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The Demon Awakens: The DemonWars Saga, Book 1 (DemonWars series #1)
by R. A. Salvatore#1 New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore brings an astonishing world to life and the intrepid hero, Elbryan Wynden, leads the way as he confronts the dark tides of destiny in his epic search for justice and peace.A great evil has awakened in the land of Corona, a terrible demon determined to spread death and misery. His goblin armies and fearsome giants ravage the settlements of the frontier, and in the small village of Dundallis, their merciless attack leaves behind two shattered orphans: Pony and her lifelong friend, the youth Elbryan. Taken in by elves, Elryan is raised to become a formidable ranger—a fateful role that will lead him into harrowing confrontations. Meanwhile, on a far-off island, a shower of gemstones will fall onto the black-sand shores. These heaven-sent stones carry within them an incredible power—the key to all that is good in the world and all that is evil, and it is up to one young monk to liberate them from the corrupt monastery that harvests them. Pray they don&’t fall into the wrong clawed hands.
Stay-at-Work Mom: Marriage, Kids, and Other Disasters
by Liz Astrof&“The parenting genre is never going to be the same&” (Jancee Dunn, author of How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids) after this candid and hilarious collection of essays on motherhood from the award-winning television comedy writer and producer of 2 Broke Girls and The King of Queens, who swears she loves her kids—when she&’s not hiding from them.Some women feel that motherhood is a calling and their purpose on earth. They somehow manage to make pregnancy look effortless, bring out the beauty in a screaming child, and keep the back seat of their cars as spotless as their kitchens. And then there are women like Liz Astrof—who originally had children because &“everyone else was.&” In this blunt and side-splittingly funny book of essays (previously published as Don&’t Wait Up), Liz Astrof embraces the realities of motherhood (and womanhood) that no one ever talks about: like needing to hide from your kids in your closet, your car, or a yoga class on the other side of town, letting them eat candy for dinner because you just can&’t deal, to the sheer terror of failing them or at the very least losing them in a mall. And sometimes, many times, wondering if the whole parenting thing wasn&’t for you. Perfect for fans of Let&’s Pretend This Never Happened and I Heart My Little A-Holes, Stay-At-Work Mom is a soul-baring and honest look at parenting and relationships for moms who realize that motherhood doesn&’t have to be your entire life—just an amazing part of it.
Transcendence: The DemonWars Saga, Book 6 (DemonWars series #6)
by R. A. SalvatoreThe next novel in bestselling author R.A. Salvatore&’s second DemonWars saga, Transcendence is an extraordinary adventure that introduces a remarkable new hero—and explores the mysteries of enlightenment and the art of war in a dazzling epic of imagination.Brave and beautiful Brynn Dharielle has ventured on a daring mission to free her beloved homeland from tyrannical rule. But she cannot imagine the depths of chaos and betrayal that seethes amid a ruthless sect of warrior priests led by an evil chieftain who conceals a dark, age-old secret. For Brynn and her trusted elven companion, the way to Behren turns into a fierce and illuminating voyage. But by the time Brynn reaches the land where she once saw her parents murdered, the seeds of revolution are already flourishing. The first salvo of a sweeping battle has begun—one that will threaten to destroy the heart and soul of her world. In book six of the DemonWars saga, #1 New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore continues the second trilogy of the saga in what Booklist raves &“outstanding…Brynn Dharielle is a first-rate female high-fantasy protagonist.&”
iPhone Unlocked
by David PogueMake the most of your iPhone with this witty, authoritative, full-color guide to iOS 14.Apple has sold over 2.2 billion iPhones—but not one has come with a user guide. And with each annual update of iOS, Apple piles on more and more features; at this moment, the Settings app alone bristles with over 1,000 options. In iPhone Unlocked, the #1 bestselling iPhone author David Pogue offers a curated guide to the essential and useful features of the new iPhone 12 family—and all other models that can run the iOS 14 software. A former New York Times tech columnist and bestselling how-to author, no one is better equipped than Pogue to offer expert instruction to this complicated iPhone. With his trademark humor, crystal-clear prose, and 300 full-color illustrations, Pogue guides readers through everything in iOS 14: Home-screen widgets, the new App Library, the all-new Translate app, the redesigned Search, FaceTime, and calling screens, and much more. Whether you&’re a new iPhone user or a seasoned veteran, iPhone Unlocked is a gorgeous, authoritative, all-in-one master class on all things iPhone.
