Media Lab Books – serie

This fun, fascinating book examines the basics of real-life spycraft, written by a former SAS and MI6 operative.

Harry Potter's adventures are built upon a rich tapestry of historical events dating back as far as the first century, during which an ancient Greek wizard known only as Herpo the Foul created the first usable Horcrux. It was this successful venture nearly two millennia ago that enabled the evil wizard Voldemort to create one Horcrux for each piece of his splintered soul.In The Ultimate Wizarding World History of Magic, the editors of MuggleNet document all of the significant historical events the shaped the wizarding world, from Herpo's first breakthrough through the final adventures of Harry Potter and his friends. Readers will learn about the founding of Hogwarts, the beginnings of Quidditch and its rules, the creation of the sword of Gryffindor and much more. It's the only book of its kind to delve so deep into the history and mysteries of the world of witches and wizards.Topics covered include:· The creation of the Chamber of Secrets· The beginnings of the Triwizard Tournament· Incidents related to Muggle 'magic,' such as the Salem witch trials, and their impact upon the wizarding world· The founding of Gringotts Bank· Important historical figures, including those shared with the Muggle world such as Merlin· The birth of Albus Dumbledore· World War I and its impact upon the wizarding world· The Battle of Hogwarts· The installment of Harry Potter as Head of the Auror Department· And much moreInformed by dozens of different official sources, and supplemented with family trees and informative timelines, The Ultimate Wizarding World History of Magic provides all the information fans could want to fill in the holes of the Harry Potter narrative, while shining a light on everything that makes the wizarding world feel so complex, deep and infused with a sense of mythic grandeur.

In Big Ideas, Little Pictures, Jono Hey explains complex concepts through a combination of simple sketches and straightforward, easy-to-understand text. It’s a fun, engaging approach to grasping challenging information, that’s perhaps most clearly stated by one of his readers:“I love seeing difficult concepts displayed in an understandable way. Democratizing knowledge. There are a lot of podcasts that I listen to: Stuff You Should Know or TED Talks but they each take up 30 minutes. With Sketchplanations – BOOM – in one picture I can get the gist of an idea and then your supporting text clarifies it even further.”In addition to making readers smarter and better informed in less time, Big Ideas, Little Pictures is also a light-hearted, witty gift – the perfect display piece for readers who want a something that can be picked up and flipped through at any point, with the assurance that the reader is going to come across something of interest, with topics ranging from the difference between an Americano and a Long Black coffee to Survivorship Bias, the Abilene Paradox and so much more.Perfect for children as well as adults, Big Ideas, Little Pictures opens up a word of fascinating facts at a glance.

For many tabletop RPG players, the joy of an in-depth game is that anything can happen. Typical adventure modules include a map of the adventure’s primary location, but every other location - whether it's a woodland clearing, a random apothecary or the depths of a temple players elect to explore - has to be improvised on the fly by the Game Master (GM). As every GM knows, no matter how many story hooks, maps or characters you painstakingly create in advance, your best-laid plans are often foiled by the outcome of an unexpected dice role or your players refusal to stay on task. In a game packed with infinite possibilities, what are GMs supposed to do when their players choose those for which they're not prepared?The Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters provides an unbeatable solution. This massive tome provides 100 maps and 300 tables for all types of encounters, from temples and taverns to ships, wizard's lairs and much more! Each entry includes original handdrawn maps and multiple tables designed to help GMs fill in the sights, sounds and possible encounters in each location. This allows GMs to start new adventures or enhance existing ones on the fly. No matter where your players end up, they'll have someone or something to persuade or deceive, impress or destroy. There are nearly three million possible adventure combinations in all - enough to delight players for hours on end.

The Unofficial Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Cookbook is a one-of-a-kind cookbook that captures the flavour and feel of the hit movie Beetlejuice, with 75 delightfully dark recipes, from Deetz dinner party shrimp cocktail to delicious Harry Belafonte-themed “banana boat” milkshakes.Drawing inspiration from the deceptively sunny home of the Maitlands and the gloomy bureaucracy of the afterlife, to the fantasy world of Beetlejuice himself and the sandworms of Titan, this cookbook finds inspiration in every corner, with recipes inspired by the creatures, characters, locations and plot points of the film and other sources.Each recipe will be paired with an attractive full colour photo and a humorous introductory note, plus fun bits Beetlejuice trivia, behind the scenes facts and more.

