A Pangolin Slept on Buddha’s Lap

A Pangolin Slept on Buddha’s Lap

Author: Madeleine Dale

Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers

Published: 2023-03-31

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 168562278X

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When the deadliest threats to wildlife aren’t found in the wild… From the endless plains of the Serengeti to the shadowy underbelly of Kathmandu, readers plunge into a world where science collides with the evils of human nature when a mission to save endangered pangolins lands a wildlife conservationist in a hornet’s nest of corruption. Wolf Vandengetz had a dream job: studying majestic lion prides in Africa. Then, a promotion catapults him into a treacherous realm where he discovers that nature’s greatest predators aren’t found in the wild – they lurk in boardrooms, bedrooms, and back alleys. Armed with a scientist’s knowledge but unprepared for the cutthroat politics of NGOs, or the ruthless methods of animal traffickers, Wolf is fighting for more than just the pangolins’ survival. On an adventure beset with unpredictable twists, he solves complex ecosystem mysteries and unravels a web of corruption that stretches from local poachers to global policy-makers. When the stakes skyrocket, it’s no longer just about saving a species – it’s about exposing the human greed that jeopardizes the delicate balance of nature. The pangolin’s plight unfolds as a heart-pounding journey. Will Wolf clear his name and chart a new path for wildlife conservation, or will he, like the pangolin, become another casualty in the war against nature?


Say Her Name

Say Her Name

Author: Zetta Elliott

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Published: 2020-01-04

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 1368053890

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Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists insisting that Black Lives Matter. Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls. This collection features forty-nine powerful poems, four of which are tribute poems inspired by the works of Lucille Clifton, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Phillis Wheatley. This provocative collection will move every reader to reflect, respond-and act.


Sasha Masha

Sasha Masha

Author: Agnes Borinsky

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Published: 2020-11-10

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0374310815

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Transgender author Agnes Borinsky deftly explores gender identity and queer romance in this heart-wrenching debut novel. Alex feels like he is in the wrong body. His skin feels strange against his bones. And then comes Tracy, who thinks he's adorably awkward, who wants to kiss him, who makes him feel like a Real Boy. But it is not quite enough. Something is missing. As Alex grapples with his identity, he finds himself trying on dresses and swiping on lipstick in the quiet of his bedroom. He meets Andre, a gay boy who is beautiful and unafraid to be who he is. Slowly, Alex begins to realize: maybe his name isn't Alex at all. Maybe it's Sasha Masha.


Saving Ruby King

Saving Ruby King

Author: Catherine Adel West

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2020-06-16

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1488057257

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Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by Ms. Magazine, USA Today Book Riot, The Rumpus, Library Journal, PureWow, The Every Girl, Parade and more. “Forever and to the end. That’s what they say instead of I love you.” When Ruby King’s mother is found murdered in their home in Chicago’s South Side, the police dismiss it as another act of violence in a black neighborhood. But for Ruby, it’s a devastating loss that leaves her on her own with her violent father. While she receives many condolences, her best friend, Layla, is the only one who understands how this puts Ruby in jeopardy. Their closeness is tested when Layla’s father, the pastor of their church, demands that Layla stay away. But what is the price for turning a blind eye? In a relentless quest to save Ruby, Layla uncovers the murky loyalties and dangerous secrets that have bound their families together for generations. Only by facing this legacy of trauma head-on will Ruby be able to break free. An unforgettable debut novel, Saving Ruby King is a powerful testament that history doesn’t determine the present and the bonds of friendship can forever shape the future.


Suggested Reading

Suggested Reading

Author: Dave Connis

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2019-09-17

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 0062685279

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In this hilarious and thought-provoking contemporary teen standalone that’s perfect for fans of Moxie, a bookworm finds a way to fight back when her school bans dozens of classic and meaningful books. Clara Evans is horrified when she discovers her principal’s “prohibited media” hit list. The iconic books on the list have been pulled from the library and aren’t allowed anywhere on the school’s premises. Students caught with the contraband will be sternly punished. Many of these stories have changed Clara’s life, so she’s not going to sit back and watch while her draconian principal abuses his power. She’s going to strike back. So Clara starts an underground library in her locker, doing a shady trade in titles like Speak and The Chocolate War. But when one of the books she loves most is connected to a tragedy she never saw coming, Clara’s forced to face her role in it. Will she be able to make peace with her conflicting feelings, or is fighting for this noble cause too tough for her to bear? “Suggested Reading is a beautiful reminder that there is nothing simple about loving a book.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland


