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In Sicily
by Norman LewisFew places on earth have escaped the singular eye of Norman Lewis, but always, in the course of his long career, he has come back to Sicily. From his first, wartime visit - to a land untouched since the Middle Ages - through his frequent returns, he has watched the island and its people as they have changed over the years. In 1998 he returned yet again to write this book, the result of a sixty-year-long fascination with all things Sicilian.In Sicily reveals this fascination on every page. Throughout there is the Mafia, and Lewis's friendships with policemen, journalists and men of respect. But more, he writes of landscape and language, of his memories of his first father-in-law (professional gambler, descendant of princes and member of the Unione Siciliana), of Sicily's changing sexual mores, of the effects of African immigration, of Palermo and its ruined palaces - and of strange superstitions, of witches and bandits and murder.
The Campaign: A Novel
by Carlos FuentesIn The Campaign, a witty and enthralling saga of revolutionary South America, Carlos Fuentes explores the period of profound upheaval he calls" the romantic time." His hero, Baltasar Bustos, the son of a wealthy landowner, kidnaps the baby of a prominent judge, replacing it with the black baby of a prostitute. When he catches sight of the baby's mother, though, he falls instantly in love with her and sets off on an anguished journey to repent his act and win her love.
Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?: And Other Reflections on Being Human
by Jesse BeringWhy do testicles hang the way they do? Is there an adaptive function to the female orgasm? What does it feel like to want to kill yourself? Does "free will" really exist? And why is the penis shaped like that anyway? In Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?, the research psychologist and award-winning columnist Jesse Bering features more than thirty of his most popular essays from Scientific American and Slate, as well as two new pieces, that take readers on a bold and captivating journey through some of the most taboo issues related to evolution and human behavior. Exploring the history of cannibalism, the neurology of people who are sexually attracted to animals, the evolution of human body fluids, the science of homosexuality, and serious questions about life and death, Bering astutely covers a generous expanse of our kaleidoscope of quirks and origins. With his characteristic irreverence and trademark cheekiness, Bering leaves no topic unturned or curiosity unexamined, and he does it all with an audaciously original voice. Whether you're interested in the psychological history behind the many facets of sexual desire or the evolutionary patterns that have dictated our current mystique and phallic physique, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? is bound to create lively discussion and debate for years to come.
She's Not There (The Poppy Rice Mysteries)
by Mary-Ann Tirone SmithIn Poppy Rice's second venture, the smart, outspoken FBI agent's vacation is rudely interrupted by a sinister murder.FBI agent Poppy Rice is, rather unwillingly, taking time off to recuperate from injuries sustained on the job. A few days into her ill-conceived vacation on Block Island with Joe, her sometime-lover and soul mate, she happens upon a corpse dumped in the middle of the road.The body of the victim, a young girl from a summer camp for overweight teenagers, is painfully contorted, her face frozen in a death scream. There are no visible wounds and the cause of death is a mystery. Although Poppy is no stranger to gruesome scenes, she is so disturbed by the murder that she can't help but defy her orders to rest. Then, just as she begins poking around, another body is found in the same condition as the first; this time, the pathologist reveals another similarity--the eardrums of both girls were ruptured.Now Poppy must get to the killer before the killer gets to any more girls. With no clue as to the murderer's method or motive, she's going to need all the help she can get. But in the close-knit, tight-lipped Block Island community, secrets are kept--even deadly ones, in Mary-Ann Tirone Smith's She's Not There.
