Print and public-radio journalist Wagner describes rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina...Despite Kafkaesque experiences with the infamous bureaucratic mess that threatened to undo New Orleans once and for all, the couple held on to their optimism for the city and their little piece of it. Wagner captures the nostalgia, the heartbreak and the friendships spawned in Katrina's turbulent aftermath with raw emotional honesty free of sentimentality. Unflinching, humorous and heartfelt. --Kirkus Reviews The cliché New Orleans gets into people's blood happens to be very true–just not always convenient. For Cheryl Wagner, along with her indie-band boyfriend, a few eccentric pals, and two aging basset hounds, abandoning the city she loved wasn't an option. This is the story of Cheryl's disturbing surprise view from her front porch after she moved back home to find everything she treasured in shambles. . .and her determined, absurd, and darkly funny three-year journey of trying to piece it all back together. In the same heartfelt and hilarious voice that has drawn thousands of listeners to her broadcasts on Public Radio International's This American Life, Wagner shares her unique yet universal story of rebuilding a life after it's been flooded, dried, and died. . . "Dark, funny, generous and jarring--occasionally tragic but never sentimental." --Paul Tough, author of Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America "A wonderful, touching, thoughtful, crazy, loving book." --Frederick Barthelme, author of Waveland and eleven other works of fiction including Elroy Nights, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and a New York Times Notable Book "A wild, blood and guts lived-to-tell-all memoir." --Porochista Khakpour, author of Sons and Other Flammable Objects "The book would be heartbreaking if it weren't so funny, so clear-eyed, and so beautifully fierce." --James Whorton Jr., author of Frankland "I love it." -- Pete Jordan, author of Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in Fifty States "Imagine if Jack Kerouac had lived through the flood and wrote you a long, personal letter from the wreckage." --Jonathan Goldstein, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible! and Host of CBC's and PRI's radio show WireTap "Wagner writes with honesty and humor." --Annie Choi, author of Happy Birthday or Whatever "A work of art, unsparing of everything, including itself." --Jack Pendarvis, author of Awesome

The genesis and aftermath of the print edition's death knell. In May 2012, the New York Times broke a story that the internationally acclaimed, locally beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning New Orleans Times-Picayune would become a three-day-a-week publication. The profitable newspaper slashed its veteran newsroom, antagonized the city, state, and nation, and jeopardized its vaunted reputation-all in an effort to create a new blueprint for American newspapers in the increasingly digital world. Here is the insider's account of the outrage, betrayal, and aftermath of the death of the daily edition of the Times-Picayune.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding region in 2005, the city debated whether to press on with Mardi Gras or cancel the parades. Ultimately, they decided to proceed. New Orleans’s recovery certainly has resulted from a complex of factors, but the city’s unique cultural life—perhaps its greatest capital—has been instrumental in bringing the city back from the brink of extinction. Voicing a civic fervor, local writer Chris Rose spoke for the importance of Carnival when he argued to carry on with the celebration of Mardi Gras following Katrina: “We are still New Orleans. We are the soul of America. We embody the triumph of the human spirit. Hell, we ARE Mardi Gras." Since 2006, a number of new Mardi Gras practices have gained prominence. The new parade organizations or krewes, as they are called, interpret and revise the city’s Carnival traditions but bring innovative practices to Mardi Gras. The history of each parade reveals the convergence of race, class, age, and gender dynamics in these new Carnival organizations. Downtown Mardi Gras: New Carnival Practices in Post-Katrina New Orleans examines six unique, offbeat, Downtown celebrations. Using ethnography, folklore, cultural studies, and performance studies, the authors analyze new Mardi Gras’s connection to traditional Mardi Gras. The narrative of each krewe’s development is fascinating and unique, illustrating participants’ shared desire to contribute to New Orleans’s rich and vibrant culture.

The ultimate alphabetically arranged thesaurus that will help you find the right word every time—now bigger and better than ever before! This all-new edition of the classic reference work is the one thesaurus no home or office should be without. As easy to use as a dictionary—and just as important for you to own—this is a unique and indispensable treasury of words that will enable you to express your ideas clearly and effectively. With the synonyms and antonyms for each word listed alphabetically for quick, convenient use, this superior reference volume will help you build your vocabulary, improve your writing skills, and enrich your powers of expression. • Simple to use—no index required • More than 5,000 new words and phrases • 2,000 new synonym entry words for more efficient cross-referencing • 30 new categories • Easy-to-read double-column format • Latest colloquial and slang terms • Quotations and phrases that reveal the fascinating history of each word and the ideas it represents

The creators of the popular PlanetJoyride.com Web site share strategies for living a happy life, outlining a four-step program for addressing unsatisfactory personal circumstances while sharing such street-smart counsel as "You always have a choice" and "Expect surprises." 50,000 first printing.

In an age of brutality, a Scottish clan imprisons Noci. Only one man can save her now - Taracut "the Gelded", the unfeeling overlord of Northumbria. The fierce warrior draws breath only to serve his king, and his impenetrable heart beats only for duty. Although a vision warns Noci that Taracut is numb to all emotion, even lust, she offers herself to the overlord in exchange for her freedom. 'Tis as simple as this: Satisfy Taracut's dark urges and she will live. Fail to submit to him, and the self-righteous bastard will condemn her to a fiery death at the pyre. A sweet kiss seals the bargain, and so the bitter battle for the overlord's soul begins. Tricking him with games of seduction, teasing him with a purring acquiescence to his every demand, tempting him with her wanton body, Noci introduces the warrior to the full spectrum of feelings, from passion to... Betrayal. Suspecting Noci has played him false, the enraged Taracut exacts a terrible retribution for her deception. The fierce warrior forces Noci - his pretty pet, his enthusiastic whore, his secret obsession - to crave him as much as he craves her.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.