My Tiny Life

Tiny but mighty! A ruby throated hummingbird tells his own life story in this funny, bright, informative entry to the critically acclaimed Nature Diary science series. May 15: Today I poked my way out of this tiny egg. With Mom feeding him insects and nectar, Ruby T. Hummingbird is soon able to beat his wings and fly--up, down, backward, and forward--and forage for himself. But don't be fooled! This elegant creature can turn into a fierce fighter if another hummingbird tries to feed on his flower--or his hummingbird feeder. June 21: This flower is MINE! No you don't. A second test of his strength comes when he migrates to a warmer climate in the fall and a cooler climate in the spring. March 1, 5 a.m.: I'm off! Wish me luck. Children will love poring over the bright, highly detailed illustrations and pondering ideas about nature. The book includes a glossary and further information in the back of the book. Both art and text have been vetted for accuracy by an expert. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Don't miss the other books in The Nature Diary Series! Each one explores the life cycle of an animal in dated journal entries, showing young readers how they grow and change through the seasons-- and offering a few laughs, too! Brightly illustrated and vetted by experts, Paul Meisel's books are a perfect introduction to your backyard neighbors. My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis: CCBC Best-of-the-Year List, AAAS /Subaru Finalist, Leaping Lizards Top 10 Read-alouds, SCIENCE Best Books for Curious Kids, Virginia Readers' Choices My Happy Year by E. Bluebird: A Junior Library Guild Selection My Stinky Summer by S. Bug: A Junior Library Guild Selection

When her marriage suddenly ends, and a diary documenting her beloved Opa’s escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands in the summer of 1942 is discovered, Naomi Lewis decides to retrace his journey to freedom. Travelling alone from Amsterdam to Lyon, she discovers family secrets and her own narrative as a second-generation Jewish Canadian. With vulnerability, humour, and wisdom, Lewis’s memoir asks tough questions about her identity as a secular Jew, the accuracy of family stories, and the impact of the Holocaust on subsequent generations.

TechGnosis is a cult classic of media studies that straddles the line between academic discourse and popular culture; it appeals to both those secular and spiritual, to fans of cyberpunk and hacker literature and culture as much as new-thought adherents and spiritual seekers How does our fascination with technology intersect with the religious imagination? In TechGnosis—a cult classic now updated and reissued with a new afterword—Erik Davis argues that while the realms of the digital and the spiritual may seem worlds apart, esoteric and religious impulses have in fact always permeated (and sometimes inspired) technological communication. Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online roleplaying games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.

You’re never too small to be a part of God’s big plan! Starlet is the smallest star in the sky, much too small to ever be seen by anyone on earth. Though she wants to twinkle and sparkle like the other stars around her, it doesn’t seem like it will ever be possible, even though the wise, old moon assures her it will be so. One night, Starlet begins to fall to earth . . . and there she finds that even the smallest stars can play a big role. This inspiring story alongside bright illustrations, will touch both parents and children alike. The Tiny Star teaches your child that even the most unassuming people, like a little baby born in a manger, can go on to play the biggest roles imaginable.

Millions of people around the world today spend portions of their lives in online virtual worlds. Second Life is one of the largest of these virtual worlds. The residents of Second Life create communities, buy property and build homes, go to concerts, meet in bars, attend weddings and religious services, buy and sell virtual goods and services, find friendship, fall in love--the possibilities are endless, and all encountered through a computer screen. At the time of its initial publication in 2008, Coming of Age in Second Life was the first book of anthropology to examine this thriving alternate universe. Tom Boellstorff conducted more than two years of fieldwork in Second Life, living among and observing its residents in exactly the same way anthropologists traditionally have done to learn about cultures and social groups in the so-called real world. He conducted his research as the avatar "Tom Bukowski," and applied the rigorous methods of anthropology to study many facets of this new frontier of human life, including issues of gender, race, sex, money, conflict and antisocial behavior, the construction of place and time, and the interplay of self and group. Coming of Age in Second Life shows how virtual worlds can change ideas about identity and society. Bringing anthropology into territory never before studied, this book demonstrates that in some ways humans have always been virtual, and that virtual worlds in all their rich complexity build upon a human capacity for culture that is as old as humanity itself. Now with a new preface in which the author places his book in light of the most recent transformations in online culture, Coming of Age in Second Life remains the classic ethnography of virtual worlds.

The world's leading expert on habit formation shows how you can have a happier, healthier life: by starting small. Myth: Change is hard. Reality: Change can be easy if you know the simple steps of Behavior Design. Myth: It's all about willpower. Reality: Willpower is fickle and finite, and exactly the wrong way to create habits. Myth: You have to make a plan and stick to it. Reality: You transform your life by starting small and being flexible. BJ FOGG is here to change your life--and revolutionize how we think about human behavior. Based on twenty years of research and Fogg's experience coaching more than 40,000 people, Tiny Habits cracks the code of habit formation. With breakthrough discoveries in every chapter, you'll learn the simplest proven ways to transform your life. Fogg shows you how to feel good about your successes instead of bad about your failures. Already the habit guru to companies around the world, Fogg brings his proven method to a global audience for the first time. Whether you want to lose weight, de-stress, sleep better, or be more productive each day, Tiny Habits makes it easy to achieve.