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by Rasheed Newson Xavier C. Barlow, one of Hollywood’s young Black stars taking the industry by storm in the late 1950s, is Skyline Studios’s ambitious attempt to rival Sidney Poitier's burgeoning success. His arrival into the industry is calculated, his charm is magnetic, and his seductive screen presence appeals to both audiences and celebrities across generations. But years later, after Xavier dies at the height of his fame, Aaron Touissant- Skyline’s designated backlot fixer who helps the studio’s stars stay as deep in the closet as humanly possible- is finally ready to expose the powerful culprits responsible for his untimely death. Written as part-confessional, part-cris de coeur from Aaron's panoramic lens, this is a searing portrait of the movie industry as a manicured minefield. |
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When the Signal arrives- a mysterious transmission from the edge of the solar system, the world changes overnight. Many believe it could be first contact with extraterrestrial life. But for Alex, who’s spent years distancing himself from the unexplainable, the Signal feels deeply personal. Decades ago, Alex and a girl named Ana vanished while on vacation in Palm Springs. When they returned, the six-year-olds' account of the experience had all the hallmarks of alien abduction. Now, with the world on edge and the Signal growing stronger, Alex is drawn back to the one person who might have answers. As the former best friends reunite, what starts as a quest to confront the reality of their original experience becomes a larger reckoning with friendship, faith, family, and truth itself. |
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by Julie Gerstenblatt Massachusetts, 1851. Winifred Starbuck wants only to join her parents on their final merchant voyage from Nantucket to bustling San Francisco, then across the glittering Pacific to distant China. Yet renowned trade captains Nell and Peter have forbidden their daughter from coming aboard on the adventure. So Winnie does what any strong-willed eighteen-year-old would: she stows away. Once the ship sets sail, Winnie is plunged into turbulent waters, treachery, and the thrill of life on the seas. As she drifts farther from shore, she uncovers a long-buried secret- one that reveals the truth behind her parents’ desperate fear. As she continues to chart her own course, she’ll have to plumb the depths of her courage to take on a world far more dangerous than she ever imagined. |
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Eleanor arrives in Las Vegas with one job: sign the popular alt-rock group Dempsey to her record label. Unfortunately for her, former colleague Adam Shaw has the same idea. When Adam crashes Eleanor’s meeting with the band, it sets them off on a night of shot-fueled one-upmanship that ends with matching wedding rings. Some people can laugh off a drunken Vegas marriage, but Eleanor and Adam are not some people. With only a few hours until Dempsey announces their new record label, Eleanor and Adam embark on a wild dash to fix the previous night’s mistakes. Between meeting an attorney in a strip club, getting blackmailed into playing the newlywed game, and a deep moment outside a karaoke bar, Eleanor and Adam begin to fall for one another. Do they dare place a bet on love? Or will they keep their cards close? |
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by Julia London Frances Deluca has always been a force of nature. Active and agile in her 70s, she can handle anything- except perhaps the stretch of empty days ahead. What she really wants is the rush of a well-crafted plan coming together. Frances, Joan, Edie, and Irene were a girl gang before such things existed, joining forces in their 20s for a one-time job that revealed a remarkable affinity for crime. They developed a code of honor, taking only from those who deserved it- until misunderstandings drove them apart. Now, Frances manages to convince her old friends to reunite. Their mark: a mobster’s grandson who’s developed a high-tech shakedown. Edie’s beloved granddaughter just lost everything to him, including her self-respect. But the women intend to take it all back, with interest. |
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by Reyna & Marita Vazquez Reyna and Maritza Vazquez grew up in Veracruz, Mexico. A rural coastal region, it is famous for its colorful, healthful cuisine. In Veracruz, cooking with red meat is rare, and local dishes are vegetable-forward with proteins like fish, shellfish, chicken, and eggs. Such are the recipes in Veracruz All Natural, inspired mostly by the home cooking with which the women grew up, along with easy favorites from their restaurants. They are local heroes with a national story, beloved for their unparalleled food, but also for their generosity, grit, and openness about their immigrant story. |
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by Leroy Chiao Imagine if you could sit down and enjoy a meal with an astronaut. What questions would you ask? What could you learn after two drinks? Leroy Chiao answers that question and more. As a child, he always dreamed of going to space. One of fewer than four hundred American astronauts in history, he completed rigorous training and was hand-selected to achieve his wildest dreams, becoming one of the first Asian-American astronauts in history. Using his unique perspective breaking barriers in a largely white field, Leroy now aims to share the wonders of space with those of us on Earth, detailing his training and otherworldly space missions. Gorgeously luminary and deeply profound, Dinner with an Astronaut invites listeners to join Leroy Chiao at the table. |
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By day, Jane Callahan is a corporate marketer and mom, but by nights and weekends, she works with the almost-dead. As an end-of-life doula, she helps the terminally ill prepare for their imminent demise. Callahan peels back the curtain of one of our most taboo subjects and walks readers through journeys of the dying. This book will reveal things you didn't know about our last adventure. Readers will uncover knowledge on the realities of being mortal and how radical acceptance of the human condition can help us improve our deaths and lives. Surprisingly funny and often cutting, A Death Doula's Guide to a Meaningful End shies away from absolutist advice- depicting how we live our lives in shades of gray, and how some questions don't always need answers. |
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The 2024 U.S. presidential election reverberated internationally, a global event whose outcome has already reshaped trade, migration, security, and rising authoritarianism across the world. In How We See It, twelve talented and insightful journalists from around the world probe their home countries’ complex relationship with the United States- and how this has swerved under the new administration. A diverse, international cast of writers examines how Turkey’s recent history helps us understand America’s slide into autocracy, how Argentina’s obsession with the dollar has changed, anti-American tourism sentiment in Italy, and what Americans get wrong about South Africa. |
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by Brook Wilensky-Lanford Spanish Catholics, British Protestants, and French Jesuits all set their hopes on the “new world.” Yet it was a land already settled by indigenous people with their own religious life. Soon it teemed not just with rival Christian sects but with immigrants and enslaved people who brought a global array of beliefs with them. It didn’t take long for Americans to begin spinning out faiths all their own. In A God-Shaped Nation, Brook Wilensky-Lanford reveals how religion has been at the heart of the nation’s deepest divides and moments of transcendent unity. Following both leaders of religious movements and the everyday people who brought them alive, she shows that no area of American life- not even the most secular- has been untouched by the push-and-pull of religious freedom. |
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