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  Black Folk Could Fly - Selected...

  Randall Kenan, Tayari Jones

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  A personal, social, and intellectual self-portrait of the beloved and enormously influential late Randall Kenan, a master of both fiction and nonfiction.Virtuosic in his use of literary forms, nurtured and unbounded by his identities as a Black man, a gay man, an intellectual, and a Southerner, Randall Kenan was known for his groundbreaking fiction. Less visible were his extraordinary nonfiction essays, published as introductions to anthologies and in small journals, revealing countless facets of Kenan's life and work.Flying under the radar, these writings were his most personal and autobiographical: memories of the three women who raised him—a grandmother, a schoolteacher great-aunt, and the great-aunt's best friend; recollections of his boyhood fear of snakes and his rapturous discoveries in books; sensual evocations of the land, seasons, and crops—the labor of tobacco picking and hog killing—of the eastern North Carolina lowlands where he grew up; and the food (oh the deliriously delectable Southern foods!) that sustained him. Here too is his intellectual coming of age; his passionate appreciations of kindred spirits as far-flung as Eartha Kitt, Gordon Parks, Ingmar Bergman, and James Baldwin. This powerful collection is a testament to a great mind, a great soul, and a great writer.

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  Bishop's Apron

  W. Somerset Maugham

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  Canon Spratte saw himself as he thought others might see him: mediocre, pompous, self-assertive, verbose. Maugham could have added ambitious, hypocritical, and vain. In this engrossing social satire, Theodore Spratte, a cleric, motivated by an obsessive desire to be elevated to bishop, embellishes his family history and intrudes upon his son's and daughter's courtships. A reviewer in 1906 wrote, "The whole book is an admirable blend of cynical gaiety and broadly farcical comedy; it is the smartest and most genuinely humorous novel that the season has yet given us." -- Lee Smalley

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  Mary McLeod Bethune in...

  Ida E. Jones

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  The civil rights leader’s life and work in the nation’s capital, and her influence around the world, are celebrated in this biography.   Best known as an educator and early civil rights activist, Mary McLeod Bethune was the daughter of formerly enslaved people. After moving to Washington, D.C., in 1936, she founded the National Council of Negro Women, an organization that supported Black women through numerous educational and community-based programs.   Bethune also led the charge to change the segregationist policies of local hospitals and concert halls, and she acted as a mentor to countless African American women in the District. In this loving biography, historian Ida E. Jones explores the monumental life of Mary McLeod Bethune as a leader, a crusader, and a Washingtonian.

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  Bicycles Bloomers and Great War...

  Vicky Straker

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  The remarkable life and culinary career of the Martha Stewart of World War–era Britain.   Dorothy Peel played a key role in creating wartime recipes for householders and was awarded an OBE in 1918 for services to the Ministry of Food. In this fascinating book, Vicky Straker explores the social history and cultural background behind Dorothy’s creations, and the effect of rationing during the First World War. Using extracts from her autobiography, and many other books, we are given a unique insight into the life of Dorothy Peel and a new perspective on the period. Her witty, poignant, and informative comments reveal a woman with a genuine social conscience, who was in many ways ahead of her time.   Written in a light and accessible style, Bicycles, Bloomers and Great War Rationing Recipes reveals how society changed during the First World War, when rationing put a strain on every kitchen in the country. Many of Dorothy’s recipes are featured in their original form, such as the long forgotten Devilled Bananas and wartime Potato Gateau. Other mouth-watering recipes include Chicken en Casserole, Cheese Pufflets, and some delicious tea-time treats such as Feather Tart and Candied Pears. Vicky Straker has tried and tested recipes from Dorothy’s cookery books, and where appropriate amended them to suit modern tastes.   “Superb biography, and some really interesting recipes to try!” —Books Monthly  

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  Last Night at the Viper Room -...

  Gavin Edwards

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  A biography elucidating the Academy Award–nominee’s meteoric rise, his tragic end, and his legacy. 
   
  At the dawn of the 1990s, a new crew of leading men—Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt—was rocketing toward stardom. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. But behind Phoenix’s talent and beautiful public face was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young age, and who eventually succumbed to addiction, dying of an overdose in front of the Viper Room, West Hollywood’s storied club, at twenty-three. 
   
  Last Night at the Viper Room is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of a Hollywood icon gone too soon. Full of interviews from his fellow actors, directors, friends, and family, this book shows the role River Phoenix played in creating the place of the actor in our modern culture and the impact his work still makes today.

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  Oliver - The True Story of a...

  Steven J. Carino, Alex...

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  He Was Searching for a Lost Dog. He Found More Than He’d Ever Hoped For. 
  On Valentine’s Day 2019, someone stole Steven Carino’s dog, Oliver, from his car. Having lost his mother at thirteen and grown up with an alcoholic father, he could always count on his dogs for comfort and company. But now, with his beloved Oliver missing, Steven felt utterly alone. 
  Then, the miracle. In a series of near-impossible coincidences, people from different walks of life crossed paths with Oliver and with Steven. Hardworking immigrants, wealthy suburbanites, car mechanics, deli workers, old friends, close relatives, street cops, gang members, a TV news reporter, social media followers around the world, and one very gifted hairdresser all played a part in Steven’s desperate journey to find Oliver. In the middle of it all, Steven realized that no one is ever truly alone--and that the power of community can be life-changing. 
  Oliver is not just a book about a stolen dog. At its core, it’s a story about kindness, friendship, and the power of faith. As Steven says, “This is more than just a dog story. This is an everybody story. This is a love story.” 
  Bring Steven and Oliver's story to life with photos included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

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