Search results for ""st martin's press""

On an ordinary day in Bergen, Norway, in the late 1990s, Anna is reading in the garden while her two-year-old daughter, Laura, plays on her tricycle. Then, in one startling moment, Anna misreads a word, an alternate universe opens up, and Laura disappears. Twenty years or so later, life has gone on as if nothing happened. In each of the women's lives, however, something is not quite right. Both Anna and Laura continue to exist, but they are invisible to each other and forgotten in each other's worlds. Both are writers and amateur pianists. Both are married; Anna had two more children after Laura disappeared, and Laura is expecting a child of her own. They worry about their families, their jobs, the climate-and whether this reality is all there is. In the exquisite, wistful, slyly profound Present Tense Machine, Gunnhild Øyehaug delivers another dazzling renovation of what fiction can do, a testament to the fact that language shapes the world.

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From its beginning, opera has been an impossible art. Its first practitioners, in seventeenth-century Florence, set themselves the unreachable goal of reproducing the wonders of ancient Greek drama, which no one can be sure was sung in the first place. Opera’s greatest artists have striven to fuse multiple art forms - music, drama, poetry, dance - into a unified synesthetic experience. The composer Matthew Aucoin, a rising star of the opera world, posits that it is this impossibility that gives opera its exceptional power and serves as its lifeblood. The virtuosity required of its performers, the bizarre and often spectacular nature of its stage productions, the creation of a whole world whose basic fabric is music - opera assumes its true form when it pursues impossible goals. The Impossible Art is a passionate defense of what is best about opera, a love letter to the form, written in the midst of a global pandemic during which operatic performance was (literally) impossible. Aucoin writes of the rare works - ranging from classics by Mozart and Verdi to contemporary offerings of Thomas Adès and Chaya Czernowin - that capture something essential about human experience. He illuminates the symbiotic relationship between composers and librettists, between opera’s greatest figures and those of literature. Aucoin also tells the story of his new opera, Eurydice, from its inception to its production on the Metropolitan Opera’s iconic stage. The Impossible Art opens the theater door and invites the reader into this extraordinary world.

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The Loft Generation: From the de Koonings to Twombly; Portraits and Sketches, 1942–2011 is an invaluable account by an artist at the center of a landmark era in American art. Edith Schloss writes about the painters, poets, and musicians who were part of the postwar movements and about her life as an artist in New York and later in Italy, where she continued to paint and write until her death in 2011. Schloss was born in Germany and moved to New York City during World War II. She became part of a thriving community of artists and intellectuals that included Elaine and Willem de Kooning, Larry Rivers, John Cage, and Frank O’Hara. She married the photographer and filmmaker Rudy Burckhardt. She was both a working artist and an incisive critic, and was a candid and gimlet-eyed witness of the close-knit community that was redefining the world of art. In Italy she spent time with Giorgio Morandi, Cy Twombly, Meret Oppenheim, and Francesca Woodman. In The Loft Generation, Schloss creates a rare and irreplaceable up-close record of an era of artistic innovation and the colorful characters who made it happen. There is no other book like it. Her canny observations are indispensable reading for all critics and researchers of this vital period in American art.

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Stella has a feeling that her life in Tacoma is about to turn around-just like her Panda Express fortune cookie promised. She'll finally make friends, and maybe have a little less generalized anxiety about big things, like her absent mom, and small things, like food touching other food on her plate. Her hopes for a friend-filled, anxiety-free future are quickly overshadowed when her Dad offers up an odd souvenir from his Vegas business trip: his new fiancée, Whitney. A few short weeks later, Stella and her brother find themselves staying in Whitney's Las Vegas house. But Stella isn't ready to accept her new life in the desert just yet. It's going to take some help from the stars-and her soon-to-be stepsister-to get this wedding called off once and for all.

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At the end of The Midnight Lie, Nirrim offered up her heart to the God of Thieves in order to restore her people's memories of their city's history. The Half Kith who once lived imprisoned behind the city's wall now realize that many among them are powerful. Meanwhile, the person Nirrim once loved most, Sid, has returned to her home country of Herran, where she must navigate the politics of being a rogue princess who has finally agreed to do her duty. In the Herrani court, rumors begin to grow of a new threat rising in the south sea, of unleashed magic, and of a cruel, black-haired queen who can push false memories into your mind. Sid doesn't know that this queen is Nirrim, who seeks her revenge against a world that has wronged her. Can Sid save Nirrim from herself? Does Nirrim even want to be saved?

