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Parallel Lives: A Love Story from a Lost Continent
Best-selling novelist and art historian Iain Pears enchants readers with the real-life romance between Larissa Salmina, a Russian art curator, and Francis Haskell, a British art historian. His fabulous book brings into sharp focus the strange world of the Soviet Union, and the even stranger world of a certain variety of the English elite. It seeks to show how leaving the Soviet Union was a sacrifice for her and how it was the English man, not the Russian woman, who was set free because of their meeting.
Larissa was born in northern Russia, the daughter of a Soviet army officer from a noble family who survived the siege of Leningrad by eating cats' tails and being evacuated over the ice. Francis was the grandson of an Iraqi Jew, forever feeling out of place in his adopted country of England. Parallel Lives is the story of how these two star-crossed lovers met, instantly understand each other, and were prepared to risk heartbreak, and in her case, retribution, to be together.
Escaping Leningrad, teenage Larissa lived in the Urals surrounded by Spanish revolutionaries, and after the war rose to become the youngest commissar in the Soviet Union and keeper of Italian drawings at the Hermitage. She took the Russian contribution to the Venice Biennale in 1962 and lost it on the journey. She briefly absconded with her supervisor's corpse, developed a useful sideline in forgery, and stole ("I didn't steal it. I liberated it") a Matisse from the Italian government. Francis was a distinguished art historian, comfortably at home in King's College Cambridge. But he was lonely, self-doubting, and had all but abandoned hope of falling in love. Larissa swept away all the years of anguish in one meal.
Iain Pears, who was neighbors with Larissa and Francis in Oxford, knew both his principal characters well. In telling Larissa and Francis's love story, he is also capturing the Europe of a bygone era: a world of dancers, exiles, and the occasional spy, of artists, aristocrats, and academics. It is a tale of a world we have lost.
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Princess of Blood
Once a servant, now a princess, a young woman thrust into power challenges everything about the underground Fae realm in the spellbinding sequel to Sarah Hawley's USA Today bestseller Servant of Earth. Kenna Heron is still reeling from her lover's betrayal and the threat of an impending civil war. With only a sentient dagger and her two closest--and most powerless--friends by her side, she must navigate the treacherous politics of Mistei while coming to terms with her new identity as not just Fae, but princess of the reborn Blood House. With the corrupt king dead at last, three candidates are vying for the crown: a princess who claims the throne as her birthright and two rebel princes, both of whom are courting Kenna's support to break the stalemate between them. Old loyalties fray as new, volatile alliances form, and Kenna finds herself caught in a web of violence and deceit--and swept up in a forbidden romance as passionate as it is dangerous. Kenna has the power to shape Mistei's future... but someone's willing to kill to make sure she never gets the chance. -
Once and Future Me
Dark Matter meets Girl, Interrupted in this gripping psychological thriller about a young woman teetering on the edge of reality.
Virginia, 1954. When a woman wakes on a patient transport bus arriving at Hanover State Psychiatric Hospital, she remembers nothing of her life before that moment, none of the dark things she must've seen and done that forged her into the skillful and cunning fighter she is. Doctors tell her she's Dorothy Frasier, a paranoid schizophrenic, committed for her violent delusions. She's certain they're wrong--until disturbing visions of a dystopian future in which frantic scientists urge her to complete "the mission" and save mankind begin to invade her reality. Believing it's Hanover causing the hallucinations, she tells no one and focuses only on escaping--until there's a visitor. A man whose loving face--and touch--she remembers, a man who knows all about her visions, because he's spent years helping her cope with them: her husband, Paul Frasier. Now she's sure of nothing, caught between two realities. Believe in the future, and she might save the world. Believe in her husband and doctors' plans for her treatment, and she might save herself. She needs answers, but to get them she'll have to harness the darkness inside her as she risks her freedom, her mind, and ultimately her life in a heart-stopping quest for the truth. -
Flashout
A thrill-seeking young woman joins a radical theater troupe in this taut, suspenseful novel of art, seduction, and the deadly limits of liberation.
New York, 1972. A cloistered college student slips out of the dorms to attend a performance by a legendary experimental performance troupe. Within months, she has left campus life behind and joined the company, infatuated by its charismatic leader and his promises of absolute freedom. California, 1997. A theater teacher at an exclusive private school receives an unsettling letter. With her job at risk and her past clawing at her carefully constructed present, what will she do to protect the life she has made? Riveting and atmospheric, Flashout is a coruscating coming-of-age story and an immersive thriller exploring the enchantments and perils of art. -
Cats of Rome
From the award-winning author of Finding Home and Rescue Cats: a dazzling collection of photographs of cats throughout the iconic city of Rome.
