Author Archive
“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.” The BookPal team works on Macs daily and we use Apple servers and iPhones so we are without doubt huge fans of the fruits of Job’s work over the last 30 years. Apple gadgets have made our work life easier, more fun and more efficient. The BookPal team was all saddened by his passing. Who knows what he could have done with 30 more years… Look for Steve Jobs biography in bulk starting October 24th on Book-Pal.com.
A select handful of the OC Metro’s Top 40 Under 40 Entrepreneurs and Business Professionals were invited by the British American Business Council (BABC) to participate in a special breakfast event to share ideas for global growth and BookPal’s Founder and President was one of the panelists! “I want to thank the BABC for including me in such an enlightening and fun event. I was honored to be a part of it to promote BookPal and share ideas for global growth in the years to come as well as share insights for young entrepreneurs,” said BookPal President, Tony DiCostanzo.  BABC Breakfast Panelists Other participants included talented young concert pianist Berenika Schmitz, the leader in “Live Virtual Interviews” Theo Rokos, Director of Government Affairs for FlexEnergy Michael Levin, Sr. Manager of Executive Communications for the Walt Disney Company Matt Prince and Los Angeles Times Reporter Janice Voshall. The membership of the British American Business Council – Orange County includes many of the world’s leading multi-national companies and medium sized corporations in a variety of industries The BABC OC provides members with access to practical, measurable business expansion opportunities by delivering high-caliber networking and targeted marketing platforms, as well as top-quality business intelligence and influence. BookPal’s wants to thank BABC for extending the opportunity to learn about the success stories of these great entrepreneurs.
Kids are naturally curious, but when it comes to school it seems like their minds just switch off. Why is it that they can remember the smallest details from their favorite television program, yet miss the most obvious questions on their history test? Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham has focused his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning and has a deep understanding of the daily challenges faced by classroom teachers. This book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn revealing the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences. The reviews speak for themselves.
“Just like his Ask the Cognitive Scientist column, Dan Willingham’s book makes fascinating but complicated research from cognitive science accessible to teachers. It is jam packed with ideas that teachers willfind both intellectually rich and useful in their classroom work.” said Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers.
“This readable, practical book by a distinguished cognitive scientist explains the universal roots of effective teaching and learning. With great wit and authority it practices the principles it preaches. It is the best teachers’ guide I know of—a classic that belongs in the book bag of every teacher from preschool to grad school.” – E. D. Hirsch, Jr., university professor emeritus, University of Virginia “Educators will love this wonderful book’s clear and compelling language, Willingham shows how the most important discoveries from the cognitive revolution can be used to improve teaching and inspire students in the classroom.“ -John Gabrieli, Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences,Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology In this breakthrough book, Willingham has distilled his knowledge of cognitive science into a set of nine principles that are easy to understand and have clear applications for the classroom. Some of examples of his surprising findings are: “Learning styles” don’t exist The processes by which different children think and learn are more similar than different. Intelligence is malleable Intelligence contributes to school performance and children do differ, but intelligence can be increased through sustained hard work. You cannot develop “thinking skills” in the absence of facts We encourage students to think critically, not just memorize facts. However thinking skills depend on factual knowledge for their operation. Why Don’t Students Like School is a basic primer for every teacher who wants to know how their brains and their students’ brains work and how that knowledge can help them hone their teaching skills. About the Author Daniel T. Willingham is professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1992. He writes the popular Ask the Cognitive Scientist column for American Educator magazine. Heading back to his Jewish roots, the Connecticut Senator offers up his perspective on the festivals, traditions and food of the Jewish heritage in terms of embracing rest and family time together in his new novel, THE GIFT OF REST: REDISCOVERING THE BEAUTY OF THE SABBATH by Sen. Joe Lieberman, with David Klinghoffer. Published by Howard Books /Simon & Schuster, 236 pages.
Your host, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, comes across as a chatty, good-natured, Old World uncle who’s free with advice, anecdote and sentimental reminiscence. Like most conversations around a religious family’s Sabbath table, the discussion rambles and wanders, with amusing, earthy or insightful asides of sometimes dubious relevance, but it keeps circling back to the book’s main argument: that all Americans, of every outlook or religious perspective, would benefit from a weekly embrace of the idea of a Sabbath.” Of all the times of the year to consider rest and relaxation, the waning summer days that will soon turn into a bustling fall and holiday season remind each of us to find those precious few minutes a day to unwind, refocus and replenish one’s soul and spirit. “The purpose of “the gift of rest” in Mr. Lieberman’s view isn’t “to recharge our batteries so we can work harder but to recharge our souls so we can live better.” Citing a wide variety of Jewish sources both ancient and modern, the senator affirms that work and rest form an indissoluble whole. Six days a week we work to improve our world; on the seventh day, we rest to improve ourselves.” (From the Washington Times review by Michael Medved. This book is sure to become a NY Time’s bestseller so snag #bulk copies at a discount today and get ahead of your holiday shopping… so you can enjoy the Sabbath table later with friends and family. Cheers! “Cooking with Sunshine: A Complete Guide to Solar Cuisine” by Lorraine Anderson is a great way to go green this summer and not heat up your house while creating healthy, delicious meals. The books feature 150 super easy recipes that you can cook-up in your own back yard.
