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Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms
by Joe FeldmanRaise standards and improve learning for all students through equitable grading Grading–one of the most important responsibilities of teachers with major implications for students’ academic and life trajectories–is ironically also among the most enigmatic and frequently avoided topics in education. Although most teachers sense that common grading practices are often ineffective, there is limited understanding of how those practices can undermine effective teaching and harm students, particularly those historically underserved. It is long past due to implement grading practices that are more accurate, bias-resistant, and motivational, and which improve student learning, empower teachers, and transform classrooms as a result. In this newly updated edition of the best-selling Grading for Equity, Joe Feldman provides a valuable resource for anyone invested in grading and its impact on students’ education, mental health, and future opportunities. Offering a research-based alternative to the status quo, this practitioner-friendly guide provides Extensive revisions that reflect how the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement shifted traditional grading systems New data from both academic research and classrooms that demonstrate the benefits of equitable grading for all students Clear approaches to implement equitable grading practices Updated information on several equitable grading practices, including proficiency scales A new concluding chapter that explores implementing equitable grading system-wide With a down-to-earth style driven by the author’s own curiosity as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and university instructor, this book will invite and challenge you to think about how more equitable grading, when implemented effectively, creates a more rigorous, humane, and positive school experience for all.
Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms
by Joe FeldmanRaise standards and improve learning for all students through equitable grading Grading–one of the most important responsibilities of teachers with major implications for students’ academic and life trajectories–is ironically also among the most enigmatic and frequently avoided topics in education. Although most teachers sense that common grading practices are often ineffective, there is limited understanding of how those practices can undermine effective teaching and harm students, particularly those historically underserved. It is long past due to implement grading practices that are more accurate, bias-resistant, and motivational, and which improve student learning, empower teachers, and transform classrooms as a result. In this newly updated edition of the best-selling Grading for Equity, Joe Feldman provides a valuable resource for anyone invested in grading and its impact on students’ education, mental health, and future opportunities. Offering a research-based alternative to the status quo, this practitioner-friendly guide provides Extensive revisions that reflect how the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement shifted traditional grading systems New data from both academic research and classrooms that demonstrate the benefits of equitable grading for all students Clear approaches to implement equitable grading practices Updated information on several equitable grading practices, including proficiency scales A new concluding chapter that explores implementing equitable grading system-wide With a down-to-earth style driven by the author’s own curiosity as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and university instructor, this book will invite and challenge you to think about how more equitable grading, when implemented effectively, creates a more rigorous, humane, and positive school experience for all.
The Fiction Writer: A Novel
by Jillian Cantor&“Juicy, suspenseful, and irresistible.&”– Nina de Gramont, New York Times Bestselling author of The Christie Affair"Sultry and mesmerizing…" – Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The CloistersFrom the USA Today-bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools, Jillian Cantor's The Fiction Writer follows a writer hired by a handsome billionaire to write about his family history with Daphne du Maurier and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of obsession, marital secrets, and stolen manuscripts. The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel—a retelling of Daphne du Maurier&’s Rebecca—was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her and she&’s battling a bad case of writer&’s block. So when her agent calls her with a high-paying ghostwriting opportunity, Olivia is all too willing to sign the NDA.At first, the write-for-hire job seems too good to be true. All she has to do is interview Henry &“Ash&” Asherwood, a reclusive mega billionaire, twice named People&’s Sexiest Man Alive, who wants her help in writing a book that reveals a shocking secret about his late grandmother and Daphne du Maurier. But when Olivia arrives at his Malibu estate, nothing is as it seems. The more Olivia digs into his grandmother&’s past, the more questions she has—and before she knows it, she&’s trapped in a gothic mystery of her own.With as many twists and turns as the California coast, The Fiction Writer is a page-turner that explores the boundaries of creative freedom and whose stories we have the right to tell.
