Oola Oyster eats some sand, becomes sick, and makes a pearl.

Oola Oyster eats some sand, becomes sick, and makes a pearl.

A provocative and impressive debut delivered with a uniquely sinister lyricism by a brilliant 21-year-old; a story about sex, privilege, desire, and creativity in the post-college years The first thing Leif notices about Oola is the sharp curve of her delicate shoulders, tensed as if for flight. Even from that first encounter at a party in a flat outside of London, there’s something electric about the way Oola, a music school dropout, connects with the cossetted, listless narrator we find in twenty-five-year-old Leif. Infatuated, the two hit the road across Europe, housesitting for Leif’s parents’ wealthy friends, and finally settling for the summer in Big Sur. Leif makes Oola his subject: he will attempt an infinitesimal cartography of her every thought and gesture, her every dimple, every snag, every swell of memory and hollow. And yet in this atmosphere of stifling and paranoid isolation, the world around Leif and Oola begins to warp--the tap water turns salty, plants die, and Oola falls dangerously ill. Finally, it becomes clear that the currents surging just below the surface of Leif’s story are infinitely stranger than they first appear. Oola is a mind-bendingly original novel about the way that--particularly in the changeable, unsteady just-post-college years--sex, privilege, desire, and creativity can bend, blur, and break. Brittany Newell bursts into the literary world with a narrative as twisted and fresh as it is addicting.

Oola is a "state of awesomeness.' When your life is balanced and growing, you are living the OolaLife. You were created to live that life—you were designed by God for greatness! Before you were even born, God placed within you a special gift that no one else has and a purpose that no one else can fulfill. It's not easy trying to live up to your true potential when life gets in the way. It's difficult to see the greatness within you when it becomes weighted down by the stress of a life out of balance. Even as a culture we are losing our way: we're forfeiting our health and self-esteem—37 percent of us are clinically obese; we're overcommitting and overspending—personal debt is at record high; we're not feeling the love and failing our relationships—46 percent of our marriages are ending in divorce; we're overworked and underappreciated—50 percent of us wake up each morning to face down a job we hate. On top of all that, we've forgotten how to have fun, our faith is weak, our hope is shaky and our Christian principles are constantly tested. Thankfully, the Bible has a lot to say about these things. The Oola principles incorporate biblical teachings into practical, effective platforms to help you overcome the world and create the awesome life you were meant to have. You'll learn how to avoid the 7 OolaBlockers that prevent you from accomplishing your goals and you'll learn how to apply the 7 OolaAccelerators that propel you forward toward your greatest potential. Plus, you'll learn how to create balance and fulfillment in your life by optimizing the 7 F's of Oola: Fitness, Finance, Family, Field (career), Faith, Friends, and Fun. Be a part of the 'Oola phenomenon' and experience that awesome feeling of living the OolaLife. God has built you for greatness. Why then settle for ordinary when extraordinary is within you? Start living the OolaLife today! "But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." –Luke 12:31 (NIV)

Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Author Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of the oyster, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled. For centuries New York was famous for its oysters, Gotham's most celebrated export, a staple food for the wealthy, the poor, and tourists alike, and the primary natural defense against pollution for the city's congested waterways.

Seductive but standoffish, oysters ask that you get to know them a little before you can really enjoy them. How do you choose from among the dozens of varieties? How do you handle, shuck, and store them? Are they better cooked or raw? And are they really an aphrodisiac? Full of alluring recipes from topflight chefs, plus tasting notes and wine- and beer-pairing tips, the authoritative and accessible HOG ISLAND OYSTER LOVER'S COOKBOOK demystifies these enigmatic bivalves and provides the insider's scoop on serving them at home as well as ordering them in an oyster bar. • The essential full-color companion to buying, shucking, cooking, and eating oysters, from the premier oyster company in North America. • With more than 40 recipes for raw oyster toppings and cooked oyster dishes from chefs such as Bobby Flay, Alice Waters, Hiro Sone, and Cindy Pawlcyn. • Includes 40 full-color sunlit photos from the Hog Island Oyster Farm (in Tomales Bay) and Bar (in San Francisco's Ferry Building), as well as styled food shots. • The three million oysters that Hog Island raises annually are served at top restaurants around the country, including French Laundry, Charlie Trotter's, Grand Central Oyster Bar, and the Four Seasons. Reviews One of the Best Cookbooks of the Year —7 x 7 Magazine "A roadie's guide to oysters and their history . . . Pomo's recipes are brimming with exciting and thoughtful ideas." —New York Times Summer Cookbook Review "An opus for oyster lovers." —San Francisco Chronicle "If your family vacation this summer takes you to oyster country, either "Back East'" or "Out West," carry this convenient volume with you." —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "This book could be what legions of oyster fans who can't get enough in restaurants but hestitate to do the bivalve thing at home have been waiting for." —Baltimore Sun

From America’s go-to expert, the author of the trailblazing A Geography of Oysters, the ultimate oyster guide--a gorgeous, full-color, must-have book.

A surprise–filled shellfish survey dishes up “ample oyster facts, figures and literary lore” (Publishers Weekly). When award–winning Texas food writer Robb Walsh discovers that the local Galveston Bay oysters are being passed off as Blue Points and Chincoteagues in other parts of the country, he decides to look into the matter. Thus begins a five–year journey into the culture of one of the world’s oldest delicacies. Walsh’s through–the–looking–glass adventure takes him from oyster reefs to oyster bars and from corporate boardrooms to hotel bedrooms in a quest for the truth about the world’s most profitable aphrodisiac. On the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf coasts of the US, as well as the Canadian Maritimes, Ireland, England, and France, the author ingests thousands of oysters—raw, roasted, barbecued, and baked—all for the sake of making a fair comparison. He also considers the merits of a wide variety of accompanying libations, including tart white wines in Paris, Guinness in Galway, martinis in London, microbrews in the Pacific Northwest, and tequila in Texas. Sex, Death and Oysters is a record of a gastronomic adventure with illustrations and recipes—a fascinating collection of the most exciting, instructive, poignant, and just plain weird experiences on a trip into the world of the most beloved and feared of all seafoods.