Thugness


Book Description

When Tracy—a successful singles and couples counselor—turned thirty, she decided that she was ready to settle down. Tracy had not dated since her early college days. She took time to focus on her career. One day, she saw this dark skin, six-foot-tall guy walk into Pierre's. He had all the makings of a thug. A chance encounter a few days later, the two would meet. Christian Giles was an up-and-coming music producer from a different side of town than Tracy. Since he had thug qualities, Tracy named him Thugness. From there, they entered into a relationship filled with love, compassion, and understanding—a love that reminded her of the love her dad had always shown her. The relationship was going well until Chris's past came back to haunt him. Tracy and Christian ended their relationship. A heartbroken Tracy didn't want to deal with the memories of her and Christian's relationship, so she moved to a new house and a new office. Across the hall worked a money-worshipping six-foot-two, brown-skinned dentist with a million-dollar smile, named Dr. Shawn Richards. Their first meeting was something that Tracy wanted to forget, but Shawn was able to woo her into a relationship. As months went by, Shawn asked Tracy to marry him. Tracy said yes. A month before the wedding, while at the mall, Tracy saw a familiar face. One she hadn't seen in a few years. She soon realized that it was Thugness. She told him she was getting married and walked away. On the wedding day, as her dad walked her down the aisle, Tracy was all set to marry Shawn. He stood at the front of the tree house, awaiting her arrival. With her hand in his, the officiant asked if anyone knew why the two should not be married. Tracy was surprised to see Thugness standing in front of her. Tracy must now choose between the love she never got over, or the love that she was unsure of. Whom would she choose?




Confessions of a Serial Alibi


Book Description

"When This American Life's Serial podcast by Sarah Koenig was first released in 2014 no one could have known it would become one of the most listened to of all time with over 175 million downloads. The story of a possibly innocent man convicted of murder gripped listeners all over the world. Now, in Confessions of a Serial Alibi, Asia McClain Chapman shares her memories of the victim Hae Min Lee, accused murderer Adnan Syed and witness Jay Wilds as well as her private conversations with Sarah Koenig and prosecutor Kevin Urick, among others. She openly and honestly addresses many of the questions that have been directed toward her as well as sharing personal insight into her actions." -- Dust jacket.




No Going Back: A Small-Town Romantic Suspense Novel


Book Description

An emergency SOS from his past gives him a purpose--and a target on his back Sean Falcone hasn’t been able to find a place since leaving the military. He needs a mission. When his buddy’s little sister texts a mysterious SOS, he hurries to help her out. Hoping to keep her safe, he heads north to Phail, Vermont. As they grow closer, he realizes his mission isn’t to find a place, it’s to find a person. When the threat follows them to Vermont, he’ll risk it all to keep her safe. *** No Going Back is the second book in Jemi Fraser's No Fail Heroes romantic suspense series. Each of these small-town romances can be read as a stand-alone. The book contains some strong language and sexy times. Enjoy the read!




Black Cultural Traffic


Book Description

"A shrewdly designed, generously expansive, timely contribution to our understanding of how 'black' expression continues to define and defy the contours of global (post)modernity. The essays argue persuasively for a transnational ethos binding disparate African and diasporic enactments, and together provide a robust conversation about the nature, history, future, and even possibility of 'blackness' as a distinctive mode of cultural practice." --Kimberly Benston, author of Performing Blackness "Black Cultural Traffic is nothing less than our generation's manifesto on black performance and popular culture. With a distinguished roster of contributors and topics ranging across academic disciplines and the arts (including commentary on film, music, literature, theater, television, and visual cultures), this volume is not only required reading for scholars serious about the various dimensions of black performance, it is also a timely and necessary teaching tool. It captures the excitement and intellectual innovation of a field that has come of age. Kudos!" --Dwight A. McBride, author of Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch "The explosion of interest in black popular culture studies in the past fifteen years has left a significant need for a reader that reflects this new scholarly energy. Black Cultural Traffic answers that need." --Mark Anthony Neal, author of Songs in the Key of Black Life "A revolutionary anthology that will be widely read and taught. It crisscrosses continents and cultures and examines confluences and influences of black popular culture -- music, dance, theatre, television, fashion and film. It also adds a new dimension to current discussions of racial, ethnic, and national identity." --Horace Porter, author of The Making of a Black Scholar




The Act of Living


Book Description

The Act of Living explores the relation between development and marginality in Ethiopia, one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Replete with richly depicted characters and multi-layered narratives on history, everyday life and visions of the future, Marco Di Nunzio's ethnography of hustling and street life is an investigation of what is to live, hope and act in the face of the failing promises of development and change. Di Nunzio follows the life trajectories of two men, "Haile" and "Ibrahim," as they grow up in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, enter street life to get by, and turn to the city's expanding economies of work and entrepreneurship to search for a better life. Apparently favourable circumstances of development have not helped them achieve social improvement. As their condition of marginality endures, the two men embark in restless attempts to transform living into a site for hope and possibility. By narrating Haile and Ibrahim's lives, The Act of Living explores how and why development continues to fail the poor, how marginality is understood and acted upon in a time of promise, and why poor people's claims for open-endedness can lead to better and more just alternative futures. Tying together anthropology, African studies, political science, and urban studies, Di Nunzio takes readers on a bold exploration of the meaning of existence, hope, marginality, and street life.




