Encompassing the erotic and the melancholy, the mystical and the sardonic, this volume showcases a writer of dazzling intelligence and live-wire emotional immediacy.

    . . a blueprint for this moment and the next, for where Black folks have been and where they might be going."--The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) What does it mean to be Black and alive right now? Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham have brought together this collection of work--images, photos, essays, memes, dialogues, recipes, tweets, poetry, and more--to tell the story of the radical, imaginative, provocative, and gorgeous world that Black creators are bringing forth today. The book presents a succession of startling and beautiful pieces that generate an entrancing rhythm: Readers will go from conversations with activists and academics to memes and Instagram posts, from powerful essays to dazzling paintings and insightful infographics.In answering the question of what it means to be Black and alive, Black Futures opens a prismatic vision of possibility for every reader.

    And we’re part of it,not just living on it. Earth is a battle ground where all species constantly face an invisible war. And we’re the main actor of growth, destruction, and peace. Someone’s precious is someone else’s garbage. Someone’s interest is someone else’s boredom. Someone’s principle is someone else’s violation. Someone’s contentment is someone else’s pressure. Someone’s recipe for immunity is someone else’s cause of death. Either you’re the “someone” or the “someone else”, it doesn’t matter because confusion will always bounce back to you, no matter how faryou’ve been running away from it. It’s about facing an empty page each day, it’s about waking up in the morning deciding to be alive,it’s about choosing which mistakes to avoid, it’s about considering what and who to ignore, it’s about crafting a self that’s truly your own, it’s about faking a smile to cure the pain of others, it’s about continuously moving forward because going back is never a choice, it’s about looking at the blue sky and having small talks with it, it’s about everything that feels small and unworthy, it’s about becoming buoyant, never being trapped between other people’s cacophonic agendas, it’s about counting your breath.

    Its dazzling virtuosity and spectacular live concerts made it hugely popular with fans during the 1970s, who saw bands such as King Crimson, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull bring a new level of depth and sophistication to rock. On the other hand, critics branded the elaborate concerts of these bands as self- indulgent and materialistic. They viewed progressive rock's classical/rock fusion attempts as elitist, a betrayal of rock's populist origins. In Rocking the Classics, the first comprehensive study of progressive rock history, Edward Macan draws together cultural theory, musicology, and music criticism, illuminating how progressive rock served as a vital expression of the counterculture of the late 1960s and 1970s. Beginning with a description of the cultural conditions which gave birth to the progressive rock style, he examines how the hippies' fondness for hallucinogens, their contempt for Establishment-approved pop music, and their fascination with the music, art, and literature of high culture contributed to this exciting new genre. Covering a decade of music, Macan traces progressive rock's development from the mid- to late-sixties, when psychedelic bands such as the Moody Blues, Procol Harum, the Nice, and Pink Floyd laid the foundation of the progressive rock style, and proceeds to the emergence of the mature progressive rock style marked by the 1969 release of King Crimson's album In the Court of the Crimson King. This golden age reached its artistic and commercial zenith between 1970 and 1975 in the music of bands such as Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, ELP, Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator, and Curved Air. In turn, Macan explores the conventions that govern progressive rock, including the visual dimensions of album cover art and concerts, lyrics and conceptual themes, and the importance of combining music, visual motif, and verbal expression to convey a coherent artistic vision. He examines the cultural history of progressive rock, considering its roots in a bohemian English subculture and its meteoric rise in popularity among a legion of fans in North America and continental Europe. Finally, he addresses issues of critical reception, arguing that the critics' largely negative reaction to progressive rock says far more about their own ambivalence to the legacy of the counterculture than it does about the music itself. An exciting tour through an era of extravagant, mind-bending, and culturally explosive music, Rocking the Classics sheds new light on the largely misunderstood genre of progressive rock.

    It traces his beginnings in British Columbia growing up hearing a wealth of music, continues through his rapid rise to professional status, touring and recording with Steve Vai and developing his career with Strapping Young Lad and Devin Townsend Project. More than just an honest and intimate autobiography though, Only Half There is also a brutally honest expression of his life as a working, touring and recording artist, a husband, father and bi-polar artist.

