The 52 Weeks

The 52 Weeks
Author: Karen Amster-Young
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1626365024

Edging into forty-something, Karen and Pam found themselves in a state of stuck. They had checked off many of their major life goals—career, husband, children, friends—but they’d lost momentum. After griping over drinks one night, they came up with a plan to face their fears, rediscover their interests, try new things, and renew their relationships. They challenged themselves to try one new thing every week for a year—from test-driving a Maserati to target practice at a shooting range to ballroom dance lessons—and to blog about their journeys. They quickly realized it was harder than they ever imagined but came through it with a sense of clarity and purpose that has them itching to share the possibilities with the millions of middle-aged women out there who feel the same way about one or many areas of their lives. Getting "unstuck" doesn’t have to mean running a marathon, traveling the world, or ending a relationship with your partner. Through their experiences and a good dose of no-nonsense advice, Karen and Pam show readers how achieving small goals can give you a renewed sense of accomplishment and how you can keep growing, learning, and moving forward at any age. Interspersed with personal stories is expert advice from doctors, psychiatrists, artists, and even a poker diva (who also happens to be a Fortune 500 executive).

52 Award-Winning Titles Every Book Lover Should Read

52 Award-Winning Titles Every Book Lover Should Read
Author: American Library Association (ALA)
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 67
Release: 2021-12-07
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1728244897

The American Library Association presents an award-winning must-read book for every week of the year in this beautiful reading log. Calling all book lovers! Expand your reading list with a one-year reading challenge from the American Library Association (ALA). Including the ALA's insights into each title, notes on the awards they've won, and prompts for further reflection, these recommendations are a must-have for all bibliophiles and library regulars. Includes: 52 Award-Winning book recommendations to keep you reading all year Prompts to reflect on each book as you complete the challenge Inspiration for your personal reading log, perfect for sharing on social media

The Midnight Ride

The Midnight Ride
Author: Ben Mezrich
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2022-02-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1538754657

From the celebrated, New York Times bestselling author comes the twisted thriller of an MIT grad student who unwittingly uncovers the hidden connection between the Gardner Museum heist and the most fascinating secret in American history. THE CARD SHARK: Hailey Gordon is looking to make some fast cash to help pay her tuition when she’s caught counting cards at the Encore casino in Boston. She grabs her winnings and makes her escape. With guards closing in, she dives into an unlocked room to hide . . . only to find a dead body. THE EX-CON: Recently released from prison, Nick Patterson hasn’t felt hope in a long time, but the job he “inherited” in prison promises to change that. He enters hotel room 633 to find that the person he was supposed to meet has been murdered. Next to the corpse stands a terrified young woman—Hailey Gordon. THE PROFESSOR: American history professor Adrian Jensen learns of the death of his professional nemesis, Charles Walker, the night after he received Walker’s latest research. Skeptical at first, Adrian nearly deletes the file. But when one small, new detail catches his eye, he makes it his mission to uncover what could be one of the biggest secrets of the Revolutionary War. All three strangers find themselves on the cusp of an incredible discovery—one that someone is willing to kill to keep buried.

The Arctic Fury

The Arctic Fury
Author: Greer Macallister
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 505
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1728215706

A dozen women join a secret 1850s Arctic expedition—and a sensational murder trial unfolds when some of them don't come back. Eccentric Lady Jane Franklin makes an outlandish offer to adventurer Virginia Reeve: take a dozen women, trek into the Arctic, and find her husband's lost expedition. Four parties have failed to find him, and Lady Franklin wants a radical new approach: put the women in charge. A year later, Virginia stands trial for murder. Survivors of the expedition willing to publicly support her sit in the front row. There are only five. What happened out there on the ice? Set against the unforgiving backdrop of one of the world's most inhospitable locations, USA Today bestselling author Greer Macallister uses the true story of Lady Jane Franklin's tireless attempts to find her husband's lost expedition as a jumping-off point to spin a tale of bravery, intrigue, perseverance and hope.