The worlds of Harry Potter have always been imbued with wry humour and occasional moments of slapstick comedy, in both the books as well as the films. Harry Potter paired with humour is nothing new. But in this big new book of jokes, riddles and puns, Harry Potter hilarity is taken to new heights of broom-powered fun.Inside readers will find more than 500 laugh-inducing entries, perfect for Harry Potter fans happy to have a little fun with their literary favourites.Written by Jeremy Brown, author of the bestselling humour book The Official John Wayne Big Book of Dad Jokes and regular Fatherly columnist, this book also includes recurring special features such as 'Who's the funniest character in the Harry Potter universe?'

In Primitive Camping and Bushcraft, author and outdoor survival expert Chris Speir provides readers with all of the information they need to participate in the most exciting, adventurous type of camping, safely and with confidence. In primitive camping, campers do without the standard resources one can find at a more traditional campsite, making do with whatever they bring in.Chris Speir, an expert at primitive camping technique, is the founder of Speir Outdoors, an online education resource that teaches viewers how to camp, the basics of bushcraft and survival technique, ensuring that every trip into the wild is one taken with confidence in one’s ability to overcome whatever challenge they may come across.In this book, Speir covers a wide range of topics, enhanced throughout with full-colour photography the details exactly how to perform each and every technique. Skills and technique covered include:· What to know before you go· Gear – what you should bring and why· Site selection – dangers to look for, available firewood and water resources· Shelter – clothing, fabricated shelters, including A-frames and diamond fly, and hammocks and tents· Water – dangers of camping near water, collecting water, purifying and filtering water· Fire – how to create a fire kit, collect materials and then start a fire· Food – includes what to bring, what to eat and how to prepare it· Cooking – how to cook food over a campfire, use a commercial stove, or make your ownEach section is enhanced with bushcraft and survival hacks to help provide extra insights and knowledge for handling camping and survival situations that call for ingenuity in the field.

This giant book for kids and Harry Potter fans of all ages showcases well over 200 full colour pages of puzzles, activities and trivia challenges in a full colour collection that’s certain to keep readers entertained for hours on end.From “fill-in-the-blank” games and mysterious mazes to chess challenges and logic puzzles, this book has enough fun to keep kids from getting bored all summer long. The book also includes hundreds of full-color photos highlighting each of the classic Harry Potter films, plus extra jokes, riddles and “did you know” facts throughout.

This giant collection of puzzles for adults celebrates the characters, the cast, the story and the influences of Yellowstone, basic cable’s #1 TV show. Featuring more than 200 pages of challenging trivia, simple word searches and brain-twisting puzzles, as well as dozens of photos from the show, this book is designed for the Yellowstone super-fan.

As most TTRPG fans know, one of the most exciting elements of any roleplaying game is that the story can go anywhere at any time. Unfortunately, Game Masters can’t possibly prepare for every unpredictable request, unfortunate die roll or unbelievably bad player decision that might unfold at their table. That's where this book comes in: Featuring more than 500 more maps, roll tables and story hooks, The Game Master’s Book of More Random Encounters will save readers hours of planning by providing all new enchanting adventure maps, perilous plot twists and unexpected NPCs that they’ve come to expect from the Game Master series in an easy-to-follow format that's compatible with all their 5e adventures.Featuring plenty of practical places like taverns, inns and alchemist's labs as well as unexpected locations in far-off realms, farther-off planes and even the farthest reaches of the galaxy, it's everything readers loved about the first book - but EVEN MORE. This action-packed tome is the remedy for maladies Game Masters didn't even know they had.Includes:· Dozens of plug-and-play encounter locations suitable for most fantasy settings· Variant roll tables to mix up the action for every map· Three one-shot adventures to flow into your own campaigns· And much more!

This extraordinary book is a collaboration - a project made up of many different voices and experiences, unified by the stunning artwork of Karen Hallion. It is a celebration of women across time, throughout the world, detailing the extraordinary impact their actions have had upon our culture and our community.The contributing essayists are not only writing about inspirational women - they are inspirational themselves. They write, they inspire, they express, they collaborate, they enlighten - a literal who’s who of extraordinary people, including Delilah S. Dawson (NYT Bestselling Author), Jody Houser (NYT Bestselling Author), Rosie Knight (Eisner-Award Winning Comics Journalist), Alexandra Love (writer for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon), Sam Maggs (bestselling author of books and comic books) and many others.The book provides visibility and recognition for the contributions of women throughout history and in contemporary society. By highlighting women's actions, the book will inspire and empower young readers to pursue their goals and achieve success, while also challenging societal norms and expectations. It will also educate them about the many ways in which women have shaped history and influenced social, political, and cultural change.Beyond being a collection of gorgeous art, She Changed the World is a fun, fascinating gateway into women’s history and its impact upon us all.

