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A powerful investigation into American bureaucracy, how it wastes our time and drives inequality, and what we can do to make paperwork work for us

Everyone knows that dealing with government bureaucracy can be a nightmare. Doing your taxes is bad enough, but for those applying for financial aid, housing assistance, unemployment, disability, or Medicaid, it's worse--and the stakes are infinitely higher. If time is money, the hoops we must jump through to access government services or comply with the law are just one more bill we as citizens are forced to pay.

Journalist Annie Lowrey has termed this the "time tax" the paperwork, aggravation, and mental effort imposed on citizens to access their rights and benefits. So how did the world's wealthiest country end up with such a convoluted, punitive, and inept system of public admin­istration? Lowrey traces the pathbreaking history of administrative burdens in the United States from the Civil War to today, revealing how they were historically built as a tool of discrimination. She examines the effect of time taxes on civic life in the US, from how they amplify inequality and entrench poverty to how they reduce trust in the government.

Lowrey not only diagnoses the problem and gives this miserable experience of interacting with our government a name; she also shows that it doesn't have to be this way. Countries from Estonia to Vietnam have made it a priority to reduce administrative burdens for their citizens, and she argues there's no reason we can't do the same. The Time Tax will enrage you, enlighten you, and, most important, provide a point-by-point guide for reclaiming our precious time.

Tall in the Saddle: The Life of Ben Johnson, Hollywood's Real Cowboy is the definitive biography of Ben Johnson (1918-1996), the only man to win both an Academy Award and a world rodeo championship. Born on a historic Oklahoma ranch, Johnson could rope cattle before he could read, and his horsemanship took him straight to Hollywood when tycoon Howard Hughes needed horses for The Outlaw in 1943. What started as a behind-the-scenes gig turned into an acting career that spanned six decades.

Discovered by legendary director John Ford, Johnson became a fixture in classic Westerns alongside John Wayne, before stepping into more complex roles with filmmakers like Sam Peckinpah, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Bogdanovich--who guided him to his Oscar-winning performance in The Last Picture Show. Though he worked with Hollywood greats like Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, and Clint Eastwood, Johnson remained rooted in the authenticity of the American West, both on and off screen.

Drawing from a wealth of interviews with costars, directors, and rodeo companions, Kathryn Jones captures the grit, grace, and enduring legacy of a man who didn't just play a cowboy--he was one. Tall in the Saddle is a rich, cinematic portrait of a Hollywood legend whose real-life story is as unforgettable as any role he played.

An eerie middle grade mystery debut that follows a young girl who returns home to find the people of her little town, including her best friend, chillingly changed after the arrival of the prim and proper Gingham family.

"A rip-roaring adventure, but more importantly, a kids' power ballad to the importance of being yourself." --Gordon Korman, New York Times-bestselling author

When 12-year-old Joni Bird returns home from summer camp, it's clear something strange is afoot in Olive Springs. May, her usually head-banging best friend, now wears her hair in a tight bun and calls playing the drums "unladylike." The ice cream shop only serves vanilla ice cream. The women and girls of the neighborhood all sport big pearl earrings and crisp cotton dresses.

At the heart of it all? The creepy new family in the neighborhood with their soulless, carnival smiles and retro fashion sense: the Ginghams. Everyone they invite to their Thursday night book club re-emerges as dead-eyed, smiling, Gingham-approved "model citizens," all thanks to Mr. Gingham's lifestyle guide, The Pillars of Perfection--and something even more sinister hidden behind his basement door.

Through quick thinking and cunning, Joni and her friend Tyler set out to fight not only to get their friend May back, but to save their whole town from forever falling under the Ginghams' control.

The Hardy Boys meets Gravity Falls in this delightfully spooky middle grade adventure about a small town with secrets, the monster lurking in its shadows, and the misunderstood new kid who has to believe the unbelievable to save them all.

Digby Romer has never lived in one place for very long; despite his best intentions, he's managed to get kicked out of every European boarding school his parents have shipped him off to. Now, his dad has dragged him to live with his aunt and uncle in small-town USA, with hopes that a slower-paced life will finally fix Dig's so-called "behavioral issues."

