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So Happy Together: An unrelentingly twisty, darkly hilarious thriller you won’t be able to put down!
by Olivia Worley'Terrifically twisted . . . I'm obsessed' KATY BRENTJane and Colin are soulmates. He just doesn't know it yet.For twenty-four-year-old Jane, finding love in New York City is even harder than making it as a playwright. So, when Jane meets Colin, a sweet software engineer, she can't believe her luck: they're perfect for each other. Even when Colin breaks off their blooming relationship after six dates, Jane is certain that this is just a stumbling block. She'll get him back. She knows she will. That is, until Colin starts dating Zoe, a perfect, luminous, up-and-coming Brooklyn artist. Even worse, she's actually kind of nice. But Zoe doesn't have what it takes to love Colin. She'd never stay with him through thick and thin. All Jane has to do is prove it, and she and Colin will be so happy together. But when Jane sneaks into Colin's apartment, she makes a shocking discovery - one that will ensnare them all in a complicated web of lies, secrets, and murder.Unrelentingly twisty and utterly compelling, So Happy Together is an unputdownable, shattering read for fans of You, Katy Brent and C. J. Skuse.********************************Praise for So Happy Together'Reads like your most unhinged friend's secret diary' ASHLEY WINSTEAD'Dark, juicy and addictive' JENNY HOLLANDER'Laced with humour . . . with an ending that will leave you breathless' LIV CONSTANTINE'You won't know who to trust in this spine-tingling psychological thriller' SARAH PEKKANEN'A twisty, obsessive thriller' CAMILLA STEN
Selective Solidarity: Children and Middle-Class Moralities in Transnational Senegal (Contemporary Ethnography)
by Chelsie YountAn ethnography of Senegalese households in Paris and Dakar that analyzes ways families negotiate transnational kinshipSelective Solidarity examines how global inequalities change the ways transnational families negotiate “economic moralities,” or expectations about material obligations. Analyzing everyday exchanges in middle-class Senegalese households in Paris and Dakar, this book traces links between the language that mediates acts of food sharing and gift giving, and moral discourses that shape redistribution beyond the household. Foregrounding children’s role in transnational relations, anthropologist Chelsie Yount urges us to rethink questions of agency in economic practice.How do children grapple with the multiple, and sometimes contradictory, moral expectations they encounter at home and abroad? What can their practical struggles tell us about the ways the decline of the middle class in Europe impacts kinship connections in the African diaspora? The difficulties migrant parents face in transmitting class status to their French-born children lays bare the fact that for visible minorities, “integration” is not a state one can achieve once and for all, but a process that can potentially be undone. Yount argues that the French-born children of Senegalese, acutely aware of the discrimination they face in France, also forge affective and economic connections abroad that are key to creating and reproducing transnational kinship.At its heart, Selective Solidarity is about children’s experiences sharing food and giving gifts in Paris and on trips to Dakar. This book considers experiences of family life in global capitalism, focusing on middle-class downward mobility to highlight the ways socioeconomic relations are redefined as resources stretch thin. Highlighting the uneven terrain of transnational kinship, Selective Solidarity offers a new perspective on theories of value, revealing how moral expectations of kinship in Africa are bound up with values of immigrant integration in Europe. Together, these economic moralities shape families’ attempts to navigate the vicissitudes of tiered migration trajectories as heightened tensions surrounding migration reconfigure class structures globally.
Commercial Intimacy: Affinity and the Marketplace (Hagley Perspectives on Business and Culture)
by Edited by Richard K. Popp, Brenton J. Malin, and Wendy A. WolosonExplores how marketers have leveraged feelings of personal familiarity in modern consumer capitalismOur wired world connects us with corporations in ways that, just a generation ago, would have been hard to imagine. Marketers track users’ habits down to the swipe and scroll; brand influencers reach out to followers in ever more personal ways. Yet, however much we may feel individually recognized (or targeted) by today’s marketers, the connections they make are, in truth, fleeting and tactical. They are also nothing new. Marketplace transactions have long been mediated by interactions that blur the line between the putatively public and rational world of commerce and the supposedly private and emotional realm of personal relations. That there is an affective tenor to every sales scenario has never been a secret to talented marketers.How, exactly, marketers have tried to set those moods by endowing commercial relationships with an aura of personal affinity is the subject of Commercial Intimacy. Its chapters explore the broad theme of commercial intimacy (that is, market-based feelings of spatial and emotional closeness) in US consumer culture from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. They show how experiences of intimacy have been orchestrated by marketers operating at a variety of distances, from the face-to-face solicitations made by retail clerks and direct-sales agents to the long-distance appeals made by mail-order merchants, print and TV advertisers, telemarketers, and e-commerce platforms. The volume pays especially close attention to how these revenue-minded acts of ingratiation worked, how they were shaped by the technologies behind them, and how they capitalized on contemporary dynamics of gender and sexuality. At the heart of this volume, then, is the question of how our understanding of business history changes when we take the emotional, sensational, and affective dynamics of intimacy to be foundational elements of commercial persuasion.Contributors: Samuel Backer, Jennifer M. Black, Donna J. Drucker, Isabelle Marina Held, Julie A. Johnson, Lindsay Mitchell Keiter, Stephanie Kolberg, Brenton J. Malin, Cynthia B. Meyers, Richard K. Popp, Nicole E. Weber, Wendy A. Woloson.
