“Delightfully quirky.” —Kirkus Reviews Perfect for fans of The One and Only Ivan, this irresistible debut novel combines plucky humor and a whole lot of heart in a story about the true meaning of family. Sometimes flying means keeping your feet on the ground… Born in a dismal room in a pet store, Alastair the African grey parrot dreams of escape to bluer skies. He’d like nothing more than to fly away to a palm tree with his beloved sister, Aggie. But when Aggie is purchased by twelve-year-old Fritz, and Alastair is adopted by elderly dance-enthusiast and pie-baker Albertina Plopky, the future looks ready to crash-land. In between anxiously plucking his feathers, eating a few books, and finding his own poetic voice, Alastair plots his way to a family reunion. But soon he’s forced to choose between the life he’s always dreamed of and admitting the truth: that sometimes, the bravest adventure is in letting go.

Anyone who can hold a pencil can learn to draw. In this book, Bert Dodson shares his complete drawing system—fifty-five "keys" that you can use to render any subject with confidence, even if you're a beginner. These keys, along with dozens of practice exercises, will help you draw like an artist in no time. You'll learn how to: • Restore, focus, map, and intensify • Free your hand action, then learn to control it • Convey the illusions of light, depth, and texture • Stimulate your imagination through "creative play"

This book of life and business lessons comes from an iconclastic manager gifted with Aristotelian logic, an ad man's expressive voice and a tested businessman's pragmatism. It's pithy, hard-hitting, fun, and of immense value for all business leaders.

This book tackles head-on the challenges of digital design in the era of billion-transistor SoCs. It discusses fundamental design concepts in design and coding required to produce robust, functionally correct designs. It also provides specific techniques for measuring and minimizing complexity in RTL code. Finally, it discusses the tradeoff between RTL and high-level (C-based) design and how tools and languages must progress to address the needs of tomorrow’s SoC designs.

Recipient of the coveted James Beard Award for best Healthy Focus cookbook, The Simple Art of Eatingwell is perhaps the definitive guide to healthy eating. It includes the best recipes and advice from nearly 20 years of experience at EatingWell Magazine. With more than 400 recipes, half of which can be prepared in under 45 minutes, start to finish, this cookbook makes it easy for today’s busy cooks to get consistently delicious, healthy meals on the table every day of the week. Most recipes call for fewer than 10 easily available ingredients. Key techniques are illustrated with helpful step-by-step photos. And tips from the EatingWell test kitchen teach you secrets of healthier cooking. Cooks will turn to this book again and again for versions of classic dishes like chili, lasagna, fried chicken, and mac & cheese—here prepared in delicious and healthy ways. There’s more to keep the adventurous happy too—like Grilled Fish Tacos, Thai Chicken & Mango Stir Fry, and Middle Eastern Lamb Stew. Sweets include cakes, pies, puddings, ice creams, cookies, and more. Finally, all this is now packaged in an innovative flexible cover that will lay open for ease of use and yet hold together for long-term durability. No kitchen should be without it.

Presents the secrets of perfect baking, discussing equipment, describing the techniques of cake and pastry making, and providing recipes for everyday and special occasion baking, including fillings and frostings.

Drawing is not a talent, it's a skill anyone can learn. This is the philosophy of drawing instructor Brent Eviston based on his more than twenty years of teaching. He has tested numerous types of drawing instruction from centuries old classical techniques to contemporary practices and designed an approach that combines tried and true techniques with innovative methods of his own. Now, he shares his secrets with this book that provides the most accessible, streamlined, and effective methods for learning to draw.

Taking the reader through the entire process, beginning with the most basic skills to more advanced such as volumetric drawing, shading, and figure sketching, this book contains numerous projects and guidance on what and how to practice. It also features instructional images and diagrams as well as finished drawings. With this book and a dedication to practice, anyone can learn to draw!

Welcome to the School of Art! Here you will learn how to make great art with this fully-illustrated collection of fun and informative lessons. Follow the five professors as they work togetherto deliver 40 demonstrations - each one accompanied by a guided activity for you to try at home - to help you to understand the basics of art and design, including composition, color, line, shape, and perspective. - See more at: http://quartoknows.com/books/9781847807007/The-School-of-Art.html?direct=1#sthash.alslhwv7.dpuf

The renowned novel from crime fiction master Raymond Chandler, with the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times), Philip Marlowe • Featuring the iconic character that inspired the forthcoming film Marlowe, starring Liam Neeson In The Simple Art of Murder, which was prefaced by the famous Atlantic Monthly essay of the same name, noir master Raymond Chandler argues the virtues of the hard-boiled detective novel, and this collection, mostly drawn from stories he wrote for the pulps, demonstrates Chandler's imaginative, entertaining facility with the form. Included are the classic stories "Spanish Blood," Pearls Are a Nuisance," and "Guns at Cyrano's," among others.