Advent of Dying (Sister Mary Helen Mysteries)
by Carol Anne O'MarieReaders have come to delight in the murder-solving exploits of septuagenarian Sister Mary Helen and her cohort Sister Eileen, two nuns with a nose for nabbing killers. Publishers Weekly calls the Sister Mary Helen Mysteries "refreshingly different" and a "heady mix of humor and suspense." Once you meet this spry, clever sleuth, you'll want to make a habit of reading her adventures again and again.Timid little Suzanne Barnes was the perfect ecclesiastical secretary: efficient, discreet, self-effacing. So it came as a shock when Suzanne invited Sisters Mary Helen, Eileen and Anne to Ghiradelli Square's Sea Wench Bar to hear her belt out the blues. Sister Mary Helen wondered what secrets lay behind those watery blue eyes. The Sea Wench Suzanne was a revelation: sassy, sexy, dressed to kill. It was her first-and last-performance, punctuated by a silver letter opener in the heart. Who killed the canary? Sister Mary Helen and her faithful band must unearth Suzanne's secrets to solve the murder before all hell breaks loose-again...
Soap Opera: A Novel
by Eileen FultonReal-life star of As the World Turns for over forty years, actress and novelist Eileen Fulton weaves a sizzling tale that could only come from someone with an insider's savvy about what happens on a TV soap--after the cameras stop rolling...Left at the altar in her small Midwest town, Amanda Baker heads to New York City to start anew and follow her dreams right onto the set of TV's most popular soap opera. She is to be the new "Hope" on Another Life, a role that will make her a star. But nothing comes without hard choices, and soon Amanda is swept into an off-camera crisis involving the troubled cast of Another Life--a shocking real-life drama that could shatter Amanda's own glittering new world. Now she must risk everything to save her career... and her heart.And was that really Monique O'Day, the beautiful and sophisticated star who had been so captivated with Amanda that she insisted on sharing a cup of Queen Ann tea with her in her private dressing room after the test? And, of course, Hank. The executive producer who held her hand, led the way, then later, while she was in Monique's dressing room, asked her if she would be their Hope. Amanda collapsed onto the bed and began replaying her audition over and over in her head, trying to savor each moment of the day that was about to change her life.In another part of Manhattan, Hank Pride was sprawled naked across his stainless-steel platform bed, replaying the very same audition scene. Hank watched the images flash across the two large-screen televisions in front of him. Amanda's audition tape was playing on the left and a twenty-year-old scene from Another Life featuring a very young Monique O'Day was playing on the right. While the scenes flashed across his naked and perspiring body he suddenly had an inspiration for the next twist in the plotline.And it had nothing to do with the soap.
Girl on the Golden Coin: A Novel of Frances Stuart
by Marci JeffersonDebut author Marci Jefferson's Girl on the Golden Coin brings to life a captivating woman whose beauty, compassion, and intellect impacted a king and a nation.Impoverished and exiled to the French countryside after the overthrow of the English Crown, Frances Stuart survives merely by her blood-relation to the Stuart Royals. But in 1660, the Restoration of the Stuart Monarchy in England returns her family to favor. Frances discards threadbare gowns and moves to gilded Fontainebleau Palace, where she soon catches the Sun King's eye. But Frances is no ordinary court beauty—she has Stuart secrets to keep and her family to protect. King Louis XIV turns vengeful when she rejects his offer to become his Official Mistress. He banishes her to England with orders to seduce King Charles II and secure an alliance.Armed in pearls and silks, Frances maneuvers the political turbulence of Whitehall Palace, but still can't afford to stir a scandal. Her tactic to inspire King Charles to greatness captivates him. He believes her love can make him a better man, and even chooses Frances to pose as Britannia for England's coins. Frances survives the Great Fire, the Great Plague, and the debauchery of the Restoration Court, yet loses her heart to the very king she must control. The discovery of a dangerous plot will force her to choose between love for herself and war for her beloved country.
Mommy Millionaire: How I Turned My Kitchen Table Idea into a Million Dollars and How You Can, Too!
by Kim Lavine"Mommy Millionaire is an inspiring gift and roadmap to success for anyone who's ever had a dream."—Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D., #1 New York Times bestselling author of HOW DID I GET HERE Real-world advice, secrets and lessons on how to make a million dollars from a mom who turned her kitchen table idea into a successful business while keeping her family and kids Job #1. MOMMY MILLIONAIRE will give you the tools you need to create your fortune, including:* How to develop and patent an idea while saving thousands* How to make a cold call* How to get on QVC* How to work a trade show* How to develop an "elevator pitch"* How to break down the doors of big retailers* Everything you need to know about manufacturing and distribution* How to raise capital from Angel Investors Crammed with detailed information designed to simplify the fundamentals of starting and running your own business, Mommy Millionaire is full of proven strategies for success, revealing rare insights and exclusive insider secrets nobody else will tell you about what it really takes to make a million dollars from your own home.