A Shamanic Herbal: Plant Teachers and Animal Medicines
by Matthew Wood• Explores the alphabet of Nature personified in animals and the spiritual lessons of animal medicines—animals personified in plants—including Turtle, Bear, Deer, Wolf, Alligator, and Horse Medicine teachings• Shares profound experiences from the author&’s long career as an herbalist and his first years growing up on a remote Seminole reservation in the Everglades• Offers shamanic adventures interwoven with comparisons to the psychology of Freud and Jung, the visions of Castaneda, and the occult teachings of Steiner and GurdjieffSharing profound experiences from his long career as well as his first years growing up on a remote Seminole reservation in the Everglades, renowned herbalist Matthew Wood interweaves practical herbalism and the spiritual potency of Nature to deeply explore the plant teachers, animal medicines, and foundational principles of shamanism as a spiritual path.Wood describes a universal &“language of the shamans,&” based on direct, sometimes supernatural experiences as well as case studies from his practice. He examines the alphabet of Nature and spiritual lessons personified in animals and plants, especially &“animal medicines&”—when the plant looks like an animal. He shares accounts of Turtle Medicine plants for self-examination, Bear Medicine plants to open the imagination, and Wolf Medicine plants for wholeness and magic. He explores the plants of Alligator Medicine for healthful prosperity, Horse Medicine plants to bring the conscious self in harmony with the animal self, Badger Medicine plants to strengthen gut instincts, and many other herb and animal teachers. He also looks at plants associated with journeying to the spirit world through the medicine of Crane, Dragon, and Bat.Revealing the shamanic roots of his herbal teachings, Matthew Wood provides not only an inside view of his lifelong spiritual path but also an immersive and experiential guide to the shamanic wisdom of countless plant and animal teachers.
The Creative Programmer
by Wouter GroeneveldProgramming is a creative act. These techniques will help you maximize the power of creativity to improve your software and your satisfaction in creating it.In The Creative Programmer you&’ll discover: The seven dimensions of creativity in software engineering The scientific understanding of creativity and how it translates to programming Actionable advice and thinking exercises that will make you a better programmer Innovative communication skills for working more efficiently on a team Creative problem-solving techniques for tackling complex challenges In The Creative Programmer you&’ll learn the processes and habits of highly creative individuals and discover how you can build creativity into your programming practice. This fascinating new book introduces the seven domains of creative problem solving and teaches practical techniques that apply those principles to software development. Hand-drawn illustrations, reflective thought experiments, and brain-tickling example problems help you get your creative juices flowing—you&’ll even be able to track your progress against a scientifically validated Creative Programming Problem Solving Test. Before you know it, you&’ll be thinking up new and novel ways to tackle the big challenges of your projects. Foreword by Dr. Felienne Hermans. About the Technology Like composing music, starting a business, or designing a marketing campaign, programming is a creative activity. And just like technical skills, creativity can be learned and improved with practice! This thought-provoking book details practical methods to turn creativity into more effective problem solving, higher productivity, and better software. About the Book The Creative Programmer explores seven dimensions of creativity in software engineering—technical knowledge, collaboration, constraints, critical thinking, curiosity, a creative state of mind, and creative techniques. As you read, you&’ll apply insights about creativity from other disciplines to the challenges of software development. Numerous relevant examples and exercises drive each lesson home. You&’ll especially enjoy the unique Creative Programming Problem Solving Test that helps you assess how creative you&’ve been with a programming task. What&’s Inside The scientific understanding of creativity and how it translates to programming Advice and exercises that will help you become a creative programmer Innovative communication skills for working more efficiently on a team Creative problem-solving techniques for tackling complex challenges About the Reader For programmers of all skill levels. About the Author Wouter Groeneveld is a software engineer and computer science education researcher at KU Leuven, where he researches the importance of creativity in software engineering. Table of Contents: 1 The creative road ahead 2 Technical knowledge 3 Communication 4 Constraints 5 Critical thinking 6 Curiosity 7 Creative state of mind 8 Creative techniques 9 Final thoughts on creativity
Lisey's Story: A Novel
by Stephen KingThe &“haunting…tender, intimate book that makes an epic interior journey&” (The New York Times), Lisey&’s Story is a literary masterpiece—an extraordinarily moving and haunting portrait of a marriage and its aftermath. *Also an Apple TV+ limited series starring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen*Lisey lost her husband Scott, after a twenty-five year marriage of profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, Lisey knew there was a place Scott went that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it&’s Lisey&’s turn to face Scott&’s demons, to go to that terrifying place known as Boo&’ya Moon. What begins as a widow&’s effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited. &“Intricate...exhilarating&” (The New Yorker), perhaps Stephen King&’s most personal and powerful novel ever, Lisey&’s Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love. It is a beautiful, &“rich portrait of a marriage, and the complicated affection that outlives death&” (The Washington Post).
