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Rediscovering travel : a guide for the globally curious / by Kugel, Seth,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.In his insightful and fun book, Kugel, former New York Times "Frugal Traveler" columnist, takes on the increasingly commercial and technological aspects of 21st-century travel. His advice will stimulate travelers' curiosity while rescuing a sense of adventure that has been eclipsed by technology and corporate tourism. Kugel bemoans the spawning of neighborhoods that have become "cultural amusement parks" brought on by the exploding business of apartment rental services in cities around the globe. Kugel stresses the benefits of traveling inexpensively: more trips can be taken, and travelers will be closer to the everyday life and will have more opportunities for discovering intriguing people, tasty food, and exhilarating sites. He admits that technology and travel media have made traveling "easier, faster, and cheaper" but cautions against overuse of online resources such as hotel and restaurant reviews, Google Maps, and GPS ("Studies show that drivers using GPS to get somewhere don't pay attention to their surroundings and thus have more trouble finding their way back"). Although Kugel acknowledges that the travel industry will always be necessary "to transport people to their destinations," he believes that adventurous souls will have more luck finding inspiration, personalization, and self-discovery with "just a tiny push toward less-planned travel experiences." Kugel's advice for discovery-filled travel is thought-provoking and surprisingly simple.
Subjects: Kugel, Seth; Tourism.; Travel.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Interstellar : the search for extraterrestrial life and our future in the stars / by Loeb, Abraham,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."How do we prepare ourselves for interaction with interstellar extraterrestrial civilization? How can our species become interstellar? Now Avi Loeb tackles these questions in a revelatory, powerful call to arms that reimagines the idea of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. Dismantling our science-fiction fueled visions of a human and alien life encounter, Interstellar provides a realistic and practical blueprint for how such an interaction might actually occur, resetting our cultural understanding and expectation of what it means to identify an extraterrestrial object. From awe-inspiring searches for extraterrestrial technology, to the heated debate of the existence of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, Loeb provides a thrilling, front-row view of the monumental progress in science and technology currently preparing us for contact. He also lays out the profound implications of becoming--or not becoming--interstellar; in an urgent, eloquent appeal for more proactive engagement with the world beyond ours, he powerfully contends why we must seek out other life forms, and in the process, choose who and what we are within the universe ... Interstellar revolutionizes the approach to our search for extraterrestrial life and our preparation for its discovery. In this eye-opening, necessary look at our future, Avi Loeb artfully and expertly raises some of the most important questions facing us as humans, and proves, once again, that scientific curiosity is the key to our survival."--
Subjects: Human-alien encounters.; Interstellar travel.; Life on other planets.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Second act : a novel / by Steel, Danielle,author.;
"As the head of a prestigious movie studio for nearly two decades, Andy Westfield has had every conceivable professional luxury: a stunning office on the forty-fourth floor, a loyal assistant who can all but read his mind, access to a private jet and company cars. The son of Hollywood royalty, Andy always put his career before his marriage, and now, besides his daughter and young grandchildren, it's the only thing he truly loves. But then Andy's world is upended. The studio is sold, and the buyer's son demands the top seat. Out of a job and humiliated, Andy spirals. When his head clears, he decides to get as far away from Los Angeles as possible until the dust settles and he can find a new way forward. Andy signs a six-month rental agreement for a luxurious home in a tiny, forgotten coastal town two hours from London. When he arrives, he hires a local woman to help get his affairs in order. A former journalist, Violet Smith is at a crossroads as well, and this temporary job is exactly what she needs to tide her over. But when Violet leaves the manuscript of her unfinished novel behind after work one day, Andy lets his curiosity get the best of him and is captivated by a story that begs to be adapted for the big screen. Could this be the miracle they've both been looking for?"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Americans; Life change events; Man-woman relationships; Motion picture industry; Women authors;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 4
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Shadow of the solstice [text (large print)] / by Hillerman, Anne,1949-author.;