Ancestors and Others: New and Selected Stories
by Fred ChappellAncestors and Others collects selected stories from the legendary southern writer, Fred ChappellIn this collection, Fred Chappell shows his mastery across a range of genres. Featuring folk fables in the Twain tradition, realistic stories of growing up in remote Appalachia, stories of family, kin, and community, and tales of the fantastic and spooky, this book will delight fans and surprise new readers.
Humble Boy: A Play
by Charlotte JonesAn award-winning new play that has been called "a brilliant latter-day variant on Elsinore in an English country garden blitzed by bees" (Sheridan Morley, The Spectator)All is not well in the Humble hive. Thirty-five-year-old Felix Humble is a Cambridge astrophysicist in search of a unified field theory, but after the sudden death of his father, James, a teacher and amateur beekeeper, he is forced to return to the family home in the English countryside. Once there he and his demanding mother, Flora, a glamorous former showgirl who resents having spent the last thirty years in suburban exile, attempt to reconcile themselves to James's death and to each other, plumbing the depths of their anger as well as their love. The emotional turmoil increases exponentially with the arrival of George, Flora's longtime lover, and his daughter Rosie, Felix's former girlfriend, as Felix is forced to acknowledge that his search for unity must include his own chaotic home life. A play concerned with beekeeping and astrophysics, imbued with heartbreak and wit, larger questions of the universe and smaller questions of family dynamics, Humble Boy has been called "a feast: a serious, moving, cerebral feast" (The Sunday Times).
Before We Go Extinct: A Novel
by Karen RiversGrief can sometimes feel like being caught in the jaws of a great white shark.J.C., who goes by the nickname Sharky, has been having a hard time ever since his best friend died in front of him in what might or might not have been an accident. Shell-shocked, Sharky spends countless hours holed up in his room, obsessively watching documentaries about sharks and climate change—and texting his dead friend. Hoping a change of location will help, Sharky’s mom sends him to visit his dad on a remote island in Canada. There, Sharky meets a girl who just may show him how to live—and love—again.
Sheep
by Valerie HobbsThe sheep closed in around him like a big, woolly blanket. The puppy had never been so scared or so excited in his life. Soon he was racing, feinting, dodging – learning what it means to be one of the proud breed of Border collies, the finest sheepherders in the world. Then, almost overnight, his life is turned upside down. He finds himself in a series of strange places, with no sheep, his family gone. With nothing but the courage he was born with and a dream, he searches for the life he once knew, gathering names and adventures as he goes. For a short time, he's called Blackie. To the Goat Man, he's Shep. To Hollerin, he's Spot. There's one name that threatens to forever haunt him – Sparky, the name Billy the circus man calls him when he reaches for the whip. But there's another name that he is given, one that finally makes him feel at home . . .Known for her rich character development, the author brings all her skills to delving into the mind of a clever, philosophical, and hopeful dog searching for a home.
Finding My Place: A Novel
by Traci L. JonesAfter moving to an affluent suburb of Denver in 1975, ninth-grader Tiphanie, the only Black girl in her new high school, feels out of place until she befriends another outsider--Jackie Sue, whose "trailer trash" home life makes Tiphanie's problems seem like a walk in the park. In October 1975, while most teens are worried about their Happy Days Halloween costumes, Tiphanie Jayne Baker has bigger problems. Her parents have just decided to uproot the family to the ritzy suburb of Brent Hills, Colorado, and now she's the only Black girl at a high school full of Barbies. But the longer Tiphanie stays in her new neighborhood, the more her ties to her old community start to fray. Now that nowhere feels like home, exactly where does she belong?
