Other books that might interest you

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  Life's Too Short to Pretend...

  David Dark

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  We can't just be done with religion, argues David Dark. The fact of religion is the fact of us. Religion is the witness of everything we're up to—for better or worse. 
   
   
   
  David Dark is one of today's most respected thinkers, public intellectuals, and cultural critics at the intersection of faith and culture. Since its original release, Dark's Life's Too Short to Pretend You're Not Religious has become essential reading for those engaged in the conversation on religion in contemporary American society. Now, Dark returns to his classic text and offers us a revised, expanded, and reframed edition that reflects a more expansive understanding, employs inclusive language, and tackles the most pressing issues of the day. 
   
   
   
  With the same keen powers of cultural observation, candor, and wit audiences have come to know and love, Dark weaves in current themes around the pandemic and vaccine responses, Black Lives Matter, the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, critical race theory, and more. By looking intentionally at our weird religious background (we all have one), he helps us acknowledge the content of our everyday existence—the good, the bad, and the glaringly inconsistent. When we make peace with the idea of being religious, we can more practically envision an undivided life.

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  Iolanthe

  W. S. Gilbert

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  Iolanthe is a fairy banished from fairyland for the crime of marrying a mortal. Her half-fairy, half-human son Strephon is a fairy down to the waist, but his legs are human. He loves Phyllis, but she is courted by the whole House of Lords and the Lord High Chancellor himself! Strephon decides the only way to win his love is to go into Parliament, with the help of his mother and all his fairy aunts. None of them understand politics, but that doesn't matter. He will soon make some changes, starting with throwing the Peerage open to competitive examination! But how will Phyllis react when she catches Strephon with an impossibly young and very beautiful lady who he claims is his fairy mother? This is a spoken "poetic" version of the libretto written by W. S. Gilbert, where a full cast of voices brings the sparkling wit of Gilbert to the fore, and will enhance understanding and appreciation of this comic light opera. (Summary by Beth Thomas) Narrator/Phyllis: Beth ThomasStrephon: Shakira SearleQueen of the Fairies: Jennifer FournierThe Lord Chancellor: HamletIolanthe: Kristin GjerløwCelia: LydiaLeila: Vanessa CooleyFleta: J. E. VorbleEarl of Mountararat: Rob BoardEarl of Tolloller: ToddPrivate Willis: Alan MapstoneChorus Fairies: K. Hand and Roohi HaqChorus Peers: John Burlinson and Alan MapstoneAudio edited by Kristin Gjerløw

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  Minder Reader

  Carol East

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  An experimental drug received after an accident leaves Kirsty with the ability to read minds. Lustful thoughts of friends, co-workers and complete strangers bombard her from all sides, and when her powers escalate to the ability to move things with her mind, she decides to pleasure herself and those around her.  
  This tale is graphic in nature and is meant for adults only" All characters are 18 or above. Enjoy

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  Breathmaker: The History and...

  Editors Charles River

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  The Seminole tribe is one of the best known Native American tribes, and one of the most feared among 19th century Americans and Spaniards. In fact, the origin of the term Seminole comes from a Spanish description of them as “wild”, which belies the fact that the Seminole had friendly relations with the British and Spanish during the colonial era.  
  	To appreciate Seminole Native American mythology, their history and origins must be understood. Their forebears, the Muscogee, first migrated into what is now the Southeastern United States from various points in the north and west, which they accomplished by overpowering the indigenous inhabitants. The region was already occupied by several groups, including the Yuchi and Hitchiti, tribes that were likely descendants of the Moundbuilders. These tribes were subdued and then integrated into the Muscogee system. Thus, the traditions, beliefs, rituals, and mythologies of these various groups became the communal belief system of the Muscogee collective.  	 
  	According to the Muscogee, humans emerged “somewhere in the west,” a location described as the “foundation of all things” or the “backbone” of the Earth. Most scholars associate this location with the Rocky Mountains, and they credit the Four Corners area of the United States as being the location for the creation myths of Native American groups like the Pueblo. Though still not commonly understood, Breathmaker became the creator god of the Seminole peoples (the name is also written as Breath Maker and Maker of Breath), and he became the center of a cycle of creation stories. 

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  Defeating Jihadist Terrorism

  Jacques Baud

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  Since the early 1990s, terrorism and its victims have increased exponentially. Without any action strategy or exit solution, through political and military incompetence, stupidity and ideological blindness, Western interventions have only contributed to its development. We eliminate terrorists, but not terrorism. The solution lies in a more holistic, more subtle, more intelligent and less dogmatic approach. Terrorism is not an ideology. It is a method that takes many forms, including jihadist terrorism. Each form of terrorism is fought with a specific strategy. Based on the original texts of jihadist strategists as well as on their own analyses of attacks in France, Belgium, Great Britain and the United States, Jacques Baud explains the reasons for Western failure. He uses the analyses of Western intelligence services to decipher the mechanisms of jihadist terrorism, in order to extract strategies of action likely to avoid it or to fight it effectively and durably. The author is a former head of Swiss strategic intelligence and former head of UN peace operations doctrine. In the course of his missions in Africa and Central Asia, the author has had several encounters with jihadists in the field. 
  This audiobook is read by a synthesized voice.

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  Common Sense

  Thomas Paine

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  In Common Sense, Thomas Paine cites the evils of hereditary monarchy, exposing its flaws and the injustices it inflicted upon the American colonies. Paine argued that an island nation like Britain could never truly understand the needs of a vast continent, showing the absurdity of such a colonial relationship. 
  Credited by George Washington with swaying public opinion, Common Sense became an instant sensation, selling over half a million copies within months. Its clear and passionate prose, crafted to resonate with the common man, served as a powerful tool against tyranny.

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