The Silver Linings Playbook

A New York Times bestseller, The Silver Linings Playbook was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It tells the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife's betrayal. During the years he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy. When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this year's Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their "contract." All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining. In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.

Amber Appleton lives in a bus. Ever since her mom's boyfriend kicked them out, Amber, her mom, and her totally loyal dog, Bobby Big Boy (aka Thrice B) have been camped out in the back of Hello Yellow (the school bus her mom drives). Still, Amber, the self-proclaimed princess of hope and girl of unyielding optimism, refuses to sweat the bad stuff. But when a fatal tragedy threatens Amber's optimism--and her way of life, can Amber continue to be the rock star of hope? With an oddball cast of characters, and a heartwarming, inspiring story, this novel unveils a beautifully beaten-up world of laughs, loyalty, and hard-earned hope. The world is Amber's stage, and Amber is, well...she's sorta like a rock star. True? True.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook. 'Brilliant . . . compulsively readable . . . Love May Fail is as wholly transporting as any cinematic experience' GQ Portia Kane has escaped her cheating husband only to find herself back at square one, living with her mum in a place she thought she'd left behind forever. Lost and alone, looking to find the goodness she believes still exists in the world, Portia sets off to save herself by saving someone else - a beloved high school English teacher who has retired after a traumatic incident. Can Chuck, the handsome brother of Portia's old school friend, together with a sassy nun and a metal-head little boy, help Portia's chances in her bid for renewed hope in the human race? Moving and funny, Love May Fail by Matthew Quick is about the heartache and daring choices it takes to become the person you know deep down you are meant to be.

Nanette O'Hare is an unassuming teen who has played the role of dutiful daughter, hardworking student, and star athlete for as long as she can remember. But when a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bubblegum Reaper--a mysterious, out-of-print cult classic--the rebel within Nanette awakens. As she befriends the reclusive author, falls in love with a young but troubled poet, and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that rebellion sometimes comes at a high price. A celebration of the self and the formidable power of story, Every Exquisite Thing is Matthew Quick at his finest.

Crossing genres of films, this book contains movies that have lessons in them as a way of finding insights into daily life. While other critics summarize a film, focus on the amount of profanity and nudity it contains, and decide whether it's worthwhile to watch, Herbert Cohen takes a different tactic and views films as life lessons. This collection of meaningful films, with inspiring and emotional stories that help understand the plight of others, provides new ways to approach self-growth.

Experts agree: The turbulence triggered by the economic shock of 2008 constitutes the "new normal." Unfortunately, too many managers have become paralyzed by it, capable only of slashing costs indiscriminately. Though examining spending during recessions makes sense, the smartest executives do much more. As Scott Anthony reveals in The Silver Lining, these leaders continue innovating--by stopping ineffective initiatives, changing key business processes, and starting more productive behaviors. Result? Their companies emerge from downturns stronger than ever. Providing a wealth of ideas, tools, and examples from diverse industries, Anthony explains how to safeguard your company's profitability during even the toughest recessions. You'll discover how to: -Prune your innovation and business portfolio to liberate resources for more promising initiatives - Adopt a radical new market-segmentation scheme that helps you re-feature your offerings to reduce costs while delivering new value to customers - Reinvent your innovation process to drive fresh growth - Mitigate innovation risks by conducting strategic experiments and forging alliances with customers and other external entities - Appeal to increasingly value-conscious customers to fend off low-cost attackers In today's brutal economic climate, executives must pare costs to the bone while planting and nurturing seeds for tomorrow's growth. The Silver Lining explains how to master this seemingly impossible challenge.

New scientific research shows how the ADHD gene has been critical to humanity’s development for 40,000 years • Shows how artists, inventors, and innovators carry the gene necessary for the future survival of humanity| • Explains why children with the Edison gene are so often mislabeled in our public schools as having ADHD • By the creator of the “hunter/farmer hypothesis” of ADHD Thomas Edison was thrown out of school for behavior that today would label him as having ADHD, but his mother understood how to salvage his self-esteem and prepare him for a lifetime of success. The quick-thinking and impulsive characteristics of what we term ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) are not signs of a disorder at all, but rather are parts of a highly adaptive and useful skill set that served our hunting and gathering ancestors very well. In The Edison Gene Thom Hartmann shows that these characteristics have also been critical to the survival and development of our modern civilization and will be vital and necessary as humanity faces new challenges in the future. Hartmann, creator of the “hunter/farmer hypothesis” of ADHD, examines the latest discoveries confirming the existence of an ADHD gene and the earth-wide catastrophe 40,000 years ago that may well have triggered its development. Citing examples of significant innovators of our modern era, he argues that the brains of the children who possess the Edison gene are wired to give them brilliant success as innovators, inventors, explorers, and entrepreneurs, but that those same qualities often cause them problems in the context of our public schools. Hartmann offers concrete strategies for helping Edison-gene children to reach their full potential and shows that rather than being “problems,” they are an important and vital gift to our society and world.