The Last Bohemia


Book Description

A former resident describes the transformation of Williamsburg, Brooklyn which went from a gritty industrial district, to an artist's colony, to housing members of the dot-com boom, to an area now known for hipster culture and real-estate development.




Gangster Mission Part One


Book Description

Gangster Mission Part I is mainly about identical quadruplet brothers terrorizing the streets they lived on because there was no other way for them to provide a self-satisfying living to prevent from starving and becoming nothing of existence. So after robbing banks, trap houses, random bystanders, and hotels, the brothers' everyday doing took a drastic turn when an unexpected decision was made without group consent, resulting in a cop being killed. So while in the midst of evading the capture of the policemen that they were eluding from, the brothers so happened to meet these four sisters of the same mentality that they themselves carried. Would this be the brothers' downfall or their upbringing?




Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening


Book Description

Get garden-tested guidance for beautiful blooms with this comprehensive, practical, and gorgeously illustrated study of the art of growing flowers. In Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening, author Matt Mattus offers expert tips on growing both annuals and biennials (including native and heirloom species) based on his decades of first-hand experience in his own garden and greenhouse, made popular on his blog Growing with Plants. Accompanied by lush photography, every variety or species presented includes detailed information and tips that go beyond the very basic information typically available on the seed packet or a nursery tag. You’ll discover: Basic growing methods, including how to start seeds, soil, sowing, hardening off, transplanting, and growing on. Advice for growing a wide range of different flowers, organized by blooming season, including annuals from seed, summer bulbs, vines such as wisteria, and even blooming shrubs like lilacs. In-depth profiles for a selection of flowers that include more-detailed growing techniques along with their histories and varieties. Pro tips, including how to grow challenging annual poppies and biennials from seed and forcing flowers for winter blooms. Just a small selection of the flowers covered: heirloom and exhibition chrysanthemums, larkspurs and annual poppies, delphiniums, peonies, lilacs, and wisteria. Bulbs include spring and summer bulbs such as anemone, ranunculus, tulips, lilies, gladiolus, and cut flower dahlias, while winter indoor bulbs cover every aspect of forcing bulbs indoors like narcissus, amaryllis, South African bulbs—and even how to force Lily of the Valley. Whether you’re interested in raising a small cut-flower garden, enhancing your flower border or containers, or just admiring the beauty of flowers, Mattus has it covered.




On the Come Up


Book Description

Growing up in the heart of the Atlanta ghetto, siblings DeMarco and Jasmine Winslow have developed a talent for survival. But if given the chance, they would do anything for a fresh start. . . . By the time DeMarco was fifteen, being locked up was better than being at home. So whenever he got hungry or cold or just plain tired of living in the ghetto, he'd steal something and make sure he got caught, 'cause going to juvie was like going to heaven: video games, basketball courts, a big screen television, and three hot meals a day. And now that he's back in the hood, things seem worse than before. Jasmine, DeMarco's twin sister, hasn't had the luxury of vacationing in juvie. She's had to balance being an honor roll student with fighting off advances from her mother's boyfriend. After her mom sides with her boyfriend, Jasmine's out on the streets and running with the DIVAs, a rough group of girls whose number one goal is to get paid. But when Jasmine finally gets her chance to break free, she learns the hard way that no one leaves the hood unscathed. . . . Also Available TWO THE HARD WAY AT THE CROSSROADS [show covers]




Unusually Stupid Politicians


Book Description

Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras, bestselling authors of the scathingly funny Unusually Stupid Americans and Unusually Stupid Celebrities, now set their bipartisan sights on the hallowed halls of the United States government. Unusually Stupid Politicians exposes the mind-boggling but true political mishaps, missteps, and miscues that have even the savviest spin doctors shaking their heads and saying “No comment.” Sections include • Extreme Hairsplitting–such as when Florida governor Jeb Bush, after being accused of hiding in a closet from rampaging Democrats, denied the allegation completely, stating that “it was actually a boiler room” • Brilliant and Innovative Ideas from The Pentagon– like their groundbreaking "Gay Bomb," their "Bad Breath Inducing" halitosis weapon and their plans to enlist The Three Stooges in the fight against terror. • Creative Political Excuses——such as “I just discovered I’m Jewish and it’s a Holy Day,”——used by Senator George Allen, who, after learning of his Jewish heritage, got out of a Senate hearing to “observe” Yom Kippur • The Most Egregiously Large Political Egos–measured in standard Chuck Schumer Ego Units (CSEUs) This hilarious and eye-opening exposé gives awards for “How I Blew My Campaign” and “Worst Campaign Ad,” and shares a list of candidates “endorsed by God,” as well as a list of those who lost because of Satan. So turn off C-SPAN and quit text-messaging congressional pages–you’re about to learn what the definition of “is” is.