This May Help You Understand the World


Lawrence Potter - 2007
    Clear, concise language sets the record straight on a diverse range of topics as Lawrence Potter presents answers to fifty-seven questions about the world we live in, stretching from "What is jihad?" to "is fair trade a good thing?" and "Is there still a war in Chechnya?" . Important information including the latest research on environmental issues and the history behind current events worldwide is presented in enough detail to be useful without overwhelming readers with too much making for a balanced, informed reference guide.Also covering... What is the problem with plastic bags? What did Sadaam do to the Kurds? What is the difference between a sunni and a shia and is it possible that global warming is not taking place in a thoroughly updated new edition complete with a new chapter explaining the problem of Afghanistan

Five Gold Rings (Crossroads Collection)


Jaycee Weaver - 2020
    Leanne rescues him from a rooftop in a floodplain and it is clear there is much more to the story. Can their love redeem the hurts of the past to rescue their future?Laughing All the Way by Lesley Ann McDanielWhen Jessica's friends put her up to "fixing" their commitment-phobic co-worker, Conner, she doesn't take them very seriously. Conner doesn't know whether to laugh at Jessica or tell her to mind her own business.Ghosted at the Altar by Chautona HavigAfter his fiancée, Brenna, abandons Mitchell on their wedding day, she insists she loves him and still wants to marry him. As truths come to light, her little sister, Lauren, turns sleuth to solve the mystery of why Brenna ghosted Mitchell at the altar.Five Gold Rings by Amanda TruWhen three relationship-challenged couples wish for Christmas weddings, commitment coach, Oliver, teams up with a wedding planner, TeraLyn, to help make their marriage dreams come true.

Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical Is Restaging America's Past


Renee C. RomanoJeffrey L. Pasley - 2018
    Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical has spawned sold-out performances, a triple platinum cast album, and a score so catchy that it is being used to teach U.S. history in classrooms across the country. But just how historically accurate is Hamilton? And how is the show itself making history?Historians on Hamilton brings together a collection of top scholars to explain the Hamilton phenomenon and explore what it might mean for our understanding of America’s history. The contributors examine what the musical got right, what it got wrong, and why it matters. Does Hamilton’s hip-hop take on the Founding Fathers misrepresent our nation’s past, or does it offer a bold positive vision for our nation’s future? Can a musical so unabashedly contemporary and deliberately anachronistic still communicate historical truths about American culture and politics? And is Hamilton as revolutionary as its creators and many commentators claim? Perfect for students, teachers, theatre fans, hip-hop heads, and history buffs alike, these short and lively essays examine why Hamilton became an Obama-era sensation and consider its continued relevance in the age of Trump. Whether you are a fan or a skeptic, you will come away from this collection with a new appreciation for the meaning and importance of the Hamilton phenomenon.

Starmaker


Paige Quinn - 2018
    The second? Don't read the tweets. #AriaSoMean The judges love me. The rest of America? Not so much. But they can't get enough of Jay freaking Silver. I can't stand his arrogant smirk, or the tattoo peeking from under his shirt. I guess the TV network agrees. So they give us an ultimatum: Go out together... Or go home alone. #JayHouseRock I'm everything Aria's not. Raw, when she's refined. A screw up, when she's Lil' Miss Perfect. After six months behind bars, this show's my last shot. A chance to be the bad boy made good. But this ain't just a talent show. The producers want a story, and they'll stop at nothing to get it. They put us together, now they're tearing us apart. I want this more than anything. But I need Aria. And I don't know which to choose. Starmaker is a full length, 65,000 word rock star romance. Paige is a romance addict, so you betcha there's a Happily Ever After, and never any cheating!>

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains (Real and Imagined)


Chuck Klosterman - 2013
    As a child, he rooted for conventionally good characters like wide-eyed Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. But as Klosterman aged, his alliances shifted—first to Han Solo and then to Darth Vader. Vader was a hero who consciously embraced evil; Vader wanted to be bad. But what, exactly, was that supposed to mean? When we classify someone as a bad person, what are we really saying (and why are we so obsessed with saying it)? In I Wear the Black Hat, Klosterman questions the very nature of how modern people understand the culture of villainy. What was so Machiavellian about Machiavelli? Why don’t we see Batman the same way we see Bernhard Goetz? Who’s more worthy of our vitriol—Bill Clinton or Don Henley? What was O.J. Simpson’s second-worst decision? And why is Klosterman still obsessed with some kid he knew for one week in 1985?Masterfully blending cultural analysis with self-interrogation and limitless imagination, I Wear the Black Hat delivers perceptive observations on the complexity of the anti-hero (seemingly the only kind of hero America still creates). I Wear the Black Hat is the rare example of serious criticism that’s instantly accessible and really, really funny. Klosterman is the only writer doing whatever it is he’s doing.

Sing You Home


Jodi Picoult - 2011
    But her husband Max disagrees - more than that, he wants a divorce. When they separate, there is no mention of the unborn children they created together, still waiting at the clinic.The Zoe falls in love again, out of the blue, and finds herself with an unexpected second chance to have a family.But Max has found a new life too - one with no place in it for people like Zoe. And he will stand up in court to say that her new choice of partner makes her an unfit mother.Jodi Picoult's most powerful novel yet asks who has the right to decide what makes the ideal family?

