Tennis Shenanigans and Booya Sandwiches
Tennis Shenanigans and Booya Sandwiches

Author: Michael DiGiantommaso

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2012-04-27

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1468543016

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A compilation of short stories surrounding the battlefield of tennis. These stories could have been taken from any; locker room, dance competition, police academies even bingo or poker night. Any place people get together, and compete. Its about people in pressure situations, tales with in-depth observations through relationships with friend and foe. Some friendships lasted years, some just a season, or a single tournament. Grudges lasted decades. All have spectacular endings, some taking as much as ten years to wreak vengeance. When I say great endings, I dont mean all happy-endings but exciting, with twists like only true life can dish out. These observations will tickle the avid tennis player as well as anyone who deal with people in competitive situations. Battling the town, the league rival or your best friend All stories are true. Tennis etiquette and life morels to be learned and enjoyed. As you ponder the trials and tribulations of the characters, you get deeper insight into the author. Michael, are you sure this really happened? I did not approve any of it. Laurie (Wife and conscience) This is the most implausible, coincident ridden exhibit of maternalinstincts and corny sentimentalism, smacking just short of Bolshevism. ---- I Loved it! Anonymous A molotov cocktail of thoughts and utterances. Its like Vuja De` all over again. --- Cant wait to read more. -- Super Dave (Hero extraordinaire) Mike is a top-notch Athlete, Musician, Carpenter, Artist, Horse Wrangler, Kick boxer, and now a Writer... An authentic Renaissance Man --- ------ Michael Chwalek (Rocket Scientist) He was a gifted child, kind and honest, always seeing things differently than the other kids. Who knew he would turn out like this? Why couldnt you be more like your sister? .................................. (Mom) You dont have to be a tennis buff to be drawn into Mikes world. These are stories about people, who they are and what they do. They kept me turning the pages. Charles Durang, Editorial Director, Covered Bridge Press and Douglas Charles Press A great writer can paint a picture in your mind and you have mastered this art. Erik the Barbarian Anderson (Head tennis Pro - New England)

Game, Set, Cash!
Game, Set, Cash!

Author: Brad Hutchins

Publisher: Black Incorporated

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9781863956598

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Welcome to the hidden and lucrative world of tennis trading. Brad Hutchins has been living a young bloke's dream: being paid to watch sport. The 27-year-old Australian was employed by a secret gambling syndicate to follow the pro tennis circuit as a sports trader, using his mobile phone to relay results and beat online gamblers to the big pay-offs. His stories from the road would make anyone jealous: watching the world's best tennis players and partying in a new country every week, with cash to burn and no strings attached. But like card counters in casinos, sports traders are despised by the tennis establishment. The more time Brad spends courtside, the harder it becomes for him to evade the security guards who are hell-bent on ejecting him from the game. Game, Set, Cash! will appeal to anyone who loves scallywag stories in the spirit of The Wolf of Wall Street or Paul Carter's Don't Tell Mum I Work On the Rigs. 'A terrific read, and not just another 'racket'. Hutchins shines!' - Paul Carter, author of Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse.

Ask a Manager
Ask a Manager

Author: Alison Green

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2018-05-01

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0399181822

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From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

I Know I Am, But What Are You?
I Know I Am, But What Are You?

Author: Samantha Bee

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-02-08

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1439142742

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Candid, outspoken, laugh-out-loud funny essays from the much-loved Samantha Bee, the Most Senior Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart . Critics have called her “sweet, adorable, and vicious.” But there is so much more to be said about Samantha Bee. For one, she’s Canadian. Whatever that means. And now, she opens up for the very first time about her checkered Canadian past. With charming candor, she admits to her Lennie from Of Mice and Men–style love of baby animals, her teenage crime spree as one-half of a car-thieving couple (Bonnie and Clyde in Bermuda shorts and braces), and the fact that strangers seem compelled to show her their genitals. She also details her intriguing career history, which includes stints working in a frame store, at a penis clinic, and as a Japanese anime character in a touring children’s show. Samantha delves into all these topics and many more in this thoroughly hilarious, unabashedly frank collection of personal essays. Whether detailing the creepiness that ensues when strangers assume that your mom is your lesbian lover, or recalling her girlhood crush on Jesus (who looked like Kris Kristofferson and sang like Kenny Loggins), Samantha turns the spotlight on her own imperfect yet highly entertaining life as relentlessly as she skewers hapless interview subjects on The Daily Show. She shares her unique point of view on a variety of subjects as wide ranging as her deep affinity for old people, to her hatred of hot ham. It’s all here, in irresistible prose that will leave you in stitches and eager for more.

Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-04-14

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1101984554

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The bestselling author of Encyclopedia an Ordinary Life returns with a literary experience that is unprecedented, unforgettable, and explosively human. Ten years after her beloved, groundbreaking Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, #1 New York Times bestselling author Amy Krouse Rosenthal delivers a book full of her distinct blend of nonlinear narrative, wistful reflections, and insightful wit. It is a mighty, life-affirming work that sheds light on all the ordinary and extraordinary ways we are connected. Like she did with Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, Amy Krouse Rosenthal ingeniously adapts a standard format—a textbook, this time—to explore life’s lessons and experiences into a funny, wise, and poignant work of art. Not exactly a memoir, not just a collection of observations, Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a beautiful exploration into the many ways we are connected on this planet and speaks to the awe, bewilderment, and poignancy of being alive. “…a groundbreaking new twist on the traditional literary experience… Textbook is a delightful collection of interesting scenarios that directly point to life lessons. Rosenthal manages to spotlight grand moments and everyday moments with equal curiosity, proving that it can be both a privilege — and petrifying — to peek into one’s humanity.”—Associated Press “Rosenthal is a marvel… a talented storyteller with an experimental flair for formatting… This engaging, playful, and clever glimpse into one woman’s life offers lots of photographs, graphic illustrations, and diagrams, resulting in a book that will make readers smile as their notions of story delivery expand.” —Booklist

Stalking God
Stalking God

Author: Anjali Kumar

Publisher: Seal Press

Published: 2018-01-16

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1580056628

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Anjali Kumar, a pragmatic lawyer for Google, was part of a rapidly growing population in America: highly spiritual but religiously uncommitted. But when her daughter was born, she became compelled to find God -- or at least some kind of enlightenment. Convinced that traditional religions were not a fit for her, and knowing that she couldn't simply Google an answer to "What is the meaning of life?", Kumar set out on a spiritual pilgrimage, looking for answers -- and nothing was off limits or too unorthodox. She headed to the mountains of Peru to learn from the shamans, attended the techie haunt of Burning Man, practiced transcendental meditation, convened with angels, and visited saints, goddesses, witches, and faith healers. She even hired a medium to convene with the dead. Kumar's lighthearted story offers a revealing look at the timeless and vexing issue of spirituality in an era when more and more people are walking away from formal religions. Narrated from the open-minded perspective of a spiritual seeker rather than a religious scholar, Kumar offers an honest account of some of the less than mainstream spiritual practices that are followed by millions of people in the world today as she searches for the answers to life's most universal questions: Why are we here? What happens when we die? Is there a God?

Born to Run
Born to Run

Author: Christopher McDougall

Publisher: Profile Books

Published: 2010-12-09

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 184765228X

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A New York Times bestseller 'A sensation ... a rollicking tale well told' - The Times At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an incredible cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark.

The One and Only Sparkella
The One and Only Sparkella

Author: Channing Tatum

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Published: 2021-05-04

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 1250838576

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An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! A Publishers Weekly Bestseller! Leading actor, producer and director Channing Tatum's picture book debut, The One and Only Sparkella is a charming ode to self-esteem and the love between a father and daughter—illustrated by Kim Barnes. Ella is excited for her first day at a new school. Glimmering pencil case? Check! Shimmering backpack? Check! Glittery ribbons in her hair? Check! She can't wait to meet the other kids and share her sparkly personality. But her first day doesn't go quite as planned: Her new classmates don't like her disco-ball shoes, her PB&J-with-sprinkles sandwich, or her rainbow-y unicorn painting. Ella decides to try to be less sparkly at school the next day so the other kids won't make fun of her. But with a little help from her dad, she soon learns the importance of just being herself, no matter what other people say.

Long Walk to Freedom
Long Walk to Freedom

Author: Nelson Mandela

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2008-03-11

Total Pages: 598

ISBN-13: 0759521042

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"Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand history – and then go out and change it." –President Barack Obama Nelson Mandela was one of the great moral and political leaders of his time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. After his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela was at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's antiapartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is still revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality. Long Walk to Freedom is his moving and exhilarating autobiography, destined to take its place among the finest memoirs of history's greatest figures. Here for the first time, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela told the extraordinary story of his life -- an epic of struggle, setback, renewed hope, and ultimate triumph. The book that inspired the major motion picture Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

The Red Circle
The Red Circle

Author: Brandon Webb

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2012-04-10

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 1250018404

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Explosive, revealing, and intelligent, The Red Circle provides a uniquely personal glimpse into one of the most challenging and secretive military training courses in the world. Now including an excerpt from The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program BEFORE HE COULD FORGE A BAND OF ELITE WARRIORS... HE HAD TO BECOME ONE HIMSELF. Brandon Webb's experiences in the world's most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, The Red Circle provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist. Yet it is Webb's distinguished second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy "sniper cell" and Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America's finest and deadliest warriors-including Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle-that makes his story so compelling. Luttrell credits Webb's training with his own survival during the ill-fated 2005 Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. Kyle went on to become the U.S. military's top marksman, with more than 150 confirmed kills. From a candid chronicle of his student days, going through the sniper course himself, to his hair-raising close calls with Taliban and al Qaeda forces in the northern Afghanistan wilderness, to his vivid account of designing new sniper standards and training some of the most accomplished snipers of the twenty-first century, Webb provides a rare look at the making of the Special Operations warriors who are at the forefront of today's military.