Authors of Their Own Lives

Authors of Their Own Lives
Author: Bennett M. Berger
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 535
Release: 2023-04-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0520341198

All students and scholars are curious about the human faces behind the impersonal rhetoric of academic disciplines. Here twenty of America's most prominent sociologists recount the intellectual and biographical events that shaped their careers. Family history, ethnicity, fear, private animosities, extraordinary determination, and sometimes plain good fortune are among the many forces that combine to mold the individual talents presented in Authors of Their Own Lives. With contributions from women and men, young and old, native-born Americans and immigrants, quantitative scholars and qualitative ones, this book provides a fascinating source for students and professional sociologists alike. Some of the autobiographies maintain their reserve, others are profoundly revealing. Their subjects range from childhood, educational, and intellectual influences, to academic careerism and burnout, to the history of American sociology. Authors stands alone as a deeply personal autobiographical account of contemporary sociology. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990. All students and scholars are curious about the human faces behind the impersonal rhetoric of academic disciplines. Here twenty of America's most prominent sociologists recount the intellectual and biographical events that shaped their careers. Family his

A Woman of Substance

A Woman of Substance
Author: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 1064
Release: 2014-02-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0795338430

One of the top-ten bestselling novels ever written. “An extravagant, absorbing novel of love, courage, ambition, war, death and passion.” —The New York Times Barbara Taylor Bradford’s The Emma Harte Saga begins with this record-shattering New York Times bestseller that traces Emma Harte’s legacy through multiple generations of indomitable women. From the servants’ quarters of a manor house on the brooding Yorkshire moors to the helm of a profitable international business, Emma Harte’s life is a sweeping saga of unbreakable spirit and resolve. Rising from abject poverty to glittering wealth at the upper echelons of society, there is only one man the indomitable Emma cannot have—and only one she yearns for. The novel was also the subject of a popular 1984 miniseries starring Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr. “A long, satisfying novel of money, power, passion and revenge set against the sweep of 20th century history.” —Los Angeles Times “A wonderfully entertaining novel.” —The Denver Post “A mighty saga. Little has been so riveting since Gone with the Wind.” —Manchester Evening News “Tailor-made for fans of McCullough’s Thornbirds.” —Publishers Weekly “The storyteller of substance.” —The Times (London)

Strangers in Their Own Land

Strangers in Their Own Land
Author: Arlie Russell Hochschild
Publisher: The New Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2018-02-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1620973987

The National Book Award Finalist and New York Times bestseller that became a guide and balm for a country struggling to understand the election of Donald Trump "A generous but disconcerting look at the Tea Party. . . . This is a smart, respectful and compelling book." —Jason DeParle, The New York Times Book Review When Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, a bewildered nation turned to Strangers in Their Own Land to understand what Trump voters were thinking when they cast their ballots. Arlie Hochschild, one of the most influential sociologists of her generation, had spent the preceding five years immersed in the community around Lake Charles, Louisiana, a Tea Party stronghold. As Jedediah Purdy put it in the New Republic, "Hochschild is fascinated by how people make sense of their lives. . . . [Her] attentive, detailed portraits . . . reveal a gulf between Hochchild's 'strangers in their own land' and a new elite." Already a favorite common read book in communities and on campuses across the country and called "humble and important" by David Brooks and "masterly" by Atul Gawande, Hochschild's book has been lauded by Noam Chomsky, New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, and countless others. The paperback edition features a new afterword by the author reflecting on the election of Donald Trump and the other events that have unfolded both in Louisiana and around the country since the hardcover edition was published, and also includes a readers' group guide at the back of the book.

The Lady In The Mirror

The Lady In The Mirror
Author: Charu Vashishtha
Publisher: StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2020-12-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9388698177