The Game Master's Deck of Boons and Banes consists of 40 stunningly illustrated cards, 20 of which impose a bane of some sort on a character. A curse, for example, that constantly threatens to strangle a PC to death the more active they are. Or a blight that causes mold to grow over the PC’s skin in thick, stinking patches. The remaining 20 cards convey a boon of some sort - a blessing from a higher power or the magic that courses through the natural world. For example, the PC may be blessed with a pair of guardian wolves that travel with them wherever they go and fight on their behalf. Or they might even sprout giant dragonfly wings twice a day, enabling them to escape danger or travel long distances with ease.The exact composition of the deck players might choose to draw from is up to the GM, whether it be made up of all bane cards, all boon cards, an even mix of the two, or some randomly assigned ratio of good to bad. The boons are a great temptation - but drawing a bane could bring about a crippling result, so players will need to weigh the odds every time.The companion book includes a description of each card’s effect and how it impacts the PC who drew it. Within each entry, GMs will also find suggested side quests related to each care, as well as recommendations for scaling card effects up or down depending on the level of the characters drawing from the deck.

The Game Master's Book of Instant Towns and Villages provides GMs with all of the inspiration they need to conjure up unique, vivid urban environments at a moment's notice, or when trying to come up with ideas for new places to be explored.This game-saving collection brings together nearly 170 fully-realized places organized by environment and divided up into villages, towns, cities and capitals, so that when players are trudging through a dangerous swamp, unrelenting desert or stormy coastline and need to find shelter, they can stumble upon a fully realised settlement, elven enclave or dwarven mining camp, without requiring any development in advance on the part of the game master.At its core, this book works a bit like the bestselling Game Master's Book of Non-Player Characters, but instead of providing information about the people one might meet, Instant Towns and Cities provides sketches of urban centers which can act as on-demand solutions to unexpected needs (ex. the characters need to find a physician right away and head for the nearest town, which until now, the GM had not developed) or as concepts that inspire entire adventure story arcs, depending on the party’s (or the GM's) wants or needs.Each location is packed with interesting people to meet, locations to explore and story hooks to investigate (or avoid!). It's a problem-solving tool unlike any other, certain to take the pressure off game masters who find themselves in need of a creative solution for urban areas at any time in any location.

Everyone loves a good dad joke, but the question is why do dads get to have all of the fun? This book proves the exception to the rule! This book is packed with stupid dad jokes created by Brett Belle. Yes, she's a mom and she'll make you laugh until you cry. She’s also the creator of the wildly popular YouTube and Instagram channels 'Mom’s Dad Jokes.' A few regrettable samples for your amusement:- Most people don't realise Argentina's so cold.... It's bordering on Chile- A dragon would never explode. A dino might.- This just in: The toilet at the police station has been stolen.... As it stands, the police have nothing to go on.- What do you call a hippie's wife? Mississippi.- My husband just called to tell me he saw a fox on the way to work. I wonder how he knew it was on its way to work.- What do you call a teacher who never farts in public? A private tutor.- My sister was giving me a pep talk the other day. She said 'You know, things could always be worse. You could be stuck in a hole filled with water.' I know she means well.- I'm reading this horror novel in Braille and I'm pretty sure something bad is about to happen.... I can feel it.- Just when you think food couldn't possibly call you on the phone.... Bam! Onion rings.- My boss said he was going to fire the employee with the worst posture.... I have a hunch it might be me.Inside you'll find more than 300 jokes like these, including a mix of original gut-busters and classic groaners, plus QR codes that take you to Brett's social media pages where you can listen to her tell these jokes and more.

Pay homage to the quaintest hamlet in Elmdale County in this fun, unofficial cookbook inspired by the show.Whether you're experienced in the kitchen, or basically eat at the local café for every meal, Tastes Like Schitt has a recipe for you. Specials from Café Tropical, Jocelyn’s down-to-earth dishes, and meals from the Rosebud Motel have inspired this collection of recipes.With 75 full colour recipes, this cookbook features appetizers, drinks, entrees, desserts, and more. Cook your way through them all as you rewatch your favourite episodes. This book makes the perfect gift for any fan of the tv show Schitt’s Creek. As you work your way through the chapters, you will be doing a lot more than just folding in the cheese for the enchilada recipe. Other dishes include:- Rosebud Motel Cinnamon Rolls- Sloppy Jocelyns- There’s a Dead Guy in Room 4-Cheese Macaroni- Twyla’s Meadow Harvest Smoothie- Farm Witches' Peanut Butter Things- Herb Ertlinger's Wine Spritzer- Budd's Bourbon BBQ Sauce- And many more!You'll find a variety of recipes for chefs of all levels. Easy-to-follow recipes make it possible to cook, bake and eat your way through Schitt’s Creek. Grab an apron, preheat the oven, and put on your favourite episode. Let’s make a meal that Tastes Like Schitt!