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A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2015

An NBC Latino Selection for Ten Great Latino Books Published in 2015

Arriving in Buenos Aires in 1913, with only a suitcase and her father's cherished violin to her name, seventeen-year-old Leda is shocked to find that the husband she has travelled across an ocean to reach is dead. Unable to return home, alone, and on the brink of destitution, she finds herself seduced by the tango, the dance that underscores every aspect of life in her new city. Knowing that she can never play in public as a woman, Leda disguises herself as a young man to join a troupe of musicians. In the illicit, scandalous world of brothels and cabarets, the line between Leda and her disguise begins to blur, and forbidden longings that she has long kept suppressed are realized for the first time. Powerfully sensual, The Gods of Tango is an erotically charged story of music, passion, and the quest for an authentic life against the odds.

This boxed set of the first three books--Still Life, A Fatal Grace, and The Cruelest Month--introduces not only the engaging series hero Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces--and this series--with integrity and quiet courage, but also the spectacular Louise Penny.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life in Three Pines, finding long buried secrets--and facing a few enemies of his own.

A #1 New York Times bestseller and multiple award winner, Louise Penny writes with grace and intelligence (New York Times Book Review) and with her smart plot and fascinating, nuanced characters...proves that she is one of our finest writers (People).

Still Life
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.

Fatal Grace
No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter--and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he's dealing with someone quite extraordinary. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village, as she watched the annual curling tournament. And yet no one saw anything. Who could have been insane enough to try such a macabre method of murder--or brilliant enough to succeed?

The Cruelest Month
It's spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth. But not everything is meant to return to life. . . When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil--until one of their party dies of fright. Was this a natural death, or was the victim somehow helped along?
Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate

Louise Penny Boxed Set (1-3):
Book one: Still Life
Book two: A Fatal Grace
Book three: The Cruelest Month

Lord Byron was the most celebrated of all the Romantic poets. Troubled, handsome, sexually fluid, disabled, and transgressive, he wrote his way to international fame - and scandal - before finding a kind of redemption in the Greek Revolution. He also left behind the vast trove of thrilling letters (to friends, relatives, lovers, and more) that form the core of this remarkable biography. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Byron's death, and adopting a fresh approach, it explores his life and work through some of his best, most resonant correspondence. Each chapter opens with Byron's own voice - as if we have opened a letter from the poet himself - followed by a vivid account of the emotions and experiences that missive touches. This gripping life traces the meteoric trajectory of a poet whose brilliance shook the world and whose legacy continues to shape art and culture to this day.

A tender and perceptive novel about three generations of an Irish American family jarred into crisis by an unexpected pregnancy--from the bestselling author of Hello Beautiful

"This stunning . . . exquisite, skillfully written gem addresses serious issues-e.g., guilt vs. loyalty, the past vs. the present--[but] remains hopeful and includes ample doses of humor and wit."--Library Journal (starred review)

No one in my mother's family ever talks about anything that can be categorized as unpleasant or as having to do with emotions. . . .

This spellbinding debut by bestselling author Ann Napolitano is a poignant reminder of how connected we are to those we love, even when we cannot find the words to say it. The unforgettable story of three generations of a large Irish Catholic family, Within Arms Reach is another rich and deeply satisfying novel from the author who captured the many dimensions of grief in Dear Edward and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood in Hello Beautiful.

Jump into the fun world of kawaii -- the Japanese word for cute! The 30 color-by-number scenes are filled with cuddly characters, sweet treats, and tons of other delightful drawings. An easy-to-follow color key appears on each page to help kids make the adorable illustrations pop. Loads of fun for home or travel, this activity book helps build number and color recognition and will provide hours of amusement for ages 4 and up.

