Nobody Is Supposed to Know

Nobody Is Supposed to Know
Author: C. Riley Snorton
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2014-03-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1452940916

Since the early 2000s, the phenomenon of the “down low”—black men who have sex with men as well as women and do not identify as gay, queer, or bisexual—has exploded in news media and popular culture, from the Oprah Winfrey Show to R & B singer R. Kelly’s hip hopera Trapped in the Closet. Most down-low stories are morality tales in which black men are either predators who risk infecting their unsuspecting female partners with HIV or victims of a pathological black culture that repudiates openly gay identities. In both cases, down-low narratives depict black men as sexually dangerous, duplicitous, promiscuous, and contaminated. In Nobody Is Supposed to Know, C. Riley Snorton traces the emergence and circulation of the down low in contemporary media and popular culture to show how these portrayals reinforce troubling perceptions of black sexuality. Reworking Eve Sedgwick’s notion of the “glass closet,” Snorton advances a new theory of such representations in which black sexuality is marked by hypervisibility and confinement, spectacle and speculation. Through close readings of news, music, movies, television, and gossip blogs, Nobody Is Supposed to Know explores the contemporary genealogy, meaning, and functions of the down low. Snorton examines how the down low links blackness and queerness in the popular imagination and how the down low is just one example of how media and popular culture surveil and police black sexuality. Looking at figures such as Ma Rainey, Bishop Eddie L. Long, J. L. King, and Will Smith, he ultimately contends that down-low narratives reveal the limits of current understandings of black sexuality.

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me
Author: Bess Kalb
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2020-03-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0525654720

NATIONAL BESTSELLER ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: VOGUE • FORBES • BOOKPAGE • NEW YORK POST • WIRED “I have not been as profoundly moved by a book in years.” —Jodi Picoult Even after she left home for Hollywood, Emmy-nominated TV writer Bess Kalb saved every voicemail her grandmother Bobby Bell ever left her. Bobby was a force—irrepressible, glamorous, unapologetically opinionated. Bobby doted on Bess; Bess adored Bobby. Then, at ninety, Bobby died. But in this debut memoir, Bobby is speaking to Bess once more, in a voice as passionate as it ever was in life. Recounting both family lore and family secrets, Bobby brings us four generations of indomitable women and the men who loved them. There’s Bobby’s mother, who traveled solo from Belarus to America in the 1880s to escape the pogroms, and Bess’s mother, a 1970s rebel who always fought against convention. But it was Bobby and Bess who always had the most powerful bond: Bobby her granddaughter’s fiercest supporter, giving Bess unequivocal love, even if sometimes of the toughest kind. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me marks the creation of a totally new, virtuosic form of memoir: a reconstruction of a beloved grandmother’s words and wisdom to tell her family’s story with equal parts poignancy and hilarity.

All the Things I Meant to Tell You

All the Things I Meant to Tell You
Author: Tiffany L. Warren
Publisher: Dafina
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2021-04-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496723724

“When I read a Tiffany L. Warren novel I know I’m going to get two things—a riveting story and a faith boost!” —ReShonda Tate Billingsley Kimberly. Hahna. Twila. Three successful forty-somethings who broke all their dating rules. They found more straight-up satisfaction—and commitment—than they ever believed possible. But with their bold choices have come unexpected challenges . . . At last, shy Kimberly has the love she’s longed for—complete with a lavish destination wedding. But her fiancé’s past relationships, and her own personal baggage, are about to turn their special dream day into a perfect nightmare. . . . Meanwhile, a shattering business reversal has all-about-the-money Hahna at odds with the young boho writer she loves—and tempted big-time by the man who got away. . . . And Twila is still reeling from a sexual assault—and out for revenge, no matter what the personal cost. Now the trio must push their sisterhood bonds to the breaking point to hold on to their sanity—and their hard-won happiness. Praise for Tiffany L. Warren’s novels “The twists and turns will keep readers engaged. . . . Fans of ReShonda Tate Billingsley and Victoria Christopher Murray will find familiar characters and themes, but Warren’s novel will appeal to any reader who enjoys stories about couples in crisis.” —Booklist on The Outside Child “In a fine blend of suspense and inspirational fiction, Warren spins an entertaining tale about folks misbehaving behind the pulpit in a modern African American church.” —Library Journal on The Pastor’s Husband

On the Down Low

On the Down Low
Author: J.L. King
Publisher: Harmony
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2005-04-05
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 076791399X

