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Combining vivid storytelling, astonishing imagination and careful research, this is the ultimate collection of African folklore, with 50 entertaining tales and commentary from noted folklorist Helen Nde, presented in a beautiful, foiled gift package.From creation myths and foundation legends to fascinating stories of human relationships and amusing animal tales, these stories provide a diverse look at the countries and cultures across the African continent. Noted folklorist Helen Nde also provides marvellous context for history and colonial influences for the stories.Read 50 stories that take you north to Egypt, west to Sierra Leone, east to Somalia, south to South Africa and many places in-between. Discover the geographical and cultural variety of the continent with stories such as:? FROM ALGERIA: "The Story of the First Man and Woman", who meet when they struggle over access to a well, but go on to have 100 children and start the human race.? FROM SUDAN: "Okwa and the River Maiden", a tale about the great-grandson of the first man who seeks the river spirit''s approval to marry two river maidens, half women and half crocodiles.? FROM ZIMBABWE: "The Moon and His Wives", a story about the first man who pleads with the creator to become mortal and go to earth, where the first star becomes his companion.? FROM GHANA: "How Goat Caused a War" by tricking the Supreme Being and giving his holy message to the wrong prince.? FROM TANZANIA: "The Singing Kaguru Birds", who offer help and riches to poor folk in exchange for a strict rule or even a trick.Carefully researched and vividly retold these stories represent a vital and fresh perspective on African Folktales for anyone interested in folktales, mythology and storytelling from around the world.

A book depicting the intimate complicity between attention and identity. . . "You are what you pay attention to."Simone Weil famously stated: "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." But what, in fact, counts as attention? Especially in our discombobulated ag? eeking Attention contributes to the burgeoning discussion around "attention studies," in a novel format - one that seeks to be as accessible as it is thought-provoking. The book presents a series of short "portraits" of different archetypal figures - the detective, the fan, the shrink, the parent, the lover, and others - with a focus on the specific ways in which they pay attention (to themselves, to others, to the world, and so forth). Using this frame allows the reader to reconsider the ways in which they themselves have likely been taking their own attention for granted. The figures featured in the book share certain traits, but also exhibit their own idiosyncratic relationship to the situations and contexts in which they find themselves. In this sense, the book is a somewhat mischievous phenomenology. Each "type" represents a different relationship to attention, and thus reframes its many failures, compromises, blind-spots, and discontents. (As well as its occasional triumphs.)By paying attention to attention, this book offers a rogue's gallery of customary ways in which we not only navigate the world, but help co-create it. These thirty portraits aim to inspire readers from diverse backgrounds to think more carefully, and in a more textured way, about precisely why it is so difficult these days for us to pay attention in a sustained way. As such, the book offers some models - traditional and emerging - for practicing multi-sensual ways of being truly present: ones that potentially embody the collective will to work effectively against all the insidious avatars of the Industrial-Distraction Complex.

From the author of Citadel and popular TikTokker C.M. Alongi comes a bewitching new romantic fantasy where a young witch seeks her freedom by forging a deal with Death...A young witch forced to play concubine for her empirical captor, finally breaks free to find a life of her own, but even those with the power to call Death cannot outrun their past…All witches must serve the cruel and immortal Emperor Yamueto. But after four years of terror and abuse, Khana not only kills one of his favorite courtiers with her magic, but also discovers the secret of his power and immortality: he?s been making deals with Death. And now, so is she.Armed with magic that she doesn?t fully understand, Khana flees the empire and stumbles into a small mountain town filled with fierce warriors that ostracize her for being a witch, despite using her abilities to heal their sick and injured. There, her magic and courage are put to the test as she is forced to stop running and fight back against the emperor that wants her dead.But every deal she makes with Death takes another piece of her soul. And there?s only so much Khana can give before she turns into the very monster she?s trying to destroy.

This is a practical, accessible guide to reading faster, improving concentration and increasing retention. Experts Jan Cisek and Susan Norman use their 20+ years' experience to teach readers the best tips and hacks on getting information more efficiently and effectively. Whether the reader is a student trying to improve their study skills, a professional who needs to review more material as a part of their job or someone who wants to read more for pleasure, this is the only guide they need. With an accessible bespoke design, the typography will make information easy to find, giving readers a simple starting point to practise their speed reading. This book will not only teach you how to read faster, it will show you how to: improve your concentrationunderstand what you're readingremember more of the informationcritically analyze a text to determine what information is importantSpeed Reading Faster makes it easy to be successful with less effort – to become a smarter, faster and more productive reader.

