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Medium Rare: Interviews, Essays, Reviews & Rants

Mark had planned to spend the final years of his career as a staff writer at an a/v tech mag...until a foreign publisher bought it and fired the staff. He started puttering around on the blogging platform Medium. Branching out beyond his former specialties of tech and music to explore topics previously off-limits, he pounded out urban rants, spiky political commentaries, interviews with musicians and crime-author heroes, and goofy essays on a variety of subjects. This book is a compilation of that work from 2019-22. Except for the interviews, it is no longer available online. Since having his full-time writing career abruptly terminated at age 60, Mark has been approached by three different editors of the magazine that fired him and has turned them all down.

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ISBN-10: 1-932732-25-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-932732-25-2



Practical Home Theater

How can an average person navigate the maze of audio/video technologies in a home theater system? Turn to Mark Fleischmann's Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems. The 21st edition has been thoroughly revised and updated. The ultimate answer book for beginners and intermediate-level readers, it tells you everything you need to know when shopping for video and surround sound gear including how to read a spec sheet, how to separate fact from hype, and how to get good value for your money. The book weighs the pros and cons of 8K Ultra HDTV, plus other video display technologies such as LED-backlit LCD, quantum-dot, OLED, and projection systems. Other video topics include 4K Ultra HDTV, HDR picture-quality improvements, the HDR format war, refresh rates, smart TV, streaming set top boxes, and the new HDMI 2.1 interface. The book dispels the confusion surrounding audio technologies from the new height-enhanced Dolby Atmos and DTS: X to older Dolby, DTS, THX, and Audyssey surround technologies. The book covers all formats under the sun including Blu-ray and DVD, DVRs, streaming from a multitude of devices, and wireless connectivity. And it explores often ignored topics such as buying a DTV antenna, power-line accessories, and cables. A richly detailed connections chapter tells how to hook up every component. By knowledgably guiding readers through the briar patch of video and audio, Practical Home Theater has become the standard reference work for home theater buffs. This edition is dated 2022 and will be sold until announcement of the next edition. Readers are warned to buy only the latest edition. Future annual editions will continue to track changes in home theater technology.

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ISBN-10: 1-932732-24-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-932732-24-5


The Friendly Audio Guide

Putting together your first audio system but don’t know where to start? Want to upgrade a system that never made you happy? Audio critic Mark Fleischmann has written this how-to guide especially for beginners and anyone else who needs to decode the technical rhetoric surrounding audio gear. In addition to the basics of loudspeakers, amplifiers, digital sources, turntables, and other products, it also offers pragmatic advice on how to put together a system, how to set up a system, how to collect a music library, and the act of listening itself. Mark was the Audio Editor of Home Theater and Sound & Vision and has also written for Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, and many other publications. He is also the author of Practical Home Theater.

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ISBN-10: 1-932732-20-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-932732-20-7


99 Zoom Backgrounds, Vols. I, II, & III

Zoom videoconferencing is popular for both business and personal use. But the preset backgrounds in the Zoom app are limited and sometimes unsatisfying. Zoom does offer an alternative, however, in the form of user-uploaded virtual backgrounds. In each of these three (so far) volumes are 99 images for use as virtual backgrounds. Vol. I features well-defined landscapes, solid colors, and blurry exterior and interior images. Vol. II features urban landscapes, bright colors, and reflections on water. Vol. III features architectural details, natural imagery, and pavements & patterns. Not every image is suitable for every user. But there are sure to be several in each ebook that would work to create a distinctive and pleasing Zoom look. The introduction includes a concise primer on using virtual backgrounds and Zoom in general.

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Schwap and the Tomb of Diamonds

M.R.K. Walker makes his fiction debut with this Kindle-only novella. Schwap is a crusty mob accountant who has stashed a crime family's retirement fund in a custom-built mausoleum. When someone sneaks a corpse into his mausoleum, he has to get to the bottom of it fast—or face the wrath of the surviving gang members. (This novella is roughly half as long as a full-length novel.)

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Happy Pig's Hot 100
New York Restaurants

The Happy Pig is author and journalist Mark Fleischmann. A New Yorker since 1975, he has eaten thousands of meals in hundreds of restaurants. Here he sums up 100+ favorite haunts in a style that's witty, concise, and free from food-critic pretension. Ever wondered where to find New York City's best pizza, best burger, best chicken, best soup? Mark tells you where to go in a wide-ranging survey that'll have you rubbing elbows with residents of many different neighborhoods. Whether you're a first-time visitor to the city, or just a resident tired of your local offerings, Mark will show you how to eat like a real New Yorker!

This book is now out of print. The links below are for used copies. The associated website, happypig100.com, is currently inactive pending future updates.

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ISBN 1-932732-05-5


DICKENS HOLIDAY CLASSICS IN LARGE PRINT

Please note: These titles are now available only on Kindle. The printed editions may still be available from secondhand booksellers. They are set in 14-point Century Schoolbook and are suitable for people with mild vision impairment. The print may not be large enough for those with severe vision impairment.

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is the first and most popular in a series of five novels that Charles Dickens wrote for the Christmas season. The familiar story, about Ebenezer Scrooge and the three spirits who haunt him, has brought a healing touch to generations of readers. Despite many film and TV adaptations, the Dickens original remains the most powerful telling of this memorable tale. This large print edition is designed for easy reading and includes an original introduction as well as a bonus story, "A Christmas Tree."

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ISBN 1-932732-00-4

The Chimes

The Chimes is the second in a series of five novels that Charles Dickens wrote for the Christmas season. Filled with an array of comic characters, it tells the story of Toby Veck, or Trotty, a humble porter whose loses his faith in human nature at the hands of his presumed social superiors, but regains it thanks to the spirits of the bells. This large print edition is designed for easy reading and includes an original introduction as well as a bonus story, Dickens' meditation on "What Christmas Is As We Grow Older."

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ISBN 1-932732-01-2

The Cricket on the Hearth

The Cricket on the Hearth is the third in a series of five novels that Charles Dickens wrote for the Christmas season. It tells the story of John Peerybingle, a parcel carrier, and how his love for his wife Dot is tested. It's a heartwarming tale that explores the meaning of family and love at the turning of the year. This large print edition is designed for easy reading and includes an original introduction as well as a bonus story, "A Good Humoured Christmas Chapter," excerpted from The Pickwick Papers.

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ISBN 1-932732-02-0

The Battle of Life

The Battle of Life is the fourth in a series of five novels that Charles Dickens wrote for the Christmas season. It's the story of Grace and Marion, the two lovely daughters of Dr. Thomas Jeddler, and their romantic adventures and setbacks. A touching tale of loves lost and found, it's filled with the warmth of Dickens. This large print edition is designed for easy reading and includes an original introduction as well as a generously extended three-part story story, "The Holly-Tree," which adds a tumble of amusing holiday anecdotes to another romantic tale.

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ISBN 1-932732-03-9

The Haunted Man

The Haunted Man is the last and hardest-hitting in a series of five novels that Charles Dickens wrote for the Christmas season. As in his original Christmas novel, A Christmas Carol, Dickens spins a ghost story that teaches its central character—Professor Redlaw—that the spiritual power of Christmas can overcome human suffering. This large print edition is designed for easy reading and includes an original introduction as well as a bonus story, "The Poor Relation's Story," a hearthside tale that continues Dickens' exploration of the meaning of Christmas.

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ISBN 1-932732-04-7


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