Although Charles Darwin's theory of evolution laid the foundations of modern biology, it did not tell the whole story. Most remarkably, The Origin of Species said very little about, of all things, the origins of species. Darwin and his modern successors have shown very convincingly how inherited variations are naturally selected, but they leave unanswered how variant organisms come to be in the first place. In Symbiotic Planet, renowned scientist Lynn Margulis shows that symbiosis, which simply means members of different species living in physical contact with each other, is crucial to the origins of evolutionary novelty. Ranging from bacteria, the smallest kinds of life, to the largest -- the living Earth itself -- Margulis explains the symbiotic origins of many of evolution's most important innovations. The very cells we're made of started as symbiotic unions of different kinds of bacteria. Sex -- and its inevitable corollary, death -- arose when failed attempts at cannibalism resulted in seasonally repeated mergers of some of our tiniest ancestors. Dry land became forested only after symbioses of algae and fungi evolved into plants. Since all living things are bathed by the same waters and atmosphere, all the inhabitants of Earth belong to a symbiotic union. Gaia, the finely tuned largest ecosystem of the Earth's surface, is just symbiosis as seen from space. Along the way, Margulis describes her initiation into the world of science and the early steps in the present revolution in evolutionary biology; the importance of species classification for how we think about the living world; and the way "academic apartheid" can block scientific advancement. Written with enthusiasm and authority, this is a book that could change the way you view our living Earth.

For over two decades, Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magick has been the world's most popular step-by-step guide to working real magick. Tens of thousands of individuals and groups have used this course as their primary instruction manual. Now, greatly revised and expanded, this set of lessons is more complete and relevant to your life than ever.

Written with respect for the student, Modern Magick will safely guide you--even if you know little or nothing--through a progressive series of practical exercises and rituals, complemented by the knowledge, history, insights, and theory you need to become a successful ceremonial magician. Firmly rooted in the Western magickal tradition yet designed to be fully compatible with your contemporary practice, this book will help you attain full mastery of all core topics in magick:

• The inner mysteries of the Kabalah
• The most powerful rituals of magick
• How to create and perform your own rituals
• True meditation
• Magickal ethics
• Astral projection
• Tools of magick
• Evocation of spirits
• Pathworking
• Tantra and sex magick
• The importance of the Tarot
• Talismans and amulets
• Secrets of visualization
• Alchemy
• Psychic self-defense
• Healing rituals

Filled with personal stories and helpful illustrations, along with updated and brand-new material, this new edition of Modern Magick features a completely new lesson that reveals the concepts, techniques, and rituals of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Chaos Magick, and Postmodern Magick. Ideal for beginning, intermediate, or advanced students, and perfect as a manual for magickal temples, this is essential reading for every true magician.

Praise:
"Modern Magick is a modern-day classic. It has become the standard textbook of practical magickal knowledge for magicians all over the world. We highly recommend it to beginner and adept alike."--Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, authors of Experiencing the Kabbalah and Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition

Spring is in the air! That means great things like warmer weather, playing outside, and baseball!

So, when Blake is distracted by kids in the schoolyard, it's no wonder why he doesn't notice his friends working on the ground and knocks over their project! And when things are slow in the outfield and Blake begins to work on a dirt clump beneath his feet, is it a surprise he doesn't see or hear the warning before a baseball nails him in the elbow? And come on, how is he supposed to keep working on his math test when it's taking FOREVER, and he just wants to go outside?

Focus. Focus. Focus. That is the advice Blake frequently hears but fails to follow. Although he may be struggling with focus and learning to stay on task, the adults in his life are there to help teach him how to use tools like the work/brain break cycle, squishy eraser, glove tapping, and more!

Fix It with Focus adds another entertaining lesson to the very popular Executive Function series by award-winning author, school counselor, dad and coach Bryan Smith. Being able to focus is an important life skill and can help set children up for success.

Included at the end of the story are tips for parents and educators to help teach children in grades K through 5 how to channel their energy, time-management and self-monitoring skills..

The series also includes:

• What Were You Thinking?
• My Day Is Ruined!
• It Was Just Right Here!
• Of Course It's a Big Deal!
• Time to Get Started!
• What's the Problem?
• How Did You Miss That?
• I'll Never Get All of That Done!
• How Do I Remember All That?

How the law harms sex workers--and what they want instead

Do you have to endorse prostitution in order to support sex worker rights? Should clients be criminalized, and can the police deliver justice?

