Books
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Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made
NATIONAL BESTSELLER"The stories in this book make for a fascinating and remarkably complete pantheon of just about every common despair and every joy related to game development." -- Rami Ismail, cofounder of Vlambeer and developer of Nuclear ThroneDeveloping video games--hero's journey or fool's errand? The creative and technical logistics that go into building today's hottest games can be more harrowing and complex than the games themselves, often seeming like an endless maze or a bottomless abyss. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier takes readers on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius. Exploring the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and Donkey Kong-sized monkey wrenches thrown into the works by corporate, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels reveals how bringing any game to completion is more than Sisyphean--it's nothing short of miraculous.Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man's vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings--even as it nearly ripped their studio apart.Documenting the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a journey through development hell--and ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable.
$18.99
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Bloodmarked
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller! "Deonn expertly weaves together a universe that both shines a light on the pervasive nature of racism and also harnesses the complexity of Black identity within this space. Deonn writes so much more than simple fantasies or Arthurian retellings." --Booklist (starred review) The "worthy successor to an explosive debut" (Kirkus Reviews)--the New York Times bestselling and award-winning Legendborn--perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Margaret Rogerson! The shadows have risen, and the line is law. All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother's death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur's knights--only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new: A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion. But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped. Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won't let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected. When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree's powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can't escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death. If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first--without losing herself in the process.
$24.99 $19.99
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Blossoming Upward
Blossoming Upward is a step-by-step account of one man following an extraordinary spiritual teacher, becoming a disciple and the miraculous ways this can transform a person. His story moves from the Bronx to India and on to Greece, Afghanistan, and Hawaii; from student activist to chiropractor; and from swami to husband and father. At every step, Steven Auerbach felt drawn, as if led by an invisible hand to his next adventure.This is the story of a man who, through a regimen of service and meditation, realizes the fundamental teaching that God exists in every human heart-and who later seeks to apply this truth in his family life and his work as a doctor. It is a story of spiritual integration.
$26.99 $21.99
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Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Big Oil and Gas Versus Democracy--Winner Take All "A rollickingly well-written book, filled with fascinating, exciting, and alarming stories about the impact of the oil and gas industry on the world today."--The New York Times Book Review In 2010, the words "earthquake swarm" entered the lexicon in Oklahoma. That same year, a trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia--including his iconic crystal-encrusted white glove--was sold at auction for over $1 million to a guy who was, officially, just the lowly forestry minister of the tiny nation of Equatorial Guinea. And in 2014, revolutionaries in Ukraine raided the palace of their ousted president and found a zoo of peacocks, gilded toilets, and a floating restaurant modeled after a Spanish galleon. Unlikely as it might seem, there is a thread connecting these events, and Rachel Maddow follows it to its crooked source: the unimaginably lucrative and equally corrupting oil and gas industry. With her trademark black humor, Maddow takes us on a switchback journey around the globe, revealing the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas along the way, and drawing a surprising conclusion about why the Russian government hacked the 2016 U.S. election. She deftly shows how Russia's rich reserves of crude have, paradoxically, stunted its growth, forcing Vladimir Putin to maintain his power by spreading Russia's rot into its rivals, its neighbors, the West's most important alliances, and the United States. Chevron, BP, and a host of other industry players get their star turn, most notably ExxonMobil and the deceptively well-behaved Rex Tillerson. The oil and gas industry has weakened democracies in developed and developing countries, fouled oceans and rivers, and propped up authoritarian thieves and killers. But being outraged at it is, according to Maddow, "like being indignant when a lion takes down and eats a gazelle. You can't really blame the lion. It's in her nature." Blowout is a call to contain the lion: to stop subsidizing the wealthiest businesses on earth, to fight for transparency, and to check the influence of the world's most destructive industry and its enablers. The stakes have never been higher. As Maddow writes, "Democracy either wins this one or disappears."
$20.00
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Blue Lock 22
A mad young coach gathers soccer players from across the country to compete in a series of bizarre challenges in a high-tech colosseum he calls Blue Lock. It's a no-balls-barred battle to become Japan's next top striker, in this Squid Game-meets-World Cup manga, now available in print! Anime airing now! COULD YOU REKINDLE YOUR DREAM? Manshine City's early lead evaporated following two goals from Kaiser and Kunigami. Meanwhile, Isagi discovered a new "golden formula" by combining Kaiser's "meta vision" with his direct shots. The question is, can he translate that into his own goal and finally get revenge on Kaiser? On the other side of the pitch, Nagi approaches Reo with an unexpected proposition. Can the on-again, off-again friends join forces to defeat Isagi and Bastard München?
