The hilarious #1 New York Times bestseller: Erma Bombeck’s take on marriage and family life is “fun from cover to cover” (Hartford Courant). Ever since she was a child, Er ma Bombeck has been an expert worrier, and married life has only honed that skill. She gets anxious about running out of ball bearings; about snakes sneaking in through the pipes; about making meaningful conversation on New Year’s Eve. Married life, she realizes, is an unpredictable saga even when you know exactly how loud your husband snores every night—and she wouldn’t have it any other way. In this crisp collection of essays, Bombeck shows off the irresistible style that made her one of America’s favorite humorists for more than three decades. When she sharpens her wit, no family member is sacred and no self-help fad is safe. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erma Bombeck including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.

"See if you can read a paragraph without laughing out loud." Art Buchwald The enchanting lady of laughter has done it again--this time taking a hilarious swipe at husbands, honeymoons, tennis elbow, marriage, lettuce, the national anthem, and a host of other domestic dilemmas. "It's fun from cover to cover." THE HARTFORD COURANT

Donald Harington, best known for his fifteen novels, was also a prolific writer of essays, articles, and book reviews. The Guestroom Novelist: A Donald Harington Miscellany gathers a career-spanning and eclectic selection of nonfiction by the Arkansawyer novelist Donald Harington that reveals how a life of devastating losses and disappointments inspired what the Boston Globe called the “quirkiest, most original body of work in contemporary US letters.” This extensive collection of interviews and other works of prose—many of which are previously unpublished—offers glimpses into Harington’s life, loves, and favorite obsessions, replays his minor (and not so minor) dramas with literary critics, and reveals the complicated and sometimes contentious relationship between his work of the writers he most admired. The Guestroom Novelist, which takes its title from an essay that serves as a love letter to his fellow underappreciated writers, paints a rich portrait of the artist as a young, middle-aged, and fiercely funny old man, as well as comic, sentimentalist, philosopher, and critic, paying testimony to the writer’s magnificent ability to transform the seemingly crude stuff of our material existence into enduring art.

"My guilty pleasure wasn’t just reading low-brow fiction or even female-authored fiction, it was being femme itself." What is it about ribald romance novels, luxurious interior design, and frothy wedding dresses that often make women feel their desires come with a shadow of shame? In Avidly Reads Guilty Pleasures, Arielle Zibrak considers the specifically pleasurable forms of feminine guilt and desire stimulated by supposedly “lowbrow” aesthetic tendencies. She takes up the overwhelming preoccupation with the experience of being humiliated, dominated, or even abused that has pervaded the stories that make up women’s culture—from eighteenth-century epistolary novels to popular twentieth-century teen magazine features to present-day romantic comedies. In three chapters—“Rough Sex,” “Expensive Sheets,” and “Saying Yes to the Dress”—that mirror the plot structures of feminine fictions themselves, this book tells the story of the desires that only the guiltiest of pleasures evoke. Zibrak reexamines documents of femme culture long dismissed as “trash” to reveal the surprisingly cathartic experiences produced by tales of domination, privilege, and the material trappings of the heteropatriarchy. Part of the Avidly Reads series, this slim book gives us a new way of looking at American culture. With the singular blend of personal reflection and cultural criticism featured in the series, Avidly Reads Guilty Pleasures reclaims women’s experiences for themselves.

Not only does this book offer insights into how to better serve all seniors, but it also provides complete step-by-step instructions for dozens of exciting and engaging programs that can be held both onsite and offsite. While serving the senior population is a standard service in public libraries, it has traditionally focused on in-house programs and homebound services. On the Go with Senior Services is different. With this inspiring and practical guide, your library can rejuvenate its in-house services with new programs and also take them on the road—to retirement and assisted living communities, adult day care programs, and nursing homes and rehab centers. With such diversity in the senior population, this book describes strategies for designing senior programs that fit your community's needs. It offers a trove of templates for programs that range from crafts, word games, pop culture, pets, holidays, humor, mysteries, technology, and music. It offers tips and suggestions on how to interact with seniors, including those who may have a variety of physical and cognitive needs. There are also guidelines for working with individuals suffering from dementia. A robust list of further resources is provided. The growing population of seniors presents librarians with new challenges and opportunities, and this book is a valuable guide to navigating and embracing them. • Features program templates with step-by-step instructions guaranteed to save you time • Offers ideas for programs that can be conducted at the library or offsite senior facilities • Provides surefire ideas for working with seniors and technology • Covers segments of the senior population not thoroughly addressed in other professional sources, helping librarians fill in or expand into areas • Includes guidance on working with seniors with dementia or Alzheimer's

You are designed for success. How can you achieve this success? The answer is straightforward: success comes as a result of few, simple, well-designed habits practised and repeated every day. So why doesn't everybody just do it? The answer is obvious, yet profound, according to John Rohn: it is because the things that are easy to do are also easy not to do. Does this book have the answers to all your life challenges? No! What this book will do is provoke you to think deeper and spur you to immediate, intelligent action. The message in this book is simple: be careful not to neglect doing the small things in your life that make the big things happen. Nothing will change unless you change. Blow the Cap off your Capability is a success and motivational toolbox with practical ideas and wisdom to help change your mindset and motivate you to prompt action so you can achieve your goals and live your best life beginning from right now. The chapters in this book are arranged in alphabetical order, covering a wide range of topics such as attitude, boundaries, comfort-zones, confidence, failure, integrity, leadership, procrastination, relationships and more. Some quotes from this book: Put your eggs in one basket and - watch that basket! (Andrew Carnegie) Success is not what you achieve, it's what you attract by the person you have become. (Jim Rohn) The secret to your success is found in your daily routine. (John Maxwell) The elevator to success is out of order, but the stairs is always open (Zig Ziglar) Jump, then grow wings on the way down. (Jack Canfield)

