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Life undercover : coming of age in the CIA / by Fox, Amaryllis,author.;
Amaryllis Fox was in her last year as an undergraduate at Oxford studying theology and international law when her writing mentor Daniel Pearl was captured and beheaded. Galvanized by this brutality, Fox applied to a master's program in conflict and terrorism at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, where she created an algorithm that predicted, with uncanny certainty, the likelihood of a terrorist cell arising in any village around the world. At twenty-one, she was recruited by the CIA. Her first assignment was reading and analyzing hundreds of classified cables a day from foreign governments and synthesizing them into daily briefs for the president. Her next assignment was at the Iraq desk in the Counterterrorism center. At twenty-two, she was fast-tracked into advanced operations training, sent from Langley to "the Farm," where she lived for six months in a simulated world learning how to use a Glock, how to get out of flexicuffs while locked in the trunk of a car, how to withstand torture, and the best ways to commit suicide in case of captivity. At the end of this training she was deployed as a spy under non-official cover-- the most difficult and coveted job in the field as an art dealer specializing in tribal and indigenous art and sent to infiltrate terrorist networks in remote areas of the Middle East and Asia.
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Fox, Amaryllis.; United States. Central Intelligence Agency; Intelligence officers; Terrorism; Women intelligence officers;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Vera Wong's unsolicited advice for murderers / by Sutanto, Jesse Q.,author.;
"Knives Out meets Kim's Convenience in this captivating mystery by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties. Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady--ah, lady of a certain age--who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco's Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of oolong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her college-aged son is up to. Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing--a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn't know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of ... swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer. What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Novels.; Chinese Americans; Murder; Older women;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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The fortune seller : a novel / by Kapelke-Dale, Rachel,author.;
"Yellowjackets meets The Cloisters in this beguiling coming-of-age story about class, reinvention, and destiny, set against the backdrop of two mysterious deaths. Middle-class Rosie Macalister has worked for years to fit in with her wealthy friends on the Yale equestrian team. But when she comes back from her junior year abroad with newfound confidence, she finds that the group has been infiltrated by a mysterious intruder: Annelise Tattinger. A talented tarot reader and a brilliant rider, the enigmatic Annelise is unlike anyone Rosie has ever met. But when one of their friends notices money disappearing from her bank account, Annelise's place in the circle is thrown into question. As the girls turn against each other, the group's unspoken tensions and assumptions lead to devastating consequences. It's only after graduation, when Rosie begins a job at a Manhattan hedge fund, that she begins to uncover Annelise's true identity--and how her place in their elite Yale set was no accident. Is it too late for Rosie to put right what went wrong, or does everyone's luck run out at some point? Set in the heady days of the early aughts, The Fortune Seller is a haunting examination of class, ambition, and the desires that shape our lives"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Death; Female friendship; Hedge funds; Horsemanship; Horsemen and horsewomen; Rich people; Secrecy; Social classes; Tarot; Two thousands (Decade); Women college students;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Sunny days : the children's television revolution that changed America / by Kamp, David,author.; Questlove,writer of foreword.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In 1970, in soundstage on Manhattan's Upper West Side, a group of men and women of various ages and races met to finish the first season of a children's TV program. They had identified a social problem: poor children were entering kindergarten without the learning skills of their middle-class counterparts. They hoped, too, that they had identified a solution: to use television to better prepare these disadvantaged kids for school. No one knew then, but this children's TV program would go on to start a cultural revolution. It was called Sesame Street. Sesame Street was part of a larger movement that saw media professionals and thought leaders leveraging their influence to help children learn. A year and a half earlier, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood premiered. Fast on its heels came Schoolhouse Rock!, a video series dreamed up by Madison Avenue admen to teach kids times