In Talk Is (Not!) Cheap, McCann illustrates how the art of what he calls “conversation leadership” can be used to inspire, innovate, and win in business. Using a blend of how-to and insightful personal stories, he argues that the gift of gab may just be the most critical (and undervalued) skill set in today’s workplace.

Whether the goal is to improve interactions with customers, win clients for new business, or amplify one’s voice at work, readers will find practical advice on how to strategically transform the way they communicate and listen.

Ali Larter is well-known for her starring roles in the hit NBC show Heroes and movies like Varsity Blues, Legally Blonde, Resident Evil, and Obsessed. What Hollywood-insiders also know about Larter is her talent in the kitchen and her famous parties for Tinseltown friends. In an instant, she can whip together fabulous Sunday brunches, superbowl parties, and her famous New Year’s nights to remember.

From her humble New Jersey roots through her travels around the world, Larter has been cooking and entertaining all her life, and now she’s eager to share her passion. In Kitchen Revelry, Larter brings us more than one hundred of her favorite recipes, including her jalapeño cheddar skillet cornbread, crab pots with lemon caper dip, lambchop lollipops, strawberry mint cake, and for thirsty revelers, her eucalyptus gin martinis. Larter’s mouthwatering recipes and inspiring party ideas are broken down by month so you can take her lead through the seasons with celebrations like an October Harvest Party, a January Detox, and a July BBQ.

Brimming with personality, beautiful and intimate photos, and Larter’s personal touch as a perfectly disheveled, sassy, classy, effortless host, Kitchen Revelry makes for a fun, refreshing cookbook and guide to entertaining.

For more on Tim Hollister, please go to Fromreidsdad.org.

A humor book inspired by the blog of the same name, Things I Want to Punch in the Face means: 1) a humorous way to convey annoyance or frustration over those little things in life that bug; 2) petty peeves warranting a tongue-in- cheek lashing but involving no physical retribution, 3) an expression made wildly popular by the blog, Things I Want to Punch in the Face. Synonyms: chap your hide, get your goat, rub the wrong way. Antonyms: make out with, love so much you should marry it, float your boat, blow your skirt up.

Jennifer Worick has written or co-authored more than 20 books, including the New York Times Bestseller The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex. In addition to finding her on bookshelves and newsstands, you can also check her out online at her blogs, word. and Things I Want to Punch in the Face. And if you’re really lucky, you can also catch Jennifer in university auditoriums and lecture halls, where she delivers side-splitting slide-show presentations. In addition, she can be found helping burgeoning authors create appealing and marketable book proposals at The Business of Books.

The gift of an old camera transforms Asha’s life. Parents and home; best friends Nishita, Meethi, Melana; the intriguing Kabir – she leaves them all to spend a year in a Swiss mountain village, learning to see the world through a lens.

There is a price to pay. Back home in Delhi, life has moved on; her three friends have wandered in new directions, her father is ill, and Kabir has found new purpose in Assam.

In the background, a country too changes shape; the Emergency locks India into strife, the riots of 1984 unleash a dormant savagery. Bombay becomes the target of terrorists. Amidst the chaos, Asha must find the threads of a new beginning that will once again take her away from the land she loves.

Mishi Saran was born in India and spent the first ten years of her life in New Delhi. Since then, she has lived in Switzerland, Indonesia, the United States, China, Hong Kong and Korea. She moved to Shanghai in 2006. She is the author of the travel book-cum-memoir Chasing the Monk’s Shadow: A Journey in the Footsteps of Xuanzang.(Penguin, 2005). To research the book, she spent a year tracing the footsteps of Xuanzang, a 7th Century Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled along the Silk Road from China to India, passing through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Her first novel, The Other Side of Light is published by HarperCollins India (June 2012). She is currently working on her third book, also a novel, set in Shanghai in the 1930s.

Ms. Saran writes in English and is also fluent in Mandarin, French and Hindi. Following an undergraduate degree in Chinese Studies from Wellesley College (USA), she worked in Hong Kong as a news reporter and as a freelance writer. Her articles have appeared in a variety of international publications including the Financial Times, theInternational Herald Tribune, the South China Morning Post and the Asian Wall Street Journal. Her short stories have won awards and been broadcast on the BBC.

The one hundred recipes run the spectrum from cozy crisps and cobblers to adventurous fare like Cider-Braised Brisket or Apple-Gingersnap Ice Cream. In addition, Amy organizes apple varieties into cooking categories so that it’s easy to choose the right fruit for any recipe. You’ll know to use tart Northern Spy in your pies and Fuji in delicate cakes. The Apple Lover’s Cookbook is the ultimate apple companion. 110 four-color illustrations.

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook was awarded Best American Cookbook by the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 2012.

A life-long apple lover, Amy Traverso is the food editor at Yankee magazine. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Liz Gutman and Jen King befriended each other while attending the French Culinary Institute’s pastry program. Realizing a shared passion for sustainably produced, fresh, superior-quality ingredients and sweets, their talk of starting a business together became a reality in early 2009. After gaining a vendor slot at the famed Brooklyn Flea Market and garnering some early publicity, Liz and Jen are humbled and thrilled to be lucky enough to spend their time sharing their love of sweets with their unbelievably awesome customers. Liz also spent 2 years writing for the James Beard Award-winning blog Serious Eats.

Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook is a 2013 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Award Finalist for the Baking: Savory and Sweet Category..

Far from the conventional slice of cake at the end of a meal, Johnny’s seasonal creations—four mini desserts in a quartet of complementary flavors and textures—are a culinary adventure. In Dessert FourPlay, he shares his secrets and inspirations, delivering standout recipes for incredible desserts that can be served alone or combined into his signature fourplay groupings, creating the perfect sweet finale for any meal.

With the home cook in mind, Johnny offers tips on simplifying professional recipes and provides basic recipes for transcendent cakes, cookies, tuiles, ice creams, sorbets, granités, and more. These building blocks can be used to create magnificent multifaceted desserts, or they can be perfect desserts by themselves. Some recipes have surprising versatility: the shiny smooth chocolate glaze Johnny uses to ice cakes doubles as the ultimate hot fudge sauce; a lemony madeleine batter becomes a layer in a cake.

Iuzzini pairs cool with hot, crispy with creamy, sweet with spicy, and the expected—chocolate, strawberries, and cinnamon—with the unexpected—chiles, beets, and chocolatey puffs. The result: desserts that refresh, inspire, and satisfy beyond expectations. Dessert FourPlay invigorates all the senses and inspires home cooks to create innovative desserts of their own.

JOHNNY IUZZINI, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.

ROY FINAMORE, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt. Watch Johnny on Top Chef Just Desserts on Bravo.

Danny Seo has been dubbed the “crafty MacGyver,” and has become the national face of eco-chic. He’s a contributor to NBC’s Today Show and many other national programs including Access Hollywood and Live with Regis and Kelly. He also pens the syndicated column “Do Just One Thing” in newspapers nationwide. Danny’s creative how-to approach toward green living extends to products, including Simmons Natural Care Mattress by Danny Seo, and a full home collection called GreenHouse.