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The haunting of Velkwood / by Kiste, Gwendolyn,author.;
The Velkwood Vicinity was the topic of occult theorists, tabloid one-hour documentaries, and even some pseudo-scientific investigations as the block of homes disappeared behind a near-impenetrable veil that only three survivors could enter--and only one has in the past twenty years, until now. Talitha Velkwood has avoided anything to do with the tragedy that took her mother and eight-year-old sister, drifting from one job to another, never settling anywhere or with anyone, feeling as trapped by her past as if she was still there in the small town she so desperately wanted to escape from. When a new researcher tracks her down and offers to pay her to come back to enter the vicinity, Talitha claims she's just doing it for the money. Of all the crackpot theories over the years, no one has discovered what happened the night Talitha, her estranged, former best friend Brett, and Grace, escaped their homes twenty years ago. Will she finally get the answers she's been looking for all these years, or is this just another dead end? Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste has created a suburban ghost story about a small town that trapped three young women who must confront the past if they're going to have a future.
Subjects: Ghost stories.; Horror fiction.; Gothic fiction.; Novels.; Female friendship; Ghosts; Guilt; Neighborhoods; Secrecy; Small cities;

Digital exhaustion : simple rules for reclaiming your life / by Leonardi, Paul M.,1979-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Technology may make our lives easier, but it's also a major cause of exhaustion. You know the feeling: The aimless scrolling. The constant notifications filling your screen. The sinking realization that no matter how many messages you respond to, how many posts you read, or how much data you sort through, you can never stay ahead of it. Unplugging is not a long-term solution. In today's world, if you want to keep your job, participate in society, and maintain meaningful relationships, you can't escape your many apps and devices. The good news is that there is an achievable path to reducing your digital exhaustion. Paul Leonardi studies how real people use technology. He offers healthier approaches that won't fragment your attention and deplete your cognitive and emotional reserves. Many of the changes are simple yet surprisingly effective, like waiting longer to respond and making sure you're using the right tool for your task. He also explains the emotional traps that lead us into dysfunctional relationships with our technology, and how to escape them. With Leonardi as your guide, you can build stronger connections, be more creative and productive, and create the mental space to reclaim your energy and your life."--Publisher.
Subjects: Digital media; Digital media; Internet; Internet; Internet addiction; Social media;

The AI con : how to fight big tech's hype and create the future we want / by Bender, Emily M.,1973-author.; Hanna, Alex,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Is artificial intelligence going to take over the world? Have big tech scientists created an artificial life-form that can think on its own? Is it going to put authors, artists, and others out of business? Are we about to enter an age where computers are better than humans at everything? The answer to these questions, linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna make clear, is "no," "they wish," "LOL," and "definitely not." This kind of thinking is a symptom of a phenomenon known as "AI hype." Hype looks and smells fishy: It twists words and helps the rich get richer by justifying data theft, motivating surveillance capitalism, and devaluing human creativity in order to replace meaningful work with jobs that treat people like machines. In The AI Con, Bender and Hanna offer a sharp, witty, and wide-ranging take-down of AI hype across its many forms. Bender and Hanna show you how to spot AI hype, how to deconstruct it, and how to expose the power grabs it aims to hide. Armed with these tools, you will be prepared to push back against AI hype at work, as a consumer in the marketplace, as a skeptical newsreader, and as a citizen holding policymakers to account. Together, Bender and Hanna expose AI hype for what it is: a mask for Big Tech's drive for profit, with little concern for who it affects"--
Subjects: Artificial intelligence; Critical thinking.; Technological innovations; Artificial intelligence; Technological innovations;

One summer in Paris / by Morgan, Sarah,1948-author.;
"To celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Grace has planned the surprise of a lifetime for her husband-- a romantic getaway to Paris. But she never expected he'd have a surprise of his own: he wants a divorce. Reeling from the shock but refusing to be broken, a devastated Grace makes the bold decision to go to Paris alone. Audrey, a young woman from London, has left behind a heartache of her own when she arrives in Paris. A job in a bookshop is her ticket to freedom, but with no money and no knowledge of the French language, suddenly a summer spent wandering the cobbled streets alone seems much more likely ... until she meets Grace, and everything changes. Grace can't believe how daring Audrey is. Audrey can't believe how cautious newly single Grace is. Living in neighboring apartments above the bookshop, this unlikely pair offer each other just what they've both been missing. They came to Paris to find themselves, but finding this unbreakable friendship might be the best thing that's ever happened to them ..."--
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Chick lit.; Man-woman relationships; Female friendship; Forgiveness; Love Stories;

Ripe : a novel / by Etter, Sarah Rose,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A year into her dream job at a cutthroat Silicon Valley startup, Cassie finds herself trapped in a corporate nightmare. Between the long hours, toxic bosses, and unethical projects, she also struggles to reconcile the glittering promise of a city where obscene wealth lives alongside abject poverty. Ivy League grads complain about the snack selection from a conference room with a view of houseless people bathing in the bay. Startup burnouts leap into the paths of commuter trains and men literally set themselves on fire in the streets. Though isolated, Cassie is never alone. From her earliest memory, a miniature black hole has been her constant companion. It feeds on her depression and anxiety, its size changing in relation to her distress. The black hole watches, but it also waits. Its relentless pull draws Cassie ever-closer as the world around her unravels. When her CEO's demands cross an illegal threshold and she ends up unexpectedly pregnant, Cassie must decide whether the tempting fruits of Silicon Valley are really worth it. Sharp but vulnerable, funny yet unsettling, Ripe portrays one millennial woman's journey through our late-capitalist hellscape and offers a brilliantly incisive look at the absurdities of modern life"--
Subjects: Magic realist fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Women; Affective disorders; Internet industry;

