Best Christmas books to have

Evergreen A Christmas Tale

                                                         By Richard Taylor

A man tell us of the last Christmas his grandfather spent with his family. The man was about eight years old at the time, and his family, caught up in those problems which seem so huge and all-important, was fighting and snapping at each other. Worries had turned into bickering words; yet grandfather, who was facing the most profound problem of all, was the most calm and at peace.
This story is very short but sweet and tender. With its simple and true message, it holds meaning any time of year:
when your world seems its bleakest, find joy in the small perfections of life, those things that are free and beautiful and all around you, those things that symbolize hope and faith and love.
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The Little Romance Book of Christmas Love Stories

                                                                                                          By  Alyssa Lindsey

 

     Her callous husband leaves her soon after the death of her mother, and mistakes are becoming apparent at work. Megan decides it's time to take a Christmas vacation to follow her lifelong dream of seeing the Northern Lights - not anticipating the special care and attention she would receive from the owner of the resort.

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A Christmas Dress For Ellen

                                                   By  Thomas S. Monson

On Christmas Eve, 1927, in the prairie town of Hillsspring, Alberta, Canada, a young mother, Mary Jeppson, was getting her five small children ready for bed. Her heart was full of sorrow, for there was nothing to fill the stockings, and there would be only a little much for breakfast. Mary had written to her sisters in Idaho, asking for help with such necessities as wheat, yeast, flour, and cornmeal. She had also asked for clothing and some old, used quilts, for all of hers were thin and full of holes.

At the close of the letter, she had written, "If you could just find a dress that someone has outgrown, I could make it over to fit Ellen. She is far too somber for such a young girl. She worries so about the family and about our needs. She has only one dress that she wears all the time, and it is patched and faded."

Her letter had gone unanswered, it seemed, and their Christmas would be far from merry. But George Schow, their mailman, had a surprise in store. Could he brave the coming storm and bitter cold to deliver a Christmas miracle? And would there be a special present for Ellen? Find out in this classic tale of Christmas sacrifice and service.

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Dangerous Book For Boys - 1st Edition

                                                                                      By Conn and Hall Iqqulden

                                                                      

        They say knowledge gives you a dangerous edge to and you'll believe it when you read Conn and Hal Iggulden's Dangerous Book for Boys Everything you could want your son, grandson, nephew, or favorite little neighbor-boy to know, starting with essential gear in the first chapter to books every boy should read is carefully cataloged for the young tyke's reference He'll have access to history lessons, how-to's on knot tying, Navajo code talking, and crystal making, and even that most daunting subject: girls Features: Covering history, science, literature, grammar, mechanics, and of course, fun and games, there is plenty for him to explore Enliven young imaginations with over 40 color illustrations in addition to black and white how-to line drawings Specifications: Pages: 270 Edition: first Jacket: hardcover ISBN-10: 0-06-124358-2 Publisher: Harper Collins.     

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11/22/63: A Novel

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force.

Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history.

Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.
A tribute to a simpler era and a devastating exercise in escalating suspense, 11/22/63 is Stephen King at his epic best.

Lidia's Italy in America

After taking us on journeys into her own kitchen and into kitchens across Italy, Lidia Bastianich now invites us on a road trip into the heart of Italian American cooking today. Traveling around the United States, Lidia visits Italian American communities that created something new out of the recipes passed down from their ancestors.

As she explores this utterly delectable and distinctive cuisine, Lidia shows us that every kitchen is different, every Italian community distinct, and little clues are buried in each dish: the Sicilian-style semolina bread and briny olives in New Orleans Muffuletta Sandwiches, the Neapolitan crust of New York pizza, and mushrooms (abundant in the United States, but scarce in Italy) stuffed with breadcrumbs, just as peppers or tomatoes are. Lidia shows us how this cuisine is an original American creation that redefines what we know as Italian food while always paying tribute to Italy, and she gives recognition where it is long overdue to the many industrious Italians across the country who have honored the traditions of their homeland in a delicious new style.