Bartleby and Me: Reflections of an Old Scrivener
by Gay Talese“Literary Legend” (New York) Gay Talese retraces his pioneering career, marked by his fascination with the world's hidden characters.In the concluding act of this "incomparable" (Air Mail) capstone book, Talese introduces readers to one final unforgettable story: the strange and riveting all new tale of Dr. Nicholas Bartha, who blew up his Manhattan brownstone—and himself—rather than relinquish his claim to the American dream.“New York is a city of things unnoticed,” a young reporter named Gay Talese wrote sixty years ago. He would spend the rest of his legendary career defying that statement by celebrating the people most reporters overlooked, understanding that it was through these minor characters that the epic story of New York and America unfolded. Inspired by Herman Melville’s great short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” Talese now revisits the unforgettable “nobodies” he has profiled in his celebrated career—from the New York Times’s anonymous obituary writer to Frank Sinatra’s entourage. In the book’s final act, a remarkable piece of original reporting titled “Dr. Bartha’s Brownstone,” Talese presents a new “Bartleby,” an unknown doctor who made his mark on the city one summer day in 2006. Rising within the city of New York are about one million buildings. These include skyscrapers, apartment buildings, bodegas, schools, churches, and homeless shelters. Also spread through the city are more than 19,000 vacant lots, one of which suddenly appeared some years ago—at 34 East 62nd Street, between Madison and Park Avenues—when the unhappy owner of a brownstone at that address blew it up (with himself in it) rather than sell his cherished nineteenth-century high-stoop Neo-Grecian residence in order to pay the court-ordered sum of $4 million to the woman who had divorced him three years earlier. This man was a physician of sixty-six named Nicholas Bartha. On the morning of July 10, 2006, Dr. Bartha filled his building with gas that he had diverted from a pipe in the basement, and then he set off an explosion that reduced the fivestory premises into a fiery heap that would injure ten firefighters and five passersby and damage the interiors of thirteen apartments that stood to the west of the crumbled brownstone.Talese has been obsessed with Dr. Bartha’s story and spent the last seventeen years examining this single 20 x 100 foot New York City building lot, its serpentine past, and the unexpected triumphs and disasters encountered by its residents and owners—an unlikely cast featuring society wannabes, striving immigrants, Gilded Age powerbrokers, Russian financiers, and even a turncoat during the War of Independence—just as he has been obsessed with similar “nobodies” throughout his career. Concise, elegant, tragic, and whimsical, Bartleby and Me is the valedictory work of a master journalist.
Sourcery: A Discworld Novel (Wizards #3)
by Terry Pratchett“Delightful. . . logically illogical as only Terry Pratchett can write.”—Anne McCaffreyWill the most unlikely hero in all of Discworld save the universe once again . . . or has his luck finally run out in this wildly funny installment in Sir Terry Pratchett’s internationally bestselling series, a hilarious mix of magic, mayhem, and Luggage.Once upon a time, there was an eighth son of an eighth son who was, of course, a wizard. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, said wizard then had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son—a wizard squared (that’s all the math, really)—who, of course, was a source of magic, a sourcerer.Unseen University, the most magical establishment on the Discworld, has finally got its wish: the emergence of a wizard more powerful than they’ve ever seen. But be careful what you wish for . . .As the drastic consequences of sourcery begin to unfold, it’s up to one unlikely wizard to save them. Rincewind has survived a string of misadventures, including falling off the edge of the world—which is no mean feat when it’s flying through space on the back of a turtle and held up by four elephants. Now, he must take the University’s most precious artifact, the very embodiment of magic itself, and deliver it halfway across the Disc to prevent a mathematically blessed sourcerer from leading the wizards to dominate all of Discworld.Can Rincewind and his tiny band, including the carnivorous Luggage, stave off the Apocalypse?The Discworld novels can be read in any order, but Sourcery is the 3rd installment in the Wizards series and the 5th Discworld book. The other books in the Wizards collection include:The Color of MagicThe Light FantasticEricInteresting TimesThe Last ContinentUnseen Academicals
The Best American Food Writing 2023 (Best American)
