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A World of Light: Portraits and Celebrations
by May SartonThis captivating book by May Sarton rejoices in friendship and family In A World of Light, renowned poet and novelist May Sarton renders unforgettable portraits of the friends she considers family—and the family she looks upon as friends. From her father, famed science historian George Sarton, she learns that work is &“of the first importance.&” Her mother, Mabel, an artist in her own right, is her &“dearest friend.&” Sarton also introduces us to fellow creative minds Elizabeth Bowen and Louise Brogan, Swiss vigneron Marc Turian, a New Hampshire painter named Quig, and many others.Sarton crosses oceans and continents as she chronicles the enduring connections she has made and how each has enriched her life. Tender and passionate, candid and evocative, A World of Light is about what it means to be an artist—and a human.This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.
Oliver Twist: Or The Parish Boy's Progress...
by Charles DickensCharles Dickens&’s cutting social novel of corruption, cruelty, and a brave orphan boy Brought into the world by a drunken nurse and an inept surgeon, innocent young Oliver Twist couldn&’t have known the mysterious circumstances surrounding his birth—that his mother had been discovered wandering the streets, near bursting with child, and had died ignominiously on the cold bed of a workhouse, having just pushed the little boy from her womb and into the uncertain future shared by thousands of other orphans throughout England. This classic novel by Charles Dickens was among the first to expose the pitiless conditions of England&’s orphanages, and an early example of the social novel—fiction meant to effect change by shining a dramatized light on a public ill. Readers were almost as shocked by the novel&’s blade-edged sarcasm as they were scandalized by its stark depictions of ruinous orphanages and corrupt clergy. Adapted into countless films, plays, stories, and television shows, Charles Dickens&’s Oliver Twist remains one of the most beloved works of literature ever penned. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Selkirk's Island: The True and Strange Adventures of the Real Robinson Crusoe (Voyages Ser.)
by Diana SouhamiWinner of the Whitbread Biography Award: The true story of the shipwrecked Scottish buccaneer who inspired Daniel Defoe&’s novel. This action-filled biography follows Alexander Selkirk, an eighteenth-century Scottish buccaneer who sailed the South Seas plundering for gold. But an ill-fated expedition in 1703 led to shipwreck on remote Juan Fernández Island off the coast of Chile. Selkirk, the ship&’s master, was accused of inciting mutiny and abandoned on the uninhabited island with nothing but his clothing, his pistol, a knife, and a Bible. Each day he searched the sea for a ship that would rescue him and prayed for help that seemed never to come. In solitude and silence Selkirk gradually learned to adapt. He killed seals and goats for food and used their skin for clothing. He learned how to build a house, forage for food, create stores, plant seeds, light a fire, and tame cats. Then one day, a ship with wooden sails appeared on the horizon. The crew was greeted by a bearded savage, incoherent and fierce. Selkirk had been marooned for four years and four months. Now he was about to return to the world of men. The story of a verdant, mysterious archipelago and its famous castaway is both a parable about nature and a remarkable account of the survival of a man cut off from civilization.
At Eighty-Two: A Journal
by May SartonThe New York Times–bestselling author of At Seventy returns with a memoir about advancing age, including her experience with a series of strokes. In this poignant and fearless account, Sarton chronicles the struggles of life at eighty-two. She juxtaposes the quotidian details of life—battling a leaky roof, sharing an afternoon nap with her cat, the joy of buying a new mattress—with lyrical musings about work, celebrity, devoted friends, and the limitations wrought by the frailties of age. She creates poetry out of everyday existence, whether bemoaning a lack of recognition by the literary establishment or the devastation wrought by a series of strokes. Incapacitated by illness, Sarton relies on friends for the little things she always took for granted. As she becomes more and more aware of &“what holds life together in a workable whole,&” she takes solace in flowers and chocolate and reading letters from devoted fans. This journal takes us into the heart and mind of an extraordinary artist and woman, and is a must-read for Sarton devotees and anyone facing the reality of growing older.This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.
