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A Quilt for David
The hidden history of a vulnerable gay man whose life and death were turned into tabloid fodder.
In the early 1990s, eight people living in a small conservative Florida town alleged that Dr. David Acer, their dentist, infected them with HIV. David's gayness, along with his sickly appearance from his own AIDS-related illness, made him the perfect scapegoat and victim of mob mentality. In these early years of the AIDS epidemic, when transmission was little understood, and homophobia rampant, people like David were villainized. Accuser Kimberly Bergalis landed a People magazine cover story, while others went on talk shows and made front page news.
With a poet's eulogistic and psychological intensity, Steven Reigns recovers the life and death of this man who also stands in for so many lives destroyed not only by HIV, but a diseased society that used stigma against the most vulnerable. It's impossible not to make connections between this story and how the twenty-first century pandemic has also been defined by medical misinformation and cultural bias.
Inspired by years of investigative research into the lives of David and those who denounced him, Reigns has stitched together a hauntingly poetic narrative that retraces an American history, questioning the fervor of his accusers, and recuperating a gay life previously shrouded in secrecy and shame.
"Much too long, suffering has been part of our collective queer legacy. We weather the storm of insult to character and seemingly irreconcilable injustice in tandem with the hope that the arc of time will bend towards justice; our time is now. A Quilt for David is a posthumous journal of vindication."--Brontez Purnell, author of 100 Boyfriends
"A stunning homage to people with AIDS."--Sarah Schulman, author of Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993
"I found this an incredibly moving book. Reigns deals in hard truths, revisioning one man's life and death, and our collective queer history."--Justin Torres, author of We the Animals
"A Quilt for David is amazing and so powerful, filled with anger and frustration . . . It's an unforgettable book."--Marie Cloutier, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY
"Told in short, occasionally haiku-like entries, Reigns has done what literature should: put the reader into the mind, the suffering, of another human being."--Andrew Holleran, author of Chronicle of a Plague, Revisited
"Steven Reigns lifts David Acer thirty years after his death to show the naked cost of violent, unexamined public opinion around the catastrophe of AIDS. This poetry masterfully documents the tangle of hatred and lies haunting a generation of survivors. I am often grateful for what poems give to me, most especially the ones in this book."--CAConrad, author of AMANDA PARADISE: Resurrect Extinct Vibration
"This writing is energetic, alive, and uncensored. Through poetry and prose we glean a deep understanding of a life misunderstood and mischaracterized. Reigns goes to the mat to find out what really happened, and with his expert pacing we're right there with him."--Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones
"One of the most important roles a poet can assume is that of emotional historian. Reigns certainly understands that notion in this necessary and genre-bending book."--Richard Blanco, 2013 Presidential Inaugural Poet, author of How to Love a Country
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Death at the Sign of the Rook: A Jackson Brodie Book
The highly anticipated return of Kate Atkinsons' "irresistible" (New York Times) private eye Jackson Brodie, whose newest adventure pays homage to Agatha Christie in the latest installment of a series described by The Washington Post as "Raymond Chandler meets Jane Austen." Marooned overnight by a snowstorm is a cast of characters and a setting that even Agatha Christie might recognize - a vicar, an Army major, a Dowager, a sleuth and his sidekick - except that the sleuth is Jackson Brodie, and the 'sidekick' is DC Reggie Chase. Death at The Sign of the Rook is a brilliantly plotted, supremely entertaining, and utterly compulsive tour de force from a great writer at the height of her powers. The five beloved and critically acclaimed novels in her Jackson Brodie series have sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. -
Sold outThe Palace of Eros
Perfect for fans of Circe and Black Sun, this bold and subversive feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros explores the power of queer joy and freedom. Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives. When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe. Before long, Psyche's nights spent in pleasure turn to days filled with doubts, as she grapples with the cost of secrecy and the complexities of freedom and desire. Restless and spurred by her sisters to reveal Eros's true nature, she breaks her trust and forces a reckoning that tests them both--and transforms the very heavens. Told in bold and sparkling prose from "a brilliant and luminous writer" (Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author), The Palace of Eros transports us to a magical world imbued by divine forces as well as everyday realities, where palaces glitter with magic even as ordinary people fight for freedom in a society that fears the unknown.Sold out -
Stop People Pleasing: And Find Your Power
A viral life coach offers a practical, empathetic, and inspiring guide to breaking people-pleasing patterns that can harm our careers, relationships, physical, and psychic health. For most of Hailey Magee's life, people-pleasing came so naturally to her that she didn't even have a word for it. When somebody wanted something from her--even a stranger--she gave it, no matter how uncomfortable, exhausted, or resentful she felt inside. People-pleasing, she learned, was a coping mechanism that had kept her physically and emotionally safe in the past, but wreaked havoc on her life in the present--and she was committed to breaking the pattern once and for all. The solution that social media and self-help shelves gave her was to "Advocate for yourself! Speak up! Set boundaries!" But after years of ignoring her feelings and needs, Magee needed more than boundaries; she needed to reconnect with the "self" who was supposed to be doing the advocating. You can't express yourself if you're cut off from your feelings. You can't fight for your needs if you don't know what they are. And you can't set boundaries with others until you believe you're worthy of more than the bare minimum. Radically reconnecting with herself gave Magee the confidence and self-respect she needed to stand up for herself in her relationships. As she experienced a freedom she never thought possible, she became a certified life coach with the mission of helping others do the same. Stop People Pleasing explains how anyone can break the pattern by learning their own feelings, needs, values, and desires; ending cycles of enmeshment and codependency; overcoming guilt; developing physical and sexual agency; and more. It is a refreshingly nuanced guide, exploring fundamental questions like:
-How can I tell when my genuine kindness veers into people-pleasing?
