Showing results by narrator "Shawn Jain" in All Categories

At a time when a lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis seems unattainable, understanding the roots of their conflict is an essential step in restoring hope to the region. In The Iron Cage, Rashid Khalidi provides a lucid context for the realities on the ground today, a context that has been, until now, notably lacking in our discourse.

Welcome to Melusine, a city as wondrous as it is corrupt. Within its walls lies a stronghold of power and magic, a shining setting for the brilliant Felix Harrowgate. A well-respected wizard and darling of the court, Felix harbors sordid secrets from his peers in the aristocracy: a dark past in which a sadistic wizard enslaved him body and mind, even as he schooled Felix in how to walk among noblemen as if he were one of them. An abuser Felix believes himself free of, until a return to his former master's lair leads to his harrowing fall from grace.

Are we all a little crazy? Roughly fifteen percent of the population will have a psychotic experience, in which they lose contact with reality. Yet we often struggle to understand and talk about psychosis. Interactions between people build on the stories they tell each other-stories about the past, about who they are or what they want. In psychosis we can no longer rely on these stories, this shared language. So how should we communicate with someone experiencing reality in a radically different way than we are?

All Aaron wants for Christmas is for his brother, Casey, to get over his ex, Raquel. He’d prefer not to be at Winter Wonderland, the island north of Alaska that’s home to a year-round Christmas theme park. But Casey loves Christmas, so here they are. Unfortunately for Aaron, Casey’s determined to do anything to win Raquel back. All Kris wants for Christmas is for his uncle to move back to Winter Wonderland to be the first gay Santa. To make that happen Kris needs to win the Race, his grade’s annual competition to see who can get a guest to fall in love with them first.

It's totally normal for two straight guys to do this when they're alone, right? That's what I keep telling myself after I meet Reggie. I'm a pro tennis player, and I usually spend my life on the court. But an embarrassing injury in the middle of the US Open sidelined my career, landing me in the hands of my new athletic trainer. Reggie is a big old jock with an easy smile, and my grumpy butt has never met anyone like him. We start hanging—at the gym and at his place, on the tennis court and out at the bar. I haven't had a real friend in years, and Reggie's big heart warms me deep inside.

An incisive and inspiring call to look beyond capitalism to chart a road map for a planet ravaged by pandemics, climate crisis, and wars. Prompted by trenchant questions by international solidarity organizer Frank Barat, renowned author and activist Vijay Prashad shows that the path toward hope and liberation lies in looking closely at myriad, under covered struggles being waged all across the world by workers in countries such as India, Kenya, Peru, Tunisia, and Argentina. A marvelously global but grassroots perspective.

Vivek Chibber provides a clear and accessible map of how capitalism works, how it limits the power of working and oppressed people, and how to overcome those limits. The capitalist economy generates incredible wealth but also injustice.

Commodities For Dummies gives you a complete overview of the basics of investing in commodities. Step-by-step explanations, plus the most up-to-date market information and global events, make it easy to invest in the stuff the world is made of. This book helps you identify the most valuable commodities to add to your portfolio, use commodities as a safe haven in shifting economic times, and come out on top. Learn quick, with real-life examples, expert advice, and basic explanations to get you involved in energy, agriculture, and metals.

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer and series editor Heidi Pitlor.

His sanity restored, Felix Harrowgate knows there's only one way back to the life he once knew as one of an elite society of wizards: return to Melusine and restore the Virtu, the source of the city's power and protection. After all, it was the manipulations of Felix's former master that destroyed the magical orb. Now that Felix has determined his course of action, there's a very specific companion he needs for this epic journey.

As an intelligent, beautiful woman raised in a small mountain village, Gini never would have imagined a place like The Mansion exists. Stolen by Darius into a dark underworld where the famed Mullah Omar arranges pleasure marriages to the highest bidder, Gini fights for survival. At first frightened by the dangerous man who keeps her prisoner, Darius slowly becomes the one light in her dark world.

When I fled my small town home to fly across the globe for a potential job on a remote island, I did it on a whim. And let's just say my parents were not happy. According to them, the journey of self-discovery is not nearly as important as tending the family farm.

Chased by evil her whole life, Leila was accused of lighting the fire that killed her beloved foster brother, Zeke. Now, she's one of the badass assassins fated to wield holy relics that will stop the apocalypse. When Zeke turns up alive, handsome as the devil and working for her rivals, she's forced to confront her worst fear… is she evil? Why else would he fake his death and abandon her? Burdened by guilt, Zeke joined Team Saint as a gunslinging demon hunter to pursue a path of redemption. He failed everyone in his life… including the only girl he ever loved, his foster sister Leila.

A romantic getaway for vampires Cat Crawfield and her husband Bones is cut short when they’re called on to guard a spoiled heiress with a price on her head, and an undead hitman on her trail. What starts as a simple bodyguard job ends up being a fight for survival that neither Cat, nor Bones, saw coming.

Joey thinks he's broken. I think he's beautiful. Joey's body began betraying him years ago. With his world in chaos, his new friends search for a Daddy to cherish him. When his ex-boss volunteers for the position, Joey panics. Can Daddy Tucker's gentle touch and soothing presence reassure Joey that he can trust him with all his pain, or will fear of being broken beyond repair keep him from the man he's wanted for years? Welcome to The Tap Tavern where this chosen family of boys are braver than they think, and their Daddies are ready to be what they want and so much more.

I try to enjoy the reputation I've earned as a hotshot music exec, even as I'm careful to hide my checkered past. But after another unfortunate scandal catches me with my pants down (literally), I'm forced to clean up my image. Enter Owen: my best friend's little brother. The adorkable sweetheart is my wholesome polar opposite, which makes him perfect for a little fake relationship publicity. Owen's just out of the closet. He acts shy, but the more time we spend together, the more I glimpse his surprisingly filthy imagination. And the more I can't stop thinking about him.

Traveling across India, interviewing Hindu zealots, armed insurgents, jailed dissidents, and politicians and thinkers from across the political spectrum, Siddhartha Deb reveals a country in which forces old and new have aligned to endanger democracy. The result is an absorbing—and disturbing—portrait. India has become a religious fundamentalist dystopia, one depicted here with a novelist's precise language and eye for detail.

It’s the summer before senior year. Gabriel, Reese, Sal, and Heath are best friends, bonded in their small, rural town by their queerness, their good grades, and their big dreams. But they have plans for the summer, each about to embark on a new adventure. Gabriel is interning at an environmental nonprofit in Boston. Reese is attending design school in Paris. Sal is volunteering on Capitol Hill for a senator. Heath is heading to Florida, to help out at his aunt’s boardwalk arcade.

This book will teach you to: understand what AI and machine learning are, and learn about new developments like ChatGPT; discover strategies for engaging students more fully using AI; automate administrative tasks, grading and feedback, and assessments; use AI in innovative ways to promote higher-order thinking skills; and examine ethical considerations of AI, including the achievement gap, privacy concerns, and bias.

Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He’s sick of being haunted by his family’s past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school. Luna Chang dreads the future. Graduation looms ahead, and her parents’ expectations are stifling. When she begins to break the rules, she finds her life upended by the strange new boy in her class, the arrival of unearthly fireflies, and an ominous crack spreading across the town of Fairbridge.