Collection: Self-Development

This special 10th-anniversary collection combines two of the best-loved North Light watercolor guides available: The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook and The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook: Landscapes. Clarifying and simplifying the various aspects of painting with watercolor, Gordon MacKenzie's The Complete Watercolorist's Essential Notebook will encourage and challenge you with new possibilities.

Rather than a list of rules, this is a collection of principles, concepts and general information designed to expand your creative process. Mackenzie shares with you tips, techniques, ideas and lessons for a sure path to creative fulfillment and better watercolor paintings.

Mad Libs is the world's greatest word game and the perfect gift or activity for anyone who likes to laugh! Write in the missing words on each page to create your own hilariously funny stories all about Pokémon.

With 21 "fill-in-the-blank" stories about Ash, Pikachu, and all the other characters that made you want to become a Pokémon Master, this book will have you laughing until you fall out of your Poké Ball! Play alone, in a group or at your next battle! Mad Libs are a fun family activity recommended for ages 8 to NUMBER.

Pokémon Mad Libs includes:

- Silly stories 21 "fill-in-the-blank" stories all about your favorite Pokémon and their evolutions!
- Language arts practice Mad Libs are a great way to build reading comprehension and grammar skills.
- Fun With Friends each story is a chance for friends to work together to create unique stories!

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK - The author of the bestselling phenomenon Quiet explores the power of the bittersweet personality, revealing a misunderstood side of mental health and creativity while offering a roadmap to facing heartbreak in order to live life to the fullest.

"Bittersweet has the power to transform the way you see your life and the world."--OPRAH
"Grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go."--BRENÉ BROWN, author of Atlas of the Heart
"Susan Cain has described and validated my existence once again!"--GLENNON DOYLE, author of Untamed
"The perfect cure for toxic positivity."--ADAM GRANT, author of Think Again

LONGLISTED FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD - ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, Mashable

Bittersweetness is a tendency to states of long­ing, poignancy, and sorrow; an acute aware­ness of passing time; and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world. It recognizes that light and dark, birth and death--bitter and sweet--are forever paired.

If you've ever wondered why you like sad music . . .
If you find comfort or inspiration in a rainy day . . .
If you react intensely to music, art, nature, and beauty . . .

Then you probably identify with the bitter­sweet state of mind.

With Quiet, Susan Cain urged our society to cultivate space for the undervalued, indispensable introverts among us, thereby revealing an un­tapped power hidden in plain sight. Now she em­ploys the same mix of research, storytelling, and memoir to explore why we experience sorrow and longing, and how embracing the bittersweetness at the heart of life is the true path to creativity, con­nection, and transcendence.

Cain shows how a bittersweet state of mind is the quiet force that helps us transcend our personal and collective pain, whether from a death or breakup, addiction or illness. If we don't acknowledge our own heartache, she says, we can end up inflicting it on others via abuse, domination, or neglect. But if we realize that all humans know--or will know--loss and suffering, we can turn toward one another.

At a time of profound discord and personal anxiety, Bittersweet brings us together in deep and unexpected ways.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Bake your way through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Inspired by the films, this is the ONE and ONLY official Harry Potter cookbook! Packed with over 40 recipes and gorgeous, eye-catching photography, this baking cookbook is a must-have for every Harry Potter fan.

Delight in 43 tasty recipes inspired by the Harry Potter films! From Pumpkin Patch Pies to Owl Muffins, Luna's Spectrespecs Cookies to Hogwarts Gingerbread, The Official Harry Potter Baking Cookbook is packed with mouthwatering recipes that will, dare we say, ... ensnare the senses.

Host a Great Hall-inspired feast for your friends or delight in a portion for one. Includes recipes for all kinds of delicious baked goods, as well as nutritional and dietary information. This baking cookbook is great for everyone and includes gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan recipes as well!

The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. In this groundbreaking work, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of body-centered psychology. He argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn't just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans--our police.

My Grandmother's Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.

• Paves the way for a new, body-centered understanding of white supremacy--how it is literally in our blood and our nervous system.

• Offers a step-by-step solution--a healing process--in addition to incisive social commentary.

Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, is a therapist with decades of experience currently in private practice in Minneapolis, MN, specializing in trauma, body-centered psychotherapy, and violence prevention. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr. Phil as an expert on conflict and violence. Menakem has studied with bestselling authors Dr. David Schnarch (Passionate Marriage) and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score). He also trained at Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute.

