Literary Guide For Machos


Book Description

— Obscenely funny. The epitome of political incorrectness. From Hemingway to Camus to Du Fu, this scatological and irreverent narrative will guide your inner, lion-hearted maleness through some of literature's most interesting personalities, macho or not. The main character, who "wrote 13 theses, six dissertations and 34 monographs for other people" and, ironically, in his own prose, remains nameless, sketches a blend of colloquial, intellectual, and lustful adventures that will hook you from beginning to end.




Only Pieces


Book Description

Edgar wants nothing more than to live his life out loud. But telling the truth about his sexuality isn’t so easy in his traditional Mexican-American family, and his Amá has made it clear she won’t accept who he is. Things get even harder when Edgar’s macho father returns home after months away, and the house erupts into fighting and simmering tension. Edgar worries what would happen if he told his father the truth about who he is, and feels he’ll never fit in anywhere. Then Edgar runs into Alex, a popular football player at school. With Alex, Edgar feels happy and free, believing he might finally pick up all the broken pieces of his heart. But falling in love is more complicated than Edgar can ever imagine--and coming out might destroy the only life he’s ever known.




The Complete Idiot's Guide to American Literature


Book Description

You're no idiot, of course. You know that Samuel Clemens had a better-known pen name, Moby Dick is a famous whale, and the Raven only said,"Nevermore." But when it comes to understanding the great works of Mark Twain, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe, you'd rather rent the videos than head to your local library. Don't tear up your library card yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide® to American Literature teaches you all about the rich tradition of American prose and poetry, so you can fully appreciate its magnificent diversity.




Muy Macho


Book Description

From the Homeboy to the Latin Lover, America cherishes a host of images about Latino men, yet all are based on the belief in macho men, virile and brash, full of violence and testosterone. With the gender correctness of the 90s challenging all men to embrace a new masculinity, how do Latino men of today--grounded in the "macho" tradition -- define this new identity? From today's best-known, as well as emerging, Latino writers, poet and editor Ray Gonzalez has gathered personal essays written especially for Muy Macho on machismo and masculinity. The result is a rich and exciting collection of men talking about themselves, about other men, about their wives and lovers, about their fathers and their sons. In "Me Macho, You Jane," Dagoberto Gilb contrasts how he perceives himself with how others, particularly women, interpret his behavior, while in "Whores," Luis Alberto Urrea chronicles a rite of passage for many Latino men. Most insightful and moving are essays like "The Puerto Rican Dummy and the Merciful Son" by poet Martin Espada, which portray the fragile love between fathers and sons and the process by which men learn from and teach each other how to be men. Muy Macho contains photographs of all contributors, while Gonzalez illuminates the cultural context of Latino masculinity in his introduction. Emotionally honest and powerfully written, the voices of Muy Macho break the "cult of silence" between Latino men which prevents our culture from understanding the true nature of machismo.




Macho Nachos


Book Description

The nacho has universal appeal. It's a finger food, it crunches, it's Tex-Mex, it's tasty. It's quick and easy, yet it's still satisfying. Anyone can make a good nacho. It's casual enough to eat on the couch in front of the game, but it can be gussied up for any occasion: like hamburgers, pizza, and other wildly popular casual foods, nacho variations are vast, and techniques are important. That's where Macho Nachos comes in handy, beginning with the fundamentals--what cooking vessel to use, what temperature, which cheeses and chips work best (and which really don't), how to make cleanup easier, and how to avoid bad results (soggy on the one hand, burnt on the other). Then on to recipes: Speedy Nachos (the easiest recipes) such as Traditional Tex-Mex "Nacho's Nachos"; Smoked Chicken, Roasted Peppers, and Asiago Cheese Nachos; and Nachos de Carnitas. Then there are Uptown Nachos, for those social situations when it might actually be necessary to tuck the shirt into the pants and perhaps entertain the fairer sex: Jamaican Rum Chicken Nachos; Popcorn Shrimp Baja Nachos; and Crabmeat and Spinach Nachos. There are even Breakfast and Dessert Nachos. And of course Macho Nachos is a rich source of homemade condiments--the piece de resistance (if you will) of the well-appointed nacho--for those chefs too advanced to settle for a jar: from classic Pico de Gallo to Ginger-Watermelon Salsa, from Avocado Crema to Chipotle Mayonnaise, here's everything you'd want to drip, drizzle, or pour over your macho nachos. Don't leave the couch without it.







Macho Camacho's Beat


Book Description

One day in the life of "Senator Vicente Reinosa, a crooked politician stuck in a gargantuan traffic jam; his neurotic, artistocratic wife; their son Benny, a fascist who is quite literally in love with his Ferrari; and the Senator's mistress, who inhabits a poorer world with her idiot child, her cousins (Hughie, Louie, and Dewey) and her friend Doña Chon."--Cover.




The Long Drop


Book Description

'A masterpiece by the woman who may be Britain's finest living crime novelist' Daily Telegraph 'Absorbing... this is a bravura performance, a true original' Ian Rankin Glasgow, 1957. It is a December night and William Watt is desperate. His family has been murdered and he needs to find out who killed them. He arrives at a bar to meet Peter Manuel, who claims he can get hold of the gun that was used. But Watt soon realises that this infamous criminal will not give up information easily. Inspired by true events, The Long Drop follows Watt and Manuel along back streets and into smoky pubs, and on to the courtroom where the murder trial takes place. Can Manuel really be trusted to tell the truth? And how far will Watt go to get what he wants? **A TIMES TOP 10 CRIME NOVEL OF THE DECADE** __________________ Praise for THE LONG DROP: 'Extraordinary' Guardian 'This book is so, so good. Forensic, beautiful and gripping' Graham Norton 'Revisits a dark episode in Glasgow's past... Mina navigates the uneasy territory between fact and fiction with consummate grace' Val McDermid *Don't miss Denise Mina's most recent thriller, the Costa 2020 shortlisted, THE LESS DEAD*




The Dharma Bum's Guide to Western Literature


Book Description

HOW THE LITERATURE WE LOVE CONVEYS THE AWAKENING WE SEEK Suppose we could read Hemingway as haiku . . . learn mindfulness from Virginia Woolf and liberation from Frederick Douglass . . . see Dickinson and Whitman as buddhas of poetry, and Huck Finn and Gatsby as seekers of the infinite . . . discover enlightenment teachings in Macbeth, The Catcher in the Rye, Moby-Dick, and The Bluest Eye. Some of us were lucky enough to have one passionate, funny, inspiring English teacher who helped us fall in love with books. Add a lifetime of teaching Dharma — authentic, traditional approaches to meditation and awakening — and you get award-winning author Dean Sluyter. With droll humor and irreverent wisdom, he unpacks the Dharma of more than twenty major writers, from William Blake to Dr. Seuss, inspiring readers to deepen their own spiritual life and see literature in a fresh, new way: as a path of awakening.




The House on Mango Street (MAXNotes Literature Guides)


Book Description

REA's MAXnotes for Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street MAXnotes offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature, presented in a lively and interesting fashion. Written by literary experts who currently teach the subject, MAXnotes will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the work. MAXnotes are designed to stimulate independent thought about the literary work by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions. MAXnotes cover the essentials of what one should know about each work, including an overall summary, character lists, an explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, illustrations to convey the mood of the work, and a biography of the author. Each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.