One of a series of readers for African students which aims to help them to develop an awareness and a love of language, and consists of stories from all over Africa. In this story taxi driver Baba Oko hopes to make a lot of money on graduation night, and has a few drinks to help him drive faster.

Intended for use with the JAWS series or any other readers, this book provides many activities showing ways in which supplementary readers can be used, from predicting what will happen next and role-plays, to writing a book review and designing a book cover. A cross-curricular approach to teaching is encouraged, encompassing subjects such as environment/conservation, art, current events, and maths and technology. The book is aimed at both new and experienced teachers.

A Kirkus Best Book of 2020 “A wild, funny, poetic fever dream that will change the way you think about America.” —George Saunders Hailed by George Saunders as “a true original—a wise and wildly talented writer,” Lee Durkee takes readers on a high-stakes cab ride through an unforgettable shift. Meet Lou—a lapsed novelist, struggling Buddhist, and UFO fan—who drives for a ramshackle taxi company that operates on the outskirts of a north Mississippi college town. With Uber moving into town and his way of life vanishing, his girlfriend moving out, and his archenemy dispatcher suddenly returning to town on the lam, Lou must finish his bedlam shift by aiding and abetting the host of criminal misfits haunting the back seat of his disintegrating Town Car. Lou is forced to decide how much he can take as a driver, and whether keeping his job is worth madness and heartbreak. Shedding nuts and bolts, The Last Taxi Driver careens through highways and back roads, from Mississippi to Memphis, as Lou becomes increasingly somnambulant and his fares increasingly eccentric. Equal parts Bukowski and Portis, Durkee’s darkly comic novel is a feverish, hilarious, and gritty look at a forgotten America and a man at life’s crossroads.

With echoes of Toni Morrison's Beloved, Yejidé's novel explores a forgotten quadrant of Washington, DC, and the ghosts that haunt it. Longlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction “Yejidé’s writing captures both real news and spiritual truths with the deftness and capacious imagination of her writing foremothers: Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison and N.K. Jemisin . . . Creatures of Passage is that rare novel that dispenses ancestral wisdom and literary virtuosity in equal measure.” —Washington Post Nephthys Kinwell is a taxi driver of sorts in Washington, DC, ferrying passengers in a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere with a ghost in the trunk. Endless rides and alcohol help her manage her grief over the death of her twin brother, Osiris, who was murdered and dumped in the Anacostia River. Unknown to Nephthys when the novel opens in 1977, her estranged great-nephew, ten-year-old Dash, is finding himself drawn to the banks of that very same river. It is there that Dash—reeling from having witnessed an act of molestation at his school, but still questioning what and who he saw—has charmed conversations with a mysterious figure he calls the “River Man.” When Dash arrives unexpectedly at Nephthys’s door bearing a cryptic note about his unusual conversations with the River Man, Nephthys must face what frightens her most. Morowa Yejidé’s deeply captivating novel shows us an unseen Washington filled with otherworldly landscapes, flawed super-humans, and reluctant ghosts, and brings together a community intent on saving one young boy in order to reclaim itself.

Breast Ghosts is a collection of ghost stories. Malaysian and Indonesian traditions and superstitions pertaining to ghosts are skilfully revealed to the reader as the narrator author relates personal experiences and second hand accounts. A fascinating aspect is that these are contemporary stories set in real places in Singapore and Indonesia. We visit both the Singaporean metropolis and the remote jungles of Java. This collection will be enjoyed by readers who like ghost stories, but also by those who are simply interested in the culture of Indonesia, Malaysia or Singapore. What is particularly engaging and unique about this collection is the strong feeling of authenticity owing to the first-person narration and the modern setting; even though the ghosts themselves come from centuries-old Indonesian folklore.

