Puffs of Enlightenment


Book Description

Embark on a Poetic Journey Through a Smoky World Imagine holding in your hands a passport that doesn't just take you to new places, but unlocks new states of mind. "Puffs of Enlightenment: Poems of the Pot Passport" is your ticket to a poetic voyage wrapped in the scents and smoke of the world's most enigmatic plant. Each page is a trip, each verse a new destination. Begin your odyssey in the lush landscapes of Asia with Smoking Thai Stick in Thailand, before ascending the mystical mountains of Nepal. Drift through the cherry blossoms of Japan, each puff enchanting you to the depths of tranquil thought. This collection is not simply about cannabis--it's about the experiences, the cultures, and the ineffable moments that it accentuates. As you turn the pages, you're transported to Amsterdam's notorious backstreets and immersed into the heart-pumping atmosphere of Ibiza's nightclubs, each site offering a different shade of euphoria. The adventure only intensifies as you inhale Africa's aromatic airs and venture through the rich, red soils of the outback under a blanket of southern stars. Feel the rhythm of North America, from Cali Kush clouds to the enigmatic northern lights of Alaska. As the South American smolders embolden your spirit, brace for the Caribbean's gentle beaches where the ganja breezes whisper tales of relaxation. And still there's more--the Middle Eastern mists await with their ancient wisdom, while the Indian influence unfurls its creamy daydreams upon your conscience. At the end, you may find yourself passionately knowledgeable on the strains that inspired your poetic journey and the complex tapestry of legalities faced by the wandering smoker. Dive into the mesmerizing "Puffs of Enlightenment", where each poem brings forth a new puff of insight, and each inhale of literature leaves you a bit more enlightened than the last. Let your imagination soar on wings of smoke--discover the world, verse by euphoric verse.




The Heart of Lebanon


Book Description

When celebrated mahjar writer Ameen Rihani returned to his native Lebanon from his long stay in New York, he set out on nine journeys through the Lebanese countryside, from the rising mountains to the shores of the Mediterranean, to experience and document the land in intimate detail. Through his travelogue The Heart of Lebanon, Rihani brings his readers along by foot and by mule to explore rural villages like his childhood home of Freike, the flora and fauna of massive cedar forests, and archaeological sites that reveal the history of Lebanon. Meeting goatherds, healers, monks, and more along the way, Rihani offers more than vivid descriptions of the country’s sweeping scenery. His candid and often humorous narration captures what he sees as the soul of Lebanon and its people. Allen’s fluid translation transports English-language readers to an early twentieth-century rural Lebanon of the writer’s time in a way that only Rihani’s firsthand account can accomplish.




Presbyterian Survey


Book Description




Under the Persimmon Tree


Book Description

Intertwined portraits of courage and hope in Afghanistan and Pakistan Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose name means "star," suddenly finds herself alone when her father and older brother are conscripted by the Taliban and her mother and newborn brother are killed in an air raid. An American woman, Elaine, whose Islamic name is Nusrat, is also on her own. She waits out the war in Peshawar, Pakistan, teaching refugee children under the persimmon tree in her garden while her Afghan doctor husband runs a clinic in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Najmah's father had always assured her that the stars would take care of her, just as Nusrat's husband had promised that they would tell Nusrat where he was and that he was safe. As the two look to the skies for answers, their fates entwine. Najmah, seeking refuge and hoping to find her father and brother, begins the perilous journey through the mountains to cross the border into Pakistan. And Nusrat's persimmon-tree school awaits Najmah's arrival. Together, they both seek their way home. Known for her award-winning fiction set in South Asia, Suzanne Fisher Staples revisits that part of the world in this beautifully written, heartrending novel. Under the Persimmon Tree is a 2006 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.




The Abandoned Room


Book Description

Bobby Brown's grandfather is murdered and no one knows how did the killer enter the locked room?_x000D_ Excerpt:_x000D_ "The night of his grandfather's mysterious death at the Cedars, Bobby Blackburn was, at least until midnight, in New York. He was held there by the unhealthy habits and companionships which recently had angered his grandfather to the point of threatening a disciplinary change in his will. As a consequence he drifted into that strange adventure which later was to surround him with dark shadows and overwhelming doubts."




The Daughter of the Dawn


Book Description

Novel set in New Zealand.