Search:

Results 91 to 100 of 118 | « previous |

The second ending : a novel / by Hoffman, Michelle,author.;
"A former prodigy refuses to believe her best years are behind her in this sparkling debut about second chances, unexpected joys, and the miraculous healing power of art and connection. It's a lot of pressure being compared to Mozart. Especially when you're only five. Prudence Childs was once the most famous kindergartner on the planet. She played at the White House, appeared on talk shows, and inspired a generation of children to take up piano. But as adolescence closed in, Prudence began to see that she was just another exploited child star, pushed to unnatural limits by her attention-hungry grandmother. Convinced that her "genius" was mostly a scam, Prudence ran away--both from performing and from her greedy handlers--as soon as she was old enough to vote. This one act of rebellion came with a cost--soon, Prudence was flat broke and utterly alone. Desperate for cash, she took a job writing commercial jingles, which earned her a fortune, but left her creatively adrift. Now forty-eight, after decades of questioning her talent, Prudence is determined to prove she's never lost her musical genius by competing on a wildly popular TV show. Her on-air rival is virtuoso pianist Alexei Petrov, a stunning young Internet sensation with a massive audience and a dreamy Russian accent. But Alexei's many charms are near the end of Prudence's long list of problems. The biggest threat to her comeback--aside from her own wavering confidence--is her terrible ex-husband, Bobby, who has evidence that she plagiarized her first and most iconic commercial jingle. If Prudence doesn't give Bobby the money he wants, he swears he'll use her new spotlight to take her down for good. But throughout the course of this novel brimming with quirky magic, humor, and emotional depth, Prudence might just defy the breathtaking odds and her overwhelming self-doubt--and find that her star still burns bright"--
Subjects: Novels.; Contests; Extortion; Pianists; Reality television programs;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

40 days & 40 hikes : loving the Bruce Trail one loop at a time / by Ross, Nicola,1957-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Travel the Bruce Trail in day hikes with Loops & Lattes author Nicola Ross Best known for her detailed Loops & Lattes hiking guides, Nicola Ross has inspired tens of thousands of people to lace up their boots and explore Ontario's trails. In 40 Days & 40 Hikes, this adventurer, author, and environmentalist sets herself a new challenge: to hike the Bruce Trail from Niagara to Tobermory in her own creative way. In 40 cleverly crafted day-loops, Ross covers over 900 kilometers mostly following Canada's longest marked trail, taking you with her on an insightful journey to the Niagara Escarpment's remarkable sights. As Ross walks, she reveals stories of the trail's flora and fauna, geology and history. The Bruce Trail becomes the central character as she ponders her role in protecting the fragile corner of the planet that, she contends, is entwined in her DNA. Despite long days on the trail, encounters with bears, ticks, and a deadly derecho, her passion for her beloved Niagara Escarpment mounts as she explores Ontario's "ribbon of wilderness." Perfect for hikers, non-hikers, and anyone who loves an adventure, 40 Days & 40 Hikes is both a captivating travelogue and a useful companion for those who Ross will undoubtedly inspire to follow in her footsteps"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Travel writing.; Ross, Nicola, 1957-; Hiking;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Dear Santa [text (large print)] : a novel / by Macomber, Debbie,author.;
Lindy Carmichael isn't feeling particularly joyful when she returns home to Wenatchee, Washington, for Christmas. The man she thought was 'the one' has cheated on her with her best friend and she feels completely devoid of creativity in her graphic-design job. Not even carollers or Christmas cookies can cheer her up - but Lindy's mother, Ellen, remembers an old tradition that might lift her daughter's spirits. Reading through a box of childhood letters to Santa and reminiscing about what she'd wished for as a young girl may be just the inspiration Lindy needs. With Ellen's encouragement, she decides to write a new letter to Santa, one that will encourage her to have faith and believe just as she'd done all those years ago. Little does Lindy know that this exercise in gratitude will cause her wishes to unfold before her in miraculous ways. And, thanks to some fateful twists of Christmas magic - especially an unexpected connection with a handsome former classmate - Lindy ultimately realises that there is truly no place like home for the holidays. In Dear Santa, Debbie Macomber celebrates the joys of Christmas blessings, old and new.