Whether you are a cat lover, armchair traveler, or photography buff, Traer Scott's Cats of Rome will entice you into this ancient city that is home to more than 300,000 cats. Of these, at least one-third are thought to be feral. As Roman cats are protected by law, they have the right to live where they choose in architectural ruins, parks, and neighborhoods throughout the city. In seventy-five brilliant color photographs, Rome's feline denizens are shown as they live naturally among stunning, classical backdrops, with visual whispers of the gattaras--the often nameless and plentiful women of Rome who volunteer to care for the feral colonies. These beautiful cats are safe, cared for, and magnificent, and this keepsake volume is perfect for anyone who has visited Rome or dreams of doing so. CELEBRATED PHOTOGRAPHER: Traer Scott, award-winning photographer and animal welfare activist, turned her lens on the cats of Rome as she explored the Eternal City and sought out evidence of its estimated four thousand feral cat colonies. Through her practiced lens, these majestic felines and their breathtaking surroundings--from the Colosseum to lush cemeteries to the ruins of Porta Magica--create an irresistible travelogue for cat lovers and travel enthusiasts alike. Scott's bestselling animal photography books include Forever Home, Radiant, and Shelter Dogs. CAT COFFEE TABLE BOOK: Several children's books feature the wondrous cats of Rome, but this is the first photography book to showcase the beloved cat sanctuaries of this historic and uniquely beautiful European city. ITALIAN HISTORY: Each chapter showcases one of Rome's vibrant cat colonies, with introductory text about the location, a brief bit of history, and an overview of the cat population's roots within it. From ancient to modern Rome, this artful book offers a visual journey through a mesmerizing place. Perfect for:- Cat lovers and collectors of cat photography
- Travelers and armchair travelers
- Fans of Italian culture, history, and architecture
- Readers who enjoy nature, animal, and travel coffee table books
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Judy Garland: The Voice of MGM
A Definitive Celebration of Hollywood's Iconic Musical Star and Her Legendary CareerMore than 100 years after her birth, Judy Garland remains the gold standard by which all movie musical leading ladies are judged. She is revered and celebrated by current stars, directors, songwriters, and others in the entertainment industry. She also has a fan base that is as large as that of Marilyn Monroe or James Dean. Her image, especially "Dorothy" in The Wizard of Oz (1939), is an instantly recognized icon. Garland really was the voice of MGM during her tenure and after. No documentary about any aspect of the history of the MGM Studios is complete without Garland's voice on the soundtrack. When people think of MGM Musicals, they think of Garland along with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. She's the only female in that exalted "top three." There have been many books about Garland's fabled and troubled life, but none devoted solely to the study (and celebration) of her years at MGM. She entered the studio as a 13-year-old contract player in 1935. She left the studio in 1950 carrying the title "Metro's Greatest Asset." Judy Garland: The Voice of MGM will focus on Garland's films, but it will also delve into her other professional achievements such as her extensive appearances on radio programs, her long association with Decca Records, and her personal appearances, highlighted by her two USO Bond Tours in the early 1940s. This will be the definitive book about Garland's legendary career at MGM, pulling back the curtain to reveal the truths about that career while also presenting previously unknown details and facts that are sure to delight her fans as well as fans of classic film.
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Ice Apprentices (Reprint)
Perfect for fans of Skandar and Wilderlore, this "chilling page-turner" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) follows a magical apprentice in a land of ice and snow who must uncover why strange monsters are attacking his fellow apprentices...or else suffer the tragic consequences. Tundra is the last settlement in a world of ice. Oswin Fields is its only stray--a foundling rescued from the ice who many think is a drain on scarce resources meant for Tundrans. Then Oswin is summoned to Corridor by Grandmaster Yarrow to learn magic, finally giving him a chance to prove his worth. But Oswin barely has time to embrace his new role before his fellow apprentices start being attacked by monsters. Perhaps even worse, he learns his deceased adopted uncle is considered the most infamous Tundran to ever have lived and might have left followers behind who want to destroy the settlement. Now grappling with an unwanted legacy and mysterious foes, Oswin must look deep inside himself for the strength to prove he belongs in Tundra. -
Beneath Our Feet: Everyday Discoveries Reshaping History
Britain has a rich past, with incredible archaeology. Every day, new discoveries transform our understanding of its history. Most are made not by professional archaeologists, but by ordinary members of the public. Some are chance finds; others are recovered by the thousands of fieldwalkers, mudlarks, and metal detectorists who scour Britain's countryside and waterways looking for artifacts and coins. Beneath Our Feet is a celebration of this growing public involvement in archaeology, and of the groundbreaking work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme managed by the British Museum in England and Amgueddfa Cymru in Wales. Its mission is collaboration with public finders, encouraging them to report their discoveries so they can be recorded on a national database and shared with archaeologists, historians, and everyone with an interest in the past buried beneath our feet. From the 3,500-year-old Ringlemere Cup to the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, a heart pendant connected to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and a jar of American gold coins buried by a Jewish refugee fleeing the Nazis, these are the stories of more than fifty astonishing treasures, the people who found them, and how they are reshaping British history.