Lady Sunshine

Lady Sunshine
Author: Amy Mason Doan
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2021-06-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1488062447

“A delicious daydream of a book.” —Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of 28 Summers “With lyrical writing and a page-turning plot, this sun-dappled book has it all: heart, smarts, and an irresistible musical beat.” —Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party ONE ICONIC FAMILY. ONE SUMMER OF SECRETS. THE DAZZLING SPIRIT OF 1970S CALIFORNIA. For Jackie Pierce, everything changed the summer of 1979, when she spent three months of infinite freedom at her bohemian uncle’s sprawling estate on the California coast. As musicians, artists, and free spirits gathered at The Sandcastle for the season in pursuit of inspiration and communal living, Jackie and her cousin Willa fell into a fast friendship, testing their limits along the rocky beach and in the wild woods... until the summer abruptly ended in tragedy, and Willa silently slipped away into the night. Twenty years later, Jackie unexpectedly inherits The Sandcastle and returns to the iconic estate for a short visit to ready it for sale. But she reluctantly extends her stay when she learns that, before her death, her estranged aunt had promised an up-and-coming producer he could record a tribute album to her late uncle at the property’s studio. As her musical guests bring the place to life again with their sun-drenched beach days and late-night bonfires, Jackie begins to notice startling parallels to that summer long ago. And when a piece of the past resurfaces and sparks new questions about Willa’s disappearance, Jackie must discover if the dark secret she’s kept ever since is even the truth at all. “An engrossing tale of secrets, memory, music, and the people and places you can never outrun. A fantastic summer read.” —Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me “This book is gorgeous. A gold-drenched, nostalgic dream with a fierce female friendship at its heart.” —Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of I'll Be Your Blue Sky

The Woman at the Front

The Woman at the Front
Author: Lecia Cornwall
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2021-09-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593197925

A daring young woman risks everything to pursue a career as a doctor on the front lines in France during World War I, and learns the true meaning of hope, love, and resilience in the darkest of times. When Eleanor Atherton graduates from medical school near the top of her class in 1917, she dreams of going overseas to help the wounded, but her ambition is thwarted at every turn. Eleanor's parents insist she must give up medicine, marry a respectable man, and assume her proper place. While women might serve as ambulance drivers or nurses at the front, they cannot be physicians—that work is too dangerous and frightening. Nevertheless, Eleanor is determined to make more of a contribution than sitting at home knitting for the troops. When an unexpected twist of fate sends Eleanor to the battlefields of France as the private doctor of a British peer, she seizes the opportunity for what it is—the chance to finally prove herself. But there's a war on, and a casualty clearing station close to the front lines is an unforgiving place. Facing skeptical commanders who question her skills, scores of wounded men needing care, underhanded efforts by her family to bring her back home, and a blossoming romance, Eleanor must decide if she's brave enough to break the rules, face her darkest fears, and take the chance to win the career—and the love—she's always wanted.

The Roaches Have No King

The Roaches Have No King
Author: Daniel Evan Weiss
Publisher:
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2001
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781852427467

When Ira Fishblatt's girlfriend, Ruth Grubstein, moves into his appartment, he cleans up his act and his kitchen much to the repulsion of the hoards of cockroaches who also inhabit his flat. This grubby army who, up until now, had happily existed on the food debris littering his flat, now face a harsh future: eviction or death from starvation. Driven into a frenzy by their dark fate, a leader cockroach, Numbers, devises a diabolical plan which will forever rid them of Ruth and her damnable tidiness. Enlisting the unwitting help of Rufus, the local cocaine dealer, Elizabeth and his hot-blooded ex-girlfriend, the Gypsy, they act out a masterplan to save their home? and their lives.

