The Winds of Malibu

The Winds of Malibu
Author: Jeff Lucas
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2019-09-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1977219098

All he wanted was another 1920s Hollywood Utopia! The Winds of Malibu is the true story of a boy whose father (a computer engineer with a grudge against Hollywood) has held on to a house in the movie colony of Malibu, California, after a bitter divorce. At the age of eleven, Lucas is fiercely bitten by the Acting Bug and does anything to act. What ensues is a war between him and his controlling father as to his Hollywood aspirations, amid crippling anxiety attacks. The story of an outrageous upbringing, where friends are preferable to parents and Lucas relies on his diary to guide him. Lucas's peers at school will become Hollywood's top actors in the coming decade. The ultra-quirky, stormy, funny account of an extraordinary boy's struggle to hang onto his dream.

Mystery at Malachite Mansion

Mystery at Malachite Mansion
Author: Carolyn Keene
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2011-10-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1442422971

When Nancy and her friends help organize a star-studded fundraiser for Malachite Beach, they discover that the celebrities, as well as themselves, are the targets of deadly foul play.

Song for the Blue Ocean

Song for the Blue Ocean
Author: Carl Safina
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Total Pages: 482
Release: 2010-04-01
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1429984260

Part odyssey, part pilgrimage, this epic personal narrative follows the author's exploration of coasts, islands, reefs, and the sea's abyssal depths. Scientist and fisherman Carl Safina takes readers on a global journey of discovery, probing for truth about the world's changing seas, deftly weaving adventure, science, and political analysis.

The Four Winds

The Four Winds
Author: Kristin Hannah
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2021-02-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250178622

"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers Weekly From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them. “My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.” Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive. In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family. The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

Life Will Be the Death of Me

Life Will Be the Death of Me
Author: Chelsea Handler
Publisher: Dial Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2019-04-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0525511784

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The funny, sad, super-honest, all-true story of Chelsea Handler’s year of self-discovery—featuring a nerdily brilliant psychiatrist, a shaman, four Chow Chows, some well-placed security cameras, various family members (living and departed), friends, assistants, and a lot of edibles A SKIMM READS PICK • “This will be one of your favorite books of all time.”—Amy Schumer In a haze of vape smoke on a rare windy night in L.A. in the fall of 2016, Chelsea Handler daydreams about what life will be like with a woman in the White House. And then Donald Trump happens. In a torpor of despair, she decides that she’s had enough of the privileged bubble she’s lived in—a bubble within a bubble—and that it’s time to make some changes, both in her personal life and in the world at large. At home, she embarks on a year of self-sufficiency—learning how to work the remote, how to pick up dog shit, where to find the toaster. She meets her match in an earnest, brainy psychiatrist and enters into therapy, prepared to do the heavy lifting required to look within and make sense of a childhood marked by love and loss and to figure out why people are afraid of her. She becomes politically active—finding her voice as an advocate for change, having difficult conversations, and energizing her base. In the process, she develops a healthy fixation on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and, through unflinching self-reflection and psychological excavation, unearths some glittering truths that light up the road ahead. Thrillingly honest, insightful, and deeply, darkly funny, Chelsea Handler’s memoir keeps readers laughing, even as it inspires us to look within and ask ourselves what really matters in our own lives. Praise for Life Will Be the Death of Me “You thought you knew Chelsea Handler—and she thought she knew herself—but in her new book, she discovers that true progress lies in the direction we haven’t been.”—Gloria Steinem “I always wondered what it would be like to watch Chelsea Handler in session with her therapist. Now I know.”—Ellen DeGeneres “I love this book not just because it made me laugh or because I learned that I feel the same way about certain people in politics as Chelsea does. I love this book because I feel like I finally really got to know Chelsea Handler after all these years. Thank you for sharing, Chelsea!”—Tiffany Haddish

The Remarkable Weather of Southern California

The Remarkable Weather of Southern California
Author: Miguel Miller
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2023-02-21
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1663246378

Yes, even in Southern California, weather is something we experience every day. It is in our conscious or subconscious whenever we wake up, look out a window, venture outside, see or feel the sunshine, hear the swish of wind in the trees or the white noise of rain on the roof. We make decisions, sometimes several times a day, based on a brief thought of weather. We make plans based on the near-term forecast, or long-term climate. Occasionally, we take prompt action to stay safe from it. For something so integral to our lives, how much of it do we understand? Greater understanding of the real, practical meaning of the forecast can inform decisions and plans, affording greater confidence and less frustration. You will gain a greater awareness of how the weather you experience works. You’ll understand where forecasts come from, how they’re made, and what it means to you.