In Revolting Prostitutes, sex workers Juno Mac and Molly Smith bring a fresh perspective to questions that have long been contentious. Speaking from a growing global sex worker rights movement, and situating their argument firmly within wider questions of migration, work, feminism, and resistance to white supremacy, they make it clear that anyone committed to working towards justice and freedom should be in support of the sex worker rights movement.

Please do not order before the publication date to avoid getting the wrong version of the book.

Vol#1: I have everything. All that's missing is your love.

Be mine, or let me be yours.

They only thing that could lower the head of a prideful man was the humbleness of love.

Vol#2: Thank you, for giving me light.

Mr. Li, I officially invite you - to shine on me for my whole life.

The rose is mine. The sunlight is mine too.

But I will always be yours.

Vol#3: It's a big world.

No matter where, no matter when, no matter what - anything is good.

As long as it's with you.

You're truly talented at seducing me.

That's because I'm truly serious about loving you.

"Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo...a dazzling depiction of passion, prohibition, and murder." --Shelf Awareness

"Ambitious and stunning." --Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author

"Vibrant...A highly entertaining read!" --Ellen Marie Wiseman New York Times Bestselling author of THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR

"The music practically pours out of the pages of Denny S. Bryce's historical novel, set among the artists and dreamers of the 1920s." --OprahMag.com

Goodreads Debut Novel to Discover & Biggest Upcoming Historical Fiction Books
Oprah Magazine, Parade, Ms. Magazine, SheReads, Bustle, BookBub, Frolic, & BiblioLifestyle Most Anticipated Books
Marie Claire & Black Business Guide's Books By Black Writers to Read
TODAY & Buzzfeed Books for Bridgerton Fans
SheReads Most Anticipated BIPOC Winter Releases 2021
Palm Beach Post Books for Your 2021 Reading List

In a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love...in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections.

"Why would I talk to you about my life? I don't know you, and even if I did, I don't tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed.You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while."

1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Café is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper's daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose.

2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink. Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he's right--if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he's expecting...

Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It's a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it's a final chance to be truly heard and seen before it's too late. No matter the cost...

"Immersive, mysterious and evocative; factual in its history and nuanced in its creativity." --Ms. Magazine


"Perfect...Denny S. Bryce is a superstar!" --Julia Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series

"Evocative and entertaining!" --Laura Kamoie, New York Times bestselling author

"Wild Women and the Blues deftly delivers what historical fiction has been missing." --Farrah Rochon USA Today bestselling author

In this quintessential work of queer theory, Jack Halberstam takes aim at the protected status of male masculinity and shows that female masculinity has offered a distinct alternative to it for well over two centuries. Demonstrating how female masculinity is not some bad imitation of virility, but a lively and dramatic staging of hybrid and minority genders, Halberstam catalogs the diversity of gender expressions among masculine women from nineteenth-century pre-lesbian practices to contemporary drag king performances.

Through detailed textual readings as well as empirical research, Halberstam uncovers a hidden history of female masculinities while arguing for a more nuanced understanding of gender categories that would incorporate rather than pathologize them. He rereads Anne Lister's diaries and Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness as foundational assertions of female masculine identity; considers the enigma of the stone butch and the politics surrounding butch/femme roles within lesbian communities; and explores issues of transsexuality among "transgender dykes"-lesbians who pass as men-and female-to-male transsexuals who may find the label of "lesbian" a temporary refuge. Halberstam also tackles such topics as women and boxing, butches in Hollywood and independent cinema, and the phenomenon of male impersonators.

Featuring a new preface by the author, this twentieth anniversary edition of Female Masculinity remains as insightful, timely, and necessary as ever.

Rachel Lacey, author of Stars Collide, serves up a steamy tale of Hollywood fame and subterfuge about a glamorous actress and the sexy bodyguard posing as her girlfriend.

Natalie Keane is one of Hollywood's top leading ladies, but she's paid a steep price for her fame. After she was stalked eight years ago, the ensuing media frenzy almost broke her. So when a new threat arises, Natalie agrees to extra security, but she wants to keep it under wraps. The last thing she needs is another tabloid spectacle, especially during awards season.