Joe Hustle : a novel / by Lange, Richard,1961-author.;
Joe Hustle is a survivor. A Gulf War vet and ex-con always one stumble away from catastrophe, he manages to scrape together enough money from various jobs to eke out a precarious existence on the darker fringes of Los Angeles. When he meets Emily, the black-sheep daughter of a wealthy family, the two spark an instant connection--she seems like the best thing to happen to him in a while. But their whirlwind romance is put to the test when what starts out as a simple favor for a friend leaves Joe homeless, unemployed, and on the wrong side of a vengeful drug dealer. An impulsive offer to go on a road trip with Emily promises to take them out of harm's way but may only lead to more chaos.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Noir fiction.; Novels.; Ex-convicts; Man-woman relationships; Organized crime; Veterans; Working poor;

Huguette [electronic resource] : by Black, Cara.aut; CloudLibrary;
In the lawlessness of post–World War II France, a resilient young woman fights to survive and make a living, no matter the cost—from the New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris and the Aimée Leduc series After Libération, spring 1945: Seventeen-year-old Huguette Faure is a survivor. The war has taken everything from her—both her parents and her sense of safety. Now, pregnant and on the lam, she cannot return to her childhood home in Paris. Forced to reinvent herself, she must outrun her father’s enemies, who want her dead. After narrowly avoiding jail time—thanks to the help of a kindhearted police officer named Claude Leduc—Huguette lands a job assisting a legendary film director. As her role develops from helping him with chores to cooking his books, she sees an opportunity to break free from the ghosts of her past once and for all. In this big-hearted story of resilience, New York Times bestselling author Cara Black offers a wholly original depiction of postwar France as well as introduces Claude Leduc—the man who decades later inspired his granddaughter, Aimée, to become a private investigator.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Contemporary Women; Historical;
© 2025., Soho Press,

The final revival of Opal & Nev : a novel / by Walton, Dawnie,author.;
"Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, Afro-punk before that term existed. Coming of age in Detroit, she can't imagine settling for a 9-to-5 job--despite her unusual looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her at a bar's amateur night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together for the fledgling Rivington Records. In early seventies New York City, just as she's finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal's bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves, but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially black women, who dare to speak their truth. Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols. Sunny thought she knew most of the stories leading up to the cult duo's most politicized chapter. But as her interviews dig deeper, a nasty new allegation from an unexpected source threatens to blow up everything."--
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Women rock musicians; Rock groups; Rock musicians;

Heist by Causey, Frances,filmmaker; Goldmacher, Donald,filmmaker; Donald Goldmacher (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Bernie Sanders, Van Jones, David Cay Johnson, Nomi Prins, Robert Crandall, Robert KuttnerOriginally produced by Donald Goldmacher in 2011.This investigative documentary reveals how American corporations orchestrated the dismantling of middle-class prosperity through rampant deregulation, the outsourcing of jobs, and tax policies favoring businesses and the wealthy. HEIST exposes the roots of the American economic crisis and the destruction of the American dream.. The collapse of the U.S. economy is the result of conscious choices made over thirty five years by a small group: leaders of corporations and their elected allies, and the biggest lobbying interest in Washington, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. To these individuals, the collapse is not a catastrophe, but rather the planned outcome of their long, patient work. For the rest of the country, it is merely the biggest heist in American history.. "(HEIST) has the virtue of taking the long view of a crisis that recent films like INSIDE JOB and TOO BIG TO FAIL have only sketchily explored. It makes a strong case that government regulation of business is essential for democracy to flourish." — Stephen Holden, The New York Times. "Wherever one's politics fall on the spectrum, there is much in here — such as a maddening video Filmclip in which an American law firm offers counsel on how to avoid hiring American workers — likely to give one pause." — Mindy Farabee, L.A. TimesMode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: North American Studies; Documentary films. ; Globalization; Politics;

This is your mother : a memoir / by Simpson, Erica J.,author.;
"Growing up, Erika Simpson's mother loomed large, almost biblical in her life. A daughter of sharecroppers, middle child of ten, her origin story served as a kind of Genesis. Her departure from home and a cheating husband, pursuing higher education along the way a kind of Exodus. Her rules for survival, often repeated like the Ten Commandments, guided Erika's own journey into adulthood. And the most important rule? Throughout her life, Sallie Carol preached the power of a testimony-which often proved useful in talking her way out of a bind with bill collectors. But where does a mother's story end and a daughter's begin? In this brave, illuminating memoir, Erika offers a joint recollection of their lives as they navigate times of poverty and stability, separation and togetherness, illness and remission. Her mother's uncanny ability to endure Job-like trials and manifest New Testament-style miracles made her seem invincible. But while those who raise us may start out as gods in our lives, through her mother's final months and fifth battle with cancer, Erika captures the moment you realize that parents are just people. Weaving together a dual timeline and elements from both scripture and pop culture, Erika explores how the lessons, dreams, and patterns we inherit influence our future, for better and worse. Powerful, moving, and unforgettable, This Is Your Mother is a gorgeously rendered story of a mother's life through a daughter's eyes as she navigates through grief to a place of clarity where she can see who she is without her mom -- and because of her"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Simpson, Erica J.; Cancer; Mothers and daughters; Women authors, American;