Serious

This is a very serious book. Nothing silly is allowed. There are no funny faces, no clowns, and definitely no shenanigans. A serious book is always respectful, and, of course, is always in black and white. But wait! Who’s this? Zebra might be black and white, but he is NOT serious. And he and his friends are ruining the book with their antics, parades, and parties! This funny and irreverent book that pits its narrator against its characters in a hilarious way invites reader participation and encourages kids to think about writing their own books and stories—just as donkey does here in the end. A joyful page-turner of a book that celebrates writing and creativity and will appeal to fans of The Book With No Pictures.

'Extraordinary' Naoise Dolan 'Seriously good' Louise Nealon Dublin student life is ending for Sophie and her friends. They’ve got everything figured out, and Sophie feels left behind as they all start to go their separate ways. Then, at a party, what was already unstable completely falls apart and Sophie finds herself obsessively scrolling social media, waiting for something (anything) to happen. None of This Is Serious is about the uncertainty and absurdity of being alive today. It’s about balancing the real world with the online, and the vulnerabilities in yourself, your relationships, your body. At its heart, this is a novel about the friendships strong enough to withstand anything.

Since 2001 William Germano's Getting It Published has helped thousands of scholars develop a compelling book proposal, find the right academic publisher, evaluate a contract, handle the review process, and, finally, emerge as published authors. But a lot has changed in the past seven years. With the publishing world both more competitive and mor...

A New York Times Bestseller Winner of the James Beard Award for General Cooking and the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award "The one book you must have, no matter what you’re planning to cook or where your skill level falls."—New York Times Book Review Ever wondered how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that's perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it? How to make homemade mac 'n' cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? How to roast a succulent, moist turkey (forget about brining!)—and use a foolproof method that works every time? As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new—but simple—techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

"Wendy Lesser's extraordinary alertness, intelligence, and curiosity have made her one of America's most significant cultural critics," writes Stephen Greenblatt. In Why I Read, Lesser draws on a lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing one of the most distinguished literary magazines in the country, The Threepenny Review, to describe her love of literature. As Lesser writes in her prologue, "Reading can result in boredom or transcendence, rage or enthusiasm, depression or hilarity, empathy or contempt, depending on who you are and what the book is and how your life is shaping up at the moment you encounter it." Here the reader will discover a definition of literature that is as broad as it is broad-minded. In addition to novels and stories, Lesser explores plays, poems, and essays along with mysteries, science fiction, and memoirs. As she examines these works from such perspectives as "Character and Plot," "Novelty," "Grandeur and Intimacy," and "Authority," Why I Read sparks an overwhelming desire to put aside quotidian tasks in favor of reading. Lesser's passion for this pursuit resonates on every page, whether she is discussing the book as a physical object or a particular work's influence. "Reading literature is a way of reaching back to something bigger and older and different," she writes. "It can give you the feeling that you belong to the past as well as the present, and it can help you realize that your present will someday be someone else's past. This may be disheartening, but it can also be strangely consoling at times." A book in the spirit of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Elizabeth Hardwick's A View of My Own, Why I Read is iconoclastic, conversational, and full of insight. It will delight those who are already avid readers as well as neophytes in search of sheer literary fun.

Libby's father is a drunk, her mum wouldn't know the meaning of home cooking if it landed in her lap and her brother's in trouble with the police - but none of this matters, as Zack is interested in HER, not her home-life. But just as things are working out on the boy front, Libby's family lose their home, and have to move in with their gran. Libby has to start a new school, give up her plans for Zack, and leave her best friend Nadine behind. But slowly she discovers there really IS a silver lining to every grey cloud - and there's plenty to fall in love with in her new home: her gran's cooking, the school outsider who stands up to the bullies, and the deadbeat boy who wants to show her the beauty of the desert...

A no-holds-barred, intimate memoir by John McEnroe—the bad boy of professional tennis. John McEnroe stunned the tennis elite when he came out of nowhere to make the Wimbledon semifinals at the age of eighteen—and just a few years later, he was ranked number one in the world. You Cannot Be Serious is McEnroe at his most personal, an intimate examination of Johnny Mac, the kid from Queens, and his “wild ride” through the world of professional tennis at a boom time when players were treated like rock stars. In this “bracing serve-and-volley autobiography” (The Boston Globe) he candidly explores the roots of his famous on-court explosions; his ambivalence toward the sport that made him famous; his adventures (and misadventures) on the road; his views of colleagues from Connors to Borg to Lendl; his opinions of contemporary tennis; his marriages to actress Tatum O'Neal and pop star Patty Smyth; and his roles as husband, father, senior tour player, and often-controversial commentator.

"Kal Penn's unlikely career arc has taken him from nerdy American kid from an immigrant family in the New York suburb of Montclair, New Jersey, to world-famous actor, to White House staffer under President Obama, and back to actor again. Now, in You Can't Be Serious, he reflects on the most ridiculous, offensive, and rewarding moments that have stood out during his journey. With intelligence, humor, and charm on every page, Penn explores what it means to be the embodiment of the American Dream, as the child of immigrant parents who came to this country with very little, and who never expected to see their son get his big break by sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in a raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie. He also pulls back the curtain on racism in Hollywood and the constant reminders that he would never fit in. And of course, he reveals how, after twenty-five years fighting for success in Hollywood, he made the terrifying but rewarding decision to walk away from it all for a career in politics. Above all, You Can't Be Serious shows that everyone can have more than one life story. Penn bravely demonstrates by example that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you. It's a story about struggle, triumph, and learning how to keep your head up. And okay, yes, it's also about whether Kal really smoked weed in the White House with the former First Lady--because let's be honest, that's what you really want to know"--