Tom collaborated with his blind dog on Stay Put? Make a Move?, so his 6th book breaks all the rules. The dog suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (They needed to keep track with numbered paragraphs. Blame the dog.) Stay Put? covers more than just their lives and their locales; this is a narrative chock-full of cocktail party historical and pop culture facts. It’s about the lives and events of the famous and less known friends, people, places and events that touched Tom’s life. How did Tom’s High School Campaign Manager stop the Florida vote recount, resulting in chicken-hearted, pig-headed, hoodwinking, papa-rebellious, childish, unapologetic (now ‘feeling comfortable’) George Bush Jr. getting elected President? And how has it affected all of us? After graduating from Cornell University, Tom worked with Japan’s two top union movement leaders, Ohta Kaoru (who invented Shunto), and Yamagishi Akira (who founded the united RENGO labour union). There he had the lucky start of developing his vision to build world economies with better woman/manpower management. After a few serious parts, Stay Put? takes on more light-hearted topics. A drive from London to Katmandu; Marilyn Monroe’s marriage in Waccabuc; departing Waccabuc to capture Benedict Arnold; other lake and mountain facts; Robert Reich leading author’s John Jay High School; an impressive 39-year-old Donald Rumsfeld; Donald Trump; Bruce Willis; Richard Gere nearby; the Salem Witch Trials; the first half-black non-native New Yorker with Manhattan to himself for 11 years before the Dutch came; the Christmas Ghost; Bill Clinton at the Kill Bill restaurant; Tom singing ‘Otoko wa Tsurai Yo’ to Tora-san; Chiang Kai-shek and a talk with Princess Diana. Stay Put? features hundreds of other true stories – many that you will know something about. Where to live? Who to live with? What to do? What to change? What to think? What stories do you have to tell? And how many changed history for all of us?

National Book Award winner William Alexander conjures up a spooky adventure full of excitement in this entertaining sequel to A Properly Unhaunted Place, which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Rosa Diaz has her hands full of ghosts. She saved the town of Ingot by unleashing all the ghosts who were previously banished. Now, like the rest of the world, Ingot is filled with spirits and poltergeists. But unlike the rest of the world, the town’s living residents have no idea how to cope, and some of the ghosts are holding century-old grudges. When something supernatural starts stealing kids’ voices at her school, it’s up to Rosa to figure out who or what is behind the voice-snatching. It doesn’t help that some of her classmates are still angry with her for releasing the ghosts. Or that Rosa begins to suspect that she may be haunted herself. Meanwhile, her best friend Jasper is dealing with what remains of the Renaissance Festival, the town’s pride and joy. Ghosts from the town are now battling it out with ghosts from the festival, and the grounds are closed to all. But is it possible to appease everyone?

No composer contributed more to film than Bernard Herrmann, who in over 40 scores enriched the work of such directors as Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, François Truffaut, and Martin Scorsese. In this first major biography of the composer, Steven C. Smith explores the interrelationships between Herrmann's music and his turbulent personal life, using much previously unpublished information to illustrate Herrmann's often outrageous behavior, his working methods, and why his music has had such lasting impact. From his first film (Citizen Kane) to his last (Taxi Driver), Herrmann was a master of evoking psychological nuance and dramatic tension through music, often using unheard-of instrumental combinations to suit the dramatic needs of a film. His scores are among the most distinguished ever written, ranging from the fantastic (Fahrenheit 451, The Day the Earth Stood Still) to the romantic (Obsession, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) to the terrifying (Psycho). Film was not the only medium in which Herrmann made a powerful mark. His radio broadcasts included Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air and The War of the Worlds. His concert music was commissioned and performed by the New York Philharmonic, and he was chief conductor of the CBS Symphony. Almost as celebrated as these achievements are the enduring legends of Herrmann's combativeness and volatility. Smith separates myth from fact and draws upon heretofore unpublished material to illuminate Herrmann's life and influence. Herrmann remains as complex as any character in the films he scored—a creative genius, an indefatigable musicologist, an explosive bully, a generous and compassionate man who desperately sought friendship and love. Films scored by Bernard Herrmann: Citizen Kane, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Vertigo, Psycho, Fahrenheit 451, Taxi Driver, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Man Who Knew Too Much, North By Northwest, The Birds, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Cape Fear, Marnie, Torn Curtain, among others

In her late 20s, Plaut decided to honor a long-held secret ambition by becoming a New York City taxi driver. With wit and insight, she recreates the crazy parade of humanity that passes through her cab and shows how this grueling work provides her with a greater sense of self.

From the Hermitage ruins to Dundurn Castle, from Customs House to Stoney Creek Battlefield Park, the city of Hamilton, Ontario, is steeped in a rich history and culture. This title offers a collection of tales compiled from the files of the paranormal group Haunted Hamilton, which has been investigating Hamilton's historic haunted past since 1999.