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Chicago, 2018: Ole Henryks, a popular restauranteur, is set to be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions. Frequently appearing on local TV, he is well known for his actions in Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II — most consider him a hero. Britta Stein, however, does not. The ninety-year-old Chicago woman levels public accusations against Henryks by spray-painting “Coward,” “Traitor,” “Collaborator,” and “War Criminal” on the walls of his restaurant. Mrs. Stein is ultimately taken into custody and charged with criminal defacement of property. She also becomes the target of a bitter lawsuit filed by Henryks and his son, accusing her of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Attorney Catherine Lockhart, though hesitant at first, agrees to take up Mrs. Stein's defense. With the help of her investigator husband, Liam Taggart, Lockhart must reach back into wartime Denmark and locate evidence that proves Mrs. Stein's innocence. Defending Britta Stein is critically-acclaimed author Ronald H. Balson's thrilling take on a modern day courtroom drama, and a masterful rendition of Denmark’s wartime heroics.

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With 100 easy-to-hard puzzles in a smart, striking design, the third volume of The New York Times Classic Crossword Puzzles is the perfect gift for any crossword lover. Its sturdy, journal-style packaging with ribbon marker and removable jacket means you can solve in style wherever you go. Features: - High-quality paper inside allows you to solve with pen or pencil - Cloth ribbon marker helps you keep your place so you can easily return to the puzzle you're working on - Removable cover band leaves a discreet and sophisticated hardcover book with rounded corners and charming crossword grid pattern - All puzzles originally printed in The New York Times and edited by Will Shortz, the top two names in crosswords

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In the tradition of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, Bruce Borgos's The Bitter Past begins a compelling series set in the high desert of Nevada featuring Sheriff Porter Beck. Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation. In a case that unfolds in the past (the 1950s) and the present, it seems that a Russian spy infiltrated the nuclear testing site and now someone is looking for that long-ago, all-but forgotten person, who holds the key to what happened then and to the deadly goings on now.

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Craving some puzzle time but always on the go? No problem! Just Take It With You! Every puzzle in this collection of 200 Tuesday New York Times crossword puzzles is removable, so you can sit back and solve wherever you go. Features: -200 easy Tuesday puzzles -Bold, fun series cover design -Edited by crossword legend Will Shortz

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Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he's desperate for money--it's not easy to find steady, safe work when you can't provide references, you can't stay in one place for long, and you're paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you. When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house's horrors don't drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them. The job calls to Eric, not just because there's a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it'll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running. A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father's love, Johnny Compton's The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making.

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Naliah is excited to perform a traditional Vietnamese Fan Dance at her school's International Day. When she finds that her special áo dài no longer fits right, she goes to her mom's closet to find another. She puts on a pretty yellow one-only to accidentally rip it while practicing her dance. She's horrified to discover that this was a very special áo dài that her grandmother had worn to dance at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam. But with a little help from her mom's sewing kit and her grandmother's loving legacy, Naliah learns not only how to mend the yellow áo dài but also how to believe in herself and make it her own. Lovingly illustrated by Minnie Phan, Hanh Bui's debut picture book, The Yellow Áo Dài, is a warm story of family, identity, and remembering those who came before.

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For Stevie, speaking up in class can be scary. So when Ms. Gail asks, "Are there any questions?," Stevie looks around the classroom, hoping someone will raise their hand. But no one does. No one has a single question. Except Stevie. "I can't ask, can I? If I do, I know just what will happen," Stevie thinks, beginning a journey of worried imagination. Everyone will certainly laugh, they'll think the question is silly, they'll think Stevie is silly. But Stevie has to know. Stevie has to ask. Written with humor, empathy, and tenderness, Andrew Arnold's I Have a Question is wonderfully funny and mightily empowering-inspiring anyone who has ever felt too shy, too silly or too afraid to raise their hand.