Minoan Footsteps: A Novel
by Coleen ClareAgainst the backdrop of ancient history, a modern-day mystery unfolds among the mountains, beaches and archaeological sites on the Greek island of Crete. Four women arrive in Iraklion for a two-week tour of the island led by Eve, known for her expertise in Minoan culture, and Bethan, who manages the daily ups and downs. Lovers, Sophia and Kelly, are hoping this trip will help them settle their differences; Yasmin, from Paris, is dealing with her inner demons resulting from working with war-traumatised women; while Zoe from Devon is taking time out from caring for her sick daughter. They are surrounded by the women who run the hotels, the kitchens, the transport and much of the island. Cretan prehistory and contemporary worlds intersect as unexpected memories and experiences burst into the present, where unknown dangers threaten to disrupt an idyllic holiday. Life changes for the six women who set out on a journey through Crete following in Minoan footsteps. Will any of them emerge unscathed?
Black Lesbian in White America and Other Writings (Sapphic Classic)
by Anita CornwellBlack lesbian feminist, essayist, journalist, poet, author, and cultural worker, Anita Cornwell wrote extensively about her experiences as a Black lesbian in the United States during the twentieth century exposing the innerworkings of heteropatriarchy, misogyny, racism, the Jim Crow South, and white supremacy. A scholar of Black Lesbian Studies, Cornwell wrote the first collection of essays by a Black lesbian, Black Lesbian in White America, published by Naiad Press in 1983. These essays chronicle her experiences battling against misogyny, homophobia, and racism. Her writing also attends to love and familial loss. This reprint of Cornwell's classic essays on being black and lesbian, include a groundbreaking interview that Cornwell did with Audre Lorde. Black Lesbian in White America and Other Writings also includes previous unpublished poetry by Cornwell and features a revelatory introduction by scholar Briona Simone Jones.
The Clare Carlson Mystery Collection: Books 1 - 6 (Clare Carlson Mystery)
by R. G. BelskyMystery readers looking for a credible, engaging female protagonist who is smart, compelling, formidable, but human, will love The Clare Carlson Mystery Collection, Books 1-6. And the bonus— a behind-the-scenes look into TV newsrooms that is as authentic as it gets.Yesterday' s News (Book 1)In one of the most famous missing child cases ever, eleven-year-old Lucy Devlin disappeared on her way to school fifteen years ago. A case which turned reporter Clare Carlson into an overnight media superstar and won her a Pulitzer. Now, new evidence, new victims, and new suspects plunge Clare back into this sensational story— forcing her to confront dangerous elements and long-hidden truths from her own past.Below the Fold (Book 2)When the battered body of a homeless woman is found on the streets of New York City, her murder gets largely ignored by the media. TV journalist Clare Carlson decides to dig deeper and uncovers mysterious links; more murders, more victims, more questions. Will Clare survive as she chases her biggest story ever?The Last Scoop (Book 3)Martin Barlow was TV news director Clare Carlson' s first editor, a beloved mentor who helped start her career as a journalist. After Barlow is murdered during an apparent mugging attempt gone bad, Clare uncovers a shocking last story he was working on— about a mass murderer no one knew was out there.Beyond the Headlines (Book 4)She was a mega-celebrity. He was a billionaire businessman— Laurie Bateman and Charles Hollister— a power couple who had it all— until Charles is found dead, leaving Laurie charged with his murder. TV journalist Clare Carlson does an emotional jailhouse interview that helps win Laurie' s release from prison. Soon, there are more murders, more victims, and more questions that plunge Clare into a baffling mystery that stretches back fifty years to the epic Vietnam War.It' s News to Me (Book 5)When Riley Hunt— a popular student at Manhattan' s Easton College— is brutally murdered, it becomes a big story for TV newswoman Clare Carlson. A troubled Afghanistan war veteran is arrested as a suspect. But Clare believes this is more than a simple murder case— and fears more lives, including her own, remain in danger.Broadcast Blues (Book 6)Wendy Kyle works as a PI for wives who suspect their husbands of cheating. So when Wendy is murdered, TV newswoman Clare Carlson knows it' s her next big story. As she investigates, Clare is targeted by some of NYC' s richest and most powerful men, who will stop at nothing to keep her from exposing the secrets Wendy took to her grave.
