Collection: Adult

A BOOK RIOT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A ground-breaking history delivered in a refreshing new voice, Queer Enlightenments details eleven overlooked stories of eighteenth-century queer people who lived extraordinary lives of resistance and joy

Queer people have always existed. In an era when this basic truth faces undue scrutiny, here is a dazzling work of restorative history that reveals the hard-won lives of those who dared to break the mold in the "long eighteenth-century." At once an illuminating romp through the historical archive and an evocative new chapter in our shared history, Dr. Anthony Delaney's Queer Enlightenments uncovers the remarkable queer people of that complex, sometimes paradoxical time.

Unfolding between 1726 and 1836, Queer Enlightenments is a lively journey through the taverns, prisons, and cruising grounds of a bygone era and into the lives of aristocrats, tradesmen, and sex workers who pursued self-expression and freedom no matter the risk. In London, Mother Clap's famous Holborn coffee house is open to all comers, a place of companionship and community, until a tip-off leads to a midnight raid. At the court of King George, a silver-tongued noblewoman remarked of one of Queen Caroline's confidants, "The world consists of men, women, and Herveys." And in New York, a Black sex worker endures a degrading trial that labels her the "Man-Monster"--but between the lines of its transcripts can be found traces of her life, one of acceptance, defiance, and indomitable spirit.

Peopled with female husbands, midnight elopements, and one unforgettable soldier/diplomat/spy of ambiguous gender, Queer Enlightenments delves into the archives and emerges with new discoveries and a fresh view of the people who challenged society's expectations.

A lyrical and groundbreaking exploration of the misun­derstood ways women survive and forever carry trauma from the award-winning New York Times Magazine writer Jen Percy.

"Percy's subject is brutal, but her writing allays some of the impact by being almost impossibly beautiful: crisp, vulnerable, lyrical....Her stories, woven together, become something like a fabric, a totality....Girls Play Dead is a vital continuation of [the effort] 'to tell true stories of women's lives, ' in such breadth and definition that the justice system finally has to acknowledge what it's been obscuring." -- Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic

"Girls Play Dead reads like a novel, exquisitely rendered, and a kind of geography, mapping out the complexities of women's experiences going 'down below' and the specific ways that they come to understand their altered bodies and minds."
--Rachel Aviv, New York Times bestselling author of Strangers to Ourselves

After a childhood spent learning survival strategies in the wilderness, Jen Percy thought she knew how she would respond in the face of danger. But a series of unsettling interactions with men left her feeling betrayed and confounded by her body's passivity. Forced to reckon the myths of her own empowerment, Percy set off a broader inquiry into the way fear shapes behavior in the context of sexual violence, including the strange behaviors of three generations of women in her family.

Drawing on original reporting, years of conversations with survivors, and her own life story, Percy explores the surprising ways in which responses to sexual violence are shaped by both evolutionary instinct and gendered scripts. She takes on taboo subjects--orgasms during assault, sexual promiscuity, female rage, freezing and passivity--illuminating how society misreads these acts as deviance or consent, rather than brilliant acts of self-preservation.

Like Joan Didion, Katherine Boo, and Janet Malcolm, Percy is a fearless cultural critic with a talent for wresting deep truths from lived experiences. Girls Play Dead meaningfully expands the language available to survivors and complicates our expectations of how a trauma story should sound--especially when belief, justice, and healing are contingent on how well a story "makes sense." Percy examines how trauma corrupts storytelling itself, making survivors' accounts seem fractured or surreal--and therefore less credible to institutions demanding coherence--resulting in an ambitious testament to the mind as a record of resilience.

A quietly powerful exploration of memory and forgetting, from one of France's leading feminist public intellectuals

"A labyrinth of looping, interlocked narratives which spiral out beyond the Annex as the night progresses. . . . The penultimate pages of this elegiac book are a sword-thrust to the heart."--Laurel Berger, Irish Times

In 2021, the award-winning French writer Lola Lafon was granted permission to stay overnight--alone for ten hours--in the Annex in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family had hidden from the Nazis between 1942 and 1944. Lafon's visit to this space, where Anne Frank wrote her famous diary, evoked the confinement and constant danger suffered by the Franks, and the family's ghostly presence as well. "The night was inhabited, lit by reflections," Lafon writes. "Some urgency still dwelled at the heart of the Annex, crouched there, ready to be discovered."