The new standalone thriller from the award-winning writer of the bestselling Gemma Woodstock trilogy.  Dubbed the Housemate Homicide, it's a mystery that has baffled Australians for almost a decade. Melbourne-based journalist Olive Groves worked on the story as a junior reporter and became obsessed by the case. Now, nine years later, the missing housemate turns up dead on a remote property. Olive is once again assigned to the story, this time reluctantly paired with precocious millennial podcaster Cooper Ng. As Oli and Cooper unearth new facts about the three housemates, a dark web of secrets is uncovered. The revelations catapult Oli back to the death of the first housemate, forcing her to confront past traumas and insecurities that have risen to the surface again. What really happened between the three housemates that night? Will Oli's relentless search for the murderer put her new family in danger? And could her suspicion that the truth lies closer to home threaten her happiness and even her sanity?

Witty and engaging TikTok historian J Draper digs out unusual stories of individuals that have shaped the world, and discovers the lessons their unique experiences can teach us. Breaking away from history as told through the lens of kings, queens and nobles, this book instead lifts the lid on 24 fascinating stories of little-known underdogs, mavericks, trailblazers and oddballs. Through these stories you will meet characters such as: The Chevalier d'Eon - a fencing master, spy and diplomat who came out as a woman in 18th-century LondonEllen and William Craft - a married couple who made a daring escape from slavery in the American south Peter the Wild Boy - a child found living in the woods in Germany who was taken to the royal court in EnglandCaroline Herschel - the first British woman to be paid for scientific work, and a discoverer of cometsWilliam Buckland - the man who wrote the first account of a dinosaur - yet who also ate the heart of a French king Eleanor Rykener - a gender-bending sex worker from medieval England who spilled juicy gossip about her clients in the clergy Paul Robeson - American athlete, singer, actor, polyglot, activist... and handsome to bootThe Rebecca Rioters - a roving crowd of Welshmen who destroyed tollbooths dressed in skirts and bonnets. These poignant and often hilarious true stories show us that the world as we know it was built by a wider array of historical figures than we experienced in our schoolbooks.

Contagion meets The Walking Dead in this new sci-fi thriller where a biological threat ravages scientists and military personnel at the South Pole.As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation ? until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base. In their truck is a dead body, the first murder in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don?t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body…Within seventy-two hours, thirteen others lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength.An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.Exhausted by suspicion and fear, with rescue impossible for months, the desperate crew members turn on each other. A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe?s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease ? it is a biological weapon that can change the balance of power in a time of war.The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them ? and potentially the symbiote ? back to civilization.

In this crime novel, a previous puzzle prodigy returns to the competing world. A thoughtful, low-stakes mystery, perfect for fans of The Queen''s Gambit.Once a child prodigy of puzzles and logic games, Gillian Charles now barely ekes out a living in Los Angeles. With her sick mother facing eviction from her care facility, Gillian can''t say no when her childhood nemesis, Tommy, shows up at her apartment with a $50k offer. All she has to do is return to the place where it all started, where she swore she''d never set foot again: Miscellany.Miscellany is a place of wonder and enchantment?a Disney World for puzzle lovers, and one that quickly owns the lives of those who stay too long. Tommy is running the park''s latest big game, and he''s convinced someone is leaking the answers. With investment and expansion in the cards, Miscellany can?t afford a scandal. As a former puzzler who kept her distance from Miscellany for twenty years, Gillian should find it easy to investigate while avoiding Miscellany?s charms and entanglements.But when Gillian arrives, she discovers things aren''t so straightforward.Her turncoat ex-friend Martin Ellsberg holds the security reins, Tommy?s estranged wife Evelina spins PR webs around the park?s machinations, and the manipulative park founder Sebastian offers her the financial security and intellectual future she always wanted. With her mother?s circumstances growing more dire, and under pressure to sweep the accusations under the rug, Gillian finds childhood games all the more treacherous for adults.Miscellany is offering Gillian the life she always wanted. But at what price?

Nara and her twin sister, Osha, have escaped the brutal clutches of the Citadel and the Hrossi Wastelanders and have arrived in the Shadow City of Reis. In the Shadow City, power plays are rife and rumours abound of a Pure healer with the ability to cure the Branded. New allies emerge alongside familiar faces as the city churns with this long-awaited prophecy that many would kill to see come true – and all eyes are on Osha. Nara must protect her sister; their powers are growing stronger, and it’s vital they learn to wield them. Before long Nara is caught between her first love and the one who’s stolen her heart but betrayed her trust. Surrounded by lies and deception she is left uncertain who she truly is and what she can believe. Dark forces are taking control across the Continent, and the Branded must rise to survive... An updated edition with reworked content for a worldwide release.