    Editor Stephen Cope has made a judicious selection of Oppen's extant writings outside of poetry, including the essay "The Mind's Own Place" as well as "Twenty-Six Fragments," which were found on the wall of Oppen's study after his death. Most notable are Oppen's "Daybooks," composed in the decade following his return to poetry in 1958. iSelected Prose, Daybooks, and Papers is an inspiring portrait of this essential writer and a testament to the creative process itself.

    He can be elegant as a slow blues." The Nick Tosches Reader is the author's own selection of his best work over the past thirty years, including fiction, poetry, interviews, rock writing, investigative journalism, and criticism. First published in major magazines, obscure underground periodicals, and his own best-selling books, many of these selections deal with rock 'n' roll and cultural icons—but there are also pieces on everything from William Faulkner to organized crime to heavyweight boxing, including the Vanity Fair feature that gave rise to Tosches's major new book on Sonny Liston, published by Little, Brown. Here is "a unique and darkly impressionistic cultural history" of the last three decades as only Nick Tosches could write it.

    Made up of bandmates Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry himself, 1D came to prominence in the 2010 television series of X Factor UK. Since then they’ve played to sold-out arenas as they toured the world, topped the charts across the globe, and broken numerous records. Initially auditioning as separate contestants, the band was put together by Simon Cowell who thought they would stand a much better chance as a group. Simon was proved right as the five boys went on to finish third in the competition—and onward to global superstardom. Born February 1st, 1994 in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, Harry is often considered the favorite of 1D fans. Known for his trademark boyish looks and gorgeous curly hair, girls all over the world are falling head over heels in love with him and will do anything to get his attention. Lifting the lid on life as a member of the world’s biggest band, this is the inspirational and sensational story of a how a boy from Cheshire followed his dreams to become an international star and heartthrob to millions of devoted fans.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Behind-the-scenes touring and recording stories are featured, as well as humorous and engaging anecdotes about Matt's relationship with Coldplay as they travel the globe and become one of the biggest bands in the world.

    The Trench Poets, as they came to be called, were soldier-poets dispatching their verse from the front lines. Known for its rejection of war as a romantic or noble enterprise, and its plainspoken condemnation of the senseless bloodshed of war, Trench Poetry soon became one of the most significant literary moments of its decade. The marriage of poetry and comics is a deeply fruitful combination, as evidenced by this collection. In stark black and white, the words of the Trench Poets find dramatic expression and reinterpretation through the minds and pens of some of the greatest cartoonists working today.With New York Times bestselling editor Chris Duffy (Nursery Rhyme Comics, Fairy Tale Comics) at the helm, Above the Dreamless Dead is a moving and illuminating tribute to those who fought and died in World War I. Twenty poems are interpreted in comics form by twenty of today's leading cartoonists, including Eddie Campbell, Kevin Huizenga, George Pratt, and many others.

    Thompson, Joyce Johnson, Richard Hell, and others. It includes rare pieces from the Rolling Stone archives by William Burroughs, Lester Bangs, and Robert Palmer as well as intimate photographs by Robert Frank, Annie Leibovitz, and rarely seen photos taken by the Beats themselves. A rich tapestry of voices and a visual treat, this treasury of Beat lore and literature is a true collector's item whose entertainment value will go on...and on."A huge dim sum cart of a book...a first-rate companion." --Publishers Weekly"Compelling reading."--The Denver Post

    These quotes are a source of inspiration and motivation.Read these quotes to meditate and think about all the wisdom they contain.