The Scalpel and the Butterfly: The War Between Animal Research and Animal Protection
by Deborah RudacilleAn engrossing and eloquent study of the history and ethics of animal experimentationThe heart of a pig may soon beat in a human chest. Sheep, cattle, and mice have been cloned. Slowly but inexorably scientists are learning how to transfer tissues, organs, and DNA between species. Some think this research is moving too far, too fast, without adequate discussion of possible consequences: Is it ethical to breed animals for spare parts? When does the cost in animal life and suffering outweigh the potential benefit to humans?In precise and elegant prose, The Scalpel and the Butterfly explores the ongoing struggle between the promise offered by new research and the anxiety about safety and ethical implications in the context of the conflict between experimental medicine and animal protection that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century. Deborah Rudacille offers a compelling and cogent look at the history of this divisive topic, from the days of Louis Pasteur and the founding of organized anti-vivisection in England to the Nazi embrace of eugenics, from animal rights to the continuing war between PETA and biomedical researchers, and the latest developments in replacing, reducing, and refining animal use for research and testing.
Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm
by Erin Byers MurrayBill Buford's Heat meets Phoebe Damrosch's Service Included in this unique blend of personal narrative, food miscellany, and historyIn March of 2009, Erin Byers Murray ditched her pampered city girl lifestyle and convinced the rowdy and mostly male crew at Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, Massachusetts, to let a completely unprepared, aquaculture-illiterate food and lifestyle writer work for them for a year to learn the business of oysters. The result is Shucked—part love letter, part memoir and part documentary about the world's most beloved bivalves. Providing an in-depth look at the work that goes into getting oysters from farm to table, Shucked shows Erin's fullcircle journey through the modern day oyster farming process and tells a dynamic story about the people who grow our food, and the cutting-edge community of weathered New England oyster farmers who are defying convention and looking ahead. The narrative also interweaves Erin's personal story—the tale of how a technology-obsessed workaholic learns to slow life down a little bit and starts to enjoy getting her hands dirty (and cold). This is a book for oyster lovers everywhere, but also a great read for locavores and foodies in general.
Christmas Miracles
by Cecil Murphey Marley GibsonCelebrate the season of hope and miracles with these inspiring true stories that will warm the heart and touch the soul…A man lies gravely ill in the hospital on Christmas when he hears angels singing and immediately makes a full recovery. A little boy with dyslexia sits down to read a Christmas book and realizes that his disability has vanished. And a woman's faith is renewed by the chance discovery of a simple nativity set.Many ordinary people experience God's grace during those special moments when Christmas becomes more than just a holiday, but a time for miracles. Cecil Murphey and Marley Gibson bring you the real-life stories of everyday people who have experienced these life-changing moments of hope, comfort, and transformation—all during the most wonderful time of the year.
Classics and Commercials: A Literary Chronicle of the Forties
by Edmund WilsonClassics and Commercials: A Literary Chronicle of the Forties showcases Edmund Wilson's critical writings spanning decades and continents. Many of these essays first appeared in the New Yorker.Here is Wilson on Jane Austen, Thackeray, Edith Wharton, Tolstoy, Swift (the classics) as well as brilliant observations on Poe, H.P Lovecraft, detective stories, and other commercial literature. This wide-ranging study from one of the most influential man of letters demonstrates Wilson's supreme skills as both literary and cultural critic.
