A fever dream of a novel—strangely funny, entirely unconventional—Valerie conjures the life, mind, and art of American firebrand Valerie Solanas In April 1988, Valerie Solanas—the writer, radical feminist, author of the SCUM Manifesto and would-be assassin of Andy Warhol—was discovered dead at fifty-two in her hotel room, in a grimy corner of San Francisco, alone, penniless, and surrounded by the typed pages of her last writings. In Valerie, a nameless narrator revisits the room where Solanas died, the courtroom where she was tried and convicted of attempting to murder Andy Warhol, the Georgia wastelands where she spent her childhood and was repeatedly raped by her father and beaten by her alcoholic grandfather, and the mental hospitals where she was shut away. A leading feminist in Sweden and one of the most acclaimed writers in Scandinavia, Sara Stridsberg here blurs the boundaries between history and fiction, self-making and storytelling, madness and art, love and tragedy. Through imagined conversations and monologues, reminiscences and rantings, she reconstructs this most intriguing and enigmatic of women, reaching back in time to amplify her voice and bring her powerful, heartbreaking story into new light.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Finalist for the NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Literary Work" "Valerie has been one of Barack and my closest confidantes for decades... the world would feel a lot better if there were more people like Valerie blazing the trail for the rest of us."--Michelle Obama "The ultimate Obama insider" (The New York Times) and longest-serving senior advisor in the Obama White House shares her journey as a daughter, mother, lawyer, business leader, public servant, and leader in government at a historic moment in American history. When Valerie Jarrett interviewed a promising young lawyer named Michelle Robinson in July 1991 for a job in Chicago city government, neither knew that it was the first step on a path that would end in the White House. Jarrett soon became Michelle and Barack Obama's trusted personal adviser and family confidante; in the White House, she was known as the one who "got" him and helped him engage his public life. Jarrett joined the White House team on January 20, 2009 and departed with the First Family on January 20, 2017, and she was in the room--in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, and everywhere else--when it all happened. No one has as intimate a view of the Obama Years, nor one that reaches back as many decades, as Jarrett shares in Finding My Voice. Born in Iran (where her father, a doctor, sought a better job than he could find in segregated America), Jarrett grew up in Chicago in the 60s as racial and gender barriers were being challenged. A single mother stagnating in corporate law, she found her voice in Harold Washington's historic administration, where she began a remarkable journey, ultimately becoming one of the most visible and influential African-American women of the twenty-first century. From her work ensuring equality for women and girls, advancing civil rights, reforming our criminal justice system, and improving the lives of working families, to the real stories behind some of the most stirring moments of the Obama presidency, Jarrett shares her forthright, optimistic perspective on the importance of leadership and the responsibilities of citizenship in the twenty-first century, inspiring readers to lift their own voices.

Crone's Book of Magical Words (previously published as The Crone's Book of Words) by Valerie Worth is the book you've been waiting for! In its pages are over 125 spells, incantations, and charms. If you can think of a purpose for a spell, it's probably in this book. Need a spell to summon a ghost? Or perhaps you want the opposite: a spell to free a house from being haunted. They're both in this book. Do you need something to help you lose weight or have longevity? You'll find them here. Or perhaps you want to pass through a locked door. It's all in this book. Even if you don't know a thing about magic, you can use this book. The spells are easy, poetic, and evocative. For example, to cure a wart the instructions are: "Stamp within a silver cup mullein and houseleek together. Stir them with a sparrow's feather. Let it draw the juices up; Twenty times upon one day, brush them over the excrescence; Under sunlight dry the essence--Soon the wart must shrink away." The range in this book is phenomenal. You'll find a simple fertility charm and a way to conjure with smoke. You'll read about how to bring rain and how to stop rain from falling. You'll learn how to tell fortunes with sand or with tea leaves. This is more than just a book about magic, it is a folklorist's bonanza. If you're ready to win another's love or to sweeten someone's disposition, if you want to turn hair long and golden or discover tree spirits, this is the book you must have. Whether you have been doing magic for a long time or are a beginner, this book is a must.

Valerie is a young lady making her way through the Covid-19 crisis’ disrupting effect on her life. First, she is sent home from school and must deal with spending all her time at home with her sister, mom, and dad. She doesn't understand why she can’t go back to school. Next, Valerie is angry with all the things she can no longer do because of the pandemic. She doesn't understand why life has changed so much. The story ends with Valerie going starting middle school where she considers herself a fish out of water. Again, she struggles to understand why she doesn’t fit in. This family friendly story is filled with plenty of love, humor, and good-natured fun for the whole family.