The Portrait of a Lady: Volume Ii
by Henry JamesHenry James&’s beloved novel about a young woman&’s search for freedom in a world that seeks to tie her to convention In the wake of her father&’s death, young Isabel Archer decides to travel to England to visit her aunt, leaving behind the life set out for her in America and spurning the romantic overtures of her Bostonian suitor. At her aunt&’s country estate, Isabel is determined to plot a new course unburdened by routine. But, prodded by convention at every turn, Isabel makes a decision that not only undermines her longing for independence, but may seal her fate forever. Among one of Henry James&’s most timeless works, The Portrait of a Lady is a rich and nuanced depiction of human psychology and the tension between the pull of social norms and the desire for autonomy. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Comfort Me with Apples: A Novel
by Peter De VriesA laugh-out-loud novel about teenage pretensions and adult delusions from an author whom the New York Times has called &“a Balzac of the station wagon set&” Chick Swallow and his best friend, Nickie Sherman, are teenage boulevardiers of Decency, Connecticut, devotees of Oscar Wilde who spend their evenings crafting perverse aphorisms in an ice-cream parlor. &“There is only one thing worse than not having children,&” opines Chick, &“and that is having them.&” Unrepentant aesthetes, someday soon they will be in Paris or New York, far removed from the mainstream. Then the unthinkable happens. Marriage. Family. Dinner parties. For Chick, a job at the local newspaper writing an advice column punctuated by blandly inspirational Pepigrams: &“To turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones—pick up your feet.&” For Nickie, an unlikely career in law enforcement. But just when it seems that their lives have settled down before they could even begin, Chick begins an affair with Mrs. Thicknesse, a newspaper music critic of ample girth and means, and a whole brouhaha breaks loose: blackmail, forgery, secret sleuthing, lawsuits. There is drama in suburbia after all, and Chick and Nickie are up to their necks in it. A wild, witty tale of friendship, marriage, and infidelity, Comfort Me with Apples is full of the brilliant wordplay and delicious ironies that made Peter de Vries &“one of the best comic novelists that America has ever produced&” (Commentary).
Coroner: America's Most Controversial Medical Examiner Tells All (Coroner #1)
by Thomas T. Noguchi Joseph DiMonaAmerica&’s most controversial medical examiner explores the unanswered questions surrounding the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate, Janis Joplin, William Holden, Natalie Wood, John Belushi, and many of his other important casesNow, for the first time, Dr. Noguchi recounts his colorful and stormy career, explains his innovative techniques, and reveals the full story behind his most fascinating investigations.In Coroner, Dr. Noguchi sheds new light on his most controversial cases—controversies that persist even today:—How did Natalie Wood spend the last terrifying moments of her life?—Did Marilyn Monroe commit suicide or were the drugs that killed her injected into her body by someone else?—Did Sirhan Sirhan or another gunman fire the bullet that killed Robert Kennedy?—How could the knives used in the murder of Sharon Tate be identified and traced to the Manson gang if they were never found?—What were the real circumstances behind the drug-related death of Janis Joplin?—Were Patty Hearst&’s kidnappers victims of police brutality or of their own revolutionary zeal?—How and why did William Holden die?—Was John Belushi murdered?These are just some of the questions answered in this powerful, gutsy book written by the real-life &“Quincy,&” with co-author Joseph DiMona.
