In JUST ONE MORE THING, Peter Falk takes us on an acting journey that begins not in Hollywood but in Hartford, where he worked as a management analyst for the Connecticut State Budget Bureau. His time there was no more successful than an earlier attempt to find work with the Central Intelligence Agency. At loose ends, Falk turned to an old college interest: acting. He came to prominence as an actor in 1956 in the highly successful Off-Broadway revival of 'The Iceman Cometh' with Jason Robards. Although he worked continuously for the next three years, bouncing from one Off-Broadway theater to the next, a theatrical agent advised him not to expect much work in motion pictures because of his glass eye. Surgeons had removed his right eye, along with a malignant tumor, when he was three years old. But in 1958, the actor made the jump to Hollywood, where he landed his first movie, 'Murder Incorporated', and was nominated for an Oscar. Next came Frank Capra's 'A Pocketful of Miracles' starring Bette Davis, which garnered Falk his second Oscar nomination. Falk was a favorite among moviegoers during the 1960s, admired for his roles in classic comedies such as 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' and 'The Great Race'. However, it was through his collaboration with filmmaker John Cassavetes that Falk entered into his most creative period in 1970. Motion pictures such as 'Husbands' and 'A Woman Under the Influence' helped launch the independent film movement. Nevertheless, Falk continued to act in light film comedies, including 'The In-Laws' and Neil Simon's 'The Cheap Detective' and 'Murder by Death', among others. Yet it was through television that Falk reached his widest audience. He has portrayed the beloved Lt. Columbo since the 1970s, winning four Emmys. The series was so successful that ten years after it's demise, 'Columbo' was re-launched, bringing Falk to a new generation of viewers. JUST ONE MORE THING also chronicles the author's more recent work, such as movie appearances in 'A Shark's Tale' and Paul Reiser's 'The Thing About My Folks', as well stories of growing up in New York, Hollywood and Broadway luminaries, and the author's accomplished passion for drawing and painting.

New York Times Bestseller A startlingly original debut from the actor, writer, director, and executive producer hailed as “a gifted observer of the human condition and a very funny writer capable of winning that rare thing: unselfconscious, insuppressible laughter” (The Washington Post). A boy wins a $100,000 prize in a box of Frosted Flakes—only to discover that claiming the winnings might unravel his family. A woman sets out to seduce motivational speaker Tony Robbins—turning for help to the famed motivator himself. A new arrival in Heaven, overwhelmed with options, procrastinates over a long-ago promise to visit his grandmother. We meet Sophia, the first artificially intelligent being capable of love, who falls for a man who might not be ready for it himself; a vengeance-minded hare, obsessed with scoring a rematch against the tortoise who ruined his life; and post-college friends who try to figure out how to host an intervention in the era of Facebook. Along the way, we learn why wearing a red T-shirt every day is the key to finding love, how February got its name, and why the stock market is sometimes just . . . down. Finding inspiration in questions from the nature of perfection to the icing on carrot cake, One More Thing has at its heart the most human of phenomena: love, fear, hope, ambition, and the inner stirring for the one elusive element just that might make a person complete. Across a dazzling range of subjects, themes, tones, and narrative voices, the many pieces in this collection are like nothing else, but they have one thing in common: they share the playful humor, deep heart, sharp eye, inquisitive mind, and altogether electrifying spirit of a writer with a fierce devotion to the entertainment of the reader.

'One of my favourite books of all time' CHARLAINE HARRIS 'Jodi Taylor is quite simply the Queen of Time. Her books are a swashbuckling joyride through History' C. K. MCDONNELL 'A great mix of British properness and humour with a large dollop of historical fun' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ Meet St Mary's - a group of tea-soaked disaster magnets who hurtle their way around History. - If the whole of History lay before you, where would you go? When Dr Madeleine Maxwell is recruited by the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, she discovers the historians there don't just study the past - they revisit it. But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And Max soon discovers it's not just History she's fighting... BOOK 1 IN THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING CHRONICLES OF ST MARY'S SERIES For fans of Jasper Fforde, Doctor Who, Genevieve Cogman and Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club Readers love Jodi Taylor: 'Once in a while, I discover an author who changes everything... Jodi Taylor and her protagonista Madeleine "Max" Maxwell have seduced me' 'Addictive. I wish St Mary's was real and I was a part of it' 'Science fiction, historical fantasy, love story and more all wrapped up in a fast-paced comedy of errors. Please don't wait to read it, you don't know what you are missing' 'Jodi Taylor has an imagination that gets me completely hooked' 'A tour de force'

When Columbo hit the airwaves in 1971, in quickly became the hottest TV detective series of the decade. Series creators Richard Levinson and William Link received an Emmy Award for their work; Peter Falk received three. The Columbo Phile offers fascinating behind-the-scenes information about the creation of the character, the writing of the devious mystery plots, and the altercations between perfectionist Peter Falk and the bottom-line concerns of Universal Studios. Originally published in 1989 and long out-of-print, this 30th Anniversary Edition of the essential Columbo book features a new preface by author Mark Dawidziak, an overview of post-1989 Columbo developments, including the twenty-four new ABC mysteries, and a personal remembrance of Peter Falk. It remains today the definitive guide to the rumpled Lieutenant Columbo and his career.