     He was my brother's best friend, my first crush, my first love...my first everything. And then he betrayed me. How many times have I thought about it? How many times have I relived the moment when I found out he left town without ever saying a word?  And how long has the memory of him consumed my every waking thought? Three years. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve seen or heard from him, the only man I ever loved.  The man I now despise. But suddenly, without warning, Landon Hill is back. And to make matters worse, he’s somehow become rich beyond imagination, and he’s opening some mega business in town and walking around like he owns everything in sight. Including me. But I’ll never be able to forgive him, even if the fire still rages between us. In the end, I know that he’s never to be trusted. He’s a filthy liar. Pump Fake by Lila Price He’s known for all the bad things he’s done since he came to Vegas.  The madam’s little black book with his name in it… The crazy late night bar fights… The trail of broken hearts he’s left in his wake… But nothing could have prepared me for actually coming face-to-face with Eli Brennan, hotshot wide receiver for my city’s professional football team. With his bulging muscles and rock-hard physique, Eli is every woman’s dirty little fantasy, but never in a million years did I think he could be my reality.  Because I’m nobody. I’ve always been the girl without a date to the school dance, the girl who had to study to get a scholarship, the one who was working instead of drinking and partying with boys… In short, I’ve always been invisible to people like Eli Brennan. But suddenly, the most notorious bachelor in Las Vegas sees me.  And when Eli propositions me to become his fake fiancé and help get him out of his latest public relations nightmare, I can’t refuse.  I just have to make sure that I don’t take this too seriously, because Eli Brennan isn’t serious about me. He isn’t serious about anything. The whole thing is crazy. But in my heart, I know that this relationship isn’t as fake as it’s supposed to be. The way Eli looks at me, the way he touches me, the way he makes me feel. In fact, it turns out that this pump fake romance might be the realest thing that’s ever happened to me… Ordered by Kaylee Quinn A standalone alpha billionaire romance with a guaranteed HEA... DARCY Bought and paid for. That’s what I am. Nothing but a plaything for billionaire Thayer Noble, picked off a website like some kind of product. He’s sexy as hell, with a clenched chiseled jaw, and the most sensual, brutal lips I've ever seen. His punishing mouth never bends into a welcoming smile but tugs into a furious frown. His indigo eyes are always blazing with fury. His heart is stone cold. When he sees me, he tries to turn me away.

    That’s how he wants me… It was supposed to be a one-night stand. One night with some guy I picked up at a bar. Totally unlike me, but a girl’s got to have some fun, right? He was hot as hell, all broad shoulders and brooding stares. He whispered dirty words when he took me back to his house and made me his. I thought I’d never see him again, so I told him some lie about how I was an office manager instead of a college student. And then I got to class the next day and found out he’s my professor.  My professor was the hot guy who’d given me the best orgasm of my life. I try to pretend nothing happened, even though I’m dying inside. But then he tells me to come to his office.  He tells me to bend over his desk, because that’s how he likes it… If anyone finds out, he’ll lose his job. And I’ll lose my reputation.  But before that happens, he’s determined to teach me everything I need to know. About pleasing him. Submitting to him. Letting him take what’s his… Even if it ends up costing us everything. Rough Hand by Olivia Chase A standalone romance with a guaranteed HEA from bestselling author Olivia Chase... LEVI I’m no good for her. And she’s probably no good for me, either.  But hell if I don’t find myself wanting her right now. My c*ck is slamming against my zipper at the thought of thrusting my tongue in her mouth, swallowing her moans… She’s so pure that I can almost see the glow of white around her. I’m too wicked, too dirty to touch her.  But there’s something about the way I can feel her emotions pouring from her, like she’s a broken dam spilling over, that makes my chest tight.  I can’t let her break me apart, not when I’ve worked so hard, so long, to keep myself glued together. To be strong and impenetrable.  No, I’ll just keep my distance. Surely that won’t be a problem. Even if she does live right across the street from my shop.  ALEXA I’ve never had this feeling before, this burning need to be around someone as much as I can. When we touch, I want to keep on touching.  When he’s inside me, our limbs tangled together, our sweat-slicked bodies connected in the most intimate way possible, I feel like I’ve found my other half. He’s so scared to open up to anyone. So scared to dig into the things that hurt him in his past. I just want to help him be happy. If only he’d drop all his walls and talk to me, he could let it go and move on. Will I ever be happy with Levi? Right or wrong, I need more.  Jackson by Paige North Meet the Croft brothers. Filthy rich, devastatingly handsome, and sexy as all hell… JACKSON I don’t do slow and easy.  I do fast and hard. I don’t do dates. I do … arrangements.