In Putin's Footsteps: Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia's Eleven Time Zones
by Jeffrey Tayler Nina KhrushchevaIn Putin’s Footsteps is Nina Khrushcheva and Jeffrey Tayler’s unique combination of travelogue, current affairs, and history, showing how Russia’s dimensions have shaped its identity and culture through the decades.With exclusive insider status as Nikita Khrushchev’s great grand-daughter, and an ex-pat living and reporting on Russia and the Soviet Union since 1993, Nina Khrushcheva and Jeffrey Tayler offer a poignant exploration of the largest country on earth through their recreation of Vladimir Putin’s fabled New Year’s Eve speech planned across all eleven time zones.After taking over from Yeltsin in 1999, and then being elected president in a landslide, Putin traveled to almost two dozen countries and a quarter of Russia’s eighty-nine regions to connect with ordinary Russians. His travels inspired the idea of a rousing New Year’s Eve address delivered every hour at midnight throughout Russia’s eleven time zones. The idea was beautiful, but quickly abandoned as an impossible feat. He correctly intuited, however, that the success of his presidency would rest on how the country’s outback citizens viewed their place on the world stage.Today more than ever, Putin is even more determined to present Russia as a formidable nation. We need to understand why Russia has for centuries been an adversary of the West. Its size, nuclear arsenal, arms industry, and scientific community (including cyber-experts), guarantees its influence.
Starstruck: The Business of Celebrity
by Elizabeth CurridThe author of The Warhol Economy asks how does celebrity work and why do we care about some people more than others? What is celebrity? Why is it such a dominant force in our culture? And why do we seem preoccupied with it now more than ever? Celebrity—our collective fascination with particular people—is everywhere and takes many forms, from the sports star, notorious Wall Street tycoon, or film icon, to the hometown quarterback, YouTube sensation, or friend who compulsively documents his life on the Internet. We follow with rapt attention all the minute details of stars' lives: their romances, their spending habits, even how they drink their coffee. For those anointed, celebrity can translate into big business and top social status, but why do some attain stardom while millions of others do not? Why are we simply more interested in certain people? Elizabeth Currid-Halkett presents the first rigorous exploration of celebrity, arguing that our desire to "celebrate" some people and not others has profound implications, elevating social statuses, making or breaking careers and companies, and generating astronomical dividends. Tracing the phenomenon from the art world to tabletop gaming conventions to the film industry, Currid-Halkett looks at celebrity as an expression of economics, geography (both real and virtual), and networking strategies.Starstruck brings together extensive statistical research and analysis, along with interviews with top agents and publicists, YouTube executives, major art dealers and gallery directors, Bollywood players, and sports experts. Laying out the enormous impact of the celebrity industry and identifying the patterns by which individuals become stars, Currid-Halkett successfully makes the argument that celebrity is an important social phenomenon and a driving force in the worldwide economy.
French Toast: A Memoir
by Harriet Welty RochefortPeter Mayle may have spent a year in Provence, but Harriet Welty Rochefort writes from the wise perspective of one who has spent more than twenty years living among the French. From a small town in Iowa to the City of Light, Harriet has done what so many of dream of one day doing-she picked up and moved to France. But it has not been twenty years of fun and games; Harriet has endured her share of cultural bumps, bruises, and psychic adjustments along the way. In French Toast, she shares her hard-earned wisdom and does as much as one woman can to demystify the French. She makes sense of their ever-so-French thoughts on food, money, sex, love, marriage, manners, schools, style, and much more. She investigates such delicate matters as how to eat asparagus, how to approach Parisian women, how to speak to merchants, how to drive, and, most important, how to make a seven-course meal in a silk blouse without an apron! Harriet's first-person account offers both a helpful reality check and a lot of very funny moments.
The Night Garden
by Polly HorvathFrom Newbery Honor and National Book Award–winning author Polly Horvath is this magical middle-grade novel about a garden that grants wishes. It is World War II, and Franny and her parents, Sina and Old Tom, enjoy a quiet life on a farm on Vancouver Island. Franny writes, Sina sculpts, and Old Tom tends to their many gardens—including the ancient, mysterious night garden. Their peaceful life is interrupted when their neighbor, Crying Alice, begs Sina to watch her children while she goes to visit her husband at the military base because she suspects he’s up to no good. Soon after the children move in, letters arrive from their father that suggest he's about to do something to change their lives; and appearances from a stubborn young cook, UFOs, hermits, and ghosts only make life stranger. Can the forbidden night garden that supposedly grants everyone one wish help them all out of trouble? And if so, at what cost? The Night Garden is a poignant and hilarious story from acclaimed children's author Polly Horvath.
