The Celestials is a historical novel of immigration, multiculturalism, labor, community and exclusion, alienation and reinvention, and our country's peculiar history and relationship with all those things. It's about our shared sense that we're all aliens of some kind--at home in no place. In June of 1870, seventy-five Chinese laborers arrived in North Adams, Massachusetts, to work for Calvin Sampson, one of the biggest industrialists in that busy factory town. Except for the foreman, the Chinese didn’t speak English. They didn’t know they were strikebreakers. The eldest of them was twenty-two. Combining historical and fictional elements, The Celestials beautifully reimagines the story of Sampson’s “Chinese experiment” and the effect of the newcomers’ threatening and exotic presence on the New England locals. When Sampson’s wife, Julia, gives birth to a mixed-race baby, the infant becomes a lightning rod for the novel’s conflicts concerning identity, alienation, and exile.
A defeated general. A jaded princess. A really awkward situation. Orion and Cassiopeia are the last of their kind: an ancient, powerful race of space-dwelling beings known as Celestials. After losing a terrible war against another, deadlier race, Orion appeals to Cassiopeia, hoping she'll help him save their species. After all, he's a male, she's a female... This shouldn't be complicated, right? Wrong! Cassiopeia, who has been living like a recluse for centuries, wants absolutely nothing to do with Orion. And not just because he has no manners; there are things she doesn't want him to know, secrets that drove her to self-exile. So she does the only logical thing she can think of: She runs away to Earth, where she allies herself with a group of young musicians and adopts their easygoing way of life in order to blend in. It's the perfect hiding place, right? Wrong! Little does Cassiopeia know, Orion is way better at tracking than he is at romance... though he may have to become good at both if he wants a second chance.
Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain. Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense. It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife. Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death. And as Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’ s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith. Praise for The 19th Wife “This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day fruit in a renegade cult . . . Ebershoff brilliantly blends a haunting fictional narrative by Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th “rebel” wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, with the equally compelling contemporary narrative of fictional Jordan Scott, a 20-year-old gay man. . . . With the topic of plural marriage and its shattering impact on women and powerless children in today's headlines, this novel is essential reading for anyone seeking understanding of the subject.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A monster is holding me hostage inside a chateau. The world is plagued by creatures called the Dread. And he's their king. I've tried to run. I've tried to hide. But there's no escaping him. He wants to turn me into one of the creatures. Unless... I find a way to break the curse. A curse that has turned him into the monster that he is. He wasn't supposed to destroy cities. He's one of the Celestials meant to save humanity. As I uncover the truth and break his curse, I wonder if I've lost myself in the process. Can I still escape him? Or has he taken my heart forever? Book One in the Celestial series by USAToday Bestselling Author Emma Hamm
Devi is having the week from hell. Literally. Devi Lawson has a talent for breaking the rules. It's second only to her skill at hunting down demons -- too bad the angelic guild of celestial soldiers didn't appreciate her efforts. In fact, they kicked her out. And now she's being accused of murdering one of their own. To clear her name, she must work hand in hand with the demons she used to hunt, including the enigmatic warlock Nikolas Castor. Not only is his magic entirely too close to the killer she's pursuing, but he seems to think Devi is marked by a demon, too. Before long, Devi is neck-deep in trouble. Distrusted by her former allies and in serious danger of the real reason she left the guild making it into the light, Devi must catch the killer before he unleashes a literal hell on Earth. Keywords: free fantasy, free paranormal books, free supernatural books, free supernatural thrillers, demon urban fantasy, urban fantasy, British fantasy, supernatural mystery, female protagonist urban fantasy, dark urban fantasy, angels and demons, paranormal thriller, supernatural suspense, complete fantasy series, vampires, urban fantasy series, strong heroine, paranormal fantasy, free urban fantasy novel, divine, demon hunter, monsters, urban fantasy with demons
On a June morning in 1870, seventy-five Chinese immigrants stepped off a train in the New England factory town of North Adams, Massachusetts, imported as strikebreakers by the local shoe manufacturer. They threaded their way through a hostile mob and then--remarkably--their new employer lined them up along the south wall of his factory and had them photographed as the mob fell silent. So begins A Shoemaker's Story. Anthony Lee seeks to understand the social forces that brought this now-famous photograph into being, and the events and images it subsequently spawned. He traces the rise of photography as a profession and the hopes and experiences of immigrants trying to find their place in the years following the Civil War. He describes the industrialization of the once-traditional craft of shoemaking, and the often violent debates about race, labor, class, and citizenship that industrialization caused. Generously illustrated with many extraordinary photographs, A Shoemaker's Story brings 1870s America to vivid life. Lee's spellbinding narrative interweaves the perspectives of people from very different walks of life--the wealthy factory owner who dared to bring the strikebreakers to New England, the Chinese workers, the local shoemakers' union that did not want them there, the photographers themselves, and the ordinary men and women who viewed and interpreted their images. Combining painstaking research with world-class storytelling, Lee illuminates an important episode in the social history of the United States, and reveals the extent to which photographs can be sites of intense historical struggle.