tables, civics, and grammatical rules, and Free to Be ... You and Me, the TV star Marlo Thomas's audacious multi-pronged campaign (it was first a record album, and then a book and a television special) to instill the concept of gender equality in young minds. There was more: programs such as The Electric Company, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, ZOOM, and others followed, and captivated young viewers. In Sunny Days, bestselling author David Kamp takes readers behind the scenes to show how these programs made it on air. He draws on hundreds of hours of interviews from the creators and participants of these programs-among them Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Newton Minow, Sonia Manzano, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, Marlo Thomas, and Rita Moreno-as well as archival research. Kamp explains how these like-minded individuals found their way into television, not as fame- or money-hungry would-be auteurs and stars, but as people who wanted to use TV to help children. This is both a fun and fascinating story, and a masterful work of cultural history. Sunny Days captures a period in children's television where enlightened progressivism prevailed, and shows how this period changed the lives of millions. Nothing had ever happened like this before, Kamp forcefully and eloquently argues, and nothing has ever happened like it since"--
Subjects: Children's television programs; Television programs;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The shocking experiments of Miss Mary Bennet : a novel / by Taub, Melinda,author.;
"Mary Bennet is the middlest middle child of all time. Awkward, plain, and overlooked, she's long been out of favor not only with her own family but with generations of readers of Pride and Prejudice. But what was Mary really doing while her sisters were falling in love? Well, what does any bright, intrepid girl do in an age when brains and hard work are only valued if they come with a pretty face? Take to the attic and teach herself to reanimate the dead of course. The world refuses to make a place for peculiar Mary, but no Bennet sister ever gives up on happiness that easily. If it won't give this fierce, lonely girl a place, she'll carve one out herself. And if finding acceptance requires a husband, she'll get one. Even if she has to make him herself, too. However, Mary's genius and determination aren't enough to control what she unwittingly unleashes. Her desperate attempts to rein in the destruction wreaked by her creations leads her to forge a perhaps unlikely friendship with another brilliant young woman unlike any she's ever known. As that friendship blossoms into something passionate and all-consuming, Mary begins to realize that she may have to choose between the acceptance she's always fought for and true happiness"--
Subjects: Queer fiction.; Monster fiction.; Paranormal fiction.; Fantasy fiction.; Novels.; Experiments; Monsters; Scientists; Sisters; Woman-woman relationships; Young women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Better luck next time : a novel / by Hilton, Kate,1972-author.;
"It isn't easy being related to a feminist icon, especially when she's celebrating the greatest moment of her storied career. Just ask the daughters of Lydia Hennessey, who could have it all if only they'd stop self-destructing. Mariana, the eldest, is on the verge of throwing away a distinguished reputation in journalism, along with her marriage. Nina, the middle daughter, has returned from a medical mission overseas as a changed woman but won't discuss it with anyone. And Beata, the youngest, has a hostile teenaged son who just discovered the existence of a father who didn't know about him either. Meanwhile, their cousin Zoe is making divorce look like a death match, while her brother, Zack, is grappling with the fallout from his popular television dramedy, which is based far too closely on Lydia herself. It might be easier to find their paths if they could step out of Lydia's shadow--but the biggest women's march in history is underway, and Lydia and her family are at the centre of it. Over the course of an eventful year, the Hennessey children contend with the big struggles of midlife: aging parents, raging teens, crumbling marriages and bodies, new loves and the choice between playing it safe or taking life-altering risks. And as they inch toward a new definition of happiness, they might even persuade their parents--and themselves--that they're all grown up"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Feminists; Women journalists; Dysfunctional families; Mothers and daughters;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Horse crazy : the story of a woman and a world in love with an animal / by Nir, Sarah Maslin,1983-author.;