Carrie Soto Is Back

Carrie Soto Is Back
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 373
Release: 2022-08-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593158695

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “An epic adventure about a female athlete perhaps past her prime, brought back to the tennis court for one last grand slam” (Elle), from the author of Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo “A heart-filled novel about an iconic and persevering father and daughter.”—Time “Gorgeous. The kind of sharp, smart, potent book you have to set aside every few pages just to catch your breath. I’ll take a piece of Carrie Soto forward with me in life and be a little better for it.”—Emily Henry, author of Book Lovers and Beach Read ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, PopSugar, Glamour, Reader’s Digest Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two. But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan. At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked “the Battle-Axe” anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever. In spite of it all, Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells her most vulnerable, emotional story yet.

Malibu Rising

Malibu Rising
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2021-06-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0385692218

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER Malibu 1983. Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of one night, each of their lives will be changed forever in this propulsive novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six. Malibu is buzzing with anticipation for Nina Riva's annual party. Everyone wants to be in the company of the famous Rivas: Nina, the surfer and model; her brothers, Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other his renowned photographer; and Kit, the adored baby of the family. As if that picture-perfect family isn't enough, their father is Mick Riva, the legendary singer. By morning, the Riva mansion will have burned to the ground. And no one will know how the fire started. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play and the loves and secret yearnings that shaped this family across generations will all come bubbling to the surface to make for a night no one will ever forget. This is a story about family: about what you choose to keep from the people who made you, and what you must leave behind.

Malibu Off the Grid!

Malibu Off the Grid!
Author: Sam Neilson
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
Total Pages: 109
Release: 2020-05-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1645849465

Most of you know Malibu. Malibu off the Grid is the Malibu you don't know. That is why the cover depicts snow and a trailer. Did you know it snows in Malibu? Most of Malibu is steep mountains and rolling hills. The coastline is just a small part of the scenery. That is why it is some of the most sought-after real estate in the country. Malibu is Hollywood's movie set. In the early days, it was wild and untouched. They have filmed more movies, TV shows, and commercials in Malibu than anywhere in the country. Some of the movie and TV stars made the place they filmed at their home. Did you know Malibu had a nuclear missile base? In fact it had two. Malibu was also the home to Chumash Indians for ten thousand years. Living in Malibu is not for the meek. People who live in Malibu have been through hell. From the fires that blow in with the Santa Ana's to the flooding and mudslides that occur in the winter. There is never a dull moment. Although it never rains in California, when it does it comes in buckets. Malibu wouldn't have it any other way. Take a tour with me into the town of the rich and famous. Where your neighbor could be the Lone Ranger or the second man on the moon. A town where your famous neighbor might have the Beatles play at his house. You have to read the whole book. Take a chance. Find out if Linda Blair's Volvo is haunted. If Don Drysdale gave out autographed baseballs for Halloween. Is the Hotel California really in Malibu?

Into the Inferno

Into the Inferno
Author: Stuart Palley
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2022-04-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1094163686

In the tradition of Young Men and Fire and Fire on the Mountain, Stuart Palley’s memoir Into the Inferno documents eight years of devastating wildfire in California, showing how fire can transform a landscape as well as a soul ... For nearly a decade, Palley has been on the frontline of fire. He has witnessed homeowners on the worst day of their lives. He’s seen puddles of aluminum where cars were once parked. He’s watched as 150-foot walls of flame cascaded down mountainsides and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. And he’s captured, time and again, the tireless commitment of firefighters as they work to save lives and homes, in terrain where fire always seems to have the upper hand. In this memoir, Palley recalls how he went from learning to be safe on the fireline to a fire-savvy documentarian of wildfire and climate change. He covers some of California’s largest, most destructive, and deadliest fires between 2012 and 2020, lugging his gear from the Wine Country Fire Siege to the Thomas Fire and ultimately to the Woolsey Fire in Malibu. And he shows how, in a relatively short span of time, fire season in California has grown into a perpetual crisis, requiring billions of dollars and thousands of firefighters each year. Ultimately, the experiences, the voices, the science shared in the memoir form an urgent call for climate action. Into the Inferno stands alongside Palley’s photography to show just what kind of environmental tragedy we can expect if we do nothing.