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Nowhere
Mare of Easttown meets The Outsider in this twisty and "chilling crime thriller" (Luke Dumas, USA TODAY bestselling author) about a series of disappearances in a small, fundamentalist town and what one broken family must do to remain together as dark forces close in. After losing her young son in an accident, Rachel Kennan throws herself into her career as police chief of a small Virginia town to avoid focusing on her grief. Meanwhile, her husband, Finn, a washed-up writer whose alcoholism led to the devastating tragedy that changed everything, struggles to redeem himself before his family completely falls apart. Their two daughters are the only things keeping Rachel and Finn together, but the girls have demons of their own. At the same time, a disturbing crime rocks their tightknit, religious community, sending Rachel chasing leads in a place that does not take kindly to outsiders. When an ominous force in the forest starts calling to the children, fear spawns hate among the townspeople, placing the Kennan family directly in the line of fire. Left with no choice but to rely on each other, Rachel and Finn must come together to face threats inside and out. Drawn from Appalachian folklore, Nowhere effortlessly solidifies Allison Gunn as "an assured new voice in horror" (Publishers Weekly). -
In Theory, Darling: Searching for José Esteban Muñoz and the Queer Imagination
A love letter to queer of color theory and how it has helped the author to discover himself, reclaim identities, celebrate queer joy, and work towards liberation Marcos Gonsalez found his greatest source of joy when he encountered queer theory in college. As they put it, "queers and college go together like peanut butter and jelly," and for them, this was especially true. Seeing himself reflected in the work José Esteban Muñoz was life-changing: Muñoz's theory of disidentification empowered Gonsalez to reclaim their Latinx and queer identities--and inspired him to push back against the largely-white monolith of queer theory. In the sophisticated yet intimately disarming prose of In Theory, Darling, Gonsalez takes his copy of Disidentifications to the gay bar, to the classroom, to their childhome and beyond, inviting us to go along with him as he limns the queerness of reality TV, mourns the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre, searches for their uncle in Paris Is Burning, looks for Muñoz's legacy in the streets of New York, and situates themself in the lineage of the queer elders who have come before him. Conversational yet deeply analytical, intimate yet wide-ranging, youthful yet sophisticated, Gonsalez's essays crackle with intellectual energy--and remind us just how life-giving theory can be. -
Rink Rash
She's the roller derby captain and her newest rival is her very own teammate.There are only three things that get under Madeline Maddox's skin: defeat, disorder, and disruption, especially when it comes to her carefully curated life and her roller derby team. Because no one outskates Mad Maddox-that is, until a cocky little jammer blows back into her hometown wreaking havoc into all her plans.
Vera Havik is mayhem, she's chaos, she's everything Madeline despises.
Madeline is set on making their time on the track together a rink-rash-filled nightmare, pushing through Vera's defenses like a bad block. That's when she learns the heavy secret the world-famous jammer is hiding. Everything's off-track now, including their hearts.
The fine line between love and hatred can be crushed, snorted, or injected...
But it can't be ignored.