About the book: Do you know what you really are? Or has life not tested you yet! 8 stories 8 situations 8 emotions Lata is quintessential Indian housewife. How come her blissful life got disturbed by all but a gentle sermon? The handsome Piyush had the world at his feet and yet his world was empty! Meera, an IAS officer, was living her dream but why wasn’t she happy? Centuries ago, Ila the Playwright, found happiness in pursuing her passion but why was this a bane to many? What happens when your subconscious tries to pass on a message? Hurt and pain helped Madhav become a millionaire. How would be come to terms when he realizes that it was not him that was wronged but it was he who was wrong. Meera is a budding comedian, but a great tragedy befalls her. Would she be able to hold her own in adverse circumstances? Kapil found liberation in his quest for knowledge, but would his daughter follow his lead ? Explore Greed (via Manifestation of God), Unspoken words (via The Last Confession), Internal Conflict (via The Lost Meera), Self-Belief (via The Mysterious Playwright), Subconscious-self (via Three of Him), Love (via Madhav and Meera), Jealousy (via The Comic’s Tragedy) and Freedom (via Life goes in a circle). About the Author: “An architect by education, software engineer by profession and a writer by choice.” Charu was born in UK (Belfast), and brought up in Roorkee, India. From an early age, she was enchanted by the campus of University of Roorkee, where her father worked as a professor. She harbored a dream to get into the esteemed Roorkee University. In 2001, she realized her long cherished dream and obtained admission to IIT Roorkee. After completing her graduation in architecture from IIT Roorkee, Charu worked for Tata Consultancy at Noida for 3 years and then moved to Miami, USA, to work for a luxury cruise liner. The 2 years spent at Miami were interesting and it was here that Charu met her future husband Rachit Gulati, another fellow TCSer. Charu moved her base back to India in 2011 and she starting working for American Express as a Senior Program Analyst. She worked at Royal Bank of Scotland as Senior Software Professional in Gurgaon for over 6 years. Currently she is working as a Senior Manager (IT) at Max Life Insurance. Charu is married and lives in a joint family, which includes Grandma-in-law, parents in law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, husband and daughter. She takes a keen interest in Indian mythology and loves reading out stories from ancient lore to the kids at home. She is a Hindu, but is also intrigued by Buddhism. She is a follower of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism and is a member of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), an association promoting values of Buddhism: peace and respect for all people. Her other interests include reading, writing and public speaking (She is a Toastmaster International Certified Advanced Communicator Bronze and is her working her way up to obtain Distinguished Toastmaster’s badge). She is an avid reader and a blogger. In 2015, she published a self-help ebook at Amazon titled, “Tip the Skin!” Literary zine “Invincible” has been publishing a few of her blog posts in print since May 2018. Her blog: http://lifeinthehooterville.blogspot.in/ Achievements: l She was declared the first runner up in 2017 edition of NUHA Global Blogging Competition. l She won second prize in Toastmasters District level impromptu speaking competition in 2017 and was a finalist at District Toastmasters Humorous speech competition the same year. The District consists of all Toastmasters clubs from North India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. l She was one of the highly recommended authors at Bharat Award for literature-4th Short Story contest conducted by poiesisonline.com. l She was amongst the top 25 in the first edition of YES I WRITE Corporate Short Shory Contest organized by StoryMirror. The Contest saw participation from over 5000 corporate employees.

Secret Lives of Great Authors

Secret Lives of Great Authors
Author: Robert Schnakenberg
Publisher: Quirk Books
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2014-03-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 159474744X

The strange-but-true tales of the rumors, idiosyncrasies, and feuds of literary legends—including Agatha Christie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespeare, and more This fascinating—and shocking!—tour through the lives of classic literature icons is the perfect stocking stuffer for book lovers and fans of little-known history. With outrageous and uncensored profiles of everyone from William Shakespeare to Thomas Pynchon, Secret Lives of Great Authors tackles all the tough questions your high school teachers were afraid to ask: What’s the deal with Lewis Carroll and little girls? Is it true that J. D. Salinger drank his own urine? How many women—and men—did Lord Byron actually sleep with? And why was Ayn Rand such a big fan of Charlie’s Angels? Classic literature was never this much fun in school! Authors included: William Shakespeare Lord Byron Honoré de Balzac Edgar Allan Poe Charles Dickens The Brontë Sisters Henry David Thoreau Walt Whitman Leo Tolstoy Emily Dickinson Lewis Carroll Louisa May Alcott Mark Twain Oscar Wilde Arthur Conan Doyle W.B. Yeats H.G. Wells Gertrude Stein Jack London Virginia Woolf James Joyce Franz Kafka T.S. Eliot Agatha Christie J.R.R. Tolkien F. Scott Fitzgerald William Faulkner Ernest Hemingway Ayn Rand Jean-Paul Sartre Richard Wright William Burroughs Carson McCullers J.D. Salinger Jack Kerouac Kurt Vonnegut Toni Morrison Sylvia Plath Thomas Pynchon

Lives Other Than My Own

Lives Other Than My Own
Author: Emmanuel Carrère
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2011-09-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1429973285

From the acclaimed award-winning author Emmanuel Carrère, Lives Other Than My Own: A Memoir is an act of generous imagination that unflinchingly records devastating loss and, equally vividly, the wealth of human solace that follows in its wake. Selected by the New York Times as one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years In Sri Lanka, a tsunami sweeps a child out to sea, her grand-father helpless against the onrushing water. In France, a young woman succumbs to illness, leaving her husband and small children bereft. Present at both events, Emmanuel Carrère sets out to tell the story of two families—shattered and ultimately restored. What he accomplishes is nothing short of a literary miracle: a heartrending narrative of endless love, a meditation on courage and decency in the face of adversity, an intimate and reverent look at the extraordinary beauty and nobility of ordinary lives. Precise, sober, and suspenseful, as full of twists and turns as any novel, Lives Other Than My Own confronts terrifying catastrophes to illuminate the astonishing richness of human connection: a grandfather who thought he had found paradise—too soon—and now devotes himself to helping his neighbors rebuild their village; a husband so in love with his ailing wife that he carries her in his arms like a knight does his princess; and finally, Carrère himself, longtime chronicler of the tormented self, who unexpectedly finds consolation and even joy as he immerses himself in the lives of others. “Moving...Carrère’s prose is precise and measured...Through interviews with friends and relatives of both families, he creates powerful portraits that celebrate ordinary lives.”—The New Yorker “You begin this memoir thinking it will be about one thing, and it turns into something else altogether—a book at once more ordinary and more extraordinary than any first impressions might allow.”—The New York Times