Social Skills for Kids: From Making Friends and Problem-Solving to Self-Control and Communication, 150+ Activities to Help Your Child Develop Essential Social Skills
by Keri K. PowersHelp your children develop essential social skills—including groups, one-on-one interactions, and virtual communication—with these 150 easy, fun activities to teach your kids how to socially succeed.From taking turns to making eye contact to staying engaged during conversations, developing appropriate social skills is an important factor for kids to be able to succeed in school and life in general. But how can you tell if your child is really making progress while you read the same stories, have the same conversations, and chaperone the same playdates? The answer is to add some variety to your child&’s daily activities with these 150 exercises specially designed to keep your child (and their friends) entertained, all while teaching them effective social skills. In Social Skills for Kids, you&’ll learn everything you need to know about how social skills develop in children and what you can do to support their growth. In this book, you&’ll find games to encourage them in group settings, activities that you (or another caregiver) can do alone with your child, and ways to make the most of virtual interactions for social skill development. So whether you&’re looking for new activities to entertain a few friends during playtime, searching for fun (and educational) games you and your child can play together, or even interested in ways to include people you can&’t physically visit, Social Skills for Kids has all the tools you need to help your child develop the social skills they need to succeed.
The Joy of Kotlin
by Pierre-Yves SaumontSummaryMaintaining poor legacy code, interpreting cryptic comments, and writing the same boilerplate over and over can suck the joy out of your life as a Java developer. Fear not! There's hope! Kotlin is an elegant JVM language with modern features and easy integration with Java. The Joy of Kotlin teaches you practical techniques to improve abstraction and design, to write comprehensible code, and to build maintainable bug-free applications.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.About the TechnologyYour programming language should be expressive, safe, flexible, and intuitive, and Kotlin checks all the boxes! This elegant JVM language integrates seamlessly with Java, and makes it a breeze to switch between OO and functional styles of programming. It's also fully supported by Google as a first-class Android language. Master the powerful techniques in this unique book, and you'll be able to take on new challenges with increased confidence and skill.About the BookThe Joy of Kotlin teaches you to write comprehensible, easy-to-maintain, safe programs with Kotlin. In this expert guide, seasoned engineer Pierre-Yves Saumont teaches you to approach common programming challenges with a fresh, FP-inspired perspective. As you work through the many examples, you'll dive deep into handling errors and data properly, managing state, and taking advantage of laziness. The author's down-to-earth examples and experience-driven insights will make you a better—and more joyful—developer!What's insideProgramming with functionsDealing with optional dataSafe handling of errors and exceptionsHandling and sharing state mutationAbout the ReaderWritten for intermediate Java or Kotlin developers.About the AuthorPierre-Yves Saumont is a senior software engineer at Alcatel-Submarine Networks. He's the author of Functional Programming in Java (Manning, 2017).Table of ContentsMaking programs saferFunctional programming in Kotlin: An overviewProgramming with functionsRecursion, corecursion, and memoizationData handling with listsDealing with optional dataHandling errors and exceptionsAdvanced list handlingWorking with lazinessMore data handling with treesSolving problems with advanced treesFunctional input/outputSharing mutable states with actorsSolving common problems functionally
Bayesian Optimization in Action (In Action)
by Quan NguyenBayesian optimization helps pinpoint the best configuration for your machine learning models with speed and accuracy. Put its advanced techniques into practice with this hands-on guide.In Bayesian Optimization in Action you will learn how to: Train Gaussian processes on both sparse and large data sets Combine Gaussian processes with deep neural networks to make them flexible and expressive Find the most successful strategies for hyperparameter tuning Navigate a search space and identify high-performing regions Apply Bayesian optimization to cost-constrained, multi-objective, and preference optimization Implement Bayesian optimization with PyTorch, GPyTorch, and BoTorch Bayesian Optimization in Action shows you how to optimize hyperparameter tuning, A/B testing, and other aspects of the machine learning process by applying cutting-edge Bayesian techniques. Using clear language, illustrations, and concrete examples, this book proves that Bayesian optimization doesn&’t have to be difficult! You&’ll get in-depth insights into how Bayesian