And Another Thing ... will be the sixth novel in the now improbably named Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Eight years after the death of its creator, Douglas Adams, the author's widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval for the project to be continued by the international number one bestselling children's writer, Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl novels. Douglas Adams himself once said, 'I suspect at some point in the future I will write a sixth Hitchhiker book. Five seems to be a wrong kind of number, six is a better kind of number.' Belson said of Eoin Colfer, 'I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new.' Colfer, a fan of Hitchhiker since his schooldays, said, 'Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world.' Prepare to be amazed...

Award-winning journalist, First Lady of California, and bestselling author Maria Shriver offers young women a powerful book on how to put your greatest gifts and even your shortcomings to work for you as you begin the rest of your life. Graduating from high school is a big step for any girl. She is leaving her childhood behind and beginning the rest of her life. She is also leaving her mother’s protective circle of love and guidance. One of the greatest gifts a mother can give her daughter at this pivotal moment in her life is good counsel. In And One More Thing Before You Go...Maria Shriver, bestselling author, acclaimed journalist, First Lady of California, and mother of two daughters, provides a loving and heartfelt guide for girls as they go off to college. Expanded from a speech given to her young friend Ally’s graduating class, Maria writes as a wiser, more experienced girlfriend, but also as both the daughter of a mother whose advice she still seeks and as the mother of daughters for whom she wishes a fulfilling and happy life. In this stirring and inspiring guide, Maria talks to young women about how to find abundance and emotional richness, and how not to overlook life’s most special gifts. Her ten rules—told in a witty and poignant anecdotal style—offer a firm grasp on what’s really important in life. And One More Thing Before You Go... is a book that transcends age groups, a book that will make you laugh, cry, and open your eyes to a new way of looking at life. Thoughtful, compassionate, and above all, filled with love, And One More Thing Before You Go... is a book that will make every mother cry and every daughter stop and think about her mother’s words.

"This book offers simple brain-training practices you can do every day to protect against stress, lift your mood, and find greater emotional resilience."--P. [4] of cover.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • "A memoir in essays about so many things—growing up in an abusive cult, coming of age as a lesbian in the military, forced out by homophobia, living on the margins as a working class woman and what it’s like to grow into the person you are meant to be. Hough’s writing will break your heart." —Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist Searing and extremely personal essays, shot through with the darkest elements America can manifest, while discovering light and humor in unexpected corners. As an adult, Lauren Hough has had many identities: an airman in the U.S. Air Force, a cable guy, a bouncer at a gay club. As a child, however, she had none. Growing up as a member of the infamous cult The Children of God, Hough had her own self robbed from her. The cult took her all over the globe--to Germany, Japan, Texas, Chile—but it wasn't until she finally left for good that Lauren understood she could have a life beyond "The Family." Along the way, she's loaded up her car and started over, trading one life for the next. She's taken pilgrimages to the sights of her youth, been kept in solitary confinement, dated a lot of women, dabbled in drugs, and eventually found herself as what she always wanted to be: a writer. Here, as she sweeps through the underbelly of America—relying on friends, family, and strangers alike—she begins to excavate a new identity even as her past continues to trail her and color her world, relationships, and perceptions of self. At once razor-sharp, profoundly brave, and often very, very funny, the essays in Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing interrogate our notions of ecstasy, queerness, and what it means to live freely. Each piece is a reckoning: of survival, identity, and how to reclaim one's past when carving out a future. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL

Struggling with his ex-wife's imminent marriage to a nice guy and his Princeton-bound daughter's unplanned pregnancy, a bewildered Drew Silver tackles difficult family dynamics and refuses to undergo a life-saving operation.

Columbo was arguably the most popular and most unique television mystery series ever -even though, within two minutes of the titles, the audience already knew the murderer's identity. The show captivated tens of millions of viewers for 69 adventures produced over 35 years. Yet if star Peter Falk had gotten his way, it would have run far longer.Columbo was never formally canceled, just subtly killed off. Twice. Who was to blame? The temperamental lead who would rather work in movies? The budget-conscious studio, exhausted with the star's demands? Or was it the meddling television studios, searching for a younger, hipper replacement?Discover the solution in "Shooting Columbo: The Lives and Deaths of TV's Rumpled Detective." Author David Koenig takes you behind the scenes to witness the creation and making of every case, from the pilot "Prescription: Murder" (and its earlier incarnations on "The Chevy Mystery Show" and on stage) to the final special, "Columbo Likes the Nightlife."You'll discover the origins of the Lieutenant's unseen wife, the lethargic Dog, the wrinkled raincoat, the wheezing 1959 Peugeot, and "Just one more thing...." The narrative draws on scores of exclusive interviews with the show's writers, producers, directors and other creative personnel, as well as previously unpublished studio records, including scripts, memos, production reports, casting sheets, and business diaries. They will transport you to the harried story conferences, the heated confrontations, and take... after take... after take... of filming. The "shooting" of Columbo was filled with backstage intrigue and larger-than-life personalities who, through it all, created unforgettable classic television.