-How can I set boundaries while maintaining my empathy and generosity?
-When is it appropriate to compromise on my needs, and when is it not? Combining social science, psychology, and hands-on coaching exercises, Stop People Pleasing teaches you how to connect with your own feelings, needs, and dreams; courageously advocate for yourself in your relationships with friends, family, and colleagues; soothe yourself through the growing pains of healing; and dive headfirst into pleasure and play. With fresh insight, heartfelt empathy, and a keen personal understanding of the pitfalls of people-pleasing, Magee helps you say what you need and get what you deserve. -
Trick or Treat on Scary Street
From musical superstar Lance Bass, this quirky and surprising Halloween story is perfect for trick-or-treaters who love extra tricks and treats. Come one. Come all. Come follow thirteen trick-or-treaters down Scary Street. Dare to stop at the vampire's lair? Tempted to take a bite of the witch's delight? How about a peek inside a ghostly haunt? Who will make it to the end. . . and what last trick (or treat) awaits? Celebrate the thrills and chills of the season with this unforgettable trip down Scary Street! -
Therapy Game Restart, Vol. 4
Sparks continue to fly in this Therapy Game sequel where Shizuma and Minato learn to navigate commitment--in both work and love! From a forgotten one-night stand to a plan for revenge, Shizuma and Minato have been through it all. But now that they're officially a couple, new challenges await, and their fledgling relationship must learn to soar! Minato has been tying himself in knots over Shizuma's relationship with the director of the animal hospital where he works, but his lover is able to ease his mind and convince him she is of no threat to their relationship. The couple shelves the issue and gets back to apartment hunting, and before long they luck out in finding a place they both like! Will they finally get to live together, or does the universe yet again have other plans? -
The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE(R) IN LITERATURE 2013 In this series of interweaving stories, Munro recreates the evolving bond between two women in the course of almost forty years. One is Flo, practical, suspicious of other people's airs, at times dismayingly vulgar. the other is Rose, Flo's stepdaughter, a clumsy, shy girl who somehow leaves the small town she grew up in to achieve her own equivocal success in the larger world.Sold out -
We Shall Be Monsters
Frankenstein meets Indian mythology in this twisty, darkly atmospheric fantasy where the real horrors are not the monsters you face, but the ones you create. "One of the most unique and intelligent books I've read. . . Alluring, completely enthralling, and masterfully rendered." --Axie Oh, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea Kajal knows she is not a good person. If she were, she wouldn't selfishly be risking her sister's soul in a dangerous bid to bring her back to life. She would let Lasya rest in peace--but Kajal cannot stand the horror of living without her. As Kajal prepares for the resurrection, the worst happens: Her sister's soul warps into a bhuta--a murderous, wraith-like spirit--and Kajal gets sentenced to death for her sister's rampage. There seems little hope of escape until two strangers offer to free her. The catch: She must resurrect the kingdom's fallen crown prince to aid a growing rebellion against a tyrannical usurper. Desperate, Kajal rushes to complete her end of the deal . . . only to discover that the boy she's resurrected, Tav, is not the crown prince. Now Kajal--prickly, proud, admirer of the scientific method--must team up with Tav--stubborn, reticent, and fonder of swords than of books--to find the real crown prince. With only a scalpel and her undead dog, Kutaa, at her side, Kajal must work fast before her mistake is exposed or Lasya's bhuta turns its murderous fury on the person truly responsible for her death: Kajal herself. -
Marvel: Captain America Metal Shield: With Vibranium Sound Effect
Celebrate one of the world's mightiest heroes with this one-of-a-kind, officially licensed Captain America collectible!- Unique component with fun sound effect: Features a 3 inch metal replica of Captain America's shield with display stand that plays vibranium sound effects when the shield is removed from the base
- Mini book: Includes a full-color 48-page mini book on Captain America's comic book history and memorable foes, complemented by classic comic book art
- The perfect gift for Marvel Fans: A must-have mini replica for collectors and casual fans alike
- Officially Licensed: An authentic Marvel collectible
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Sold outState of Paradise
A heart-racing fun house of uncanniness hidden in Florida's underbelly, from a reality-warping storyteller.
