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Sneak Peak: Lee Child’s PERSONAL

Today we sat down with Lee Child, the bestselling author of the sensational thriller series about a former military policeman Jack Reacher. Child has had tremendous success with this suspenseful thriller series. The mysterious and intriguing nature of Jack’s sharp analytical intellect and physical strength has been captivating readers for the past seventeen years. The latest installment, PERSONAL was published on August 28th 2014.

Lee Child shared with us the surprising story of how he came up with the main character’s name. In the beginning of his writing career, Child was struggling to find a name for his leading character, and looked for inspiration everywhere. One day, while grocery shopping with his wife, he was approached by an elderly woman, who asked him to reach for a can of beans off the top shelf. The two started talking, and the woman suggested he become a reacher in a grocery store in case his writing career falls through. Haunted by the idea, Child named his leading man Jack Reacher.

Check out this behind-the-scene photo, and stay tuned for the whole interview with Child, where he talks about PERSONAL, Jack Reacher and much more.

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Never Go Back By Lee Child

In the wilds of South Dakota, Reacher was struck by the voice—and the person with the voice—of Major Susan Turner, who was introduced in 61 Hours. Since ‘meeting’ her from afar, Reacher has slowly but surely been working his way east, and in NEVER GO BACK, he finally arrives in DC. But instead of walking into her office and meeting Susan face-to-face, Reacher walks into something even he couldn’t anticipate—he’s told he’s been drafted back into the Army.

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“Reacher gets better and better.” –The New York Times

 “Do yourself a favor and get hooked on this series.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

This is a Jack Reacher novel you won’t want to put down! For some, his brute strength and sheer physicality are his dominant traits. For others, it’s the razor-sharp instincts and mental processes that make him a force to be reckoned with. But no matter the image you have, one thing is for certain—anti-hero Jack Reacher is one of the most iconic protagonists of contemporary suspense fiction.

Lee Child is the author of eighteen Jack Reacher thrillers, including the New York Times bestsellers A Wanted Man, Persuader, The Enemy, One Shot, and The Hard Way, and the #1 bestsellers The Affair, Worth Dying For, 61 Hours, Gone Tomorrow, Bad Luck and Trouble, and Nothing to Lose, as well as the short stories “Second Son” and “Deep Down.” His debut, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First Mystery, and The Enemy won both the Barry and Nero awards for Best Novel. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in more than forty territories. All titles have been optioned for major motion pictures, the first of which—Jack Reacher—was released in December 2012 featuring Tom Cruise as Reacher. A native of England and a former television director, Child lives in New York City, where he is at work on his next thriller.

 

 

The Smartest Kids in the World.. and how they got that way BY Amanda Ripley

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American kids are better off, on average, than the typical child in Japan, New Zealand, or South Korea, yet they scored twenty-sixth on a test of critical thinking in math, below average for the developed world. Over the past fifty years, test scores have remained largely flat in the U.S., while soaring in Canada and Finland, where most children are now learning to make complex arguments and solve problems in math, reading, and science.

The conundrum intrigued investigative journalist Amanda Ripley, whose award-winning work explores the gap between public policy and human behavior. To learn more, Ripley decided to compare countries from a unique perspective—through the eyes of three American high school students studying abroad in Finland, South Korea, and Poland, respectively. The result is THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THE WORLD: And How They Got That Way (Simon & Schuster; On sale August 13, 2013; $28.00), a masterful blend of groundbreaking research and storytelling that sheds new light on how we can better educate our children — and why it matters that we do.

Ripley follows three intrepid young Americans as they push the envelope of their experiences and reckon with the inadequacies of their educations. Kim, from a small town in Oklahoma, raises the money herself to spend a year in Finland—the nation consistently ranked at the top of the world in education. Eric, just graduated from his well-regarded Minnesota high school, defers college to attend a Korean high school—where he finds out what high-pressure tests really look like. Pennsylvania native Tom seeks adventure in a gritty city in Poland, which has dramatically improved its education results. While shadowing these kids, Ripley gets to know their fellow students, their teachers, their real families and host families, along with school leaders and policy makers. She discovers three very different success stories of nations that have reversed their historical trajectories to become education superpowers.

In Finland, she learns how teaching has been transformed into a highly prized profession that attracts the finest minds. The “hamster wheel” culture of learning in South Korea has spawned fierce competition and at least one “rock star” teacher who makes $4 million a year. In just three years, Poland—the punch line for so many jokes around the world—caught up with the developed world in both reading and math, and now surpasss the rich and powerful United States, despite spending less than half as much per student.

Amanda Ripley takes readers inside homes and classrooms around the globe and reveals why some students are succeeding where others are stagnating. A reporting tour de force, THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THE WORLD upends rigid assumptions and offers new ways of looking at the future of American education—and the necessity for vast improvement—in a changing world.

 “In riveting prose….this timely and inspiring book offers many insights into how to improve America’s mediocre school system.”Publishers Weekly, starred review

Ripley’s stirring investigation debunks many tenets of current education reform.”BookPage

 “Such an important book! Amanda Ripley lights the path to engaging our next generation to meet a different bar.  She makes an enormous contribution to the national and global discussion about what must be done to give all our children the education they need to invent the future.”