optimization works and learn how to implement it with cutting-edge Python libraries. The book&’s easy-to-reuse code samples let you hit the ground running by plugging them straight into your own projects. Forewords by Luis Serrano and David Sweet. About the technology In machine learning, optimization is about achieving the best predictions—shortest delivery routes, perfect price points, most accurate recommendations—in the fewest number of steps. Bayesian optimization uses the mathematics of probability to fine-tune ML functions, algorithms, and hyperparameters efficiently when traditional methods are too slow or expensive. About the book Bayesian Optimization in Action teaches you how to create efficient machine learning processes using a Bayesian approach. In it, you&’ll explore practical techniques for training large datasets, hyperparameter tuning, and navigating complex search spaces. This interesting book includes engaging illustrations and fun examples like perfecting coffee sweetness, predicting weather, and even debunking psychic claims. You&’ll learn how to navigate multi-objective scenarios, account for decision costs, and tackle pairwise comparisons. What's inside Gaussian processes for sparse and large datasets Strategies for hyperparameter tuning Identify high-performing regions Examples in PyTorch, GPyTorch, and BoTorch About the reader For machine learning practitioners who are confident in math and statistics. About the author Quan Nguyen is a research assistant at Washington University in St. Louis. He writes for the Python Software Foundation and has authored several books on Python programming. Table of Contents 1 Introduction to Bayesian optimization 2 Gaussian processes as distributions over functions 3 Customizing a Gaussian process with the mean and covariance functions 4 Refining the best result with improvement-based policies 5 Exploring the search space with bandit-style policies 6 Leveraging information theory with entropy-based policies 7 Maximizing throughput with batch optimization 8 Satisfying extra constraints with constrained optimization 9 Balancing utility and cost with multifidelity optimization 10 Learning from pairwise comparisons with preference optimization 11 Optimizing multiple objectives at the same time 12 Scaling Gaussian processes to large datasets 13 Combining Gaussian processes with neural networks
Slow Cooker Favorites Chicken: 150+ Easy, Delicious Slow Cooker Recipes, from Hot Chicken Buffalo Bites and Chicken Parmesan to Teriyaki Chicken (Slow Cooker Cookbook Series)
by Adams MediaLearn how to make easy, affordable, and deliciously diverse dinners for your family every night with this go-to cookbook featuring more than 140 slow-cooker chicken recipes.Chicken is a dinnertime staple. It&’s a simple, budget-friendly favorite, and there are countless ways to prepare it. In Slow Cooker Favorites Chicken you&’ll find something new and delicious to enjoy every day—from classic appetizers and comforting dishes to exotic international one-pot meals—with minimal prep work and easy cleanup. The most challenging part will be picking which dish you want to try next!
How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle (Principles)
by Ray Dalio#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER &“Advance copies of Ray Dalio&’s new book about how countries go broke have become a hot read in Washington.&” —The New York Times &“This book is a gift to humanity….Ray provides a solution to what is the biggest and most certain threat to our prosperity.&” —Henry M. Paulson Jr. &“An invaluable resource for policymakers, investors, and citizens.&” —Lawrence H. Summers An urgent warning about the American economy from Ray Dalio, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Principles. Do big government debts threaten our collective well-being? Are there limits to debt growth? Can a big, important reserve currency country like the United States really go broke—and what would that look like? For decades, politicians, policymakers, and investors have debated these questions, but the answers have eluded them. In this groundbreaking book, Ray Dalio, one of the greatest investors of our time who anticipated the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2010–12 European debt crisis, shares for the first time his detailed explanation of what he calls the &“Big Debt Cycle.&” Understanding this cycle is critical for helping policymakers, investors, and the general public grasp where we are and where we are headed with the debt issue. Dalio&’s model points toward surprisingly straightforward solutions for dealing with the debt problems that the US, Europe, Japan, and China face today. How Countries Go Broke also shows how these debt problems are related to the other forces—political within countries, geopolitical between countries, natural (droughts, floods, and pandemics), and technological (most importantly, AI)—that together are causing what Dalio calls the &“Overall Big Cycle&” changes in the world order. By reading this book, you will improve your understanding of what&’s happening now and what to do about it.