But all is not well here in Transylvania County, even if the locals insist that the legends of cryptids and monsters lurking in the woods are nothing more than lore. On his first night in town, Dig is convinced that he spots a gigantic, fanged beast in the woods--but nobody believes him. And then the school's PE teacher disappears, replaced by a greasy, suspicious man named Renfield who must have an ulterior motive. When more people begin to disappear, Dig sets off with a ragtag crew--his smartypants cousin, the bossy class president, and a survivalist loner--to get to the bottom of things.

Something is hunting in Transylvania County, and these kids might have to break a few rules to find out who. Luckily, if there's one thing Dig is good at, it's making trouble.

A deliciously dark standalone set in the same world as the YA romantic fantasy Of Flame and Fury, where star-crossed enemies gamble with their hearts, empires, and the fate of a lost god.

On an island marred by pageantry and pain, power comes at an impossible price.

Inna is the perfect heiress to the Pallo crime family: poised, cunning, untouchable. Behind this glamorous facade, she hunts for the sinister truth of her sister's death. Despite the cover-up she's been led to believe, Inna can feel an enemy lurking in the shadows.

Rylan has sculpted himself into a talented thief for one reason: retribution for his family, who were murdered by Inna's mother. Armed with illusion magic, Rylan plans to steal an ancient riddle from the Pallo vault, one that leads to a sleeping god. Whoever wakes the Serpent King will be granted any wish they desire. Rylan means to claim this power, and with it, Inna's ruin.

But when Inna catches Rylan sneaking past her family's security, they enter into a perilous alliance that neither intends to keep --even as bitter attraction unravels into something more.

Though some hearts aren't meant to be stolen, and love knows nothing of blood-red revenge...

"Bring It On", but with murder, this heart-pounding YA thriller follows Jonty, a star cheerleader forced to track down a killer and achieve her dream--before it's too late.

With competition this fierce, bodies are bound to hit the mat...

All Jonty has ever wanted is to lead her cheerleading team, The Exalted Ones, to win a NCA championship. Cheer is not just a sport, it's her legacy. Her mother cheered for T.E.O. before she died, and Jonty would do anything to snatch the crown and honor her mother's memory. This year she has a real shot, finally beating her rival Tommie and becoming the team captain.

But Jonty's perfect season is shattered when Tommie shows up dead on the first day of practice. Now the team is down a flyer and everyone is convinced that Jonty killed her. Everyone except Adam, her co-captain, who was with her the night that Tommie died.

As the season progresses, girls keep dropping like flies, and one thing becomes clear: Someone is sabotaging The Exalted Ones, and they're willing to commit murder to get their way. But with the police still convinced it's her, will Jonty be able to save herself, her team, and her perfect season?

Tense and full of twists, Too Perfect to Die is perfect for readers who love:
- True Crime
- Competitive Cheerleading
- Scream Queens
- Holly Jackson Books
- Karen M. McManus Books

Master the healing power of plants and build your own thriving home apothecary.

The Essential Home Apothecary Handbook is your go-to guide for growing, harvesting, preparing, and using herbal remedies to support everyday wellness. Whether you're a curious beginner or an experienced plant enthusiast, this practical, hands-on book provides step-by-step guidance, research-backed insights, and time-tested recipes for making effective teas, tinctures, salves, and extracts--from garden to medicine cabinet.

Discover how to cultivate medicinal herbs in any space, properly harvest and preserve their potency, and turn them into powerful remedies for immune support, digestive health, better sleep, stress relief, and radiant skin. With detailed plant profiles, dosage guidelines, and safety information throughout, this comprehensive guide makes herbal medicine accessible, reliable, and deeply rewarding for anyone seeking greater self-reliance and a natural path to wellness.

Viaja al Sistema Solar y despierta la curiosidad de los más pequeños con este libro interactivo lleno de sorpresas.

Explora los planetas y sus lunas, observa asteroides y cometas, y sobrevuela la Estación Espacial Internacional. Los niños descubrirán un sinfín de datos y elementos visuales que harán de su aprendizaje en una experiencia divertida y amena.

¿Qué hay en su interior?