by Mark Bittman Silvia Killingsworth"Excellent....Taken as a whole, the volume moves beyond food’s sensory pleasures to investigate it as a cultural vessel, a symbol of inequality, and more. It’s a standout addition to the series." —Publisher's Weekly (starred review)A collection of the year’s top food writing, selected by prolific food writer and author of How to Cook Everything Mark Bittman."In almost any culture, at any time, you can find food writing,” writes guest editor Mark Bittman in his introduction. “Food means growing and hardship, and health and medicine, and work and holiday. In its abundance it is a gift and a joy, and in its absence a curse and a tragedy. If a culture has writing, that culture has food writing.” The stories in this year’s Best American Food Writing are brilliant, eye-opening windows into the heart of our country’s culture. From the link between salt and sex, to Syrian refugees transforming ancient Turkish food traditions, to the FDA’s crusade on alternative non-dairy milk options, to Black farmers in Arkansas seeking justice, the scope of these essays spans nearly every aspect of our society. This anthology offers an entertaining and poignant look at how food shapes our lives and how food writing shapes our culture. THE BEST AMERICAN FOOD WRITING 2023 INCLUDES JAYA SAXENA • LIGAYA MISHAN • MARION NESTLE TOM PHILPOTT • WESLEY BROWN • ALICIA KENNEDY CAROLINE HATCHETT • AMY LOEFFLER and others
The Huntress: A Novel
by Kate Quinn"...compulsively readable historical fiction…[a] powerful novel about unusual women facing sometimes insurmountable odds with grace, grit, love and tenacity.” - Kristin Hannah, The Washington Post Named one of best books of the year by Marie Claire and Bookbub“If you enjoyed “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” read “The Huntress,” by Kate Quinn." The Washington PostFrom the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel, THE ALICE NETWORK, comes another fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track the Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America.In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted…Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina’s bravery and cunning will keep her alive.Transformed by the horrors he witnessed from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials, British war correspondent Ian Graham has become a Nazi hunter. Yet one target eludes him: a vicious predator known as the Huntress. To find her, the fierce, disciplined investigator joins forces with the only witness to escape the Huntress alive: the brazen, cocksure Nina. But a shared secret could derail their mission unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new fiancée, Jordan is thrilled. But there is something disconcerting about the soft-spoken German widow. Certain that danger is lurking, Jordan begins to delve into her new stepmother’s past—only to discover that there are mysteries buried deep in her family . . . secrets that may threaten all Jordan holds dear.In this immersive, heart-wrenching story, Kate Quinn illuminates the consequences of war on individual lives, and the price we pay to seek justice and truth.
When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach
by Ashlee VanceAn Instant New York Times Bestseller A momentous look at the private companies building a revolutionary new economy in space, from the New York Times bestselling author of Elon MuskIn When the Heavens Went on Sale, Ashlee Vance illuminates our future and unveils the next big technology story of our time: welcome to the Wild West of aerospace engineering and its unprecedented impact on our lives.With the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 1 rocket in 2008, Silicon Valley began to realize that the universe itself was open for business. Now, Vance tells the remarkable, unfolding story of this frenzied intergalactic land grab by following four pioneering companies—Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs, and Rocket Lab—as they build new space systems and attempt to launch rockets and satellites into orbit by the thousands.With the public fixated on the space tourism being driven by the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson, these new, scrappy companies arrived with a different set of goals: to make rocket and satellite launches fast and cheap, thereby opening Earth’s lower orbit for business. Vance has had a front-row seat and singular access to this peculiar and unprecedented moment in history, and he chronicles it all in full color: the top-secret launch locations, communes, gun-toting bodyguards, drugs, espionage investigations, and multimillionaires guzzling booze to dull the pain as their fortunes disappear.Through immersive and intimate reporting, When the Heavens Went on Sale reveals the spectacular chaos of the new business of space, and what happens when the idealistic, ambitious minds of Silicon Valley turn their unbridled vision toward the limitless expanse of the stars. This is the tale of technology’s most pressing and controversial revolution, as told through fascinating characters chasing unimaginable stakes in the race to space.
