It’s a tale as old as time: doomed romance, bloody revenge, fast food, and the voice of God. Welcome to Tyler Parker’s Oklahoma, and one of the most anticipated debut novels of the year from one of our best, funniest new writers. Check out Sylvia Table: he drives a seafoam-green 1968 Ranchero, owns a badass sword, and is one dead uncle away from an inheritance that should set him and the love of his life, Lady Sixkiller, on the road to easy living and the family she’s always wanted. Sure, he may not be cut out for any kind of conventional job, but as long as Lady can hold things down as a waitress until rich old Methuselah shuffles off this mortal coil, what’s the big deal? Yes, things are looking good for Sylvia Table, aka Big Noise, aka Grandest Poobah, aka Big Quiche. But uncles don’t always die on schedule, maternal clocks keep ticking with increasing urgency, doing crimes beats working for a living, and the past refuses to stay buried. In this case, the past takes the form of Priscilla Blackwood, a woman locked in an eternal one-sided conversation with Jesus Christ Himself, and dead set on enacting vengeance for the murder of her father, which she witnessed as a little girl. Whether Table knows it or not, he’s on a collision course with an avenging angel who believes she’s got the Lord on her side. Combining the linguistic punch of Elmore Leonard, the living landscapes of Cormac McCarthy, and the comic soul of Charles Portis, A Little Blood and Dancing announces Tyler Parker as one of our most extraordinary new voices.

From the bestselling social commentator and cultural historian comes Barbara Ehrenreich's fascinating exploration of one of humanity's oldest traditions: the celebration of communal joy In the acclaimed Blood Rites, Barbara Ehrenreich delved into the origins of our species' attraction to war. Here, she explores the opposite impulse, one that has been so effectively suppressed that we lack even a term for it: the desire for collective joy, historically expressed in ecstatic revels of feasting, costuming, and dancing. Ehrenreich uncovers the origins of communal celebration in human biology and culture. Although sixteenth-century Europeans viewed mass festivities as foreign and "savage," Ehrenreich shows that they were indigenous to the West, from the ancient Greeks' worship of Dionysus to the medieval practice of Christianity as a "danced religion." Ultimately, church officials drove the festivities into the streets, the prelude to widespread reformation: Protestants criminalized carnival, Wahhabist Muslims battled ecstatic Sufism, European colonizers wiped out native dance rites. The elites' fear that such gatherings would undermine social hierarchies was justified: the festive tradition inspired French revolutionary crowds and uprisings from the Caribbean to the American plains. Yet outbreaks of group revelry persist, as Ehrenreich shows, pointing to the 1960s rock-and-roll rebellion and the more recent "carnivalization" of sports. Original, exhilarating, and deeply optimistic, Dancing in the Streets concludes that we are innately social beings, impelled to share our joy and therefore able to envision, even create, a more peaceable future. "Fascinating . . . An admirably lucid, level-headed history of outbreaks of joy from Dionysus to the Grateful Dead."—Terry Eagleton, The Nation

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting to engage reluctant readers! Rachel Deering has her eyes on her toes: she wants to become a world-class ballerina. As a 14-year-old, she is already one of the best dancers in the country. Just as she prepares for an audition for an opening with a prestigious dance troupe, Rachel starts having some very disturbing symptoms. After collapsing at school, she has many tests and her doctor tells her the news: She has diabetes. Now her world consists of blood tests, insulin shots, a controlled diet, and constant fear that she will have a reaction and end up unable to dance—or worse.

It's tough for love-struck Raven to imagine what's keeping her nocturnal boyfriend from returning to Dullsville. So there's only one thing to do—find Alexander. Along the way, Raven can't resist the spot where she feels most at home, the Coffin Club. But when she stumbles upon a secret door in the club, she descends into a dim catacomb—to a hidden hangout where the house drink happens to be type A or B. Drawn to one of its shadowy members, Raven suspects she's in over her head. But exploring the covert club is too tempting, even after coming face-to-face with Alexander's trouble-stirring enemy. Can Raven delve further into the Underworld unbeknownst to Alexander—and also solve the mystery of her true love's own secrecy? Ellen Schreiber's sizzling Vampire Kisses series continues with its darkest installment yet.

Life as we know it is coming to a close. Vampires emerge from the shadows to rip dominant species on Earth from our grasp. There is no hope. Or... is there? An unusual hero rises up from the depths of the city streets to fight for mankind. He's a powerful vampire gang leader named Ares, and while he has plenty of flaws, he tries to stay true to his morals as much as possible. Blood runs like a river down the streets as the vampire war erupts all over the world, and magic starts to kindle from the slumber humanity locked it in. Can Ares and his gang manage to pull through for at least his city and the innocent humans that reside there? Or will they fall like the rest? Time is ticking as the vampire tyrant known as Ash Elapid claws his way up through the ranks and tries to take the city, and nearby kingdom, for his own. Eventually this leads Ares to unusual allies, like a half-dragon and tasmanian devil shapeshifter. Of course, saving his city isn't the only thing on his mind. A vampire hunter known as Cecelia, indoctrinated heavily due to a religious cult, is trying to off him. While she's a miserable failure, could she prove to eventually rise up and slay him? Many humans are blind as to how vampires truly work, on top of all this. Not only are they very much alive, a sister humanoid species to them, but methods such as sunlight (which vampires are sensitive to since they're nocturnal), holy water, crosses, and the light do not work to kill them. Some got it right with silver, at least, which is a deadly poison to vampires. None of that matters now--humans were taken off guard and will likely never recover. Small areas of harmony can be established if people like Ares have any say in it. This is the "Crow Version" of Book 1 in the "Kingdoms of Blood" series. The other version, Red Viper, features Sam Viper, a half dragon, and Darcia Deville, a tasmanian devil shapeshifter. CONTENT WARNING: Heavy gore, sexual assault and rescue from it, extreme religious indoctrination/manipulation, and heavy profanity.

One of the most important works of gay literature, this haunting, brilliant novel is a seriocomic remembrance of things past -- and still poignantly present. It depicts the adventures of Malone, a beautiful young man searching for love amid New York's emerging gay scene. From Manhattan's Everard Baths and after-hours discos to Fire Island's deserted parks and lavish orgies, Malone looks high and low for meaningful companionship. The person he finds is Sutherland, a campy quintessential queen -- and one of the most memorable literary creations of contemporary fiction. Hilarious, witty, and ultimately heartbreaking, Dancer from the Dance is truthful, provocative, outrageous fiction told in a voice as close to laughter as to tears.

Holly and Heather share their story and help to walk the reader through the painful yet necessary healing process for when life deals us its harshest blows. Dancing on my ashes soothes and empathizes with the broken heart, while sharing the truth of scripture, and the hope that comes from the heart of God.