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Like Moses delivering forth the Ten Commandments, Henry Owings brings music fans The Rock Bible—an insider’s guide to living the rock ’n’ roll dream. This hilarious rulebook is full of dos and don’ts for musicians, wannabe musicians, and rock fans of all ages. Here’s what The Rock Bible has to say about

Singers: “When you feel like stage-diving, make sure the people in the front row like your music enough to catch you.”

Backstage antics: “Couches at rock clubs have never been cleaned. Think of the crazy things that have been done on these couches, and then proceed at great personal risk.”

Lifestyle: “If you want to die while in a famous rock band, there are four options. 1. Suicide. 2. Car or plane crash. 3. Drug overdose. 4. Murdered by a crazy relative. Just pick one and stick with it.”

Complete with faux-biblical illustrations and parables and essays from comedian Patton Oswalt, drummer Brian Teasley, and professional smartass Andrew Earles, The Rock Bible is a rude and raunchy look at the best and worst of rock ’n’ roll.

Grammy Award winner HENRY OWINGS is the publisher of Chunklet magazine, a no-holds-barred chronicle of the music industry. At various times a DJ, promoter, record producer, and booking agent, Owings has toured with rock bands for nearly a decade.

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.

Babies are the courageous explorers of brave new worlds–so why not name them after the most memorable characters in science fiction? Sci-Fi Baby Names compiles more than 500 distinctive names from movies, books, and television shows into a handy illustrated reference. Choose “James” to honor the captain of the starship Enterprise. Choose “Leia” (or Leah) to honor the sister of Luke Skywalker. Choose “Neo” to salute the ultra-cool messiah from The Matrix. Hardcore fans can go even further with exotic names like “Barbarella,” “Beldar,” and “Tron” (just don’t send us the therapy bills).

Arranged by category for quick reference–with chapters such as Power Names, Feminine Names, and Intellectual Names–Sci-Fi Baby Names is a terrific gift for expecting parents and a wonderful roll call of our favorite science-fiction characters.

ROBERT SCHNAKENBERG loves science fiction so much, he wrote an entire book about William Shatner: The Encyclopedia Shatnerica. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Tired of working in a bland, boring, office cubicle? Interior designer Kelley Moore has the solution with Cube Chic, a hip, irreverent style book with inspirational cube designs for every taste, from Tiki to Zen. With dazzling full-color photography and helpful decorating tips, you’ll learn how to create:

• The Garden Cube: Rather be gardening? This cube features bright grassy greens, floral prints, and a desk covered in bright gerberas.
• The Cabin Cube: Like a ski lodge at your desk, this cube features dark wood tones and creature comforts aplenty.
• The CEO Cube: Get on the fast track to the executive lifestyle, and create a corner office in your own space.

And that’s just the beginning-there’s also a Hip-Hop Cube, a Pub Cube, a Safari Cube, and even a Cubism Cube. With so many eye-popping design options to choose from, Cube Chic will inspire office drones of all ages!

KELLEY L. MOORE is a lifestyle and entertaining expert with a simple mission: to empower people to connect and build relationships through the environment they create. She has a regular entertainment column in Northwest Home & Garden and writes feature design and entertainment articles for Seattle magazine. Kelley appears regularly on Seattle’s morning television show on KING 5 News, contributing to design, style, and entertainment segments.

Secret Lives of Great Artists recounts the seamy, steamy, and gritty history behind the great masters of international art. 

You’ll learn that Michelangelo’s body odor was so bad, his assistants couldn’t stand working for him; that Vincent van Gogh sometimes ate paint directly from the tube; and Georgia O’Keeffe loved to paint in the nude. This is one art history lesson you’ll never forget!

In the tradition of Quirk’s bestselling Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents, here are outrageous and uncensored profiles of the world’s greatest writers, complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright bizarre facts. Consider:

–Edgar Allan Poe was kicked out of West Point Military Academy.
–Louisa May Alcott was addicted to opium.
–W. B. Yeats paid surgeons to transplant monkey glands into his scrotum.
–J. R. R. Tolkien slept in his bathroom.
–Kurt Vonnegut managed a Saab dealership before hitting the big time.

With chapters on everyone from William Shakespeare to Thomas Pynchon, Secret Lives of Great Authors tackles all the tough questions your teachers were afraid to answer: What’s the deal with Lewis Carroll and little girls? Is it true that J. D. Salinger drank his own urine? Why was Ayn Rand such a big fan of Charlie’s Angels? The classics were never this much fun in school!

ROBERT SCHNAKENBERG is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York.