In National Bestseller David Rosenfelt's 'Twas the Bite Before Christmas, all through the Carpenter house, five dogs are stirring, and not even Andy can get out of working this next case at his door. Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter is at the Tara Foundation's annual Christmas party. The dog rescue organization has always been his true calling, and this is one holiday tradition he can get behind because every dog that's come through the rescue--and their families--are invited to celebrate. This year's party is no exception. But before the stockings can be hung by the chimney with care, homicide detectives ruin the evening. Derek Moore, one of the foundation's best foster volunteers, is arrested for murder. Andy discovers Derek--whose real name is Bobby--is in the witness protection program after giving evidence against his former gang. The police believe Bobby murdered a member. But Bobby swears to Andy he didn't do this. He's built a new life, a new business, has two new dogs after being a double foster-failure. There isn't much Andy likes about this case, but he likes Bobby. If he's innocent, Andy wants to help. Before Andy can settle down for his long winter's nap, he has a client's name to clear, a murderer to catch, and two new dogs to look after: a golden and a Dalmatian. Andy's golden retriever, Tara, will have to adjust to not being the only golden at the house while Andy gets to the bottom of this one...
*Includes pictures.*Includes Warhol's own quotes about his life and career.*Includes a bibliography for further reading."Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches." - Andy Warhol"In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." - Andy WarholA lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.Few artists of the 20th century were as enigmatic as Andy Warhol, who once remarked, "If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, there I am. There's nothing behind it." This statement is hardly out of character for the famous artist, who remains famous for his cagey answers to interviews and his refusal to speak from the heart. It is no accident that Warhol wore a wig; paradoxically enough, he required the company of others but refused to allow himself to become emotionally intimate with anyone. If anything, Warhol's public persona seemed to be structured around an apparent lack of personality, and yet he later noted, "At the times in my life when I was feeling the most gregarious and looking for bosom friendships, I couldn't find any takers so that exactly when I was alone was when I felt the most like not being alone. The moment I decided I'd rather be alone and not have anyone telling me their problems, everybody I'd never even seen before in my life started running after me to tell me things I'd just decided I didn't think it was a good idea to hear about. As soon as I became a loner in my own mind, that's when I got what you might call a 'following.' As soon as you stop wanting something you get it. I've found that to be absolutely axiomatic."Of course, Andy Warhol was more than just an apathetic figure; after all, he is the most famous member of the artistic movement known as Pop, a title that was coined by critics but which Warhol epitomized like no other. The core themes of Pop art are well-known: an ironic appropriation of mass culture; the utilization of found objects (especially those relating to mass culture); and an early postmodern tone of irony and even pastiche. The works of Warhol and his cohorts in the Pop movement not only stand as iconic works of post-war American art but also fundamentally redefined what qualified as art in the first place. Arriving on the heels of the Abstract Expressionist movement, Warhol's art marked a dramatic turn away from abstraction and toward the banal, but his works continue to enchant the public, exceeding even the grand-scale Abstract Expressionist compositions of Jackson Pollock. Warhol's virtuosity is bolstered by the fact that he was able to thrive while working in different media; his paintings and silkscreens have received by far the greatest focus from art historians, but Warhol also created famous sculptures, films, and drawings. More than just a great painter, he was a great artist.Just as memorably, Warhol was someone whose art was intertwined with his personal life, so The Factory is nearly as big a pop culture icon as Warhol himself. Warhol's eclectic group of companions included artists, musicians, vamps, Bohemians, and everyone in between. Like them, Warhol is an almost impossible figure to pin down entirely, but American Legends: The Life of Andy Warhol explores the many dimensions of his life and career. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Andy Warhol like never before, in no time at all.
*Includes pictures *Includes Kaufman's quotes about his life and career *Includes a bibliography for further reading "There's no way to describe what I do. It's just me." - Andy Kaufman "I just want real reactions. I want people to laugh from the gut, be sad from the gut - or get angry from the gut." - Andy Kaufman A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Andy Kaufman never liked to call himself a comedian, so it's a testament to his skills and routines that he is nonetheless considered one of the late 20th century's most famous comedians. In fact, Kaufman's eccentric style and theatrics made him one of the most unique performers of his era, whether it was doing a song and dance routine or staying in character to the extent that nobody could tell whether he was being himself or not. To this day, Kaufman is probably best known for his staged wrestling storyline with Jerry "The King" Lawler, which included one of professional wrestling's most famous bouts, and true to form, Kaufman subsequently went on Late Night With David Letterman with a neck brace, claiming he had suffered a broken neck as a result of a piledriver. For his part, Kaufman admitted, "What's real? What's not? That's what I do in my act, test how other people deal with reality." Given his abilities and propensity for practical jokes and outright hoaxes, Kaufman became extremely popular during the last decade of his life, boosted by countless performances on television shows and as Latka Gravas on the hit show Taxi. However, he was diagnosed with a rare type of lung cancer in his mid-30s and died within a few months near the peak of his popularity, which helped cement his cult status among fans. Fittingly, many of those same fans initially assumed that reports of Kaufman's illness and death were also a hoax, even those who had seen some him look gaunt and sickly during his final performances. It was an odd but appropriate tribute to a performer who had always been able to blur the lines between fiction and reality and keep audiences on their toes. American Legends: The Life of Andy Kaufman explores the life and career of one of America's most unique entertainers. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Kaufman like never before, in no time at all.
