The Geography of Murder


P.A. Brown - 2009
    He escapes to the clubs where drugs and a warm body for the night offer fleeting comfort. But when he wakes one morning, dazed after another blackout, to find himself in bed with a dead body, his life careens him into the arms of Detective Alexander Spider. For Jason, Spider becomes an addiction, a drug that makes him feel alive and safe; his body craves Spider's control, and Jason falls hard. But Alex Spider sees the darker side of humanity daily, and he isn't looking for connections, only to drown himself in encounters with nameless subs willing to let him play his bondage games. His attraction to Jason begins as lust for one more golden boy, but their games of pain and pleasure grow into a tenuous trust, arousing feelings in Spider that are the first light he's seen in a long time. But as Spider races to solve a brutal homicide, the daily grind of the job takes its toll, and Spider's control slips dangerously. A killer closes in, and Spider must confront his own inner darkness, while Jason struggles to save himself by making some hard choices.

Los años con Laura Díaz


Carlos Fuentes - 1999
    Through her story, Fuentes writes the journal of the Mexican twentieth century, supporting his novel with facts and characters that define the shape of today's Mexico.

Woman of Letters: Irene Nemirovsky and Suite Francaise


Olivier Corpet - 2008
    Born in Kiev in 1903, Nemirovsky immigrated to France during the Russian Revolution. A celebrated Parisian writer between the wars, she died in Auschwitz in 1942.Compiled with Nemirovsky’s daughter, Denise Epstein, Woman of Letters includes reproductions of more than one hundred photographs, letters, and documents from the family archive. The preface by Museum of Jewish Heritage Director David Marwell and Olivier Corpet addresses the current controversy surrounding accusations that Nemirovsky, though Jewish, wrote earlier works that could be considered anti-Semitic. Woman of Letters includes a translation, by Sandra Smith, of the last short story published in the author’s lifetime, along with notes for Captivity, the unfinished third volume of Suite Francaise. The book will accompany a traveling exhibition, on view at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York through 2008.The book contains an interview with Denise Epstein by Olivier Corpet; a short story, “The Virgins,” by Irene Nemirovsky; notes for Captivity; and a chronology of the life of Irene Nemirovsky by Olivier Philipponnat and Patrick Lienhardt.Olivier Corpet is founder and director of IMEC (l’Institut Memoires d l’Edition Contemporaine), the largest nongovernmental literary archive in France.Garrett White, founder of Five Ties Publishing, is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn. His translations include An Unspeakable Betrayal: Selected Writings of Luis Bunuel.

The Secret Teachings of All Ages


Manly P. Hall - 1928
    Hall's legendary The Secret Teachings of All Ages is a codex to the ancient occult and esoteric traditions of the world. Students of hidden wisdom, ancient symbols, and arcane practices treasure Hall's magnum opus above all other works.While many thousands of copies have sold since its initial publication in 1928, The Secret Teachings of All Ages has previously been available only in oversized, expensive editions. For the first time, Hall's celebrated classic is now published in an affordable trade paperback volume. Literally hundreds of entries shine a rare light on some of the most fascinating and closely held aspects of myth, religion, and philosophy from throughout the centuries.More than one hundred line drawings and a sixteen-page color insert reproduce some of the finest illustrations of the original book, while reset and reformatted text makes this edition of The Secret Teachings of All Ages newly accessible to readers everywhere.

