The pendulum has shifted in Catherine's life once again. Four years after peeling back the curtain on The Janus Chamber, we find her now ironically working as a political journalist, settled into a mundane routine and dating life because she chose to tell the truth about Inana Luna instead of embracing a life of decadence with The Juliette Society. Meeting a man who reignites her passion for cinema and guilt-free sex makes her realize what she's been missing, but an unwanted scandal douses the flame. Forced to lay low, she finds an opportunity to take back her career with a human interest story in Honduras, but there are people who see Catherine's article as a threat and will do everything they can to stop her from writing. The world she finds is unlike anything she's ever seen. Catherine is The Mismade Girl, and as her life is turned upside down, she must choose to either perish . . . or be remade anew.
A few years have passed since Catherine’s time in the The Juliette Society, but things haven’t been going the way she planned. Her life with her fiancé Jack has become predictable and boring, especially in the bedroom. Now working as a journalist, she struggles to find inspiration in her work or at home—until she starts writing about the death of a publicly beloved model, Inana Luna, whose experiences reflect Catherine’s own blossoming sexuality and independence. What started as a routine story quickly becomes Catherine’s obsession, as she follows the tale of a woman whose tracks take her down a road with too many familiar facets: a fascination with kink, lustful men, and some very sexy intrigue. Like the Roman god Janus, Catherine is simultaneously looking to the past and the future. Can her experiences with The Juliette Society, along with Inana's diary, help her figure out what she really wants in life, love, and sex? Or will the story drag her back down into a tantalizing world from which she might not be able to escape a second time?
A few years have passed since Catherine's time in the The Juliette Society, but things haven't been going the way she planned. Her life with her fiancé Jack has become predictable and boring, especially in the bedroom. Now working as a journalist, she struggles to find inspiration in her work or at home - until she starts writing about the death of a publicly beloved model, Inana Luna, whose experiences reflect Catherine's own blossoming sexuality and independence. What started as a routine story quickly becomes Catherine's obsession as she follows the tale of a woman whose tracks take her down a road with too many familiar facets: a fascination with kink, lustful men, and some very sexy intrigue. Like the Roman god Janus, Catherine is simultaneously looking to the past and the future. Can her experiences with The Juliette Society, along with Inana's diary, help her figure out what she really wants in life, love, and sex? Or will the story drag her back down into a tantalizing world from which she might not be able to escape a second time?
"Modern Magic" is a treatise in book form, detailing the apparatus, methods and tricks used by the magicians and conjurors. It was the first book in the English language to really explain how to perform magical feats. The treatise contains advice on the appearance, the dress and the staging of a magician. It then goes on to describe many tricks with playing cards, coins, watches, rings, handkerchiefs, dominoes, dice, cups, balls and hats, and concludes with a long chapter of miscellaneous tricks, including magic with strings, gloves, eggs, rice and some utility devices. The penultimate chapter describes large stage illusions, and the final chapter contains advice on routining a magic show, as well as more advice on staging.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A big sweeping novel of friendship and marriage” (The Washington Post) by the celebrated author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini Leopold Bloom King has been raised in a family shattered—and shadowed—by tragedy. Lonely and adrift, he searches for something to sustain him and finds it among a tightly knit group of outsiders. Surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, as well as Charleston, South Carolina’s dark legacy of racism and class divisions, these friends will endure until a final test forces them to face something none of them are prepared for. Spanning two turbulent decades, South of Broad is Pat Conroy at his finest: a masterpiece from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds. Praise for South of Broad “Vintage Pat Conroy . . . a big sweeping novel of friendship and marriage.”—The Washington Post “Conroy remains a magician of the page.”—The New York Times Book Review “Richly imagined . . . These characters are gallant in the grand old-fashioned sense, devoted to one another and to home. That siren song of place has never sounded so sweet.”—New Orleans Times-Picayune “A lavish, no-holds-barred performance.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “A lovely, often thrilling story.”—The Dallas Morning News “A pleasure to read . . . a must for Conroy’s fans.”—Associated Press
Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. HeathcliffÕs dwelling. ÔWutheringÕ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily, the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones. Before passing the threshold, I paused to admire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front, and especially about the principal door; above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins and shameless little boys, I detected the date Ô1500,Õ and the name ÔHareton Earnshaw.Õ I would have made a few comments, and requested a short history of the place from the surly owner; but his attitude at the door appeared to demand my speedy entrance, or complete departure, and I had no desire to aggravate his impatience previous to inspecting the penetralium. One stop brought us into the family sitting-room, without any introductory lobby or passage: they call it here Ôthe houseÕ pre-eminently. It includes kitchen and parlour, generally; but I believe at Wuthering Heights the kitchen is forced to retreat altogether into another quarter: at least I distinguished a chatter of tongues, and a clatter of culinary utensils, deep within; and I observed no signs of roasting, boiling, or baking, about the huge fireplace; nor any glitter of copper saucepans and tin cullenders on the walls. One end, indeed, reflected splendidly both light and heat from ranks of immense pewter dishes, interspersed with silver jugs and tankards, towering row after row, on a vast oak dresser, to the very roof. The latter had never been under-drawn: its entire anatomy lay bare to an inquiring eye, except where a frame of wood laden with oatcakes and clusters of legs of beef, mutton, and ham, concealed it. Above the chimney were sundry villainous old guns, and a couple of horse-pistols: and, by way of ornament, three gaudily-painted canisters disposed along its ledge. The floor was of smooth, white stone; the chairs, high-backed, primitive structures, painted green: one or two heavy black ones lurking in the shade. In an arch under the dresser reposed a huge, liver-coloured bitch pointer, surrounded by a swarm of squealing puppies; and other dogs haunted other recesses.