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Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle's Ebony Gate is a female John Wick story with dragon magic set in contemporary San Francisco's Chinatown. Emiko Soong belongs to one of the eight premier magical families of the world. But Emiko never needed any magic. Because she is the Blade of the Soong Clan. Or was. Until she's drenched in blood in the middle of a market in China, surrounded by bodies and the scent of blood and human waste as a lethal perfume. The Butcher of Beijing now lives a quiet life in San Francisco, importing antiques. But when a shinigami, a god of death itself, calls in a family blood debt, Emiko must recover the Ebony Gate that holds back the hungry ghosts of the Yomi underworld. Or forfeit her soul as the anchor. What's a retired assassin to do but save the City by the Bay from an army of the dead?

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Two decades into the 21st Century, the U.S. is less united than at any time in our history since the Civil War. We are more diverse in our beliefs and culture than ever before. But red and blue states, secular and religious groups, liberal and conservative idealists, and Republican and Democratic representatives all have one thing in common: each believes their distinct cultures and liberties are being threatened by an escalating violent opposition. This polarized tribalism, espoused by the loudest, angriest fringe extremists on both the left and the right, dismisses dialogue as appeasement; if left unchecked, it could very well lead to secession. An engaging mix of cutting edge research and fair-minded analysis, Divided We Fall is an unblinking look at the true dimensions and dangers of this widening ideological gap, and what could happen if we don't take steps toward bridging it. French reveals chilling, plausible scenarios of how the United States could fracture into regions that will not only weaken the country but destabilize the world. But our future is not written in stone. By implementing James Madison's vision of pluralism-that all people have the right to form communities representing their personal values-we can prevent oppressive factions from seizing absolute power and instead maintain everyone's beliefs and identities across all fifty states. Reestablishing national unity will require the bravery to commit ourselves to embracing qualities of kindness, decency, and grace towards those we disagree with ideologically. French calls on all of us to demonstrate true tolerance so we can heal the American divide. If we want to remain united, we must learn to stand together again.

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"Poignant and powerful" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), Cathy Bonidan's The Lost Manuscript is a charming epistolary novel about the love of books and magical ability they have to bring people together. Sometimes a book has the power to change your life. When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her. Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking-that he was not the author of the second half of the book. Anne-Lise can't rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone's lives are made better by this book-and isn't that the point of reading? And finally, with a plot twist you don't see coming, she uncovers the astonishing identity of the author who finished the story.

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It's 1974, and Jerry Stieglitz is a grad student in marine biology at UCLA with a side gig selling short stories to science fiction magazines, just weeks away from marrying his longtime fiancée. Then his life is upended by grim-faced men from three-letter agencies who want him to join a top-secret "Project Azorian" in the middle of the north Pacific Ocean—and they really don't take "no" for an answer. Further, they're offering enough money to solve all of Jerry's immediate problems. Joining up and swearing to secrecy, what he first learns is that Project Azorian is secretly trying to raise a sunken Russian submarine, while pretending to be harvesting undersea manganese nodules. But the dead Russian sub, while real, turns out to be a cover story as well. What's down on the ocean floor next to it is the thing that killed the sub: an alien spacecraft. Jerry's a scientist, a longhair, a storyteller, a dreamer. He stands out like a sore thumb on the Glomar Explorer, a ship full of CIA operatives, RAND Corporation eggheads, and roustabout divers. But it turns out that he's the one person in the North Pacific who's truly thought out all the ways that human-alien first contact might go. And meanwhile, it's still 1974 back on the mainland. Richard Nixon is drinking heavily and talking to the paintings on the White House walls. The USA is changing fast--and who knows what will happen when this story gets out? Three Miles Down is both a fresh and original take on First Contact, and a hugely enjoyable romp through the pop culture, political tumult, and conspiracies-within-conspiracies atmosphere that was 1974.