"In the bestselling tradition of works by such authors as Susan Orlean and Mary Roach, a New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist explores why so many people--including herself--are obsessed with horses. It may surprise you to learn that there are over seven million horses in America--even more than when they were the only means of transportation--and nearly two million horse owners. Acclaimed journalist and avid equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir is one of them; she began riding horses when she was just two years old and hasn't stopped since. Horse Crazy is a fascinating, funny, and moving love letter to these graceful animals and the people who--like her--are obsessed with them. It is also a coming-of-age story of Nir growing up an outsider within the world's most elite inner circles, and finding her true north in horses. Nir takes us into the lesser-known corners of the riding world and profiles some of its most captivating figures. We meet Monty Roberts, the California trainer whose prowess earned him the nickname "the man who listens to horses"; George and Ann Blair, the African-American husband and wife who run a riding academy for inner city youth on a tiny island in the middle of Manhattan's East River; and Francesca Kelly, a wealthy London socialite whose love for an Indian nobleman shaped her life's mission: to rescue an endangered Indian breed of horse and bring them--illegally--to America. Woven into these compelling character studies, Nir shares her own moving personal narrative. She details her father's harrowing tale of surviving the Holocaust, and describes an enchanted but deeply lonely upbringing in Manhattan, where horses became her family. She found them even in the middle of the city, in a stable disguised in an old townhouse and in Central Park, when she chased down truants as an auxiliary mounted patrol officer. And she speaks candidly of how horses have helped her overcome heartbreak and loss. Infused with heart and wit, and with each chapter named after a horse Nir has loved, Horse Crazy is an unforgettable blend of beautifully written memoir and first-rate reporting"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Nir, Sarah Maslin, 1983-; Horse owners; Horsemen and horsewomen; Human-animal relationships.; Women journalists; Horsemanship;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The housekeeper : a novel / by Fielding, Joy,author.;
"A woman hires a housekeeper to care for her aging parents--only to watch as she takes over their lives in this riveting novel of suspense from the New York Times bestselling author called "an ingenious master of domestic suspense" (Samantha M. Bailey). In the end, I have only myself to blame. I'm the one who let her in. Jodi Bishop knows success. She's the breadwinner, a top-notch real estate agent. Her husband, Harrison ... not so much. Once, he had big dreams. But now, he's a middling writer who resents his wife's success. Jodi's father, Vic, now seventy-nine and retired, is a very controlling man. His wife, Audrey, was herself no shrinking violet. But things changed when Audrey developed Parkinson's eight years ago, and Vic retired to devote himself to her care. But while still reasonably spry and rakishly handsome, Vic is worn down by his wife's deteriorating condition. Exhausted from trying to be all things to all people, Jodi finally decides she's had enough and starts interviewing housekeepers to help care for her parents. She settles on Elyse Woodley, an energetic and attractive widow in her early sixties, who seems perfect for the job. While Vic is initially resistant, he soon warms to Elyse's sunny personality and engaging ways. And Jodi is pleased to have an ally, someone she can talk to and occasionally even confide in. Until ... she shuts Jodi out. And Audrey's condition worsens-rapidly. Who is this woman suddenly wearing her mother's jewelry? What is she after? And how far will she go to get it?"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Families; Housekeepers; Parkinson's disease; Widows; Women real estate agents;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 3
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Writing Hawa. by Noori, Najiba,film director.; Noori, Rasul,film director.; Icarus Films (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Originally produced by Icarus Films in 2024.Filmed over five years, WRITING HAWA follows three generations of Hazara women from the same family in Afghanistan. With unique access and empathy, director Najiba Noori films her mother Hawa and niece Zahra in their aspirations to free themselves from patriarchal traditions. Forced into marriage at the age of 13 to a much older man, the now 52-year-old Hawa spends her time confined to the home to care for her ailing husband. Fed up with the drudgery and isolation of her daily life, Hawa sets out to open a small textile business. We follow her as she searches for traditional embroideries and turns them into modern dresses to sell in Kabul. She is eventually reunited with her granddaughter Zahra, having escaped an abusive father in the countryside. Both denied access to an education as children, Hawa takes Zahra under her wing as the two study together. But the looming takeover of the Taliban hovers in the background on TV screens and news reports, threatening to turn their lives upside down. WRITING HAWA is an essential testimony of women’s resilience in the face of oppression and the dreams cut short by the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Social sciences.; Foreign study.; Gender identity.; Documentary films.; Middle East.; Women's studies.; Current affairs.; Biography.; Afghanistan.; Sex role.; Taliban.; Islam.; Motion pictures--Asia.;
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