Explore a wealth of new rules options for both players and Dungeon Masters in this supplement for the world's greatest roleplaying game.
The beholder Xanathar--Waterdeep's most infamous crime lord--is known to hoard information on friend and foe alike. The beholder catalogs lore about adventurers and ponders methods to thwart them. Its twisted mind imagines that it can eventually record everything!

Xanathar's Guide to Everything is the first major expansion for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, offering new rules and story options:

- Over twenty-five new subclasses for the character classes in the Player's Handbook, including the Cavalier for the fighter, the Circle of Dreams for the druid, the Horizon Walker for the ranger, and many more
- Dozens of new spells, a collection of racial feats, and a system to give your character a randomized backstory
- A variety of tools that provide Dungeon Masters fresh ways to use traps, magic items, downtime activities, and more--all designed to enhance a D&D campaign and push it in new directions

Amid all this expansion material, Xanathar offers bizarre observations about whatever its eyestalks happen to glimpse. Pray they don't come to rest on you.

Beauty and guile are in the eyes of the beholder!

Escape into the whimsical world of gnomes with this delightful coloring book! Thirty-one adorable illustrations feature these cute and lovable characters -- often regarded as signs of good luck -- in all kinds of charming scenes. The playful pictures include gnomes in the garden, on the beach, camping, picnicking, ice skating, and more -- with picturesque forests, fantastical houses, cheery sunflowers, tons of toadstools, and other magical details just waiting to be brought to life by creative colorists. Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display.

Learn the fascinating game of American Mahjong with this expert guide.

This affordable best-selling book is one of the only available game strategy guides specifically geared toward American Mahjong (Mah Jongg) and follows the official National Mah Jongg League rules. Offering first-time players an easy-to-follow guide to this complex game, A Beginner's Guide to American Mah Jongg includes simple, easy-to-follow instructions and clear diagrams to walk the reader through each step of the game, including how to select a hand, how to play and how to develop winning strategies. A key feature is the color text which shows various hands and tiles.

This Mahjong guide includes:

• Step-by-step instructions for gameplay.
• Hands-on "Do It" exercises
• Tips and quizzes for natural learning
• Mahjong background and history
• An explanation of tile symbolism
• Glossary of Mahjong terms

A Beginner's Guide to American Mah Jongg is the perfect guide for all skill levels to learn Mahjong--from Mahjong beginners to pros.

Named a Top 10 Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Slate, and People

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2023

"Brave and nuanced...an act of tremendous compassion and a literary triumph." --The New York Times

"Immensely emotional and unforgettably haunting." --Wall Street Journal

Acclaimed author Jonathan Rosen's haunting investigation of the forces that led his closest childhood friend, Michael Laudor, from the heights of brilliant promise to the forensic psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved. A story about friendship, love, and the price of self-delusion, The Best Minds explores the ways in which we understand--and fail to understand--mental illness.

When the Rosens moved to New Rochelle in 1973, Jonathan Rosen and Michael Laudor became inseparable. Both children of college professors, the boys were best friends and keen competitors, and, when they both got into Yale University, seemed set to join the American meritocratic elite.

Michael blazed through college in three years, graduating summa cum laude and landing a top-flight consulting job. But all wasn't as it seemed. One day, Jonathan received the call: Michael had suffered a serious psychotic break and was in the locked ward of a psychiatric hospital.

Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Michael was still in the hospital when he learned he'd been accepted to Yale Law School, and still battling delusions when he decided to trade his halfway house for the top law school in the country. He not only managed to graduate, but after his extraordinary story was featured in The New York Times, sold a memoir for a large sum. Ron Howard bought film rights, completing the dream for Michael and his tirelessly supportive girlfriend Carrie. But then Michael, in the grip of an unshakeable paranoid fantasy, stabbed Carrie to death with a kitchen knife and became a front-page story of an entirely different sort.

The Best Minds is Jonathan Rosen's brilliant and heartbreaking account of an American tragedy. It is a story about the bonds of family, friendship, and community; the promise of intellectual achievement; and the lure of utopian solutions. Tender, funny, and harrowing by turns, at times almost unbearably sad, The Best Minds is an extreme version of a story that is tragically familiar to all too many. In the hands of a writer of Jonathan Rosen's gifts and dedication, its significance will echo widely.

Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia.

Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won.

Or should he have?

In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwellchallenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.

Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms--all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.