A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains
by Max Bennett“I found this book amazing. I read it through quickly because it was so interesting, then turned around and read much of it again.”—Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and bestselling author of Thinking Fast & Slow“I've been recommending A Brief History of Intelligence to everyone I know. A truly novel, beautifully crafted thesis on what intelligence is and how it has developed since the dawn of life itself."—Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of GritEqual parts Sapiens, Behave, and Superintelligence, but wholly original in scope, A Brief History of Intelligence offers a paradigm shift for how we understand neuroscience and AI. Artificial intelligence entrepreneur Max Bennett chronicles the five “breakthroughs” in the evolution of human intelligence and reveals what brains of the past can tell us about the AI of tomorrow. In the last decade, capabilities of artificial intelligence that had long been the realm of science fiction have, for the first time, become our reality. AI is now able to produce original art, identify tumors in pictures, and even steer our cars. And yet, large gaps remain in what modern AI systems can achieve—indeed, human brains still easily perform intellectual feats that we can’t replicate in AI systems. How is it possible that AI can beat a grandmaster at chess but can’t effectively load a dishwasher? As AI entrepreneur Max Bennett compellingly argues, finding the answer requires diving into the billion-year history of how the human brain evolved; a history filled with countless half-starts, calamities, and clever innovations. Not only do our brains have a story to tell—the future of AI may depend on it.Now, in A Brief History of Intelligence, Bennett bridges the gap between neuroscience and AI to tell the brain’s evolutionary story, revealing how understanding that story can help shape the next generation of AI breakthroughs. Deploying a fresh perspective and working with the support of many top minds in neuroscience, Bennett consolidates this immense history into an approachable new framework, identifying the “Five Breakthroughs” that mark the brain’s most important evolutionary leaps forward. Each breakthrough brings new insight into the biggest mysteries of human intelligence. Containing fascinating corollaries to developments in AI, A Brief History of Intelligence shows where current AI systems have matched or surpassed our brains, as well as where AI systems still fall short. Simply put, until AI systems successfully replicate each part of our brain’s long journey, AI systems will fail to exhibit human-like intelligence.Endorsed and lauded by many of the top neuroscientists in the field today, Bennett’s work synthesizes the most relevant scientific knowledge and cutting-edge research into an easy-to-understand and riveting evolutionary story. With sweeping scope and stunning insights, A Brief History of Intelligence proves that understanding the arc of our brain’s history can unlock the tools for successfully navigating our technological future.
The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food
by Andrew Friedman“A thorough, lively work of on-the-ground reportage. ... Friedman shares a remarkable story." —Wall Street JournalAcclaimed “chef writer” Andrew Friedman introduces readers to all the people and processes that come together in a single restaurant dish, creating an entertaining, vivid snapshot of the contemporary restaurant community, modern farming industry, and food-supply chain. On a typical evening, in a contemporary American restaurant, a table orders their dinner from a server. It’s an exchange that happens dozens, or hundreds, of times a night—the core transaction that keeps the place churning. In this book, acclaimed chef writer Andrew Friedman slows down time to focus on a single dish at Chicago’s Wherewithall restaurant, following its production and provenances via real-time kitchen and in-the-field reportage, from the moment the order is placed to when the finished dish is delivered to the table.As various components of this one dish are prepared by the kitchen team, Friedman introduces readers to the players responsible for producing it, from the chefs who conceived the dish and manage the kitchen, to the line cooks and sous chefs who carry out the actual cooking, and the dishwashers who keep pace with the dining room.Readers will also meet the producers, farmers, and ranchers, who supply the restaurant, as Friedman visits each stop in the supply chain and profiles the key characters whose expertise and effort play essential roles in making the dish possible—they will walk rows of crops that line Midwestern farms, feel the chill of the cooler where beef dry-ages, harvest grapes at a Michigan winery, ride along with a delivery-truck driver, and hear the immigration sagas prevalent amongst often unseen and unheralded farm and restaurant workers.The Dish is a rollicking ride inside every aspect of a restaurant dish. Both a fascinating window onto our food systems, and a celebration of the unsung heroes of restaurants and the collaborative nature of professional kitchen work, The Dish will ensure that readers never look at any restaurant meal the same way again. "Masterful. ... Friedman excels at bringing the dining room to boisterous life with vivid, telling details. ... This will sate gastronomes and casual foodies alike." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories
by Brett GelmanA daring, hilariously neurotic literary debut from the acclaimed actor and comedian Brett Gelman (Stranger Things, Fleabag).Enter the wonderfully weird, always uncomfortable, side-splittingly funny world of The Terrifying Realm of the Possible, where your worst fears of who you are or might become are always just around the corner. In these masterful short stories from the singular mind of the actor and comedian Brett Gelman, you’ll meet five individuals, each navigating a uniquely strange stage of life: - ABRAHAM AMSTERDAM (the child)- MENDEL FREUDENBERGER (the teenager)- JACKIE COHEN (the adult)- IRIS BELOW (the senior)- Z (the dead)Our characters face the big issues; the ones we all face. As they traverse the prickly terrain of morality, family, sex, fame, religion, and death they search for answers to life's unanswerable questions. In the futility of that search comes the absurdity, along with the comedy. The composite portrait is an existential (mis)adventure of Rothian proportions. Gelman's remarkable first book is a bold, unforgettable debut that challenges our assumptions about what it means to be human.
