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Natural beauty : a novel / by Huang, Ling Ling,1989-author.;
"In this sly, surprising, and razor-sharp debut novel, a virtuoso pianist gives up her future as a musician to work at a high-end wellness store in New York City where the pursuit of beauty comes at a staggering cost. Our narrator is the youngest student at the Conservatory. She produces a sound from the piano no one else does, employing a special technique she learned from her parents--also stunningly talented musicians--who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future as a pianist and accepts a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City. Holistik is known for its remarkable products and outrageous procedures: remoras that suck cheap Botox from the body, eyelash extensions made of spider silk, emotional support ducklings bred to imprint on their owners. Every product is ethically sourced and made with nothing but the highest quality ingredients. Our narrator's new job is a coveted one among New York's beauty-obsessed, and it affords her entry into a new world of privilege. She becomes transfixed by Helen--a model, and the niece of Holistik's charismatic owner--and the two strike up a close friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, Holistik plies our narrator with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, lighten her hair, and change her eye color. But beneath these fancy creams and tinctures lies a terrible truth that threatens to consume her. After all, beauty is nothing without ugliness. NATURAL BEAUTY is a piercing, terrifying, and darkly funny debut that eviscerates the beauty and wellness industry, exploring questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity. This propulsive novel takes a world that feels familiar and pushes it to a conclusion that at first might seem jarring, but when we inch closer, settles on us as truth"--
Subjects: Black humor.; Satirical literature.; Novels.; Beauty, Personal; Chinese Americans; Women pianists;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Billie Starr's book of sorries / by Kennedy, Deborah E.,author.;
"Shimmering with rage and sparkling with subtle humor, Billie Starr's Book of Sorries showcases Edgar Award-nominee Deborah E. Kennedy's singular voice as Jenny, a heroine in the vein of Olive Kitteridge and Miles Roby in Empire Falls, and shines a lighton the town of Benson, Indiana, where lakes, grudges, and family rifts run deep - but so does a mother's love. Sometimes, a woman has to rescue herself. Jenny Newberg, Queen of Bad Decisions, is about to make another one. In a small town where everyone knows everyone's business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother's sorries, and it seems to Jenny that no apology will ever be enough. Then a pair of strangers in black suits offers her a hefty check to seduce someone known as the Candidate. Finally, something will go her way. But nothing ever goes as Jenny plans, and she is swept into the Candidate's orbit. Surrounded by a wide universe of new ideas, she realizes how constrained her life has been by the expectations of everyone around her, and she starts to see how much more she might be capable of.And when her world is rocked to its core and Billie Starr may be in danger, Jenny is forced to do what she once thought impossible: trust in herself and her own power to make things right"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Missing persons; Political campaigns; Single mothers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The reservoir / by Duchovny, David,author.;
"The Reservoir follows an unexceptional man in an exceptional time. We see our present-day pandemic world and New York City through the eyes of a former Wall Street veteran, Ridley, as he, in his enforced quarantined solitude, looks back upon his life. He examines his wins, his failures, the gnawing questions-his career, his divorce, his estranged daughter-and wonders what it all means and who he really is. Sitting and brooding night after night, gazing out his huge picture window high above the Central Park Reservoir, Ridley spots a flashing light in an apartment across the park as if a lonely quarantined person is signaling him in Morse code. His determination to find out who this mystery woman is, this fellow quarantine damsel in distress trapped in her own Fifth Avenue tower, leads him on an epic quest that will ultimately tempt him with either delusional madness or the fulfillment of his own mythic fate. Is he a dying man going mad or an everyman metamorphosing into a hero? Or both? We accompany Ridley as he leaves the safety of his apartment window to save the Fifth Avenue femme fatale and descends into a dangerous, increasingly surreal world of global conspiracies, madness, and sickness of this viral time; beyond that, into the enduring mysteries of love and fatherhood; and deeper still, into the bedrock mystery of life itself. As Ridley's actions grow more and more uncharacteristic, he realizes the key to all the mysteries of now, and even all of history, seem to lie deep beneath the freezing waters of the reservoir. The Reservoir is a twisted rom-com for our distanced time, when the merest touch could kill and conspiracy theories propagate like viruses-a contemporary union of Death in Venice, Rear Window, and The Plague"--
Subjects: Black humor.; Novellas.; City and town life; COVID-19 (Disease);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Maame / by George, Jessica,1994-author.;
"Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. It's fair to say that Maddie's life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson's. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting. When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she's ready to experience some important "firsts": She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils--and rewards--of putting her heart on the line. Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George's Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures-and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Novels.; Families; Race relations; Young women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Bury Your Gays [electronic resource] : by Tingle, Chuck.aut; Santana, André.nrt; Anders, Charlie Jane.nrt; Leede, CJ.nrt; Bird, Georgia.nrt; Kerin, Liz.nrt; Wilson, Mara.nrt; Oshiro, Mark.nrt; Gailey, Sarah.nrt; Jones, Stephen Graham.nrt; Kingfisher, T..nrt; Klune, TJ.nrt; cloudLibrary;
This program features multicast narration. "André Santana brings a personable feel to this satirical sci-fi romp.... This audiobook is a fast-paced cocktail of social commentary, humor, and horror." —AudioFile on Straight Bury Your Gays is a heart-pounding new novel from USA Today bestselling author Chuck Tingle about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead. "Brilliantly bloody, wildly fun, and extremely scary, Bury Your Gays brings a sledgehammer down on tired tropes and makes a masterpiece of their guts." —Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep Misha knows that chasing success in Hollywood can be hell. But finally, after years of trying to make it, his big moment is here: an Oscar nomination. And the executives at the studio for his long-running streaming series know just the thing to kick his career to the next level: kill off the gay characters, "for the algorithm," in the upcoming season finale. Misha refuses, but he soon realizes that he’s just put a target on his back. And what’s worse, monsters from his horror movie days are stalking him and his friends through the hills above Los Angeles. Haunted by his past, Misha must risk his entire future—before the horrors from the silver screen find a way to bury him for good. Also by Chuck Tingle Camp Damascus A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Science Fiction; Horror;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,