Love for Sail


C.L.R. Dougherty - 2014
    Experience her anxiety; feel her fear. Watch her survive by her wits. Connie has recruited her friend, Paul Russo, to serve as cook and first mate. Paul can't join her on her maiden voyage, so Connie is forced to rely on pick-up crew for her first two weeks at sea. Trouble erupts aboard Diamantista as soon as she leaves shore. Anticipating that Paul will join her in the Virgin Islands before their first guests arrive, Connie stays in touch with him during her voyage. As they converse, neither one will acknowledge that their growing attraction is deeper than friendship. Love for Sail is the first book in the Connie Barrera Thrillers, a romantic thriller series from the author of the best-selling Bluewater Thrillers. The next Connie Barrera Thriller will be published in the fourth quarter of 2014. If you enjoyed the Bluewater Thrillers, you'll see a different side of some of your favorite characters when they appear in the Connie Barrera Thrillers. Connie Barrera first appeared in C.L.R. Dougherty's Deception in Savannah. She discovered her Love for Sail in Bluewater Ice and Bluewater Betrayal. Now she has her own stories to tell. Welcome aboard!

17


Bill Drummond - 2008
    He references his own contributions to the canon of popular music, and he provides fascinating insider portraits of the industry and its protagonists. But above all, he questions our ideas of music and our attitude to sound, introducing us throughout this provocative and superbly written book to his current work, The17.

Real Life


Brandon Taylor - 2020
    An introverted young man from Alabama, black and queer, he has left behind his family without escaping the long shadows of his childhood. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends—some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. But over the course of a late-summer weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with an ostensibly straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses while exposing long-hidden currents of hostility and desire within their community.

Sparrow


Sarah Moon - 2017
    She would always rather have stayed home on the weekends with her mother, an affluent IT Executive at a Brooklyn bank, reading, or watching the birds, than playing with other kids. And that's made school a lonely experience for her. It's made LIFE a lonely experience.But when the one teacher who really understood her -- Mrs. Wexler, the school librarian, a woman who let her eat her lunch in the library office rather than hide in a bathroom stall, a woman who shared her passion for novels and knew just the ones she'd love -- is killed in a freak car accident, Sparrow's world unravels and she's found on the roof of her school in an apparent suicide attempt.With the help of an insightful therapist, Sparrow finally reveals the truth of her inner life. And it's here that she discovers an outlet in Rock & Roll music...

The Songs We Sing


Kylie Key - 2019
    He's olderHe's takenHe's off limitsHe's my best friend's brotherBut when Damon asks me to help him with his songwriting I'm happy to give him a hand.It might just be what I need to find my passion for music again.I know he only sees me as his little sister's friend.But something happens...the music and lyrics connect usCould we share more than just a song?

French Kissing Series Box Set: Seasons 1-3


Harper Bliss - 2016
    Perfect for binge reading!This boxed set includes the first THREE SEASONS (episodes 1 to 14) at one low price, saving over 30% off the price of the individual seasons. Paris... City of lights, City of love, City of drama! French Kissing follows a group of Parisian women as they navigate the stormy waters of love and life. Claire and Juliette have been best friends for twenty years. Together they own a successful PR agency, but their journey to success has come at a price. Juliette and her partner Nadia have drifted apart after ten years together while Claire hasn't been on a real date for as long as she can remember. Meanwhile, their happily single employee Steph is getting a bit too close to a new, high-profile client.Warning: This title contains sensual language, ladies making love and possibly more feelings than you can process.

Giant Mountain Surprise


Valerie Wilde - 2018
     “I didn’t know they made men like that!” I was only trying to get away from the city for a weekend, I didn’t think it would turn out like this! I’ve had my share of bad luck in the romance department, but I think my luck is changing, because I’ve never seen anything like him before....and I badly want to see more. She thinks I don’t see her there, watching...looking. Well, keep looking girl, but don’t come any closer because with a body like yours, there’s no telling what I’ll do if I get my hands on you. “Giant Mountain Surprise” is an over-the-top, standalone short story about a VERY large mountain man and the woman lucky enough to find him. It’s safe, fun, and of course, HEA guaranteed. Caution: May steam up your Kindle a little! Enjoy!

Upturn: A better normal after COVID-19


Tanya Plibersek - 2020
    But we did it.In Upturn Tanya Plibersek brings together some of the country's most interesting thinkers who are ready to imagine a better Australia, and to fight for it. It is a compelling vision for a stronger economy, a fairer society and a more environmentally sustainable future.

Chasing Moonbeams (Georgia Moon Romance)


Cindy Roland Anderson - 2021
    Without proof she composed the hit song, Callie is forced to take her twin boys with her, move out of Nashville and live with her aunt in Georgia. Having her dreams shattered leaves her trying to figure out how she will support her little family. Reconnecting with Ty Carter, her long-ago crush from high school and the guy who broke her heart, has her questioning her resolve to leave romance out of her new life. Ty isn't just a good-looking cowboy, he's sweet to her boys and makes Callie feel beautiful and alive. As her feelings for Ty grow stronger, the music reawakens inside her, inspiring her creativity and the desire to sing. Giving love a second chance might be the key to a forever love, and the start of a new music career...but can it be both? Author's Note: This book originally appears as The Cowboy's Second Go, in the Big Sky Timeless Western Collection. Chasing Moonbeams features a never before published epilogue you won't want to miss! It also has been updated with added content that more closely ties into the Georgia Moon Romance series.