A Pangolin Slept on Buddha's Lap

A Pangolin Slept on Buddha's Lap

Author: Madeleine Dale

Publisher: Austin Macauley

Published: 2023-03-31

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781685622770

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A captivating tale about the wonders of wildlife and the trials of conservation. Wolf Vandengetz has the ideal post for an adventurous scientist, researching prides of lions. Then he gets a promotion. With a heavy heart, he leaves his fieldwork in the Serengeti to administer a program to save endangered pangolins in Nepal. As a scientist, he's accustomed to solving complex ecosystem mysteries but ill-equipped to tackle the politics of donation-hungry NGOs, the tragic consequences of conservation strategies gone wrong or the greed driving pangolins to extinction. On a mission beset with unpredictable twists, he stumbles into a hornet's nest of corruption and is framed by poachers. What follows is a story about nature, the evils rooted in human nature and the dignity that inspires transcendence. The novel journeys to the front lines of conservation but the fate of the endangered pangolin is everyone's fate; we are all victims of near-sighted environmental policies.


The Fixed Stars

The Fixed Stars

Author: Molly Wizenberg

Publisher: Abrams

Published: 2020-08-04

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1683358929

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The New York Times–bestselling author’s thoughtful and provocative memoir of changing identity, complex sexuality, and enduring family relationships. At age thirty-six, while serving on a jury, author Molly Wizenberg found herself drawn to a female attorney she hardly knew. Married to a man for nearly a decade and mother to a toddler, Wizenberg tried to return to her life as she knew it, but something inside her had changed irrevocably. Instead, she would discover that the trajectory of our lives is rarely as smooth or as logical as we’d like to believe. Like many of us, Wizenberg had long understood sexual orientation as a stable part of ourselves: we’re “born this way.” Suddenly she realized that her story was more complicated. Who was she if something at her very core could change so radically? Wizenberg forges a new path: through separation and divorce, coming out to family and friends, learning to co-parent a young child, and realizing a new vision of love. The Fixed Stars is a “spirited, terrifyingly courageous” memoir exploring timely and timeless questions about desire, identity, and the limits and possibilities of family (Booklist).


Calypso C

Calypso C

Author: David Sedaris

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2018-05-29

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9781408707821

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If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny - it's a book that can make you laugh 'til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris's writing has never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future. This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumour joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris's darkest and warmest book yet - and it just might be his very best.


Blind Man's Bluff: A Memoir

Blind Man's Bluff: A Memoir

Author: James Tate Hill

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2021-08-03

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 0393867188

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A New York Times Editors' Choice A Washington Independent Review of Books Favorite Book of 2021 A writer’s humorous and often-heartbreaking tale of losing his sight—and how he hid it from the world. At age sixteen, James Tate Hill was diagnosed with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, a condition that left him legally blind. When high-school friends stopped calling and a disability counselor advised him to aim for C’s in his classes, he tried to escape the stigma by pretending he could still see. In this unfailingly candid yet humorous memoir, Hill discloses the tricks he employed to pass for sighted, from displaying shelves of paperbacks he read on tape to arriving early on first dates so women would have to find him. He risked his life every time he crossed a street, doing his best to listen for approaching cars. A good memory and pop culture obsessions like Tom Cruise, Prince, and all things 1980s allowed him to steer conversations toward common experiences. For fifteen years, Hill hid his blindness from friends, colleagues, and lovers, even convincing himself that if he stared long enough, his blurry peripheral vision would bring the world into focus. At thirty, faced with a stalled writing career, a crumbling marriage, and a growing fear of leaving his apartment, he began to wonder if there was a better way.


Thanks for Waiting

Thanks for Waiting

Author: Doree Shafrir

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2021-06-29

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0593156749

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An honest, witty, and insightful memoir about what happens when your coming-of-age comes later than expected “Thanks for Waiting is the loving, wise, cuttingly funny older sister we all need in book form.”—Tara Schuster, author of Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies Doree Shafrir spent much of her twenties and thirties feeling out of sync with her peers. She was an intern at twenty-nine and met her husband on Tinder in her late thirties, after many of her friends had already gotten married, started families, and entered couples’ counseling. After a long fertility struggle, she became a first-time mom at forty-one, joining Mommy & Me classes where most of the other moms were at least ten years younger. And while she was one of Gawker’s early hires and one of the first editors at BuzzFeed, she didn’t find professional fulfillment until she co-launched the successful self-care podcast Forever35—at forty. Now, in her debut memoir, Shafrir explores the enormous pressures we feel, especially as women, to hit particular milestones at certain times and how we can redefine what it means to be a late bloomer. She writes about everything from dating to infertility, to how friendships evolve as you get older, to why being pregnant at forty-one is unexpectedly freeing—all with the goal of appreciating the lives we’ve lived so far and the lives we still hope to live. Thanks for Waiting is about how achieving the milestones you thought were so important don’t always happen on the time line you imagined. In a world of 30 Under 30 lists, this book is a welcome reminder that it’s okay to live life at your own speed.