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Christmas fiction.; Large type books.; Letter writing; Letters; Man-woman relationships; Mothers and daughters;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Furious hours : murder, fraud, and the last trial of Harper Lee / by Cep, Casey N.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."The stunning story of an Alabama serial killer and the true-crime book that Harper Lee worked on obsessively in the years after To Kill a Mockingbird. Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted--thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the Reverend. Sitting in the audience during the vigilante's trial was Harper Lee, who had traveled from New York City to her native Alabama with the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research seventeen years earlier. Lee spent a year in town reporting, and many more working on her own version of the case. Now Casey Cep brings this nearly inconceivable story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South. At the same time, she offers a deeply moving portrait of one of the country's most beloved writers and her struggle with fame, success, and the mystery of artistic creativity"--"The stunning true story of an Alabama serial killer, and the trial that obsessed the author of To Kill a Mockingbird in the years after the publication of her classic novel--a complicated and difficult time in her life that, until now, has been very little examined. Willie Maxwell was a Baptist reverend in Alabama; he also happened to be a serial killer. Between 1970 and 1977, his two wives and brother all died under suspicious circumstances -- each with hefty life insurance policies taken out by none other than the Reverend himself. With the help of a savvy lawyer, Maxwell escaped justice for years. Then, the teenage daughter of his third wife perished. At the funeral, the victim's uncle shot the Reverend dead in a church full of witnesses--and was subsequently acquitted of the murder, thanks to the same savvy lawyer who had represented the Reverend for all those years. Sitting in the audience during the trial was Harper Lee, who had traveled from New York to her native Alabama with an idea of writing a book about the case. Now, Casey Cep brings this nearly inconceivable, gripping story to life on the page: from the shocking murders to the chicanery of insurance fraud to the courtroom drama. At the same time, it is a vividly told, elegiac account of Harper Lee's quest to write a second book after To Kill a Mockingbird, and a deeply moving portrait of this beloved writer's struggle with fame, success, and the mysteries of artistic creativity"--
Subjects: True crime stories.; Maxwell, Willie.; Lee, Harper.; Serial murders; Murder; Trials (Murder);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Mastering AI : a survival guide to our superpowered future / by Kahn, Jeremy,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-312) and index.A Fortune magazine journalist draws on his expertise and extensive contacts among the companies and scientists at the forefront of artificial intelligence to offer dramatic predictions of AI's impact over the next decade, from reshaping our economy and the way we work, learn, and create to unknitting our social fabric, jeopardizing our democracy, and fundamentally altering the way we think. Within the next five years, Jeremy Kahn predicts, AI will disrupt almost every industry and enterprise, with vastly increased efficiency and productivity. It will restructure the workforce, making AI copilots a must for every knowledge worker. It will revamp education, meaning children around the world can have personal, portable tutors. It will revolutionize health care, making individualized, targeted pharmaceuticals more affordable. It will compel us to reimagine how we make art, compose music, and write and publish books. The potential of generative AI to extend our skills, talents, and creativity as humans is undeniably exciting and promising. But while this new technology has a bright future, it also casts a dark and fearful shadow. AI will provoke pervasive, disruptive, potentially devastating knock-on effects. Leveraging his unrivaled access to the leaders, scientists, futurists, and others who are making AI a reality, Kahn will argue that if not carefully designed and vigilantly regulated AI will deepen income inequality, depressing wages while imposing winner-take-all markets across much of the economy. AI risks undermining democracy, as truth is overtaken by misinformation, racial bias, and harmful stereotypes. Continuing a process begun by the internet, AI will rewire our brains, likely inhibiting our ability to think critically, to remember, and even to get along with one another -- unless we all take decisive action to prevent this from happening.
Subjects: Artificial intelligence.; Artificial intelligence; Artificial intelligence; Artificial intelligence;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The light of Paris / by Brown, Eleanor,1973-author.;
"Madeleine is trapped--by her family's expectations, by her controlling husband, and by her own fears--in an unhappy marriage and a life she never wanted. From the outside, it looks like she has everything, but on the inside, she fears she has nothing that matters. In Madeleine's memories, her grandmother Margie is the kind of woman she should have been--elegant, reserved, perfect. But when Madeleine finds a diary detailing Margie's bold, romantic trip to Jazz Age Paris, she meets the grandmother she never knew: a dreamer who defied her strict, staid family and spent an exhilarating summer writing in cafes, living on her own, and falling for a charismatic artist. Despite her unhappiness, when Madeleine's marriage is threatened, she panics, escaping to her hometown and staying with her critical, disapproving mother. In that unlikely place, shaken by the revelation of a long-hidden family secret and inspired by her grandmother's bravery, Madeleine creates her own Parisian summer--reconnecting to her love of painting, cultivating a vibrant circle of creative friends, and finding a kindred spirit in a down-to-earth chef who reminds her to feed both her body and her heart. Margie and Madeleine's stories intertwine to explore the joys and risks of living life on our own terms, of defying the rules that hold us back from our dreams, and of becoming the people we are meant to be"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Married women; Self-actualization (Psychology) in women; Self-realization in women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Erotic vagrancy : everything about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor / by Lewis, Roger,1960-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Thirteen years