Pelican Girls: A Novel
by Julia MalyeA sweeping epic in the vein of Philipp Meyer’s The Son and Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and inspired by a true story, this stunning US literary debut captures the never-before-told journey of the Baleine Brides: a ship full of young women plucked from a Paris asylum and sent to marry settlers in North America's rough Louisiana Territory.Paris, 1720. La Salpêtrière hospital is in crisis: too many occupants, not enough beds. Halfway across the world, France's colony in the wilds of North America has space to spare and needs families to fill it. So the director of the hospital rounds up nearly a hundred female “volunteers” of childbearing age—orphans, prisoners, and mental patients—to be shipped to New Orleans.Among this group are three unlikely friends: a sharp-tongued twelve-year old orphan, a mute ‘madwoman,’ and an accused abortionist. Charlotte, Pétronille, and Geneviève, along with the dozens of other women aboard La Baleine, have no knowledge of what lies ahead and no control over their futures. Strangers brought together by fate, these brave and fierce young women will face extraordinary adversity—pirates, slavedrivers, sickness, war—but also the private trauma of heartbreak and unrequited love, children born and lost, cruelty and unexpected pleasure, and a friendship forged in fire that will sustain through the years.At once a gorgeously written work of startling depth and emotion and a gripping drama marrying high-seas adventure with pioneer grit, Pelican Girls is a powerful, thought-provoking novel about female friendship and desire and the daunting compromises women are forced to make to survive.
Democratic Politics-1 class 9 - NCERT - 23 (Political Science)
by National Council of Educational Research and Training"Democratic Politics - I," a Class 9 NCERT textbook, offers a comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of democracy and political systems. It delves into the concepts of democracy, constitutional design, electoral politics, and working of institutions, providing students with a nuanced understanding of the political framework. Through case studies, illustrations, and exercises, the book aims to cultivate critical thinking and analytical skills among students, encouraging them to engage actively in democratic processes. It covers topics such as the role of the President, Prime Minister, Parliament, and various political parties in India, along with discussions on local governments and grassroots democracy. With its lucid language and structured approach, "Democratic Politics - I" serves as an invaluable resource for students to comprehend the essence of democracy and its significance in shaping societies and governance.
Wild Houses: A Novel
by Colin BarrettOne of the Globe and Mail's most anticipated books of 2024From the award-winning writer of Homesickness and Young Skins, a darkly funny and deeply moving debut novel about crimes of desperation, dreams abandoned, and small-town secrets that won&’t stay buried.As Ballina in the west of Ireland prepares for its biggest weekend of the year, the simmering feud between small-time dealer Cillian English and County Mayo's fraternal enforcers, Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, spills over into violence and an ugly ultimatum.When the reclusive Dev answers his door on Friday night, he finds Doll—Cillian's bruised, sullen, teenage brother—in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch. Jostled by his nefarious cousins, goaded by his dead mother's dog, and struck by spinning lights, Dev is unwillingly drawn headlong into the Ferdias' revenge fantasy.Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Nicky can't shake the feeling something bad has happened to her boyfriend Doll. Hungover, reeling from a fractious Friday night, and plagued by ghosts of her own, Nicky sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll, even as she questions her future in Ballina.The beautifully crafted, thrillingly-told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence, Wild Houses is the long-anticipated debut novel from award-winning and critically-acclaimed short story writer, Colin Barrett.
