Books
Skinny House: A Memoir of Family : Julie L. Seely
A true story of perseverance in the face of ruin and a glimpse into the past of the inventive, remarkable people who gracefully ‘made it’ despite overwhelming societal and financial hurdles.
It is a granddaughter’s story about the grandfather she never met and the famous house he built in Mamaroneck, New York.
The author weaves the legacy of Nathan Seely—an ambitious carpenter who establishes a company in 1923 for the purpose of “building homes for colored people” taking part in The Great Migration. Nathan is well on his way to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He has everything a man could want…a beautiful wife, smart children and a custom-built house in the Village of Mamaroneck, along the picturesque Long Island Sound.
Nathan’s success is short-lived when the Depression of 1929 leaves him bankrupt and threatens to make his family homeless. Desperate to keep his family together, Nathan has to rebuild his life, literally, brick by brick. The skinny house he built still stands in Mamaroneck.
The author poses some intriguing questions: What do we really know about the dreams and aspirations of our ancestors? How do the decisions our grandparents and parents made generations ago, influence our lives today?
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50 Ways to Love Wine More : Jim Laughren
A wine book unlike any other, 50 Ways to Love Wine More is the most creative approach to knowing and enjoying wine to hit the shelves in a very long time.
It’s the perfect read for anyone interested in expanding their wine knowledge and understanding without having to wade through elitist attitudes or confusing terminology.
Are you interested in becoming a more knowledgeable wine consumer? Are you adventurous, a wine drinker interested in expanding your vinous horizons?
Whether aspiring wine lover or long-time aficionado, you will uncover nuggets of wine wisdom and insight in every chapter. Rookies will learn more about wine and how to enjoy it than they would have imagined, and veterans of the wine world will delight in this engaging celebration of oenology and its many components.
This is no rehash of the usual wine book contents, not another guide to grape varieties or their descriptions, of viticultural areas or their characteristics. Unlike other wine books, the target here is your heart, not your head. Oh, you’ll learn plenty about wine—about making, sharing, exploring, and enjoying it; about history and science and tasting and travel—but what you will learn most is how to let wine wrap you in its embrace, whisper its secrets in your ear, and welcome you to its confederacy of aficionados.
You’ll revel in the joy and excitement of sharing and indulging in your favorite beverage as you join award-winning wine writer Jim Laughren, CWE, on a cool and creative tour through the heart of wine country. Halfway between a paean to wine appreciation and an ode to incorporating the joys of wine into our everyday lives, this delightful work makes every wine lover stop and consider both their wine and the pleasures that it brings. Anyone looking for an “off the beaten path” approach to embracing this special beverage need look no further. This volume is both a gift and a delight.
No one combines fun with serious, or education with enjoyment like author Jim Laughren. As always, his easy-going style is a pleasure to read, and his love of wine shines through on every page. There is no more enjoyable way to expand your wine appreciation or enhance your knowledge of all things vinous than in the delightful, beautifully designed pages of 50 Ways to Love Wine More.
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Patron Saint of Misfits : T. Avila
WHY?
Is your heart’s question.
WHAT NOW?
Is your heart’s fear.
This is not another sweet little inspirational book about faith and blessings—people who get what they pray for and everyone is happy. No.
It is about the unspeakable traumas some of us suffer in this fallen world. It is about doubt. And suffering. How to erase the scribbled lies and write something beautiful on your soul. How to turn your wounds into wings.
For wounded heart people everywhere
And for those who love us anyway.
There will be stars in your crown.
You are safe. You are loved. You are not alone.
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Victim of Love : Barbara Woster
In an era when cultures maintain a cautious truce; one man’s pursuit, in the name of love, endangers all those he cares for; while another man’s obsession spawns a devastating drive to massacre all who stand in his way ~~ trapping one woman between them; the victim of love.
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d’Anima : Lucid Fitzpatrick
Meet the man who will solve the energy crisis.
Mayes d’Anima, a creative genius whose personal mission is to solve the world’s energy crisis, finds himself on the brink of exhaustion.
As the world’s biggest energy tycoon, d’Anima knows what powers a city. As the story unfolds, he begins to discover what powers a man’s soul.
d’Anima represents the first step into the world of “Perfect Conductor”. In a race against time, science, and a city that is about to collapse under its own magnificent growth, Mayes d’Anima struggles against every form of social and political resistance in his life-long mission to solve the world’s energy crisis.
Desperate for help, d’Anima recruits Melody Casper, a young, brilliant engineer disenchanted by a world that never meets her expectations. As the pair work together to save d’Anima’s power plant, the city, and the world, they are met by the equally strong-willed David Lockee and Harold Wilcox.
As value is pinned against value, the four discover what it means to have the strongest moral will and the consequences of their unwavering personal conviction.
d’Anima, Part 1 of the serial novel, “Perfect Conductor”, introduces the world to Mayes d’Anima and his wife, Helen.