Can't get enough of Andy Weir's The Martian? Dive a little deeper into his world, discover hidden treasures, and hang out with Mark Watney just a little longer with this Sidekick. Warning: This is an independent companion to The Martian, meant to enhance your experience of the novel. If you have not yet bought Andy Weir's novel, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial Sidekick. Mark Watney wasn't the mission commander of Ares 3, a month-long expedition to Mars. He was just the science geek, botany guru, and mechanical engineer: the lowest guy on the totem pole. And the only one who didn't make it back to the ascent vehicle when the storm hit. Left for dead on the surface of a barren planet, Watney must plumb the depths of his considerable ingenuity and resourcefulness to find a way to survive-and to let the people on Earth know he's still alive. Praised by The Wall Street Journal as "the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years," The Martian has been on the NYT bestseller list for more than six months. It is Andy Weir's debut novel. With this Sidekick, you'll: -Learn what you might have missed on your first read of Weir's novel -Discover some of the book's secret gems and underlying themes -Explore possible alternate endings and imagine ideas for a prequel -Spend some more time with the characters you've come to know and love, delving deep into their psyches and hidden motives -Get a chance to discuss The Martian with other savvy readers Sidekicks are entertaining and insightful reading companions, filled with delightful commentary and thought-provoking questions. Readers have raved that they "really put you in touch with the many layers of the novel," "keep you entertained even longer," and are "perfect if you want a vivid understanding of the story." Designed to be read side by side with the novels they complement, they'll give you even more reasons to love some of today's best books.
** AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVELIST AND BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR 2023 **** SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS 2023: DEBUT FICTION **‘A voice unlike any other’ OBSERVER‘I fell in love immediately’ MAX PORTER‘A writer of imagination and flair’ ECONOMIST‘Smart, subversive, funny, heartbreaking’ KAMILA SHAMSIE‘Buoro's writing deserves to inspire a generation of superheroes’ THE TIMESFifteen-year-old Andrew Aziza lives in Kontagora, Nigeria, where his days are spent about town with hisfriends, grappling with his fantasies about white girls (especially blondes) and wondering who his father is. When he’s not in church, at school or attempting to form ‘Africa’s first superheroes’, he obsesses over mathematical theorems, ideas of Black power and HXVX: the Curse of Africa.Sure enough, Andy soon falls for the first white girl he lays eyes on. But multiple crises are looming, set toshake the foundations of everything he knows and loves...'This is extraordinary, driven by a gloriously eccentric central character. It is utterly compelling, not shy about posing difficult questions for the reader' 2023 NERO PRIZE JUDGES
The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes FinalistShortlisted for the 2024 Betty Trask PrizeLonglisted for the 2024 Aspen Words Literary PrizeNamed a Best of the Year Book by NPRCrackling with energy and intelligence, this debut is the "smart, subversive, funny, heartbreaking" (Kamila Shamsie) story of an exceptional teenager coming of age in the shadow of colonialism and communal violence in Nigeria. Andrew Aziza is an unusually smart fifteen-year-old in Kontagora, Nigeria. He lives with his fiercely protective mother, Gloria, and fantasizes obsessively about white girls-especially blondes. When he's not in church, at school, or hanging about town with his droogs wishing to become one of "Africa's first superheroes," he's contemplating the larger questions with his teacher Zahrah and his equally brilliant friend Fatima, a Hausa-Fulani girl who has feelings for him. Together they discuss mathematical theorems, Black power, and what Andy has deemed the Curse of Africa. Sure enough, the reluctantly nicknamed Andy Africa soon falls hopelessly and inappropriately in love with the first white girl he lays eyes on: Eileen. But at the church party held to celebrate her arrival, multiple crises loom. An unfamiliar man there claims, despite his mother's denials, to be Andy's father, and an anti-Christian mob has gathered, headed for the church. In the ensuing havoc and its aftermath, Andy is forced to reckon with his identity and desires and determine how to live on the so-called Cursed Continent. The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa announces a dazzlingly unique literary voice. Crackling with energy, this tragicomic novel provides a stunning lens into contemporary African life, the complicity of the West, and the impossible challenges of growing up in a turbulent world.
The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes FinalistShortlisted for the 2024 Betty Trask PrizeLonglisted for the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize "This novel shimmers." -NPR "Best Books of the Year""Funny, vulgar, and wrenching."-New York Magazine Fifteen-year-old Andrew Aziza lives in Kontagora, Nigeria, where his days are spent about town with his friends, fantasizing about white girls. When he's not in church, at school, or attempting to form "Africa's first superheroes," he obsesses over mathematical theorems, ideas of Black power, and HXVX: the Curse of Africa. Sure enough, Andy soon falls for the first blonde he sees. But multiple crises are looming, set to shake the foundations of everything he knows and loves . . . Crackling with energy and intelligence, this tragicomic novel of contemporary African life announces an astounding new talent. "A writer of imagination and flair . . . Andy Africa is an unforgettable character." -The Economist"A voice unlike any other." -Observer "I fell in love immediately." -Max Porter
