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The awkward Black man : stories / by Mosley, Walter,author.; Mosley, Walter.Short stories.Selections.;
"Bestselling author Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension, both with his extraordinary fiction and gripping writing for television. The Awkward Black Man collects seventeen of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to display the full range of his remarkable talent. Mosley presents distinct characters as they struggle to move through the world in each of these stories--heroes who are awkward, nerdy, self-defeating, self-involved, and, on the whole, odd. He overturns the stereotypes that corral black male characters and paints a subtle, powerful portrait of each of these unique individuals. In "The Good News Is," a man's insecurity about his weight gives way to a serious illness and the intense loneliness that accompanies it. Deeply vulnerable, he allows himself to be taken advantage of in return for a little human comfort in a raw display of true need. "Pet Fly" follows a man working as a mailroom clerk for a big company-and the unforeseen repercussions he endures when he attempts to forge a connection beyond the one he has with the fly buzzing around his apartment. And "Almost Alyce" chronicles failed loves, family loss, alcoholism, and a Zen approach to the art of begging that proves surprisingly effective. Touching and contemplative, each of these unexpected stories offers the best of one of our most gifted writers"--
Subjects: Short stories.; African Americans; African American men;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Beautiful planet. [videorecording (BLURAY)] / by Mill Creek Entertainment.;
Embark on an unforgettable journey all over the globe through in this spectacular guided tour to the world's most marvelous sights and places. Capturing the nature and culture of these exotic destinations, this lusciously filmed documentary series offers a vivid and entertaining portrait of the history and significance of distance cities and countries. Shot in dazzling high definition, prepare to be whisked away to one thrilling attraction after another across our most Beautiful Planet. The cities of Orange and Avignon in southern France are rich in history and filled with incredible scenery. Orange is predominantly known for its Roman architecture and its Roman theatre is described as the most impressive still existing in Europe. The ancient town of Avignon boasts magnificent medieval buildings and is one of the few French cities to have preserved its majestic ramparts. The Sacri Monti, (Sacred Mountains) of Piedmont and Lombardy are a series of nine groups of chapels and other architectural features created in northern Italy during the seventeenth and late sixteenth century. They are dedicated to various aspects of the Christian faith and are considered of great beauty by virtue of the skill with which they have been integrated into the surrounding natural landscape of hills, forests and lakes.E.Blu-ray disc (requires Blu-ray player for playback) ; anamorphic widescreen format (1.85:1 aspect ratio); Dolby digital.
Subjects: Travelogues (Motion pictures);
© c2012., Mill Creek Entertainment,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Long players : writers on the albums that shaped them / by Gatti, Tom,editor.;
Includes bibliographical references.Our favorite albums are our most faithful companions: we listen to them hundreds of times over decades, we know them far better than any novel or film. These records don't just soundtrack our lives but work their way deep inside us, shaping our outlook and identity, forging our friendships and charting our love affairs. They become part of our story. In Long Players, fifty of our finest authors write about the albums that changed their lives, from Deborah Levy on Bowie to Daisy Johnson on Lizzo, Ben Okri on Miles Davis to David Mitchell on Joni Mitchell, Sarah Perry on Rachmaninov to Bernardine Evaristo on Sweet Honey in the Rock. Part meditation on the album form and part candid self-portrait, each of these miniature essays reveals music's power to transport the listener to a particular time and place. REM's Automatic for the People sends Olivia Laing back to first love and heartbreak, Bjork's Post resolves a crisis of faith and sexuality for a young Marlon James, while Fragile by Yes instils in George Saunders the confidence to take his own creative path. This collection is an intoxicating mix of memoir and music writing, spanning the golden age of vinyl and the streaming era, and showing how a single LP can shape a writer's mind.
Subjects: Essays.; Anecdotes.; Authors and music.; Sound recordings; Popular music; Authors;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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African samurai : the true story of Yasuke, a legendary black warrior in feudal Japan / by Lockley, Thomas,author.; Girard, Geoffrey,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The remarkable life of history's first foreign-born samurai, and his astonishing journey from Northeast Africa to the heights of Japanese society. When Yasuke arrived in Japan in the late 1500s, he had already traveled much of the known world. Kidnapped as a child, he had ended up a servant and bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, with whom he traversed India and China learning multiple languages as he went. His arrival in Kyoto, however, literally caused a riot. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before, and many of them saw him as the embodiment of the black-skinned (in local tradition) Buddha. Among those who were drawn to his presence was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. Soon, he was learning the traditions of Japan's martial arts and ascending the upper echelons of Japanese society. In the four hundred years since, Yasuke has been known in Japan largely as a legendary, perhaps mythical figure. Now African Samurai presents the never-before-told biography of this unique figure of the sixteenth century, one whose travels between countries, cultures and classes offers a new perspective on race in world history and a vivid portrait of life in medieval Japan."-- Dust jacket flap.