The Demon Apostle: The DemonWars Saga, Book 3 (DemonWars series #3)
by R. A. SalvatoreIn book three of the DemonWars Saga, the war-weary citizens of the kingdom of Honce-the-Bear only wish to rebuild their broken lives after the demon dactyl and its foul minions are defeated yet the specter of civil war haunts the ravages land—and a specter more fearsome still.The elf-trained ranger Elbryan Wynden presses north to reclaim the savage Timberlands from retreating goblin hordes. His companion Pony, mistress of gemstone magic, turns south to the civilized—but no less perilous—streets of Palmaris. Suddenly they find themselves caught up in a ruthless power struggle to decide the fate of all Corona—a struggle that will push their courage and love to the breaking point…and beyond. For the demon, though defeated, was not destroyed. And now its vengeful spirit has found an unholy sanctuary. In book three of the DemonWars Saga, #1 New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore concludes the first trilogy of the saga in what Publishers Weekly calls &“Salvatore&’s strongest fantasy to date…[His] potent mixture of detailed historical context, well-rounded characters, brisk pacing, and exciting battle scenes make for a consuming read.&”
Living Your Best 5D Life: Timeless Tools to Achieve and Maintain Your New Reality
by Maureen J. St. Germain• 2025 Coalition of Visionary Resources Gold Award• Explores 5D tools and essential skills for transforming the world around you, including practices for thinking in 5D, accelerating your vibrational rate, transforming beliefs, and cleaning your 12 DNA strands• Includes meditations to help you upgrade your MerKaBa, anchor in 5D consciousness, and navigate the higher dimensions• Shares amazing events the author has witnessed since she expanded her consciousness into the Fifth DimensionThe new era of Fifth Dimensional consciousness has arrived! Yet many people are stuck in 3D, grasping at old paradigms, while others are unable to stay fully anchored in 5D. As renowned Ascension teacher Maureen St. Germain reveals, it is possible to make spiritual &“upgrades&” that allow you to shift into 5D and stay there.In this enlightening guide, Maureen shares amazing events she has witnessed, both her own personal 5D experiences as well as those from her students. She details how to navigate your new 5D reality and resolve dynamic challenges that arise in daily life. She also explores how to recognize when you are actively in 5D—when all feels blissful and happy—and explains how to stay in that dimension.Sharing everything you need to know to successfully cross over from 3D to 5D, Maureen discusses how to truly transform beliefs and paradigms that hold the soul in the denser dimensions. She explores practices for thinking in 5D, shares meditations to help you upgrade your MerKaBa, and examines how to clear and clean your 12 DNA strands and your chakras. She also explains how to ensure family and friends can cross over into higher dimensions too. With her guidance, you will be able to attract cooperation and kindness and harness your strength and energy to live your best 5D life in a reality where love is the governing rule.
Spring in Action, Sixth Edition
by Craig WallsIf you need to learn Spring, look no further than this widely beloved and comprehensive guide! Fully revised for Spring 5.3, and packed with interesting real-world examples to get your hands dirty with Spring.In Spring in Action, 6th Edition you will learn: Building reactive applications Relational and NoSQL databases Integrating via HTTP and REST-based services, and sand reactive RSocket services Reactive programming techniques Deploying applications to traditional servers and containers Securing applications with Spring Security Over the years, Spring in Action has helped tens of thousands of developers get a major productivity boost from Spring. This new edition of the classic bestseller covers all of the new features of Spring 5.3 and Spring Boot 2.4 along with examples of reactive programming, Spring Security for REST Services, and bringing reactivity to your databases. You'll also find the latest Spring best practices, including Spring Boot for application setup and configuration. About the technology Spring is required knowledge for Java developers! Why? Th is powerful framework eliminates a lot of the tedious configuration and repetitive coding tasks, making it easy to build enterprise-ready, production-quality software. The latest updates bring huge productivity boosts to microservices, reactive development, and other modern application designs. It&’s no wonder over half of all Java developers use Spring. About the book Spring in Action, Sixth Edition is a comprehensive guide to Spring&’s core features, all explained in Craig Walls&’ famously clear style. You&’ll put Spring into action as you build a complete database-backed web app step-by-step. This new edition covers both Spring fundamentals and new features such as reactive flows, Kubernetes integration, and RSocket. Whether you&’re new to Spring or leveling up to Spring 5.3, make this classic bestseller your bible! What's inside Relational and NoSQL databases Integrating via RSocket and REST-based services Reactive programming techniques Deploying applications to