The Monster : Josh Soule
A college student has a strained relationship with his mother and ex-girlfriend. When he sees his ex and best friend together at a Halloween Mixer, he becomes enraged.
Things turn when a mysterious, puppet-themed student attacks the couple, leaving the protagonist seemingly to blame.
Things escalate quickly, and the narrator soon finds himself framed for murder at the hands of the “Puppet Man”.
He decides to go on the run, and finds himself in the company of misfits and criminals while seemingly being stalked by the killer. He believes the criminal overseer may be an opportunity to clear his name and prove his innocence before he winds up in jail, or worse.
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The Man with the Tortured Soul : Jay Y. Cohen
Inside The Man…
This is the detailed account of a once happily married and successful man whose 20-year marriage inexplicably cascaded into an emotional, mental and physical hell.
The core elements of his once perfect marriage, including three wonderful children and all the perks and benefits of an upscale lifestyle, simply disintegrated.
How? His wife suddenly decided to change all the rules. The result was a distorted and incomprehensible arrangement where love, sex and intimacy were excluded, responsibility was relegated to a bare minimum, and all the tenets of a close marriage were dismissed.
What the hell happened? There was no way out for this man. No way out at least that would allow for reasonable compromise or the legitimate hope for a reverse course. What used to be was no more.
In the wake of this highly unusual and selfish transition, he still loved the woman he married. He tells his story, chapter-by-chapter, in a detailed and sensitive fashion, as raw as he felt when everything around him was falling apart.
Rarely is a personal story told in such extraordinary intimate detail. This tortured man has revealed every aspect of his personal tragedy just as it unfolded. The feelings of frustration, angst and betrayal are palpable. But there simply wasn’t any all-encompassing solution where all five of his family wouldn’t suffer. It all made for ten very awkward and torturous years and had only one way to end.
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The Sun Will Rise Again : Kristine Ohkubo
World War II was without question the deadliest war in history. Of the estimated 70 million people killed, 50 to 55 million were civilians.
The United States managed to stay out of the war that was ravaging the rest of the world until the day when the Empire of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, “a date which will live in infamy.” What prompted the Japanese to wage war with the United States? Was the attack really a surprise or was it a carefully orchestrated event by Washington to anger the American public enough to want to go to war? Did the Japanese government truly believe that they would prevail against the military might of the United States?
The losses the Japanese military experienced during the Pacific War were unforeseeable. The suffering endured by the Japanese people was unimaginable. By the end of World War II, Japan had persevered through eight years of war, taking into account the Second Sino-Japanese War which began in 1937. The country lay in ruins and the morale of its people was at an all-time low, but in the land of the rising sun, The Sun Will Rise Again!
Follow Japan’s journey from a nation vanquished to a nation victorious in this book that details the grim realities of war, politics, racism, and blind devotion.
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Ain’t Moose Behavin’! : Lynda and Steve McCormick
Uncovering the secret lives of moose reveals that there’s so much more to them than first meets the eye. While they seem to spend so much of their time eating and roaming, patient observation exposes many surprising aspects of their behavior. They are often clever, playful, empathetic, and affectionate—and sometimes even a little bit strange and goofy.
The Shiras form one of the least documented subspecies of moose, with little written about the particular way that these individuals live. How smart are they? Is their eyesight really poor? Do they seek the company of other moose? How dangerous are they really? What about sex?
Illustrated with 138 photos and 24 video clips, this book covers basic scientific knowledge about moose in general together with our observations on the behavior of the Shiras in particular. Along the way, we shed new light on their private lives and dispel some of the myths that surround them.
Chapters: Introduction, Mother Moose, Dining Out, Smarts, At Play, Buddies, Head to Head, In A Rut, The Shirasic Age.
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Legacy: A Regency Saga : Linda I. Govik
The year is 1806. Emily Bradley has just taken her step to independence by starting to paint portraits on commission. Unbeknownst to her, her first customer is linked to the man she fears the most—Lord Charles Stanford, who once violated her and left her pregnant. Emily is hurled into a series of events over which she has no control, as Lord Charles is made aware of her current whereabouts and returns to her life, intent on using her and their now eight-year-old son to claim his heritage.
Forced into marriage, soon suffering under Lord Charles cruel reign, Emily is unable to pursue the life that was once laid out before her feet, and her dream of becoming a painter slips further and further away. But then, Napoleon Bonaparte’s courier, Étienne de Ste Germaine, turns up. The handsome nobleman is sent out on a mission to bring her to France, to paint a portrait of the Empress Joséphine—an offer Emily cannot resist. Blind to the consequences, driven by her need for independence, she defies her husband and sets out on a journey that is lined with dangers, but that also holds the promise of both freedom, and a sweet, but forbidden romance.
Knowing the dream will inevitably end one day, Emily must now struggle for the courage to become the person she was meant to be, and accept that her strive for liberation comes with a price so high that it might ultimately cost her everything.