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When Zane bought his bicycle shop at age 16, his business struggled until he discovered the secret that catapulted his store into one of the largest in the country. His secret? Provide unbelievable, over the top, excessively generous customer service.

As an entrepreneur, you're not afraid to bend the rules and think outside the box. You're not burdened with linear thinking, and thinking differently and trying new approaches enable you to solve problems. As serial entrepreneurs and cofounders of the largest social network for entrepreneurs in the world, EFactor.com, Adrie Reinders and Marion Freijsen know about the challenges facing new entrepreneurs in the current business environment. Their site--with a community of one million-plus and growing rapidly--is a virtual marketplace for entrepreneurs to make business connections, negotiate deals, exchange information, and advertise their products and services. In "The E-Factor," Reinders and Freijsen educate entrepreneurs on the pitfalls that take down most entrepreneurs before they get started, such as restricted resources, skills gaps, and financial limitations, and show you how to overcome these obstacles. Discover how best to secure funding for your fledgling startup and how to use new forms of social media work to your advantage. Along the way, read a wide array of case studies of successes and learn lessons from others' failures, including those from small business owners and burgeoning entrepreneurs, all the way up to multinational corporations, global brand leaders, and the founders themselves. "The E-Factor" shows you how to gain leverage and evaluate and reassess goals, products, and company structure to meet needs in a competitive environment. Combine the best traditional entrepreneurial thinking with new tools, ideas, and channels now at your disposal.

It's no secret that many IT professionals hate presenting and are often very bad at it. Focusing on technical details and speaking in monotone, they can quickly lose their audiences' attention and interest. Effective presentation skills are critical to the careers of IT professionals and the proper utilization of corporate resources. "The Broadband Connection" will show IT professionals how to become articulate, effective, and persuasive speakers--no matter how difficult the information being disseminated. In "The Broadband Connection," author and expert Alan Carroll, a transpersonal psychologist who has helped thousands of IT professionals worldwide evolve from nervous, insecure speakers into savvy, successful presenters, offers his proven strategies in this fresh and innovative step-by-step guidebook. Utilizing language and principles specific to the IT industry, the author teaches vital presentation skills in a familiar language the reader can identify with and understand. This book provides the tools to unleash the graceful speaker hidden inside every IT professional.

In Immortal: Love Stories With Bite, edited by New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series P.C. Cast, seven of today's most popular YA vampire and contemporary fantasy authors offer new short stories that prove when you're immortal, true love really is forever.Rachel Caine (the Morganville Vampires series) revisits the setting of her popular series, where the vampires are in charge and love is a risky endeavor, even when it comes to your own familyCynthia Leitich Smith (Tantalize) gives us a love triangle between a vampire, a ghost and a human girl, in which none of them are who or what they seemClaudia Gray (Evernight) takes us into the world of her Evernight series, in which a pre–Civil War courtesan-to-be is courted by a pale, fair-haired man whose attentions are too dangerous to spurn, in more ways than oneRichelle Mead (the Vampire Academy series) brings us the tale of a young vampire on the run from the rest of her kind, and the human boy who provides the getaway car, as well as a reason to keep runningNancy Holder (the Wicked series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer") immerses us in a post-apocalyptic New York where two best friends are forced to make a choice that may kill them bothKristin Cast (the House of Night series) introduces us to a new kind of vampire: one with roots in Greek mythology, and the power to alter space and time to save the girl he's meant to loveRachel Vincent (the Soul Screamers series) explores a new corner of her series with the story of aleanan sidhe capable of inspiring the musician she loves to new creative heights, or draining him, and his talent, dryAnd Tanith Lee (Black Unicorn) shows us what happens when a bright young woman with some supernatural savvy encounters a misguided (but gorgeous) young vampire

When the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted a new definition of a "planet" in August 2006, Pluto became a dwarf planet, drawing a divisive line in science and public opinions. The controversy of whether Pluto is a planet continues years later, and passion about the decision remains, pitting scientist against scientist and invoking sentiments and nostalgia from the rest of the world. With the IAU definition, the future of space objects is forever changed. Learn how this resolution came to be and what it means for astronomy, who implemented it and who is against it, and whether it's the first or millionth time the world's view of astronomy has rotated on its axis. Written by an astronomer and educator who voted for the IAU resolution--Laurence A. Marschall--and a NASA scientist who supported the opposing petition that resulted--Stephen P. Maran--"Pluto Confidential" leaves no perspective out and no asteroid unturned in the Pluto debate. A telescopic look inside the book: History of planetary disputes, including why Jupiter almost wasn't acknowledgedWhat Bode's Law is and how it has influenced observationsWho discovered Pluto and how it was namedThe Kuiper Belt and its role in what it means to be a planetBeyond Pluto and the eight distinguished planets

Full of practical advice for recent grads, such as how to nail that first big job interview, avoid dangerous relationship mistakes, and manage one's finances, this valuable guide synthesizes a life's worth of wisdom into one engaging volume.

Written to share the wisdom gleaned from 56 years of married life, this book is a level-headed marriage manual with supporting commentary from a nationally-known family therapist.

Organized into four sections that span the cancer-management process from diagnosis through the unpredictable future, this guide covers everything people with cancer and their families need to know about being active participants in their own long-term plan for well-being. With so many cancer patients becoming survivors, living longer and better has become an increasingly important point of focus for The Wellness Community, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free emotional support, education, and hope to people affected by cancer. This book accurately and compassionately addresses all of the physical, emotional, social, and practical needs of today's cancer patients and survivors, preparing them for wellness that can follow throughout the rest of their lives, regardless of how long that may be.