Devil and the Deep Blue Fish (Fish Out of Water)
by Amy LanePI Jackson Rivers and Henry Worrall have gotten used to throwing themselves into danger as a team, so when Henry is hurt badly one night defending a friend and her teenage ward, it’s all hands on deck for Jackson, his fiancé Ellery Cramer, their firm, and their friends. Henry is battling for his life. The least they can do is hunt down Henry’s shooter and keep the intended victims safe. Knowing Jackson will dedicate himself to tracking down a very dangerous assailant with no regard to his own safety, Ellery makes one stipulation: Jackson needs a temporary partner. Jackson finds a good one in someone from the firm’s past, but while Jackson’s figuring out a new rhythm on zero sleep and a lot of desperation, Ellery and their friends are putting together a puzzle with a lot more pieces than Henry’s random shooting. Somebody in their city is preying on teenagers in a most insidious way, and nobody in their circle is going to let this stand.Jackson has spent a year and a half trying to heal from physical and emotional wounds, and this case is going to make him look at every choice he’s made to survive. Ellery—and Ellery’s mother—will do anything to help him, but does Jackson finally have emotional defenses to fight his own demons while he’s slaying dragons for the family he’s found, or will he drown in his own remorse? Sometimes, when you’re a kid on the streets, living past tomorrow means choosing between the Devil and the Deep Blue Fish.
Trapped: The emtombed miner of Bonnie Vale
by Julia LawrinsonIn 1907, the mining town of Bonnie Vale experiences a sudden deluge of rain that floods a gold mine while miners are still at work down the shaft. Joe's dad is one of them. And it soon becomes clear that he's the only one who hasn't made it back out. Where is he? Why didn't he escape with the others? And more importantly, how will they rescue him?
Roadside: My Journey to Iraq and the Long Road Home
by Dylan Park-PettifordA military memoir by a biracial child of refugees and survivors, Roadside is about life and death, about family lost and gained, and about America, as a dream and a reality. It's about the roads one takes to leave home and find it again. As a half-Black, half-Korean kid in Campbell, California, Dylan Park-Pettiford never really fit in, so he and his little brother Rory became joined at the hip. But after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, swept up in patriotism, Dylan enlisted in the US Air Force and was sent to Iraq, and the brothers were separated. There Dylan's days alternated between boredom and terror, and rare moments of levity and learning came thanks to an Iraqi boy named Brahim. Like Rory, Brahim was wise beyond his years, and he and Dylan bonded as much over rap music as about life. Over the following year, Dylan would bring Brahim food and toiletries to keep him going; Brahim would bring intel to keep Dylan and his friends alive. When they said goodbye at the end of Dylan's tour of duty, he knew it was for the last time. Or was it? Dylan returned to a world that had moved on without him. He would go through a soul-crushing divorce, a bout of homelessness, and struggles with prescription drugs, alcohol, and his own mental health. Eventually, he caught a few breaks and overcame the odds—until the violence Dylan thought he'd left in the Middle East followed him home.Just when his life was at its darkest, fate intervened again, but this time to orchestrate an impossible reunion. In a world marred by a seemingly endless wave of negativity, this story of love, loss, and brotherhood may offer a faint glimmer of hope as we face an uncertain future.
Louis Graveraet Kaufman: The Fabulous Michigan Gatsby Who Conquered Wall Street, Took Over General Motors, and Built the World's Tallest Building (Painted Turtle Press)
by Ann BermanDiscover the extraordinary rise of a glamorous and significant American banking titan. This fascinating biography recounts the life and legacy of a titan of American banking, Louis Graveraet Kaufman (1870–1942). Also known as LG, he was a Gatsbyesque figure born in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who married into great wealth and then amassed far more of his own. Under LG, New York's Chatham Phenix National Bank and Trust Company became one of the nation's largest banks and the first in New York to boast a network of branches. When he was denied entry into the exclusive, Protestant, old-money Huron Mountain Club, LG responded by building his own retreat: the world's largest log lodge, a 26,000-square-foot behemoth near Marquette, Michigan. Christened Granot Loma, it became the site of lavish Prohibition-era parties, attracting many celebrities who came in private rail cars to enjoy jazz and liquor chez Kaufman. A darling of the press, LG became a household name, making news by coordinating the famous takeover of General Motors in 1916, narrowly escaping death in the Wall Street Bombing of 1920, and financing the Empire State Building during the Great Depression. Author Ann Berman highlights Kaufman's remarkable journey from "barefoot boy" to trailblazing branch banking giant, proving LG was not just a man of his time but one worth reading about over a century later.