Forests of Refuge: Decolonizing Environmental Governance in the Amazonian Guiana Shield
by Dr. Yolanda Ariadne CollinsForests of Refuge questions the effectiveness of market-based policies that govern forests in the interest of mitigating climate change. Yolanda Ariadne Collins interrogates the most ambitious global plan to incentivize people away from deforesting activities: the United Nations–endorsed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative. Forests of Refuge explores REDD+ in Guyana and neighboring Suriname, two highly forested countries in the Amazonian Guiana Shield with low deforestation rates. Yet REDD+ implementation there has been fraught with challenges. Adopting a multisited ethnographic approach, Forests of Refuge takes readers into the halls of policymaking, into conservation development organizations, and into forest-dependent communities most affected by environmental policies and exploitative colonial histories. This book situates these challenges in the inattentiveness of global environmental policies to roughly five hundred years of colonial histories that positioned the forests as places of refuge and resistance. It advocates that the fruits of these oppressive histories be reckoned with through processes of decolonization.
A Year of Last Things: Poems
by Michael OndaatjeOne of the Globe and Mail's most anticipated books of 2024With A Year of Last Things, acclaimed novelist Michael Ondaatje returns to poetry, where he began his career over fifty years ago, and what a return it is.Born in Sri Lanka during the Second World War, Ondaatje was sent as a child to school in London, and later moved to Canada. While he has lived here since, these poems reflect the life of a writer, traveller and watcher of the world – describing himself as a &“mongrel,&” someone born out of diverse cultures. Here, rediscovering the influence of every border crossed, he moves back and forth in time, from a childhood in Sri Lanka to Moliere&’s chair during his last stage performance, from icons in Bulgarian churches to the California coast and loved Canadian rivers, merging memory with the present, looking back on a life of displacement and discovery, love and loss. At first sight it is a glittering collection of fragments and memories – but small, intricate pieces of a life are precisely what matter most to Ondaatje. They make an emotional history. As he writes in the opening poem: &“Reading the lines he loves / he slips them into a pocket, / wishes to die with his clothes / full of torn free stanzas / and the telephone numbers / of his children in far cities&”. Poetry – where language is made to work hardest and burns with a gem-like flame – is what Ondaatje has returned to in this intimate history.
The Princess of Las Vegas: A Novel
by Chris BohjalianOne of Elle&’s Best and Most Anticipated Mysteries of 2024 • THE PRINCESS IS FAKE. THE MURDERS ARE REAL • From the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness, a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.Crissy Dowling has created a world that suits her perfectly. She passes her days by the pool in a private cabana, she splurges on ice cream but never gains an ounce, and each evening she transforms into a Princess, performing her musical cabaret inspired by the life of the late Diana Spencer. Some might find her strange or even delusional, an American speaking with a British accent, hair feathered into a style thirty years old, living and working in a casino that has become a dated trash heap. On top of that, Crissy&’s daily diet of Adderall and Valium leaves her more than a little tipsy, her Senator boyfriend has gone back to his wife, and her entire career rests on resembling a dead woman. And yet, fans see her for the gifted chameleon she is, showering her with gifts, letters, and standing ovations night after night. But when Crissy&’s sister, Betsy, arrives in town with a new boyfriend and a teenage daughter, and when Richie Morley, the owner of the Buckingham Palace Casino, is savagely murdered, Crissy&’s carefully constructed kingdom comes crashing down all around her. A riveting tale of identity, obsession, fintech, and high-tech mobsters, The Princess of Las Vegas is an addictive, wildly original thriller from one of our most extraordinary storytellers.
Who's Afraid of Gender?
by Judith ButlerInflamed by the rhetoric of public figures, the "anti-gender ideology movement" has sought to nullify reproductive justice, undermine protections against sexual and gender violence, and strip trans and queer people of their right to pursue a life without fear of violence. Here, Judith Butler, the groundbreaking thinker whose iconic Gender Trouble redefined how we understand gender and sexuality, confronts the attacks on "gender" that have become central to right-wing movements today. Who's Afraid of Gender? examines how "gender" has become a phantasm for emerging authoritarian regimes, fascist formations, and trans-exclusionary feminists. In this vital, courageous book, Butler illuminates the concrete ways in which this phantasm of gender collects and displaces anxieties and fears of destruction, resulting in a movement that demonizes struggles for equality, fuels aggressive nationalism, and leaves millions of people vulnerable to subjugation. An essential intervention into one of the most fraught issues of our moment, Who's Afraid of Gender? is a bold call to refuse the alliance with authoritarian movements and to make a broad coalition with all those who fight against injustice. Imagining new possibilities for freedom and solidarity, Butler offers us a hopeful work of social and political analysis that is both timely and timeless—a book whose verve and rigor only they could deliver.
