Dumpster, for God's Sake
Dumpster, for God's Sake

Author: Ben Stoltzfus

Publisher: 39 West Press

Published: 2019-04-09

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1946358169

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Loviers City believes that cleanliness leads to Godliness. But order quickly descends into chaos when a sighting of the Virgin occurs. Soon, thousands arrive to visit the spot where She appeared. But the pilgrims leave their mark, discarding refuse and besmirching Loviers City’s All-America vision. Suspense mounts as Rudy Squazza, the red-bearded ringleader of the homeless, and Jasmine, a rich teenager working on a high school project, fall in love. He is a dumpster diver and the victim of police brutality. She dresses in black leather, rides a red Ducati Supersport 750, and is known as the “Angel from Hell.” Equal parts sociological lore and screwball comedy, Dumpster, for God’s Sake bends reality into fiction in a uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human. With compelling prose, canny insight, and artful empathy, Ben Stoltzfus brilliantly examines group behavior in a timely tale of collective zeal and righteous intent that explores a city’s urgent quest for soul.

A Safe Place for Dying
A Safe Place for Dying

Author: Jack Fredrickson

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Published: 2006-11-14

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1429996781

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A sly and clever caper among the richest of the rich, A Safe Place for Dying is for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Robert Crais. An extortion letter arrives at Crystal Waters, one of Chicago's wealthiest gated communities. It makes no specific threats, gives no instructions, demands only that $50,000 be gotten ready---chump change for an enclave where the cheapest house is worth three million. It's easy to see it as harmless---a note from a nut. Then a mansion explodes. The homeowners panic, and want it hushed up. If word gets out that a bomber is targeting Crystal Waters, their multimillion-dollar homes will become worthless, a last catastrophe for people strung out from living the good life too well. They hire Dek Elstrom to investigate. Dek Elstrom used to soar high, too, when he lived with his multimillionaire wife at Crystal Waters, but that was before the dominos of his life tipped over and his ex-wife threw him out. Now reduced to living in a crumbling stone turret, bankrupt of everything but attitude, he's not even his own ideal choice for the job. He's too broke, however, to question the motives of a gift-horse client. He needs the money---and the chance to reconnect with his ex-wife. Another bomb goes off, and Dek realizes the culprit must be someone who is angry, needs money, and used to live at Crystal Waters. Then he realizes something else. He himself is the prime suspect.

The Amanda Pepper Mysteries, Bundle #4
The Amanda Pepper Mysteries, Bundle #4

Author: Gillian Roberts

Publisher: Untreed Reads, LLC

Published: 2015-05-22

Total Pages: 705

ISBN-13: 1611879000

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The City of Brotherly Love is no stranger to murder and mayhem in these three Philadelphia mysteries featuring an English teacher turned private eye. Helen Hath No Fury The discussions in Amanda Pepper’s book club can sometimes get heated, but have they become deadly? The day after an argument over a fictional heroine’s suicide, book group member Helen Coulter falls to her death from her roof garden. Though Helen’s demise is declared a suicide, Amanda is convinced otherwise. But as she separates truth from fiction, Amanda risks facing a real-life killer. Claire and Present Danger English teacher Amanda Pepper now moonlights as a PI with former detective C.K. Mackenzie. The wealthy matron Claire Fairchild has hired them to investigate Emmie Cade, the charming but evasive young woman who is suddenly engaged to Claire’s middle-aged son. At thirty-two, Emmie has changed her name more often than some women change nail polish—and Claire has received anonymous letters about the men in Emmie’s life coming to violent ends. But Amanda’s scouring of Emmie’s past gets interrupted by a very present murder. Till the End of Tom After finding Tom Severin dying from a fall outside her Philadelphia prep school, Amanda Pepper and her fiancé, C.K. Mackenzie, are hired by his family to find out what happened. They soon discover that Tom leaves behind more than a few people who would be better off with him gone—including angry ex-wives, one recently dropped fiancée, and the current (about to be former) Mrs. Tomas Severin. As secrets are unearthed, it’s apparent that the end of Tom is just the beginning of the grief he caused.

Helen Hath No Fury
Helen Hath No Fury

Author: Gillian Roberts

Publisher: Untreed Reads

Published: 2013-03-27

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 1611875404

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In the stately nineteenth-century homes on Philadelphia's Delancey Street, the wilder passions scarcely ruffle the peace. Murder is unthinkable, particularly a murder involving an upscale book discussion group, of which schoolteacher Amanda Pepper is a devoted member. Nevertheless, on the day after a heated discussion of a fictional heroine's suicide, book group member Helen Coulter falls to her death from her roof garden. Helen's death is declared a suicide but Amanda is convinced otherwise. Why is this admirable woman dead? And if she was killed, who performed the heinous act? Amanda's investigations will draw her into a zone of great danger, where Helen Coulter's ice-hearted killer is once more ready to strike. . . .

