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So you want to produce a short film. Or design a new line of jewelry. Or manufacture a revolutionary solar-powered garden sprinkler. There’s just one catch: You need $100,000 to bankroll your dream, and your checking account has barely enough to cover the rent.
 
Enter Kickstarter.com—the phenomenal “crowdfunding” website launched in 2009 that brings venture capital to the masses. At Kickstarter, it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to raise $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or more. All you need is a great idea—and The Kickstarter Handbook.
 
Business journliast Don Steinberg has interviewed dozens of artists and inventors who launched their passion projects online. Through their voices, you’ll explore all the strategies of a successful Kickstarter campaign. You’ll learn the elements of a compelling Kickstarter video, innovative ways to market your projects, tips for getting donors onboard, and the secrets of irresistible Kickstarter “rewards.” You’ll also discover what to do in a best-case scenario—when your project goes viral and the cash starts flowing in. On Kickstarter, it happens to a few lucky visionaries every week. Here’s how to be one of them.

No longer content to sit on rockers and bake cookies, today’s grandparents are involved in the lives of their grandchildren more than ever before. The Grandparents Handbook features dozens of activities that will guarantee hours of fun, educational quality time-from building dollhouses and catching fish to flying kites, baking bread, making your own mini golf course, creating a family newspaper, and much more. These illustrated instructions will lead grandparents down surprising paths of discovery as they teach the youngest generation about family, friendship, and the world around them. It’s the perfect gift for any grandparent and grandparent-to-be!

ELIZABETH LABAN is a Philadelphia-based writer, editor, and mother of two. BARBARA TROSTLER is Elizabeth’s mother and the grandmother of two. She lives in Philadelphia, about four blocks from grandchildren Alice and Arthur. DR. MYRON LABAN is Elizabeth’s father-in-law and the grandfather of five. He hops on airplanes whenever he can to visit grandchildren Eli, Dahlia, Alice, Arthur, and Logan.

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.

Bookshelves abound with activity books for babies and toddlers, but The Rookie Mom’s Handbook is the first designed exclusively for first-time mothers. Here are 250 enjoyable activities to help rookie moms maintain their individuality and boost their confidence about leaving the house, socializing, and doing things they’ve always liked to do-either with or without baby.

Inspired by the popular Web site www.rookiemoms.com, the book offers bite-sized activities arranged according to the baby’s age. Some are crafty, some are adventurous, and some simply help get a meal on the table.

Written in a lively, supportive tone and decorated with cute illustrations, The Rookie Mom’s Handbook is the perfect gift or resource to remind new moms that there’s more to life than dirty diapers and 3 a.m. feedings.

HEATHER GIBBS FLETT is an Internet consultant and a contributor to Babycenter.com’s print magazines. WHITNEY MOSS worked in the marketing department of LeapFrog Toys for more than six years and has written about baby outings for the San Francisco Chronicle. Both Heather and Whitney have small children and live in Berkeley, California.

The first Sherlock Holmes adventure appeared in 1887, but today the detective is more popular than ever-witness the upcoming release date of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. For every reader who dreams of solving crimes in turn-of-the-century London, The Sherlock Holmes Handbook features skills that all would-be sleuths should know:

    * How to Use Deductive Reasoning
    * How to Analyze Fingerprints-Without Computers
    * How to Master a Dozen Disguises
    * How to Survive a Plunge over a Waterfall

Readers will also discover a host of information about Holmes and his universe: How was the real Scotland Yard organized? Could people back then really buy cocaine over the counter? And why were the British so terrified of Australia? Packed with fascinating trivia, evocative illustrations, and a classic Victorian design, The Sherlock Holmes Handbook will appeal to “Baker Street Irregulars” of all ages.

RANSOM RIGGS is a lifelong Holmes aficionado and a regular contributor to mental_floss magazine. He lives in Los Angeles.

Every young lady dreams of a life spent exchanging witty asides with a dashing Mr. Darcy, but how should you let him know your intentions? Seek counsel from this charming guide to Jane Austen’s world. Its step-by-step instructions reveal the practicalities of life in Regency England, including sensible advice on:

     •  How to behave at your first ball
     •  How to ride sidesaddle
     •  How to decline an unwanted marriage proposal
     •  How to improve your estate
     •  How to throw a dinner party

—and much more. Offering readers a glimpse into day-to-day life in Jane Austen’s time, The Jane Austen Handbook is the perfect companion for fans of her novels and their film adaptations, complete with detailed information on love among the social classes, currency, dress, and nuances of graceful living.