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Tired of spending $5 on cheesy get well cards? Too lazy to make chicken soup? The Little Cold Book is the perfect gift for anyone feeling under the weather-and it’s guaranteed to keep readers amused and entertained for the duration of an average cold.

In concise and humorous chapters, The Little Cold Book explores:

the science of colds
the amazing health benefits of chocolate
time-tested home remedies
great movies to watch when you’re sick
and plenty of other topics bound to amuse anyone feeling ill.

With The Little Cold Book-and plenty of fluids, of course-your sniffly friend will feel better in no time!

JUSTIN SPRING is a biographer, art historian, and journalist whose humorous essays and articles have appeared in the New York Times, Artforum International, and more. This is the first book he has written in bed.

Gay tourism is booming—and with How to Say “Fabulous!” in 8 Different Languages, you’ll always know how to speak the native tongue. This hilarious phrase book features hundreds of outrageous phrases, all translated from English into French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

There are sections on Night Life (“Are there any gay bars around here?”), Shopping (“Those shoes! I must have those shoes!”), Opening Lines (“I am a flight attendant/choreographer/actor/owner of a greeting card store”), Dining Out (“You’ve had worse things in your mouth!”), Parting Glances (“I never meant to hurt you”), and much more.

With a hilarious mix of practical, impractical, bitchy, and often obscene phrases, How to Say “Fabulous!” in 8 Different Languages is the perfect companion for gay tourists and armchair travelers.

GERARD MRYGLOT was a staff translator at Berlitz Translation Services for five years before starting his own business, providing translation services to law firms and corporate clients. He and his coauthor, TED MARKS, originally self-published this book and sold 4,000 copies from their New York City apartment.

In today’s fast-paced workplace-where e-mails fly at lightning speed-precision and brevity are essential for good communication. But most of us just run spell check and hope for the best, because we’ve forgotten the simple grammar rules we learned in school.

In How Not to Write, Terence Denman, an instructor with the U.K.-based Plain English Campaign, sets out the top ten grammar myths and the ten grammar rules to live and work by. Readers will learn how to:

Position prepositions
Chop off unwanted auxiliaries
Root out passivity
Eliminate extraneous adjectives
Punctuate with impunity

With a breezy, wry, and accessible tone that never scolds but always enlightens, How Not to Write is an indispensable guide to clear, concise, and correct language in the workplace.

TERENCE DENMAN is a Cambridge-educated instructor with the U.K.-based Plain English Campaign, an international organization of over 6,000 members in 70 countries that fights for the use of crystal-clear language in business and government communications. (Plus, he’s British, so you know he speaks good English.)

The time-tested advice you never learned in school for getting back to basics and running a healthy, happy, sustainable household.

In this amazing collection of proven wisdom and practical advice from real vintage textbooks, you’ll find everything you need to know about shopping, cooking, cleaning, budgeting, and managing a household like an adult—whether you’re renting your first apartment or establishing a family home.

• Learn handy home management skills such as:
• Replacing a button
• Planning a dinner party
• Choosing paint colors
• Reducing food waste
• And many, many more

Give your household a happier, healthier future with time-tested tips from the past!

Previously published in 2010 as Home Economics, this fully updated version includes a new introduction and improved advice on cooking and canning.

Do you need to polish your look? Are you ready for a fashion makeover? Authors Francine Maroukian and Sarah Woodruff have approached today’s top hair stylists, skin specialists, fashion designers, and makeup artists for a crash course in personal presentation. The result is The Handbook of Style, an essential reference guide to fashion and beauty.

Jeanine Lobell of Stila Cosmetics explains how to make a smoky eye. Michael Rabinowitz of Le Mystere shows how to buy a bra that fits. Paula Dorf of Paula Dorf Cosmetics teaches you to become your own makeup artist. And Donald J. Pliner of the Donald J. Pliner Collection helps you spot a comfortable and sexy shoe.

With elegant illustrations, this mock-crocodile-covered paperback is a stylish, must-have object in itself. No woman’s bookshelf will be complete without one!

SARAH WOODRUFF is an editor and publishing consultant.

You’ve heard it all before: People should be nice to one another, treat others with respect, and be good to neighbors. But does any of that still apply to our hectic, harried, post-twentieth-century lifestyles? James and Lisa Grace think so, and in The Good Deed Guide, they show readers dozens of little ways to make a big difference.

From classic good deeds (How to Get a Cat out of a Tree) to modern acts of generosity (How to Be an Organ Donor), this helpful handbook gives you clear, step-by-step directions for becoming a better neighbor, a better friend, and a better citizen. You’ll learn how to make a difference in your own backyard (How to Plant a Tree) as well as while in town (How to Help a Person Cross the Street). And you’ll master the more complex activities with the help of step-by-step full-color illustrations. People everywhere are realizing that life is short, and being good to one another is the best way to make life enjoyable. Go ahead-make a difference.

JAMES and LISA GRACE are writers and all-around good people. They live outside Boston, Massachusetts, with their three children.