Marker: A Crime Novel
by Lowell CauffielHe runs a $100-a-week tab at the Anchor Bar, keeps in touch with a friend who dealt weed in the Sixties, and sips bourbon from a Styrofoam cup on his drive home to the 'burbs. Now, Judge Nelson Connor of the Third Circuit Court is about to pay for his sins--big time. A fast-talking criminal has found one of His Honor's personal checks in the wrong place. Baiting his trap with a dead body, the con-man is going to shake down the judge. But Nelson Connor, a man on the brink of losing it all, will pull a surprise of his own. He's going to fight back.
American Road: The Story of an Epic Transcontinental Journey at the Dawn of the Motor Age
by Pete DaviesA fascinating account of the greatest road trip in American history.On July 7, 1919, an extraordinary cavalcade of sixty-nine military motor vehicles set off from the White House on an epic journey. Their goal was California, and ahead of them lay 3,250 miles of dirt, mud, rock, and sand. Sixty-two days later they arrived in San Francisco, having averaged just five miles an hour. Known as the First Transcontinental Motor Train, this trip was an adventure, a circus, a public relations coup, and a war game all rolled into one. As road conditions worsened, it also became a daily battle of sweat and labor, of guts and determination. American Road is the story of this incredible journey. Pete Davies takes us from east to west, bringing to life the men on the trip, their trials with uncooperative equipment and weather, and the punishing landscape they encountered. Ironically one of the participants was a young soldier named Dwight Eisenhower, who, four decades later, as President, launched the building of the interstate highway system. Davies also provides a colorful history of transcontinental car travel in this country, including the first cross-country trips and the building of the Lincoln Highway. This richly detailed book offers a slice of Americana, a piece of history unknown to many, and a celebration of our love affair with the road.
Film Strip (Sierra Lavotini Mysteries)
by Nancy BartholomewExotic dancer Sierra Lavotini's latest brainstorm to help the Tiffany Gentleman's Club turn a profit is a disaster. Sierra, headliner for the classiest strip joint in Panama City, Florida, and the club's owner, Vincent Gambuzzo, invited a gallery of porn actresses to guest star on the Tiffany stage. It's a gutsy plan, considering that most of these silicone-enhanced creatures don't have much in the way of true talent. As Sierra likes to say, at the Tiffany dancing consists of more than T&A working a pole. Still, under Sierra's firm guidance, the venture seems to be raking in the cash. At least until a sniper begins taking exception-starting with Venus, who is shot and killed. Sierra takes a bullet in the, ahem, posterior region during the attack, and would like nothing more than to forget about the whole thing and convalesce with the help of her on-again boyfriend, Homicide Detective John Nailor. But when the investigation hones in on Marla, another Tiffany girl, Sierra is forced to focus her energy on finding the real killer. No small task, considering the interest of the local "organization" in the situation, even once Sierra enlists the help of her landlady Pat; Raydean, her psychotic neighbor; and her oldest brother Francis. Steamy romance, intrigue, laugh-out-loud humor, mob bosses, and Sierra's overprotective Italian family-it's all here in Film Strip, Nancy Bartholomew's latest hilarious tale.
Desert Winter (Claire Gray Mysteries)
by Michael CraftAfter 30 some odd years of success as a director on Broadway, Claire Gray has accepted her first academic position - that of a theatrical director at the richly funded Desert Arts College in Palm Springs. Having lived a largely peaceful life in Manhattan, she is stunned to find herself in the midst of the second murder - and murder investigation - in a matter of months in Palm Springs. This time it's a local aged and ailing collector - who frequently lends pieces to local charity events or dramatic productions - found dead shortly after Claire's friend and neighbor Grant Knoll was there. With Grant a suspect in his murder, along with several others with equally good motives for wanting him dead, Claire decides to look into the circumstances of his unfortunate death.