value. Part I provides the group sequential preliminaries required to understand and apply the adaptive design methodology supplied in Parts II and III. Many examples are included that illustrate the practical applications of the techniques. An overview of recent developments is given and, new to this edition, detailed descriptions of the R commands used for the calculations are provided. The R package rpact, which is available on CRAN, allows for the recalculation of most tables and results presented in the monograph. The required knowledge of R has been kept to a minimum, and an online Shiny app has been made available for rpact. Primarily written for applied statisticians from academia and industry who are interested in confirmatory adaptive designs, the text is also suitable for an advanced statistical course for applied statisticians or clinicians with a sound statistical background.
Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation: 35th International Symposium, LOPSTR 2025, Rende, Italy, September 9–10, 2025, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #16117)
by Santiago Escobar Laura TitoloThis volume constitutes the proceedings of 35th International Symposium on Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation, LOPSTR 2025, held in Rende, Italy, during September 9–10, 2025. The 17 full papers and 4 short paper included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 21 submissions. These papers cover all aspects of logic-based program development, all stages of the software life cycle, and issues of both programming-in-the-small and programming-in-the-large.
Document Analysis and Recognition – ICDAR 2025: 19th International Conference, Wuhan, China, September 16–21, 2025, Proceedings, Part I (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #16023)
by Daniel Lopresti Dimosthenis Karatzas Xu-Cheng YinThe 5-volume set LNCS 16023 - 16027 constitutes the proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition, ICDAR 2025, which took place in Wuhan, China, during September 2025. The total of 142 full papers included in the proceedings was carefully reviewed and selected from 314 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: Part I: Document Analysis; Handwriting Recognition; Document Synthesis, Multimodal Models for Document Understanding; NLP for Document Understanding; Part II: Historical Document Analysis; Trustworthy Document Analysis Methods and Documentation; Handwriting Recognition; Camera Based Methods and Font Analysis; Part III: Poster Papers; Part IV: Poster Papers; Part V: Poster Papers; Competitions.
Discourse: Research Program based on the Concept of Events to Overcome the Dichotomy between Discourse and Practice Theories
by Franka SchäferWith "Discourse: Event: Practice" the author presents a dynamic theoretical program for a discourse-theoretically informed sociology of practice oriented toward the concept of the event. She outlines the sociological relationship between the concepts of discourse, event, and practice, diagnoses their distorted relationship, and explains the dynamization of dichotomous conceptions as the guiding principle of her argumentation. Through a reconstruction of the discourse-theoretical foundations, the practical theoretical conditions, the situation of the method discussion, and the starting point of sociological protest research, she forms the basis of the research program and marks the question of the association of discourses and practices as a gap, which is elucidated using the example of protest research. The core of the book is a nuanced examination of the concept of event, developed from the influence of Foucault as a primary basis for transformation and translated into a concept of event that ensures a relationship between discourse and practice that overcomes dichotomies within a post-structuralist materialism. In addition, the potential of the program lies in the expansion of practice studies to include an explicit perspective on power and domination, illustrated through an analysis of the practices of resistance as exemplified by the Yippie Festival of Life.
Reflections on Probation: A Companion Resource for Developing Practitioners
by Jennifer Grant, Laura Haggar and Michelle McDermottReflective practice is at the heart of probation training and the continuing professional development of practitioners. This edited collection provides practitioners with an opportunity to explore and develop their own reflective practice, considering diversity and organisational challenges, with real-world examples of reflection in the probation context. In addition to probation specialists, its contributors include those from prison, third-sector organisations and mental health perspectives, to consider probation practice in different settings. Each chapter provides prompts for reflective development, so its ideas can be immediately applied in practice. It will equip the reader to develop their reflective practice skills, regardless of their level of experience.