Directed by Desire: The Collected Poems


June Jordan - 2005
    . . is among the bravest of us, the most outraged. She feels for all. She is the universal poet.”—Alice Walker“Always urgent, inspiring, and demanding, Jordan’s work has left its indelible mark everywhere from Essence to The Norton Anthology of Poetry, and from theater stages to the floors of the United Nations and the United States Congress.”—BOMBDirected by Desire is the definitive overview of the poetry of June Jordan, considered one of the most lyrically gifted poets of the late twentieth century. Directed by Desire gathers the finest work from Jordan’s 10 volumes, as well as 70 new, never-before-published poems that she wrote while dying of breast cancer. Throughout over 600 pages readers will find intimate lyricism, elegance, fury, meditative solos, and dazzling vernacular riffs.As Adrienne Rich writes in her introduction, June Jordan “wanted her readers, listeners, students, to feel their own latent power—of the word, the deed, of their own beauty and intrinsic value. . . . She believed, and nourished the belief, that genuine, up-from-the-bottom revolution must include art, laughter, sensual pleasure, and the widest possible human referentiality.”From These PoemsThese poems they are things that I do in the dark reaching for you whoever you are and are you ready?June Jordan taught at the University of California Berkeley for many years and founded Poetry for the People. Her 28 books include poetry, essays, fiction, and children’s books. She was a regular columnist for The Progressive and a prolific writer whose articles appeared in The Village Voice, The New York Times, Ms. Magazine, and The Nation. Her numerous awards include a PEN West Freedom to Write Award and a lifetime achievement award from the National Black Writers Conference. After her death from breast cancer in 2002, a school in the San Francisco School District was renamed in her honor.

Cyber Sexy: Rethinking Pornography


Richa Kaul Padte - 2018
    Be it proposed porn bans, religious morality or women's rights, the assumption is that porn has a single, knowable definition. But one man's art is another woman's erotica is another person's sex tape.In this intrepid, empathetic and nuanced account of the sexual shopping cart that is the internet today, Richa Kaul Padte takes readers on an intimate tour of online sex cultures. From camgirls to fanfiction writers, homemade videos to consent violations, Cyber Sexy investigates what it means to seek out pleasure online.And as for whether or not something counts as porn? You'll know it when you see it.

The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth


Frances Wilson - 2008
    She would never recover, changing over time from what Thomas de Quincey described as "the very wildest person I have ever known" to a recluse.But this handmaiden to her brother and his close friend Coleridge was herself a writer of spectacular originality. Both men borrowed her imagery—hammered out on their epic walks across the English countryside—for the best of their work. Her words survive intact in the Grasmere Journals, which record the Wordsworths’ life of severe asceticism mixed with an ecstatic communion with nature. In this inspired close reading of the journals, Frances Wilson reconstructs the rich and strange emotional life of a woman too often dismissed as a self-effacing saint. It is a feat of imaginative biography.

Making a Change for Good: A Guide to Compassionate Self-Discipline


Cheri Huber - 2007
    The help we are looking for is really found in self-acceptance and kindness toward ourselves. By simply allowing ourselves to be guided by our innate intelligence and generosity, which are our authentic nature, we are able to be compassionately present to what s happening now. Compassionate self-discipline the will to take positive steps in life is found through nothing other than being present. When we are present and aware, we are not engaged in distracting, addictive behaviors. If we simply cultivate our ability to pay attention and focus on what is here in this moment, our experience can be authentic, awake, honest, and joyful. The book includes a guided thirty-day program of daily meditation, contemplation, and journaling."

Patterns of Culture


Ruth Benedict - 1934
    . . Patterns of Culture is a signpost on the road to a freer and more tolerant life." -- New York TimesA remarkable introduction to cultural studies, Patterns of Culture is an eloquent declaration of the role of culture in shaping human life. In this fascinating work, the renowned anthropologist Ruth Benedict compares three societies -- the Zuni of the southwestern United States, the Kwakiutl of western Canada, and the Dobuans of Melanesia -- and demonstrates the diversity of behaviors in them. Benedict's groundbreaking study shows that a unique configuration of traits defines each human culture and she examines the relationship between culture and the individual. Featuring prefatory remarks by Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Louise Lamphere, this provocative work ultimately explores what it means to be human."That today the modern world is on such easy terms with the concept of culture . . . is in very great part due to this book." -- Margaret Mead"Benedict's Patterns of Culture is a foundational text in teaching us the value of diversity. Her hope for the future still has resonance in the twenty-first century: that recognition of cultural relativity will create an appreciation for 'the coexisting and equally valid patterns of life which mankind has created for itself from the raw materials of existence.'" -- from the new foreword by Louise Lamphere, past president of the American Anthrolopological AssociationRuth Benedict (1887-1948) was one of the most eminent anthropologists of the twentieth century. Her profoundly influential books Patterns of Culture and The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture were bestsellers when they were first published, and they have remained indispensable works for the study of culture in the many decades since.

Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture


Claude Lévi-Strauss - 1978
    Only now are we coming to a fuller appreciation of the nature and role of myth in human history. In these five lectures originally prepared for Canadian radio, Claude Lévi-Strauss offers, in brief summations, the insights of a lifetime spent interpreting myths and trying to discover their significance for human understanding. The lectures begin with a discussion of the historical split between mythology and science and the evidence that mythic levels of understanding are being reintegrated in our approach to knowledge. In an extension of this theme, Professor Lévi-Strauss analyzes what we have called “primitive thinking” and discusses some universal features of human mythology. The final two lectures outline the functional relationship between mythology and history and the structural relationship between mythology and music.

The Substitute


Xavier Neal - 2017
    It's sensible. Logical. Abandoning my plans for a career in the film industry and a life full of fun, albeit slightly reckless, actions was the responsible thing to do. That's who I am now. That's who I've become. Mr. Boring. Mr. Predictable. Mr. Anal Retentive. At least that's what I thought until one irresistible student breathes life back into the version of me I've been desperately trying to suffocate. Being with Ainsley isn't a want. It's a need. And I'm willing do anything to fulfill it. Ainsley I've spent my entire life ashamed of who I am. Who my mother is. What she does. Being forced to attend a private school where people endlessly whisper about it is only bearable because I know exactly what's in my future. I know exactly where I'm going. I know exactly what to do to get there. Or at least I thought I did. One class with him and suddenly my entire world was missing one very important piece. Being with Nate isn't just about sex. It's about loving life in a way I never imagined. The situation isn't ideal, but I'll do whatever it takes to be with him.

The Crab Nebula


Éric Chevillard - 1993
    In his portrait of Crab, Éric Chevillard gives us a character who is genuinely strange and curiously like ourselves. A postmodernist novel par excellence, The Crab Nebula parodies literary conventions, deconstructs narrative and meaning, and brilliantly combines absurdity and hopelessness with irony and humor. What distinguishes it most of all is the startling originality of Chevillard’s voice and vision. There is whimsy and despair in this novel, pathos and laughter, satire and warm affection. The Crab Nebula is the fifth novel—and the first to be translated into English—by the brilliant young French author Éric Chevillard. His sympathetic yet outrageous portrait of Crab calls to mind works by Melville, Valéry, and Kafka, while never being less than utterly unique.

Alien Hand Syndrome and Other Too-Weird-Not-To-Be-True Stories


Alan Bellows - 2009
    This collection of too-weird-not-to-be-true stories gives the freakish details behind odd curiosities, from unusual drug side effects to the Alien Hand Syndrome--a disorder wherein a person's hand develops a will of its own.

Black Magic Voodoo


Nikki Landis - 2018
    As Cassie begins the month-long celebration, she encounters a dark and sinister presence that threatens the balance of her world. Joined by a cast of unlikely heroes, Cassie will confront her darkest fears and seek to find a rogue witch who kills without mercy. Does Cassie have enough courage to stand up against true evil before it's too late?Something wicked this way comes . . . Halloween 2018.Black Magic Voodoo is episode 1 of 13 in the Mystic Hallows Harem, so be prepared to sink your teeth into the next installment in late December 2018. *** This is a slow burn reverse harem that increases in heat level with each new episode. *** Welcome to Mystic Hallows, home to thirteen witch covens that keep the veil between the living and the dead closed. It's a world of monsters, mayhem, and magic where the ancestors of the powerful Salem witches of the past struggle to keep balance. Discover supernatural mystery, thrills, danger, and romance in a place where everyone has a deep, dark, and often deadly secret.

Rider on Fire


Sharon Sala - 2005
    All the while, she is haunted by dreams of a man whose place in her life she is yet to discover.When she literally comes face-to-face with the man of her dreams, it’s as if time stands still. Her long-dormant heart is finally awakened. But will she ever be truly free from the dangerous life she left behind?