A bold exposé of the controversial secret that has potentially dire consequences in many African American communities. Delivering the first frank and thorough investigation of life “on the down low” (the DL), J. L. King exposes a closeted culture of sex between black men who lead “straight” lives. King explores his own past as a DL man, and the path that led him to let go of the lies and bring forth a message that can promote emotional healing and open discussions about relationships, sex, sexuality, and health in the black community. Providing a long-overdue wake-up call, J. L. King bravely puts the spotlight on a topic that has until now remained dangerously taboo. Drawn from hundreds of interviews, statistics, and the author’s firsthand knowledge of DL behavior, On the Down Low reveals the warning signs African American women need to know. King also discusses the potential health consequences of having unprotected sex, as African American women represent an alarming 64 percent of new HIV infections. Volatile yet vital, On the Down Low is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year. “A survey by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found that nearly a quarter of black HIV-positive men who had sex with men consider themselves heterosexual.” —Essence

Afraid

Afraid
Author: Jo Gibson
Publisher: Kensington Books
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2014-07-29
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1617732427

Two chilling novels of irrational fear -- two living nightmares with no hope, no mercy, and no end in sight ...

Wanting It All

Wanting It All
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2015-02-03
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1497682851

Alison, Molly, TJ, Miranda, Rafe, and Bill have been on Hard Time High for five months—but real life is a lot more complicated than any TV script could make it seem Things are changing on the set of prime time’s new hit series. For starters, the producer’s daughter, bratty twelve-year-old Susie Goldstein, now has a role on the show. Sixteen-year-old Alison Blake, a former Miss Young America, has been wowing audiences since she was three . . . and supporting her family on her looks. Now she wants to be judged on her own merits. She gets a welcome reality check when her high school boyfriend, Seth Lewin, shows up on the set and announces he’s moving to Los Angeles to be near her. Alison has to fight for the right to date Seth while keeping a secret that could get Molly fired from the show. Seasoned TV veteran Bill Douglas is vice president of his junior class. He wants to have it all—success, celebrity, and love. But his longtime girlfriend, Calista Hasbrouck, doesn’t seem to see things his way. They’re all on their way to stardom. But will the limelight translate into lasting fame—or leave them with broken dreams?

My Body Lies Over the Ocean

My Body Lies Over the Ocean
Author: J. S. Borthwick
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2000-01-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780312970406

Septuagenarian sleuth Julia Clancy investigates murder aboard the luxury ocean liner, Queen Victoria, which is making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. The victim is a member of a British trade commission. By the author of The Garden Plot.

In Dublin's Fair City

In Dublin's Fair City
Author: Rhys Bowen
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2008-03-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780312997021

Molly Murphy sets sail for her native Ireland on a missing persons case. However, someone else seems to be on the trail of the missing woman--someone who wants to make sure Molly never finds her. Martin's Press.

Thinking about the Future

Thinking about the Future
Author: George P. Shultz
Publisher: Hoover Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2019-05-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0817922563

In a rich and varied career, George P. Shultz has aided presidents, confronted national and international crises, and argued passionately that the United States has a vital stake in promoting democratic values and institutions. In speeches, articles, congressional testimony, and conversations with world leaders, he has helped shape policy and public opinion on topics ranging from technology and terrorism to drugs and climate change. The result is a body of work that has influenced the decisions of nations and leaders, as well as the lives of ordinary people. In Thinking About the Future, Shultz has collected and revisited key writings, applying his past thinking to America's most pressing contemporary problems. Each chapter includes new commentary from the author, providing context, color, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of how decisions are made in the halls of power. In the more than half a century since Shultz entered public life, the world has changed dramatically. But he remains guided by the belief that "you can learn about the future—or at least relate to it—by studying the past and identifying principles that have continuing application to our lives and our world."

The Great American Novel

The Great American Novel
Author: Philip Roth
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2022-09-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593685008

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Pastoral—a richly imagined novel featuring America’s only homeless big-league baseball team in history delivers “shameless comic extravagance…. Roth gleefully exploits our readiness to let baseball stand for America itself" (The New York Times). Gil Gamesh, the only pitcher who ever literally tried to kill the umpire. The ex-con first baseman, John Baal, "The Babe Ruth of the Big House," who never hit a home run sober. If you've never heard of them—or of the homeless baseball team the Ruppert Mundys—it's because of the Communist plot, and the capitalist scandal, that expunged the entire Patriot League from baseball memory. In this ribald, wickedly satiric novel, Roth turns baseball's status as national pastime and myth into an occasion for unfettered picaresque farce, replete with heroism and perfidy, ebullient wordplay and a cast of characters that includes the House Un-American Activities Committee.