THE EVERYTHING STORE JEFF BEZOS AND THE AGE OF AMAZON BY BRAD STONE

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“Jeff Bezos is one of the most visionary, focused, and tenacious innovators of or era, and like Steve Jobs he transforms and invents industries. Brad Stone captures his passion and brilliance in this well-reported and compelling narrative.” – Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs.

Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But its visionary founder wasn’t content with being a bookseller. He wanted Amazon to become the everything store, offering limitless selection and seductive convenience at disruptive low prices. To do so, he developed a corporate culture of  relentless ambition and secrecy thats never been cracked. Until now.

Brad Stone enjoyed unprecedented access to current and former Amazon employees and Bezos family members, giving readers the first in-depth, fly-on-the-wall account of life at the largest online retailer. Compared to tech’s other elite innovators- Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg- Bezos is a private man. But he stands out for his restless pursuit of new markets, leading Amazon into risky new ventures like the Kindle and cloud computing, and transforming retail in the same way Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing.

Given his research and direct contact with Amazon insiders, Stone offers keen insights into the history and remarkable growth of a company widely regarded as uniquely innovative, disruptive, and often polarizing. In The Everything Store, Stone’s reporting reveals many heretofore unknown stories about Amazon, and how the company has affected us all. This revelatory portrait is esstantial reading for anyone who wants to know more about Jeff Bezos and the company that placed one of the first and largest bets on the Internet and forever changed the way we shop and read.  EVERYTHING

The Boy on the Porch By Sharon Creech

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One day a young couple returns home to find a boy asleep on their porch. Though he does not seem to be able to speak, they find a mysterious note in his pocket—he’s been left by a parent unable to care for him for a while, who says that they’ll be back to get him soon. The couple decides to keep the boy–Jacob–until someone comes for him. He has a talent for the arts, and a love of painting and playing instruments and brings great joy to the couple.  Soon they become a family. But after a little while, the boy’s real father, a poor itinerant, comes for him and takes off for an address unknown. The couple is heartbroken and searches far and wide for the boy after he leaves, but they never find him. Missing him deeply, they decide to become foster parents, and welcome many kids into their home through the years, from whom they learn and grow and become beloved parents to.   This poignant book ends with the boy returned, on the porch again, now a college-aged kid, asleep and waiting for the couple to return.

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SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING FOREWORD BY DAVID POGUE

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Ever wonder… How grain turns into beer? Why does rubber bounce? How does the voice of a distant radio announcer make it through your alarm clock in the morning? What makes a curve ball curve? What do antibiotics really do? From refrigerators to rollercoasters, from neon signs to digital music, everywhere you turn, the things around you help explain the fundamentals of science–and in a fun, enduring way. National Geographic THE SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING reveals the science behind virtually everything. science

Divided into four big realms—Mechanics, Natural Forces, Materials & Chemistry, and Biology & Medicine, THE SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING links familiar objects and modern technologies with the basic laws of mechanics, physics, chemistry, and biology. Dedicated to the notion that everything around us has an interesting science tale to tell and abundantly illustrated, this modern-day book of knowledge makes learning fun—and makes remembering forgotten science even better!

Find out how Newton’s law of inertia and motion describe the operation of Segways, jet engines, and washing machines. Learn how bar code scanners, holograms, and CD players depend on the same technology, and read how the same basic genetic science explains cloning, cancer, and genetically modified foods.

Four Seasons of Travel with Recollections by Alec Baldwin, Lisa Ling, Christopher Buckley, and More

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The National Geographic Travel Group offers a stunning new book on making the most of travel throughout the year: FOUR SEASONS OF TRAVEL: 400 of the World’s Best Destinations in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Spanning the globe with the best 100 places to see in each season, the book brings these destinations to life with vivid photographs and insider tips.

FOUR SEASONS OF TRAVEL also includes dozens of “Best in the World” lists, including the best vineyards to visit in springtime, the top whale and dolphin watching opportunities, the most show-stopping outdoor music venues, the best Oktoberfests outside Munich and the tastiest ice creameries in the world. Special contributors also suggest favorite destinations and getaways: Cokie Roberts recommends Washington, DC, in autumn for the Library of Congress National Book Festival, baseballer R. A. Dickey endorses a sunny winter getaway to Eleuthera in the Bahamas, and actor Alec Baldwin shares his passion for London at Christmas time.

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DIARY OF A STAGE MOTHER’S DAUGHTER BY MELISSA FRANCIS

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The life of a child star in the 1980s appeared to be charmed. However, in her memoir, DIARY OF A STAGE MOTHER’S DAUGHTER (now in paperback) Melissa tells the startling tale of a family under the care of a highly neurotic and dangerously competitive “tiger mother.” While Melissa thrived under pressure, her older sister — who had tried her hand at acting and shrank from the limelight — was often ignored by their mother in a shadow of neglect and disappointment.

It wasn’t until after Melissa had graduated from Harvard University, found love, and married that her sister’s personal problems culminated in a life-and-death crisis. When Melissa realized the role her mother continued to play in her sister’s downward spiral, she resolved to end the manic, abusive cycle once and for all.