Pontiff: The Vatican, the KGB, and the Year of the Three Popes
by Gordon Thomas Max Morgan-WittsThe story of Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II—and an assassination plot—by the New York Times–bestselling coauthors of The Day the World Ended. The Vatican has remained one of the last unexamined mysteries of the modern world. For centuries, pomp and pageantry have hidden from view the dramatic, sometimes sinister, realities that haunt the office of Supreme Pontiff and the men who make up his papacy. Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts now bring their tremendous investigative talent to this most secret of institutions, offering us an unrivaled portrait and day-to-day account of the lives, personalities, and relationships of the three most recent popes: an equally fine account of the hour-by-hour deliberations of the closely guarded conclaves at which two popes were elected in the fateful year of 1978; and a remarkable rendering of the concrete issues facing the institutional papacy—in foreign affairs, economic matters, and the human factor—the highly individual ambitions, loyalties, and hatreds that characterize the men and women who serve the Holy Father. The result is a book that is ahead of the world&’s headlines, a book that makes headlines of its own. Not only have the authors brought the world of the Vatican into the open, their sleuthing has uncovered several major news stories. Pontiff includes a day-to-day account of the assassination attempt by Mehmet Ali Agca upon John Paul II: Agca&’s history and family, his right-wing political connections, his activities and jailing in Turkey, his escape from jail aided by the KGB, his movements through terrorist training camps in Libya and Syria, and a complete investigation of the Bulgarian connection that led to the shooting in St. Peter&’s Square. Here, also, is the story of John Paul II&’s involvement with the creation of Solidarity in Poland, and his almost-daily secret contacts with Lech Walesa, as well as the unprecedented letter to Brezhev threatening his resignation from the papal throne. In addition, owing to the authors&’ intricate web of connections at the Vatican (including many cardinals), the book contains previously unknown information about the man entrusted with the Church&’s money, Paul Marcinkus, and his relationship with the shadowy Michele Sindona. Pontiff is a fascinating revelation of a world previously unknown to us, and an intimate view of a few men in Rome trying to lead an increasingly unwilling world to their own vision of salvation.
Let Me Count the Ways: A Novel
by Peter De VriesThe sins of the father are hilariously visited on the son in this witty and profound novel about the meaning of it all Stanley Waltz is a Polish American piano mover and pugnacious atheist married to a born-again believer. His heroes are H. L. Mencken and Clarence Darrow, and if he confuses &“illusion&” with &“allusion&” and thinks a certain style of egg is &“bedeviled,&” that does not mean his reasoning is any less sound. Unfortunately, his wife is immune to his intellect and insists not just on saving his soul but on taking their son, Tom, to the local gospel mission every chance she gets. It is enough to drive a man into the arms of a mistress &“funny as a crutch and twice as perceptive&”—and that is exactly where Stan goes. This leaves Tom twice as mixed up as the average son. In the second section of this side-splitting and thought-provoking comedy, he is a professor of English at the local college, his questions about faith, doubt, and morality as unresolved as they are inescapable. As an undergraduate, he stumbled from girl to girl, breaking up with one because she was a nonbeliever, another because she was too pious. His marriage to a beautiful professor of comparative religion is no solution. In short order, he has an affair, breaks his leg, leads a funeral procession hopelessly astray, and suffers a nervous breakdown. Only a miracle can save him—if he can figure out what one might look like. Stanley and Tom Waltz are a father-son duo unlike any other, and Let Me Count the Ways is Peter De Vries at his insightful, brilliant, lightning-witted best.
The Tents of Wickedness: A Novel
by Peter De VriesA masterwork of literary parody about a suburban Samaritan and the poet he seeks to inspire After the wild adventures of Comfort Me with Apples, Chick Swallow has found domestic peace in Decency, Connecticut, accepting his fate as a middle-class husband and father and the author of an advice column in the local newspaper. His hard-won contentment is about to disappear like warm water down a bathtub drain, however, when fate intervenes to reunite our hero with Sweetie Appleyard, a childhood playmate with whom he once shared an intimate moment in a coal bin. All these years later, Sweetie is just as devoted to art and allergic to the real world as she always was. In an effort to bring Sweetie out of her treehouse and urge her on with her life, Chick helps to get a book of her poetry published. But his plan backfires hilariously when Sweetie, with stunning alacrity, becomes the toast of Greenwich Village, tires of the up-all-night bohemian life, and decides that she wants to be a mother. For the father, she has two possibilities in mind: her literary patron or his brother-in-law, Nickie Sherman. To save his sister&’s marriage, Chick will risk his own and pray that, for once, he can keep everything under control. With a stylistic ingenuity unmatched in modern American fiction, De Vries parodies a dozen different writers in this boisterous tale of New England angst. William Faulkner, Theodore Dreiser, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marcel Proust, Emily Dickinson, and Dylan Thomas all make uproarious appearances in The Tents of Wickedness as it gleefully skewers pretensions of every stripe.