Along with her husband, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author returns to her mother's house in the Florida town where she grew up. As the summer heat sets in, she wrestles with family secrets and memories of her own troubled youth. Her mercurial sister, who lives next door, spends a growing amount of time using MIND'S EYE, a virtual reality device provided to citizens of the town by ELECTRA, a tech company in South Florida, during the doldrums of a recent pandemic. But it's not just the ominous cats, her mother's burgeoning cult, or the fact that her belly button has become an increasingly deep cavern--something is off in the town, and it probably has to do with the posters of missing citizens spread throughout the streets. During a violent rainstorm, the writer's sister goes missing for several days. When she returns, sprawled on their mother's lawn and speaking of another dimension, the writer is forced to investigate not only what happened to her sister and the other missing people but also the uncanny connections between ELECTRA, the famous author, and reality itself. A sticky, rain-soaked reckoning with the elusive nature of storytelling, Laura van den Berg's State of Paradise is an interlocking and page-turning whirlwind. With inimitable control and thrilling style, she reaches deep into the void and returns with a story far stranger than either reality or fiction.Sold out -
The Lion Women of Tehran
From the nationally bestselling author of the "powerful, heartbreaking" (Shelf Awareness) The Stationery Shop, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother's endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation. Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa's warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming "lion women." But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls' high school in Iran, Ellie's memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie's privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences. Written with Marjan Kamali's signature "evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful" (Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light) prose, The Lion Women of Tehran is a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young, and the way love and courage transforms our lives. -
Triple SEC
A jaded bartender is wooed by a charmingly quirky couple in this fresh and sizzling polyamorous rom-com, set in the glamorous world of high-end cocktail bars--from the acclaimed author of the "tender, decadent, and sparklingly funny" (Lana Harper, New York Times bestselling author) Chef's Choice. As a bartender at Terror & Virtue, a swanky New York City cocktail lounge known for its romantic atmosphere and Insta-worthy drinks, Mel has witnessed plenty of disastrous dates. That, coupled with her own romantic life being in shambles, has Mel convinced love doesn't exist. Everything changes when Bebe walks into the bar. She's beautiful, funny, knows her whiskeys--and is happily married to her partner, Kade. Mel's resigned to forget the whole thing, but Bebe makes her a unique offer: since she and Kade have an open marriage, she's interested in taking Mel on a date. What starts as a fun romp turns into a burgeoning relationship, and soon Mel is trying all sorts of things she'd been avoiding, from grand romantic gestures to steamy exploits. Mel even gets the self-confidence to enter a cocktail competition that would make her dream of opening her own bar a reality. In the chaotic whirl of all these new experiences, Mel realizes there might be a spark between her and Kade, too. As Bebe, Kade, and Mel explore their connections, Mel begins to think that real love might be more expansive than she ever thought possible. With TJ Alexander's signature "witty and insightful voice, complex characters, and full-throated celebration of the joy of queer community" (Ava Wilder, author of How to Fake It in Hollywood), Triple Sec is a passionate, thirst-quenching love story that will have you asking for another round...or three. -
Sold outThe Planets
'So staggering you go "whoa!" every few seconds' Guardian
'Really impressive' Eamonn Holmes, ITV This Morning
A companion book to the critically acclaimed BBC series.The bestselling authors of Wonders of the Universe are back with another blockbuster, a groundbreaking exploration of our Solar System as it has never been seen before.
Mercury, a lifeless victim of the Sun's expanding power. Venus, once thought to be lush and fertile, now known to be trapped within a toxic and boiling atmosphere. Mars, the red planet, doomed by the loss of its atmosphere. Jupiter, twice the size of all the other planets combined, but insubstantial. Saturn, a stunning celestial beauty, the jewel of our Solar System. Uranus, the sideways planet and the first ice giant. Neptune, dark, cold and whipped by supersonic winds. Pluto, the dwarf planet, a frozen rock.
Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox take readers on a voyage of discovery, from the fiery heart of our Solar System, to its mysterious outer reaches. They touch on the latest discoveries that have expanded our knowledge of the planets, their moons and how they come to be.
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Gay Heaven Is a Dance Floor But I Can't Relax
The breakout poetry collection in a multiform, poetic conversation between queer and trans artists and writers. Like meeting under a disco ball, or listening to Arthur Russell on the Staten Island Ferry, Gay Heaven Is a Dance Floor but I Can't Relax proposes reading as a form of friendship. Conversational, inquisitive, and scrutinizing, this book goes out to anyone who has loved someone they'll never get to meet. "Gay Heaven Is a Dance Floor but I Can't Relax gives me the same kind of excitement and imaginative heat that obsessing over the glossy photo middles of queer biographies does. These poems collectively form a watery slide between past and present, care and anxiety, form and formlessness, verb and noun. We can live large in the slippage between the relational and the overwhelmingly mysterious. It would be so easy to fall into a nostalgic hole, but charles isn't that kind of poet. Rather, we dance (or write) into the polymorphous dawn, "the extended cut, a technology for sensing forever." I'm grateful to have these poems for how they welcome us in through surreal syntax that then somehow forms a new grammar where metabolic harmony with cats and capybaras, zinnias and rambutans, is the norm, is the gay heaven." - Stacy Szymaszek "The poems in Gay Heaven Is a Dance Floor but I Can't Relax possess astonishing depths of love in their arrangements of words and sounds, in their amusement with and within exuberant complexities, and in their utter resistance to giving in to harm and harm's byways. The long title poem, on and for and with Arthur Russell, is a cascade of forms and voices channeled through dance and the untouch into the continuousness of collective knowledge, movement and grief in the face of devastation. And then like Martin Wong, among many other sources of art and hope, charles theonia digs the way firemen smell, listens for sounds waiting for an open mouth, and knows 'Begin can be replaced with any word that brings you closer.' This book is a companion for life." - Anselm Berrigan "Lucky for us we dream in landscapes / beyond our experience," writes charles theonia in the long poem opening their electric debut collection, and readers are all the luckier for it. Brimming with a sense of the possible, among its many offerings are 'other arrangements of the self;' the dance of bodies (textual and not) entangled in sound; portals to multiple elsewheres--'Utopia: a compulsion to keep remaking this world.' This world can't become on its own, hence its gregarious erotics. Jump in!" - Mónica de la Torre "charles theonia's poems are everything!" - Tourmaline "Nothing is not gay, and neither space nor time can prevent people from touching in charles theonia's new collection of poems, Gay Heaven Is a Dance Floor But I Can't Relax, in which language is motioned to meet desire, to rouse it, spark it, make it public and then make it echo--because why shouldn't it? theonia's poems are for creatures of feeling who want both/and. They arouse, resound and satisfy." - Shiv KotechaSold out -
Dac Biet: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook
A collection of contemporary, extra-special Vietnamese recipes, from beloved classics like Hanoi-Style Vermicelli with Grilled Pork and three variations of phở, to dishes with a New Orleans twist, like Southeast Asian Jambalaya and Sticky Fried Shrimp Bánh Mì--from Top Chef contestant and acclaimed chef Nini Nguyen In Vietnamese culture, to be dac biet is to be special and luxurious, or, as chef and cooking instructor Nini Nguyen puts it, it means adding something a little extra, like salty caviar on top of squid-stuffed pork, a surprise note of ginger and lime in a dipping sauce, or sautéing shaking beef in farm-fresh butter for a creamy, delectable experience. Born and raised in New Orleans by Vietnamese immigrants, here Nini gives us recipes that fuse the best of Vietnamese and New Orleans cooking and clear directions on how to prepare and arrange them, making for a flavorful, unforgettable experience that proves that being a little extra is easy and just right. Dac Biet includes one hundred delicious and vibrant recipes that celebrate the essential flavors of Vietnam--salty, sour, bitter, spicy, and sweet--and the bright and perfectly balanced dishes they create. Here are recipes for: *Charbroiled Oysters in Chili Butter * Viet-Cajun Seafood Boil * Phở with Everything * Crispy Fish Sauce-Caramel Chicken Wings * Broken Rice with Pork Chops and Eggs * Crispy Noodles Covered in a Saucy Stir-Fry * BBQ Pork Ribs Glazed with Roasted Nước Mắm Sauce *Coconut Crispy Rice Crepes * and many more