Florida Woman

Florida Woman
Author: Deb Rogers
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2022-07-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0369720180

"Razor-sharp... Deb Rogers writes with such verve and honesty about all the ways we stumble through life, and, like all great storytellers, gives us something wondrous when we reach the end of the journey.” —Kevin Wilson, bestselling author of Nothing to See Here An Indie Next Selection • A Fantastic Strangelings Book Club Pick • Recommended by: Harper's Bazaar • Shondaland • New York Post • Goodreads • Lambda Literary • Book Riot • Reader’s Digest • LGBTQReads • Medium • Debutiful • She Reads • Autostraddle • and more! A gleefully dark and entertaining debut for fans of Kevin Wilson and Karen Russell, about one young woman’s sensational summer at a Floridian wildlife center for exotic monkeys Jamie is a Florida Woman. She grew up on the beach, thrives in humidity, has weathered more hurricanes than she can count, and now, after going viral for an outrageous crime she never meant to commit in the first place, she has the requisite headline to her name. But when the chance comes for her to escape viral infamy and imminent jail time by taking a community service placement at Atlas, a shelter for rescued monkeys, it seems like just the fresh start Jamie needs to finally get her life back on track — until it’s not. Something sinister stirs in the palmetto woods surrounding her cabin, and secrets lurk among the three beguiling women who run the shelter and affectionately take Jamie under their wing for the summer. She hears the distant screams of monkeys each night; the staff perform cryptic, lakeside sacrifices to honor Atlas; and the land, which has long been abandoned by citrus farmers and theme park developers alike, now proves to be dangerously, relentlessly untamed. As Jamie ventures deeper into the offbeat world and rituals of Atlas, her summer is soon set to inspire an even stranger Florida headline than she ever could’ve imagined.

The State You're In

The State You're In
Author: Craig Pittman
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2021-08-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813065968

Jump into the wacky, wild world of Florida For more than 30 years, investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author Craig Pittman has chronicled the wildest stories Florida has to offer. Featuring a selection of columns that have appeared in the Tampa Bay Times and other outlets throughout Pittman’s career, this book highlights just how strange and wonderful Florida can be. With a folksy style, an eye for the absurd, and a passion for the history and environment of his home state, Pittman describes some of Florida’s oddest wildlife as well as its quirkiest people. The State You’re In includes a love story involving the most tattooed woman in the world, a deep dive into the state’s professional mermaid industry, and an investigation of a battle between residents of a nudist resort and the U.S. Postal Service. Pittman introduces readers to a who’s who of Florida crime fiction, a what’s what of exotic animals, and an array of beloved places he’s seen change rapidly in his lifetime. Many of these stories are funny, some are serious, and several offer rare insights into the heart of the Sunshine State. For Pittman, Florida is both inspiring and dangerous—an “evolutionary test” for those who live in it. Together these pieces paint a complex picture of a fascinating state longing for an identity beyond palm trees and punchlines.

Cracker Gothic

Cracker Gothic
Author: Duncan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2019-03-19
Genre:
ISBN: 9781618460714

PRAISE FOR Wanda Duncan: "In Cracker Gothic, Wanda Duncan writes about the intersections between family and place with precision, wit, and loving detail. Capturing moments that are at times humorous and at other times heartbreaking, Duncan makes spending time in the Florida swamp an unexpected, lyrical pleasure." - Aimee Mepham, author of "Raving Ones"

Saving Florida

Saving Florida
Author: Leslie Kemp Poole
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2015-05-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813059410

In Saving Florida, Leslie Kemp Poole casts new light on the women at the forefront of Florida’s environmental movement. From creating parks to protesting air pollution, fighting dredge-and-fill operations, and exposing the health dangers of pesticides, these women caused unprecedented changes in how the Sunshine State values its many and marvelous natural resources. At the beginning of the twentieth century women didn’t have the vote, but by the end of the century they were founding issue-specific groups, like Friends of the Everglades, and running state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They set the foundation for the next century’s environmental agenda, which came to include the idea of sustainable development, which meshes ecology and economy to enhance energy efficiency and the function of natural systems. This is an indispensable history that not only underscores the importance of women in the environmental movement but also shows how as a collective force they forever altered how others saw women’s roles in society.

Florida Woman

Florida Woman
Author: Deb Rogers
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-05-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781335455031

"Welcome to the weird world of Atlas, an animal refuge that also happens to be home to some deeply strange human behavior..." --Kimberly King Parsons, author of Black Light Jamie is a Florida Woman. She grew up on the beach, thrives in humidity, has weathered more hurricanes than she can count, and now, after going viral for an outrageous crime she never meant to commit, she has the requisite headline to her name--and the impending jail time with it. So when Atlas Wildlife Center, a shelter for exotic monkeys, offers Jamie the chance to take a community service sentence for the summer, it seems like just the fresh start Jamie needs to finally get her life back on track...until it's not. Something sinister stirs in the dark palmetto woods, and secrets lurk among the three beguiling staff women of Atlas as they affectionately take Jamie under their wing. Soon, her summer is set to become material for an even stranger Florida headline than she could've imagined. "Engaging and creepy." --Tampa Bay Times "A bewitching debut." --Publishers Weekly

Florida

Florida
Author: Lauren Groff
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2018-06-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1473558492