"The Navajo Nation police are on high alert when a U.S. Cabinet Secretary schedules an unprecedented trip to the little Navajo town of Shiprock, New Mexico. The visit coincides with a plan to resume uranium mining along the Navajo Nation border. Tensions around the official's arrival escalate when the body of a stranger is found in an area restricted for the disposal of radioactive uranium waste. Is it coincidence that a cult with a propensity for violence arrives at a private camp group outside Shiprock the same week to celebrate the summer solstice? When the outsiders' erratic behavior makes their Navajo hosts uneasy, Officer Bernadette Manuelito is assigned to monitor the situation. She finds a young boy at grave risk, abused women, and other shocking discoveries that plunge her and Lt. Jim Chee into a volatile and deadly situation. Meanwhile, Darleen Manuelito, Bernie's high spirited younger sister, learns one of her home health clients is gone--and the woman's daughter doesn't seem to care. Darleen's curiosity and sense of duty combine to lead her to discover that the client's grandson is also missing and that the two have become ensnared in a wickedly complex scheme exploiting indigenous people. Darleen's information meshes with a case Chee has begun to solve that deals with the evil underside of human nature"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Large print books.; Novels.; Leaphorn, Joe, Lieutenant (Fictitious character); Manuelito, Bernie (Fictitious character); Chee, Jim (Fictitious character); Cults; Missing persons; Police; Private investigators; Uranium mines and mining; Indigenous policing; Navajo;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sicker in the head : more conversations about life and comedy / by Apatow, Judd,1967-author.;
"No one knows comedy like Judd Apatow. From interviewing the biggest comics of the day for his high school radio show to performing stand-up in L.A. dive bars with his roommate Adam Sandler, to writing and directing Knocked Up and producing Freaks and Geeks, Apatow has always lived, breathed, and dreamed comedy. In this all-new collection of interviews, the sequel to the New York Times bestselling Sick in the Head, Apatow sits down with comedy icons John Mulaney, Hannah Gadsby, David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg, Bowen Yang, Hasan Minhaj, Margaret Cho, and many others to discuss what got them into comedy, and what--despite personal and national traumas--keeps them going. Together, they talk about staying up too late to watch late-night comedy, what kind of nerds they were in high school, and the right amount of delusional self-confidence one needs to try and "make it" in the industry. Along the way, they reminisce about their fellow comedians and showrunners who helped them through failure and rejection, and look ahead to the future of comedy and Hollywood in a hyper-connected, overstimulated world. With his trademark insight, curiosity, and legendary sense of humor, Apatow explores the nature of creativity, professional ambition, and vulnerability in an ever-evolving cultural landscape, and how our favorite comics are able to keep us laughing along the way"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Interviews.; Anecdotes.; Comedians; Motion picture actors and actresses; Stand-up comedy; Television actors and actresses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Who buries the dead : a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery / by Harris, C. S.;
Includes bibliographical references."London, 1813. The vicious decapitation of Stanley Preston, a wealthy, socially ambitious plantation owner, at Bloody Bridge draws Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, into a macabre and increasingly perilous investigation. The discovery near the body of an aged lead coffin strap bearing the inscription KING CHARLES, 1648 suggests a link between this killing and the beheading of the deposed seventeenth-century Stuart monarch. Equally troubling, the victim's kinship to the current Home Secretary draws the notice of Sebastian's powerful father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, who will exploit any means to pursue his own clandestine ends. Working in concert with his fiercely independent wife, Hero, Sebastian finds his inquiries taking him from the wretched back alleys of Fish Street Hill the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair as he amasses a list of suspects that range from an eccentric Chelsea curiosity collector to the brother of an unassuming but brilliantly observant spinster named Jane Austen. But as one brutal murder follows another, it is the connection between the victims and ruthless former army officer Sinclair, Lord Oliphant, that dramatically raises the stakes. Once, Oliphant nearly destroyed Sebastian in a horrific wartime act of carnage and betrayal. Now the vindictive former colonel might well pose a threat not only to Sebastian but to everything--and everyone--Sebastian holds most dear"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Detective and mystery stories.; Mystery fiction.; Saint Cyr, Sebastian (Fictitious character);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Transient desires / by Leon, Donna,author.;
"In his many years as a commissario, Guido Brunetti has seen all manner of crime and known intuitively how to navigate the various pathways in his native city, Venice, to discover the person responsible. Now, in Transient Desires, the thirtieth novel in Donna Leon's masterful series, he faces a heinous crime committed outside his jurisdiction. He is drawn in innocently enough: two young American women have been badly injured in a boating accident, joy riding in the Laguna with two young Italians. However,Brunetti's curiosity is aroused by the behavior of the young men, who abandoned the victims after taking them to the hospital. If the injuries were the result of an accident, why did they want to avoid association with it? As Brunetti and his colleague,Claudia Griffoni, investigate the incident, they discover that one of the young men works for a man rumored to be involved in more sinister nighttime activities in the Laguna. To get to the bottom of what proves to be a gut-wrenching case, Brunetti needsto enlist the help of both the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Costiera. Determining how much trust he and Griffoni can put in these unfamiliar colleagues adds to the difficulty of solving a peculiarly horrible crime whose perpetrators are technologicallybrilliant and ruthlessly organized. Donna Leon's Transient Desires is as powerful as any novel she has written, testing Brunetti to his limits and forcing him to listen very carefully for the truth"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Brunetti, Guido (Fictitious character); Police;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Bellevue Square : a novel / by Redhill, Michael,1966-author.;