Exploring the many stories told about Anne Frank, Lafon tries to find the precocious girl at the heart of the venerated and exploited myth, a disciplined writer whose famous diary is in fact a wonderfully constructed literary work. Throughout, Lafon reflects on what it means to lose loved ones, both Lafon's own family in the Holocaust and her childhood friend to the Khmer Rouge. A prizewinner and bestseller in France, this book asks us to consider the stories we tell ourselves about tragedy, how we grapple with loss, and why, in the face of danger and confinement, women write.

Great flavor, super-simple prep, and plenty of protein for real life cravings from the beloved creator of lowcarbstateofmind

For years, Jackie Hartlaub struggled with her health and tried to find ways to feel her best to be more successful in her job as an ironworker. She tried a keto diet, which worked great . . . until she found restrictive eating to be unrealistic in the long term. So she honed in on her cooking--making it delicious so she'll keep craving it, and making it easy enough so she'll keep doing it. She started sharing these recipes online, and now millions of followers log in to find hits like her Roasted Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings, Sausages loaded with balsamic-glazed peppers, onions, and mozzarella, and her BBQ Chicken Crust Pizza (yes, the crust is chicken).

In her debut cookbook, you'll find those hits and more than 85 all-new recipes, like easy Chorizo Egg Bakes, Beef Fried (Cauliflower) Rice with Yum Yum Sauce, and Sheet Pan Shrimp "Boil." Whether you're focused on building muscle mass, eating meals that keep you feeling satiated, or supporting your overall nutrition, it can be a challenge to reach your daily protein target.

Power your day with these delectable, high-protein recipes that prove healthy eating can be both effortless and extraordinary.

An exhilarating collection of letters and stories from the world-renowned Explorers Club, featuring firsthand accounts of crossing boundaries and making history over the past century

For centuries, explorers from all over the globe have traveled the far reaches of what the world has to offer, helping us expand the map, learn about other cultures, and move the needle of human knowledge. But an explorer's work isn't finished when they reach a new destination or make a discovery; they need to somehow tell the tale.

Letters from the Edge compiles letters, email exchanges, field journals, and more from explorers who have joined the esteemed and longstanding organization The Explorers Club. As they undertook their journeys, sometimes with their lives at risk, they penned their dispatches from afar, sharing their thoughts on enduring lava-spewing volcanos in Australia; suffering starvation and isolation in the harsh tundra of the Arctic; rescuing trapped kids in hazardous caves in Thailand; plunging into the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean to excavate the history of the Titanic; communicating with the other side of the galaxy; and so much more--all to quench the insatiable curiosity of humanity. And still, humanity strives to discover more.

Using source materials and interviews with the explorers, Letters from the Edge helps us understand the edge of our knowledge, culture, and universe, and inspires us to navigate the edges in our lives.

Navigate your health care future with confidence and learn the ins and outs of the Medicare system with Medicare 101, an essential guide that transforms complex health care jargon into easily digestible knowledge.

Medicare 101 simplifies the complex Medicare regulations and policies, guiding you through a clear, step-by-step path to understanding the vital US health care program. Discover Medicare's critical role in the US health care system today, its future implications for retirees, and how to easily decode the choices available using this guide's straightforward structure. With this book, you will master the art of calculating Medicare costs, comparing Part A, Part B, and supplemental coverage options, and maximizing your Medicare benefits for long-term savings.

Whether you're planning for retirement or helping a loved one navigate their health care options, this guide is the ultimate resource for navigating Medicare's complexities. Packed with practical tips and advice, Medicare 101 provides the essential tools to help retirees and caregivers make informed health care decisions.

**THE BURNING GROUNDS is the next thrilling novel from the author of the British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year 2025, HUNTED**'

'An unmissable series' The Times
'Captivating, moving and exciting, it's historical fiction at its finest' Sunday Express

In the Burning Ghats of Calcutta where the dead are laid to rest, a man is found murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear.

