English Essay

Donna Leon’s wildly popular novels starring Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti have often been praised for their insight into culture, politics, family life, and the history of Venice, one of the world’s most treasured cities and her home for over thirty years. My Venice and Other Essays collects over fifty of Leon’s funny, charming, and passionate essays on subjects that range from battles over garbage in the canals to troubles with rehabbing Venetian real estate.

Indiana champions shining examples of literary and artistic merit regardless of whether the individual artist or writer is famous; asserts a standard of care and tradition that has nothing to do with the ivory tower establishment; is unafraid to deliver the coup de grâce when someone needs to say the emperor has no clothes; speaks in the same breath—in the same discerning, insolent, eloquent way—about high art and pop culture. Few writers could get away with saying the things Gary Indiana does. And when the writing is this good, it's also political, plus it's a riot of fun.

Intended to be a defense of the Christian religion, Pensées is a penetrating collection of thoughts on faith, reason, and theology. Unfinished at the time of Pascal's death, the book consists of philosophical fragments on the "wretchedness" of man and the controversial schisms of the church at the time. It includes the philosopher's infamous wager encouraging belief over agnosticism, as well as his thoughts on numerous other topics. Endlessly quotable, Pensées overflows with pearls of wisdom, each elusive sentence pregnant with a universe of thought.

Poems, essays, and prompts to sing a new world into being—Queer & BIPOC perspectives on poetry as an insurgent ritual for manifesting liberation and reclaiming power.

Ingo Swann once said, "The Way to keep people stupid, even if you make them literate, is to focus on the negative, what is wrong, what is wrong with us, than you spend you whole life wondering what is wrong with us. Well, what about what is good with us. I think what is good with us deserves an equal amount of attention." Ingo viewed life force energy as much more than just a basic vital force; he perceived it as an ever-evolving, sentient energy field that holds immense amounts of knowledge. In his eyes, this energy links all living creatures and can be tapped into and deciphered by our ...

One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent - but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.

Salman Rushdie is celebrated as “a master of perpetual storytelling” (The New Yorker), illuminating truths about our society and culture through his gorgeous, often searing prose. Now, in his latest collection of nonfiction, he brings together insightful and inspiring essays, criticism, and speeches that focus on his relationship with the written word and solidify his place as one of the most original thinkers of our time.

You know those people who always seem calm, organized, and emotionally stable? Yeah. This book is not about them. Welcome to the unfiltered confessions of someone who has spent a lifetime pretending to be normal—and failing spectacularly. From turning therapy into stand-up comedy, to surviving public meltdowns in Costco, to attempting yoga while emotionally unwell and allergic to spandex, this is your backstage pass to one person’s absurd journey through modern life. Equal parts chaos and charm, this book doesn’t teach you how to fix your life. It just lets you laugh so hard you ...

Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.

In this unabridged audiobook of Walking in Wonder, John O’Donohue’s friend and frequent collaborator John Quinn collects a series of talks and essays from the poet-philosopher on humanity’s relationship with the land, the ache of absence, our place in an often mysterious universe, and the great adventure of death itself.

Many people feel lost today, on a number of different levels, for a number of different reasons. If you're one of them. read on... The pre-Internet modern world had been stressful enough, the constant outside pressure to do more and accumulate more was sufficient cause for people to forget – or ignore – who they really were, what they could be if only they could get off of the hamster wheel that society told them was necessary for “success.” Now with social media, streaming movies and television, access to instant information, and a constant flow of news, everyone is being ...

For anyone who could use proof that the world is full of good people, this beautifully illustrated book features 101 stories of human decency from Upworthy, the beloved social media brand that reaches more than 100 million people per month.

As the Enlightenment movement was gathering strength in the early 18th century, various challenges to established religious faith were launched. In response, a number of celebrated commentators produced defences of religion and morality, and among these was Alexander Pope, who was inspired to write "some pieces on Human Life and Manners." The result was a collection of poems in rhyming couplets, designated "Epistles", which were published in instalments.

In Shepherds for Sale, Megan Basham of the Daily Wire documents how progressive powerbrokers—from George Soros, to the founder of eBay, to former members of the Obama administration—set out to change the American church. Their goal: to co-opt evangelicals for political purposes.

A collection of twenty thought-provoking essays from “one of the most brilliant, innovative, and eloquent writers on earth” (Publishers Weekly).

The first book in the Jed Talks series by Jed McKenna, author of the Enlightenment Trilogy and the Dreamstate Trilogy. 2nd Edition contains Starship Gita: The Song of the Borg, a play in six acts. Jed McKenna is the author of The Enlightenment Trilogy (Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing, Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment, and Spiritual Warfare) and The Dreamstate Trilogy (Jed McKenna's Theory of Everything: The Enlightened Perspective, Play: A Play by Jed McKenna, and Dreamstate: A Conspiracy Theory). The Jed Talks series continues to provide the same combination of humor, charm...

When fourteen-year-old Lamya H realizes she has a crush on her teacher—her female teacher—she covers up her attraction, an attraction she can’t yet name, by playing up her roles as overachiever and class clown. Born in South Asia, she moved to the Middle East at a young age and has spent years feeling out of place, like her own desires and dreams don’t matter, and it’s easier to hide in plain sight. To disappear. But one day in Quran class, she reads a passage about Maryam that changes everything: When Maryam learned that she was pregnant, she insisted no man had touched her.

🌀 You have the power to recreate your life—starting from within. Self-help begins inside of you. In this channeled text, Ms. Renee Tarot invites you to rediscover New Age Thought and Neo-Paganism as powerful paths to abundance, spiritual fulfillment, and higher soul evolution. ✨ What you’ll discover inside: A practical yet spiritual guide to God and Goddess concepts in Wicca Insight into the true origins of Christianity and how to release guilt from traditional teachings A clear introduction to the Tarot and how it opens doorways to personal truth An exploration of how the Universe...

The Daily Lesson is not your average self-help book. It's a collection of thoughts and reflections that challenge you to look at life differently. With a touch of philosophy, each essay explores topics we often think about but rarely talk about. From dealing with the loss of our parents to understanding love's complex nature, this book gets to the heart of what it means to be human. These essays are straightforward and speak to modern-day experiences, bringing a fresh perspective to familiar feelings. Whether you've seen some of these ideas before or they're completely new to you, each will...

Craig Carlson set out to do the impossible: open the first American diner in Paris. Despite never having owned his own business before - let alone a restaurant, the riskiest business of all - Craig chose to open his diner in a foreign country, with a foreign language that also happens to be the culinary capital of the world. While facing enormous obstacles, Craig and his diner, Breakfast in America, went on to be a great success - especially with the French.