Arcadia Public Library

"This is the comprehensive guide to all things Game of Thrones and beyond. From the prehistory to the coming of the First Men, through the reign of the Targaryen kings and Robert's Rebellion, this guide--co-written by George R.R. Martin and the immensely knowledgeable founders and keepers of the www.westeros.org site--will tell series readers old and new all they might want to know about the history and culture of Westeros and the lands beyond the...

For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. Munroe has created a guide to the third kind of approach. He provides highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole. Cartoonist Randall Munroe (xkcd) explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos. He teaches you how to...

"A delightful and quirky compendium of the animal kingdom's more unfortunate truths, with over 150 hand-drawn illustrations." --

Here we can find out about irony and the meaning of life, the politics of the nuclear family, Marxism in Springfield, the elusiveness of happiness, popular parody as a form of tribute, and why we need animated TV shows. As if all that weren't enough, this book actually contains the worst philosophy essay ever.

This new version of the Caldecott-winning classic by illustrator David Small and author Judith St. George is updated with current facts and new illustrations to include our forty-fourth president, Barack H. Obama. Hilariously illustrated by Small, this celebration by St. George shows us the foibles, quirks and humanity of forty-four men who have risen to one of the most powerful positions in the world.

"Obscure and addictive true tales from history told by one of our most entertaining historians, Giles Milton. The first installment in Giles Milton's outrageously entertaining series, History's Unknown Chapters: colorful and accessible, intelligent and illuminating, Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from the past.There's the cook aboard the Titanic, who pickled himself with whiskey and survived...

"Did you know that knitting burns 102 calories per hour? Or that November is national Knit a Sweater month? Or that there are more sheep than people in New Zealand, Australia, and Iceland? These fun facts and many more make up Knitting Ephemera, a treasury of trivia for knitting enthusiasts. Containing 300 entries, this informative collection covers everything from knitting's appearances in history, literature, folklore, and pop culture to little-known...

"Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations. Who invented the wheel? Who told the first joke? Who drank the first beer? Who was the murderer in the first murder mystery, who was the first surgeon, who sparked the first fire--and most critically,...

Did you know a compost heap generates as much energy as the Sun? Or that dung beetles use the Milky Way to navigate? Maybe you have not been into space but if you have then you will know that astronauts have feet as soft as babies! 101 Space Facts You Didn't Know takes you on a wild journey around the Universe bringing you facts galore. Whether you are a space enthusiast or a newcomer you will find plenty of facts in here to keep you amused and entertained....

Sixteen essays about individual animals, including wild (woolly mammoth, rhinoceros, starling, crocodile, gorilla, lion) and domesticated (housecat, racing pigeons, elephant, horses, goats), named and made famous by humans.