Steve Dupree, an aspiring folksinger, sees his high school buddy Vic Power as everything Dupree dreams of being: a self-assured songwriter who hustles gigs out of thin air, relentlessly pursuing the dream of stardom. Bound by their love for music and the urge to see the world, their paths cross again and again over ten years and two continents. Their sometimes volatile musical partnership takes them from the beaches of Southern California to the German Alps to the canal-lined streets of Amsterdam and beyond. Along the way, Dupree learns lessons about love, loyalty, courage, and, ultimately, himself. As part of the international hippie movement of the late sixties and early seventies, Dupree and Power hop borders, dodge authorities, and share casual drugs and fleeting lovewhile tensions between the two threaten to tear their traveling band apart. As in his first novel, Avalon Summer, author David Matson Hooper seeks to capture place and time in vivid language, illuminating both the sunny ideals and the sometimes stormy realities of what it means to spend seasons in the wind. Cover art work by Robert Schmid and back cover photo by Karen Atha.

It is 1939. Eva Delectorskaya is a beautiful 28-year-old Russian émigrée living in Paris. As war breaks out she is recruited for the British Secret Service by Lucas Romer, a mysterious Englishman, and under his tutelage she learns to become the perfect spy, to mask her emotions and trust no one, including those she loves most. Since the war, Eva has carefully rebuilt her life as a typically English wife and mother. But once a spy, always a spy. Now she must complete one final assignment, and this time Eva can't do it alone: she needs her daughter's help.

On the TV screen as elsewhere, there is often more than meets the eye. For decades, television has offered not just entertainment, but observations--subtle and otherwise--on society. This book examines the cultural commentary contained in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, a show that ran for seven seasons (1997-2003) and 144 episodes. On the surface, Buffy is the marriage of a high school drama to gothic horror. This somewhat unusual vehicle is used to present, via the character of Buffy, fairly typical views of late 20th century culture-teenage problems; issues regarding a broken home; and the search for meaning and validation. In addition, subtler themes, such as cultural views of knowledge, ethnicity and history, are woven into the show's critique of popular culture. Organized into two sections, this volume offers an in-depth examination of the show: first, through the lens of Buffy's confrontation with culture, and second, from the complex perspectives of the individual characters. Issues such as values, ethical choices and the implications of one's actions are discussed--without ever losing sight of the limitations of a medium that will always be dominated by financial concerns. The final chapter summarizes what Buffy has to say about today's society. An appendix lists Buffy episodes in chronological order.

Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Overscheduled. Sound familiar? Today’s velocity of life can consume and control us . . . until our breakneck pace begins to feel normal and expected. That’s where the danger lies: When we spend our lives doing things that keep us busy but don’t really matter, we sacrifice the things that do. What if your life could be different? What if you could be certain you were living the life God called you to live—and building a legacy for those you love? If you crave a simpler life anchored by the priorities that matter most, roll up your sleeves: Simplified living requires more than just cleaning out your closets or reorganizing your desk drawer. It requires uncluttering your soul. By eradicating the stuff that leaves your spirit drained, you can stop doing what doesn’t matter—and start doing what does. In Simplify, bestselling author Bill Hybels identifies the core issues that lure us into frenetic living—and offers practical steps for sweeping the clutter from our souls.

Within this quartet of books that I have titled The Four Seasons of The Heart, I will share the deepest pivotal parts of my journey as a recovering alcoholic/addict and survivor of childhood abuse with you. One day at a time, I have lived clean and sober consistently since 1995. However, allowing myself to emotionally grow by not just giving but also receiving love and to genuinely feel deserving of my life’s hard-earned rewards, has presented many challenges. Please allow me as we journey through these pages together to suggest ways that we can heal our heart, dust off our doubt, intercept self-sabotage and invest in self-respect.