traditional servers and containers About the reader For beginning to intermediate Java developers. About the author Craig Walls is an engineer at VMware, a member of the Spring engineering team, a popular author, and a frequent conference speaker. Table of Contents PART 1 FOUNDATIONAL SPRING 1 Getting started with Spring 2 Developing web applications 3 Working with data 4 Working with nonrelational data 5 Securing Spring 6 Working with configuration properties PART 2 INTEGRATED SPRING 7 Creating REST services 8 Securing REST 9 Sending messages asynchronously 10 Integrating Spring PART 3 REACTIVE SPRING 11 Introducing Reactor 12 Developing reactive APIs 13 Persisting data reactively 14 Working with RSocket PART 4 DEPLOYED SPRING 15 Working with Spring Boot Actuator 16 Administering Spring 17 Monitoring Spring with JMX 18 Deploying Spring
Effective Software Testing: A developer's guide
by Maurizio AnicheGo beyond basic testing! Great software testing makes the entire development process more efficient. This book reveals a systemic and effective approach that will help you customize your testing coverage and catch bugs in tricky corner cases.In Effective Software Testing you will learn how to: Engineer tests with a much higher chance of finding bugs Read code coverage metrics and use them to improve your test suite Understand when to use unit tests, integration tests, and system tests Use mocks and stubs to simplify your unit testing Think of pre-conditions, post-conditions, invariants, and contracts Implement property-based tests Utilize coding practices like dependency injection and hexagonal architecture that make your software easier to test Write good and maintainable test code Effective Software Testing teaches you a systematic approach to software testing that will ensure the quality of your code. It&’s full of techniques drawn from proven research in software engineering, and each chapter puts a new technique into practice. Follow the real-world use cases and detailed code samples, and you&’ll soon be engineering tests that find bugs in edge cases and parts of code you&’d never think of testing! Along the way, you&’ll develop an intuition for testing that can save years of learning by trial and error. About the technology Effective testing ensures that you&’ll deliver quality software. For software engineers, testing is a key part of the development process. Mastering specification-based testing, boundary testing, structural testing, and other core strategies is essential to writing good tests and catching bugs before they hit production. About the book Effective Software Testing is a hands-on guide to creating bug-free software. Written for developers, it guides you through all the different types of testing, from single units up to entire components. You&’ll also learn how to engineer code that facilitates testing and how to write easy-to-maintain test code. Offering a thorough, systematic approach, this book includes annotated source code samples, realistic scenarios, and reasoned explanations. What's inside Design rigorous test suites that actually find bugs When to use unit tests, integration tests, and system tests Pre-and post-conditions, invariants, contracts, and property-based tests Design systems that are test-friendly Test code best practices and test smells About the reader The Java-based examples illustrate concepts you can use for any object-oriented language. About the author Dr. Maurício Aniche is the Tech Academy Lead at Adyen and an Assistant Professor in Software Engineering at the Delft University of Technology. Table of Contents 1 Effective and systematic software testing 2 Specification-based testing 3 Structural testing and code coverage 4 Designing contracts 5 Property-based testing 6 Test doubles and mocks 7 Designing for testability 8 Test-driven development 9 Writing larger tests 10 Test code quality 11 Wrapping up the book
The Talisman: A Novel
by Stephen King Peter StraubSoon to be a Netflix series! The iconic, &“extraordinary&” (The Washington Post) collaboration between bestselling authors Stephen King and Peter Straub—an epic #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy thriller about a young boy&’s quest to save his mother&’s life.Jack Sawyer, twelve years old, is about to begin a most fantastic journey, an exalting, terrifying quest for the mystical Talisman—the only thing that can save Jack&’s dying mother. But to reach his goal, Jack must make his way not only across the breadth of the United States but also through the wondrous and menacing parallel world of the Territories. In the Territories, Jack finds another realm, where the air is so sweet and clear a man can smell a radish being pulled from the ground a mile away—and a life can be snuffed out instantly in the continuing struggle between good and evil. Here Jack discovers &“Twinners,&” reflections of the people he knows on earth—most notably Queen Laura DeLoessian, the Twinner of Jack&’s own imperiled mother. As Jack &“flips&” between worlds, making his way westward toward the redemptive Talisman, a sequence of heart-stopping encounters challenges him at every step. An unforgettable epic of adventure and resounding triumph, The Talisman is one of the most influential and highly praised works of fantasy ever written.