Scratch

Scratch
Author: Manjula Martin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2017-01-03
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1501134590

A collection of essays from today’s most acclaimed authors—from Cheryl Strayed to Roxane Gay to Jennifer Weiner, Alexander Chee, Nick Hornby, and Jonathan Franzen—on the realities of making a living in the writing world. In the literary world, the debate around writing and commerce often begs us to take sides: either writers should be paid for everything they do or writers should just pay their dues and count themselves lucky to be published. You should never quit your day job, but your ultimate goal should be to quit your day job. It’s an endless, confusing, and often controversial conversation that, despite our bare-it-all culture, still remains taboo. In Scratch, Manjula Martin has gathered interviews and essays from established and rising authors to confront the age-old question: how do creative people make money? As contributors including Jonathan Franzen, Cheryl Strayed, Roxane Gay, Nick Hornby, Susan Orlean, Alexander Chee, Daniel Jose Older, Jennifer Weiner, and Yiyun Li candidly and emotionally discuss money, MFA programs, teaching fellowships, finally getting published, and what success really means to them, Scratch honestly addresses the tensions between writing and money, work and life, literature and commerce. The result is an entertaining and inspiring book that helps readers and writers understand what it’s really like to make art in a world that runs on money—and why it matters. Essential reading for aspiring and experienced writers, and for anyone interested in the future of literature, Scratch is the perfect bookshelf companion to On Writing, Never Can Say Goodbye, and MFA vs. NYC.

The Writer's Library

The Writer's Library
Author: Nancy Pearl
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2020-09-08
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0062968513

NEW & NOTEWORTHY ~ THE NEW YORK TIMES With a Foreword by Susan Orlean, twenty-three of today's living literary legends, including Donna Tartt, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Andrew Sean Greer, Laila Lalami, and Michael Chabon, reveal the books that made them think, brought them joy, and changed their lives in this intimate, moving, and insightful collection from "American's Librarian" and recipient of the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for Outstanding Service Nancy Pearl and noted playwright Jeff Schwager that celebrates the power of literature and reading to connect us all. Before Jennifer Egan, Louise Erdrich, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Jonathan Lethem became revered authors, they were readers. In this ebullient book, America’s favorite librarian Nancy Pearl and noted-playwright Jeff Schwager interview a diverse range of America's most notable and influential writers about the books that shaped them and inspired them to leave their own literary mark. Illustrated with beautiful line drawings, The Writer’s Library is a revelatory exploration of the studies, libraries, and bookstores of today’s favorite authors—the creative artists whose imagination and sublime talent make America's literary scene the wonderful, dynamic world it is. A love letter to books and a celebration of wordsmiths, The Writer’s Library is a treasure for anyone who has been moved by the written word. The authors in The Writer’s Library are: Russell Banks TC Boyle Michael Chabon Susan Choi Jennifer Egan Dave Eggers Louise Erdrich Richard Ford Laurie Frankel Andrew Sean Greer Jane Hirshfield Siri Hustvedt Charles Johnson Laila Lalami Jonathan Lethem Donna Tartt Madeline Miller Viet Thanh Nguyen Luis Alberto Urrea Vendela Vida Ayelet Waldman Maaza Mengiste Amor Towles

It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story
Author: Ned Vizzini
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 452
Release: 2010-09-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1423141083

Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life—which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job—Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away.

Last Words from Montmartre

Last Words from Montmartre
Author: Qiu Miaojin
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2014-06-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1590177258

An NYRB Classics Original When the pioneering Taiwanese novelist Qiu Miaojin committed suicide in 1995 at age twenty-six, she left behind her unpublished masterpiece, Last Words from Montmartre. Unfolding through a series of letters written by an unnamed narrator, Last Words tells the story of a passionate relationship between two young women—their sexual awakening, their gradual breakup, and the devastating aftermath of their broken love. In a style that veers between extremes, from self-deprecation to pathos, compulsive repetition to rhapsodic musings, reticence to vulnerability, Qiu’s genre-bending novel is at once a psychological thriller, a sublime romance, and the author’s own suicide note. The letters (which, Qiu tells us, can be read in any order) leap between Paris, Taipei, and Tokyo. They display wrenching insights into what it means to live between cultures, languages, and genders—until the genderless character Zoë appears, and the narrator’s spiritual and physical identity is transformed. As powerfully raw and transcendent as Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask, Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, and Theresa Cha’s Dictée, to name but a few, Last Words from Montmartre proves Qiu Miaojin to be one of the finest experimentalists and modernist Chinese-language writers of our generation.