The Crashing Box Set
The Crashing Box Set

Author: Samantha Wayland

Publisher: Loch Awe Press

Published: 2022-02-22

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1940839319

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This is the boxed set of the first three books in the Samantha Wayland’s Crashing Series. This is a very sexy and slightly kinky romance series with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and all the HEA anyone could want. Crashing the Net Dumping gallons of lube on the new kid is just another day at the office for Alexei. He knows exactly who he is: a goalie on the ice, a prankster in the locker room, and a man who knows better than to share his private life with anyone. He’s let people in before and it’s taught him that if he can’t have what he really wants, it’s better to be alone. Mike is broke, bruised, and covered from head to toe in cheap lube. All he wants is to keep to himself and play for the Ice Cats. What he needs, though, is another matter entirely. Checking It Twice After four years with Alexei, there are things Mike knows with absolute certainty: he loves Alexei, Alexei loves him, and Alexei gives the very best gifts. This Christmas is no exception, though Mike is having a hell of a time figuring out what, exactly, Alexei’s gift is. Alexei knows his gift this year is going to blow Mike’s mind, but in the meantime, it’s pretty hilarious watching Mike try to figure out what it is. Granted, Alexei does have a lot of surprises in store for Mike this week, and it sure as hell isn’t frankincense and myrrh. Changing the Rules Alexei and Mike have been together a long time. They’re getting married. They can go a few nights not sleeping next to each other, right? For the sake of the team, Alexei is going to try. Mike can’t stand not sleeping next to Alexei, and it turns out sleep deprivation makes him overthink things he wasn’t planning to think about at all until the off-season—like the fact they’ve been engaged for over a year and haven’t set a date.

7 Clues to Winning You
7 Clues to Winning You

Author: Kristin Walker

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2012-04-26

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1101561831

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When a humiliating picture of Blythe goes viral, she's instantly the target of ridicule at her new school. To salvage her reputation, Blythe teams up with Luke to win the Senior Scramble scavenger hunt. But Luke is an unlikely ally and potentially can't be trusted. Perhaps it's his Shakespearean witticisms that reel Blythe in despite her better judgment . . . or maybe she just craves the thrill of the game. But as the hunt progresses, their relationship heats up. Soon their madcap mischief spirals out of control. Blythe is faced with arrest and expulsion, among other catastrophes - until Luke shows her what the Scramble (and love) is really about.

Baby, Baby, Baby
Baby, Baby, Baby

Author: Mary McBride

Publisher: Silhouette

Published: 2011-02-21

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 1459203836

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Drop-dead-gorgeous cop Sonny Randle had enough charm and raw sex appeal to turn a woman inside out. Melanie Spears should know—in the few months of their marriage, he'd blasted her perfectly planned life into chaos. Even with her dreams of white picket fences and two point five kids shattered, Melanie had never gotten over Sonny—but she had wised up. In fact, the newly organized Ms. Spears had a hot date—with a sperm bank! Her baby plan seemed perfect. Then she got an eyeful of her new neighbor. All six feet two heartbreaking inches of Sonny Randle, right next door—with his own plan to do things the old-fashioned way!

Cultural Appropriation in Fashion and Entertainment
Cultural Appropriation in Fashion and Entertainment

Author: Yuniya Kawamura

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-06-16

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1350170577

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Is it ever acceptable to “borrow” culturally inspired ideas? Who has ownership over intangible culture? What role does power inequality play? These questions are often at the center of heated public debates around cultural appropriation, with new controversies breaking seemingly every day. Cultural Appropriation in Fashion and Entertainment offers a sociological perspective on the appropriation of race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and religion embedded in clothing, textiles, jewelry, accessories, hairstyles and tattoos, as well as in entertainment, such as K-pop, Bhangra, and hip-hop. By providing a range of global perspectives on the adoption, adaptation, and application of both tangible and intangible cultural objects, Kawamura and de Jong help move the conversation beyond simply criticizing designers and creators to encourage nuanced discussion and raise awareness of diverse cultures in the creative industries.

Raising Hope
Raising Hope

Author: Katie Willard

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Published: 2007-10-15

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 0446520861

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Katie Willard’s “timeless tale of mothers and daughters and the bonds they share and struggle to maintain or break” (Booklist). Ruth Teller is a tough-as-nails waitress at a local restaurant. Sara Lynn Hoffman is a straight-laced, well-to-do lawyer. And Aimee, Sara Lynn’s mother, is an opinionated widow who speaks her mind freely and judges people harshly. On the surface, they appear to have little in common, but in fact, they share a house...and more. Together, they are raising a 12-year-old girl named Hope, who came into their lives as an infant and changed everything. Tender and touching, RAISING HOPE is the story of three generations of women coming together to find love and the true meaning of family in the most unexpected ways.

Race, Ethnicity, and Consumption
Race, Ethnicity, and Consumption

Author: Patricia A. Banks

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-07-08

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 1351356313

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Race, Ethnicity, and Consumption: A Sociological View looks at the central concerns of consumer culture through the lens of race and ethnicity. Each chapter illustrates the connections between race, ethnicity, and consumption by focusing on a specific theme: identity, crossing cultures, marketing and advertising, neighborhoods, discrimination, and social activism. By exploring issues such as multicultural marketing, cultural appropriation, consumer racial profiling, urban food deserts, and racialized political consumerism, students, scholars, and other curious readers will gain insight on the ways that racial and ethnic boundaries shape, and are shaped by, consumption. This book goes beyond the typical treatments of race and ethnicity in introductory texts on consumption by not only providing a comprehensive overview of the major theories and concepts that sociologists use to make sense of consumption, race, and ethnicity, but also by examining these themes within distinctly contemporary contexts such as digital platforms and activism. Documenting the complexities and contradictions within consumer culture, Race, Ethnicity, and Consumption is an excellent text for sociology courses on consumers and consumption, race and ethnicity, the economy, and inequality. It will also be an informative resource for courses on consumer culture in the broader social sciences, marketing, and the humanities.