Books with author Mike O'Connor

A collection of humorous Q&As about everything you've always wanted to ask about birds and birding Mike O’Connor knows bird watchers as well as he knows birds. He knows that if you’re even slightly interested in identifying birds or attracting them to your backyard with a feeder, then you’ve also had your share of strange and silly questions about birds and their sometimes inexplicable behavior. In Why Do Bluebirds Hate Me?, O’Connor applies his deep knowledge of all things avian to answer the questions that keep birders up at night. Questions like · Should you clean your birdhouses? · Do swallows have a feather fetish? · How much does it cost to run a heated birdbath? · Is drinking coffee bad for birds? Other questions O’Connor covers range from the practical (Should I rotate the seed in my feeder?) to the quirky (Why are vultures eating my vinyl screen door?) to the just plain adorable (Are those birds kissing or feeding each other?). And he also explains why bluebirds just don’t seem to like some people.

At once far flung and intimate, a fascinating look at how finding our way make us human."A marvel of storytelling." —Kirkus (Starred Review) In this compelling narrative, O'Connor seeks out neuroscientists, anthropologists and master navigators to understand how navigation ultimately gave us our humanity. Biologists have been trying to solve the mystery of how organisms have the ability to migrate and orient with such precision—especially since our own adventurous ancestors spread across the world without maps or instruments. O'Connor goes to the Arctic, the Australian bush and the South Pacific to talk to masters of their environment who seek to preserve their traditions at a time when anyone can use a GPS to navigate. O’Connor explores the neurological basis of spatial orientation within the hippocampus. Without it, people inhabit a dream state, becoming amnesiacs incapable of finding their way, recalling the past, or imagining the future. Studies have shown that the more we exercise our cognitive mapping skills, the greater the grey matter and health of our hippocampus. O'Connor talks to scientists studying how atrophy in the hippocampus is associated with afflictions such as impaired memory, dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, depression and PTSD. Wayfinding is a captivating book that charts how our species' profound capacity for exploration, memory and storytelling results in topophilia, the love of place."O'Connor talked to just the right people in just the right places, and her narrative is a marvel of storytelling on its own merits, erudite but lightly worn. There are many reasons why people should make efforts to improve their geographical literacy, and O'Connor hits on many in this excellent book—devouring it makes for a good start." —Kirkus Reviews

A collection of humorous Q&As about everything you've always wanted to ask about birds and birding Mike O’Connor knows bird watchers as well as he knows birds. He knows that if you’re even slightly interested in identifying birds or attracting them to your backyard with a feeder, then you’ve also had your share of strange and silly questions about birds and their sometimes inexplicable behavior. In Why Do Bluebirds Hate Me?, O’Connor applies his deep knowledge of all things avian to answer the questions that keep birders up at night. Questions like · Should you clean your birdhouses? · Do swallows have a feather fetish? · How much does it cost to run a heated birdbath? · Is drinking coffee bad for birds? Other questions O’Connor covers range from the practical (Should I rotate the seed in my feeder?) to the quirky (Why are vultures eating my vinyl screen door?) to the just plain adorable (Are those birds kissing or feeding each other?). And he also explains why bluebirds just don’t seem to like some people.

At once far flung and intimate, a fascinating look at how finding our way make us human."A marvel of storytelling." ―Kirkus (Starred Review) In this compelling narrative, O'Connor seeks out neuroscientists, anthropologists and master navigators to understand how navigation ultimately gave us our humanity. Biologists have been trying to solve the mystery of how organisms have the ability to migrate and orient with such precision―especially since our own adventurous ancestors spread across the world without maps or instruments. O'Connor goes to the Arctic, the Australian bush and the South Pacific to talk to masters of their environment who seek to preserve their traditions at a time when anyone can use a GPS to navigate. O’Connor explores the neurological basis of spatial orientation within the hippocampus. Without it, people inhabit a dream state, becoming amnesiacs incapable of finding their way, recalling the past, or imagining the future. Studies have shown that the more we exercise our cognitive mapping skills, the greater the grey matter and health of our hippocampus. O'Connor talks to scientists studying how atrophy in the hippocampus is associated with afflictions such as impaired memory, dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, depression and PTSD. Wayfinding is a captivating book that charts how our species' profound capacity for exploration, memory and storytelling results in topophilia, the love of place."O'Connor talked to just the right people in just the right places, and her narrative is a marvel of storytelling on its own merits, erudite but lightly worn. There are many reasons why people should make efforts to improve their geographical literacy, and O'Connor hits on many in this excellent book―devouring it makes for a good start." ―Kirkus Reviews