—Wendy Kopp, founder and chair, Teach For America, and CEO, Teach For All

 

YOU ARE A BADASS BY JEN SINCERO

 

BY JEN SINCERO

YOU ARE A BADASS

Like many young, and cynical people, Jen Sincero used to think that the touchy-feely, woo-woo stuff of the self-help/spiritual world was “a bunch of crap.” Until, at a particularly crappy point in her life, she felt desperate enough to give it a whirl. After diving into motivational seminars, bonding with her spirit guide, marrying herself (in a symbolic ceremony), hiring private coaches, and devouring stacks of self-help books, she was stunned to discover her own life-changing power—and the power of believing in a higher power too.

In her new book, You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, Jen Sincero shares the self-help/spiritual insights and practices that have truly worked wonders for her and for the thousands she’s converted. Sincero mixes hilarious stories and snarky comments with sage advice, inspiring examples, uplifting quotes and affirmations, and easy but effective exercises. Her goal is to motivate all kinds of people to believe in themselves, harness their untapped, infinite potential, have faith in our world of limitless possibilities, and move beyond wanting to deciding to have a better life.

Need some tough love? Best selling author Jen Sincero doesn’t hold anything back in her hilarious new self-help book. Jen reminds us that fear is for suckers, and sends out a get-your-butt-moving call to those who don’t know their own power.

CONTAGIOUS: Why Things Catch On – Jonah Berger

ContagiousWhy do certain products and ideas become popular?

Why are some stories and rumors more infectious than others?

What makes online content go viral?

 

Wharton Professor, Jonah Berger

Explores How Social Influence Shapes Everything We Do in

 

CONTAGIOUS: Why Things Catch On.

 

Jonah Berger has spent the past decade studying social influence, and his research and ideas are often featured in publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Science and countless others. In CONTAGIOUS, Berger combines his groundbreaking research with powerful stories to explain the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission.

We all know ideas and information spread through word-of-mouth. But according to Berger, the key to making things really popular happens long before it’s discussed at the water cooler or “liked” online. It starts with the message.

Satilite Media Tour with Guy Fieri for RACHEL VS. GUY: CELEBRITY COOKOFF

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Here’s a picture of Guy Fieri in the studio for a Satellite Media Tour for an interview on his role in RACHEL VS. GUY: CELEBRITY COOKOFF and other cooking tips for the big game!

Food Network icon Rachael Ray and best-selling cookbook author and successful restaurateur Guy Fieri,return to coach and mentor eight new celebrity contestants for the second season of Food Network’s Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, Sunday’s at 9pm ET/PT.  The eight celebrities are divided into Team Guy and Team Rachael, as they head out to the west coast to compete over the course of six episodes in intense weekly challenges that are sure to have them working, fighting and laughing along the way. The losing team must send its two bottom-rated contestants to face off against each other, with one member sent home each week in a blind tasting elimination challenge. The last celebrity standing will join the ranks of season one winner, Lou Diamond Phillips, and win $50,000 for the charity which they are playing for.

The eight celebrity contestants competing for the title of Cook-Off champion and a cash prize for their charity include Chilli (member of pop/R&B group TLC), Gilbert Gottfried (actor, comedian), Cornelia Guest (designer, author, philanthropist), Dean McDermott (actor, reality television star), Kathy Najimy(actress, Sister Act), Hines Ward (former NFL player; Super Bowl Champion and MVP), Carnie Wilson(singer, Wilson Phillips) and Johnny Weir (two-time Olympic Figure Skater, three-time U.S. National Champion).

The celebrity contestants aren’t the only ones focusing on charity. Guy Fieri is lending a helping hand by educating people to the very real problem of childhood hunger that we are facing in America today, as one in five children struggles with hunger. Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign is helping end childhood hunger in this nation by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need every day, by connecting kids in need with nutritious food and teaching their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals, where they live, learn and play. Through its Cooking Matters program, the No Kid Hungry campaign equips low-income families with skills to stretch their food budgets so their kids get healthy meals at home. Cooking Matters participants learn to shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier food choices, and cook delicious, affordable meals. You can learn more about Cooking Matters by visiting CookingMatters.org.

Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet

Want to know what Fancy Nancy has been up to? We talked to author Jane O’Connor and Illustrator Robin Presiss Glasser who have released the next picture book in the highly-anticipated series, FANCY NANCY AND THE MERMAID BALLET.

Bobby Flay Satellite Interview with “Good Day New York”

Check out our Bobby Flay satellite interview on FOX 5 New York.

 

Bobby Flay: MyFoxNY.com

Bobby Flay Satellite Media Tour

Bobby Flay grills it up during our recent Satellite Media Tour for the Food Network. Check out Bobby’s new show, “Barbecue Addiction” and be sure to watch “Food Network Star” (Sundays at 9PM ET). More info @ http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Bobby Flay Satellite Media Tour - Auritt Communications Group

Easy & Elegant Outdoor Entertaining – Twitter Party

We’re hosting a Twitter Party this Thursday night (June 30th) with Chef & Grilling Expert, Elizabeth Karmel. You can enter to win a $250 dollar Lamb Cookout! Sign up & more deets @ SPRUCE TV – Your Online Green Room! Hope to see you there!

Grilling Expert, Elizabeth Karmel

 

Summer is finally here and you know what that means…it’s the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors.