It's rare to find a child whose very first best friend wasn't a fuzzy teddy bear or downy blanket. Whether clutched securely in little arms each night or dragged gamely through the playground each day, these fiercely loved companions universally ease the uncertainties and loneliness of childhood. DIRTY WOW WOW AND OTHER LOVE STORIES celebrates the lives of fifty transitional love objects: a sweetly poignant collection of stuffies, blankies, lovies, and dolls who inspired and comforted their owners. Bundles of love and warmth fashioned from fluff and fur, these cherished friends have a lifetime of stories sewn up in their tattered bodies--a trip to Paris smushed in a suitcase, a secret hiding spot behind the family liquor cabinet, an interminable wait in the lost-and-found bin before a joyous reunion at home. With stunning photographs that reveal the personalities within, this thoughtful tribute is at once funny and oddly soothing-like a certain shabby buddy who's tucked away but never forgotten. Hear the NPR Weekend Edition interview with the authors of Dirty Wow Wow Reviews"This charming book would be a perfect gift for collectors and also an offbeat surprise for new parents." -Minneapolis Star Tribune "Dirty Wow Wow's striking photographs and brief narratives stir up vivid memories of . . . long-lost companions." -Southwest Spirit Magazine "This clever work, peppered with sumptuous snapshots of raggedy dolls, pays tribute to the beloved companions of childhood." -Entertainment Weekly's "Must List" View the gallery of entries from the Show Us your Dirty Wow Wow Contest

Award-winning photographer Mark Nixon has created a trove of quirky and nostalgic portraits of teddy bears and other stuffed animals that have been lovingly abused after years of play. MuchLoved collects 60 of these images along with their accompanying background tales. An exhibit in the photographer’s studio led to a small sensation on the Internet when a few of the pictures circulated unofficially on scores of blogs and on many legitimate news sites. Viewers have been intrigued by the funny, bittersweet images and their ironic juxtaposition of childhood innocence and aged, loving wear and tear. When you see these teddy bears and bunnies with missing noses and undone stuffing, you can’t help but think back to childhood and its earliest companions who asked for nothing and gave a lot back. Praise for Much Loved: “Much Loved is impossibly endearing in its entirety.” —Brain Pickings

The first book in Tarryn Fisher's fan-favorite Love Me with Lies trilogy, The Opportunist is the twisty, unconventional second-chance love story you didn't see coming! When Olivia Kaspen spots her ex-boyfriend in a Miami record shop, she ignores good sense and approaches him. It’s been three years since their breakup, but when Caleb reveals he’s suffering from amnesia after a recent car accident, first she feels regret—and then opportunity. If he doesn't remember her, then he also doesn’t remember her manipulation, her deceit, or the horrible way she broke his heart. Seeing a chance to reunite with Caleb, she keeps their past, and the details around the implosion of their relationship, a secret. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid history under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked new girlfriend, Leah, who's equally determined to possess the man who no longer remembers her. But soon Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.

A collection of newspaper stories by award-winning Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard—including “Dirty John,” the basis for the hit podcast and the upcoming Bravo scripted series starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana. Since its release in fall 2017, the “Dirty John” podcast—about a conman who terrorizes a Southern California family—has been downloaded more than 20 million times, and will soon premiere as a scripted drama on Bravo starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana. The story, which also ran as a print series in the Los Angeles Times, wasn’t unfamiliar terrain to its writer, Christopher Goffard. Over two decades at newspapers from Florida to California, Goffard has reported probingly on the shadowy, unseen corners of society. This book gathers together for the first time “Dirty John” and the rest of his very best work. “The $40 Lawyer” provides an inside account of a young public defender’s rookie year in the legal trenches. “Framed” offers an unblinking chronicle of suburban mayhem (and is currently being developed by Netflix as a film starring Julia Roberts). A man wrongly imprisoned for rape, train-riding runaways in love, a Syrian mother forced to leave her children in order to save them, a boy who grows up to become a cop as a way of honoring his murdered sister, another boy who struggles with the knowledge that his father is on death row: these stories reveal the complexities of human nature, showing people at both their most courageous and their most flawed. Goffard shared in the Los Angeles Times’ Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2011 and has twice been a Pulitzer finalist for feature writing. This collection—a must-read for fans of both true-crime and first-rate narrative nonfiction—underscores his reputation as one of today’s most original journalistic voices.

A winsome collection of 50 full-color, all-breed canine portraits, each posed with a favorite play toy and accompanied by an affectionate anecdote. Dirty Wow Wow was ranked #3 on Entertainment Weekly's "Ten Things We Love" List The creators of the popular book DIRTY WOW WOW present this brand new album, featuring beloved family pets and the raggedy objects of their affection. Big dogs, small dogs, mixed breeds, purebreds, puppies, and seniors tug, chase, chew, guard, nuzzle, sleep on, and play with their shredded teddies, blankies, and chewies. Each dog portrayed has formed a bond with a self-selected favorite, and many of them remain loyal to just one toy. Among the toys that have survived the perils of puppyhood, many continue to give comfort and joy to their aging pooches. Every lovingly photographed image of our best friends with their best friends will resonate with dog lovers and the readers who love them. Reviews"Loving, whimsical tribute to dogs and their favorite chew toys."—New York Daily News

WREN Never feel, never fall. Four words I tell myself to protect my heart from the pain I know all too well. I learned my lesson the hard way. Promised myself I'd never allow anyone to hurt me the way she did. Now I'm falling and I can't seem to stop it. He's dangerous. I'm broken. He fills the missing pieces until all I feel is him. And I'm the sucker stupid enough to let him do it. LEVI I've always wanted what I can't have. Family, freedom, love.. him. I've wanted him for as long as I can remember - the broken bad boy with the sad eyes and the tortured heart - but like everything else in my life, it's not that easy. His past will tear us apart. My lies will break us beyond repair. This love will send us both to an early grave. Ask me if I give a damn. Wren Kingston is mine. And it's about time he knows it. This is a full length, dark high school romance with themes some readers might find offensive. While this story can be read as a standalone with a HEA and no cliffhanger, it is a continuation of the Kingston Brothers series and should be read after Kings of Westbrook High. PLEASE NOTE: This book is M/M. Books 1 & 3 are M/F.

A photographic collection of stuffed animals chewed by pets.