Womb Witch: Herbal Magick for Reproductive Health
by Angelica MerrittHerbal remedies and wise perspectives to help make your cycle less of a rollercoaster. Ever felt like your uterus is out to get you? Or experienced dismay at the politicians out to get your uterus? This book will speak straight to your soul. Get to know your body with this inclusive guide to herbal, holistic self-care for every womb, at every stage of life—from puberty to post-menopause and everything in between. Herbalist and pregnancy loss doula Angelica Merritt offers a wealth of anatomical science, plant medicine, and nutritional and herbal strategies to support body literacy, a regular menstrual cycle, and your reproductive goals. If you're dealing with irregular menstruation, PCOS, infertility, pregnancy loss or release, perimenopause, or any other reproductive health issue, look to these pages for remedies that bridge the scientific and the spiritual. Inside you'll find guidance in holistic modalities such as castor oil packs, breath work, breast and womb massage, baths, and infused oils, along with rituals and journal prompts. You'll learn about the connections between the womb, the moon cycle, and the archetypes of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Transform your self-care through the magick of the womb within!
Facing Hard Truths: How Americans Can Get Real, Pull Together, and Turn Our Country Around
by Stephen J. Cloobeck"It's a great book and he should be proud of it." —President Bill Clinton Successful businessman, activist, and philanthropist, and 2026 candidate for governor of California Stephen J. Cloobeck applies an unflinching problem-solver's eye to America's most pervasive challenges. Cloobeck built his reputation transforming dysfunctional companies at the brink of ruin into performance powerhouses. In Facing Hard Truths, he focuses this proven business acumen on our most pressing concerns like immigration, crime, the cost of living, and the coarsening of political discourse. He offers sometimes tough—but always sincere—lessons learned over a lifetime of public and private sector experience. From his first job bussing tables in a small California restaurant, to his time operating a global hospitality juggernaut, to helming federal public-private partnerships, state agencies, and local organizations, Cloobeck's journey propelled him from busboy to boardroom. In this book, he relies on the action-oriented principles that drove his personal success to outline a plan that will take California, and America, from flailing back to flourishing. With a refusal to pander and a no-nonsense assessment of today's most salient issues, Cloobeck argues our country's ability to effectively navigate the future depends on a reaffirmed commitment to: Integrity Collaboration Respect for rules and norms Economic inclusivity A return to competence Putting others first Fostering of social trust In Facing Hard Truths, Cloobeck's engaging storytelling and straight-shooting proposals leave readers feeling heard, respected, and above all, eager to set aside political differences and get back to what really matters: creating an America that is more affordable, liveable, and opportunity-rich for all.
Running Wild Press Short Story Anthology, Volume 8 (Running Wild Press)
by Ken Goldman Mark Williams Eric D. Lehman Gary Zenker Lauren Lang Justin Lowe Caroline Shannon Davenport Vincent Czyz Elizabeth S. Devecchi Jon Fain Joseph A. Schiller Kim Ransley Nathaniel Farcas Jennifer Cinguina Dalton Mire John Tavares Beck Erixson Brittany Bell Ibtisam Shahbaz Mykyta Ryzhykh Jerry PurdonThis anthology brings together twenty-six stories from authors, Nathaniel Farcas, Lauren Lang, Caroline Shannon Davenport, Jon Fain, Elizabeth S. Devecchi, Eric D. Lehman, Brittany Bell, Ken Goldman, Vincent Czyz, Dalton Mire, Gary Zenker, Mykyta Ryzhykh, Kim Ransley, Mark Williams, Beck Erixson, Ibtisam Shahbaz, Jennifer Cinguina, Joseph A. Schiller, John Tavares, Jerry Purdon, and Justin Lowe. These curated stories center around the human experience, fact or fiction they delve into the experience of being human; cruel twists of fate, secrets held, the measure of risks taken, the assessment of faith, confronting one's demons, and the impact of relationships in various forms. The Storyby Nathaniel Farcas A young man comes home, but home is not what he thought it was . . . and I guess it is a supernatural tale. A Royal Pain in the Ear by Lauren Lang Royal earaches are no laughing matter for a court jester. Uprooted by Jon Fain A Hollywood location manager