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Editor: St. Martin\'s Griffin
ISBN: 9781429984683
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Guilty Pleasure by Summary

The sizzling new erotic tale from New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh Marty Mathews had always known about the secret, forbidden pleasures that the women she had grown up with enjoyed. Women whose husbands or lovers were members of the exclusive "Club," where they took a selected "third" into their beds. And there is one man—a dangerous, forbidden man—who is part of this world and who has haunted Marty's dreams for years. But she had been the FBI agent assigned to shadow him, making him completely off limits. . .That is until Khalid is cleared and Marty is released from her assignment. Now, all bets are off. . . The beautiful, fierce Marty Mathews is the one woman Khalid hungers for like no other and is the one woman he dare not let himself have. His past dogs his every step and danger lurks around every corner. If he wants to keep her safe, he must stay away from her. But the power of their desire is something they cannot deny—and once Marty is his, Khalid will do whatever it takes to keep her in his bed and in his arms.

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Editor: Penguin
ISBN: 1101146389
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Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton Summary

Meet Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, in the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that “blends the genres of romance, horror and adventure with stunning panache”(Diana Gabaldon). Laurell K. Hamilton’s bestselling series has captured readers’ wildest imaginations and addicted them to a seductive world where supernatural hungers collide with the desires of the human heart, starring a heroine like no other... Anita Blake is small, dark, and dangerous. Her turf is the city of St. Louis. Her job: re-animating the dead and killing the undead who take things too far. But when the city’s most powerful vampire asks her to solve a series of vicious slayings, Anita must confront her greatest fear—her undeniable attraction to master vampire Jean-Claude, one of the creatures she is sworn to destroy... “What The Da Vinci Code did for the religious thriller, the Anita Blake series has done for the vampire novel.”—USA Today

Author: Arielle Zibrak
Editor: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479807125
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Avidly Reads Guilty Pleasures by Arielle Zibrak Summary

"My guilty pleasure wasn’t just reading low-brow fiction or even female-authored fiction, it was being femme itself." What is it about ribald romance novels, luxurious interior design, and frothy wedding dresses that often make women feel their desires come with a shadow of shame? In Avidly Reads Guilty Pleasures, Arielle Zibrak considers the specifically pleasurable forms of feminine guilt and desire stimulated by supposedly “lowbrow” aesthetic tendencies. She takes up the overwhelming preoccupation with the experience of being humiliated, dominated, or even abused that has pervaded the stories that make up women’s culture—from eighteenth-century epistolary novels to popular twentieth-century teen magazine features to present-day romantic comedies. In three chapters—“Rough Sex,” “Expensive Sheets,” and “Saying Yes to the Dress”—that mirror the plot structures of feminine fictions themselves, this book tells the story of the desires that only the guiltiest of pleasures evoke. Zibrak reexamines documents of femme culture long dismissed as “trash” to reveal the surprisingly cathartic experiences produced by tales of domination, privilege, and the material trappings of the heteropatriarchy. Part of the Avidly Reads series, this slim book gives us a new way of looking at American culture. With the singular blend of personal reflection and cultural criticism featured in the series, Avidly Reads Guilty Pleasures reclaims women’s experiences for themselves.

Author: Hugh McIntosh
Editor: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813941660
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Guilty Pleasures by Hugh McIntosh Summary

Guilty pleasures in one’s reading habits are nothing new. Late-nineteenth-century American literary culture even championed the idea that popular novels need not be great. Best-selling novels arrived in the public sphere as at once beloved and contested objects, an ambivalence that reflected and informed America’s cultural insecurity. This became a matter of nationhood as well as aesthetics: the amateurism of popular narratives resonated with the discourse of new nationhood. In Guilty Pleasures, Hugh McIntosh examines reactions to best-selling fiction in the United States from 1850 to 1920, including reader response to such best-sellers as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Ben Hur, and Trilby as well as fictional representations—from Trollope to Baldwin—of American culture’s lack of artistic greatness. Drawing on a transatlantic archive of contemporary criticism, urban display, parody, and advertising, Guilty Pleasures thoroughly documents how the conflicted attitude toward popular novels shaped these ephemeral modes of response. Paying close attention to this material history of novel reading, McIntosh reveals how popular fiction’s unique status as socially saturating and aesthetically questionable inspired public reflection on what it meant to belong to a flawed national community.

Author: Tyler Stevenson
Editor: Greenhaven Publishing LLC
ISBN: 153456764X
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Reality Television by Tyler Stevenson Summary

Reality television grew to massive popularity in the early 2000s, as the medium exploded into what it is today. It seems as if every channel now has multiple reality programs, broadcasting for hours each day. Readers discover the roots of this genre and the controversies surrounding it. Presented alongside the main text are detailed charts and in-depth sidebars to educate readers about one of the most popular genres in television. The question of whether reality television can ever be more than just a guilty pleasure is also addressed, and readers are prompted through discussion questions to form intelligent opinions about it.

