The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson
The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

Author: Ellen Baker

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2024-02-20

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 006335120X

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“A family secret, a DNA test, a journey as rich and colorful as the early-day circus itself. Through Cecily Larson’s hidden life, Ellen Baker tenderly examines personal determination, lost love, family ties, and our innate need to discover our own truth.” — Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours and Before and After Orphan Train meets Before We Were Yours meets Water for Elephants in this compelling multigenerational novel of survival, love, and the families we make. In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected—and dangerous—course. In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring to light the tragic love story that Cecily has kept hidden for decades but also throw into question everything about the family she’s raised and claimed as her own for nearly seventy years. Cecily and everyone in her life must now decide who they really are and what family—and forgiveness—really mean. Sweeping through a long period of contemporary history, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is an immersive, compelling, and entertaining family drama centered around one remarkable woman and her determination to survive.

Keeping the House
Keeping the House

Author: Ellen Baker

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2007-07-10

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 1588366294

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Set in the conformist 1950s and reaching back to span two world wars, Ellen Baker’ s superb novel is the story of a newlywed who falls in love with a grand abandoned house and begins to unravel dark secrets woven through the generations of a family. Like Whitney Otto’s How to Make an American Quilt in its intimate portrayal of women’ s lives, and reminiscent of novels by Elizabeth Berg and Anne Tyler, Keeping the House is a rich tapestry of a novel that introduces a wonderful new fiction writer. When Dolly Magnuson moves to Pine Rapids, Wisconsin, in 1950, she discovers all too soon that making marriage work is harder than it looks in the pages of the Ladies’ Home Journal. Dolly tries to adapt to her new life by keeping the house, supporting her husband’s career, and fretting about dinner menus. She even gives up her dream of flying an airplane, trying instead to fit in at the stuffy Ladies Aid quilting circle. Soon, though, her loneliness and restless imagination are seized by the vacant house on the hill. As Dolly’s life and marriage become increasingly difficult, she begins to lose herself in piecing together the story of three generations of Mickelson men and women: Wilma Mickelson, who came to Pine Rapids as a new bride in 1896 and fell in love with a man who was not her husband; her oldest son, Jack, who fought as a Marine in the trenches of World War I; and Jack’s son, JJ, a troubled veteran of World War II, who returns home to discover Dolly in his grandparents’ house. As the crisis in Dolly’s marriage escalates, she not only escapes into JJ’s stories of his family’s past but finds in them parallels to her own life. As Keeping the House moves back and forth in time, it eloquently explores themes of wartime heroism and passionate love, of the struggles of men’s struggles with fatherhood and war and of women’s conflicts with issues of conformity, identity, forbidden dreams, and love. Beautifully written and atmospheric, Keeping the House illuminates the courage it takes to shape and reshape a life, and the difficulty of ever knowing the truth about another person’s desires. Keeping the House is an unforgettable novel about small-town life and big matters of the heart.

I Gave My Heart to Know this
I Gave My Heart to Know this

Author: Ellen Baker

Publisher: Random House Incorporated

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1400066360

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Decades after the women in her family and their friend are shattered by the losses of two beloved men during World War II, Julia is approached by her long-lost great-grandmother and untangles a dark secret. By the award-winning author of Keeping the House.