• Curiosidades e información accesible para niños de 3 a 5 años.
• Contenido creado en colaboración con la Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA).
• Ilustraciones divertidas y fotografías coloridas.
• Solapas grandes y resistentes que fomentan la creatividad y el desarrollo de habilidades motoras.

Un formato interactivo que invita a los niños a explorar, aprender y jugar mientras desarrollan sus habilidades motoras y el pensamiento lógico. Con cierre de lazo y un diseño atractivo, es el regalo perfecto para pequeños amantes del espacio.

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Journey through the Solar System, explore planets and their moons, spot asteroids and comets, and whizz past the International Space Station.

With flaps to open on each page and a fold-out format designed for display, this is the perfect introduction to space and the Solar System.

When you're finished exploring the concertina, flip the book to reveal all sorts of interesting facts about our Solar System on the reverse. With sturdy flaps and a ribbon tie closure, this beautiful gift book will be treasured and shared.

This exciting lift-the-flap solar system book for kids offers:

• Fun facts and information about space for children aged 3-5.
• Visually exciting pages with fun, colorful illustrations, and age-appropriate photographs for kids.
• An interactive learning experience through lifting the flaps and revealing information and images.
• Large and sturdy flaps that are safe for little hands to grab and lift.

Children will love to lift and learn, developing their fine motor skills through tactile elements on every page, whilst learning new facts about their favorite things. Interactive flaps reveal the answers to facts that children can have fun guessing or learn by lifting and revealing.

When Felix and Spike find a spooky house made of black stone and covered in ivy, with tall towers climbing high, they wonder . . .

Does a witch live here?

Felix has read every witchy book in the library, knows everything there is to know about witches, and always carries a book with him, just in case.

Bats in every corner? Check. Croaking toads? Check. Ravens cawing and black cats prowling? Check and check. Felix knows a witch must live here! Spike, though, isn't too sure.

Join these curious friends on a magical adventure filled with clues and seek-and-finds to discover if it's true that "A witch lives here!"

A whimsical picture book about a mysterious house in the woods full of black cats and flying brooms, and a child and dog who follow the clues to determine if a witch indeed lives there. For fans of Kiki's Delivery Service and How to Catch a Witch.

Lord Alexander Hawke is used to going after big game, but his pursuit of a mysterious figure code-named Warmonger brings him up against his most deadly foe--Vladimir Putin--in the latest entry in this New York Times bestselling series.

Lord Alexander Hawke's hunt for the Warmonger--a shadowy figure orchestrating chaos across the globe--is put on hold so that he may undertake an urgent mission for the Crown. His assignment: Travel to Russia, escorting the lovely Dr. Ariadne Silk; confront his archnemesis, Vladimir Putin; and recover a secret document that threatens to shake the British monarchy to its core.

While Hawke makes a perilous journey across Europe, his good friend Ambrose Congreve's routine investigation of a bizarre murder takes a deadly turn, pulling him into a cat-and-mouse game with Silence, a cold-blooded assassin who may be targeting Hawke himself.

Hawke will soon discover that he is a pawn in the Warmonger's Byzantine plot to bring the world to the brink of total war and resurrect a fallen empire.

Hold onto your socks or you'll laugh them right off! From dinosaurs to pirate humor to animal jokes, this kooky collection will keep readers giggling. Humorous content in an accessible format will attract and engage reluctant and striving readers.

Just in time for the 75th anniversary comes the first book-length investigation into one of the great unsolved mysteries from the early days of the Cold War, when an American cargo plane allegedly carrying an atomic bomb over the Atlantic Ocean disappeared, along with the U.S. military and nuclear specialists on board.

Pulitzer Prize-winning war reporter Tod Robberson examines this shocking true story from the early days of the Cold War and the origins of the ongoing, icy relationship between the United States and Russia.

1951. The Cold War is heating up. With Soviet troops amassing across Eastern Europe and the arrests of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for spilling nuclear secrets, President Harry Truman assigned General Curtis LeMay the task of installing nuclear forces in Britain. On March 22, a massive C-124 Globemaster cargo plane--possibly carrying a "Fat Man" bomb--was dispatched to Britain with 53 passengers and crew including elite specialists in atomic warfare. Then tragedy struck . . .