In the tradition of Gladwell's previous bestsellers--The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw--David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.

"You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills." -- Larry King

"The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes." -- Harvey McKay, author of "How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive"

What is that magic quality makes some people instantly loved and respected? Everyone wants to be their friend (or, if single, their lover!) In business, they rise swiftly to the top of the corporate ladder. What is their "Midas touch?"

What it boils down to is a more skillful way of dealing with people.

The author has spent her career teaching people how to communicate for success. In her book How to Talk to Anyone (Contemporary Books, October 2003) Lowndes offers 92 easy and effective sure-fire success techniques-- she takes the reader from first meeting all the way up to sophisticated techniques used by the big winners in life. In this information-packed book you'll find:

• 9 ways to make a dynamite first impression
• 14 ways to master small talk, "big talk," and body language
• 14 ways to walk and talk like a VIP or celebrity
• 6 ways to sound like an insider in any crowd
• 7 ways to establish deep subliminal rapport with anyone
• 9 ways to feed someone's ego (and know when NOT to!)
• 11 ways to make your phone a powerful communications tool
• 15 ways to work a party like a politician works a room
• 7 ways to talk with tigers and not get eaten alive

In her trademark entertaining and straight-shooting style, Leil gives the techniques catchy names so you'll remember them when you really need them, including: "Rubberneck the Room," "Be a Copyclass," "Come Hither Hands," "Bare Their Hot Button," "The Great Scorecard in the Sky," and "Play the Tombstone Game," for big success in your social life, romance, and business.

How to Talk to Anyone, which is an update of her popular book, Talking the Winner's Way (see the 5-star reviews of the latter) is based on solid research about techniques that work!

By the way, don't confuse How to Talk to Anyone with one of Leil's previous books, How to Talk to Anybody About Anything. This one is completely different!

This therapist-written and recommended 3-part book will give you the insights and strategies to understand the inner workings of a narcissist, heal from narcissistic abuse, and experience sustainable post-traumatic growth.

In relationships, have you ever found yourself:

• Feeling like something is "off," but not being able to explain why?
• Leaving conversations feeling more confused than when you started them?
• Mentally rehearsing the "best" way to bring something up so your partner won't get mad?
• Constantly ruminating on how to "make sense" of what you feel and what's happening?
• Trying every communication strategy, but nothing seems to work?
• Feeling "not enough" no matter how hard you try?

Narcissistic abuse creates a tidal wave of confusion, hypervigilance, and overthinking. You have trouble thinking clearly, remembering things, or taking in new information. You feel frazzled, foggy, and flawed.

And because these changes are happening to you-you begin to wonder:

What's wrong with me?

Why can't I make this relationship work?

Am I fundamentally broken?

And that's exactly how narcissistic abuse works-it happens so subtly that you believe the insecurities you're experiencing are "you" instead of "what's happening" to you.

You think there's something wrong with you.

You think you need to change or get better.

You think they'll grow out of it.

You think no one else understands.

Narcissistic abuse is a multilayered attack on your sense of self-a dismantling of who you are and what you believe you're worth.

This book covers unique information related to narcissistic abuse, including:

• How different narcissistic types love bomb
• Cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological warning signs that you're being abused
• How and why narcissistic trauma bonds form and the process to untangle yourself from these binding relationships
• How to set boundaries even if you're an empath or highly sensitive person
• The most common reasons you stay stuck and how to get "unstuck"

If you've ever wondered:

How did I get into this relationship?

I didn't experience an intense love-bombing phase-are they still a narcissist?

I'm such a people pleaser-how can I set better boundaries?

What if healing isn't possible for me?

I feel so lost and broken-where do I even start?

This book is for you!

Praise for If Only I'd Known!

"Chelsey is able to describe exactly what I went through and what others have endured in a concise way. It is so important for mental health professionals to shine a light on this insidious form of domestic violence so that our clients, readers, and followers can get the validation and support that they so desperately need. She is an advocate for trauma survivors and her writing will help so many people to become empowered and heal." -Vanessa Reiser, LCSW, Narcissistic/Cult Abuse Expert

"If you've ever been touched by a toxic workplace, tyrannical boss, or undermining colleague, you need this book. With clinical expertise, relatable stories, and fresh insights, Chelsey helps us all recognize, recover, and resist narcissistic individuals at every level." -Dorie Clark, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Long Game and executive education faculty, Columbia Business School

In simple, straightforward terms, Beattie takes you into the territory beyond codependency, into the realm of recovery and relapse, family-of-origin work and relationships, surrender and spirituality.