Refugee Reception and Camps: Local and Global Perspectives (Global Migration and Social Change)
by Lucas Oesch and Léa LemaireAvailable open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This edited collection provides new insights into refugee reception and camps by focusing on the overlap between local and global dynamics in the governance of camps. Contributors examine how camps are (re)placed within their local contexts across regions including Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. They explore how local environments both influence, and are influenced by, global flows, networks and connections in the governance of refugee camps. By highlighting these interconnections, this volume provides valuable insights for scholars, policy makers and practitioners seeking to understand the complex realities of refugee camps around the world.
Cruel Moon: A Spicy Fated Mates Paranormal Romance (Colorado Pack Wars)
by Krystal ShannanAll&’s fair in love and Pack Wars…Two fated mates find themselves on opposite sides of the battle in this electrifying paranormal romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Krystal Shannan. Werewolf Sebastian Bast O'Connor is torn between loyalty to his pack and the fresh, haunting grief of losing a brother. But grief won&’t shield him from the bloodthirsty politics tearing through the pack—or the role he&’s forced to play. Bridget Winslow is a witch with fire in her veins and a knife at her back. She&’s been sent by Salem Court to hunt a rogue witch in Colorado. Failure isn&’t an option—not when her sister&’s life hangs in the balance. But when she meets Bast, her mission collides with something far more dangerous—a fated bond. Bast is sworn to protect the very person Bridget is bound to destroy. The pull between them is undeniable. The stakes? Devastating. And when Salem Court makes its next move, Bast must risk everything to protect the one woman fate has bound to him—his loyalty, his life…and his heart. Colorado Pack WarsBook 1: Ruthless MoonBook 2: Cruel Moon
The Sword of Light: A Novel
by Heather GrahamWill fabled objects of myth be enough to defend their emerald isle? The mystical Tuatha Dé Danann walked the hills of ancient Ireland long before the first Rí, or king, ever ruled the land. Before they stepped back to make way for mankind, they left behind objects of incredible power that would reveal themselves when most needed. When invaders from the North arrive, it feels like the moment that has long been foretold has finally come. Deidre, the daughter of a Rí, and Kylin, the son of a Northman who found peace and a home in Éire, have little in common, until they begin seeing visions of these fantastical gifts. The revelation that a traitor exists among the many Irish kings forces them to work together using their newfound powers in defense of their homeland. As all they hold dear comes under threat, it may be more than just dreams that the two begin to share…
The Man Next Door: A Novel
by Sheila Roberts"In this spunky nod to Rear Window, Roberts infuses a charming domestic comedy with a soupçon of suspicion. . . . a heartwarming diversion." –Publishers WeeklyLove in the Time of Serial Killers meets The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window in this delightful romp about a recently broke divorcee who moves in with her house-bound mother only to spend their days spying on her grumpy, mysterious, and sexy new neighbor.Zona never thought her life was headed this way, but here she is, newly divorced and moving back in with her mom, Louise. After her gambling addicted ex-husband lost all of their savings, including their daughter's college fund, she doesn't really have a choice. She's cutting every coupon she can and she's going to help put her daughter through nursing school, even if it kills her. This wasn't Louise's plan, either, laid up at home with a broken leg after one unfortunate tumble on the senior singles cruise she'd been looking forward to for months. But if she's going to spend all her time at home, at least she's got her daughter there with her. And there's some hot new eye candy next door to distract them both from their troubles. He appears to be single and just around Zona's age. Could his arrival be the universe making amends for everything it's put her through? Maybe the universe isn't feeling as generous as Louise hoped. There&’s something lurking under that mans surface charm, something…dangerous? And who's the woman they can hear him in all-out shouting matches with on the other side of the fence? When the woman seems to disappear without a trace, imaginations run wild. Or at least, Zona hopes it's just her mother's imagination...