From making a motorcycle appear while surrounded by an audience, to making a car materialize within an empty enclosure to walking through a giant industrial fan, this is the ultimate collection of professional illusions for the modern illusionist! J C Sum is a professional illusionist and widely regarded as one of the most prolific modern illusion designers in the world today. The "Ultimate Illusion Collection: Trinity Edition" is the 3rd edition of J C's illusion omnibus; 100% reformatted, expanded and updated into a single massive tome. The Trinity Edition contains the latest versions of J C's entire collection of illusions detailed in his professional illusion book trilogy, "Illusionary Departures," "Equilateral" and "Urban illusions," including new images as well as brand new illusion designs. In addition, all the stage acts & illusions detailed in his book "Illusionism" are included in this collection. These are specialty illusions designed with mentalism plots. As a bonus, the secret method of J C's first mega illusion, "The Impossible Teleportation," where he teleported 50 stories in 5 seconds in front of more than 9000 people, is outlined at the end of the book, along with a discussion on creating a mega stunt. The illusions have been sorted and divided into nine categories, classified according to illusion effect & genre, to make referencing easy. This will allow the reader to cross-reference methods, ideas and presentations between similar illusions easily. All illusion designs are detailed with full building plans, detailed fabrication instructions, material lists, performance and presentation notes. Almost 70 illusions are explained including: ILLUSION SYSTEMS & UTILITIES: Deceptive Base Work, Black Art Case Table, Black Art Table Slide, Fourth Dimensional Exit, Motion Delayed Vanish/ Appearance, Modern Flight Case Table and Light Pillars. APPEARANCES & VANISHES: Crystal Striptease, Light & Space, Light & Space II, Benchmark, Dekolta's Dilemma, Singular, Ultimate Victory Cartons, Graffiti Girl, Reinvent The Doll House, Back Door Appearance, Branded, VIP Trunk, Ghost Cabinet, 12-Girl Cabinet and Revollusion. PENETRATIONS: Visual Displacement, 6 Inches, Steel Displacement, A Walk Through The Winery, Slicing Through and Wind Passage. METAMORPHOSIS & ESCAPES: Reinvent The Sub-Trunk, ATA Sub Trunk, Crystal Metamorphosis, Chain Reaction and Fortress. BOX JUMPERS: Reinvent The Zig Zag Girl, Multi-Vide, Seven By Half V2.0, Wall 2 Wall and Squeezed & Skewered. MENTALISM ILLUSIONS: First Impressions, Unseen Forces, Shatter, Paycheck, Wedlock, Psychometric Touch, Jumbo Visible Deck, Fashion Statement and New-Age Spirit Cabinet STAGE ROUTINES: Creation Of Life, The Time Machine and Sweepstakes. COMEDY ILLUSIONS: The Vanishing 'Tiger' and Hiding In Plain Sight VEHICLE PRODUCTIONS: Ultimate Full Throttle, Bluff Appearance and Phantom Car Appearance. CREATING THE MEGA STUNT: The Impossible Teleportation (Teleporting 50 Stories In 5 Seconds) Difficulty Level: Intermediate to Advanced
The world knows her as a porn star. . . but it's her way with words that will touch you again and again. Asa Akira's perceptive, funny, and straightforward writings on love, sex, death, marriage and celebrity come together in a surprising book of essays. Personally revealing as well as universal, Dirty Thirty marks the coming of age of a new literary star.
Sasha Grey, rising adult film and pop-culture star, takes control in her new monograph "neu sex," moving out from in front of the camera to behind it, turning the lens on the wild world she inhabits. "When I first got into the adult industry, I decided to take my photography much more seriously. I started taking a camera with me to capture my experiences on set, so it was a moment in time, a memory for myself--not the video that would be seen by thousands of people. On days where I was physically unable to capture an image, Ian, my fiance, became my third arm. He understands my aesthetic, or lack thereof. Ian is a photographer, yet the work in this book is quite different from his usual style. When you are so close with someone, there is a shorthand and true understanding of what the other person is trying to accomplish. If there's something I am physically unable to photograph, I can say one word and Ian can assist me with my vision. Ian can capture intimate moments with me that nobody can fabricate, because of our relationship. The strong sense of familiarity eliminates all boundaries between the subject and the photographer. "Documenting myself has almost become a necessity. "There are so many photos of me, taken by other people, that aesthetically I have no control over. Documenting myself allows me to reflect on the day, on the feelings I am having at that second. When you work in the entertainment industry, there are always surprises; there certainly isn't one day that is similar to the last. Personally, it's important to embrace this and appreciate it every day. "Still images vividly capture emotion, a second in time that can be left open for interpretation by the viewer and the creator. I am inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman and Nan Goldin. Sherman's work continues to inspire me to develop certain characters. I figured if I am on set I might as well take advantage of my surroundings, and document my life in an exciting, untraditional manner. I look back at photos, and see how much I've grown, how my opinions have changed, and how they will continue to change." --Sasha Grey