Winesburg, Ohio: A Group Of Tales Of Ohio Small Town Life
by Sherwood AndersonThe classic story collection by a great American masterSherwood Anderson&’s unforgettable story cycle has long been considered one of the finest works of American literature. The central character is George Willard, a youngartist coming of age in a quiet town in the heart of the Midwest, but his story is no more extraordinary than those of friends and neighbors such as Kate Swift, a lonely schoolteacher whose beauty inspires lust and confusion; Wing Biddlebaum, a recluse whose restless hands are the source of both his new name and the terrible secret that led him to abandon the old one; and Doctor Reefy, who hides his personal suffering by pouring it onto scraps of paper. With its uncompromising realism and unique narrative structure—twenty-two short tales linked by their setting and by a large cast of recurring characters—Winesburg, Ohio inspired an entire generation of writers, including William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and forever changed the depiction of small-town life in popular American culture.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
America Observed: From the 1940s to the 1980s
by Alistair CookeThe definitive survey of Alistair Cooke&’s brilliant career as a newspapermanFew journalists have covered the American scene as thoroughly as Alistair Cooke did. In addition to presenting the Sunday-night Letter from America broadcasts for the BBC, Cooke was the Guardian&’s chief US correspondent for more than a quarter century, filing daily dispatches about the former colonies for his British readers.Selected and introduced by Professor Ronald A. Wells, the pieces in America Observed showcase the full range of Cooke&’s omnivorous interests and impressive reportorial skills. From baseball to Billy Graham, Harry S. Truman to Chappaquiddick, he depicts the defining characters and events of the American century with elegance and insight. &“The Untravelled Road&” is a poignant and perceptive snapshot of the civil rights movement in Montgomery, Alabama. &“The Legend of Gary Cooper&” eloquently summarizes the unlikely career of America&’s leading man, and &“A Woman of Integrity&” delivers the news of Marilyn Monroe&’s death with empathy and honesty. &“The Ghastly Sixties&” is a concise, candid, and ultimately inspirational chronicle of that turbulent decade.Remarkably prescient and endlessly entertaining, the journalism collected here is some of the twentieth century&’s finest.
The James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped The Tradition Of American Cooking
by James BeardThe million-selling culinary classic from the &“dean of American cookery&” offers timeless and delicious recipes—a must-have for beginners to foodies (The New York Times). Hailed by the New York Times as &“one of the best basic cookbooks in America,&” The James Beard Cookbook remains as indispensable to home cooks today as it was when it was first published over fifty years ago. James Beard transformed the way we cook and eat, teaching us how to do everything from bread baking to making the perfect Parisian omelet. Beard was the master of cooking techniques and preparation. In this comprehensive collection of simple, practical-yet-creative recipes, he shows us how to bring out the best in fresh vegetables, cook meat and chicken to perfection, and even properly boil water or an egg. From pasta to poultry, fish to fruit, and salads to sauces, this award-winning cookbook is a must-have for beginning cooks and expert chefs alike. Whether it is deviled pork chops or old-fashioned barbecue, there is not a meal in the American pantheon that Beard cannot teach us to master. Enduring and eminently sensible, The James Beard Cookbook is the go-to book for twenty-first-century American home kitchens.
