Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Cheryl Strayed

Knopf 

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State-and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than "an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise." But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac

Kris D'Agostino

Algonquin Books

Calvin Moretti can't believe how much his life sucks. He's a twenty-four-year-old film school dropout living at home again and working as an assistant teacher at a preschool for autistic kids. His insufferable go-getter older brother is also living at home, as is his kid sister, who's still in high school and has just confided to Cal that she's pregnant. What's more, Calvin's father, a career pilot, is temporarily grounded and obsessed with his own mortality. and his ever-stalwart mother is now crumbling under the pressure of mounting bills and the imminent loss of their Sleepy Hollow, New York, home: the only thing keeping the Morettis moored. Can things get worse? Oh, yes, they can.

Dust To Dust: A Memoir

Benjamin Busch

Ecco Press

"Dust to Dust" is an extraordinary memoir about ordinary things: life and death, war and peace, the explorations of childhood and revelations of adulthood by Busch--a U.S. Marine who served two combat tours in Iraq, an actor on "The Wire," and son of celebrated novelist Frederick Busch.

The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds

Julie Zickefoose

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Julie Zickefoose lives for the moment when a wild, free living bird that she has raised or rehabilitated comes back to visit her; their eyes meet and they share a spark of understanding. Her reward for the grueling work of rescuing birds-such as feeding baby hummingbirds every twenty minutes all day long-is her empathy with them and the satisfaction of knowing the world is a birdier and more beautiful place. The Bluebird Effect is about the change that's set in motion by one single act, such as saving an injured bluebird-or a hummingbird, swift, or phoebe. Each of the twenty five chapters covers a different species, and many depict an individual bird, each with its own personality, habits, and quirks. And each chapter is illustrated with Zickefoose's stunning watercolor paintings and drawings. Not just individual tales about the trials and triumphs of raising birds, The Bluebird Effect mixes humor, natural history, and memoir to give readers an intimate story of a life lived among wild birds.

Imagine: How Creativity Works

Jonah Lehrer

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

From the best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative "types," Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It's a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively. Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider's perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.

The Smoke

Tony Broadbent

MP Publishing

It's 1947, and London is being half-crippled by the Peace. It's the coldest winter in living memory, everything is rationed, and even beer, by official order, is watered down. But Jethro doesn't bother complaining much. As a jewel thief, he needs all his wits about him when engaged in redistributing the wealth of the upper classes. The demands on Jethro's wits increase when his skills attract some unwelcome interest, first from London's thuggish crime-lords and then from His Majesty's Secret Service, which wants him to pull a little job on the Soviet Embassy. You wouldn't believe what an honest Cockney cat burglar has to do to survive sometimes.

My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home

Jim Lahey

Clarkson Potter

Make homemade pizza that exceeds your wildest expectations-yet couldn't be simpler-with Jim Lahey's groundbreaking no-knead dough and inventive toppings. The secret to incredible pizza is a superb crust-one that is crisp yet chewy, and slightly charred around the edges. Jim Lahey, the baking genius behind New York City's celebrated Sullivan Street Bakery and Co. pizza restaurant, has developed a brilliant recipe that requires no kneading and produces an irresistible crust in any home oven-gas or electric-in fewer than five minutes. My Pizza shares this revolutionary technique and the creative pies that put Co. on the map, as well as recipes for salads, soups, and desserts to make a meal complete.