Enter the Aardvark
Enter the Aardvark

Author: Jessica Anthony

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2020-03-24

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 1473575273

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'It's a long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much. Fresh, witty and smart it also has a heart.' KATE ATKINSON 'Sizzles with uproarious fun, from its snout to the sting in its tale.' INDEPENDENT 'The perfect tonic for testing times.' GUARDIAN We all know politics is absurd. But could a Republican be brought down by a stuffed aardvark? Republican congressman Alexander Paine Wilson is determined that nothing will stop him in his campaign for re-election. Not the fact that he is a bachelor, not the fact that his main adversary Nancy Beavers - married, with children - is rising in the polls. Nothing. That is, until one hot day in August, he receives a large parcel via FedEx. Inside is a gigantic taxidermied aardvark. This aardvark has a surprising history - from the Victorian naturalist who discovered it to the taxidermist who deemed it his finest creation. But for Wilson, the entrance of the aardvark sets off a chain of events that threaten to ruin his entire career. Constantly surprising, brilliantly comic and piquantly provocative, Enter the Aardvark is a tale for our times, a biting satire with a tender underbelly. ____________________________________________ 'Sometimes, a paragraph near the start of a novel is so perfect and funny that you read it over and over, laugh every time, and know you're in for a treat...I'm loving this. Completely insane but utterly hilarious'. JOHN BOYNE 'Spry, slim, clever...the inventiveness is impressive and the story has heart' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'What begins as a topical takedown of the American political system deepens into a hugely enjoyable romp through history.' OBSERVER 'Fresh, astute and mouthwateringly sharp, this is a rare thing; a political satire that tugs on the heartstrings in unconventional ways.' IRISH TIMES 'Sharp, inventive and very funny, it's an entertainingly bizarre political satire.' TATLER 'Part 21st-century political satire, part unexpectedly affecting 19th-century love story...It's every bit as strange as it sounds, and yet somehow it works' DAILY MAIL 'Old, dead creature brings down flash, vain senator... Out in front as the most fizzing and amusing novel of the year.' STRONG WORDS magazine 'A blisteringly innovative and outrageous novel.' NY OBSERVER 'Weird, wonderful, and very much of the moment, Enter the Aardvark is a landmark political novel of the Trump era...With heart and humor, Anthony expertly skewers our current political climate.' ESQUIRE 'Inventive and darkly funny...as Anthony connects characters from today with those from 19th-century England, she offers an original and unsettling lens through which to view male power as it has evolved over time.' TIME 'Enter Jessica Anthony. With her highly inventive, ever attentive, and morally serious (as all great comedy must be) Enter the Aardvark, she estranges all over again our deplorable political moment, and thereby helps make it bearable.' JOSHUA FERRIS 'Mischievously zoological and darkly satirical - a brilliant novel' JOHN IRONMONGER, author of NOT FORGETTING THE WHALE 'A feverish, rollicking beast of a book. Totally assured, completely unpredictable, Jessica Anthony has created a true original.' SIMON WROE, author of CHOP CHOP and HERE COMES TROUBLE

I Know I Saw Her
I Know I Saw Her

Author: E.D. Thompson

Publisher: Hachette Books Ireland

Published: 2021-07-01

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 152937040X

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'Taut and spine-tingling, I Know I Saw Her journeys through the apparent normality of suburban lives to expose the hidden terrors behind closed doors - a riveting read.' LAURA ELLIOT, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GUILTY Parnell Park is an ordinary suburban street. Alice from number 25 has a quiet life but she craves more. So she watches the street's inhabitants -- taking a special interest in Kevin and Kim, the beautiful, charming couple from across the road -- wondering what goes on behind closed doors. One day, on a visit to London, Alice sees Kim on a passing train. But when she later mentions this to Kevin, he tells her she has made a mistake, insisting that his wife is on holiday in the West of Ireland. But Alice knows what she saw. So who is lying? Kevin, or his wife? Alice feels compelled to investigate, and her concern for Kim quickly intensifies. And as she enters a high-stakes game with shadowy rules and hidden dangers, Alice is soon to find out that the thing you crave can be the most dangerous thing of all. Set over the course of a sultry summer, I Know I Saw Her is a masterfully told suspense novel about desire, appearances and deception, as compelling as it is creepy, full of unexpected turns.

A Better Man
A Better Man

Author: Michael Ian Black

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Published: 2022-05-10

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1643752049

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"Raw, intimate, and true . . . A Better Man cracked me wide open, and it's a template for the conversation we need to be having with our boys." --Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author of Boys & Sex A poignant look at boyhood, in the form of a heartfelt letter from comedian Michael Ian Black to his teenage son before he leaves for college, and a radical plea for rethinking masculinity and teaching young men to give and receive love. In a world in which the word masculinity now often goes hand in hand with toxic, comedian, actor, and father Michael Ian Black offers up a way forward for boys, men, and anyone who loves them. Part memoir, part advice book, and written as a heartfelt letter to his college-bound son, A Better Man reveals Black's own complicated relationship with his father, explores the damage and rising violence caused by the expectations placed on boys to "man up," and searches for the best way to help young men be part of the solution, not the problem. "If we cannot allow ourselves vulnerability," he writes, "how are we supposed to experience wonder, fear, tenderness?" Honest, funny, and hopeful, Black skillfully navigates the complex gender issues of our time and delivers a poignant answer to an urgent question: How can we be, and raise, better men?

Beyond the Blank Page: Design Limitless Worlds with AI
Beyond the Blank Page: Design Limitless Worlds with AI

Author: John Nunez

Publisher: John Nunez

Published: 2024-04-01

Total Pages: 91

ISBN-13:

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Discover the Power of AI in World-Building with "Beyond the Blank Page: Design Limitless Worlds with AI" Are you a storyteller, a game developer, or a creative mind eager to push the boundaries of your imagination? "Beyond the Blank Page: Design Limitless Worlds with AI" is your gateway to mastering the art of creating vast, intricate universes powered by the latest advancements in artificial intelligence. Whether you're crafting the next bestselling novel, developing a groundbreaking video game, or simply exploring the limits of your creativity, this book is an essential tool in your creative arsenal. Unlock Your Creative Potential:: Dive into the heart of AI universe-building with practical examples, step-by-step guides, and insightful case studies that bring your most ambitious ideas to life. From generating landscapes and environments to creating characters with unique personalities, "Beyond the Blank Page" empowers you to design personalized realities that captivate and inspire. Explore the Ethical and Philosophical Dimensions:: Embark on a thought-provoking journey through the ethical and philosophical implications of AI in creative processes. "Beyond the Blank Page" challenges you to consider the responsibilities of creating virtual realities, ensuring your creations are not just innovative but also conscious and ethical. Best Way to Learn The author draws his own journey, as a consequence this book distills research, experimentation, and creative practice into accessible and engaging content. Their expertise, combined with real-world applications of AI in world-building, provides you with the knowledge and tools to excel in your creative endeavors. Who is "Beyond the Blank Page..." For?:: - Aspiring and Seasoned Authors -- Elevate your storytelling with AI-driven insights into character development, plot dynamics, and immersive world-building. - Game Developers and Designers -- Harness AI to generate unique game environments, character traits, and story arcs, enhancing player engagement and experience. - Creative Professionals-- Expand your creative toolkit with AI applications in art, design, and multimedia projects, pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Why Choose "Beyond the Blank Page"?:: - Comprehensive Coverage-- From basics to advanced techniques, this book covers all you need to know about AI in creative world-building. - Innovative Techniques-- Learn about the latest AI tools and technologies that are revolutionizing creativity in various fields. - Interactive Learning-- Engage with interactive examples, exercises, and challenges that encourage you to apply what you've learned. - Future-Proof Skills::: Stay ahead in your creative career by mastering AI-based tools that are becoming integral to the creative industries. Embrace the Future of Creativity With "Beyond the Blank Page: Design Limitless Worlds with AI," you're not just reading a book; you're stepping into a world of endless possibilities. Order your copy today and start building the unimaginable with AI!

The Maine Standard Vol. 1
The Maine Standard Vol. 1

Author: Liza Gardner Walsh

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2024-07-01

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 1684752418

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Maine has always been steeped in ingenuity and boldness. Perhaps it is the mix of granite coast and balsam breezes that gives rise to this inspiration, but whatever it is, the state has long held an abundance of world-class writers and artists. Honoring this deep tradition of great writing, The Maine Standard is an annual journal celebrating the uniqueness of Maine, the unusual and the unexpected. Perhaps our founder Duane Doolittle said it best: “We don’t pretend that we can define this evocative term, Down East . . . All that we can honestly say is that we are tuned to this particular parcel of land, and that we like its music.” The Maine Standard publishes stand-out writing that captures the true character of Maine, writing that sings!

Mixed Feelings
Mixed Feelings

Author: Avan Jogia

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Published: 2019-09-17

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 1524856428

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In Mixed Feelings, Avan Jogia explores his complicated emotions around race, identity, religion, and family through poetry and imagery. Drawing on the author's own life story as well as interviews he's conducted with friends and strangers, Mixed Feelings serves as a dialogue starter for difficult topics that now, more than ever, need to be discussed.

Tongues
Tongues

Author: Ayelet Tsabari

Publisher: Book*hug Press

Published: 2021-10-26

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9781771667142

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In Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language writers examine their intimate relationship with language in essays that are compelling and captivating. There are over 200 mother tongues spoken in Canada, and at least 5.8 million Canadians use two or more languages at home. This vital anthology opens a dialogue about this unique language diversity and probes the importance of language in our identity and the ways in which it shapes us. In this collection of deeply personal essays, twenty-six writers explore their connection with language, accents, and vocabularies, and contend with the ways they can be used as both bridge and weapon. Some explore the way power and privilege affect language learning, especially the shame and exclusion often felt by non-native English speakers in a white, settler, colonial nation. Some confront the pain of losing a mother tongue or an ancestral language along with the loss of community and highlight the empowerment that comes with reclamation. Others celebrate the joys of learning a new language and the power of connection. All underscore how language can offer transformation and collective healing to various communities. With contributions by: Kamal Al-Solaylee, Jenny Heijun Wills, Karen McBride, Melissa Bull, Leonarda Carranza, Adam Pottle, Kai Cheng Thom, Sigal Samuel, Rebecca Fisseha, Logan Broeckaert, Taslim Jaffer, Ashley Hynd, Jagtar Kaul Atwal, Téa Mutonji, Rowan McCandless, Sahar Golshan, Camila Justino, Amanda Leduc, Ayelet Tsabari, Carrianne Leung, Janet Hong, Danny Ramadan, Sediqa de Meijer, Jónína Kirton, and Eufemia Fantetti.