Coroner at Large (Coroner #2)
by Thomas T. Noguchi Joseph DiMonaTo Thomas T. Noguchi, America&’s most famous medical examiner, every death is a mystery—until the cause is found In his first book, the runaway bestseller Coroner, Dr. Noguchi wrote of his controversial investigations as medical examiner of Los Angeles County. In Coroner at Large, the man who has often been called the &“Detective of Death&” probes the mysteries surrounding the most celebrated criminal cases in recent American history. Using sophisticated techniques of modern forensic science and once again &“telling it like it is,&” Dr. Noguchi reveals the truth behind the headlines in the untimely deaths of show business celebrities: —The drowning of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson —The murder of Sal Mineo —The suicide of Freddie Prinze —The slaying of &“Playmate of the Year&” Dorothy Stratten —Elvis Presley&’s fatal heart attack Forensic science, too, provides new clues to fascinating historical puzzles: the true fates of General George Custer, the Emperor Napoleon, and Adolf Hitler. In Coroner at Large, Dr. Noguchi brilliantly provides the missing links in our knowledge of these cases. Here, from his own investigations and his pioneering work in the field, we see forensic science in action, unraveling the mysteries of death—both natural and unnatural—in real-life cases that might have baffled even the great Sherlock Holmes.
The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night
by Anthony Haden-GuestA riveting memoir of disco-era nightlife and the outrageous goings-on behind the doors of New York City&’s most famous and exclusive nightclub In the disco days and nights of New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, the place to be was Studio 54. Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, and Bianca Jagger were among the nightly assortment of A-list celebrity regulars consorting with New York&’s young, wild, and beautiful. Studio 54 was a place where almost nothing was taboo, from nonstop dancing and drinking beneath the coke-dusted neon moon to drugs and sex in the infamous unisex restrooms to the outrageous money-skimming activities taking place in the office of the studio&’s flamboyant co-owner Steve Rubell. Author Anthony Haden-Guest was there on opening night in 1977 and over the next decade spent many late nights and early mornings basking in the strobe-lit wonder. But The Last Party is much more than a fascinating account of the scandals, celebrities, crimes, and extreme excesses encouraged within the notorious Manhattan nightspot. Haden-Guest brings an entire era of big-city glitz and unapologetic hedonism to breathtaking life, recalling a vibrant New York night world at once exhilarating and dangerous before the terrible, sobering dawn of the age of AIDS.
The Pleasure of Their Company: A Memoir
by Doris GrumbachA literary master looks ahead to her eighties As her eightieth birthday approaches, Doris Grumbach does not feel melancholy or saddened by the upcoming event, despite the loss of friends such as Kay Boyle and Dorothy Day—instead she takes it as an opportunity both to look backward and to grow. In this, her summer of unexpected content, Grumbach weaves the elegiac and the practical into a delightful tapestry of experience. She looks deep into her own history, telling stories of her life in the hardscrabble New York of the 1940s, working as a copyeditor. She details her near encounter with a seventy-two-year-old Bertrand Russell, calling it the closest she has ever come to sleeping with a Nobel Laureate. Grumbach lets us into her life and introduces us to the characters that have peopled her nearly eight decades on Earth. As the fateful day of her celebration draws near, the main topic on Doris Grumbach&’s mind is not herself; it&’s her guests. The Pleasure of Their Company is a meticulously planned party that any reader would be honored to attend.
The Hillside Stranglers: The Inside Story of the Killing Spree That Terrorized Los Angeles
by Darcy O'BrienThe riveting true crime account of the Hillside Stranglers and the horrific serial killings they unleashed on 1970s Los Angeles. For weeks that fall, the body count of sexually violated, brutally murdered young women escalated. With increasing alarm, Los Angeles newspapers headlined the deeds of a serial killer they named the Hillside Strangler. The city was held hostage by fear. But not until January 1979, more than a year later, would the mysterious disappearance of two university students near Seattle lead police to the arrest of a security guard—the handsome, charming, fast-talking Kenny Bianchi—and the discovery that the strangler was not one man but two. Compellingly, O&’Brien explores the symbiotic relationship between Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono, their lust for women as insatiable as their hate, before examining the crimes they remorselessly perpetrated and the lives of the unsuspecting victims they claimed. Equally riveting is O&’Brien&’s account of the trial—one of the longest and most controversial criminal court cases in American history—with the defense team parading, one after another, expert witnesses who had been effectively duped by Bianchi&’s impersonation of a man suffering multiple personality disorder. It&’s one way a man might contrive to get away with murder. Like Truman Capote in In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer in The Executioner&’s Song, Darcy O&’Brien weds the narrative skill of an award-winning novelist with the detailed observations of an experienced investigator to unravel this chilling true-crime story.