What makes the book so compelling aren’t just the behind-the-scenes details but the spirited conclusion.”

—Entertainment Weekly

“A quick but heartbreaking guide for how not to raise children.”              —USA Today

“One of those intimate, heartbreaking, doubled-edged stories that is hard to read, impossible to put down.”                                                                                                  – Kirkus Reviews                                                                                                                                 

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The House of Hades By Rick Riordan

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At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can somehow survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors on both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?hades

The demigods have no choice. If they don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. There is no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Riordan takes readers on a roller coaster ride of plot twists and intense action that will leave them breathless with anticipation for the series finale, coming in October 2014.

New York Times #1 Best-Selling Author 

Allegiant By Veronica Roth

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ALLEGIANT is the highly anticipated final book in Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling DIVERGENT trilogy. First published in May 2011, Veronica Roth’s debut novel DIVERGENT was an instant bestseller and one of the most heralded debut novels of 2011, immediately embraced by both teen readers and adults alike.

With massive critical and commercial appeal, unstoppable international buzz—foreign rights have sold in 42 territories and counting—and the DIVERGENT film starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Academy Award winner Kate Winslet set for wide release from SUMMIT Entertainment on March 21, 2014, the DIVERGENT trilogy is poised to follow in the footsteps of Twilight and The Hunger Games as the next young adult book series to become a major pop culture phenomenon.

allegiant In a futuristic Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Once a year, every 16-year-old must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. Beatrice Prior must choose between the family she’s grown up with or to face initiation into a new faction. Those who fail their initiation become Factionless. Those who don’t fit into one faction are considered a danger to society: they are Divergent.

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. Every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of identity and loyalty, politics and love. Transformed by radical new discoveries, shifting relationships, and the haunting grief and guilt she feels in her own heart, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not yet know what—or whom—she may lose by doing so.

“…Veronica Roth has officially succeeded Suzanne Collins as the ruling dystopian-YA author” -ELLE    

“The next big thing…”  -Rolling Stone

The Duck Commander Devotional By Alan Robertson

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Loyal fans of the Duck Dynasty® family will relish this collection of inspirational messages for each day of the year. From patriarch Phil and matriarch Kay to their four sons (Willie, Jase, Jep, and Alan) and their beautiful wives and children (and Uncle Si, of course), the entire Robertson clan contributes to this encouraging guide. You’ll also hear from Martin and Godwin, the only two non-family members who are regulars on the show.

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Each devotional contains a brief message, a passage from Scripture, and a prayer. Not only are the messages motivational, but they are also laced with the characters’ trademark wit and humor. An ideal companion for Duck Dynasty fans, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to grow in their faith, The Duck Commander Devotional will both entertain and inspire.

IDENTICAL By Scott Turow

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IDENTICAL, which is loosely based on the myth of Castor and Pollux, the twin sons (one mortal and one immortal) of Zeus.  As the story goes, when Castor was killed, Pollux begged Zeus to share his immortality with his brother so that the twins could remain together – Zeus allowed it, and they were transformed into the constellation Gemini.  IDENTICAL tells the story of Paul and Cass Giannis, identical twins, whose future was bright until one fateful day in 1983 when Athena “Dita” Kronon—then-girlfriend of Cass Giannis—was murdered after her family’s summer party. 

IDENTICAL

The book opens in 2008 as Paul Giannis is mid-way through what looks to be a successful run for mayor of Kindle County, and Cass is about to be released from prison after serving 25 years for Dita’s murder. Dita’s brother, Hal Kronon, is willing to do whatever he can to insure that Cass stays in prison and, using his vast resources, he gets a legal team and an ex-FBI agent—who is the head of security for the Kronon family business —to convince a judge to re-open the investigation into Dita’s murder.  The private investigator on retainer for the Kronons is a former homicide detective who headed the initial investigation.  Tim Brodie, now 81, has his doubts about the way the case unfolded all those years ago.  By the time he was brought in, the crime scene had been compromised several times over by Dita’s family and local police, and then Cass Giannis confessed before everything was fully investigated.  Now that the case is being reexamined, Tim feels personally motivated to get to the bottom of the complex web of murder, sex, and betrayal.  As the story dramatically unfolds and shocking secrets are revealed, a chilling truth comes to light: people will believe what they want to believe.

KATE The Future Queen BY KATIE NICHOLL

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Ever wonder how the life of Kate Middleton unravelled and became who she is today? Kate Middleton is a style icon, a powerful symbol of the new British Royal Family, a modern-day princess, and of course, the wife of one future King of England and the new mother of another. But despite the paparazzi that capture her every outfit and wave, surprisingly little is known about Kate herself. Who is this middle-class girl who captured the heart, first of Prince William, and then of her nation and the world? In Kate: The Future Queen, Katie Nicholl, Royal Editor for the Mail on Sunday and contributing editor for Vanity Fair, goes deep beyond the polished accent and impeccable wardrobe to reveal the complete true story of Kate Middleton for the very first time.

Best Selling author of William and Harry Behind the Palace Walls, gives never before heard stories and so much more!

From Royals Expert Katie Nicholl, The Most Intimate and Revealing Account Yet of the Beloved Future Queen of England

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