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A million reasons why / by Strawser, Jessica,author.;
"When two strangers are linked by a mail-in DNA test, it's an answered prayer--that is, for one half-sister. For the other, it will dismantle everything she knows to be true. But as they step into the unfamiliar realm of sisterhood, the roles will reverse in ways no one could have foreseen. Caroline lives a full, happy life-thriving career, three feisty children, enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. She couldn't have scripted it better. Except for one thing: She's about to discover her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong. Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother and lifelong best friend passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries about what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn't find a donor match in time. She's the only one who knows Caroline is her half-sister. That Caroline may be her best hope for a future. But Sela's world isn't as clear-cut as it appears--and one misstep could destroy it all. After all, would you risk everything to save the life of the person who turned yours upside down? From the moment Caroline meets Sela, both must reexamine what it really means to be family, the depths of a mother's love, and the limits and the power of forgiveness"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Families; Sisters;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Once upon a prime : the wondrous connections between mathematics and literature / by Hart, Sarah B.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."For fans of Seven Brief Lessons in Physics, an exploration of the many ways mathematics can transform our understanding of literature and vice versa, by the first woman to hold England's oldest mathematical chair. We often think of mathematics and literature as polar opposites, as different as they come. But what if, instead, they were inextricably, even fundamentally, linked? In her clear, insightful, laugh-out-loud funny debut, Once Upon a Prime, Professor Sarah Hart shows us the myriad connections between math and literature, and how understanding those connections can enhance our enjoyment of both. Did you know, for instance, that Moby-Dick is full of sophisticated geometry? That James Joyce's stream-of-consciousness novels are deliberately checkered with mathematical references? That George Eliot was obsessed with statistics? That Jurassic Park is undergirded by fractal patterns? That Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote mathematician characters? From sonnets to fairytales to experimental French literature, Professor Hart shows how math and literature are complementary parts of the same quest, to understand human life and our place in the universe. As the first woman to hold England's oldest mathematical chair, Professor Hart is the ideal tour guide, taking us on an unforgettable journey through the books we thought we knew, revealing new layers of beauty and wonder. As she promises, you're going to need a bigger bookcase"--
Subjects: Mathematics and literature.; Mathematics in literature.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The stranger in the woods : the extraordinary story of the last true hermit / by Finkel, Michael,author.;
"For readers of Jon Krakauer and The Lost City of Z, a remarkable tale of survival and solitude--the true story of a man who lived alone in a tent in the Maine woods, never talking to another person and surviving by stealing supplies from nearby cabins for twenty-seven years. In 1986, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the woods. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even in winter, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store food and water, to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothes, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed, but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of the why and how of his secluded life--as well as the challenges he has faced returning to the world. A riveting story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded"--Publisher description.
Subjects: Biographies.; Knight, Christopher Thomas, 1965-; Hermits; Recluses; Thieves; Survival; Solitude;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The naming song / by Berry, Jedediah,author.;
"'The Naming Song understands the fundamental magic of language, and breathes that magic onto every page.'--Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author There's nothing more dangerous than an unnamed thing When the words went away, the world changed. All meaning was lost, and every border fell. Monsters slipped from dreams to haunt the waking while ghosts wandered the land in futile reveries. Only with the rise of the committees of the named-Maps, Ghosts, Dreams, and Names-could the people stand against the terrors of the nameless wilds. They built borders around their world and within their minds, shackled ghosts and hunted monsters, and went to war against the unknown. For one unnamed courier of the Names Committee, the task of delivering new words preserves her place in a world that fears her. But after a series of monstrous attacks on the named, she is forced to flee her committee and seek her long-lost sister. Accompanied by a patchwork ghost, a fretful monster, and a nameless animal who prowls the shadows, her search for the truth of her past opens the door to a revolutionary future-for the words she carries will reshape the world. The Naming Song is a book of deep secrets and marvelous discoveries, strange adventures and dangerous truths. It's the story of a world locked in a battle over meaning. Most of all, it's the perfect fantasy for anyone who's ever dreamed of a stranger, freer, more magical world"--
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Novels.; Language and languages; Messengers; Onomasiology; Secrecy; Vocabulary; Words, New;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Teardown : rebuilding democracy from the ground up / by Meslin, Dave,author.;
"Something is wrong with democracy. We can all see it's not working. From the recent American election to Brexit, around the word and close to home, the headlines are full of examples of governments misleading their people, parties misleading their delegates, and policy drifting further and further away from what polls keep showing people want. We always vote for change, and yet we always end up with the same old lies. If this just the way democracy works, we should just give up. If the game is rigged, why play it? But as Dave Meslin's career has shown, we can un-rig it. We can get rid of the corrupting influence of money on policy. We can get rid of governments that ignore their constituents. We can take away the blank cheques we write to our leaders each election. But a huge part of that is overcoming our own apathy. And that comes from knowing how to get things done. It's hard to change the world if you can't change a municipal by-law. Unrigged will show readers how to do both. And it will show us that these two challenges are not fundamentally different. Once we know that we can do it, and we know how to do it, we can get democracy working for us rather than against us. From throwing back the curtain of secrecy surrounding City Hall to the ongoing campaign for electoral reform, Dave Meslin has been both out on the street in marches and in the back rooms drawing up policy. With Unrigged he shows us how it's done."--
