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 The world's best contemporary writers -- from Michael Chabon and Claire Messud to Jonathan Lethem and Amy Tan -- engage in a wide-ranging, insightful, and oft- surprising roundtable discussion on the art of writing fiction. Drawing back the curtain on the mysterious process of writing novels, The Secret Miracle: The Novelist's Handbook, from the 826 Valencia writing centers and edited by Daniel Alarcon, brings together the foremost practitioners of the craft to discuss how they write. Paul Auster, Roddy Doyle, Allegra Goodman, Aleksandar Hemon, Mario Vargas Llosa, Susan Minot, Rick Moody, Haruki Murakami, George Pelecanos, Gary Shteyngart, and others take us step by step through the alchemy of writing fiction, answering everything from nuts-and-bolts queries -- "Do you outline?" -- to perennial questions posed by writers and readers alike: "What makes a character compelling?" From Stephen King's deadpan distinction between novels and short stories ("Novels are longer and have more s**t in them") to Colm Toibin's anti-romanticized take on his characters ("They are just words"), every page contains insights found nowhere else. With honesty, humor, and elegance, The Secret Miracle gives both aspiring writers and lovers of literature a master class in the art of writing. (Henry Holt)
 When most Americans hear the words "roller derby" they think of the kitschy sport once popular on weekend television during the seventies and eighties. Originally an endurance competition where skaters traveled the equivalent of a trip between Los Angeles and New York, derby gradually evolved into a violent contact sport often involving fake fighting. But after nearly dying out in the nineties, derby has been making a comeback. There are now more than 17,000 skaters in more than 400 leagues around the world, with hundreds of thousands of die-hard fans. Written by veteran skaters as both a history and a how-to, Down and Derby is a brassy celebration of every aspect of the sport, from its origins in the late 1800s, to the rules of a modern bout, to the science of picking an alias, to the many ways you can get involved off skates.
Alex Cohen is a radio host on KPCC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, and Jennifer Barbee writes for Blood and Thunder magazine and is a longtime staffer of the WGA. As "Axles of Evil" and "Kasey Bomber," they have skated with the L.A. Derby Dolls since 2003. (Soft Skull/Counterpoint)
 Boys are falling behind in school. The world has become more verbal; boys haven't. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the biggest culprits are not video games, pop culture, or female-dominated schools biased toward girls. The real problem is that boys have been thrust into a bewildering new school environment that demands high-level reading and writing skills long before they are capable of handling them. The gap between male and female achievement has reached the college level, where only 40 per cent of graduates next year will be male. This doesn't just mean fewer male doctors and lawyers, it also means fewer men in the careers that previously did not require post-high school degrees but do now. Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind examines the roots and repercussions of this problem and spells out the educational, political, social and economic challenges we face as we work to end it. Amidst the alarming proof of failure among boys -- around the world -- there are also inspiring case studies of schools where something is going right. Each has come up with realistic ways to make sure that every student -- male and female -- has the tools to succeed in school and later in life. Educators and parents alike will take heart in these promising developments, and heed the book's call to action. (AMACOM Books)
 
Visual thinking guru Dan Roam's The Back of the Napkin, an international bestseller, taught readers the power of brainstorming and communicating with pictures. It presented a new and exciting way to solve all kinds of problems -- from the boardroom to the sales floor to the cubicle jungle -- and proved that a simple drawing on a humble napkin can be more powerful than the slickest PowerPoint presentation. Now the Back of the Napkin Expanded Edition, with more color, bigger pictures and additional content, does an even better job of helping you literally see the world in a new way. And the brand new companion workbook, Unfolding the Napkin, helps readers put Roam's principles into practice with step-by-step guidelines. It's filled with detailed case studies, guided do-it-yourself exercises, and plenty of blank space for drawing. Roam structured the book as a complete four-day visual-thinking seminar, taking readers step-by-step from "I can't draw" to "Here is the picture I drew that I think will save the world." (Portfolio/Penguin Group)
 For the first time, a leading financial adviser has developed a remarkable set of guidelines to give individuals the same kind of objective insight into their personal finances that successful businesses have always had. Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security helps readers effectively manage debt, invest prudently, and develop a realistic and effective savings plan to ensure both financial success and security. It teaches eight simple ratios to helps simplify many of the complex financial decisions you make each year. Publishers Weekly says "Farrell does a wonderful job of taking the worry and stress out of number anxiety." (Avery/Penguin Group)
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