$12.99
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Blue Opening: Poems
Blue Opening, Chet'la Sebree's brilliant, illuminating poetry collection, grapples with origins--of illness, of language, of the universe--as the speaker contemplates whether she, too, can be a site of origin through motherhood. Navigating chronic health challenges alongside grief and questions about the nature of knowledge and religion, she searches personal history and the cosmos for answers to the unknowable. With startling clarity and vivid tenderness, Blue Opening calls into question not only where to begin, but how to create, across thirty-two poems that press the fluid boundaries of form through sonnets, prose poems, odes, and two unforgettable poetic sequences. As the speaker traverses loss, possibility, and the choice, or often the lack of choice, in the direction of her future, she determines to press forward even as she is "unsure of what shape this language should take / and hulling, from blue rock, faith."
$18.00
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Blue Zones Kitchen One Pot Meals: 100 Recipes to Live to 100
This mouthwatering cookbook features 100 quick and easy one-pot and one-pan plant-based recipes inspired by the blue zones, many made in 30 minutes or less. The #1 New York Times best-selling author and Emmy-winning host of Netflix's Live to 100 helps busy home cooks boost their longevity with researched-based, easy-to-find healthy ingredients. After more than 20 years spent uncovering the secrets of the blue zones--the happiest and healthiest places around the world--Dan Buettner puts the lessons he's learned into practice with 100 research-backed recipes designed to boost your longevity. Inside you'll find easier-than-ever plant-based breakfasts, dinners, snacks, and sides inspired by the blue zones, with grocery store-available ingredients and made with flavors Americans love best, including: A protein-packed Tex-Mex Breakfast Skillet The perfect crunchy snack: Crispy Roasted Chickpeas Good-for-the-soul Creamy White Bean and Tomato Soup A twist on a classic: a Deluxe Blue Zones Minestrone Veggie-loaded Spanakopita Pasta Crowd-pleasing Southern Style Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu with Sweet Corn and Green Beans An easy Slow Cooker Bourguignon No-Bake Peanut Butter and Honey Cookie Bites Written with busy households in mind, these one pot, one pan, or one baking sheet recipes enable you to eat like the world's longest-lived people without spending hours in the kitchen. Perfect for busy families, health-minded home cooks, culinary enthusiasts, and anyone interested in eating the Blue Zones way, this is a cookbook that will change your diet--and your life.
$35.00
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Book of Life
Peter Kingsley's Book of Life is the culmination and completion of an extraordinary body of work. As a historian he has revolutionized our understanding of ancient philosophy and religion; as a mystic, he introduced us to what philosophy and religion are meant to be.Hauntingly personal, almost autobiographical, this is not the story of one man's life. It's the secret story of us all. Beyond scepticism and cynicism, belief or imagination, A Book of Life offers a roadmap to reality by showing how it still is possible to experience the sacred truths our ancestors knew and lived -- that inside every human being lies the universe and that life itself, in all its splendour, is what lies behind our tiny lives.This little book is a wide open door into the timeless magic and unfathomable mystery our modern world has managed to forget. Even so, to encourage anyone to read it now would be totally wrong -- because it was written to be read not by people today but in a distant future.
