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Art of the Video Game

The Art of the Video Game is the first book to celebrate an exciting new visual medium—with stunning examples from the biggest design studios and game publishers in the business: Electronic Arts, Activision, Nintendo, Midway, Eidos, Konami, and many others. Every page features gorgeously rendered digital artwork (along with never-before-published sketches, models, and works-in-progress) from dozens of beloved games—everything from old school favorites like Tomb Raider and Sonic the Hedgehog to such contemporary hits as Beautiful Katamari, Call of Duty, Half-Life, and more. Along the way, readers will discover the history of video game art and catch an exciting glimpse of its future. Full of exclusive interviews and images, The Art of the Video Game is a must-have gift for gamers of all ages.

JOSH JENISCH is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and writes regularly about the video-game industry. He lives in Los Angeles.

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Teen Owner’s Manual

The Baby Owner’s Manual has taught more than 350,000 readers how to “operate” their newborns and infants. But what happens when your adorable bundle of joy morphs into a strange, snarling, hormone fueled adolescent?

In The Teen Owner’s Manual, Sarah Jordan and Dr. Janice Hillman show how to navigate every stage of raising adolescents, from the first signs of puberty to the day your children leave the nest. Along the way, you’ll learn how to have The Sex Talk, how to handle peer pressure, and techniques for managing moodiness. You’ll even discover ways to get a monosyllabic teen to speak in full sentences-and maybe even take out the trash.

Illustrated in the trademark techy style of Quirk’s Owner’s Manual series (more than 1,000,000 books sold worldwide), The Teen Owner’s Manual is the perfect resource for frazzled parents everywhere.

SARAH JORDAN is a National Magazine Award-nominated author who has written extensively on parenting for magazines and newspapers including Parents and Parenting. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.

JANICE HILLMAN, M.D., is one of the country’s premier adolescent medical doctors, cited consistently as one of Philadelphia magazine’s Top Docs. She lives in Philadelphia.

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Television Without Pity

Calling all Dawson’s Creek fans! Television Without Pity features irreverent entries about the shows, characters, actors, clichés, plot devices, memorable moments, and catch phrases that make watching TV such a guilty pleasure. From weekend-long Real World marathons to the People’s Choice Awards, from favorite characters (Brenda Walsh, Seth Cohen) to the most unfunny recurring skits on Saturday Night Live, this is a celebration of television unlike any other.

Written by the creators of televisionwithoutpity.com (hailed by Entertainment Weekly as “the industry standard” for obsessive TV fanatics), this snarktastic volume features 100 illustrations and an encyclopedic two-column design. It’s great fun for nostalgic browsing and guaranteed to prompt more laughter than a whole season of Seinfeld.

TARA ARIANO (screen name “Wing Chun”) and SARAH D. BUNTING (screen name “Sars”) are the founders of TelevisionWithoutPity.com. Tara is the coauthor of Hey! It’s That Guy! (Quirk, 2005), and more of Sarah’s work can be seen at TomatoNation.com.

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This Saint Will Change Your Life

Great news! Whoever you are, whatever you do, there is a patron saint who wants to help you- specifically you-with your life. There is a patron saint of booksellers. There is a patron saint of traveling salesmen. There are patron saints for vegetarians, cab drivers, and cancer patients. For astronauts, horseback riders, and dysfunctional families. For men who are physically unattractive. For families stressed by houseguests. These saints are ready to help, and their services are absolutely free!

This Saint Will Change Your Life! describes the real-life histories of more than 300 saints and explains how they have become associated with certain people, places, and professions. Also included are 300 gorgeous full-color holy cards that depict these heavenly allies in all their glory. First published in 2007, this revised edition includes a fresh new design and a sprinkling of new saints-like St. Francis De Sales, patron saint of bloggers!

Thomas J. Craughwell is the author of several books about saints. He's appeared as an expert on CNN, the BBC, and Inside Edition and has written articles about saints for the Wall Street Journal, Inside the Vatican, and Catholic Digest, among other national publications. He lives in Connecticut.

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To Quote a Queer

We’re here. We’re queer. And we’re hilarious! Not to mention eloquent, bitchy, poetic, luminous, and dead-on brilliant! To Quote a Queer features more than 2,500 quotations on a host of subjects, including:

Body Image: “To be gay and out of shape is almost as much of a stigma as just being gay used to be.”—Bruce Vilanch

Fashion: “If I am occasionally a little overdressed, I make up for it by being always immensely overeducated.”—Oscar Wilde

Homophobia: “A lot of people are not homophobic, but they think they’re supposed to be. They think that if they don’t express prejudice, people will think there’s something the matter with them.”—Barney Frank

Therapy: “I think I have OCD or ADD or some other three-initial ditty. Whatever it is, it’s exhauasting.”—Rosie O’Donnell

Truth: “I don’t care what anybody says about me as long as it isn’t true.”—Truman Capote

Childhood: “Bike-riding and tree-climbing may be typically boyish, but they were merely means to my sissified ends; I wanted, like an eight-year-old Garbo, to be alone.”—Dan Savage

Coming Out: “What happened to me is exactly the opposite of what closeted people fear. They think they’ll lose everything if they come out. This did not happen to me at all. In fact, everything came back tenfold.”—Melissa Etheridge

Fame: “When you become a public figure, you become at the same time a product, and people actually look at your ‘expiration date,’ you know? They look at your age and say, ‘Hmm. How fresh is this one?’”—RuPaul

And much more. Hitting shelves just in time for summer’s pride festivities, To Quote a Queer is the perfect gift for gays and the people who love them.

JOHN LESSARD is assistant professor of English and film studies at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

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Toddler Owner’s Manual

The Baby Owner’s Manual has taught hundreds of thousands of readers how to “operate” their newborns and infants. But as technology evolves, so too will baby-and before long, there’s a toddler in the house!

With the same hilarious blend of schematic diagrams, troubleshooting tips, and step-by-step instructions, The Toddler Owner’s Manual explores issues of childhood from ages one to three. Does your toddler refuse to consume fuel? Are there viruses in her system? Do you need to reprogram her sleep routine? Whatever your concerns, you’ll find the answers here-courtesy of pediatric psychologist Dr. Brett Kuhn and coauthor Joe Borgenicht.

BRETT KUHN, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

JOE BORGENICHT, D.A.D., a current toddler owner, is the coauthor of The Baby Owner’s Manual.

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