And of course, there are Lidia’s irresistible recipes, including
·        Baltimore Crab Cakes
·        Pittsburgh’s Primanti’s Sandwiches
·        Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza
·        Eggplant Parmigiana from the Bronx
·        Gloucester Baked Halibut
·        Chicken Trombino from Philadelphia
·        authentic Italian American Meatloaf, and Spaghetti and Meatballs
·        Prickly Pear Granita from California
·        and, of course, a handful of cheesecakes and cookies that you’d recognize in any classic Italian bakery

This is a loving exploration of a fascinating cuisine—as only Lidia could give us.

How I Got This Way

Sure, he’s an excitable guy.
Sure, he loves to complain.
But Regis Philbin loves life . . . and with the wildly unpredictable one he’s led so far, who wouldn’t? After five decades in show business—and nearly 17,000 unforgettable hours on television—he has a lifetime’s worth of stories to share.
In this entertaining memoir, the irrepressible Reege—consummate talk-show host, man-about-town, loving husband, father, and yes, obsessive sports fan—looks back at his years in show business. How I Got This Way is filled with stories of lessons learned—and elbows rubbed—with extraordinary, and often unsuspecting, teachers: David Letterman; Donald Trump; George Clooney; Howard Stern; Jack Nicholson; legendary Notre Dame coaches Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, and Lou Holtz; and, of course, longtime cohosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly “Pippa” Ripa; as well as his own lovely wife, Joy—to name just a few.
Whether he’s revealing what really drove him “bonkers” on the set of Seinfeld, how he survived the first known bomb scare on live TV, what Jack Nicholson said about his beautiful leading ladies during their guys’ night out together, or poignant memories of his last moments with his idol and dear friend, Jack Paar, Regis packs every page with his signature heart, wit, dynamic energy, and gratitude for everything life has brought him.

Recipes for Life: My Memories

Ever since her dazzling debut as Audra on The Big Valley, Linda Evans has charmed millions of television viewers around the world with her talent, her warmth, and her beauty. Through it all, Linda has remained unaffected, grounded, and deeply spiritual.

In Recipes for Life, Linda opens up her heart, her past, and her kitchen. She shares a revealing assortment of anecdotes (magical moments mised with painful ones), photographs, and recipes enjoyed by Linda and those near and dear to her. Linda touches upon growing up, family ties, her incredible life in Hollywood, the friends she has made, and provides an intimate glimpse into her high-profile romances. At the heart of this memorable, touching, and inspiring story is how all of these ingredients have come together to make Linda the woman she is today.

True to her beloved personality, Linda warmly and candidly serves up a delightful banquet that Dynasty fans will truly savor. Complete with over 40 recipes, some handed down through generations (Mom's Hot Dog Stew), some taught by famous friends (John Wayne “The Duke's” Crab Dip), some inspired by supreme dining experiences from travels around the world (Ina Garten’s Filet of Beef Bourguignon), and still others from her winning appearance on Hell's Kitchen (Hell's Salmon), Recipes for Life is at once a delightful journey and a treasure trove of recipes of a life well-lived by a woman well-loved.
 

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers [Paperback]

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers [Paperback]Great things don’t happen in a vacuum. But creating an environment for creative thinking and innovation can be a daunting challenge. How can you make it happen at your company? The answer may surprise you: gamestorming.

This book includes more than 80 games to help you break down barriers, communicate better, and generate new ideas, insights, and strategies. The authors have identified tools and techniques from some of the world’s most innovative professionals, whose teams collaborate and make great things happen. This book is the result: a unique collection of games that encourage engagement and creativity while bringing more structure and clarity to the workplace. Find out why -- and how -- with Gamestorming.

Overcome conflict and increase engagement with team-oriented games
Improve collaboration and communication in cross-disciplinary teams with visual-thinking techniques
Improve understanding by role-playing customer and user experiences
Generate better ideas and more of them, faster than ever before
Shorten meetings and make them more productive
Simulate and explore complex systems, interactions, and dynamics
Identify a problem’s root cause, and find the paths that point toward a solution

Steve Jobs [Hardcover]

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.  
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.
Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.