You're learning to let go, to live your life free of the grip of someone else's problems. And yet you find you've just started on the long journey of recovery. Let Melody Beattie, author of the classic Codependent No More, help you along your way. A guided tour past the pitfalls of recovery, Beyond Codependency is dedicated to those struggling to master the art of self-care. It is a book about what to do once the pain has stopped and you've begun to suspect that you have a life to live. It is about what happens next.

In simple, straightforward terms, Beattie takes you into the territory beyond codependency, into the realm of recovery and relapse, family-of-origin work and relationships, surrender and spirituality. With personal stories, hard-won insights, and activities, her book teaches the lessons of dealing with shame, growing in self-esteem, overcoming deprivation, and getting past fatal attractions long enough to find relationships that work.

In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls "grit." "Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere" (People).

The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of "genius," Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives success: not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance.

In Grit, she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she's learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers--from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.

"Duckworth's ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better" (The New York Times Book Review). Among Grit's most valuable insights: any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned, regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that--not talent or luck--makes all the difference. This is "a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success" (The Wall Street Journal).

A USA TODAY Bestseller
A Washington Post Bestseller

Inspired by Jami Attenberg's wildly popular literary movement #1000WordsofSummer, this writer's guide features encouraging essays on creativity, productivity, and writing from acclaimed authors including Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, Celeste Ng, Meg Wolitzer, and Carmen Maria Machado.

In 2018, novelist Jami Attenberg, faced with a looming deadline, needed writing inspiration. Using a bootcamp model, she and a friend set out to write one thousand words daily for two weeks straight. They opened this practice to Attenberg's online community and soon hundreds then thousands of people started using the #1000WordsofSummer hashtag to track their work and support one another. What began as a simple challenge between two friends has become a literary movement--write 1,000 words per day without judgment, or bias, or concerns about writer's block, and see what comes of it.

1000 Words is the book-length extension of this movement. It is about becoming--and staying--motivated, discovering yourself and your creative desires, and approaching your craft from a new direction. It features advice from more than fifty well-known writers, including New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, and stars of the literary world. Framing these letters are words of wisdom and encouragement, plus specific strategies, from Attenberg on how to carve out a creative path for yourself all year round.

Paired with vibrant word art illustrations, 1000 Words is an accessible and motivational craft book that allows you to open any page and get a quick and fulfilling hit of inspiration.

Featuring Roxane Gay, Bryan Washington, Susan Orlean, Maris Kreizman, Sara Novic, Rumaan Alam, Lauren Oyler, Emma Straub, Christopher Gonzales, Benjamin Percy, Mira Jacob, Laura van den Berg, Carmen Maria Machado, Courtney Sullivan, Rebecca Carroll, Ada Limon, R.O. Kwon, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, Elissa Washuta, Alexander Chee, Maggie Shipstead, Deesha Philyaw, Jasmine Guillory, Kristen Arnett, Attica Locke, Megan Abbott, Min Jin Lee, Lauren Groff, Andrew Sean Greer, Camille Dungy, Megan Giddings, Isaac Fitsgerald, Hannah Tinti, Michael H. Weber, Celeste Ng, Elizabeth McCracken, Will Leitch, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Morgan Parker, Kiese Laymon, Melissa Febos, Alissa Nutting, Liz Moore, Laila Lalami, Megan Mayhew Berman, Rebecca Makkai, Meg Wolitzer, Mychal Denzel Smith, Josh Gondelman, and Dantiel W. Moniz.

Become the Ultimate Game Master

Thanks to tabletop roleplay, millions of fans are creating unforgettable collaborative stories. No matter what roleplaying game you want to play, this book is the key to unlocking endless adventure!

Award-winning game designer Justin Alexander has created an incredible compendium of advice and maps, perfect for any aspiring Game Master. This book is packed with the strategies you need to create amazing dungeons, battles, roleplay encounters, and more. Full of practical, hands-on advice and sample maps, just reading the first chapter of this book will have you ready to run a game in less than an hour. From there, Justin teaches you all the skills and techniques you need to explore dungeons, solve mysteries, steal priceless artifacts, unravel strange conspiracies, and venture forth on epic journeys!

No matter what game you're playing, this book is the key to unlocking the limitless realms of your imagination.