Readers can vicariously live for a year in Eastern Europe through the eyes of an American professor working in Absurdistan. With a rare blend of humor and insight, Professor Wright shares a year of teaching at universities in Absurdistan, the name given to former Czechoslovakia by its citizens. His job was to help universities overcome the last seventy years of communist propaganda. This true story is a tongue-in-cheek look at the people, history, and geography of Eastern Europe. Become acquainted with Dr. Wright's castle, village, university, and neighbors. Learn the true meaning of Eastern European Time, and the correct way to mime kitty litter. See if you can survive the alternately hilarious and tragic daily life. In turn funny and sad, Dr. Wright combines mordant insights into the human condition with truly touching stories of local citizens. His incisive wit takes on politics, religion, language, and history, with equal opportunity barbs. He lives in an ancient stone cottage just outside the ruins of a castle destroyed by Napoleon, in a genuine quaint little village with no telephone. He rides the same trolleys as the local people. He eats the same food, and shops in the same bazaars. Astoundingly, he survives a year without TV, the internet, or even a golf course. Twenty-four photos add a rare glimpse into the lives, people, and countries of Eastern Europe. The captions alone are worth the price of the book.

Young adult readers have special needs and concerns, and librarians have become increasingly interested in selecting books suitable for them. This reference provides information about 290 books for young adults. These books received major awards between 1997 and 2001, reflect the voices of 242 different authors, and range from new to familiar themes. Included are nearly 750 alphabetically arranged entries for individual works, authors, characters, and settings. Many of these books were originally written for adults but have become popular among younger readers. Entries for works provide plot summaries and critical assessments, while author entries focus on those aspects of the writers' lives most relevant to literature for young people. The reference is a valuable selection tool for librarians and teachers and a useful guide for students.

"The Flapdoodle Follies" is a celebration of words. Sometimes archaic, perhaps a bit bizarre - but always beautiful - words have a power to transport or transform, to tickle and tease, and to terrify. Strung together in this way or that, a melody emerges, sometimes bubbling along, sometimes crashing with vicious, thunderous force; the result need not always be pleasant to be enjoyable. Words also have the power to inspire our imaginations, to set us off on a journey of reflection and exploration or on a madcap adventure into the unknown. Without a preconceived story to tell, the author lets the words themselves define the contours of the pieces. The result is collection of absurdist poetry, fantastical tales, and dark reflection. Sometimes playful, sometimes despairing, the author follows the stream of consciousness inspired by these words wherever it takes him, creating pieces that, somehow, in attempting to be unfocused, open, and direct, end up being very focused and true.

"While it’s well known that food and stories make for a great combination, Muffins & Mayhem takes their relationship to a whole new level. Brimming over with the stuff of life, this is a book to curl up with and devour." —JOEL BEN IZZY, storyteller and author of The Beggar King and The Secret of Happiness Suzanne Beecher’s happy, loving voice has brought more than 350,000 people to her online book club at DearReader.com, where her daily column offers her candid, thought-provoking reflections on life, inspiring countless readers to look at their "ordinary" lives in a new way. By turns funny and poignant, Suzanne is the reassuring friend across the kitchen table with a refreshing, jaunty attitude about life, even in the face of whatever difficulties it may bring. Suzanne has had her own share of troubles to overcome. Left home alone at an early age, she struggled with difficult and distant parents, dealt with heartbreak, became a hard-working single mom, and overcame two substance addictions and a physical impairment. But along the way, she found comfort in baking and sharing food with her friends and family. She learned to take the good with the bad, and her life is now inspiring proof that faith and persistence are the keys to success. This beautifully written celebration of food, friends, and family will nourish Suzanne’s numerous fans and those who have yet to discover her simple, homespun magic.

Sometimes, life can get boring and you have to look a little harder to be entertained. Perhaps working in a candy-filled dungeon-like wharehouse, attending a NASCAR race in the pouring rain or even melting action figures and setting fire to a public park is where you might find some sought after fun. In an unforgiving search for laughs, Urgent Care details how one Iowan found these events, as well as snowblowing his elderly neighbor's driveway, discussing Hitler with his five year-old daughter and having drinks with a rodeo cowgirl can be both exciting and humorous ways to pass the time. After reading the author's essays of coffee addiction, his early fascination with Wheel of Fortune and adventures in returning Christmas gifts to J.C. Penney, you may also be in need of some Urgent Care.

“Without question, this is McMillan’s best. A glorious novel....A moving tapestry of familial love and redemption.”—The Washington Post With her hallmark exuberance and a cast of characters so sassy, resilient, and full of life that they breathe, dream, and shout right off the page, Terry McMillan has given us a tour-de-force novel of family, healing, and redemption. A Day Late and a Dollar Short takes us deep into the hearts, minds, and souls of America—and gives us six more friends we never want to leave.