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Turning : a year in the water : a memoir / by Lee, Jessica J.,author.;
"At the age of 28, Jessica Lee -- Canadian, Chinese and British -- finds herself in Berlin. Alone. Lonely, with lowered spirits thanks to some family history and a broken heart, she is ostensibly there to write a thesis. And although that is what she does daily, what increasingly occupies her is swimming. So she makes a decision that she believes will win her back her confidence and independence: she will swim fifty-two of the lakes around Berlin, no matter what the weather or season. She is aware that this particular landscape is not without its own ghosts and history. This is the story of a beautiful obsession: of the thrill of a still, turquoise lake, of cracking the ice before submerging, of floating under blue skies, of tangled weeds and murkiness, of cool, fresh, spring swimming -- of facing past fears of near-drowning, and of breaking free. When she completes her year of swimming, Jessica finds she has new strength -- and she has also found friends and gained some understanding of how the landscape both haunts and holds us. This book is for everyone who loves swimming, who wishes they could push themselves beyond caution, who understands the deep pleasure of using the body's strength, who knows what it is to abandon all thought ... and float home to the surface"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Lee, Jessica J.; Canadians; Swimmers; Swimmers; Swimming;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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You like it darker : stories / by King, Stephen,1947-author.;
"You like it darker? Fine, so do I," writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life -- both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel "the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind," and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again. "Two Talented Bastids" explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream," a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In "Rattlesnakes," a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance -- with major strings attached. In "The Dreamers," a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. "The Answer Man" asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.
Subjects: Horror fiction.; Short stories.;
Available copies: 4 / Total copies: 5
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High functioning : how to overcome your hidden depression and reclaim your joy / by Joseph, Judith,author.; Robbins, Mel,writer of foreword.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Many of us experience periods in our lives when something feels "off": when we struggle to find joy in happy moments, feel pessimistic about the future, and take little pleasure in things we used to enjoy. On the surface, we might be good at pretending we're doing fine-we are motivated and productive at work, pulling our weight at home, and conducting a normal social life-but behind that façade we are barely surviving, and certainly not thriving. We're all familiar with what depression can look like-but there's another, lesser known face to this illness. High functioning depression (HFD) doesn't conform to the image of depression that typically comes to mind: someone who is deeply sad and finds it hard to get out of bed in the morning. As a result, people with HFD often have no idea why they are suffering, or what to do about it. Drawing on original research, client cases, and her personal experience with HFD, Dr. Judith empowers readers with five simple tools to reclaim their lives from this poorly understood condition. By following her Her 5 V's--validation, venting, values, vision, and vitals--we can wake up happier, become more satisfied in our relationships, and regain joy in the present while looking forward to tomorrow.
Subjects: Self-help publications.; Depression, Mental.; Depression, Mental; Depressed persons.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Kept / by Banks, Maya,author.;
"From the author of Mastered and Dominated comes the third of the Enforcers novels. Kept is the searing story of a woman who finds sanctuary in surrender. He can't change who he is. A horrific childhood has made Silas the man he is today: dangerous, distrustful and demanding. He's lived in self-imposed solitude, convinced that no woman could ever accept his need for absolute control--in business and pleasure. That is, until a young violinist walks into one of his buildings and into his life. She can't change what she wants. Hayley has been struggling to fulfill her father's dying wish: for her to attend a prestigious music school in New York City. But even working multiple jobs, she can't afford the tiniest of apartments. Seeing her hopeless and near tears, Silas vows to help and protect her, no matter the cost to himself. But when Hayley meets his every demand with unwavering acceptance and love, he is overwhelmed by her goodness and gentle spirit. He knows that the dark stain on his soul can never be erased--and rather than risk destroying the most beautiful person he's ever experienced, he'll have to do the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Let her go. But he's totally unprepared for the lengths to which Hayley will go to fight for his love and for a future brighter than the sun."--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Erotic fiction.; Man-woman relationships; Sexual dominance and submission;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Black activist, black scientist, black icon : the autobiography of Dr. Howard D. McCurdy / by McCurdy, Howard,1932-2018,author.; Clarke, George Elliott,author.;
""Dr. Howard McCurdy is the author of this autobiography. Period," writes George Elliott Clarke in the introduction to Black Activist, Black Scientist, Black Icon. "But in July 2017, seven months before his decease, he requested that I edit this work, which was already progressing toward a conclusion." McCurdy passed away in February 2018, and with the encouragement of McCurdy's widow, Clarke took on the challenge of editing and completing the memoir. Fortunately, says Clarke, "The man can write, good people! ... Howard delighted in the extemporaneous peroration, which, issuing in electrifying combustion out of heart and head, had audiences ... presenting standing ovations so often that their chair seats never had a chance to warm." McCurdy indeed lived an extraordinary life. He was Canada's first Black tenured professor; a founder of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association; a founder of the National Black Coalition of Canada; the person who named the New Democratic Party; the second Black elected to Parliament. With twenty-five photos from McCurdy's personal archive, Black Activist, Black Scientist, Black Icon illuminates and celebrates the life of one of Canada's most worthy figures. Says Clarke: "Dr. Howard McCurdy was exemplary in self-sacrifice; he was stellar in avant-garde thought and vision; he was ... the most unforgettably proud Black man that I ever had the pleasure to know.""-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; McCurdy, Howard, 1932-2018.; Civil rights workers; College teachers; Politicians; Black Canadians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Oligarch's Daughter A Novel [electronic resource] : by Finder, Joseph.aut; cloudLibrary;