$44.95 $39.95
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Book of Margery Kempe
Here is an illuminating modern English translation of The Book of Margery Kempe. With its comprehensive endnotes and indices, this volume takes account of the most recent findings in the field of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century affective devotion. While there are a number of articles and chapters in books, theses, and dissertations on various aspects of Margery Kempe's spirituality, this translation presents a synthesis of Margery's many diverse spiritual practices, contextualizing these in time to such inspirational early thirteenth-century texts as the Ancrene Wisse, as well as transnationally to her contemporary mulieres religiosae, who often formed their identities as they remained in the world, living as devout laywomen across Europe. Luke Penkett's introduction provides a scholarly yet accessible way to The Book of Margery Kempe. Luke Penkett is a prolific writer with over ten books published, in addition to many articles, and innumerable reviews in several international academic journals. He is currently the honorary secretary of the Margery Kempe Society, curator of the Margery Kempe Collection at King's Lynn Minster (known in Margery's day as St. Margaret's), and book reviews editor for the journal Medieval Mystical Theology. +
$54.95 $49.95
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Bookseller in Madrid
How can the words of the past help heal the horror of the present?For as long as she can remember, Barbara Spiel has always found solace in books. Born in Germany and having come of age in a tumultuous era, she flees her home country as the Nazis rise to power in the early 1930s. Her destination? Madrid. There she's determined to realize her long-held dream of opening a bookshop and creating a safe haven for young idealists and independent thinkers to come together to transform the world.Yet Spain isn't immune from its own troubles. The winds of change are blowing through both city and countryside, and it's impossible to predict what will happen. When the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War puts Barbara and everyone around her in peril--including the Spanish Socialist parliamentarian she's fallen deeply in love with--the terror and hatred seem all too familiar. It's like Germany all over again, only with its own cast of extremist characters.Hounded simultaneously by Stalinist checas, Francoist Facists, and the German Gestapo, Barbara fights to keep her bookstore the safe haven that she's always imagined it would be. But with war brewing both inside Spain and outside its borders throughout the entirety of Europe--and beyond--Barbara isn't sure who exactly she can trust, or if people really are who they claim to be.A story told with tremendous heart and astonishing historical accuracy, A Bookseller in Madrid is ultimately a story about dreams--dreaming with courage when nothing seems to make sense, and dreaming with hope when words printed on a page are all you can hold on to.
$37.99 $32.99
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Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, a Grateful Son, and My Journey with Autism
In a world quick to label, judge, and box in people, one father and son stood firm and refused to be defined by an autism diagnosis.If you're channel surfing and happen upon Leland Vittert during his nightly national cable show on NewsNation, he comes off as a poised journalist prying nuggets from guests. If you watched him for years as an anchor at Fox News Channel, you saw him on the battlefields of the Middle East, the anchor desk, and the White House North Lawn. No one, including friends and co-workers, has ever known his full life story and how miraculous it was to get to that point.Leland was a socially awkward boy who didn't speak for years, and when he finally did, teachers and leaders declared him "weird." His unique behavior and inability to connect with his peers made him a frequent target for bullying and exclusion. In one particularly harsh moment, a school principal bluntly told his parents, "The people here think Leland is pretty weird. I guess I do, too." Those words felt like being shot with an arrow, as his parents sat in stunned silence, grappling with their own fears and uncertainties for their son's future.From a young age, Leland showed signs of being Autistic, a term rarely used at the time, struggling with social cues, communication, and behavioral norms that came naturally to other kids. The diagnosis didn't deter his father, Mark. He knew the world wouldn't change for Leland, so he quit his job and began changing Leland for the world. He became a full-time parent-coach, training Leland and teaching him the skills he needed to navigate in society. Simple concepts like eye contact, understanding humor, and instilling motivations had to be taught painstakingly. From hundreds of pushups at age 7 to toughen him against bullies, to coaching him through complex social interactions, Mark's relentless dedication changed the trajectory of Leland's life.Born Lucky offers an intimate look into their inspiring journey. Leland lays bare his experiences of the crushing bullying during middle and high school, the sting of rejection continuing into college, and his ultimate transformation into an esteemed journalist. But above all, this book is a love letter from a grateful son, who despite his diagnosis, trusted his father and defied all odds.It offers hope to every parent and every child who is grappling with their own unique challenges, to be inspired to break labels, tear down the walls that society builds, and create a better future.
$29.99
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Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Writers of Color
From Denne Michele Norris and Electric Literature, a vital anthology of essays by trans and gender-nonconforming writers of color, sharing stories of joy, heartbreak, rage, and self-discovery.Featuring seventeen essays by trans people of color--spanning writers, scientists, actors, activists, and drag queens--Both/And explores what it means to live as a trans or gender nonconforming person of color today.Acclaimed authors Akwaeke Emezi, Tanaïs, and Meredith Talusan share their stories alongside activist and organizer Raquel Willis and RuPaul's Drag Race star Peppermint, as well as a host of rising literary talent. Each story is told with honesty, authenticity, and beauty. A nonbinary molecular biologist has nightmares about their estranged father transitioning. A writer revisits a casual hook-up when she discovered her womanhood. And a woman vacations with her wife in Hawaii, where she gets in touch with the fire goddess within. These stories depict real trans lives from trans points of view, at a time when these perspectives are most urgent and valuable.Inspired by Electric Literature's groundbreaking series and edited by the first Black, openly trans editor-in-chief of a major literary publication, Both/And uplifts and amplifies stories of queer joy, heartbreak, rage, and self-discovery.
$27.99
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