goes to a place he thought he'd never see again—his hometown—to deal with unpleasant memories and the complex needs of his estranged family. Open House by Elizabeth S. Devecchi A young realtor is assigned her first open house, a step toward independence and escape from an abusive husband. The mysterious inhabitants of the little fixer-upper have different plans for her. The Kipling Lampby Eric D. Lehman A young man buys a magical lamp that belonged to Rudyard Kipling in order to become a famous writer, but it does not go as smoothly as he hopes. Copper by Brittany Bell A lonely girl befriends her elderly neighbor one summer after her parents cut ties with her best friends family for undisclosed reasons. All For You, Sara Sueby Ken Goldman Meet Darcy and Elliot, a childless couple who desperately want a baby of their own but find they are unable to conceive. Together they discover a most unusual way to make that birth happen—and Sara Sue is born! But at what cost..? Basement Bobby Brittany Bell An eleven-year-old girl undergoes a formative experience while trying to impress an older boy by spying on the town's enigmatic recluse, akin to Boo Radley. The Weeping Scimitar by Vincent Czyz "The Weeping Scimitar," set in the hinterlands of an unnamed Eastern European country in the 19th century, is the tale of a judgment, a blood debt, and a small band of brigands bent on escaping a gulag. The Geisha in the Attic by Dalton Mire A "Southern Belle" is exiled by missionaries to a House of Geisha in 1860s Japan, and her letters inspire a woman in the 21st Century. Statute of Limitations by Gary Zenker The long arm of the law has an even longer reach than one might guess. People on the Roads and in the Gardens by Mykyta Ryzhykh A story about war, people, roads, cities. The Fisherman by Kim Ransley What if the sea is your only friend? Ricochet by Mark Williams Teenage banjo prodigy, Harlan Dillbeck, goes to Bardstown, Kentucky, where, after giving up his dreams of banjo stardom, he becomes a master bourbon taster. Years later, with help from his former banjo-playing nemesis, Sam Boone, Harlan hopes to rescue his son from a nine-fingered hitman, Duke Earl. The Memory Bench by Beck Erixson Craving a memory's soul makes hot chocolate bittersweet. Begin Again by Ibtisam Shahbaz This story captures the tale of two lovers as melodies echoing in different corners of the world, whose soundwaves have co
The Political Reconstruction of American Tobacco, 1862-1933 (Reconstructing America)
by Patrick Mulford O’ConnorA deeply researched and clearly argued account of the mutual growth of the federal government and the modern tobacco Nearly everything about the United States tobacco economy changed in the generation following the American Civil War. From labor to consumption, manufacturing to regulation, tobacco was utterly reconstructed, “comparatively a new industry,” as one contemporary wrote.The Political Reconstruction of American Tobacco, 1862–1933 exposes the causes of these changes, and in the process, it reconsiders cornerstones of the American national narrative. Through a detailed rendering of tobacco’s late-nineteenth-century political economy, this book argues that the federal state’s and American capitalism’s development were mutually constitutive—and fundamentally political—processes. From the Civil War to the Progressive Era, diverse political movements across tobacco’s commodity chain drove state and market development, creating the immense power and stifling poverty that defined tobacco’s reconstruction. The Political Reconstruction of American Tobacco, 1862–1933 emphasizes the significance of the thousands of manufacturers whose interest groups shaped federal tax policy and, in turn, forged a powerful and effective internal revenue system; the increasingly influential fertilizer producers and warehouse operators who determined tobacco’s value; and the crop scientists who sought to promote and rationalize US tobacco production. As these actors reshaped tobacco’s commodity chain, they missed, and even dismissed, the interests of tobacco growers, especially newly emancipated African Americans and smallholding whites throughout the South.The ruling logic of tobacco’s reconstructed political economy rationalized agrarian indebtedness, justified low prices, and intensified labor discipline on thousands of small farms. In emphasizing these exclusions, The Political Reconstruction of American Tobacco, 1862–1933 reveals how nineteenth-century state and economic development coincided with and even created rural poverty.