Can You Hear, Bird: Poems (Poesía/cátedra Ser.)
by John AshberyA 1995 collection of poems that finds John Ashbery at his most conversational, funny, and surprisingIn Can You Hear, Bird, John Ashbery&’s seventeenth collection, language is both a plaything and a sandbox. The poems are arranged not in the order of their composition but alphabetically, by the first letter in their titles, like the neatly arrayed keys of some fabulous Seussical instrument. In line after line, Ashbery demonstrates his alertness to language as it is spoken, heard, broadcast, and dreamed—and sets himself the task of rewriting, redefining, and revising the American idiom we think we know so well. Can You Hear, Bird is a decisive example of the uniquely Ashberyan sensibility his many fans love, revealing a generous and acute chronicler of the everyday bizarre, an observant and humane humorist, and an ear trained on decoding our modern world&’s beguiling polyphony.
Speaking Volumes (Conjunctions #63)
by Aimee Bender Anne Waldman Samuel R. Delany Frederic Tuten Melissa Pritchard Brian EvensonFrom a lineup of acclaimed literary talents, wide-ranging works centering on books and bibliophilia. Writing about writing itself and about the books that are home to the written word. A library of ideas about language and the book in all their forms, Speaking Volumes collects poetry, fiction, and narrative nonfiction on historic, forbidden, repurposed, mistranslated, imaginary, lost, and life-changing books—books of every ilk.
Sworn to Defend (The Cass Jameson Mysteries #6)
by Carolyn WheatTwo gut-wrenching cases draw Cass into mortal danger In her many years as a defense attorney, Cass Jameson has represented every kind of client—male and female, good and evil, rich and poor. But rarely has she gotten the chance to work for the most unusual client of all: the innocent one. She comes to the second appellate court on behalf of one of these rare blameless victims, Keith Jernigan, to argue that corrupt police work convicted him of a robbery he did not commit. But when she learns that Keith is guilty of something far uglier, she realizes she has been fighting to keep an evil man on the streets—and putting his girlfriend in danger. While she tries to keep Keith&’s girlfriend safe, Cass takes a divorce case on behalf of a brilliant photographer whose husband has been abusing her for years. The divorce turns bloody, and it will take every ounce of Cass&’s strength to keep these two situations from becoming twin tragedies.
Fellow Passenger
by Geoffrey HouseholdAn international scoundrel recalls his life of intrigue and adventure in a witty and exciting nonstop thriller Held prisoner in Britain&’s fabled Tower of London, Claudio Howard-Wolferstan revels in his well-earned notoriety and reflects on the events that landed him here. A rogue and an adventurer of English and Ecuadorian descent, he has lived a globe-trotting life of peril and excitement, driven by an addiction to the adrenaline rush that comes with placing himself in constant, life-threatening jeopardy. Having used a youthful flirtation with communism to its greatest advantage, he recalls with pride a satisfying career of break-ins and burglaries, brazen deceptions, wild escapes, and daring exploits that made him a target of the British MI6 intelligence service and Soviets alike, and ultimately landed him in the most fabled lock-up in Great Britain. But in an international atmosphere of mistrust, tension, and warring political philosophies, there will always be a place for his kind, and the world hasn&’t yet heard the last of Claudio Howard-Wolferstan. In the pantheon of great twentieth-century thriller writers, Geoffrey Household, acclaimed for his evocative and colorful locales, deeply human characters, and distinct storytelling voice, occupies a place of honor besides such notable names as Eric Ambler, Ian Fleming, and Len Deighton. Household&’s breathtaking tales of adventure and intrigue are as enthralling today as they were then, and Fellow Passenger shines with excitement, invention, and wit—a virtuoso performance by a true maestro.
