Compilation of four separately published works.

Donated.

Step-by-step instructions for making such handicraft items as a huffel hat, flibbers, and limp lamps.

#1 Wall Street Journal bestseller! Jon Acuff, New York Times best-selling author of Do Over, Quitter, and Start, offers strategies for anyone who's ever wondered, "Why can't I finish what I started?" According to studies, 92 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail. You’ve practically got a better shot at getting into Juilliard to become a ballerina than you do at finishing your goals. For years, I thought my problem was that I didn’t try hard enough. So I started getting up earlier. I drank enough energy drinks to kill a horse. I hired a life coach and ate more superfoods. Nothing worked, although I did develop a pretty nice eyelid tremor from all the caffeine. It was like my eye was waving at you, very, very quickly. Then, while leading a thirty-day online course to help people work on their goals, I learned something surprising: The most effective exercises were not those that pushed people to work harder. The ones that got people to the finish line did just the opposite— they took the pressure off. Why? Because the sneakiest obstacle to meeting your goals is not laziness, but perfectionism. We’re our own worst critics, and if it looks like we’re not going to do something right, we prefer not to do it at all. That’s why we’re most likely to quit on day two, “the day after perfect”—when our results almost always underper­form our aspirations. The strategies in this book are counterintuitive and might feel like cheating. But they’re based on studies conducted by a university researcher with hundreds of participants. You might not guess that having more fun, eliminating your secret rules, and choosing something to bomb intentionally works. But the data says otherwise. People who have fun are 43 percent more successful! Imagine if your diet, guitar playing, or small business was 43 percent more suc­cessful just by following a few simple principles. If you’re tired of being a chronic starter and want to become a consistent finisher, you have two options: You can continue to beat yourself up and try harder, since this time that will work. Or you can give yourself the gift of done.

Goodfellas meets Thelma and Louise when an unlikely trio of women in New York find themselves banding together to escape the clutches of violent figures from their pasts. After Brooklyn mob widow Rena Ruggiero hits her eighty-year-old neighbor Enzio in the head with an ashtray when he makes an unwanted move on her, she embarks on a bizarre adventure. Taking off in Enzio’s ’62 Impala, she retreats to the Bronx home of her estranged daughter, Adrienne, and her granddaughter, Lucia, only to be turned away by Adrienne at the door. Their neighbor, Lacey “Wolfie” Wolfstein, a one-time Golden Age porn star and retired Florida Suncoast grifter, takes Rena in and befriends her. When Lucia discovers that Adrienne is planning to hit the road with her ex-boyfriend Richie, she figures Rena’s her only way out of a life on the run with a mother she can’t stand. But Richie has massacred a few members of the Brancaccio crime family for a big payday, and he drags even more trouble into the mix in the form of an unhinged enforcer named Crea. The stage is set for an explosion that will propel Rena, Wolfie, and Lucia down a strange path, each woman running from something and unsure what comes next. A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself is a screwball noir about finding friendship and family where you least expect it, in which William Boyle again draws readers into the familiar—and sometimes frightening—world in the shadows at the edges of New York’s neighborhoods.

Have you ever wanted to create your own autobiography or wished you could read about the life of a relative or friend? The Book of Myself is a do-it-yourself memoir that helps you record and preserve the experiences, relationships, and lessons that define you. Created by a grandson who wanted to capture his grandfather's life story for future generations, The Book of Myself offers 201 memory-evoking prompts on family, friends, and the journey you take through all of life's stages. It is the perfect way for you -- or someone close to you -- to record life's highlights and everyday moments that can slip through your fingers if not written down.

Through exquisitely detailed illustrations and two double gatefolds, young readers are invited to explore some of the most unique houses from around the world. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a tree house? Or how cozy it must be to sleep in an igloo? Have you noticed that some houses are extremely old and were built centuries ago and other houses can be set up wherever you go? In Make Yourself at Home, young readers are introduced to ten extraordinary types of homes. Find out what it’s like to live underground or floating on a canal. Open up one of the two double gatefolds to see whether having hundreds of rooms in a castle is as exciting as it sounds, or whether a windmill is more your style. Any kind of house can be a home; learn about them all and choose your favorite!

50 of the world's most exciting designers and visionary artists have devised simple objects that anyone can make at home. Do It Yourself collects 50 simple, beautiful projects by the world's best designers and artists. From lamps and tables to toys and chairs, all items can be constructed using basic tools and everyday items, making designer classics from the everyday. Each project is illustrated with full color photographs of the finished piece and all tools and materials required to make it, in addition to hand-drawn illustrations for the step-by-step instructions. Text for each object describes the design concept and gives a bio for the designer plus the price of materials and time to complete. The book features designers and artists from all over the globe and from a variety of disciplines, including Konstantin Grcic, Rafael Horzon, Hella Jongerius, Sarah Sze, and Ai Weiwei. This book offers readers affordable access to world-class design – as well as hours of fun – and will inspire young designers for years to come.