Books
Warpaint : Stephanie A. Smith
Warpaint
A haunting tale of friendship and rivalry between three women artists, who’ve known each other for years, who must come to terms with imminent mortality and artistic frustration: Liz Moore, born poor in Minnesota, fought her way to New York in the 1920s, but isn’t “discovered” until late in life; C.C. Davis, a well-to-do New Yorker is Moore’s only student, and rival, who, just after WWII achieves some small success, but feels, as she faces cancer in 2002, a failure; and Quiola Kerr, part Ojibwe, once C.C.’s lover, who is caught in the middle, and who, as a painter in the 21st century, has the most doubts about art’s value in an electronic world.
In April 2002, all three meet a week before C.C.’s mastectomy at a MOMA retrospective for Liz Moore, but their reunion is tense. Still, they try to cope, until C.C. makes an unexpected and controversial choice, one which nearly breaks the bonds these three took so many decades to forge, and forces Quiola to try to confront Liz, who she believes deliberately sabotaged C.C.’s career
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Murder Made in Italy : Ellen Nerenberg
Homicide, Media, and Contemporary Italian Culture
Looking at media coverage of three very prominent murder cases, Murder Made in Italy explores the cultural issues raised by the murders and how they reflect developments in Italian civil society over the past 20 years. Providing detailed descriptions of each murder, investigation, and court case, Ellen Nerenberg addresses the perception of lawlessness in Italy, the country’s geography of crime, and the generalized fear for public safety among the Italian population.
Nerenberg examines the fictional and nonfictional representations of these crimes through the lenses of moral panic, media spectacle, true crime writing, and the abject body. The worldwide publicity given the recent case of Amanda Knox, the American student tried for murder in a Perugia court, once more drew attention to crime and punishment in Italy and is the subject of the epilogue.
“Original, engaging, and thought-provoking… quite unlike any other existing book in Italian cultural and media studies.” —Ruth Glynn, University of Bristol
(Ruth Glynn, University of Bristol )
“A fantastic array of literary, cinematic, and oral narratives.” —Stefania Lucamante, Catholic University of America
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Lefty and Her Gangsters : Anthony Valerio
Lefty and Her Gangsters – A Novel of Power and Sex
The incomparable Lefty – a redheaded, left-handed, cross-eyed, married and very sexy woman – reduces her Italian-American lover, Nicholas, to a sex slave, her own private Button Man, propelling him back to the neighborhood don, Johnny, for counsel and wisdom. Lefty is also their muse and their salvation, humanizing both the Italian poet and the Italian gangster, and even transforms them to the godfather of the future, the unforgettable Don Pippo–reformed, wise, gentle.
“Subsequent artistic attempts at humanizing the don include Analyze This and The Sopranos. Both of these productions feature don characters in therapy. Valero’s use of the therapy device, though, is unique and visionary. It not only predates these films, but also shows the don in control, as therapist, not patient. This configuration emphasizes the power of Italian culture to nurture individual identity. Johnny, the don, serves as cultural nursemaid to the reborn Italian-American, Nicholas. “ Melus
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Daimones : Massimo Marino
Daimones: The Daimones Trilogy, Vol. One
Dan and his family awake one day in a world where everyone is dead but nothing points to a cause. Initial searches for survivors yield nothing and, in panic, the family turns their house into a stronghold.
Eventually, they find Laura, a survivor who wins their hearts…and leads Dan to temptation. Laura describes her panic encounter with strange entities which Dan recognizes in his childhood hallucinations. He forces himself to find and confront them: An older power controls the fate of men.
A few selected will face the ultimate quest: a painful genetic transformation and work toward the rebirth of a new human race, or oblivion and death in isolation.
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It’s a King’s Life : Emily Randolph
It’s a King’s Life in Carmel-by-the-Sea
“Follow your nose! Life is an adventure!” So says Sadie, the Cypress Inn’s doggie concierge to Happy and Lady (two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Cavaliers) when they arrive in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Carmel is a magical place where dogs of every kind are given the warmest of welcomes by everyone they meet. The enchanting Cypress Inn becomes Happy and Lady’s treasured resting place for a weekend of sand, surf, food, fun, friendship, frolic and mischief in their very first great adventure in ‘It’s a King’s Life’ series.
Follow your nose and come along!
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A Mole in the Hand : Walter Frederick
Could there ever be a coup d’état in Britain??