in the writing, Erotic Vagrancy doesn't only surpass every other biography of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton yet to appear, this rich, vital and passionately articulated book, which is as extravagant and wayward as its two subjects, is also about celebrity, creativity, being flawed, being brilliant, sexuality, the intermingling of a low and a highbrow existence, pride, insecurity, attraction and repulsion, and devilry. We see Taylor the child actress exchanging dogs and horses for husbands. We see Burton emerging from the mists and brimstone of Wales to be the greatest theatrical animal of his generation. The pair come together in Rome during the making of Cleopatra, which gives Lewis the opportunity for a major farcical set-piece. We then enter a world of jewels and private jets, vodka, yachts and furs--the splendid vulgarity of the Sixties, where the narrative of Taylor and Burton becomes a Pop Art story. Then, inevitably, it all goes wrong, with alcoholism, violence, recrimination and divorce (twice)--with Burton, whom Lewis depicts as a Faustus figure, damned by fame, dead at fifty-eight."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Taylor, Elizabeth, 1932-2011.; Burton, Richard, 1925-1984.; Motion picture actors and actresses; Motion picture actors and actresses; Motion picture actors and actresses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The light of Paris [sound recording] / by Brown, Eleanor,1973-author.; Campbell, Cassandra,narrator.; Penguin Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Cassandra Campbell."Madeleine is trapped--by her family's expectations, by her controlling husband, and by her own fears--in an unhappy marriage and a life she never wanted. From the outside, it looks like she has everything, but on the inside, she fears she has nothing that matters. In Madeleine's memories, her grandmother Margie is the kind of woman she should have been--elegant, reserved, perfect. But when Madeleine finds a diary detailing Margie's bold, romantic trip to Jazz Age Paris, she meets the grandmother she never knew: a dreamer who defied her strict, staid family and spent an exhilarating summer writing in cafes, living on her own, and falling for a charismatic artist. Despite her unhappiness, when Madeleine's marriage is threatened, she panics, escaping to her hometown and staying with her critical, disapproving mother. In that unlikely place, shaken by the revelation of a long-hidden family secret and inspired by her grandmother's bravery, Madeleine creates her own Parisian summer--reconnecting to her love of painting, cultivating a vibrant circle of creative friends, and finding a kindred spirit in a down-to-earth chef who reminds her to feed both her body and her heart. Margie and Madeleine's stories intertwine to explore the joys and risks of living life on our own terms, of defying the rules that hold us back from our dreams, and of becoming the people we are meant to be"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Domestic fiction.; Married women; Self-actualization (Psychology) in women; Self-realization in women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

River of fire : my spiritual journey / by Prejean, Helen,author.;
In this revelatory, intimate memoir from the author of Dead Man Walking, the nation's foremost leader in efforts to abolish the death penalty shares the story of her growth as a spiritual leader, speaks out about the challenges of the Catholic Church, and shows that joy and religion are not mutually exclusive. Sister Helen Prejean's work as an activist nun, campaigning to educate Americans about the inhumanity of the death penalty, is known to millions worldwide. Less widely known is the evolution of her spiritual journey from praying for God to solve the world's problems to engaging full-tilt in working to transform societal injustices. Sister Helen grew up in a well-off Baton Rouge family that still employed black servants. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph at the age of eighteen and was in her forties when she had an awakening that her life's work was to immerse herself in the struggle of poor people forced to live on the margins of society. Sister Helen writes about the relationships with friends, fellow nuns, and mentors who have shaped her over the years. In this honest and fiercely open account, she writes about her close friendship with a priest, intent on marrying her, that challenged her vocation in the "new territory of the heart." The final page of River of Fire ends with the opening page of Dead Man Walking, when she was first invited to correspond with a man on Louisiana's death row. River of Fire is a book for anyone interested in journeys of faith and spirituality, doubt and belief, and "catching on fire" to purpose and passion. It is a book, written in accessible, luminous prose, about how to live a spiritual life that is wide awake to the sufferings and creative opportunities of our world.
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Prejean, Helen.; Sisters of Saint Joseph; Nuns;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Cubed : the puzzle of us all / by Rubik, Ernő,author.;
"The first book by the reclusive inventor of the world's most iconic puzzle the Rubik's Cube. Ernő Rubik inspires us with what he's learned in a lifetime of creating, curiosity, and discovery. Ernő Rubik was a child when he first became obsessed with puzzles of all kinds. "Puzzles," he writes, "bring out important qualities in each of us: concentration, curiosity, a sense of play, the eagerness to discover a solution." To Rubik puzzles aren't just games-they're creativity machines. He encourages us to embrace our inner curiosity and find the puzzles that surround us in our everyday lives. "If you are determined, you will solve them," he writes. Rubik's own puzzle, the Cube, went on to be solved by millions worldwide for over forty years, become one of the bestselling toys of all time, and to be featured as a global symbol of intelligence and ingenuity. In Cubed, Rubik covers more than just his journey to inventing his eponymous cube. He makes a case for always being an amateur-something he has always which considered himself. He discusses the inevitability of problems during any act of invention. He reveals what it was like to experience the astonishing worldwide success of an object he made purely for his own play. And he offers what he thinks it means to be a true creator (hint: anyone can do it). Steeped in the wisdom and also the humility of a born inventor, Cubed offers a unique look at the imperfect science of creation"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Rubik, Ernő.; Rubik's Cube.; Inventors;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Results 91 to 100 of 118 | « previous |