A new edition of A.E. Waite''s classic The Pictorial Key to the Tarot that explores tarot''s radical political potential and its usefulness for the left.A.E. Waite?s The Pictoral Key to the Tarot has been a mainstay among tarot reference guides for more than a century.As an acclaimed occultist and scholar of the Kabbalah, Waite collaborated with artist Pamela Colman Smith to create what has become possibly the world?s most famous tarot deck. The pictoral key offers a rich introduction to the history and symbology of the modern tarot in addition to providing a detailed explanation of the 78 cards found in the original Smith-Waite deck. Readers will enjoy an in-depth exploration of the tarot?s secrets while gaining insight to the conventional meanings and reversed readings associated with each card.Repeater?s re-release of this classic text contains a forward by Sereptie (Craig Laubach), creator of The Philosopher?s Tarot, celebrating the importance of the tarot to artists, activists, and others seeking to transform a world fraught with material and psychic oppressions. This expanded edition also includes an appendix featuring a quick reference guide to common keywords and interpretations.

Saffron Coulter has returned from the fantasy kingdom of Kena. Threatened with a stay in psychiatric care, Saffron has to make a choice: to forget about Kena and fit back into the life she’s outgrown, or pit herself against everything she’s ever known and everyone she loves. Meanwhile in Kena, Gwen is increasingly troubled by the absence of Leoden, cruel ruler of the kingdom, and his plans for the captive worldwalkers, while Yena, still in Veksh, must confront the deposed Kadeja. What is their endgame? Who can they trust? And what will happen when Leoden returns?

Lily Wong—a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja—has more trouble than she was bargaining for when controlling grandparents arrive in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at the same time she goes undercover in the dangerous world of youth sex trafficking. As she hunts for a kidnapped prostitution victim, a missing high school girl,and a sociopathic trafficker, the surviving members of a murderous street gang hunt for her. Life would be easier if Lily knew who to trust. But when victims are villains, villains are victims, and even family is plotting against her, easy is not an option. All Lily can do is follow the trail wherever it leads: through a high school campuspolarized by racial tension or the secret back rooms of a barber/tattoo/brothel or the soul-crushing stretch of Long Beach Boulevard known as The Blade. She relies on her ninja skills to deceive and infiltrate, rescue and kill—whatever is necessary to free the girls from their literal and figurative slavery. If only those same skills couldkeep Lily’s conniving grandparents from hijacking her future.

International action adventure ensues when Lily Wong—a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja—travels from Shanghai to Japan to help family friend and former triad enforcer, Lee Chang, locate and rescue his kidnapped twelve-year-old niece while, back home in Los Angeles, her father’s health wanes. Their mission is aided and complicated by an enigmatic assassin with a discomforting fascination for Lily. When the hunt for the niece leads to another missing relative, the trio of dangerous heroes—ninja, triad, and assassin—are pitted against an even greater foe. Meanwhile, Chang’s family must be moved from the shikumen house in Old Shanghai before the government tears it down. This would be simpler if not for the feud between brothers and the old resentments and intrigues entwined within the stunning history of the city itself.

After her sister is raped and murdered, Lily Wong dedicates her life and ninjaskills to the protection of women. But her mission is complicated. Not only does she live above the Chinese restaurant owned by her Norwegian father and inspired by the recipes of her Chinese mother, but she has to hide her true self from her Hong Kong tiger mom who is already disappointed in her daughter's less thanfeminine ways, and who would be horrified to know what she had become. But when a woman and her son she escorted safely to an abused women’s shelter return home to dangerous consequences, Lily is forced to not only confront her family and her past, but team up with a mysterious—and very lethal—stranger to rescue them.

Things get personal for Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja Lily Wong in Hong Kong when she dives into the dangerous world of triads, romance, and corporate disaster during the height of the pro-democracy protests. Lily’s mother has been summoned by her grandfather, Gung-Gung to attend an emergency board meeting. Lily is happy to take her father’s place for exotic travel, family reunions, and romantic dates with her new boyfriend, Daniel Kwok, who's there for business. Lily and her mother stay at her grandparents' hillside home on HongKong Island, but tension between Gung-Gung and Ma makes it hard to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, especially with the city in turmoil. Gung-Gung won’t say anything about the meeting and Ma is worried that her career is in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the teenage daughter of Gung-Gung's driver is pulled into the dangerous riots. As Lily and Ma discover shaky finances, questionable loans, and plans for the future involving them both, Lily's escalating romance with Daniel puts her heart at risk. Will her ninja skills allow her to protect her mother, the family business, and the renegade teen while navigating love, corporate intrigue, and murderous triads?

A SFF thriller where a mysterious, otherworldly tower appears in the sky above the UK with a single word emblazoned above its doorway... ascend. A great read for fans of Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart.When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children?s author lead the others in trying to understand why they?ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone… is up.And so begins a race to the top, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, as the group fights to hold onto its humanity, while the twisted horror of why they?re here grows ever more apparent ? and death stalks their every move.