A Scar in the Bone: A Novel (A Fire in the Sky Series #2)
by Sophie JordanMagic awakens. Darkness swells. A hero rises—and she’s ready to fight… New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan is back with an all-new epic romantasy set in the high-stakes world of A Fire in the Sky.It’s been a year since Tamsyn transformed. From royal whipping girl in the palace of Penterra to the bride of Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands. From the enemy in the Beast’s bed to the wife he sacrificed himself to save. From an ordinary girl...to a dragon. And not just any dragon—a powerful fire-breather...and the best hope to keep magic from flickering out forever.With Fell gone, torn from her side in the dangerous swirling mists of the Crags, Tamsyn is heartbroken and alone among the dragon pride. An unwelcome outsider still learning to survive in this fiery skin of hers within a new cutthroat society, she trains in the arena until her muscles burn and her blood spills. Slowly, Tamsyn forges herself into a warrior in the shadow of Fell’s enigmatic brother, Vetr, whose silver eyes track her with distrust...and maybe something more.But is Fell truly beyond her reach? Their bond pulls at her, as fiercely as the drive to protect both humans and dragonkind from the growing threat posed by Stig, once her closest friend, now a relentless enemy determined to hunt her down and destroy her—and with her, all things magic.Magic stirs in the darkness, strengthening all who believe in it. But will it be enough to save Tamsyn, the pride, the kingdom...and a fiery love fated to endure for centuries, as deep as a scar in the bone?
Intemperance: A Novel
by Sonora JhaIn this follow-up to the critically-acclaimed The Laughter—winner of the Washington State Book Award—a middle-aged woman starts a firestorm when she holds a contest, based on an ancient Indian ritual, in which men must compete to win her affections.A woman who has left two husbands announces she will celebrate her 55th birthday by holding a swayamvar. Drawn from an ancient custom in her Indian culture, this is an event in which suitors line up to compete in a feat of wills and strength to win a beautiful princess’s hand in marriage. The woman, a renowned and respected intellectual in an American town who had once declared she was “past such petty matters as love,” knows she is now setting herself up for widespread societal ridicule, but her self-esteem and sexual libido are off the charts even as her body withers from disability, fading beauty, and her appetite for cake. To her surprise, a cast of characters shows up to support her call—a wedding planner looking for the next enchanting thing, a disability rights activist making a documentary film, and even, begrudgingly, her own young adult son. The Men's Rights Movement protests her project, angry at her objectification of men. She is waylaid by visitations from goddesses and princesses past, who either try to slap sense into her or cheer her on. She must also reckon with a brutal love story in her ancestry that was endangered by the caste system—a story that placed a generational curse on those in the family who show an intemperance of spirit. As her whole plan spirals into a spectacle, the woman embarks on a journey to decide what feat her suitor must perform to be worthy of her wrinkling hand. What feat will define a newer, better masculinity? What feat will it take for her to trust in the tenderness of love? Intemperance is at once a satirical feminist folktale and a meditation on how we might reach past all sense and still find love.
The Secret Christmas Library: A Novel
by Jenny ColganA new holiday story set in the Scottish Highlands to warm booklovers’ hearts by Jenny Colgan, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop.Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate—if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home.But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting. She’s all too familiar with Theo’s good looks and smooth talk, and his uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s a treasure that needs locating.Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside. Mirren knows that Jamie’s grandfather, the castle’s most recent laird, had been a book collector, a hoarder, and a great lover of treasure hunts. Now they must unpuzzle his clues, discovering the secrets of the house—forming and breaking alliances in a race against time.A treat for booklovers and treasure hunters alike, The Secret Christmas Library serves up a delicious mystery with a hint of romance, and plenty of holiday spirit!
Against the Grain: Defiant Giants Who Changed the World
by Terry O'ReillyNew from the bestselling author and host of CBC Radio’s Under the Influence In Terry’s bestselling book, My Best Mistake, he uncovers the surprising power of screwing up. Now, he turns his incredible eye to the mavericks who go “against the grain” in their work to see what makes them tick and to explore what lessons we can learn from them. People who chose to ignore conventional wisdom, found or invented a better way, questioned the status quo at great sacrifice and pushed for change against all odds. Some were drummed out of their careers for it but in the end were proven right (Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis). Some were celebrated but had to fight every inch of the way (Norman Lear). Some re-invented their industry but preferred to stay an outsider (Tom Laughlin—aka Billy Jack). Some confounded their competitors with ingenious strategies (NHL coach Roger Neilson). One even saved millions of people around the world, but was humiliated, demoted, and dismissed for her entire career (Dr. Katalin Karikó—co-creator of the COVID vaccine). All persistent visionaries, each covered in battle scars.
