An Architectural Record Notable Book A fascinating, thought-provoking journey into our built environment Modern humans are an indoor species. We spend 90 percent of our time inside, shuttling between homes and offices, schools and stores, restaurants and gyms. And yet, in many ways, the indoor world remains unexplored territory. For all the time we spend inside buildings, we rarely stop to consider: How do these spaces affect our mental and physical well-being? Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors? Our productivity, performance, and relationships? In this wide-ranging, character-driven book, science journalist Emily Anthes takes us on an adventure into the buildings in which we spend our days, exploring the profound, and sometimes unexpected, ways that they shape our lives. Drawing on cutting-edge research, she probes the pain-killing power of a well-placed window and examines how the right office layout can expand our social networks. She investigates how room temperature regulates our cognitive performance, how the microbes hiding in our homes influence our immune systems, and how cafeteria design affects what—and how much—we eat. Along the way, Anthes takes readers into an operating room designed to minimize medical errors, a school designed to boost students’ physical fitness, and a prison designed to support inmates’ psychological needs. And she previews the homes of the future, from the high-tech houses that could monitor our health to the 3D-printed structures that might allow us to live on the Moon. The Great Indoors provides a fresh perspective on our most familiar surroundings and a new understanding of the power of architecture and design. It's an argument for thoughtful interventions into the built environment and a story about how to build a better world—one room at a time.

When the humans head out to go camping, the animals settle in for a relaxing holiday of their own! Teen bear takes over the bathroom with her curling iron, the beavers prepare their fanciest recipes, and the deer kick up their feet for a dance party. What starts as a little unwinding soon escalates to a big mess, just in time for everyone to head home. . . . Julie Falatko and Ruth Chan's quirky humors shine in this hilarious take on family trips that will have kids wondering what exactly goes on back at home when they're on vacation.

A companion to the best-selling book by the founder of a top interiors blog, this easy-to-use dictionary of interior design answers all those hard-to-solve decorating questions. The book begins with the most important questions of all: Who? What? Where? Why? How? And When? The aim is to answer these before you start any decorating scheme to avoid the most common mistakes, save money, and, most importantly, create a home that works for you and the people who live there. Mad About the House: The Practical Stuff is the super-practical guide that allows you to dip in and out so you can solve all your decorating dilemmas. The chapters focus on Walls, Floors, Ceilings, Windows, Doors and Skirtings, Furniture Layout, and Lighting, before finally a roundup of Fixtures and Fittings. In addition to the no-nonsense practical answers, there are checklists and step-by-step guides to key decorating challenges--everything from How to Hang Wallpaper, to Arranging a Gallery Wall and Removing Stains from Carpets and Soft Furnishings.

In these deeply funny and introspective essays, Andrew Farkas boldly surveys the “in-of-doors,” where a higher degree of comfort can be found than out-of-doors, and discovers that our lives are controlled much more by fiction than by anything “real.”

From actor and comedian Joel McHale comes the most important celebrity-penned book of this, or any, generation. Part shocking tell-all memoir, part aspirational how-to guide, and mostly all book, this one-of-a-kind tome is required reading for anyone who enjoys Hollywood gossip, get-rich-gradually tips, and copious illustrations and charts. “…Thanks for the Money is a clever, much-needed antidote to the age of celebrity book deals. If the tide can’t be stopped, at least it can be mocked.”—EW.com Joel McHale pulls back the curtain on his personal journey to stardom! Here, for the first time, Joel reveals all that has molded him into the acclaimed comic actor he is today: a love of performance, a series of boyhood head injuries, and most importantly, a passion for financial compensation and free shoes. It’s all here: Joel’s career trials and tribulations, his criminal trials and tribulations, and an honest, unflinching list of all the people he’s been paid money to make out with, on camera. But the book does not stop there! Because if you want wealth, fame, and cost-free footwear, Joel will share every vital tip he has learned: an insanely low-carb diet plan, how to escape from a certain pseudo-religious celebrity cult, and more! How can you unlock the power of the Joel McHale who lurks inside? What happened when Joel fought his Community co-star Chevy Chase? And hey, while we’re at it, what’s up with Joel’s hair—really? All will be revealed, within the pages of Thanks for the Money. Buy now, and receive—as a special bonus—an email receipt that details your purchase!

Sets the standard for indoor gardening with lights worldwide. Van Patten unlocks the world of indoor gardneing under fluorescent and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, both of which help seedlings and low-light plants start earlier and grow stronger. Combining the basics of gardening and electrical lighting know-how in one easy-to-use volume, he shows readers of all levels how to get the most out of hydroponics.