Monday Rent Boy
by Susan DohertyBy the author of the award-winning The Ghost Garden, a bravely imagined, deeply empathetic novel of two adolescent boys, bound by friendship and a terrible secret. With love and sex so deeply entwined with betrayal and abuse, how does a boy grow up?Monday Rent Boy begins in Somerset, England, in the mid-1980s, with the winning and heart-warming story of two 13-year-old friends and fellow altar boys, Arthur Barnes and Ernie Castlefrank. Endearing outcasts, they try not to speak of the secret tie that binds them: both boys are routinely preyed on by The Zipper, their nickname for Father Ziperto, the local Catholic priest. Still, they find adventure and release in the mischief they get up to together, as each also tries to survive in other ways. Arthur, a great reader and denier of reality, finds an ally in town bookseller Marina Phillips. Ernie, a gifted mathematician and animal lover, is not so lucky. As he and Arthur age out of the abuse, Ernie notices younger and equally vulnerable boys being recruited. When he tries to blow the whistle, nobody believes him. At 16, he disappears, a loss that almost destroys his best friend but also confirms for Arthur that he was smart to stay silent.Arthur eventually also turns his back on the mystery of Ernie's disappearance, but his bookselling mentor and friend Marina Phillips finds a way to follow Ernie where rage and betrayal has led him—into the darkest corners of the dark web—a search that ultimately helps Arthur reckon with what happened to them both. In the novel&’s stunning, deeply affecting conclusion, Doherty draws a line directly from the covered-up abuse of children by Catholic priests to the current proliferation of child pornography and predators online—miraculously revealing the true heart of darkness while managing to affirm the light.
Before Nightfall
by Silvia VECCHINIA moving tale about a brave hearing-impaired teen losing his vision, told through the perspective of his loving sister in poetry, prose, and the sign-language alphabet.Carlo is a teenager who happens to be hearing-impaired and can see only out of one eye. Now that eye is failing, and Carlo must have an operation to try to save his vision. His fierce and funny sister Emma, Carlo&’s closest companion, begins writing poems that express the fear she works hard to hide, while his seeing-eye dog Lulù remains steadfastly at his side. But even with the support and affection of his family, how can Carlo face such uncertainty? And what will happen if he can no longer communicate with them? Before Nightfall is a book about trust, imagination, empathy, and language, narrated through the poems Emma types and through prose passages told from multiple perspectives and illustrated with sign-language alphabet, drawn by the Italian artist Sualzo. Despite the immense challenges Carlo and Emma face, their story is one of hope and wonder.
After the Worst Day Ever: What Sick Kids Know About Sustaining Hope in Chronic Illness
by Duane R. BidwellFor those who care for chronically ill children, a new understanding of hope that equips adults to better nurture pediatric hope among sick kids—articulated by the children themselvesAs anyone with a chronic illness knows, hope can sometimes be hard to come by. For parents and caregivers of children with serious illness, there can be a real struggle to move beyond one's own grief, fear, and suffering to see what hope means for these kids.Duane Bidwell, a scholar, minister, and former hospital chaplain who has struggled with serious illness himself, spent time with 48 chronically ill children in dialysis units and transplant clinics around the United States. Chronically ill kids, he found, don&’t adhere to popular or scholarly understandings of hope. They experience hope as a sense of well-being in the present, not a promise of future improvement, an ability to set goals, or the absence of illness and suffering. With this mindset, these kids suggest a new understanding of pediatric hope, saying hope becomes concrete when they (1) realize community, (2) claim power, (3) attend to Spirit, (4) choose trust, and (5) maintain identity.Offering textured portraits of children with end-stage kidney disease, After the Worst Day Ever illustrates in their words how sick children experience, maintain, and turn toward hope even when illness cannot be cured and severely limits quality of life. Their insights reveal how the adults in a sick child's world—parents, chaplains, medical professionals, teachers, and others—can nurture hope. They also shift our understanding of hope from an internal resource located &“inside&” an individual to a shared, communal experience that becomes a resource for individuals.Rich and moving, Bidwell&’s work helps us imagine anew what it means to sustain hope despite inescapable suffering and the limits of chronic illness.