Filled with fond recollections and touching stories, these tales from hundreds of contributors pay tribute to nuns—those monochromatically clad monitors of the right, the wrong, and the holy. Catholic nuns are portrayed as devoted and passionate women who, armed with an arsenal of educational weaponry ranging from creative storytelling to psychological terrorism, had the massive responsibility of molding children into model citizens of God. The brief, descriptive anecdotes cover subjects ranging from religious training, habits, and devotion to discipline, pranks, and the always-dicey sex education. Readers are introduced to such legends-in-the-making as baseball-playing nuns, telepathic nuns, gun-toting nuns, and even skinny-dipping nuns. These nuns have seen it all—the silly or the sad, the frightening or sublime—and always keep their gazes directed upward.

Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy is a biography of Joss Whedon, the wunderkind creator of television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly.From Booklist: Writers, actors, and fans often call Joss Whedon a genius. It's easy to see why. Whedon, who got his start writing for Roseanne, dreamed of writing movie screenplays. He got his shot when he sold his script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the movie fell far short of his hopes for it. After a few years of working as a script doctor, Whedon got the chance to doBuffy again, this time as a TV show.Few expected it to succeed, but Whedon's humor and intelligence shone through in the scripts, and viewers quickly became attached to the engaging, witty characters. Buffy kept getting better: each season of the show featured a complex story arc possessed of a real sense of danger and further developed the characters. The last few years have brought the Buffy spin-off Angel, the lamentably canceled Firefly (a space western), and the comic book Fray. Engaging and filled with fun quotes, this is a must-read for Whedon's many fans.

At just a few months old, Zoe was gradually losing her hearing. Her adoptive parents loved her—yet agonized—feeling they couldn't handle raising a Deaf child. Would Zoe go back into the welfare system and spend her childhood hoping to find parents willing to adopt her? Or, would she be the long-sought answer to a mother's prayers?Brandi Rarus was just 6 when spinal meningitis took away her hearing. Because she spoke well and easily adjusted to lip reading, she was mainstreamed in school and socialized primarily in the hearing community. Brandi was a popular, happy teen, but being fully part of every conversation was an ongoing struggle. She felt caught between two worlds—the Deaf and the hearing.In college, Brandi embraced Deaf Culture along with the joys of complete and effortless communication with her peers. Brandi went on to become Miss Deaf America in 1988 and served as a spokesperson for her community. It was during her tenure as Miss Deaf America that Brandi met Tim, a leader of the Gallaudet Uprising in support of selecting the university's first Deaf president. The two went on to marry and had three hearing boys—the first non-deaf children born in Tim's family in 125 years.Brandi was incredibly grateful to have her three wonderful sons, but couldn't shake the feeling something was missing. She didn't know that Zoe, a six-month-old Deaf baby girl caught in the foster care system, was desperately in need of a family unafraid of her different needs. Brandi found the answer to her prayers when fate brought her new adopted daughter into her life.Set against the backdrop of Deaf America, Finding Zoe is an uplifting story of hope, adoption, and everyday miracles.

"In Raising Kids, family therapist and parenting consultant Sheri Glucoft Wong and Silicon Valley private school head Olaf Jorgenson team up to deliver an easy-to-follow, down-to-earth guide to building relationships by being on your kids' side and getting them on yours"--

Bookstore shelves are crowded with books offering advice to college students, yet--astonishingly--none of these books offer needed advice to the majority of college students in the United States ... those attending community college. Of the approximately 21 million full- and part-time college students, 11 million attend community colleges. "The Community College Guide" aims to help fill this huge gap. The authors of this book have decades of experience between them as professors and administrators in both two-year and four-year colleges, have written numerous books for a general readership and thoroughly understand what community college students need to know to succeed in their college careers. From how to apply to community colleges to what to expect from your courses, from the truth about what you'll pay to actual financial aid opportunities, "The Community College Guide" offers a wealth of information for the millions of American students who desire higher education at the community level.

"Mind-Rain" is the perfect jumping-off point for studying the Uglies series. Its essays address many of the books' biggest themes--the dangers of complacency, the value of conformity versus rebellion, the definition of natural, society's obsession with beauty--in addition to providing surprising insights sure to sure to spark student debate.

Speculating about the cultural metaphors in Janet Evanovich's wildly popular mystery series (which includes 11 books, from "One for the Money" to "Eleven on Top"), this anthology takes a look at lingerie-buyer-turned-bounty-hunter Stephanie Plum and catalogs her bad luck with cars (she's blown up quite a few), her good luck with men, her unorthodox approach to weapon storage, and the rich tapestry of her milieu: Trenton, New Jersey, also known as The Burg. The contributors praise the way the series smartly spoofs that familiar chick-lit epiphany--I have a bad job and what I really want is a good man!--in "Bounty Hunting as a Metaphor for Dating, Why Stephanie Should Quit Her Job ... but Never Will, " and "Nothing Better than a Bad Boy Gone Good." Several essays veer from the chick-lit perspective and focus instead on the comic theme of luck and chance that ties Stephanie to the barroom gamblers and gangster meanies of her home town in "Luck of the Italian?: Skill versus Chance."

This collection of 29 short stories from masters of science fiction—each tale chosen by the authors as the funniest they have ever written—presents wildly hilarious stories accompanied by prefaces written by the authors providing valuable insight into their selection and themselves. Featured contributors include David Brin, Esther Friesner, Harry Turtledove, Connie Willis, and many more, with stories such as "Amanda and the Alien," "Franz Kafka, Superhero!," "Space Rats of the CCC," "The Soul Selects Her Own Society," and "Too Hot to Hoot".

Intelligent essays delve into the mysteries of Sci Fi Channel's phenomenally successful series, "Stargate." Contributors include an archeologist, astronomer, parasitologist, philosopher, and a science fiction author.