"In 1903, a fifteen-year-old girl named Ichi Aoi is sold to the most exclusive brothel in Kumamoto, Japan. Despite her modest beginnings in a southern fishing village, she becomes the protégée of an oiran, the highest-ranking courtesan at the brothel. Through the teachings of her oiran, Shinonome, Ichi begins to understand the intertwined power of sex and money. And in her mandatory school lessons, her writing instructor, Tetsuko, encourages Ichi...

This book is all about baking for the pure joy of it--classic comfort bakes made with love for friends and family. Join Ravneet Gill as she reconnects with the simple pleasures that made her fall in love with baking in the first place. Packed with more than 80 tried and tested recipes for brownies, tray bakes, cookies, tarts, puddings and cakes. From chocolate malt baked custard to the ultimate apple pie, Ravneet brings us back to basics, sharing...

Twain describes his experiences traveling in Europe and the Middle East, and pokes fun at tourists and tour guides.

"Where do human societies come from? The drive to answer this question took on a new urgency in the nineteenth century, when a generation of archaeologists began to look beyond the bible for the origins of different cultures and civilizations. A child of the San Francisco Gold Rush whose mother was born in Mexico City, Zelia Nuttall threw herself into the study of Aztec customs and cosmology, eager to use the tools of the emerging science of anthropology...

Collected for the first time, the New York stories of John O'Hara, "among the greatest short story writers in English, or in any other language" (Brendan Gill, Here at The New Yorker) Collected for the first time, here are the New York stories of one of the twentieth century's definitive chroniclers of the city'the speakeasies and highballs, social climbers and cinema stars, mistresses and powerbrokers, unsparingly observed by a popular American master...

Let's go outside Let's find a big, sploshy puddle Let's run as fast as our legs can carry us. The great outdoors is waiting, ready to be filled with excitement and imagination. Join a group of friends as they play together throughout the year in this joyful exploration of spending time outside every day. Explore the fun that can be had outdoors in all weather and count how many children have gone outside to play in this celebration imaginative play...

Greene's capacity for true storytelling is at its finest, and it's a great gift to us all. "Covid-19 stole so much. But one of the things it couldn't steal was the power of stories." From the author of the international bestseller The Headmaster's Wife and other novels comes a collection of essays written during the Covid-19 pandemic while the author sheltered in place in his tiny Vermont town. While in isolation, he observed a small town at its...

"A phenomenology of the mall: If the mall makes us feel bad, why do we keep going back? In a world poisoned by capitalism, is shopping what makes life worth living? Kate Black grew up in West Edmonton Mall – a mall on steroids, notorious for its indoor waterpark, deadly roller coaster, and controversial dolphin shows. But everyone has a favorite mall, or a mall that is their own personal memory palace. It's a place people love to hate and hate to...

"When Valerie Bertinelli turned 60, she said "Enough already!" and ended her battle with the scale for good. She stopped counting calories. She stopped thinking of certain foods as good or bad. She quit saying no and began saying yes, finally learning how to enjoy the pure pleasure of being alive - starting in the kitchen. In short, she learned how to indulge. With this gorgeous cookbook, Valerie shares her secrets for indulging so you can start living...

Hundreds of years ago, she was known as La Malinche: a Nahua woman who translated for the conquistador Cortés. In the centuries since, her name has gone down in infamy as a traitor. But no one ever found out what happened to La Malinche after Cortés destroyed her people. In the ashes of the empire, she was reborn as Malinalli, an immortal vampire. And she has become an avenger of conquered peoples, traveling the world to reclaim their stolen artifacts...