Combining the expertise of their respective professions with very practical tips, this is a how-to manual for parents who want to prepare their kids to thrive as adults.

What happens to books as they live in our long-term memory? Why do we find some books entertaining and others not? And how does literary influence work on writers in different ways? Grounded in the findings of empirical psychology, this book amends classic reader-response theory and attends to neglected aspects of reading that cannot be explained by traditional literary criticism. Reading arises from a combination of two kinds of mental work: automatic and controlled processes. Automatic processes, such as the ability to see visual symbols as words, are the result of constant practice; controlled processes, such as predicting what might occur next in a story, arise from readers' conscious use of skills and background knowledge. When we read, automatic and controlled processes work together to create the "gist" of reading, the constant interplay between these two kinds of processes. Andrew Elfenbein not only explains how we read today, but also uses current knowledge about reading to consider readers of past centuries, arguing that understanding gist is central to interpreting the social, psychological, and political impact of literary works. The result is the first major revisionary account of reading practices in literary criticism since the 1970s.

In the recent years changes in gastrointestinal surgery have experienced great acceleration, based on a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the diseases, evolving technologies, and new therapies. In many areas of gastrointestinal surgery, new therapeutic and technical results have been accessible because of better connections with well-known pathological evolutions of diseases, more detailed diagnostic perspectives, and wide employment of mini-invasive and laparoscopic procedures.

In 1750 and 1751 Christopher Gist, an agent of the Ohio Company of Virginia, explored the greater portion of the region now included within the boundaries of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia, along with portions of western Maryland and southwestern Pennsylvania. These explorations were the earliest made so far west for the sole object of examining the country, and the first of which a regular journal was kept. It was on these two journeys that he made his greatest contribution to history.

From the bestselling author of It Happened at the Fair comes a historical love story about a lady doctor and a Texas Ranger who meet at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Saddled with a man’s name, Billy Jack Tate makes no apologies for taking on a man’s profession. As a doctor at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, she is one step closer to having her very own medical practice—until Hunter Scott asks her to give it all up to become his wife. Hunter is one of the elite—a Texas ranger and World’s Fair guard specifically chosen for his height, physique, character, and skill. Hailed as the toughest man west of any place east, he has no patience for big cities and women who think they belong anywhere but home. Despite their differences of opinion, Hunter and Billie find a growing attraction until Hunter discovers an abandoned baby in the corner of a White City exhibit. He and Billy team up to make sure this foundling isn’t left in the slums of Chicago. As they fight for the underprivileged children in the Nineteenth Ward, an entire playground movement is birthed. But when the fair comes to an end, one of them will have to give up their dream. Will Billy exchange her doctor’s shingle for the domesticated role of a southern wife, or will Hunter abandon the wide open spaces of home for a life in the “gray city,” a woman who insists on being the wage earner, and a group of ragamuffins who need more than one breathing space?

The impetuous Flossie Jayne—a beautiful, budding artist who is handpicked by Louis Tiffany to help complete the Tiffany chapel—takes on a colorful cast of characters to transform her Chicago boarding house into a home while making a name for herself in the art world. Simultaneous.

Romance on the Texas Range with Bestselling Historical Novelist Deeanne Gist In 1904 Texas Ranger Luke Palmer arrives in Brenham, Texas, with one goal--to capture the gang of outlaws led by Frank Comer. Undercover as a telephone repairman, he uses his days on the range to search, not realizing there's another pair of eyes watching him. Georgie Gail, switchboard operator and birder, heads out on a birding expedition, but instead of sighting a painted bunting, her opera glasses capture her telephone man, armed and far away from telephone lines. Palmer is forced to take this alluring troublemaker into his confidence and unwittingly puts her in harm's way. The closer he comes to the gang, the further she works her way into his heart--and into trouble. Soon it's more than just love that's on the line.