Like the Sea: Dancing with Mary Glass
by Carol MavorAn exploration of the mythical Mary Glass—her art, her life, and her timesMary Glass (1946–2021) was an innovative modern dancer and choreographer, quietly instrumental to the San Francisco Bay Area art scene of the 1960s and ’70s—barely known today—admired for her experimental movements based on sounds and images of the Pacific.As a child, Mary Glass took her first dance class with Anna Halprin on her famed redwood dance deck in Marin County’s Kent Woodlands. Dancing with the blue sky as her ceiling—surrounded by magical madrones and redwoods—the effect on Mary Glass was seismic. Fittingly, Halprin called her classes “dance experiences.” Mary Glass’s lifestyle, her anxieties, and her dance reflect the human geography of Northern California: Happenings, Zero Population Growth (ZPG), feminism, same-sex love, civil rights, Vietnam, environmentalism. Cascading in the waves of the politics of the time was Mary Glass’s anorexia, an unexpected pregnancy, and her life-long love affair with the Black painter Eliza Vesper.Today Mary Glass is remembered by an increasingly diminishing handful of devotees. Author Carol Mavor is one of them.In this daring work of fictocriticism, where “feelings are facts,” Like the Sea asks its readers—just as Anna Halprin asked of each of her young students as they were leaving class—“What are you taking with you from the natural world?”Halprin’s words will resonate in Mary’s mind her entire lifetime and beyond.In the after-time of the prescient Mary Glass—with its decline of sea kelp and warm Decembers— Mavor herself considers the Anthropocene, tasting extinction as if swallowing the long-gone abalone mollusks of her own Bay-Area childhood: salty, like the sea, but strangely sweet. And from it, Mavor delivers the reader to the far-away country of the not-so-distant past to help envision a future.There are no photographs or films of Mary Glass dancing. The life of Mary Glass is nearly forgotten, her memory on the edge of extinction. In meditative, dazzling and lyrical prose, Like the Sea tells us—like the ocean’s music in our ear—we need to remember extinction to imagine our way out of it.
Words Made Flesh: Sylvia Wynter and Religion
by Justine M. Bakker and David KlineThe first sustained treatment of religion and religions in the scholarship of a prominent Caribbean thinkerSylvia Wynter is a profoundly transdisciplinary scholar whose works span an impressive array of theory, literature, science, anthropology, philosophy, and religious studies as well as different forms, including essays, plays, a novel, and a 935-page unpublished manuscript entitled “Black Metamorphosis: New Natives in a New World.” Whatever the medium, Wynter frequently engages religion as a relevant category of analysis, from reflections on Christianity, Islam, and Rastafarianism to the category and role of religion as a universal aspect of human social production.Wynter’s writings have received enthusiastic attention by scholars in Black studies, Caribbean theory, critical race theory, literature, and philosophy. But until recently little scholarly writing exists that directly engages the topic of religion in her corpus. Words Made Flesh seeks to fill this gap by focusing exclusively on religion, religions, and religiosity in her work.Bringing together scholars that provide a wide variety of theoretical perspectives on religion, political theology, social theory, and science studies, this book offers an in-depth engagement with one of the most innovative and important thinkers of the last forty years and illustrates how Wynter’s writing has significant implications for the study of religion and religion’s relationship to colonialism, race, humanism, science, and political theology.
Like a Lake: A Story of Uneasy Love and Photography
by Carol MavorA vivid, imaginative response to the sensual and erotic in postwar American photography, with attention to the beauty of the nude, both male and femaleWhen photographer Coda Gray befriends a family with a special interest in a young boy, the motivation behind his special attention is difficult to grasp, “like water slipping through our fingers.” Can a man innocently love a boy who is not his own?Using fiction to reveal the truths about families, communities, art objects, love, and mourning, Like a Lake tells the story of ten-year-old Nico, who lives with his father (an Italian- American architect) and his mother (a Japanese-American sculptor who learned how to draw while interned during World War II). Set in the 1960s, this is a story of aesthetic perfection waiting to be broken. Nico’s midcentury modern house, with its Italian pottery jars along the outside and its interior lit by Japanese lanterns. The elephant-hide gray, fiberglass reinforced plastic 1951 Eames rocking chair, with metal legs and birch runners. Clam consommé with kombu, giant kelp, yuzu rind, and a little fennel—in each bowl, two clams opened like a pair of butterflies, symbols of the happy couple. Nico’s boyish delight in developing photographs under the red safety light of Coda’s “Floating Zendo”— the darkroom boat that he keeps on Lake Tahoe.The lives of Nico, his parents, and Coda embody northern California’s postwar landscape, giving way to fissures of alternative lifestyles and poetic visions. Author Carol Mavor addresses the sensuality and complexity of a son’s love for his mother and that mother’s own erotic response to it. The relationship between the mother and son is paralleled by what it means for a boy to be a model for a male photographer and to be his muse. Just as water can freeze into snow and ice, melt back into water, and steam, love takes on new forms with shifts of atmosphere. Like a Lake’s haunting images and sensations stay with the reader.