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Life was supposed to be the nice home, good job, the white picket fence.... The American dream. But somewhere along the line something went wrong—drastically wrong. The career that guaranteed the good life fell short. The idyllic marriage that started out full of love, hope and anticipation gradually fizzled out. Your 401-k is now a 201-k. The dream home is under water. The pension that you counted on got cut. The money that you set aside for your kid's college was supposed to grow, not shrink. What happened? We followed the path that was so deftly portrayed as full of promise and allure, but it has fallen far short of what we believed it would be. In "Navigating Life's Lost and Found", you will learn • Which path you are heading down • The American Dream is possible—as long as you follow the right path • How to eliminate worry from your life • The difference between a follower and a believer • To live a life of fulfillment and abundance If the path that you're on has left you wondering, "Is this what life is meant to be?", let this book lead you to the path of the life you were born to live!

This collection will appeal to everyone who has ever wondered about the origin of phrases like "all part of life's rich pattern" and "long time no see". It covers a wide range of catch phrases in current use in all parts of the English-speaking world. Most entries are drawn from the second edition of Eric Partridge's Dictionary of Catch Phrases (second edition, edited by Paul Beale), but have been completely rewritten in the light of recent research, and there are many additions. Catch Phrases include: close your eyes and think of England! have I got news for you! ... refreshes the parts that other ... cannot reach some mothers do'ave'em! you are awful, but I like you.

This is a book of teaching tips for adult learners. It includes a selection of short stories about life in Switzerland

`June Valladares is one of the rare persons on the contemporary business-writing scene who is genuinely inter-disciplinary in her approach…. To my mind, she has opened up some chambers and given the readers some glimpses of what is inside' - Jerry Rao, CEO MphasiS `Where do ideas come from? The conscious? The subconscious? A plate of chocolate doughnuts?... A very good place to start looking is June Valladares` elegantly simple book, a great, great idea if there ever was one' - Freddy Birdy, 11 times Copywriter of the Year What are ideas? Who needs ideas? How do we get ideas? This fascinating book deliberates on the very idea of ideation. It illustrates ways to tap into a sustained flow of good, solid ideas—ideas that will help in both, our personal and professional lives. It introduces not only an altogether new way of thinking and living but, more significantly, prompts each one of us to delve deep into our self so that we can discover that creative spark within us. Combining elements from diverse realms like psychology, sociology, religion, philosophy and spirituality, this book highlights simple qualities like imagination, patience, silence, faith… Through this route June A Valladares arrives at an even simpler truth: Creativity is intrinsic to us all. It’s just that we often overlook the very instances that lead us to it. This absorbing book is designed to help each one of us ideate better than we already do. Anecdotal, thoughtful and elegantly written, this book is a must read for everyone who believes in the power of ideas.

Three hilarious books in one from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author on marriage, motherhood, and the absurdities of suburban life. If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? is Erma Bombeck’s timelessly witty look at the hidden side of married life. Motherhood captures one of the toughest jobs on earth with humor and heart. The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank is Bombeck’s take on the unforgiving frontier of American suburbia.

Ripe, sensuous, irresistible: the cherry tree and its stunning blossoms conjure up many literal, metaphorical, and visceral sensations. We enjoy cherry picking, a cherry on top, and even, on occasion, losing one’s cherry. Cherries have been consumed since prehistoric times, reaching great popularity among the ancient Romans. They have come to symbolize such divergent concepts as fertility, innocence, and seductiveness, inspiring Dutch still-life paintings, Freudian theory, contemporary pop artists, and one of the first food emojis. In Japan and other Asian cultures, the short-lived but beautiful cherry blossoms are important elements throughout art and literature. In this intriguing natural and cultural history, Constance L. Kirker and Mary Newman recount the origins, legends, celebrations, production, and health benefits of this beloved tree.

A television personality and clothing designer describes ways to make the holiday season bright, offering ideas for themed parties and informal gatherings, recipes, homemade gifts, and decorating tips.

Short essays on caregiving.

This teacher book will provide lots of laughs as well as some good insights into the nature, quirks and vulnerabilities of gifted kids. It's a fun read that includes information about helpful teacher traits and much more. This book will be useful for teacher training with its extensive list of books and resources. This book contains the following chapters: (1) All That Potential; (2) Curiosity; (3) Intensity; (4) Asynchrony; (5) Attention to Detail; (6) Sense of Humor; (7) Creativity and Divergent Thinking; (8) Persistence; (9) Sensitivity; (10) Idealism; (11) Humility; (12) Honoring the Child; and (13) In Their Own Voices. The following are also included: (a) Karen's Acknowledgments; (b) Tamara's Acknowledgments; (c) Foreword; (d) Karen's Preface; (e) Tamara's Preface; (f) Gifted Education Resources; (g) Endnotes; and (h) About the Authors.

The “marvelously funny” and much-loved humorist explores the perils of suburban living in this New York Times bestseller (Vogue). For years, the Bombecks have heard rumors of a magical land called Suburbia where the air is clean, the grass is trimmed, and children don’t risk getting mugged on their walk to school. After watching their friends flee the city for subdivided utopias like Bonaparte’s Retreat and Mortgage Mañana, Erma and her family load up their belongings and cry, “Station wagons . . . ho!” But life on the suburban frontier is not as perfect as they had hoped. The trees are stunted, the house is cramped, and there’s no grass at all. But the Bombecks will make do, for they are suburbanites now—the last true pioneers! This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erma Bombeck including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.