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The K Team enjoys investigating cold cases for the Paterson Police Department. Corey Douglas, his K-9 partner Simon Garfunkel, Laurie Collins, and Marcus Clark even get to choose which cases they'd like to pursue. When Corey sees the latest list of possibilities, there's no question which one to look into next. Corey's former mentor, Jimmy Dietrich, had his whole identity wrapped up in being a cop. When Jimmy retired a few years ago, his marriage quickly deteriorated and he tried-and failed-to get back on the force. Jimmy was left to try to adjust to life as a civilian. Not long after, two bodies were found in a boat floating near the Long Island Sound. A local woman, Susan Avery--whose detective husband, Danny, had recently been murdered--and Jimmy Dietrich. With no true evidence available, the deaths went unsolved and the case was declared cold. This didn't stop the whispers about what happened on that boat: an affair gone wrong... a murder-suicide committed by Jimmy. Corey never believed it. By looking into the three deaths, the K Team has the opportunity to find the people actually responsible and clear Jimmy's name. Bestselling author David Rosenfelt returns in Good Dog, Bad Cop, where there's little to go on, but that won't stop Paterson, New Jersey's favorite private investigators from sniffing out the truth.

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BEST OF THE 2022 RUSA Book & Media AWARDS | One of Biblioracle's 8 favorite nonfiction books of 2021 in the Chicago Tribune | The New York Post's BEST BOOKS OF 2021 | USA Today's 5 BOOKS NOT TO MISS "Alexander nimbly and grippingly translates the byzantine world of American health care into a real-life narrative with people you come to care about." -New York Times "Takes readers into the world of the American medical industry in a way no book has done before." -Fortune By following the struggle for survival of one small-town hospital, and the patients who walk, or are carried, through its doors, The Hospital takes readers into the world of the American medical industry in a way no book has done before. Americans are dying sooner, and living in poorer health. Alexander argues that no plan will solve America's health crisis until the deeper causes of that crisis are addressed. Bryan, Ohio's hospital, is losing money, making it vulnerable to big health systems seeking domination and Phil Ennen, CEO, has been fighting to preserve its independence. Meanwhile, Bryan, a town of 8,500 people in Ohio's northwest corner, is still trying to recover from the Great Recession. As local leaders struggle to address the town's problems, and the hospital fights for its life amid a rapidly consolidating medical and hospital industry, a 39-year-old diabetic literally fights for his limbs, and a 55-year-old contractor lies dying in the emergency room. With these and other stories, Alexander strips away the wonkiness of policy to reveal Americans' struggle for health against a powerful system that's stacked against them, but yet so fragile it blows apart when the pandemic hits. Culminating with COVID-19, this book offers a blueprint for how we created the crisis we're in.

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Meet Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, once just a girl growing up in The Bronx, New York, with her brother and Puerto Rican-born parents. From a young age, her mother emphasized the value of education. Sonia would eventually graduate summa cum laude from Princeton University, receive a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, and later begin working as an assistant district attorney for New York County. Throughout her decades-long career, Sonia Sotomayor has been driven by her commitment to justice, inspiring young people to follow their dreams and strive to make them reality. Hispanic Star proudly celebrates Hispanic and Latinx heroes who have made remarkable contributions to American culture and have been an undeniable force in shaping its future. If you can see it, you can be it.

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Meet award-winning engineer and veteran astronaut Ellen Ochoa-once just a girl from Los Angeles, California. The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Ellen would pursue a career in physics at a young age and go on to earn master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. In 1993, Ellen became the first Latina in space. As a retired astronaut, she became the first Hispanic and second female director of the Johnson Space Center, has been an advocate for women and minorities in STEM fields, and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Hispanic Star proudly celebrates Hispanic and Latinx heroes who have made remarkable contributions to American culture and have been undeniable forces in shaping its future.

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Lorelai Jones had it all: a thriving country music career and a superstar fiancé. Then she played one teenie tiny protest song at a concert and ruined her entire future, including her impending celebrity marriage. But five years later, she refuses to be done with her dreams and calls up the one person who stuck by her, her dear friend and her former fiancé’s co-writer and bandmate, Craig. Craig Boseman’s held a torch for Lorelai for years, but even he knows the backup bass player never gets the girl. Things are different now, though. Craig owns his own indie record label and his songwriting career is taking off. If he can confront his past and embrace his gifts, he might just be able to help Lorelai earn the comeback she deserves - and maybe win her heart in the process. But when the two reunite to rebuild her career and finally scratch that itch that’s been building between them for years, Lorelai realizes a lot about what friends don’t do. For one, friends don’t have scratch-that-itch sex. They also don’t almost-kiss on street corners, publish secret erotic poetry about each other, have counter-top sex, write songs for each other, have no-strings motorcycle sex, or go on dates. And they sure as heck don't fall in love... right?

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