Spent Bullets
by Terao TetsuyaSet in Taiwan and the Silicon Valley, a collection of linked stories that explore the meaning of success and the purpose of existence, centered on the short life and long shadow of an engineering genius who descends deeper into despair while rising higher on the professional ladder.The hard-working geniuses of Spent Bullets are the crème de la crème of the meritocracy. Educated in the best schools in Taiwan, they move to lucrative positions in America’s big tech, reaching the pinnacle of career prestige. Yet there is a dark side to their relentless focus and achievements.In an age that idolizes success, Terao Tetsuya’s piercing collection explores the grotesque contortions of psyches shaped by hyper-competitive systems, where the measure of one’s worth is a capacity for suffering—witnessed through the brief, shining life of Jie-Heng, a prodigy who can solve any logic problem—but not the problem of human relations. Jie-Heng mostly does what is expected of him, even if it means diminishing his individuality. A young man with no center to ground him, he tries to fit in, yet fails to connect because of other people’s fear, misunderstanding, resentment, and obsessive adoration.His most vital deviation is a perverse, longstanding relationship with Wu Yi-Hsiang, a tormentor turned lover who offers a thin tether to reality. Wu Yi-Hsiang is fascinated by Jie-Heng’s intellect and, with his own anxious need to please, carefully tends to Jie-Heng's desire for debasement. When Jie-Heng’s yearning to embrace the void is tragically realized, he leaves behind a host of unanswered questions, complicated feelings, and cohorts who carry his memory like a bullet in a glass case that will never tarnish.A searing look at our time and culture, Terao Tetsuya exposes the absurdity of striving: to make money, to be a better person, to be someone you're not. With cool, calculating precision, he illuminates the promise and peril of gifted young people who patiently bear the burdens of their fate.Translated from Chinese by Kevin Wang
The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto: The True Story of Five Courageous Young Women Who Sparked an Uprising
by Elizabeth R. HymanA Holocaust historian, archivist, and history blogger adds a new dimension to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II, shining a long overdue spotlight on five young, Polish Jewish women—champions who helped lead the resistance, sabotage the Nazis, and aid Jews in hiding across occupied Poland and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is one of the most storied events of the Holocaust, yet previous accounts of have almost entirely focused on its male participants. In The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto, Holocaust historian Elizabeth Hyman introduces five young, courageous Polish Jewish women—known as “the girls” by the leadership of the resistance and “bandits” by their Nazi oppressors—who were central to the Jewish resistance as fighters, commanders, couriers, and smugglers. They include:Zivia Lubetkin, the most senior female member of the Jewish Fighting Organization Command Staff in Warsaw and a reluctant legend in her own time, who was immortalized by her code name, "Celina"Vladka Meed, who smuggled dynamite into and illegal literature out of the Warsaw Ghetto in preparation for the uprisingDr. Idina “Inka” Blady-Schweiger, a young medical student who became a reluctant angel of mercyTema Schneiderman, a tall, beautiful and fearless young woman who volunteered for smuggling and rescue missions across Nazi-occupied Eastern EuropeTossia Altman, a heroic courier with a poetic soul, who helped bring arms into the Warsaw Ghetto, fought in the Uprising, and ferried communiques to the outside worldInterspersed with the stories of other Jewish women who resisted, The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto rescues these women from the shadows of time, bringing to light their resilience, bravery, and cunning in the face of unspeakable hardship—inspiring stories of courage, daring, and resistance that must never be forgotten.