The body is that of a popular patron of the arts, a man who was, by all accounts, beloved by all: so what was the motive for his murder? Despite being out of favour with the Imperial Police Force, Detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case and finds himself thrust into the glamorous world of Indian cinema.

Meanwhile Surendranath Banerjee, recently returned from Europe after three years spent running from the fallout of his last case, is searching for a missing photographer; a trailblazing woman at the forefront of the profession. When Suren discovers that the vanished woman is linked to Sam's murder investigation, the two men find themselves working together once again - but will Wyndham and Banerjee be able to put their differences aside to solve the case?

'Abir Mukherjee is doing something uniquely different in the crime genre...breathtaking' Peter May, Sunday Times bestseller, on The Shadows of Men

A geologist's revelatory account of how our planet's seemingly inert bones pulse with unexpected vitality

"Poetic and heartfelt."--Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive?

A New Scientist Best Book of the Year

If you listen, can you hear the stones speak? The question seems absurd. After all, rocks are lifeless, inert, and silent.

In The Whispers of Rock, earth scientist Anjana Khatwa asks us to think again and listen to their stories. Boldly alternating between modern science and ancient wisdom, Khatwa takes us on an exhilarating journey through deep time, from origins of the green pounamu that courses down New Zealand rivers to the wonder of the bluestone megaliths of Stonehenge, from the tuff-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia, to Manhattan's bedrock of schist. In unearthing those stories and more, Khatwa shows how rocks have always spoken to us, and we humans to them. She delicately intertwines Indigenous stories of Earth's creation with our scientific understanding of its development, deftly showing how our lives are intimately connected to time's ancient storytellers.

Through tales of planetary change, ancient wisdom, and contemporary creativity, The Whispers of Rock offers the hope of reconnection with Earth. With Khatwa as your guide, you won't simply hear rocks speak--you, too, will feel the magic of deep time seep into your bones.

A lush exploration of the many ways plants and flowers have inspired art and artists throughout history.

"A visually rich exploration of how humankind perceives and represents the botanical world."―Library Journal

Piet Mondrian's chrysanthemums, Faith Ringgold's sunflowers, Georgia O'Keefe's black iris, Salvador Dalí's narcissus, Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin--these are just a few of the many exemplary pairings featured in Flora that offer a unique, artistic interpretation of a plant's essence. This visually captivating survey from Hope Werness is arranged thematically by the trees, flowers, fruit, vegetables, spices, grasses, grains, and vines that have served as a root for artistic inquiry across time. Flora deepens our understanding of plants through the lens of artistic expression, bringing a new context to an ever-enduring love of nature.

An evocative, haunting retelling of the summer that should have broken Mary Shelley, but instead inspired her to write her masterpiece.

A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice

Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva, 1816: the dark summer that birthed a monster.

Eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. Tormented by Shelley's betrayals, haunted by the loss of their baby, and suspicious of her sister's intentions, Mary seeks a refuge.

But Lord Byron's villa, lying under ominous, ash-shrouded skies, feels more like a trap. When Byron suggests each guest write a supernatural tale, Mary is as drawn to the challenge as she is, unexpectedly, to Byron himself.

And so an idea begins to form in her mind . . . It spills out of her in thick, black ink. A thing given life by her imagination.

Day and night, it possesses her. Her heart, her desires.

But is she in control, or is it?

In this hauntingly evocative feminist retelling, Caroline Lea delves into the female rage, creative madness and steamy scandal that bore the world's most famous work of gothic fiction.

"This incendiary j'accuse isn't afraid to name names."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Indigeneity is caught between truth tellers and tricksters....Dina Gilio-Whitaker boldly espouses our truths while confronting the tricksters among us. Indigenous America needs more truth tellers like her and books like this."--Gabe Galanda, Indigenous rights attorney

An investigation into how Native American identity became a commodity, from cultural appropriation to ethnic fraud to disenrollment

Settler capitalism has been so effective that the very identities of Indigenous people have been usurped, misconstrued, and weaponized. In Who Gets to Be Indian?, scholar and writer Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) explores how ethnic fraud and the commodification of Indianness has resulted in mass confusion about what it means to be Indigenous in the United States.