From the Bronx to the Bosphorus: Klezmer and Other Displaced Musics of New York
by Walter Zev FeldmanDiscover the vibrant journey of music from New York’s melting pot to the mystical shores of the BosphorusFrom the Bronx to the Bosphorus explores the vibrant, yet largely concealed, musical culture of New York, tracing its origins to a period when the city served as a crucible for immigrants and their diverse musical expressions. Walter Zev Feldman chronicles his journey through the musical landscapes of post–WWII New York—from the declining world of East European immigrant klezmorim to the dynamic environments of Greek, Armenian, and Caucasian musicians.These experiences culminate in the klezmer revitalization movement of the late 1970s. Feldman, whose father emigrated from Bessarabia—a region known for its rich interactions among Jewish, Roma, and Greek musicians—connects various musical worlds. From the local Turkish Sephardi synagogue and the Greek Orthodox cathedral in Washington Heights to the lively Armenian and Greek nightclubs of Manhattan, his interactions with a diverse group of musicians, including an Armenian virtuoso who once performed for Stalin and the Shah of Iran, enhance his understanding and appreciation of these interconnected cultures. Finally, at age twenty-five, in a sense he returned to his father’s shtetl and studied with Dave Tarras, the greatest living klezmer in America, who had learned his key musical lessons in that very same Bessarabian town following World War I. From the Bronx to the Bosphorus is not just a chronicle of music but a poignant examination of the power of music to connect cultures, transcend borders, and preserve the echoes of a nearly vanished world.
Too Good to Get Married: The Life and Photographs of Miss Alice Austen
by Bonnie YochelsonExplore Gilded Age New York through the lens of Alice Austen, who captured the social rituals of New York’s leisured class and the bustling streets of the modern city. Celebrated as a queer artist, she was this and much moreAlice Austen (1866–1952) lived at Clear Comfort, her grandparent’s Victorian cottage on Staten Island, which is now a National Historic Landmark. As a teenager, she devoted herself to photography, recording what she called “the larky life” of tennis matches, yacht races, and lavish parties.When she was 25 and expected to marry, Austen used her camera to satirize gender norms by posing with her friends in their undergarments and in men’s clothes, “smoking” cigarettes, and feigning drunkenness. As she later remarked, she was “too good to get married.” Austen embraced the rebellious spirit of the “New Woman,” a moniker given to those who defied expectations by pursuing athletics, higher education, or careers. She had romantic affairs with women, and at 31, she met Gertrude Tate, who became her life partner. Briefly, Austen considered becoming a professional photographer. She illustrated Bicycling for Ladies, a guide written by her friend Violet Ward, and she explored the working-class neighborhoods of Manhattan to produce a portfolio, “Street Types of New York.” Rejecting the taint of commerce, however, she remained within the confines of elite society with Tate by her side.Although interest in Austen has accelerated since 2017, when the Alice Austen House was designated a national site of LGBTQ history, the only prior book on Austen was published in 1976. Copiously illustrated, Too Good to Get Married fills the need for a fresh and deeply researched look at this skillful and witty photographer. Through analysis of Austen’s photographs, Yochelson illuminates the history of American photography and the history of sexuality.
How to Read Like an Anti-Fascist: Storytelling and Narrative Literacy for Young People
by Annette WannamakerOn the urgent need to promote critical reading skills amidst rising authoritarianismChildren’s author Philip Pullman famously said that “There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book.” While the recent rise of fascist ideology in the United States might seem a subject too large and adult to be dealt with in literature for children or teens, Annette Wannamaker proposes in How to Read Like an Anti-Fascist that there are books aimed at future generations which critique and counter fascist propaganda and mythmaking.Works of literature can reflect fascist ideology and promote it as well, but Wannamaker proposes that some books also offer tools for understanding it. Books written for beginners can introduce readers to complex concepts, break big ideas into manageable parts, and teach readers how to read the world outside of the book. Antifascist books are ones that analyze fascistic rhetoric and storytelling, educate about America’s long history of authoritarianism, and highlight various facets of fascism such as scapegoating others and reasserting patriarchal power.From “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and the tales of Superman to Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the 1619 Project and contemporary works such as All Boys Aren’t Blue and Donald Builds the Wall, Wannamaker shows how the ethos of authoritarianism is characterized by a strict hierarchy that places children at its very bottom. In doing so, she argues convincingly that books written for young people can provide a particular view from the bottom, a perspective well-suited to interrogating systems of power.
