The Bird King
The Bird King

Author: G. Willow Wilson

Publisher: Grove Press

Published: 2019-03-12

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 0802146848

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One of NPR’s 50 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Decade: A fifteenth-century palace mapmaker must hide his powers in the time of the Inquisition . . . Award-winning author G. Willow Wilson’s debut novel Alif the Unseen was an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year and established her as a vital American Muslim literary voice. Now she delivers The Bird King, an epic journey set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition. Fatima is a concubine in the royal court of Granada, the last emirate of Muslim Spain. Her dearest friend, Hassan, the palace mapmaker and the one man who doesn’t leer at her with desire, has a secret—he can draw maps of places he’s never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan’s surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan’s gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls? As the two traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate. “Wilson has a deft hand with myth and with magic, and the kind of smart, honest writing mind that knits together and bridges cultures and people.” —Neil Gaiman, author of Norse Mythology “A triumph . . . one of the best fantasy writers working today.” —BookPage “A treasure-house of a novel, thrilling, tender, funny, and achingly gorgeous. I loved it.” —Lev Grossman, author of the Magicians trilogy

Just This Is It
Just This Is It

Author: Taigen Dan Leighton

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2015-04-07

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1611802288

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Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The joy of “suchness”—the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan—in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character—to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem “Jewel Mirror Samadhi,” and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. “The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions,” says Taigen. “Dongshan’s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern lives.”

Take a Backyard Bird Walk
Take a Backyard Bird Walk

Author: Jane Kirkland

Publisher: Stillwater Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 9780970975409

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Tells readers the best way to spot birds while walking through their backyard, providing a place to sketch a map and write field notes, and introduces the characteristics and behaviors of different birds so that they may be easily identified.

Bird Therapy
Bird Therapy

Author: Joe Harkness

Publisher: Unbound Publishing

Published: 2019-06-13

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1783527749

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Longlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize 'I can't remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will' Chris Packham 'Fabulously direct and truthful, filled with energy but devoid of self-pity . . . I was impressed and enchanted. Highly recommended' Stephen Fry 'Succeeds – triumphantly – in articulating with great honesty what it is like to suffer with a mental illness, and in providing strategies for coping' Mail on Sunday When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds. How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is. The positive change in Joe's wellbeing was so profound that he started a blog to record his experience. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street. In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.

Bird Brother
Bird Brother

Author: Rodney Stotts

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2022-02-03

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1642831743

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In Bird Brother, Rodney Stotts shares his unlikely journey to becoming a conservationist and one of America's few Black master falconers. Rodney grew up in Washington, D.C. during the crack epidemic, with guns, drugs, and the threat of incarceration affecting the lives of everyone he knew. He was no exception, but he was also employed by the newly founded Earth Conservation Corps, helping to restore and conserve the polluted Anacostia River. This work eventually sent his life in a different direction, as he began to train to become a master falconer and to develop his own raptor education program and sanctuary. Eye-opening, witty, and moving, Bird Brother is a testament to the healing power of nature, and a reminder that no matter how much heartbreak we've endured, we still have the capacity to give back to our communities and follow our dreams.

All the Birds in the World
All the Birds in the World

Author: INC. PETER PAUPER PRESS

Publisher: Peter Pauper Press

Published: 2020-04

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781441333292

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What makes a bird a bird? All birds have feathers, wings, and beaks. But birds come in many varieties of colors, shapes, and sizes, with different habits and homes. Take a beautifully illustrated journey -- with an adorable kiwi bird as your guide -- through the vast and colorful world of birds, with its tapestry of textures, sounds, and sights. Even the kiwi chick -- who struggles to see at first how he fits in -- finds that he too belongs to this fascinating family of feathered friends. 32-page full-color picture book with dust jacket. Sturdy hardcover binding. Picture book measures 8-3/4'' wide x 11-1/4'' high. Author/illustrator David Opie holds a BFA and MFA in illustration and lives with his wife in Connecticut.

The Book of Creation
The Book of Creation

Author: J. Philip Newell

Publisher: Paulist Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9780809138999

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A heralded teacher of Celtic spirituality reflects on the revelatory power of God's creation and offers practical ways people can integrate it with daily life.

Bird
Bird

Author: Zetta Elliott

Publisher: Lee & Low Books

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781620143483

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In this gentle, award-winning picture book, an African American boy nicknamed Bird uses drawing as a creative outlet as he struggles to make sense of his grandfather's death and his brother's drug addiction.