'Magnificent . . . Lauren Groff is a virtuoso' Emily St John Mandel 'A blistering collection . . . lyrical and oblique' Guardian 'Not to be missed . . . deep and dark and resonant' Ann Patchett 'It's beautiful. It's giving me rich, grand nightmares' Observer In these vigorous stories, Lauren Groff brings her electric storytelling to a world in which storms, snakes and sinkholes lurk at the edge of everyday life, but the greater threats are of a human, emotional and psychological nature. Among those navigating it all are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple; a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable conflicted wife and mother. Florida is an exploration of the connections behind human pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and fury. 'Innovative and terrifyingly relevant. Any one of these stories is a bracing read; together they form a masterpiece' Stylist 'Lushly evocative . . . mesmerising . . . a writer whose turn of phrase can stop you on your tracks' Financial Times

Best. State. Ever.

Best. State. Ever.
Author: Dave Barry
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2017-09-05
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1101982616

A New York Times bestseller—a brilliantly funny exploration of the Sunshine State from the man who knows it best: Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry. We never know what will happen next in Florida. We know only that, any minute now, something will. Every few months, Dave Barry gets a call from some media person wanting to know, “What the hell is wrong with Florida?” Somehow, the state's acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid, and as a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ. Join him as he goes in hunt of the legendary Skunk Ape; hobnobs with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs; and visits Cassadaga, the psychic capital of the world, to have his dog's aura read (apparently, she's "very spiritual"). Hitch a ride for the non-stop thrills of alligator-wrestling ("the gators display the same fighting spirit as a Barcalounger"), the hair-raising spectacle of a clothing-optional bar in Key West, and the manly manliness of the Machine Gun Experience in Miami. It's the most hilarious book yet from “the funniest damn writer in the whole country” (Carl Hiaasen, and he should know). By the end, you'll have to admit that whatever else you might think about Florida—you can never say it's boring.

Women in White

Women in White
Author: Elizabeth Randall
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780764348822

Tales from four northeastern Florida counties that are dominated by the wispy trails of strange female spirits known as ghostly "Women in White." They stand and stare, float, appear in mirrors, and can be seen in many varied locations. These apparitions guard the many secrets in northeast Florida...secrets told in the coded language of ghost lore. Who is the wet spirit woman at Princess Place Preserve? Is a Woman in White still looking for someone to haunt at the Old Clay County Jail? Who is the woman wringing her hands at Old St. Luke's Hospital? What apparition haunts the Casa Marina Hotel by running the halls at night? Who is the ghostly woman walking back and forth on the second floor of the Homestead Restaurant? To see such a spirit, one only need look beneath the surface of northeast Florida's beauty...or turn the pages of this tome. -- back cover.

Women of the Ring

Women of the Ring
Author: Sally J. Ling
Publisher: Flamingo Press LLC
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2018-09-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9780996433372

Can a ring be cursed with bad luck? Or are the owner's calamities simply the byproduct of bad choices, coincidence, or merely life itself? When Brooklyn jeweler Abel Moody is asked by his friend, Julia Townsend, to clean and appraise her heirloom sapphire engagement ring, he remembers an old sketch his deceased father left him - it matches the ring. This remarkable coincidence sends him on a clandestine journey to Paris where at an ancient church a priest gives him a book - Women of the Ring - that reveals centuries of the ring's ownership. In it, he discovers the long hidden story of the world's first engagement ring and the tragic death of its owner. He also learns of those who subsequently owned the ring and the heart wrenching misfortunes that followed them from a reigning Queen of France to the world's most beloved actress. This prompts Abel to ponder the crucial question: If Julia wears the ring, will she endure some heartbreak or catastrophe like they did? Woven throughout the mystery are poignant scenes from the jeweler's and young Julia's earlier mentor/mentee relationship. Abel's unconditional love for her proves the catalyst in wanting to protect her from the ring's apparent past, no matter what the cost. A riveting contemporary mystery bound to a remarkable past.

Marjorie Harris Carr

Marjorie Harris Carr
Author: Peggy Macdonald
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2014-03-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0813047552

Marjorie Harris Carr (1915-1997) is best known for leading the fight against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cross Florida Barge Canal. In this first full-length biography, Peggy Macdonald corrects many long-held misapprehensions about the self-described “housewife from Micanopy,” who struggled to balance career and family with her husband, Archie Carr, a pioneering conservation biologist. Born in Boston, Carr grew up in southwest Florida, exploring marshes and waterways and observing firsthand the impact of unchecked development on the state’s flora and fauna. Macdonald’s work depicts a determined woman and Phi Beta Kappa scholar who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in zoology only to see her career thwarted by institutionalized gender discrimination. Carr launched her conservation career in the 1950s while raising five children and eventually became one of the century’s leading environmental activists. A series of ecological catastrophes in the 1960s placed Florida in the vanguard of the burgeoning environmental revolution as the nation’s developing eco-consciousness ushered in a wave of revolutionary legislation. With Carr serving as one of the most effective leaders of a powerful contingent of citizen activists who opposed dredging a canal across the state, “Free the Ocklawaha” became a rallying cry for environmentalists throughout the country. Marjorie Harris Carr is an intimate look at this remarkable woman who dedicated her life to conserving Florida’s wildlife and wild places. It is also a revelation of how the grassroots battle to save a small but vitally important river in central Florida transformed the modern environmental movement.