Dear Future Me: A Novel
by Deborah O'Connor"This is a winner."—Publishers Weekly"Suspenseful and thought-provoking. I will read whatever O'Connor writes next – she is the talent of a generation and this is the perfect book group thriller."- Gillian McAllister, New York Times bestselling author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time and Just Another Missing PersonYou never know what will happen when you try to rewrite the past...In 2003, Mr. Danler's high school class got an assignment to write letters to their future selves. Twenty years later, they receive them in the mail.Upon opening them, the students are shocked to find that their envelopes contain old secrets that threaten to expose the truth about the tragic death of one of their classmates. And when one letter makes the beautiful and successful Miranda jump off a cliff to her death, the small community is rocked to its core.Stunned by what has happened and armed with a clue of her own, Miranda's best-friend Audrey decides to track down her old classmates to get to the bottom of Miranda's death. And in doing so, she sets off a chain of events that could expose the truth not just about one untimely death, but two.From bestselling author Deborah O'Connor comes a searing thriller that exposes the grief, guilt, and secrets that riddle a small town, uncovering the far-reaching consequences of a decades-old tragedy.
Sunset (Crossroads #1)
by Sharon Sala"Sharon Sala is a consummate storyteller." —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling authorCrossroads, Texas, just might be the place to settle down and find the love of your dreams in this new small town romance series from Sharon Sala, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Blessings, Georgia series.World-champion bull rider Sonny Bluejacket was bucked off a bull and critically injured. He died twice on the operating table and then survived. Now retired from the rodeo circuit, Sonny is living with his brother and family in Oklahoma when he inherits a horse ranch outside of a little town in West Texas called Crossroads. The first person he meets upon arrival is an intriguing waitress named Magnolia "Maggie" Brennen, who works in a café called The Yellow Rose. Their attraction is instant. But it isn't until much later that Sonny discovers Maggie's secret talent for painting, and a whole new opportunity for Maggie opens up as a result of Sonny's supportive urging.Their relationship grows as Sonny wades through taking over the inherited ranch, horses, truck and property. He's finally finding his place within the surrounding community, only to be accosted by his no-good father who comes looking for a handout, or to destroy everything, including Maggie. But Sonny isn't about to let that happen.
How the U.S. Government Works: A Kid's Guide to Civics
by Syl Sobel J.D.Newly updated edition!Discover everything you need to know about American democracy with this easy-to-read guide to our government!How the U.S. Government Works is a fact-packed primer that helps kids understand the many facets of America's federal system. Readers will learn about how the government came to be, the responsibilities of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, and how our democracy impacts their own lives today!
The Ghostwriter: A Novel
by Julie ClarkDELUXE FIRST EDITION WITH PRINTED EDGES!"Expertly plotted and exquisitely twisted… Julie Clark masterfully weaves together a daughter's long-held suspicions and her father's deadly secrets with the tragic events from the past. The Ghostwriter kept me turning pages in this suspenseful search for the truth." — Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie WinsFrom the instant New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell comes a dazzling new thriller.June, 1975.The Taylor family shatters in a single night when two teenage siblings are found dead in their own home. The only surviving sibling, Vincent, never shakes the whispers and accusations that he was the one who killed them. Decades later, the legend only grows as his career as a horror writer skyrockets.Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent Taylor. Now on the brink of financial ruin, she's offered a job to ghostwrite her father's last book. What she doesn't know, though, is that this project is another one of his lies. Because it's not another horror novel he wants her to write.After fifty years of silence, Vincent Taylor is finally ready to talk about what really happened that night in 1975.
Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ True Stories of Disability and Determination
by Melissa Hart"In a society that often overlooks those with intellectual and developmental disabilities…this book will inspire readers to befriend and champion people with Down syndrome." – JACQUELINE JODL, Special Olympics InternationalIn this illustrated biography collection, meet over twenty people with Down syndrome who have accomplished amazing things in their lives. Excelling in film, sports, business, photography, and more, these people are changing hearts and minds about their disability. Read about Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon, and Isabella Springmuhl Tejada, the first designer with Down syndrome invited to showcase her work at London Fashion Week. Learn about the Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and other organizations who support the Down syndrome community. Each of these stories will educate and inspire young readers, both kids with Down syndrome and their family members, friends, classmates, and teammates!Included in this book:AC HeigelAlex BourneAlex LeeAllison FogartyChris NikicChristine LauGeoffrey MikolGrace KeyGrace StrobelIsabella Springmuhdi TejadaJamie BrewerJared KozakJohn CroninJohn TuckerKaren GaffneyKayla McKeonMadison TrevlinMeg OhsadaMichael HoltonNick DoyleRonnie BrownSofia SanchezTommy JessopYulissa ArescurenagaZack GottsagenSpecial OlympicsBest BuddiesNational Down Syndrome SocietyThe Buddy Walk