"Any new novel by Joseph Finder is a ticket to reading pleasure, and this one is hands down his best ever."—Stephen King "This is Finder at his finest—a perfect everyman-in-peril story, first building an ominous drumbeat of menace, then exploding in action and intrigue and triumph. As good as it gets."—Lee Child From the New York Times bestselling author of House on Fire, a breakneck thriller that marries the dynastic opulence of Succession with the tense and disorienting spycraft of The Americans. Paul Brightman is a man on the run, living under an assumed name in a small New England town with a million-dollar bounty on his head. When his security is breached, Paul is forced to flee into the New Hampshire wilderness to evade Russian operatives who can seemingly predict his every move. Six years ago, Paul was a rising star on Wall Street who fell in love with a beautiful photographer named Tatyana—unaware that her father was a Russian oligarch and the object of considerable interest from several U.S. intelligence agencies. Now, to save his own life, Paul must unravel a decades-old conspiracy that extends to the highest reaches of the government. Rivaling the classic spy novels of the Cold War, The Oligarch’s Daughter is built for the frightening world we live in now.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Espionage; Action & Adventure; International Mystery & Crime;
© 2025., HarperCollins,
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Have a good trip : exploring the magic mushroom experience / by Bone, Eugenia,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From a much-loved expert and popular science writer comes this straight-from-the-trenches report on how and why folks from all walks of life are using magic mushrooms to enhance their lives. Interest in psychedelic mushrooms has never been greater -- or the science less definitive. Popular science writer and amateur mycologist Eugenia Bone reports on the state of psychedelics today, from microdosing to heroic trips, illustrating how "citizen science" and anecdotal accounts of the mushrooms' benefits are leading the new wave of scientific inquiry into psilocybin. With her signature blend of first-person narrative and scientific rigor, Bone breaks down just how the complicated cocktail of psychoactive compounds is thought to interact with our brain chemistry. She explains how mindset and setting can impact a trip -- whether therapeutic, spiritual/mystical, or simply pleasure seeking -- and vividly evokes the personalities and protocols that populate the tripping scene, from the renegade "'Noccers" of Washington who merrily disperse magic mushroom spores around Seattle, to the indigenous curanderas who conduct traditional ceremonies in remote Mexican villages. Throughout she shares her journey through the world of mushrooms, cultivating her own stash, grappling with personal challenges, and offering the insights she gleaned from her experiences. For both seasoned trippers and the merely mushroom curious, Have a Good Trip offers a balanced, entertaining, and provocative look at this rapidly evolving cultural phenomenon"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Bone, Eugenia.; Hallucinogenic drugs.; Mushrooms, Hallucinogenic.; Psilocybin.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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From blood and ash / by Armentrout, Jennifer L.,author.;
"Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy's life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers. The entire kingdom's future rests on Poppy's shoulders, something she's not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden. Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel"--
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Good and evil; Duty; Demonology;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 3
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Halal sex : the intimate lives of Muslim women in North America / by Benembarek, Sheima,author.; Eltahawy, Mona,1967-writer of foreword.;
"This unprecedented and compassionate glimpse into the sex lives of seven Muslim women across North America brings a hushed conversation out into the open. Sheima Benembarek's parents never gave her the "the talk." When she left Morocco to go to university in Montreal, she was completely unprepared to navigate an open and active sex life outside of marriage, considered haram within the Muslim world. Now, many years later, she's all too aware of how common this is among immigrants and the children of immigrants living on a more sexually liberated continent. She set out to eliminate the taboo, interviewing Muslims from of a variety of locations, ethnicities, Islamic sects, and socioeconomic backgrounds about a host of topics, from masturbation and hymens to sex work and BDSM. Halal Sex is the culmination of these conversations, distilled into seven rich and compelling stories. Among the subjects are Hind, a niqabi in a polygynous marriage; Azar, a non-binary trans Sufi; Taslim, a virgin in her forties struggling to erect healthy boundaries with her family; and Eman, a lesbian stand-up comic in an interfaith marriage. With great care and thoughtfulness, Benembarek reveals a tapestry of diverse Islam and of individuals forging a path forward, each in their own way: overcoming shame, filling in educational gaps, balancing familial pressures, pushing back against sexism and patriarchy, and--ultimately--prioritizing their own happiness and pleasure."--
Subjects: Muslim women; Muslim women; Muslim women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A kingdom of flesh and fire / by Armentrout, Jennifer L.,author.;
"A betrayal ... everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that's one order she's more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her. A choice ... Casteel Da'Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he's the only way for her to get what she wants-to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she's ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself-about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she's far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation"--
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Good and evil; Duty; Demonology; Man-woman relationships;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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