In the stories that make up Oblivion, David Foster Wallace joins the rawest, most naked humanity with the infinite involutions of self-consciousness -- a combination that is dazzlingly, uniquely his. These are worlds undreamt of by any other mind. Only David Foster Wallace could convey a father's desperate loneliness by way of his son's daydreaming through a teacher's homicidal breakdown (The Soul Is Not a Smithy). Or could explore the deepest and most hilarious aspects of creativity by delineating the office politics surrounding a magazine profile of an artist who produces miniature sculptures in an anatomically inconceivable way (The Suffering Channel). Or capture the ache of love's breakdown in the painfully polite apologies of a man who believes his wife is hallucinating the sound of his snoring (Oblivion). Each of these stories is a complete world, as fully imagined as most entire novels, at once preposterously surreal and painfully immediate.
We first meet, Archangel Gabriel, with his personal accomplishments behind him, proclaimed the left hand and will of Yahweh, and with the love and respect of his fellow angels, he has become the most powerful angel in heaven. During his past five-thousand years of afterlife, he first believed that he had everything he could ever want, but something was missing, he needed and wanted more. Originally, a still-born, human soul, he never had a chance at life outside of heaven. But then something happened that made him desire what he had lost. It was Yahweh’s encouragement and plan for him to return to Earth and live as a human, however, returning would not be that simple. Becoming the first of his kind, Gabriel would retain his angel powers, but be without the memory of his past, thusly, forced to learn how to survive his dual nature, and obligated to recall his unknown previous life; he would require the help from one of his guardian-angel allies. But it will be Yahweh who orchestrates the situation by keeping Gabriel from knowing his fate and future destiny. Many adventures befall our hero, as he navigates through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and the difficulties with romance. When Gabriel is forced to persevere over earthly and un-earthly villains, his lessons become more profound. With the help from his heavenly company, his fated time-line will take him through progressively greater challenges. Gabriel’s weapons will go beyond his charms and magical powers, which must include his knowledge, wisdom, and resolve. This illustrious legendary figure, is the nice guy who will finish first, ultimately finding personal fulfillment, and becoming more than he could ever imagine.
IT ALL STARTED ON THE EVE OF MY 43RD BIRTHDAY... With two young boys, a new lecturer position and all the commitments of an active life, Ros Ben-Moshe had no plans for a tumour to take over her life. Yet after the news came on her 43rd birthday, medical appointments turned into hours of surgery, casual conversations disappeared, and even her children started asking questions. In recovery rooms, as the clock slowly ticks, Ros Ben-Moshe starts writing. Through ups and downs, she tells it all, in an honest account of fighting the Big C, or should we say the small c? Brimming with humour, insight and sensitivity, this series of journals, written at the time, explores how we talk about and view illness, and how changing your mindset can do wonders on the journey to health. Through explanations of mindful healing techniques and the power of laughter, Laughing at cancer will inspire you to take a deep breath and start laughing.
While preparing to give birth to her first daughter, actress Jenna von Oy, well-known for her roles as Six on Blossom and Stevie on The Parkers, discovered that the market was filled with clinical guides to pregnancy and beyond. Though they had their merits, she craved a best friend’s guide . . . one that didn’t sugarcoat reality but still offered relatable and heartfelt reassurance. Thus, Situation Momedy: A First-Time Mom’s Guide to Laughing Your Way through Pregnancy & Year One was born. Jenna brings readers a lighthearted and comedic look at pregnancy and the first year of motherhood, highlighting major mommy milestones with chapters like “Houston, We Have a Pregnancy,” “This Is Your Brain on Baby,” “Bringing Sexy Back,” and “All’s Fair in Love and Mommy Wars.”
Texas has it all, from bustling big cities to sleepy small towns, and law enforcement alone can’t solve every crime. That’s where private eyes come in. They take the cases law enforcement can’t—or won’t. Private eyes may walk the mean streets of Dallas and Houston, but they also stroll through small West Texas towns where the secrets are sometimes more dangerous. Whether driving a Mustang or riding a Mustang, a private eye in Texas is unlike any other in the world. The Eyes of Texas features seventeen original tales of Lone Star State private eyes from Trey R. Barker, Chuck Brownman, Michael Chandos, John M. Floyd, Debra H. Goldstein, James A. Hearn, Richard Helms, Robert S. Levinson, Scott Montgomery, Sandra Murphy, Josh Pachter, Michael Pool, Graham Powell, William Dylan Powell, Stephen D. Rogers, Mark Troy, and Bev Vincent.
Woody’s Last Laugh explores a simmering controversy amid scientists, conservationists, birders and the media: the supposed “extinction” of American ivory-billed woodpecker. Among the first to identify rampant mental errors inside conservation and environmental professions, the book identifies 53 distinct kinds of cognitive blunders, psychological biases, and logical fallacies on both sides of the woodpecker controversy. Few species have ever provoked such social rancor. Why are rumors of its persistence so prevalent, unlike other near or recently extinct animals? Why are we so bad mannered with each other about a mere bird? How is it that we cannot agree even on whether a mere bird is alive or dead? Woody’s Last Laugh uncovers why such mysteries so mess with our heads. By exploring uncharted borders between conservation and mental perception, new ways of evaluating truth and accuracy are opened to everyone. Author Dr. J. Christopher Haney is a biologist, conservation scientist and lifelong birder. For 12 years he was Chief Scientist at Defenders of Wildlife. In 2010, following the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service invited him to lead the largest pelagic study of marine birds ever conducted in the Gulf of Mexico. Since 2013 he has been president of Terra Mar Applied Sciences, an independent public-interest conservation research firm which he founded. If there is one lesson Dr. Haney hopes his book delivers, it is to not overvalue our thinking skills. Human reason is fallible, even among scientists and technical experts. To improve our essential relationship with nature, conservation practices will need to devote as much attention to the unbridled thoughts as the unswerving sentiments. Dead or alive, however, the ivory-bill got the last laugh on us all.