The Crossword Connection: Two Down, The Crossword Connection, And The Crossword Murder (Crossword Mysteries #3)
by Nero BlancPI Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham are about to tie the knot, but a nasty case of multiple murders could give them cold feet A homeless man has been found in an alley, clobbered to death. The crime seems pretty cut and dried—vagrants fighting over turf—until the Newcastle Police Department uncovers a connection to a local shelter in danger of being taken over by greedy developers. Is the dead John Doe a victim of some sinister plot? And what became of the scruffy mutt he had recently adopted? Recruited to find the missing puppy, private investigator Rosco Polycrates has to juggle the search with his upcoming nuptials to Belle Graham. And soon a second murder shatters the serenity of their scenic Massachusetts town. Then Rosco disappears . . . and Belle starts receiving threatening messages concealed in fiendishly clever crossword clues. Will Rosco become the third victim? With time running out, the Queen of Cryptics races to fill in the blanks before her wedding is put on hold—forever. This ebook includes six crossword puzzles that can be downloaded as PDFs, with answers in the back of the book.The Crossword Connection is the 3rd book in the Crossword Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Exile (Conjunctions #62)
by Peter Straub Lance Olsen Laura van den Berg Maxine Chernoff Robin HemleyNew writings on defectors and deportees, migrants and refugees, and the feeling of being far from home. From the moment homes and homelands came into being, exile ensued. While narratives of exile share themes of banishment, loss and longing, they are as diverse as the human experience itself. Writers as different as Homer and Heinlein, Aeschylus and Camus addressed this subject. In The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie conceives of exile as &“a dream of glorious return. Exile is a vision of revolution. It is an endless paradox: looking forward by always looking back.&” Its permutations know no bounds. The political dissident deported, or jailed, under house arrest; the defected spy; the classic prince banished by his royal father from the city gates; the communal exile of the diaspora. Through cutting-edge fiction, poetry and essays by emerging voices and contemporary masters, Conjunctions: 62, Exile explores the ramifications of expulsion and ostracism. Contributors include Edie Meidav, Peter Straub, Can Xue, H.G. Carrillo, Ales Steger, Maxine Chernoff and others.
Common Core Standards and Banned Books Week: A Thematic Guide to Introducing Banned and Challenged Books in the Classroom
by Pat ScalesBanned Books Week is celebrated the last full week in September and strives to make the public aware of books that have been banned or challenged in schools and public libraries, as well as in bookstores and other venues. Founded in 1982, the event is sponsored by the American Library Association, American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Association of American Publishers. The activities that champion the freedom to read during Banned Books Week include displays of banned or challenged books and read-outs in communities across the nation. In 2012, the American Library Association marked the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week by asking libraries in every state to participate in a virtual read-out. Recordings of these read-outs and of writers talking about challenges to their books are posted on a Banned Books Week Channel on YouTube. Students should understand that they do have the freedom to read, and they should use this week to become aware of attempts to abridge their rights.
Spoil the Kill
by Oisín McGannCan four young lawbreakers outsmart London&’s most powerful gangster? Scope is not your average teenager. A self-described criminal nerd, she spends most of her time cleaning up forensic messes and faking evidence. When you work for Move-Easy, London&’s most powerful thug, life is never boring. But WatchWorld owns the city now, and running an illegal empire is no easy feat. Cameras, drones, and heat sensors line the streets and stalk the skies while Safe-Guards, the part-human, part-robot police, patrol the city and enter homes with impunity. Everyone knows that crossing Move-Easy means certain and painful death. So when he sends Scope and several other rat runners—young outlaws who evade detection by traveling through the city&’s Voids—to track down one of Easy&’s old enemies, they know they have no choice. But what if the target is innocent? Can Scope spoil the kill, or will doing so make her Easy&’s next mark? This is a Rat Runners novella. For the full experience, be sure to read Rat Runners by Oisín McGann, available January 13, 2015.