Taylor Vaughn has made a career as a bodyguard to the stars, but an injury has kept her sidelined for the past three months, jeopardizing her future in the job she loves. When an opportunity arises to work for Natalie Keane, Taylor jumps at the chance--even before knowing the details of the assignment.

From the moment they meet, Natalie knows this could work: Taylor, the bodyguard, masquerading as her girlfriend. The perfect cover story. But as circumstances push the two women closer, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur.

*A Town and Country Must-Read Book of Summer?*
*A BUZZFEED BEST BOOK OF JUNE*
*A Washington Post "Book to Read This Summer"*
*AN ADVOCATE BEST LGBTQ+ BOOK OF 2022*
*A USA Today "Book to Celebrate Pride Month"*
*A New York Times "Editor's Pick"*
*A Kirkus Reviews Hottest Book of Summer*

A groundbreaking account of New York's Fire Island, chronicling its influence on art, literature, culture and queer liberation over the past century

Fire Island, a thin strip of beach off the Long Island coast, has long been a vital space in the queer history of America. Both utopian and exclusionary, healing and destructive, the island is a locus of contradictions, all of which coalesce against a stunning ocean backdrop.

Now, poet and scholar Jack Parlett tells the story of this iconic destination--its history, its meaning and its cultural significance--told through the lens of the artists and creators who sought refuge on its shores. Together, figures as divergent as Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, Carson McCullers, Frank O'Hara, Patricia Highsmith and Jeremy O. Harris tell the story of a queer space in constant evolution.

Transporting, impeccably researched and gorgeously written, Fire Island is the definitive book on an iconic American destination and an essential contribution to queer history.

Design a truly unique vacation with 100 intriguing alternatives to more predictable, expensive, and overcrowded destinations.

Let's face it. These days, many of the world's most beloved places have become expensive and overcrowded, making their celebrated allure that much harder to enjoy. But fear not: Here Not There helps you create a more robust, off-the-beaten path vacation by revealing 100 alternative destinations to the standard travel playbook--as well as expert tips on when to visit, where to eat, what to see, and where to stay.

In this surprising collection of lively travel itineraries, you'll find authentic, unexpected, and rewarding destinations of a lifetime to add to your bucket list, including:

• A trip to Quito, Ecuador, instead of Lima, Peru, for iconic architecture and top-notch South American cuisine.
• A road trip along West Virginia's byways instead of New England's highways for brilliant autumn colors.
• A romantic rendezvous to Lecce, Italy, instead of mega-touristed Florence for art, wine, and artifacts.
• A hiking excursion in Chile's Lake District instead of England's for an unexpected natural wonder.
• A theater-infused visit to Cleveland, Ohio, where the performances match the levels of New York City's Broadway.
• A tour of Portugal's Azores, rather than the Hawaiian islands, for flora, fauna, and underwater adventures.
• A water-filled excursion through New York's Thousand Islands instead of a cruise down Germany's Rhine River.
• A trip to Detroit to find Art Deco skyscrapers (and even a beach in Motown) that rival those of Miami.

Both surprising and inspiring, Here Not There offers readers a chance to think beyond our typical borders and discover undreamed-of destinations.

Nature made Ash beautiful; Nurture made him a killer!

VICE CITY: NEW YORK IN THE 80s...

Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir and sex toy of "Papa" Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the kingdom held out by the devil who raised him. But the hideous secret that drove Ash's older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa's insatiably ambitious hands--and it's exactly the wrong time for Eiji Okamura, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan, to make Ash Lynx's acquaintance... Epic in scope, and one of the best-selling shojo titles of all time in Japan, Akimi Yoshida put an electric shock into the genre and gained a huge crossover audience through Banana Fish's stripped-down, non-stop style.

Ash and Dr. Alexis Dawson, the surviving brother of the duo that created Banana Fish, struggle to escape the mental institution where they have been committed against their will. Unbeknownst to Ash, Max and Ibé are also attempting to free him. Ash litters the complex's sterile hallways with the corpses of the guards who try to stop him. Then Blanca, a mysterious new character with a link to Ash's past, emerges, and Dino hires him to get Ash.