As an entry point to the seemingly intractable problem of ethnic fraud, Gilio-Whitaker critically looks to the film industry, including a case study of Sacheen Littlefeather, who is most known as the Native American woman that rejected an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando in 1973--though later revealed, she was not who she said she was. Gilio-Whitaker argues that this pretendian phenomenon originated in Southern California when the United States was forcing assimilation of Indians into white America culturally, but also into its capitalist economic system. With Indianness becoming a marketized commodity in the Hollywood film business, the field became open to anyone who could convincingly adopt an Indian persona.

Deeply researched using socio-historical analysis, Gilio-Whitaker offers insights from her own experiences grappling with identity to provide clarity and help readers understand how the commodification of Indianness have ultimately left many people of legitimate American Indian heritage to be disconnected from their tribes. Personal and compelling, Gilio-Whitaker takes settler capitalism to task and helps us better understand how we got here in order to counteract the abuses of pretendianism and disenrollment.

A USA TODAY bestseller.

Your mindset may be the only thing standing between you and your potential. Break free from the beliefs that hold you back.

As a leader, do you find yourself frustrated, wondering why employees don't meet expectations, peers are slow to act, or pressure from your boss falls unfairly on your shoulders? It's easy to point a finger at others and double down on getting results. But have you ever considered that the problem might not be them--that it might be you?

Through countless hours coaching executives over the past twenty years, C-suite adviser Muriel M. Wilkins has pinpointed the biggest reason behind these common leadership challenges: hidden blockers. These unconscious beliefs can actively stall progress if leaders aren't aware of their existence, preventing them from seeing a situation clearly, solving problems effectively, and advancing their careers.

In Leadership Unblocked, Wilkins reveals seven key beliefs that hold leaders back, from "I know I'm right" to "I need to be involved" to "I don't belong here." Combining illustrative and powerful coaching conversations and research from the fields of neuroscience, leadership, and adult development theory, Wilkins offers a self-coaching guide for identifying, unpacking, and breaking through these barriers.

By using the practical advice in this book, leaders and aspiring leaders alike can cultivate the mindset to achieve their goals and finally become the leaders they want to be.

A visionary guide to using technology for positive social change, from a MacArthur genius awardee, former rocket engineer, and passionate leader in the social enterprise movement.

The accepted wisdom in big business is that the only worthy ideas are ones that make a lot of money, preferably billions. But Jim Fruchterman believes there is a different path for technology. What if tech returned to its roots and made people more effective and powerful? What if the benefits of technology came to the 90 percent of humanity traditionally neglected by for-profit companies in favor of immense profits gained by focusing on the richest 10 percent? In Technology for Good, Fruchterman explores that question and delivers a comprehensive how-to for leaders who want to create, expand, join, support, and improve organizations that see building technology as a key element of delivering on their social good mission.

The author makes a strong case that tech is required for social change at scale. He then offers guidance on how to structure, fund, staff, manage, scale, and sustain nonprofits that leverage technology for social good. The book includes actionable, proven practices; compelling case studies of nonprofits that have "cracked the code" on tech for good; and Fruchterman's own stories of what he has learned as a tech-for-good entrepreneur. With 80 percent of the examples in the book from organizations and individuals outside the US, Technology for Good is a call to action with a genuinely global focus, blazing a path toward a future in which human beings come rightly and justly before profits.

The inside story of the creation of Ozempic and its revolutionary impact on public health.

A "cure" for obesity has long been the holy grail for the pharmaceutical industry, one that seemed unattainable until recent breakthroughs in type 2 diabetes research led to the development of Ozempic, a weight loss medication that activates a hormone in the stomach called GLP-1, making people feel fuller for longer. The treatment is so effective that it is already disrupting many industries--from healthcare to fast food to fashion--and it has quickly made its creator, Denmark's Novo Nordisk, the most valuable company in Europe. But the impact of GLP-1s goes far beyond billion-dollar profits; a true long-term cure for obesity could save 40 percent of American adults from dangerous, preventable illnesses. And as more potential benefits emerge, one question looms in the minds of investors, healthcare workers, and politicians: Are these drugs too good to be true?