Jean Mason has a doppelganger. At least, that's what people tell her. Apparently it hangs out in Kensington Market, where it sometimes buys churros and shops for hats. Jean doesn't rattle easy, not like she used to. She's a grown woman with a husband and two kids, as well as a thriving business, and Toronto is a fresh start for the whole family. She certainly doesn't want to get involved in anything dubious, but still ... why would two different strangers swear up and down they'd just seen her--with shorter hair furthermore? Jean's curiosity quickly gets the better of her, and she visits the market, but sees no one who looks like her. The next day, she goes back to look again. And the day after that. Before she knows it, she's spending an hour here, an afternoon there, watching, taking notes, obsessing and getting scared. With the aid of a small army of locals who hang around in the market's only park, she expands her surveillance, making it known she'll pay for information or sightings. A peculiar collection of drug addicts, scam artists, philanthropists, philosophers and vagrants--the regulars of Bellevue Square--are eager to contribute to Jean's investigation. But when some of them start disappearing, it becomes apparent that her alleged double has a sinister agenda. Unless Jean stops her, she and everyone she cares about will face a fate stranger than death.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Black humor.; Doppelgängers; Paranoia;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Wisdom takes work : learn, apply, repeat / by Holiday, Ryan,author.;
"Of all the stoic virtues -- courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom -- wisdom is the most elusive. This is especially apparent in an age where reaction and idle chatter are rewarded, and restraint and thoughtfulness are unfashionable. The great statesman and philosophers of the past would not be fooled, as we are, by headlines or appearances or the primal pull of tribalism. They knew too much of history, of their own flaws, of the need for collaboration to do any of that. That's wisdom -- and we need it more than ever. Wisdom is Ryan Holiday's guiding principle, and Wisdom Takes Work is the culmination of all his work. Drawing on fascinating stories of the ancient and modern figures alike, Holiday shows how to cultivate wisdom through reading, self-education, and experience. Through the lives of Montaigne, Seneca, Joan Didion, Abraham Lincoln, and others, Holiday teaches us how to listen more than we talk, to think with nuance, to ruthlessly question our own beliefs, and to develop a method of self-education. He argues convincingly for the necessity of mental struggle and warns against taking shortcuts that deprive us of real knowledge. And he shows us how dangerous power and intelligence can be without the tempering influence of wisdom. An absence of curiosity and prudence is a catastrophe for all of us, argues Ryan Holiday. This incredibly timely book both diagnoses the greatest problem of our current moment and offers solutions for the way forward. Wisdom is work -- but it's worth it"--
Subjects: Learning.; Self-knowledge, Theory of.; Virtues.; Wisdom.;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Second act [text (large print)] : a novel / by Steel, Danielle,author.;
"As the head of a prestigious movie studio for nearly two decades, Andy Westfield has had every conceivable professional luxury: a stunning office on the forty-fourth floor, a loyal assistant who can all but read his mind, access to a private jet and company cars. The son of Hollywood royalty, Andy always put his career before his marriage, and now, besides his daughter and young grandchildren, it's the only thing he truly loves. But then Andy's world is upended. The studio is sold, and the buyer's son demands the top seat. Out of a job and humiliated, Andy spirals. When his head clears, he decides to get as far away from Los Angeles as possible until the dust settles and he can find a new way forward. Andy signs a six-month rental agreement for a luxurious home in a tiny, forgotten coastal town two hours from London. When he arrives, he hires a local woman to help get his affairs in order. A former journalist, Violet Smith is at a crossroads as well, and this temporary job is exactly what she needs to tide her over. But when Violet leaves the manuscript of her unfinished novel behind after work one day, Andy lets his curiosity get the best of him and is captivated by a story that begs to be adapted for the big screen. Could this be the miracle they've both been looking for?"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Large print books.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Americans; Life change events; Man-woman relationships; Motion picture industry; Women authors;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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