"Written in 1935 at the height of Czech Surrealism but not published until 1945, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is a bizarre erotic fantasy of a young girl's maturation into womanhood. Drawing on Matthew Lewis's The Monk, Sade's Justine, K. H. Macha's May, and Murnau's Nosferatu as well as the form and language of the pulp serial novel, Nezval has constructed a lyrical, menacing dream of sexual awakening involving a vampire with a taste for chicken blood, changelings, a lecherous priest, a malicious grandmother desiring her lost youth, and an androgynous merging of brother with sister. Part fairy tale, part Gothic horror, the novel is a meditation on youth and age, sexuality and death - an exploration of the grotesque that juxtaposes high and low genres with shifting registers of language and moods, thus placing it squarely in the tradition of the Czech avant-garde."--BOOK JACKET.

The authoritative biography of the 60s countercultural icon who wrote SCUM Manifesto, shot Andy Warhol, and made an unforgettable mark on feminist history. Valerie Solanas is one of the most polarizing figures of 1960s counterculture. A cult hero to some and vehemently denounced by others, she has been dismissed but never forgotten. Known for shooting Andy Warhol in 1968 and for writing the infamous SCUM Manifesto, Solanas became one of the most famous women of her era. But she was also diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spent much of her life homeless or in mental hospitals. Solanas’s SCUM Manifesto, a sui generis vision of radical gender dystopia, predicted ATMs, test-tube babies, the Internet, and artificial insemination long before they existed. It has sold more copies and been translated into more languages than nearly all other feminist texts of its time. And yet, shockingly little work has investigated the life of its author. This book is the first biography about Solanas, including original interviews with family, friends (and enemies), and numerous living Warhol associates. It reveals surprising details about Solanas’s life: the children nearly no one knew she had, her drive for control over her own writing, and her elusive personal and professional relationships. Valerie Solanas reveals the tragic, remarkable life of an iconic figure. It is “not only a remarkable biographical feat but also a delicate navigation of an unwieldy, demanding, and complex life story” (BOMB Magazine).

**PART 1 – Multiple Part Serial – Please Read Full Description** Forced to pay a debt with deadly consequences … Valerie Dawson is forced into a life of crime when her wayward sister and two unknown men turn up at her Sydney apartment, demanding that she pay off her sister’s debt. She complies, believing that if she does what they want, then they will leave her and her family alone. But when the people closest to her are killed, she discovers there is no way out — she is trapped, caught in a web of corruption, where even the police cannot be trusted. She decides to fight for her freedom and finds an unexpected ally, but soon realises there is much more at stake and that her next move could be deadly. Part 1, Valerie Dawson Novella Series Australian English Spelling *Includes a sample of the Gripping Australian Crime Thriller JUST PLAY ALONG (Book 1, Andy Knight Series) PLEASE NOTE: Each book in the Valerie Dawson Novella Series is a 'SERIAL SHORT READ' compared to the full-length standalone novels in the Andy Knight Series. Yes, that means there will be cliffhangers! ABOUT THE VALERIE DAWSON NOVELLA SERIES Whilst the Valerie Dawson Novella Series can be read on its own, it was originally written as a novella side-series to compliment the full-length novels in the Andy Knight Series. Reading these series together will provide a richer reading experience as the characters’ stories are intertwined throughout both series. Each part of the Valerie Dawson Series is time sensitive and has a recommended reading order to avoid spoilers, although if preferred you can read each series separately. FIRST READ either ‘Just Play Along’ OR ‘Valerie: Trapped’. Then, to avoid spoilers, the following reading order is recommended: 1. Valerie: Trapped (Part 1, Valerie Dawson Novella Series) 2. Just Play Along (Book 1, Andy Knight Series) 3. Valerie: Isolated (Part 2, Valerie Dawson Novella Series) 4. Bones of Deception (Book 2, Andy Knight Series) 5. Valerie: Bound (Part 3, Valerie Dawson Novella Series) 6. Valerie: Desperate (Part 4, Valerie Dawson Novella Series) 7. Hidden Lies (Book 3, Andy Knight Series) Please note: Valerie: Isolated contains some small spoilers if read before Just Play Along, but it can still be read first, if preferred. The reading order of the combined two series is flexible and most books can be read in your preferred order with only minor spoilers, but it is highly recommended to read Bones of Deception (Book 2, Andy Knight Series) before reading Valerie: Desperate (Part 4, Valerie Dawson Novella Series) as it contains major spoilers and should be read in the correct order.