Subjects: Democracy; Political participation;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Childhood unplugged : practical advice to get kids off screens and find balance / by Martinko, Katherine Johnson,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Screens are everywhere. Children spend an average of 7.5 hours on digital devices every day with profoundly negative consequences. While some tech may "amplify" real life experience (online music lessons or Zoom calls with faraway family, for example), the vast majority "amputates" by limiting physical activity, creating anxiety, or damaging self-esteem. Childhood Unplugged takes a bold approach to creating healthy boundaries around the use of digital media, suggesting kids should be offline for the majority of their time. Drawing on her own family's experience, plus interviews with digital minimalists, educators, and child development experts, author Katherine Martinko presents: meticulously researched analysis of the impacts of excessive screen time on children's physical, neurological, emotional, and social development; specific pathways to reduced screen exposure, naturally leading to more time spent outdoors, increased confidence and empathy, more creative and active play, and other benefits; inspiration for caregivers overwhelmed by the thought of severing ties with the digital babysitter; age-appropriate advice for fundamental change, with specific sections for babies and toddlers, school-aged children, and adolescents. Taking a calming, nonjudgmental approach, Childhood Unplugged is a lifeline for parents, caregivers, educators, and anyone who questions the role of digital media and yearns for the young people in their life to experience the profound beauty and magic of childhood."--
Subjects: Children; Parenting.; Technology and children.; Digital media;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The biggest ideas in the universe : space, time, and motion / by Carroll, Sean M.,1966-author.;
"The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers to grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come"--
Subjects: Physics.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Asking for a friend : a novel / by Clare, Kerry,1979-author.;
"For readers of J. Courtney Sullivan and Emma Straub, and for fans of Firefly Lane, comes a poignant and astute novel about life, love, and the ever-evolving nature of female friendship by the author of Waiting for a Star to Fall. The bottom of Jess's world is falling out. Cocooned in her dorm in the winter of 1998, she's reeling, looking to be left alone. But a chance encounter with the older, other-worldly, elusive Clara has Jess yearning for her comforting company. Clara, newly returned from a two-year trek drifting around the world is taking a stab at normalcy for once, and the place she starts is university, where she struggles to fit in. Upon meeting Jess, though, an instant connection is forged between them, and everything seems brighter. Soon, the two are inseparable, undeniable necessities in each other's lives. But when tragedy strikes, they are unceremoniously torn apart, sent tumbling down different paths. And with each passing day, their unbreakable bond is tested more and more. As they endure love and heartbreak, loss, marriage, anxiety, isolation, and the complicated existence of motherhood, Jess and Clara must learn how to love one another through it all--and whether growing up inevitably means growing apart. Spanning across two decades, Asking for a Friend explores the tempestuous journey of female friendship, asking whether its fundamentals--history, familiarity, loyalty--are enough to make the relationship everlasting."--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Female friendship; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Dark wire : the incredible true story of the largest sting operation ever / by Cox, Joseph(Journalist),author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Beginning in 2018, a powerful app for secure communications, called Anom, began to take root among drug dealers and other criminals. It had extraordinary safeguards to keep out prying eyes -- the power to quickly wipe data, voice-masking technology, and more. It was better than other apps popular among organized crime syndicates, except for one thing: it was secretly run by law enforcement. Over the next few years, the FBI, along with law enforcement partners in Australia and parts of Europe, got a front row seat to the global criminal underworld. They watched drug deals and hits being planned in real time, making arrests where they could without blowing their cover. For a period of years, some one hundred thousand criminals worldwide, including members of South American drug cartels, the Calabrian mafia, and the Chinese Triad, did their business in full view of the officers they were trying to evade. It was a sprawling global economy as efficient and interconnected as the legal one. But a surveillance operation like this couldn't last. It was too dangerous, too ethically fraught, too large. And it all ended in spectacular fashion. Dark Wire is more than the story of this enormous sting operation -- it shows the fundamental problems of policing in such a vast and high-speed economy. This is a caper for our modern world, where everyone is connected and no one is completely free"--
Subjects: Electronic surveillance; Organized crime investigation.; Text messaging (Cell phone systems); Undercover operations;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Beyond order : 12 more rules for life / by Peterson, Jordan B.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The highly anticipated sequel to the global bestseller 12 Rules for Life. In 12 Rules for Life, acclaimed public thinker and clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson offered an antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to modern anxieties. His insights have helped millions of readers and resonated powerfully around the world. Now in his long-awaited sequel, Peterson goes further, showing that part of life's meaning comes from reaching out into the domain beyond what we know, and adapting to an ever-transforming world. While an excess of chaos threatens us with uncertainty, an excess of order leads to a lack of curiosity and creative vitality. Beyond Order therefore calls on us to balance the two fundamental principles of reality--order and chaos--and reveals the profound meaning that can be found on the path that divides them. In times of instability and suffering, Peterson reminds us that there are sources of strength on which we can all draw: insights borrowed from psychology, philosophy, and humanity's greatest myths and stories. Drawing on the hard-won truths of ancient wisdom, as well as deeply personal lessons from his own life and clinical practice, Peterson offers twelve new principles to guide readers towards a more courageous, truthful, and meaningful life"--
Subjects: Self-help publications.; Conduct of life;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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