The Globemaster never reached its destination. After radio communications ceased over the Atlantic, the plane took a sudden turn, flew hundreds of miles, and was ditched. Survivors disappeared before they could be rescued.

Was this the work of Soviet saboteurs? Was the mission compromised from the very start? And is a "broken arrow" bomb still lying on the bottom of the ocean? These are just a few of the questions that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tod Robberson attempts to answer in the first-ever in-depth investigation into this yet-unsolved mystery.

Drawing from classified archives and personal accounts, Robberson reconstructs LeMay's mission in riveting detail, exploring possible security leaks including a brigadier general whose bigamy may have compromised the top-secret mission. Meticulously researched and brilliantly told, Globemaster Down tells the fascinating story of two global superpowers in a reckless race toward the brink of nuclear disaster. A must-read for fans of military adventure, Cold War intrigue, and world-class espionage.

A gorgeous picture book about the influential American painter Bob Ross and his timeless words of wisdom, by award-winning creators Richard Ho and Daniel Miyares.

A blank canvas is your world. A limitless sky. A new horizon. You are the creator, adding blotches of blue and circular strokes of white.

You might not like it at first. You might call it a mistake. But there are no mistakes...only happy accidents. For you are experiencing the joys of painting.

You Can Move Mountains is a touching picture book biography about the American artist and icon Bob Ross, the joys of painting and creativity, and the life lessons we can learn from a blank canvas.

This warm, beautiful picture book follows Lilly and her grandfather as they establish a new autumnal tradition with an old family recipe.

This year, Lao Ye wants to throw a big neighborhood Halloween party and Lilly's excited to help, but she's a little worried about Lao Ye's family recipes. What if the neighbors don't like their special foods?

Told with engaging prose and brought to life with vibrant art, The Great Pumpkin Pancake Party is a joyful ode to family, food, and the power of community.

A recipe for Lao Ye's pumpkin pancakes is included!

"A pulse-pounding paranormal thriller that will have you tearing through the pages with excitement" --Andrew Joseph White, NYTimes bestselling and award-winning author of Compound Fracture

Maximiliano Rafael Guerrero Lopez "Max" has been dead for 30 years. He's stuck as a sixteen-year-old in his childhood bedroom with no memory of how he died, and no company aside from rotting floor boards and mildew-ridden guitars.

Joaquín Felix Ladrón "Joaquín" is a high schooler who's desperate to experience something paranormal--he'd do anything to even catch a glimpse of a ghost, even if it means sacrificing his relationship with his boyfriend.

When Joaquín goes on a ghost hunt at an abandoned house that's rumored to be haunted, he and Max find their fates becoming intertwined in ways neither of them expected. But, as Max's powers begin to grow stronger, it becomes clear that their tentative friendship may just prove to be fatal...

Support Your Strength. Balance Your Metabolism.

Feel stronger and support your health--one delicious meal at a time. The Healthy Living High-Protein Cookbook helps you meet your health goals with easy, satisfying meals powered by protein. Whether you're strength training, navigating metabolic shifts, or preserving muscle as you age, this book delivers practical, science-backed solutions tailored to your needs.

These delicious, balanced recipes diversify your protein sources to naturally strengthen muscles and improve body composition--creating a foundation for long-term vitality without sacrificing flavor or time in the kitchen.

Invest in Your Strength--At Every Age

• 4 Ready-to-Use Meal Plans: Take the guesswork out of your week with plans tailored to different life stages and activity levels.
• Total Body Support: Higher-protein recipes designed to support lasting energy, lean muscle, and healthy weight management.
• 85+ Recipes from Breakfast to Dessert: Enjoy protein-packed bowls, easy dinners, snacks, and even guilt-free desserts.
• Hassle-Free Cooking: One-pot and sheet-pan meals that deliver maximum nutrition with minimal cleanup.
• Expert Meal Planning Tips: Learn professional strategies for grocery shopping and prep so you never have to wonder what's for dinner.

From Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND--award-winning dietitian with over 20 years of experience. Toby proves that food for strength and metabolic health can also be food you truly enjoy.