Product Description: The Bayesian approach to statistics and decision analysis is establishing itself as a powerful and practical tool to support the non-statistical, but otherwise technical, modeler. Recent advances in computational techniques have made Bayesian methods both accessible and widely applicable...read more

Product Description: Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga has maintained a tight grip on the contemporary culture's imagination. This timely and critical work examines how the Twilight series offers addictively appealing messages about love, romance, sex, beauty and body image, and how these charged themes interact with cultural issues regarding race, class, gender and sexuality...read more

The essays in this collection use the interpretative lens to interrogate the meanings of Meyer's books, making a compelling case for the cultural relevance of Twilight and providing insights on how we can "read" popular culture to our best advantage.

Product Description: Presents critiques of four works of the American author and guides readers through the process of analyzing the Twilight series from different critical angles, including Marxist and biographical viewpoints.Title: How to Analyze the Works of Stephenie MeyerAuthor: Kostihova, MarcelaPublisher: Abdo GroupPublication Date: 2011/09/30Number of Pages: 112Binding Type: LIBRARYLibrary of Congress: 201100739...read more

Product Description: This book addresses Suzanne Collins's work from a number of literary and cultural perspectives in an effort to better understand both its significance and its appeal. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to the Hunger Games trilogy, drawing from literary studies, psychology, gender studies, media studies, philosophy, and cultural studies...read more

Product Description: Robert Cormier is widely recognized as one of the leading authors of young adult fiction. This collection of brand new essays demonstrates a variety of critical approaches to Cormier's work, including his best-known novels and lesser-studied texts...read more

Product Description: Explore the world of the Mortal Instruments with Cassandra Clare and moreJoin Cassandra Clare and a Circle of more than a dozen top YA writers, including New York Times bestsellers Holly Black, Rachel Caine, and Kami Garcia, as they write about the Mortal Instruments series, its characters, and its world...read more

An author immerses herself in the frenzied fandom of Twilight, the young-adult vampire romance series that has captivated women of all ages Twilight, Stephenie Meyer’s young-adult vampire romance series, has captivated women of all ages, from teenagers who swoon over the film adaptations to college-educated women who devour the novels as a guilty pleasure. All told, over 110 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide, with translations into 37 languages, and the movies are some of the highest-grossing of all time. Twilight is a bona fide cultural phenomenon that has inspired a vast and unimaginably fertile fan subculture—the “fanpire,” as the members describe it. Just what is it about Twilight that has enchanted so many women? Tanya Erzen—herself no stranger to the allure of the series—sets out to explore the irresistible pull of Twilight by immersing herself in the vibrant and diverse world of “Twi-hards,” from Edward-addition groups and “Twi-rock” music to Cullenism, a religion based on the values of Edward’s family of vegetarian vampires. Erzen interviews hundreds of fans online and in person, attends thousand-strong conventions, and watches the film premiere of New Moon with Twilight moms in Utah. Along the way, she joins a tour bus on a pilgrimage to Twilight-inspired sites, struggles through a Bella self-defense class, and surveys the sub-universe of Twilight fan-fiction (including E. L. James’s enormously popular “Master of the Universe” story, the basis for her erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey). Erzen also takes a deeper look at the appeal of traditional gender roles in a postfeminist era saturated with narratives of girl power. If Twilight’s fantasies of romance and power reflect the fears, insecurities, and longings of the women who love it, the fanpire itself, Erzen shows, offers a space for meaningful bonding, mutual understanding, and friendship. Part journalistic investigation and part cultural analysis, Fanpire will appeal to obsessed fans, Twilight haters, and bemused onlookers alike.

Product Description: When Stephenie Meyer’s first novel, Twilight, was published in 2005, it had an astounding reception, selling millions of copies. The three sequels that followed—New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn—became international bestsellers as well...read more

The Bayesian approach to statistics and decision analysis is establishing itself as a powerful and practical tool to support the non-statistical, but otherwise technical, modeler. Recent advances in computational techniques have made Bayesian methods both accessible and widely applicable. This collection provides an argument for the wide application of Bayesian methods and includes an extensive collection of examples, techniques, and advice.

Product Description: Set in the future dystopia of Panem, The Hunger Games trilogy follows the rise of a provincial rebellion against the wealthy and tyrannical "Capitol." As narrator and heroine, Katniss Everdeen comes to embody the hope of the long oppressed for a new order...read more