After the Romanovs

After the Romanovs
Author: Helen Rappaport
Publisher: Scribe Publications
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2022-03-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1922586269

A TLS and Prospect Book of the Year From the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes the story of the Russian aristocrats, artists, and intellectuals who sought freedom and refuge in the City of Light. Paris has always been a city of cultural excellence, fine wine and food, and the latest fashions. But it has also been a place of refuge for those fleeing persecution — never more so than before and after the Russian Revolution and the fall of the Romanov dynasty. For years, Russian aristocrats had enjoyed all that Belle Epoque Paris had to offer, spending lavishly when they visited. It was a place of artistic experimentation, such as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. But the brutality of the Bolshevik takeover forced Russians of all types to flee their homeland, sometimes leaving with only the clothes on their backs. Arriving in Paris, former princes could be seen driving taxicabs, while their wives who could sew worked for the fashion houses, their unique Russian style serving as inspiration for designers such as Coco Chanel. Talented intellectuals, artists, poets, philosophers, and writers struggled in exile, eking out a living at menial jobs. Some, like Bunin, Chagall, and Stravinsky, encountered great success in the same Paris that welcomed Americans such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Political activists sought to overthrow the Bolshevik regime from afar, while double agents plotted espionage and assassination from both sides. Others became trapped in a cycle of poverty and their all-consuming homesickness for Russia, the homeland they had been forced to abandon.

52 Men

52 Men
Author: Louise Wareham Leonard
Publisher: Red Hen Press
Total Pages: 121
Release: 2015-08-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1597095303

52 fictionalized episodes with men. “Simple and ingenious . . . gets at the truth of how we experience, perceive, and remember romantic encounters.” —Los Angeles Review of Books From a writer who master poet Seamus Heaney described as one “who risks much both stylistically and emotionally” comes 52 Men. Taut, spare and highly compressed autobiographical fiction for the mobile age, it is immensely funny and sexually charged. In contemporary literary miniatures from a few lines to a few pages, Manhattan-raised Elise McKnight describes the men in her life who gradually reveal her: high-profile cultural leaders, writers and celebrities, as well as the down-to-earth waiter, student and police officer. Fifty-two strange, romantic and sexual interludes and relationships spark to life and disappear in the wind, leaving the reader always asking: What is Elise’s power? What does she want and will she ever get it? Does she have a secret and if so, what is it? With surprising, sometimes shocking and moving cameos by figures from tabloids and the news: Jay Carney, Jonathan Franzen, Lou Reed, Michael Stipe; and encounters with artists, financiers, and a boxer who reads Neruda at the Turkish baths. “I’m not sure I’ve ever read a story of a life that’s both so moving and told with such breathtaking economy and precision. 52 Men gave me goose bumps again and again.” —Kurt Andersen, New York Times–bestselling author of Evil Geniuses “A haunting and haunted book . . . harsh and sweet and very funny, in spots as hard to read as it is hard to put down.” —Will Eno, playwright and author of Thom Pain (based on nothing)

52 Churches in 52 Weeks

52 Churches in 52 Weeks
Author: Dave Boice
Publisher:
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2018-10-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780692180426

If you could visit a different church each Sunday for one full year... Where would you go? Who would you see? What would happen to your faith? After a string of bad first dates and no church to call home, Dave Boice chronicles his yearlong spiritual journey in search for something more. What started as a simple endeavor to find a hometown church turned into a thrilling spiritual adventure that is sidesplittingly witty and deeply emotional. From the streets of Manhattan to the beaches of Orange County, Boice explores numerous denominations including Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Quaker, Greek Orthodox, Christian Science, and other churches. From 20,000-seat megachurches to being the lone congregant at a Scientology service, no building was too big (or as a visit to "The World's Smallest Church can attest) too small. He danced with Pentecostals in Arkansas, immersed himself in prayer with monks that make beer in Massachusetts, and headbanged at a church known for heavy metal music in Ohio. You'll hear sermons from some of Christianity's most widespread preachers (Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes), most intellectual (Tim Keller and Os Guinness), most emergent (Nadia Bolz-Weber and Jay Bakker), to even the most curious (Todd Burpo from Heaven is For Real). Boice's unique undertaking and honest reflection reveals startling epiphanies and insights that will engage both believers and skeptics. 52 Churches in 52 Weeks is a must-read for anyone who wrestles with faith in the 21st century.