Whether you’re new to solar cooking or have been doing it for years, Cooking with Sunshine is your definitive guide to making a variety of tasty sun-cooked meals. Solar cooking experts Lorraine Anderson and Rick Palkovic provide everything you need to get cooking, including: Clear explanations of how solar cooking works and its benefits over traditional methods A selection of fun and super-easy recipes to get you started So what are you waiting for? It’s time to cook with sunshine! Author and chef Lorraine Anderson is a freelance writer and editor with a special interest in encouraging a reciprocal relationship with nature. Her books include Sisters of the Earth: Women’s Prose and Poetry About Nature, Literature and the Environment: A Reader on Nature and Culture (with Scott Slovic and John P. O’Grady), and At Home on This Earth: Two Centuries of U.S. Women’s Nature Writing (with Thomas Edwards). She lives in Corvallis, Oregon. Rick Palkovic is an electrical engineer and technical writer. He lives in Davis, California.” ~www.book-pal.com Buy this book in bulk and share the sunshine! Jul
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‘An Ideal Wine’ by David Darlington | A Look at Wine Production from a Different Side of the Vine Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or an avid wine drinker (from a box, bag or bottle) you’ll appreciate David Darlington’s latest work exploring California wine makers’ pursuit of excellence in wine creation. ‘An Ideal Wine‘ explores both the beauty and business behind one of California’s most famous beverages.“On the one hand, the industry cultivates an image of wine being an almost accidental beverage, a product of a munificent nature that takes ripe fruit from sun-dappled vineyards and somehow, magically, transforms it into a liquid symphony that can ennoble not only those who consume it but also those who make it. On the other, it is a ruthless, cutthroat business, one that accounts for more than $18 billion in sales every year — 80% of which goes through fewer than a dozen large corporations. And as important as the image of a rustic vigneron might be, the specialty equipment and chemical enhancements used in most modern wineries are capable of spinning neutral grape juice into salable product.” According to Russ Parsons, the LA Times Food Editor, “One of Darlington’s strengths is that he is able to pull back the curtain on the wine business without ever losing sight that the beverage itself is capable of great magic. He takes us into the worlds of utterly opposite wine figures — or so it seems.” Explore the wild side of wine with this fun summer read and maybe get inspired to learn more about your favorite drink. Also, check out The Wine Enthusiast Magazine Wine & Food Pairings Cookbook: With More than 80 Recipes and Wine Recommendations (Hardcover). It makes a great gift and can be customized!
Illustrated throughout with b&w photos, the book also contains two eight-page insets of color photos.The picture book, while close in content to the longer books, is written in the voice of Korphe’s children rather than providing Mortenson’s view, making it easier for American kids to enter the story. Roth (Leon’s Story) pairs the words with her signature mixed-media collage work, this time using scraps of cloth along with a variety of papers. Her work has a welcoming, tactile dimension—readers would want to touch the fabric headscarves, for example. A detailed scrapbook featuring photos from Three Cups of Tea and an artist’s note firmly ground the book in fact. A portion of the authors’ royalties will benefit the Central Asia Institute. About the Author David Oliver Relin is a contributing editor for Parade magazine and Skiing magazine. He has won more than forty national awards for his work as a writer and editor. Buy this amazing story in bulk today and share it with friends, coworkers and classmates!
Barrymore joins Denise Di Novi and Di Novi Pictures’ Alison Greenspan as producers on the project, which Warners won last year in a multi-studio bidding war for the novel by Ally Carter. Screenwriter Shauna Cross is set to adapt this thrilling novel into a captivating movie. The book follows a young woman named Katarina Bishop who hails from an extended family of cat burglars and master thieves. The girl leaves her illicit life behind, but when her father is the prime suspect in the case of a mobster’s missing art collection, she assembles a crew to track down the art and steal it back. The studio is aging the characters a notch into their early 20s. Barrymore will also supervise the writing. By attaching herself to Society, Barrymore is again working with Cross, who wrote Whip It, Barrymore’s well-regarded female-centric roller derby flick starring Ellen Page and Kristen Wiig, among others. Barrymore, repped by CAA, is signed to helm How to Be Single, a New Line romantic comedy, and the plan is to tackle Society after that. The novel Heist Society is available in bulk now so start your book club on it before the movie hits theaters! |
While roughly 80% of Americans are behind the “green” agenda going on in government most people are doing little more than basic recycling. You can do so much more! 
The Washington Times reviewed it so eloquently in saying, “If you’ve ever felt the yen to celebrate a Jewish holy day in a festive, traditional style, this marvelous book will enable you to approximate the experience – without calories from rich, filling food or risks of leaving wine stains on the white tablecloth.
“What could be more entertaining and magical than putting food in a box outdoors on a sunny day and enjoying a delicious fully-cooked meal just a few hours later? Solar cooking, which uses the suns rays as the sole heat source has been around for centuries and can be done just about anyplace where there’s sun. Not only is it completely safe and simple, but it also saves money on fuel, limits time spent preparing meals, and is kind to the environment plus the results are healthy, flavorful, and satisfying.
America’s sweetheart, action hero and comedian, 
