Against a magnificently embroidered backdrop of 18th-century France, Schaeffer shows us Sade's incredible life of sexual appetite, adherence to Enlightenment principles, imprisonment, scandal, and above all inexhaustible imagination.

The Age of Irreverence tells the story of why China’s entry into the modern age was not just traumatic, but uproarious. As the Qing dynasty slumped toward extinction, prominent writers compiled jokes into collections they called "histories of laughter." In the first years of the Republic, novelists, essayists and illustrators alike used humorous allegories to make veiled critiques of the new government. But, again and again, political and cultural discussion erupted into invective, as critics gleefully jeered and derided rivals in public. Farceurs drew followings in the popular press, promoting a culture of practical joking and buffoonery. Eventually, these various expressions of hilarity proved so offensive to high-brow writers that they launched a concerted campaign to transform the tone of public discourse, hoping to displace the old forms of mirth with a new one they called youmo (humor). Christopher Rea argues that this period—from the 1890s to the 1930s—transformed how Chinese people thought and talked about what is funny. Focusing on five cultural expressions of laughter—jokes, play, mockery, farce, and humor—he reveals the textures of comedy that were a part of everyday life during modern China’s first "age of irreverence." This new history of laughter not only offers an unprecedented and up-close look at a neglected facet of Chinese cultural modernity, but also reveals its lasting legacy in the Chinese language of the comic today and its implications for our understanding of humor as a part of human culture.

Nicci has given up on being a successful musician and is now the hostess of the Savoy, in Harlem, circa 1920s. Men are returning from war. Prohibition causes her to turn her club into a speakeasy. Whats a club without sex, love, murder and the mob? Nicci cant stay away from excitement . Her second diary reveals her version of the Depression and Prohibition when her club becomes home to vampire killers, faeries, and more vampires. Nicci continues to pass for white. How long can she carry this secret without anyone knowing? Eventually, it will catch up with her.

A collection of poetry which shares in every day experiences, as well as seeking to understand and deal with catastrophic experiences; namely loving and living with someone who has been diagnosed with Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Easy to read, understand, and feel. Reading this book is like sharing a cup of coffee with a good friend.