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Bread of Angels: A Memoir
A radiant new memoir from beloved artist and writer Patti Smith, author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids "God whispers through a crease in the wallpaper," writes Patti Smith in this indelible account of her life as an artist. A post-World War II childhood unfolds in a condemned housing complex described in Dickensian detail: consumptive children, vanishing neighbors, an infested rat house, and beguiling book of Irish fairytales. We enter the child's world of the imagination where Smith, the captain of her loyal and beloved sibling army, vanquishes bullies, communes with tortoises and turns pennies into gold. The most intimate of Smith's suite of memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us from her teenage years where the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan emerge as creative heroes and role models as Patti starts to write poetry, then lyrics, merging both into the iconic songs and records such as Horses and Easter, "Dancing Barefoot" and "Because the Night." Then she leaves it all behind to marry her one true love, Fred Sonic Smith, with whom she creates a mystical life of devotion and adventure on a canal in St. Clair shores, Michigan with ancient willows and fulsome pear trees. She creates a room of her own, furnished with a pillow of Moroccan silk, a Persian cup, inkwell and fountain pen. The couple spend nights in their landlocked Chris-Craft studying nautical maps and charting new adventures as they start their family. As Smith loses those around her, grief, loss, and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life and, finally, writing again. The one constant in a life driven by artistic fire and the power of the imagination to transform the mundane into the beautiful, the commonplace into the magical, and pain into hope. In the final pages, we meet Patti on the road, the vagabond who travels to commune with herself, who lives to write and writes to live. -
Dandadan, Vol. 16
A nerd must fight powerful spirits and aliens all vying for the secret power of his "family jewel," so who better to fight alongside him than his high school crush and a spirit granny?! Momo Ayase and Okarun are on opposite sides of the paranormal spectrum regarding what they'll believe in and what they won't. Their quest to prove each other wrong leads them down a path of secret crushes and paranormal battles they'll have to participate in to believe! Momo and Okarun task Turbo Granny with uncovering who picked up Okarun's family jewel from the police station. She succeeds in infiltrating the station but is quickly thwarted by the station computers. Undaunted, the pair decide they'll try again, but on their way home, they run into the Serpoian Rokuro, and it's through his powers they're able to identify the culprit! But why is it that guy? -
This Place Kills Me: A Graphic Novel
A compelling, propulsive YA graphic novel mystery from acclaimed Eisner Award-winning author of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Mariko Tamaki, and Eisner-nominated illustrator Nicole Goux Multiple starred reviews! "Certain to leave readers breathlessly enthralled." (Kirkus starred review) At Wilberton Academy, few students are more revered than the members of the elite Wilberton Theatrical Society--a.k.a. the WTS--and no one represents that exclusive club better than Elizabeth Woodward. Breathtakingly beautiful, beloved by all, and a talented thespian, it's no surprise she's starring as Juliet in the WTS's performance of Shakespeare's classic tragedy. But when she's found dead the morning after opening night, the whole school is thrown into chaos. Transfer student Abby Kita was one of the last people to see Elizabeth alive, and when local authorities deem the it-girl's death a suicide, Abby's not convinced. She's sure there's more to Wilburton and the WTS than meets the eye. As she gets tangled in prep school intrigues, Abby quickly realizes that Elizabeth was keeping secrets. Was one of those secrets worth killing for? Told in comics, letters, diary entries, and news articles, This Place Kills Me is a page-turning whodunnit from award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki and acclaimed illustrator Nicole Goux that will have readers on the edge of their seats and begging for an encore. -
Absolute Superman Vol. 1: Last Dust of Krypton
Without the fortress, without the family, without a home...what's left is the Absolute Man of Steel! Spiraling out of the catastrophic events of Absolute Power, a new side of the DC Universe is born--the Absolute Universe! In a different, darker world, Kal-El landed in a remote Kansas field, the last survivor from an alien planet...but even before that moment, nothing unfolded as you'd expect. As he tries to survive in a world seemingly determined to repeat the mistakes of the demolished Krypton, he'll come into conflict with the globe-straddling Lazarus Corporation and its agenda of exploitation...and go fist-to-fist with its brutal army of Peacemakers! Best-selling writer Jason Aaron (Star Wars, Thor, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) is joined by superstar artist Rafa Sandoval (The Flash, Action Comics) to reinvent Superman from the ground up! Collects Absolute Superman #1-6. -
Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER - "A magisterial overview of a thousand years of Native American history" (The New York Review of Books), from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today WINNER OF THE BANCROFT PRIZE, THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE, AND THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE Long before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. And, as award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal vividly recounts, when Europeans did arrive, no civilization came to a halt because of a few wandering explorers, even when the strangers came well armed. A millennium ago, North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged, moving away from rather than toward urbanization. From this urban past, egalitarian government structures, diplomacy, and complex economies spread across North America. So, when Europeans showed up in the sixteenth century, they encountered societies they did not understand--those having developed differently from their own--and whose power they often underestimated. For centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests. In Native Nations, we see how Mohawks closely controlled trade with the Dutch--and influenced global markets--and how Quapaws manipulated French colonists. Power dynamics shifted after the American Revolution, but Indigenous people continued to command much of the continent's land and resources. Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa forged new alliances and encouraged a controversial new definition of Native identity to attempt to wall off U.S. ambitions. The Cherokees created institutions to assert their sovereignty on the global stage, and the Kiowas used their power in the west to regulate the passage of white settlers across their territory. In this important addition to the growing tradition of North American history centered on Indigenous nations, Kathleen DuVal shows how the definitions of power and means of exerting it shifted over time, but the sovereignty and influence of Native peoples remained a constant--and will continue far into the future. "An essential American history"--The Wall Street Journal