2019 Best Book Awards, Finalist: Religion—Christian Inspirational If you’ve already figured out your life and feel totally complete, then this book may not be for you. But if you are like the rest of us, every day presents a mountain of to-do items, jobs to go to, errands to run, projects to complete, meals to cook, children to raise... You forge ahead and get it done, but you know that things aren’t as they should be. Even when you check every item off your daily list, you still feel as though something meaningful and essential is missing from the very center of your life. Spiritual director and writer Becky Eldredge has felt that same longing, and she knows what people are missing—a relationship with God through prayer. In Busy Lives & Restless Souls, Eldredge interprets principles of Ignatian spirituality in a fresh way to equip us with prayer tools that are accessible and practical within the relentless realities of our daily routines. Just as important, she shows us how we can bring our relationship with God to life by becoming what St. Ignatius called “contemplatives in action.” For all who sense that there is a missing peace in their lives, Busy Lives &Restless Souls will help them find it—right where they are.

“I’ve always loved the book of Genesis, where faith in the eternal, unchanging God of Abraham proves—paradoxically—to be more human than heroic. This is surely why I appreciate Ezra Byer’s exploration of the life of Jacob, whose story provides a window for examining his own seasons of doubt and depression. Mercifully, Ezra strips us of the illusion that faith will always be the swift, steady, sure climb. He reminds that we might cling to God—and still feel his absence. This is a book for the trenches—a book for building gritty, honest, ultimately resilient faith.” – Jen Pollock Michel, Author of Surprised by Paradox and Keeping Place “Walking with a Limp will point you to the sure sources of hope for the hopeless: The God of all hope and His word of hope. In it you’ll find practical help and encouragement to stay the course. You, like Jacob, can be a prince with God, an overcomer whose limp testifies to tenacious clinging to God.” – Dr. Philip Brown, Author of A Reader’s Hebrew Bible “In recent years, believers in Christ have become more transparent about the struggles we face with depression and mental illness. In this timely book, Ezra Byer contributes to this encouraging trend by inviting readers to re-read the ancient narrative of the Patriarch Jacob and encounter anew the God who heals and also sets apart his people for worship and service.” – Dr. Edward Smither, Author of Mission in the Early Church and Christian Martyrdom “When we suffer, we don’t need glib answers or easy truths. We need to hear from someone who knows what it’s like, can remind us of biblical truth, and point us to hope. That’s why I’m grateful that Ezra has written this honest, profound, and encouraging book. I can’t wait to read it again and to share it with others.” – Darryl Dash, Author of How to Grow

Author of plays, love-lyrics, essays and, among other works, The Civil War, the Davideis and the Pindarique Odes, Abraham Cowley made a deep impression on seventeenth-century letters, attested by his extravagant funeral and his burial next to Chaucer and Spenser in Westminster Abbey. Ejected from Cambridge for his politics, he found refuge in royalist Oxford before seeing long service as secretary to Queen Henrietta Maria, and as a Crown agent, on the continent. In the mid-1650s he returned to England, was imprisoned and made an accommodation with the Cromwellian regime. This volume of essays provides the modern critical attention Cowley’s life and writings merit.

With playfulness and ingenuity in the tradition of Douglas Adams, the Cuban science fiction master Yoss delivers a space opera of intergalactic proportions withSuper Extra Grande, the winner of the 20th annual UPC Science Fiction Award in 2011.

Northern Michigan is a place, like all places, in change. Over the past half century, its landscape has been bulldozed, subdivided, and built upon. Climate change warms the water of the Great Lakes at an alarming rate—Lake Superior is now the fastest-warming large body of freshwater on the planet—creating increasingly frequent and severe storm events, altering aquatic and shoreline ecosystems, and contributing to further invasions by non-native plants and animals. And yet the essence of this region, known to many as simply “Up North,” has proved remarkably perennial. Millions of acres of state and national forests and other public lands remain intact. Small towns peppered across the rural countryside have changed little over the decades, pushing back the machinery of progress with the help of dedicated land conservancies, conservation organizations, and other advocacy groups. Up North in Michigan, the new collection from celebrated nature writer Jerry Dennis, captures its author’s lifelong journey to better know this place he calls home by exploring it in every season, in every kind of weather, on foot, on bicycle, in canoes and cars. The essays in this book are more than an homage to a particular region, its people, and its natural wonders. They are a reflection on the Up North that can only be experienced through your feet and fingertips, through your ears, mouth, and nose—the Up North that makes its way into your bones as surely as sand makes its way into wood grain.