Vale: Four leading figures in social movements discuss the state of Western culture and what led to its demise, with firsthand accounts of their own experiences, including subjects that concern every creative artist and thinker: The Internet and social change; why every one must paint( ); mind control, marketing, branding and consumerism; corporate chain stores and the problem of Amazon; punk rock history; the rise of Do-It-Yourself (D-I-Y) culture production; fame and its downside; sex and relationships.

    But when a national nonprofit labels Big Burr "the most homophobic town in the US" and sends in a task force of queer volunteers as an experiment-they'll live and work in the community for two years in an attempt to broaden hearts and minds-no one is truly prepared for what will ensue. Furious at being uprooted from her life in Los Angeles and desperate to fit in at her new high school, Avery fears that it's only a matter of time before her "gay crusader" mom outs her. Still grieving the death of her son, Linda welcomes the arrivals, who know mercifully little about her past. And for Christine, the newcomers are not only a threat to the comforting rhythms of Big Burr life, but a call to action. As tensions roil the town, cratering relationships and forcing closely guarded secrets into the light, everyone must consider what it really means to belong. Told with warmth and wit, Under the Rainbow is a poignant, hopeful articulation of our complicated humanity that reminds us we are more alike than we'd like to admit.

    Pazhani, her father, is ordered to kill her. But how can a father murder his own daughter? Imayam's powerful tale about caste bitterness—sickness that continues to plague Indian society—eerily preceded an actual event that occurred two months later. The narrative, constructed on short, crisp dialogues, is an unflinching account of the ugliness and trauma that await those who dare to transcend caste borders.

    The dogs, led by the cruel, charismatic bitch named Miss Dog, alternate between being brutal attack animals and loyal companions, being real and otherworldly. Some chapters draw upon the ecstatic and horrifying visions of Christian mystics; others take place in the landscapes of familiar fairytales; others in the banal settings of the late-night pick-up bars or suburban picnics. The narrator uneasily inhabits these worlds until the dogs force her to take irrevocable action."A snarling attack on the fairytale form. A good girl's fears of inadequacy materialize as a pack of vicious dogs."—Publishers Weekly"A strange and wonderful first-person voice emerges from the stories of Rebecca Brown, who strips her language of convention to lay bare the ferocious rituals of love and need."—The New York Times"Using unsentimental language that slices, pries and exposes layers of emotion and sexuality as a scalpel does a body, Brown veers into the uncharted territory."—The San Francisco Chronicle"I read everything Rebecca Brown writes, watch for her books and hunt down her short stories. She is simply one of the best contemporary lesbian writers around."—Dorothy Allison"A dry, witty, graceful—if savage—gift."—Mary GaitskillRebecca Brown is the author of other fictions, including The Terrible Girls, Annie Oakley’s Girl, and The Gifts of the Body. She is the winner of the 2003 Washington State Book Award, and was awarded a Genius Award and grant from Seattle's weekly magazine, The Stranger. She lives in Seattle.

    A college grad reunites with a high school crush when invited to his bachelor party, a lonely cat-sitter wreaks havoc on his friends’ apartment, happy hour French fries leave more than grease on lips and fingers, and, squeezed into a diner booth, one man eats past his limit for the sake of friendship. Exploring the lives of bisexual and gay Puerto Rican men, these fifteen stories show a vulnerable, intimate world of yearning and desire. The stars of these narratives linger between living their truest selves and remaining in the wings, embarking on a journey of self-discovery to satisfy their hunger for companionship and belonging.

    Their father drowns his pain at the bottom of a bottle.They begin a new life in Florida, where Michele meets a White Witch boy, but the divide between Black and White Witches is as dangerous as ever. Soon Michele is caught between love and loyalty, truth and lies.Could falling in love be the deadliest mistake she's ever made?

    ’𝙏𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨… 𝘼 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚, 𝙣𝙤 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧. 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙘𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨, 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 , 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 , 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.

    The author of the critically acclaimed collections The Frost Fairs and Spacecraft, Brighton-based John McCullough pulls no punches in this latest - and his most powerful -collection. These are poems of skill, joy and quiet musicality that reflect the conflict and complexity of being.

    He is, arguably, America’s most distinguished writer of prose poems. Here are contorted Darwinian narratives of apes and monkeys exhibiting absurdly human behavior, along with his usual menagerie of elephants, horses, chickens, roosters, dogs, mermaids and mice. Along with his trademark humor, The Rooster’s Wife finds Edson contemplating age, mortality and immortality as well.Of Memory and DistanceIt’s a scientific fact that anyone entering the distance will grow smaller as he proceeds. Eventually becoming so small he might only be found with a microscope, if indeed he is found at all. But there is a vanishing point, where anyone having entered the distance must disappear entirely without hope of his ever returning, leaving only the memory of his ever having been. But then there is fiction, so that one can never really be sure if one is remembering someone who vanished into the distance, or simply who had been made of paper and ink . . .Russell Edson has been called a surrealist comic genius, a magician of metaphor and imagination. He is all of these, and a philosophical poet whose zany expeditions into the twisted labyrinths of logic resemble Lewis Carroll’s adventures through the wonderlands of paradox and illusion. Perhaps that is why even people who do not read significant amounts of contemporary poetry can immediately appreciate the playful accessibility of Russell Edson’s writing. What he pulls out of the hat of the subconscious is always unpredictable, immediate and surprising.Russell Edson’s books include The Very Thing That Happens (1964); The Childhood of an Equestrian (1973); The Tunnel: Selected Poems (1994); and The House of Sara Loo (Rain Taxi Chapbook Series, 2002). He lives in Darien, Connecticut.