Subjects: Biographies.; Yasuke (Black Samuraï); Blacks; Samurai;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A guardian and a thief / by Majumdar, Megha,author.;
"In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and blight, Ma, her two year old daughter Mishti, and her elderly father Dadu are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma's husband in the home he has been building for them in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited passports and visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma's purse, with all the treasured documents within it, has been stolen. A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma and her family, their struggle to emigrate to America, and their devastation in the wake of the theft that changes their fate to one of implacable tragedy; and Boomba, the thief, whose hunger and desperation to care for his family drive him to commit a crime whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families whose destinies become inexorably entangled, wresting compassion from each narrative as the complexities of each character's circumstances-their helplessness in the face of poverty and corruption, and the need to stave off encroaching catastrophe--are captured with clarity and piercing empathy. A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation"--
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Conduct of life; Climatic changes; Families; Immigrant families; Survival; Theft; Thieves;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 2
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The Tiger and the Cosmonaut [electronic resource] : by Tan, Eddy Boudel.aut; Vo, Danny.nrt; CloudLibrary;
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 GILLER PRIZE A noirish page-turner about a mysterious disappearance and a moving portrait of a Chinese Canadian family navigating insecurities, expectations, and simmering anger in their small BC town. Casper Han grew up the dutiful son of immigrants who never felt entirely welcome in their remote corner of British Columbia. Now an adult, living in Vancouver with a boyfriend whose privilege he quietly resents, Casper rarely returns to his hometown, the site of a grief his family doesn’t discuss: the loss of his twin brother, Sam. Over twenty years have passed since Sam went missing, and a crisis brings Casper and his siblings back. Their father has vanished, only to be found wandering the vast woods beyond the family home, confused and clutching a pair of scissors, seemingly trapped in the memory of that tragic night. In order to move forward, the Han family must finally confront the past and untangle the mystery of what really happened to Sam. Combining the atmosphere and intrigue of a cracking good suspense novel with the depth of a rich character study, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut tells the story of a family whose members have long made themselves small and quiet and obedient—and what happens when the cycle is finally broken.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Gay; Asian American; Family Life;
© 2025., Penguin Random House,
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Fayne / by MacDonald, Ann-Marie,1958-author.;
In the late nineteenth century, Charlotte Bell is growing up at Fayne, a vast and lonely estate straddling the border between England and Scotland, where she has been kept from the world by her adoring father, Lord Henry Bell, owing to a mysterious condition. Charlotte, strong and insatiably curious, revels in the moorlands, and has learned the treacherous and healing ways of the bog from the old hired man, Byrn, whose own origins are shrouded in mystery. Her idyllic existence is shadowed by the magnificent portrait on the landing in Fayne House which depicts her mother, a beautiful Irish-American heiress, holding Charlotte's brother, Charles Bell. Charlotte has grown up with the knowledge that her mother died in giving birth to her, and that her older brother, Charles, the long-awaited heir, died soon afterwards at the age of two. When Charlotte's appetite for learning threatens to exceed the bounds of the estate, her father breaks with tradition and hires a tutor to teach his daughter "as you would my son, had I one." But when Charlotte and her tutor's explorations of the bog turn up an unexpected artefact, her father announces he has arranged for her to be cured of her condition, and her world is upended. Charlotte's passion for knowledge and adventure will take her to the bottom of family secrets and to the heart of her own identity.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Families; Family secrets; Identity (Psychology); Immortalism; Young women;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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I dreamed of falling : a novel / by Dahl, Julia,1977-author.;
"In acclaimed author Julia Dahl's new standalone, the death of a young mother triggers an avalanche of secrets in a small Hudson Valley town. Roman Grady is the sole reporter for the local newspaper in a tiny Hudson Valley town - a town so small that every store opening and DUI is considered newsworthy. But when Roman's longtime girlfriend, Ashley, the mother of his four-year-old son, is found dead, he realizes he had no idea what was really going on in her life. And when he starts asking questions, he's not prepared for the answers. What was Ashley doing at the cliffside home of her troubled ex-girlfriend? How did no one in a house full of people see what happened to her? And why does it seem like everyone in town suddenly has something to hide? As Roman and his mother dig into Ashley's last few months, the truths they uncover threaten to expose painful secrets. The kind of secrets that can get you killed. A gripping thriller and a moving portrait of a family struggling through tragedy, I Dreamed of Falling showcases Julia Dahl's talent for using crime fiction to tell an immersive and unforgettable story. Dahl's unflinching novel asks hard questions about love, regret, inequality, and the possibilities and the perils of forgiveness"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Criminal investigation; Murder; Reporters and reporting; Secrecy; Small cities; Young women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Mirror The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 2 [electronic resource] : by Roberts, Nora.aut; Pressley, Brittany.nrt; cloudLibrary;
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts continues the hauntingly spectacular Lost Bride Trilogy with book two, The Mirror. "If the audiobook version of a page-turner is being glued to your speakers, then Brittany Pressley's narration of this slow-burn suspense will have listeners sitting in their cars long after they've parked in their driveways"—AudioFile on Inheritance When Sonya MacTavish inherits the huge Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, she has no idea that the house is haunted. The footsteps she hears at night, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. In the present she finds portraits of brides. And when she has visions of an antique mirror, she is drawn to it, sensing it holds dark family secrets. Then one night the mirror appears and Sonya glides through this looking glass, into the past—and sees a bride murdered on her wedding day, the circle of gold torn from her finger. It is a scene that will play out again and again—a centuries-old curse that must be broken—and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Suspense; Contemporary Women; Supernatural;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,
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Sea prayer / by Hosseini, Khaled,author.; Williams, Dan,illustrator.;
"The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed responds to the heartbreak of the current refugee crisis with this deeply moving, beautifully illustrated short work of fiction for people of all ages, all over the world. A short, powerful, illustrated book written by beloved novelist Khaled Hosseini in response to the current refugee crisis, Sea Prayer is composed in the form of a letter, from a father to his son, on the eve of their journey. Watching over his sleeping son, the father reflects on the dangerous sea-crossing that lies before them. It is also a vivid portrait of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city's swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone. Impelled to write this story by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on the beach in Turkey in September 2015, Hosseini hopes to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Kurdi's, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution, and he will donate author proceeds from this book to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund lifesaving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe."--
Subjects: Epistolary fiction.; Fathers and sons;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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