Welcome to Murder Week: A Novel
by Karen DukessUSA TODAY BESTSELLER In this delightfully funny and heartfelt new novel from the author of the &“bittersweet page-turner&” (The New York Times) The Last Book Party, an American woman travels to the English countryside when she discovers tickets her late mother had purchased for a murder mystery simulation in a small British town.When thirty-four-year-old Cath loses her mostly absentee mother, she is ambivalent. With days of quiet, unassuming routine in Buffalo, New York, Cath consciously avoids the impulsive, thrill-seeking lifestyle that her mother once led. But when she&’s forced to go through her mother&’s things one afternoon, Cath is perplexed to find tickets for an upcoming &“murder week&” in England&’s Peak District: a whole town has come together to stage a fake murder mystery to attract tourism to their quaint hamlet. Baffled but helplessly intrigued by her mother&’s secret purchase, Cath decides to go on the trip herself—and begins a journey she never could have anticipated. Teaming up with her two cottage-mates, both ardent mystery lovers—Wyatt Green, forty, who works unhappily in his husband&’s birding store, and Amity Clark, fifty, a divorced romance writer struggling with her novels—Cath sets about solving the &“crime&” and begins to unravel shocking truths about her mother along the way. Amidst a fling—or something more—with the handsome local maker of artisanal gin, Cath and her irresistibly charming fellow sleuths will find this week of fake murder may help them face up to a very real crossroads in their own lives. Witty, wise, and deliciously escapist, Welcome to Murder Week is a fresh, inventive twist on the murder mystery and a touching portrayal of one daughter&’s reckoning with her grief, her past—and her own budding sense of adventure.
Alexis and the Perfect Recipe (Cupcake Diaries)
by Coco SimonAlexis tries to bring her head for organization to matters of the heart in the fourth book in the Cupcake Diaries series!Alexis loves to organize and plan and set goals, which is why she&’s in charge of the business end of the Cupcake Club. But there&’s more to Alexis than meets the eye. Like the fact that she has a messy drawer, she likes to secretly dance in her bedroom…and she has a major crush on Matt Taylor—who happens to be her BFF Emma&’s brother. When her feelings make things a little messy, Alexis decides to figure it out the way she always does: by conducting research, collecting data, and setting a goal. But is there a formula for love?
The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species
by Trevor Ritland Kyle RitlandThe Costa Rican cloud forest, a mysterious amphibian killer, and a vanished species: with support from Leonardo DiCaprio&’s Re:wild campaign, twin documentarians and environmental writers follow their father&’s footsteps into the heart of the modern extinction crisis. As young boys, Trevor and Kyle Ritland were fascinated by the magnificent golden toad of Costa Rica, a brilliant species their biologist father showed them in his projector&’s slide shows. Native to only one wind-battered ridgeline high on the continental divide above the cloud forests of Monteverde, thousands of golden toads would congregate for a few weeks each year in ephemeral pools among the twisted roots to mate, deposit their offspring, and retreat again beneath the earth. But from one year to the next, the toads disappeared without a trace; the last of them vanished more than thirty years ago. Since then, only rumors remain—alleged sightings by local residents, which beg the question: could the golden toad still be alive? In The Golden Toad, Trevor and Kyle set off to investigate an environmental mystery with unexpected revelations, a story that speaks to our own collective and uncertain future. Guided by Costa Rican naturalists—including the last person to have seen the golden toad alive—Trevor searches for survivors while Kyle hunts the killer, and their paths lead them through an imperiled forest, a deadly pandemic, and a changing climate, finally intertwining at the site of the golden toad&’s last emergence deep in Monteverde&’s Bosque Eterno de Los Niños. The toad&’s demise becomes a haunting foretelling of approaching ecological crisis, but with a gold lining on the horizon. The Golden Toad changes the conversation around extinction, climate change, and conservation while exploring environmental grief, resurrection, and hope in a changing world.
Uncle John's Hindsight Is 20/20 Bathroom Reader: The Future Is Family, Friends, Facts, and Fun (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Annual #34)
by Bathroom Readers' InstituteThis 34th annual edition of Uncle John&’s Bathroom Reader offers an all-new collection of fascinating trivia, strange-but-true oddities, and the ever-popular stories of dumb crooks!Uncle John&’s Hindsight Is 2020 Bathroom Reader is packed with tons of new articles from the worlds of pop culture, history, and science to help you get everything out of your system the next time you visit the throne room! Articles range in length from a single page to extended page-turners, each as entertaining as the last. From iconic television roles that almost weren&’t to the origins of comic books, this 34th edition of fascinating trivia, hilarious lists, and notable quotes compiled by Uncle John and his team at the Bathroom Readers&’ Institute will set your mind free to roam the world—and you won&’t even need to leave the house!