In this book a student-athlete's father shares his son's college search story. It includes things to do and things to avoid doing when conducting a college search. Lots of information on how to contact coaches and schools and how to successfully present yourself to potential schools. There is also information about the schools he visited and how he finally made the decision about where to spend his college years. 20% of the profits from the book will be donated to a high potential student from a low income family in Chicago.

In this warm and humorous memoir, the boy you meet is irrepressible, devilish, curious, rambunctious, imaginative, sports-minded, friendly, naïve, and absolutely joyful – definitely the kind of boy who would get in trouble from his teacher for “unnecessary talking.” Mike O’Connor’s stories remind a reader of what it was like to grow up in small-town 1950’s America.

Literary Nonfiction. In this warm and humorous memoir, the boy you meet is irrepressible, devilish, curious, rambunctious, imaginative, sports-minded, friendly, naive, and absolutely joyful--definitely the kind of boy who would get in trouble from his teacher for "unnecessary talking." Mike O'Connor's stories remind a reader of what it was like to grow up in small-town 1950's America. "With UNNECESSARY TALKING, poet Mike O'Connor leads us through the streets and neighborhoods of Montesano, Washington--circa early 1950s. These stories and sketches make up a memoir of a young boy's clean, clear understanding of a world where mystery is common sense and adult rules are slippery as a wet bar of soap. O'Connor's writings, though rooted deeply in the rain-soaked soils of the Pacific Northwest, reach out to touch, in a tender and wise way, the very heart of an America lost but still loved"--Finn Wilcox.

Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, now a major motion picture. Discover this first installment of the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie with this official companion book. This fan favorite features full-color photos from the set, designers’ sketches, interviews with the cast and crew, and more! From the screenwriting process to the casting decisions to the director’s vision, this definitive book is a must-have for fans of the blockbuster film!

Poetry. Translation. Asian Studies. This unique book include poetry and prose by Mike O'Connor concerning the Civil War, as well as his translations of poetry by Chia Tao, Chang Chi, Ch'iu Wei and others."Like Hart Crane's "The Bridge," this book follows the poet's dreams across a landscape of lives lived and forgotten and pieced together again, like so many shards of a Grecian urn. Or it is Anasazi? T'ang? No matter. Here restored, it now hold tea"-Bill Porter, aka Red Pine.

Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, soon to be a major motion picture in theaters August 2013.Delve deep into the world of the Shadowhunters with this ultimate guide that’s based on The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie. This comprehensive book features full-color photographic portraits and profiles of the film characters, quotes from the script, detailed information on downworlders, Shadowhunters, the Clave, and more. Fans of the movie won’t want to miss this must-have guide to the realm of the blockbuster City of Bones movie!

“The Cat With No Name” CAT TALES: BOOK ONEThis is the tale of a nameless kitten born wild in a dilapidated, urban area and of his death defying adventures on the way to becoming a very rich cat indeed.From the day his wise father teaches him "to stand on his own four paws" he makes friends and enemies, both feline and human, as he struggles to survive in a hostile world. Human friends like the kindly widow Mrs Bell who takes pity on him and adopts him as her own. Friends like little Maisy who spots him on her way to school and visits him every day. Human enemies like Mrs Bell's son and daughter in law who scheme to kill him when he stands between them and a fortune. And enemies like the two petty crooks from Sheffield who plan to kidnap him for ransom.Feline friends like Clarissa, a beautiful female stray and feline enemies like Vrorr, a giant bullying Bengal cat and Lucy a scheming, two-timing little female.This is his own story, much of it in his own words.Published by The Electronic Book Companywww.theelectronicebookcompany.com