It is 2014 and Britain is being torn apart by civil unrest as Trades Unions and protest groups join forces to fight aus- terity measures causing so much hardship. The Coalition Government is coming towards the end of its first term in office, and city centre riots have forced the Government to impose special powers with nightly curfews.
Richard Mastin, a public relations expert, receives an unexpected visit from a long-time American friend Spencer Boyd, now a senior CIA officer. Boyd issues Mastin with a challenge to fly to the US to meet with former KGB agent Mikhail Limonov. At first Mastin cannot make the journey, but his commitments change and he makes the journey to meet with Limonov.
Within days he realises there is a plot for a British coup, and his adventures begin. Very quickly Mastin finds him- self pitted against ex-KGB officers, who are preparing to unleash hundreds of moles, working undercover for decades. Mastin soon discovers MPs, senior civil servants, and police officers, who are part of the plot, all of whom were re- cruited during the Soviet Era.
It is not long before Mastin’s life and family are threatened, and he quickly finds it necessary to enlist help from old British friends as well as new American friends. A key recruit is beautiful TV Producer Juliana Weston, whom he meets on his first flight across the Atlantic.
He travels backwards and forwards across the Atlantic as his efforts to fight the planned coup escalate. In a dra- matic ending he flees to rural Tuscany with all of the computer files without which the coup cannot be launched.
Gamblers Fight Back : Greg Elder
Gamblers Fight Back
“Something had to change. I could no longer live like this. I needed to find an occupation that brought passion and excitement back into my life. I was determined to find something fulfilling.”
After reading a book about a guy who gave up everything, moved to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler with only $6,000 to his name, and went on to become a millionaire, Greg Elder’s mission was set. For the next year, he decided to support his wife and daughter as a professional gambler. He wasn’t exactly sure HOW he was going to do this, but he couldn’t wait to get started.
The odds moved slowly in Greg’s favor as he discovered the method to making professional gambling a career. Over the course of 12 months, he became an expert on the world of casinos. He investigated everything from the most beneficial tactics to the psychological warfare that is used to deter unsuspecting gamblers. In the midst of this, he discovered a new purpose for himself, one that allowed him to do what he loved without losing himself along the way.
Be prepared to have your eyes opened and your perspectives broadened as you follow Greg’s journey through the busts, folds, and jackpots of being a professional gambler.
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Avalanche Effect : Merita King
The Lilean Chronicles: Book Four – Avalanche Effect
It’s been more than two years since Vincent, Farra & Kyle returned from their harrowing experiences on Drycenia and their idyllic family life is shattered by the arrival of a mysterious stranger and the dreadful news he brings them.
Going against the wishes of the Lilean spirit people, Vincent and Farra race from world to world in search of Gabriel and as faces from the past re-appear, they discover the links between a dreadful war, a medal won for valour and a legendary angel.
It began with a broken promise and ended with a change to the path of destiny. A small action taken in a moment of desperation that causes massive changes to the destiny of others.
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How to Survive When the Bottom Drops Out : JT Sather
How to Survive When the Bottom Drops Out
There is a new epidemic sweeping the world these days. Unlike the spread of the previous strain, this one seems to have the ability to self-propagate. The people of this Earth are transforming into the Zombie-Borg before our very eyes. Not from a bite, or a scratch, but through the overwhelming circumstances that are beyond their control.
Everyone has suffered the symptoms to some extent, but the condition is reversible. Here is a guide on how to live and enjoy your life with happiness, regardless of how bleak your situation has become. I’ve been high on the mountain, and fallen into the abyss more than twice in my life, and yet, I have found a path to the surface each time, and discovered that no matter how far down the rabbit hole goes, there is always a way out; a way to once again feel the sunshine on my face… and smile.
Help me avert the Zombie-Borg apocalypse, and avoid being assimilated. If I can do it, so can you. Join JT’s army, and together we can do the same thing I do every day: *Try to take over the world!*
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The Dragon’s Call : K.W. McCabe
The Dragon’s Call
In a thoughtless final act of destruction, humans wake the one creature of legend they have no protection against.
Years after the complete subjugation of the human race, Derek, heir of the Dragon Queen, and Cecily, create a tentative friendship.
But something or someone is stalking the human enclave. Cecily and Derek must find out who and why before she’s next.
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