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NCIS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service. [videorecording] / by Bello, Maria,1967-actor.; Carroll, Rocky,actor.; Dietzen, Brian,actor.; Harmon, Mark,1951-actor.; McCallum, David,1933-actor.; Murray, Sean,1977-actor.; Perrette, Pauley,1969-actor.; Reasonover, Diona,1992-actor.; Valderrama, Wilmer,1980-actor.; Weatherly, Michael,1968-actor.; Wickersham, Emily,1984-actor.; CBS DVD (Firm),publisher.; CBS Studios Inc.,broadcaster.; Paramount Home Entertainment (Firm),distributor.;
David McCallum, Sean Murray, Rocky Carroll, Brian Dietzen, Wilmer Valderrama, Diona Reasonover, Gary Cole, Katrina Law.NCIS is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it's a show that focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations. Following the cliffhanger Season 19 finale, with Special Agent Alden Parker still on the run with his ex-wife Vivian, the team investigates who from his past might have a personal vendetta against him in hopes of clearing Parker's name.Canadian Home Video Rating: PG.Subtitled for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH).DVD ; wide screen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subjects: Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Detective and mystery television programs.; Television programs.; Television crime shows.; United States. Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Crime laboratories; Crime scene searches; Criminal behavior; Criminal investigation; Forensic scientists; Murder; Undercover operations;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Seven days in June : a novel / by Williams, Tia,1975-author.;
"Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry-or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since. Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered ... With its keen observations of Black life and the condition of modern motherhood, as well as the consequences of motherless-ness, Seven Days in June is by turns humorous, warm and deeply sensual"--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Authors; African Americans; Man-woman relationships;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The puppets of Spelhorst / by DiCamillo, Kate,author.; Corduner, Allan,narrator.; Morstad, Julie,illustrator.; Playaway Products, LLC,issuing body.;
Narrated by Allan Corduner.Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friendsa king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owlbicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by the heart's mysteries. When at last their shared fate arrives, landing them on a mantel in a blue room in the home of two little girls, the truth is more astonishing than any of them could have imagined. A beloved author of modern classics draws on her most moving themes with humor, heart, and wisdom in the first of the Norendy Tales, a projected trio of novellas linked by place and mood, each illustrated in black and white by a different virtuoso illustrator. This first tale is one that promises to soothe and strengthen us on our journey, leading us through whatever dark forest we find ourselves in.Grades 3 - 6.
Subjects: Novellas.; Fairy tales.; Action and adventure fiction.; Children's audiobooks.; Puppets; Friendship; Toys; Storytelling;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Puss in Boots. [videorecording] / by Banderas, Antonio,voice actor.; Colman, Olivia,voice actor.; Crawford, Joel(Film director),film director.; Fisher, Paul(Screenwriter),screenwriter.; Guillén, Harvey,1990-voice actor.; Hayek, Salma,1966-voice actor.; Swerdlow, Tommy,screenwriter.; Swift, Mark,film producer.; DreamWorks Animation,presenter.; Universal Pictures (Firm),publisher.;
Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Olivia Colman, Harvey Guillen, Samson Kayo, Wagner Moura.Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, though he lost count along the way. Getting those lives back will send Puss in Boots on his grandest quest yet. The notorious PiB embarks on an epic journey into the Black Forest to find the mythical Wishing Star and restore his lost life. But with only one life left, Puss will have to humble himself and ask for help from his former partner and nemesis: the captivating Kitty Soft Paws. In their quest, Puss and Kitty will be aided--against their better judgment by a ratty, chatty, relentlessly cheerful mutt, Perro. Together, our trio of heroes will have to stay one step ahead of Goldilocks and the Three Bears Crime Family, "Big" Jack Horner, and terrifying bounty hunter, The Big Bad Wolf.Canadian Home Video Rating: G.MPAA rating: PG; for some scary moments, rude humor, language, and action violence.Described video for the blind and visually impaired.Subtitled for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH).DVD ; wide screen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0.
Subjects: Animated films.; Children's films.; Comedy films.; Feature films.; Video recordings for people with visual disabilities.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Adventure and adventurers; Cats; Heroes; Puss in Boots (Tale); Quests (Expeditions);
For private home use only.
Available copies: 3 / Total copies: 3
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Devil Is Fine A Novel [electronic resource] : by Vercher, John.aut; Graham, Dion.nrt; cloudLibrary;
This program is read by award-winning narrator Dion Graham. "Devil Is Fine is self-deprecatingly tender, often bracingly hilarious, and at its heart is a runaway train through the haunted house of us. And I loved it. Don't miss it." —Dion Graham From acclaimed novelist John Vercher, a profoundly moving novel of what it means to be a father, a son, a writer, and a biracial American fighting to reconcile the past Reeling from the sudden death of his teenage son, our narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of immediately selling the land. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is much more than he can process in the throes of grief. As a biracial Black man struggling with the many facets of his identity, he’s now the owner of a former plantation passed down by the men on his white mother’s side of the family. Vercher deftly blurs the lines between real and imagined, past and present, tragedy and humor, and fathers and sons in this story of discovery—and a fight for reclamation—of a painful past. With the wit of Paul Beatty’s The Sellout and the nuance of Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, Devil Is Fine is a darkly funny and brilliantly crafted dissection of the legacies we leave behind and those we inherit. A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; African American; Magical Realism; Family Life;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,
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