Get Over Yourself: How to Lead and Delegate Effectively for More Time, More Freedom, and More Success
by Dave KerpenDiscover time-tested strategies to growing a successful business and leading a team—without sacrificing your personal life. The key is delegation.Drawing on his own experience launching and scaling multiple companies, New York Times bestselling author Dave Kerpen shares the secrets of how you can shift your mindset (and your workload) to focus on the things that are most important for your business, your employees, and you.With the rise of remote work, the gig economy, AI, and social media, the boundaries between work and home are dissolving, leaving workplace leaders with less time for themselves than ever before. Featuring real-life examples and prompts for goal setting, Get Over Yourself is a blueprint to help readers become master delegators by learning how to:Embrace delegation as a strategy for long-term growth and successAvoid common challenges faced by small business owners and corporate leadersNavigate the changing work landscape, including remote work, hybrid work, ChatGPT, and the gig economyChoose the right people for your team and encourage a workplace of trust and autonomyCreate a healthy, sustainable work-life balance in today&’s dynamic work environmentBuild a business that serves your life, not a life that serves your businessGet Over Yourself is an evergreen guide for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and leaders growing their businesses in a new world. By shifting your mindset in small, impactful ways, you can reclaim your time with peace of mind and turn your attention to what matters most.
James
by Percival EverettA brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. <p><p> When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. <p><p> While many narrative set pieces of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. <p><p> Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
Decisionscape: How Thinking Like an Artist Can Improve Our Decision-Making
by Elspeth KirkmanHow thinking like an artist can improve our decision making and provide the perspective necessary to make better choices.Why are so many of our decisions regrettable, and what can we do about it? Decisionscape maps the surprising ways that our decisions are influenced and how thinking like an artist can help us deliberately arrange our perspective to make better choices. Introducing the concept of a &“decisionscape,&” Elspeth Kirkman blends art and science with insights from moral philosophy, sports, geopolitics, and elsewhere to explore decision making in a refreshingly original way. A broadly appealing and relatable book, Decisionscape asks us to confront the prejudices, blind spots, and hypocrisy in our day-to-day thinking.When we make choices, Kirkman explains, we act like an artist arranging objects on a canvas, using our system of perspective to compose a mental representation of the world. This decisionscape includes a foreground and background, a frame, a fixed viewpoint, and outside influences. Organized into four parts that unpack a different facet of the book&’s organizing principle, Decisionscape shows how psychological distance dictates what we prioritize and diminish, how the big picture can often look different from its parts, how culture and context frame decisions, and how personal worldviews alter how we interpret information. Complex, timely, and breezy, Decisionscape addresses one of the most fundamental human experiences: making better decisions to live our best life.
The Crafter's Kitchen: An Official Minecraft Cookbook for Young Chefs and Their Families (Minecraft)
by The Official Minecraft TeamThis official Minecraft cookbook expands beyond its sixty recipes, giving aspiring young chefs the tools needed to begin a lifelong love of cooking—as well as important lessons on environmental stewardship. Welcome to The Crafter&’s Kitchen, an official Minecraft cookbook and your starting point for a food journey across the Overworld and our very own planet! Your guide is a Minecraft chef named the Gourmand who sees the planet Earth with wonder—as well as concern. Where they come from, apples don&’t come out of plastic bags. Every ingredient has its own story and has its own place in nature. And everyone composts. The sixty recipes in The Crafter&’s Kitchen are ideal for kitchen first-timers and kids learning to cook with their parents. Each chapter features a different biome of the Minecraft world, from the deepest ocean to the highest mountain, spotlighting delicious, easy-to-make recipes as well as environmental issues facing similar areas in our own world, like:• Ocean: Garlicky Ratatouille Kabobs, Banana Dulce de Leche Batido, and cleaning up at the beach• Forest: Applesauce Snacking Cake, Chicken Cacciatore, and starting your own garden• Taiga: Cardamom Bear Paws, Swedish Meatballs, and supporting wildlife refuges Through the magic of this Minecraft cookbook—and cuisine—kids can expand and explore their understanding of the food they eat and the world they will grow up to inherit and protect.