Do you ever feel that "something" is missing, that there has to be more? The answers are on tap in The Celestial Bar, an international bestseller. Originally self-published to critical acclaim, The Celestial Bar has reached around the globe. This updated 20th anniversary edition includes the author's answers to readers' queries, along with questions and discussion points to explore his material more deeply. You'll find Tom Youngholm's books next to Richard Bach, Dan Millman, and James Redfield. "This is one exciting book to experience, and I love it! If you want a book that you can't put down-run, don't walk, and pick up a copy. You'll be glad you did." Inner Self ..". energizing, riveting, enlightening and intellectually stimulating, filled with concepts and truths to be pondered, and then accepted.!" Metaphysical Reviews "Tom Youngholm strikes pay dirt... a dazzling array of well conveyed, extremely visual experiences. It's not only a fun and very readable story; it's a good tool for explaining spirituality." "The Awareness Journal "The dynamics here provide for a great read, and a wonderfully educational one at that! Grab it and read it. Meet the wise and whimsical characters... and learn about yourself in the process. You can if you hang out for a while at THE CELESTIAL BAR." The New Times "Digger began to play... the music reminded him of the sadness he felt about his life. The humiliation of so many failures amid what he thought was a life brimming with promise... he was always going to be; but never was. Meet Jonathan "Digger" Taylor, a man who wanders from job to job, relationship to relationship, seeking-like so many of us-the intangible "something" that is missing from his life. When the restaurant he opens in Florida is wrecked in a hurricane, he moves to California, where he captions a baseball team and pays the rent with an unfulfilling waiter's job; meanwhile all his relationships with women, including his wife, share the same fate as his restaurant. Digger wants more from life, to feel connection and purpose. In the hardships that befall him Digger turns to his lifelong creative dream, composing music. But his spiritual quest is offset by a dark and increasingly menacing figure that haunts both his dream and waking worlds. Moments before a crucial make-or-break musical audition, Digger meditates to calm his jittery nerves and, in his meditation, is pursued by the ominous figure until he ducks into a door beneath a sign that reads The Celestial Bar. From that moment on, his life-and yours-will never be the same. The Celestial Bar is a richly appointed way station for souls in transition, a place where wisdom is served with a smile and our most profound hunger is sated. There Digger meets his "old and forgotten" friends: Ahmay a pony tailed Shoshone chieftain: an interactive-and holographic-computer named Ramda, a mysterious bartender called Zorinthalian: and Paula, a beautiful waitress and soul mate. In the company of this unforgettable colorful and eccentric crew, Digger is "reminded" of the basic truths called the Universal Principles-the keys to all our most searching spiritual questions. We are all beings of energy here on earth to improve ourselves spiritually, Digger learns, and in The Celestial Bar you'll learn the nuts-and-bolts on how and why-including the ways in which thought and energy interact with each other so that simple changes in focus can shift our reality profoundly. Most important you'll learn about PEIS (pronounced "peace"); the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual parts of each of us that must be in balance to achieve true happiness and success in life. Around the globe, readers have not only been entertained, but have found the Universal Principles powerful tools for their own lives. Visit the Celestial Bar
As the second year of high school begins, Haruhi's cynical and sarcastic confidant Kyon, the only "normal" member of the SOS Brigade, finds himself meeting Sasaki, an old friend from his days in junior high. Haruhi and Sasaki's shared friendship with Kyon and, possibly, shared abilities, causes tension between the two and Kyon knows Haurhi's dissatisfaction can have dire consequences! Kyon and Sasaki's chance meeting could affect his future, the future of the SOS Brigade, and the world forever. This ninth volume of the Haruhi Suzumiya series is the first to use two alternate stories for the same plot with different endings. The story continues in the next novel, The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya.