    Writing in a lyrical mixture of Spanish and English that is her unique heritage, she meditates on the condition of Chicanos in Anglo culture, women in Hispanic culture, and lesbians in the straight world. Her essays and poems range over broad territory, moving from the plight of undocumented migrant workers to memories of her grandmother, from Aztec religion to the agony of writing. Anzaldua is a rebellious and willful talent who recognizes that life on the border, "life in the shadows," is vital territory for both literature and civilization. Venting her anger on all oppressors of people who are culturally or sexually different, the author has produced a powerful document that belongs in all collections with emphasis on Hispanic American or feminist issues.

    David's sheltered upbringing has left him socially awkward, a 80s fashion sense and a stick-thin physique. Matt decides to look out for the daydreaming student and teaches about some of the things he has missed out on. They quickly become best friends. However, David's feelings for Matt grow deeper than just friendship. After a awkward encounter with a girl Matt sets him up with, David knows he only wants on thing. But will David convince Matt to succumb to their desires? Or will it all end in disaster?

    His costume is perfect but he knows that the best costumes are authentic. So he is outraged that none of the knights will partner with him and complete the look. Things don't go quite a smoothly as he planned. Next year, there is only one thing for it. He will just have to be something even more fabulous. This is a heartwarming and funny story about imagination, diversity and persevering at expressing your fabulous self.

    We are a bombarded generation: Facebook, billboards, Twitter, Instagram, taxes, newspapers, watches monitoring our sleep, apps that read our pulse, terrorism. There's such an onslaught to the senses these days it's a marvel any of us manage to get out of bed. I love bed. While we are overwhelmed and confused by the miasmic cloud of information, there are those that seek to take advantage: there are parking fines, hate Tweets, Nigerian email scams and Christmas newsletters from old school friends about their ugly kids. And just as we're getting round to doing something about it, we're distracted again. I, Joe Lycett, comedian, wordsmith, and professional complainer, am here to help. During my short life of doing largely nothing I've discovered solutions to many of life's problems, which I impart to you, dear Reader. Containing a centurion of complaint letters to unsuspecting celebrities, companies and anyone brave enough to clog up my phone, as well as illustrations, one-liners , jokes and life hacks, this little gem offers you a collection of tips and advice* for all manner of modern woe. By the time you have finished reading this book you will have learnt how to: - Reverse a parking fine - Manipulate the tabloid press - Navigate social media - Respond to hate mail - Out-weird internet trolls - Contest a so-called ripe avocado - Send the perfect Christmas newsletter - Defeat ISIS - Take down multi-national companiesAND MUCH, MUCH MORE! Joe Lycett x * If you are looking for guidance with taxes, quitting smoking, moving house, love, divorce, education, healthcare or anything actually important may I recommend speaking to friends or family members and not consulting a book by a comedian who eats halloumi at least twice a day.

    In order to get free of it, he'll need to use every bit of his trader cunning. If he does it just right, he might stay out of prison. With a little luck, he'll even manage to turn a profit.He's given up his old ways--mostly--thanks to his cushy life on a PAC space station. But behind his mild-mannered shopkeeper's facade, he's hiding a whole lot more.Sometimes you have to break the rules to do the right thing.The Cost of Business is a quiet story of cleverness and empathy. For some heroes, wits are much stronger than firepower.Books in the Dragonfire Station universe in written order: (each series is self-contained and need not be read in order)Dragonfire Station Book 1: Translucid Dragonfire Station Book 2: Fragments Dragonfire Station Book 3: Coalescence (series complete) Intersections: Dragonfire Station Short Stories Mercenary Warfare Book 1: Selling Out Mercenary Warfare Book 2: Blood Money Mercenary Warfare Book 3: Hell to Pay Mercenary Warfare Book 4: Calculated Risk Mercenary Warfare Book 5: Going for Broke (series complete) Chains of Command Book 1: New Blood Chains of Command Book 2: Blood and Bone Chains of Command Book 3: Cut to the Bone Chains of Command Book 4: Out for Blood(series complete)

    Newly single and ready to embrace life, George was excited to turn fifty. It would be a welcome new phase in his life, a chance to say goodbye to a decade that included a kidney transplant and a divorce. But when he looked around a room full of his childhood friends, all gathered to celebrate his birthday, many now bald or overweight, it suddenly hit him that he was old. What happened? And more importantly, what was he going to do about it? George learns the hard way that when you turn 50, everything changes. You pull a muscle in your sleep. You avoid mirrors at all costs, and always, always wear a robe. You have to schedule an appointment to have sex. You have to dye your hair and buy a bathtub with a door. As George learns to embrace life after fifty, he invites readers into his world, sharing the ups and downs of getting older—from his relationship with a much younger woman to a bizarre session with a pet psychic, to a trip behind-the-scenes at his tumultuous two years at Lopez Tonight, to an intimate look at his sacred ground, the golf course—and, for the first time, he reveals in moving detail, the story of the battle for his life against kidney disease.   I’m Not Gonna Lie  will make you laugh at yourself, cry about yourself, and look at turning fifty in a way you never would’ve imagined—through the eyes of George Lopez.