"Despite the efforts of many earnest and life-affirming people to persuade me that the vampire bat is our friend and that Native Americans enjoyed true harmony with Brother Wolf, I have never quite overcome the gut feeling that fear of nature is normal....It can also be pleasurable....What I really find creepy and wonderful about nature are not its great terrors, but its weird, unsuspected minutiae...for instance, that some sharks practice sibling cannibalism in the womb, or that a mole will paralyze earthworms, ball them up in a knot, and seal them away in individual cells in the walls of its chambered mound, still living, to be eaten at leisure. I am captivated by the sight of a keyhole limpet...[which] carries a sort of vicious pet under its shell, like an old lady's lap dog."--From Every Creeping Thing In this sequel to Spineless Wonders, Richard Conniff once again explores the tangled connections between human beings and animals (this time mostly vertebrates). His adventures take us from an island in the Gulf Stream, where a man devotes his life to the devilbird, to provincial England, where bloodhounds and riders on horseback hunt down a human being for sport. With his characteristically offbeat approach, Conniff focuses on some of the least huggable members of the animal world-- porcupines, snapping turtles, cormorants, bats, mice, moles. Through their lives, Conniff introduces us to some of the strangest behaviors on earth. We meet sharks that practice sibling cannibalism in their mother's womb, bats that delight in a sybaritic "disco mating strategy," and five-hundred-pound grizzly bears that gorge themselves on moths in August. Every Creeping Thing is a fascinating, comic tour through the far side of the animal kingdom.

Hailed as "the most radical repackaging of the Bible since Gutenberg", these Pocket Canons give an up-close look at each book of the Bible.

Jackself is the fourth collection from one of Britain's finest poets, and sees Jacob Polley at the height of his powers. In one of the most original books of poetry to appear in the last decade, Jackself spins a kind of 'fictionalized autobiography' through nursery rhymes, riddles and cautionary tales, and through the many 'Jacks' of our folktale, legend, phrase and fable - everyman Jacks and no one Jacks, Jackdaw, Jack-O-Lantern, Jack Sprat, Cheapjack and Jack Frost. At once playful and terrifying, lyric and narratively compelling, Jackself is an unforgettable exploration of an innocence and childhood lost in the darker corners of Reiver country and of English folklore, and once more shows Polley as one of the most remarkable imaginations at work in poetry today.

By anchoring your understanding of productivity in God's plan, What's Best Next gives you a practical approach for increasing your effectiveness in everything you do. There are a lot of myths about productivity--what it means to get things done and how to accomplish work that really matters. In our current era of innovation and information overload, it may feel harder than ever to understand the meaning of work or to have a sense of vocation or calling. So how do you get more of the right things done without confusing mere activity for actual productivity? Matt Perman has spent his career helping people learn how to do work in a gospel-centered and effective way. What's Best Next explains his approach to unlocking productivity and fulfillment in work by showing how faith relates to work, even in our everyday grind. What's Best Next is packed with biblical and theological insight and practical counsel that you can put into practice today, such as: How to create a mission statement for your life that's actually practicable. How to delegate to people in a way that really empowers them. How to overcome time killers like procrastination, interruptions, and multitasking by turning them around and making them work for you. How to process workflow efficiently and get your email inbox to zero every day. How to have peace of mind without needing to have everything under control. How generosity is actually the key to unlocking productivity. This expanded edition includes: a new chapter on productivity in a fallen world a new appendix on being more productive with work that requires creative thinking. Productivity isn't just about getting more things done. It's about getting the right things done--the things that count, make a difference, and move the world forward. You can learn how to do work that matters and how to do it well.

From breakout debut author Chelsea Ichaso comes Little Creeping Things, a compulsively readable YA suspense novel with a narrator who can't be trusted, perfect for fans of Natasha Preston. She never meant to hurt anyone... When she was a child, Cassidy Pratt accidentally started a fire that killed her neighbor. At least, that's what she's been told. She can't remember anything from that day. She's pretty sure she didn't mean to do it. She's a victim too. But her town's bullies, particularly the cruel and beautiful Melody Davenport, have never let her live it down. In Melody's eyes, Cassidy is a murderer and always will be. And then Melody goes missing, and Cassidy thinks she may have information about what happened. She knows she should go to the cops, but...she recently joked about how much she'd like to get rid of Melody. She even planned out the perfect way to do it. And then she gets a chilling text from an unknown number: I'm so glad we're in this together. Now it's up to Cassidy to figure out what's really going on, before the truth behind Melody's disappearance sets the whole town ablaze. Perfect for fans of: Detective stories for teens Teen thrillers Karen McManus and Natasha Preston Praise for Little Creeping Things: A Junior Library Guild Selection! "Chelsea Ichaso has without a doubt written the breakout thriller of the year."—Dana Mele, author of People Like Us "Ichaso's debut is a riveting whodunnit... a psychological thriller worthy of mystery aficionados."—School Library Journal "Guaranteed to keep young readers guessing until the final pages...will satisfy the appetites of all manner of mystery fans."—Booklist "[A] genre-solid whodunit and keeps readers guessing until the very last page."—Publishers Weekly