In Off the Scales, Reuters journalist Aimee Donnellan illuminates the history of a medical breakthrough that is poised to change the world, while raising difficult social questions about inequality and morality. Through original reporting and rigorous research, she forecasts the future of GLP-1s and examines what their explosive popularity tells us about our ideals of beauty and the lengths to which people will go in order to become thin.

Along the way, Donnellan profiles the scientist whose contributions to the discovery of GLP-1 were overlooked, documents her fight for recognition while her colleagues were thrust into the limelight, and offers new insights into the ways that the food and beauty industries made billions while promoting unhealthy and unrealistic body image standards and accelerating the obesity crisis. She also provides firsthand accounts of several early Ozempic users and the transformative effect the drug has had on their weight loss journeys.

Off the Scales is an informative and entertaining study of the unexpected consequences of finally getting what we've wanted for so long.

"No Tea, No Shade is an essential read for anyone who has searched for a way to feel like themselves." -- Booklist

Intimate, hilarious, and inspiring essays by celebrated drag queens Kennedy Ann Scott, Lagoona Bloo, Alexis Michelle, Olivia Lux, Julie J., and Nina West.

No Tea, No Shade is a collective anthem written by six drag queens who believe in equality, peace, and in a world that loves and respects all people. The defiant legacy of drag will endure fearmongering and hate because their hearts have endured the unthinkable, their courage has been relentlessly tested, and to be blunt, they have the balls to prevail.

When these gorgeous queens wear a stunning gown with picture perfect makeup, haters label them as inappropriate and unlawful. They are entertainers not predators. Drag is an art of self-expression that, at its core, affirms and uplifts LGBTQIA+ people.

No Tea, No Shade features thirty essays discussing:

Social activism, Drag Story Hour, and education.Coming out, gender, and equality.Relationships, setting goals, and rejection.Celebrating womanhood, family, and image.

Kennedy Ann Scott was awarded Teacher of the Year in Nashville, Tennessee. Lagoona Bloo starred on the Off-Broadway hit Drag: the Musical, and Alex Michaels received a stellar review from the New York Times for their role in La Cage Aux Falles at Barrington Stage Company. Olivia Lux starred in Rent and Kinky Boots. Julie J raised more than $100,000 for trans and LGBTQIA+ organizations. Nina West received an honorary doctorate in May 2024 and is a well-known entertainer, having worked with everyone from Glenn Close to Kermit the Frog.

Despite the pervasive danger of being authentic and real, these drag artists have chosen to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights. They remind us that a person's identity shouldn't be marginalized to genitals. Identity categories are not as important as we have been led to believe, and the shade casted on drag is just a scapegoat. It is a distraction political figures and trolls use to lure people away from caring about serious issues like equality, gun violence, poverty, and racism.

No Tea, No Shade shines a light on a community of people who are paving the way for a better world and holding the light for others to step up.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Women aren't getting a fair deal--at work or at home. Whether you're in "the squeeze" already or just starting your career path, this book gives you the data to understand why and the tools to change it.

The demands on working mothers and professional women are unsustainable. We're expected to build ambitious careers, fight for workplace equality, maintain equality at home, raise engaged children, and somehow find time for ourselves. And when we inevitably fall short? We're told to try harder and wake up earlier.

In Having It All, Wharton economist Dr. Corinne Low uses data to prove what you've always suspected: the system is rigged against women. She explains HOW we got here and WHY things feel so unsustainable. Then she offers a simple framework--along with loads of tools and scripts--to help you reclaim your time and happiness.

Inside, you'll learn:
- Word-for-word scripts for asking for a raise, renegotiating with your partner, and setting boundaries
- Why women negotiate differently than men -- and how to use it to your advantage
- A framework for career decisions: when to push, when to pivot, when to pause
- How to evaluate whether your relationship is a good deal
- How to structure your time, money, and energy around what you value

Dr. Low blends rigorous research with personal experience, including her own story of burning out as a working mother and rebuilding her life on her own terms.

In the tradition of Fair Play and Cribsheet, Having It All is the economics playbook for modern women--sharp, funny, and finally useful.