In the context of Black cultural life, writes English professor Freeburg, “soul is the one-word answer to this question: How did enslaved Africans turn America’s infamous failure into the greatest moral occasion of modern Western life?” Soul involves the formation of community, self-care, and self-help; delivering aid to others; and finding meaning in life—all enabling …
“Mags MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. / And on that farm she had a…WHOLE LOTTA WORK TO DO!” With Old MacDonald taking a much-needed vacation, Mags decides to bring the farm into the 21st century. She begins ordering contraptions: a turbo jetpack with hose attachment to help water the crops (“with a SPRINKLE-SPRINKLE here, / …
“Every movie romance needs an Obstacle, a reason the characters don’t naturally fall into each other.” In the off-screen romance between actors Juniper Castillo and Kai Laramie, the obstacle is a moving target. Juniper notices early on that as flirty and forward as Kai is, he seems “closed off to a romantic connection”; that turns …
Fourteen-year-old Marceau Leggett is a gifted but accident-prone apprentice artist living in the medieval seaside kingdom of Valemont. Unfortunately, his budding ambitions are often sabotaged by his clumsiness, leaving him in trouble more often than not (“Is that how you ended up with your hands covered in blue pigment? Watching girls instead of what you …
Drawing from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sufism, each of the 66 chapters includes a dharma (teaching) and sadhana (practice) to help people shift from suffering to peace. The aim is to move from an agitated “monkey mind” and to instead “perceive what is truly happening in the freshness, juiciness, and awe of the present moment.” The …
As with other young women in his past, Hitler essentially kept Raubal captive and forced her to participate in perverse sexual rituals with him. The murder occurs after she tells him she’s leaving Munich for Vienna to be with a man she intends to marry. (Fictional) police detective Thomas Bauer, a war hero whose wife …
For many people like the author, the world feels “like a bag of puzzle pieces with no picture on the box.” In this intimate memoir, Manning details his struggles to understand why. The short answer, as he eventually came to realize, boiled down to one word: autism. Getting a grip on the bigger picture that …
In 2036, Abigail Thompson, a doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is working as an intern for the summer at Intelligenics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a traumatic childhood in Baltimore, she’s now focused on her future. She’s eager to rise through Intelligenics’ ranks, so she arranges to show off her “intelligent network administration …
Senya, with her angelic healing powers, barely escapes a religious cult; Nell, the Crown Princess of Aesterland, flees an arranged marriage and the destruction of her country; and Siegfried the assassin travels with them, intent on avenging his family. The trio join forces against the Jenseiters, a growing political force spreading across their nations thanks …
Scott and her family lived in various places in Canada and England. She and her younger sister spent much of their time with nannies and babysitters, since their parents were often traveling. As a girl, the author was known in her household for her “hysterical meltdowns,” generally stemming from an intense fear of being alone. …