Raising Human Beings: Creating a Collaborative Partnership with Your Child
by Ross W. GreeneRenowned child psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of Lost at School and The Explosive Child explains how to cultivate a better parent-child relationship while also nurturing empathy, honesty, resilience, and independence.Parents have an important task: figure out who their child is—his or her skills, preferences, beliefs, values, personality traits, goals, and direction—get comfortable with it, and then help them pursue and live a life according to it. Yet parents also want their kids to be independent, but not if they are going to make bad choices. They want to avoid being too overbearing, but not if an apathetic kid is what they have to show for it. They want to have a good relationship with their kids, but not if that means being a pushover. They don’t want to scream, but they do want to be heard. Good parenting is about striking the balance between a child’s characteristics and a parent’s desire to have influence. Dr. Ross Greene “makes a powerful case for rethinking typical approaches to parenting and disciplining children” (The Atlantic). Through his well-known model of solving problems collaboratively, parents can forgo timeout and sticker charts; stop badgering, berating, threatening, and punishing; allow their kids to feel heard and validated; and have influence. From homework to hygiene, curfews, to screen time, Dr. Greene “arms parents with guidelines that are clear, doable, and sure to empower both parents and their children” (Adele Faber, coauthor of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen). Raising Human Beings is “inspirational…a game-changer for parents, teachers, and other caregivers. Its advice is reasonable and empathetic, and readers will feel ready to start creating a better relationship with the children in their lives” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Weather 101: From Doppler Radar and Long-Range Forecasts to the Polar Vortex and Climate Change, Everything You Need to Know about the Study of Weather (Adams 101 Series)
by Kathleen SearsIn this clear and straight new guide from the author of Grammar 101 and Weather 101, get a crash course in understanding the science behind weather and weather prediction.Weather is everywhere, and while it&’s typically not thought about most of the time, it can get everyone&’s attention in an instant—whether it&’s the swirling destruction of a tornado, the wreckage from a hurricane, or the havoc of climate change on the environment. Weather 101 gives you the basics on weather, from blue skies to hail to dust storms, with information on the science of how weather works, how to predict the weather in your area, how to be ready for natural disasters, and how climate change is affecting weather patterns across the world. With this guide, you&’ll be a weather expert in no time!
My Grief Is Not Like Yours: Learning to Live after Unimaginable Loss—A Daughter's Journey
by Theo BoydA daughter's heartbreaking and tragic story of losing her parents—and hope for those walking their own journey through grief.Theo Boyd had always been close to her parents. Her father was a Texas peanut farmer, rancher, and preacher; her mother, deaf from a young age, was the glue that held them all together. Then one summer day in 2019, everything changed when Theo&’s mother died in a tragic accident on their family farm. As Theo began to process this loss, her marriage started to unravel, adding another painful layer to her grief. Meanwhile, Theo continued to care for her father who was shaken to his core by the tragedy. Nothing could erase the agony he felt from losing his love and soulmate of over fifty years, and one night he chose to escape his pain by ending his life. Theo suddenly had to learn to live without the two people who were her constant love and support—her parents. In My Grief Is Not Like Yours, Theo gives an unforgettable account of how quickly life can turn to grief. Beautifully woven, this book is threaded with memories and raw emotions that are seldom discussed. Theo shows readers how she endured the unimaginable. She walks beside anyone navigating through their grief, helping them feel less alone and guiding them to hope and healing. &“We are all unique, in life and in death. We are born, we live, we die, and we grieve, but my grief is not like yours.&” —Theo Boyd
The Measles Book: Thirty-Five Secrets the Government and the Media Aren't Telling You about Measles and the Measles Vaccine (Children’s Health Defense)
by Children's Health DefenseDiscover thirty-five secrets that the media, US government, and Big Pharma don't want you to know about vaccines. Measles! We all have seen or heard the scary stories about &“outbreaks&” in the media. It has even been declared a &“public health emergency&” at various times. Is it true? Are we and our children at risk? The Measles Book: Thirty-Five Secrets the Government and the Media Aren&’t Telling You about Measles and the Measles Vaccine will help you answer these questions. You will find out if this is just another example of the media, government, and industry misleading us or whether we really have a lot to worry about. The Measles Book presents reliable medical information from the most credible sources available. It is intended to help you make an informed choice about vaccinating your child. The main focus is measles, but many of the issues are relevant to other childhood vaccines. Within the book's pages, the reader will discover thirty-five secrets being kept from the general public about childhood vaccines, especially the measles vaccine. Just a sampling of these secrets include: Vaccines are not safe for every child and the government and pharmaceutical companies have known this for years.Some children will get injured or die from vaccines and the government and pharmaceutical companies know this, too.Pharmaceutical companies have developed an incredible way to make money from vaccines, and not be held accountable.When a child is injured or killed by a vaccine, the pharmaceutical company does not pay for the damage it caused—we do! Learn the other thirty-one secrets when you read The Measles Book by Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit organization committed to the health of our children and challenging misinformation spread by Big Pharma, the government, and the media. The information in The Measles Book is vital for parents to know so they can make informed decisions for their children.