Author: Jennifer L. Pozner
Editor: Seal Press
ISBN: 1580053750
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Reality Bites Back by Jennifer L. Pozner Summary

Nearly every night on every major network, “unscripted” (but carefully crafted) “reality” TV shows routinely glorify retrograde stereotypes that most people would assume got left behind 35 years ago. In Reality Bites Back, media critic Jennifer L. Pozner aims a critical, analytical lens at a trend most people dismiss as harmless fluff. She deconstructs reality TV’s twisted fairytales to demonstrate that far from being simple “guilty pleasures,” these programs are actually guilty of fomenting gender-war ideology and significantly affecting the intellectual and political development of this generation’s young viewers. She lays out the cultural biases promoted by reality TV about gender, race, class, sexuality, and consumerism, and explores how those biases shape and reflect our cultural perceptions of who we are, what we’re valued for, and what we should view as “our place” in society. Smart and informative, Reality Bites Back arms readers with the tools they need to understand and challenge the stereotypes reality TV reinforces and, ultimately, to demand accountability from the corporations responsible for this contemporary cultural attack on three decades of feminist progress.

Author: Kevin Dickson,Jack Ketsoyan
Editor: Imprint
ISBN: 1250122260
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Guilty Pleasure by Kevin Dickson,Jack Ketsoyan Summary

Named a “Great Beach Read” by People Magazine “When you're packing your beach bag this summer, no doubt you'll want a copy of Guilty Pleasure tucked inside.” —E! Online Can Hollywood's hottest secret relationship survive a PRomance? Find out in this jaw-dropping sequel to Blind Item as three young Hollywood professionals strive to keep the industry’s most salacious scandals under wraps during awards season. Nicola faces her biggest challenge as a publicist when she is forced to represent her superstar ex-boyfriend, Seamus, when he returns from rehab. Her boss Gaynor is struggling to keep the PR agency afloat, and Seamus is one client who definitely won’t leave as long as Nicola is around. He’s willing to do anything to win her back—even start a fake relationship for some badly needed good publicity. Meanwhile, tabloid journalist Billy’s integrity is tested when he’s asked to print the inside scoop on a troubled star. And as for their bestie Kara? Miss Reality Show may have a sex tape on the market. With everyone's career and relationships in jeopardy, the three friends must trust each other again—before all their dirty secrets spill. An Imprint Book Named a “Summer Must-Read” by Life & Style Magazine An A grade from InTouch Magazine “Hollywood insiders ... pull back the curtain on celebrity scandals in this dishy sequel.” —People Magazine “Written by Hollywood insiders, this jaw-dropping novel is ripped from the headlines, and from the scandalous secrets that never made print!” —InTouch Magazine “Grab a bottle of wine, and let Dickson and Ketsoyan take you on a new dark yet refreshing Hollywood adventure. ... an A rating.” —Digital Journal Named one of the 10 Books You Must Add to Your Summer Reading List Right Now by Her Campus

Author: C. L. Parker
Editor: Bantam
ISBN: 0345548795
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A Million Guilty Pleasures by C. L. Parker Summary

Two million dollars secured Noah Crawford the most enticing woman he has ever known. Initiating Delaine Talbot into a sensuous world of pleasure took them both to the brink—again and again. But when Noah discovers why the beautiful innocent sold her body to the highest bidder, he’s faced with the hardest thing he ever had to do: Set her free. Lanie can’t believe Noah would let her go. Doesn’t he know they share a bond deeper than sex—a connection too powerful to sever? Not even a treacherous enemy out to destroy Noah or the dark secret haunting the multimillionaire can keep them apart. But first Lanie has to show him that he belongs to her, even if it means risking everything for a love that can never be bought or sold. Praise for A Million Guilty Pleasures “[C. L.] Parker’s story shines with sexy shenanigans that steam up the pages.”—RT Book Reviews (4-1/2 stars) “The charm and passion that made the first book a success are back in spades here. . . . A great followup, and a fitting end to an amazing pair. Noah and Lanie are a raunchy, loving couple and so much fun to read about.”—Miss Boxy Frown “Million Dollar Duet has a sexy billionaire hero and quirky heroine. It is packed with steamy scenes, and as romantic as can be.”—Under the Covers A Million Guilty Pleasures is intended for mature audiences.

Author: Laura Lee Guhrke
Editor: Zondervan
ISBN: 0061734527
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Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke Summary

One of Daphne Wade's guilty pleasures is to watch the Duke of Tremore as he works, shirtless, on the excavation site of his ducal estate. Anthony Courtland is by far the most exciting and handsome man she has ever known, and she dreams of one day being able to speak with him without getting tongue tied. Anthony, meanwhile, only sees Daphne as a hard worker on his excavation team. He considers her a plain young lady and says so in a careless remark to a friend, unaware that Daphne is outside the library door, her heart shattering to pieces. So Daphne decides she will not be so silly any longer. She begins to be tutored in the social graces, forcing Anthony to see the beauty who has been right in front of his eyes.

Author: Kevin Dickson,Jack Ketsoyan
Editor: Imprint
ISBN: 1250122244
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Blind Item by Kevin Dickson,Jack Ketsoyan Summary

An LA Times Bestseller One of People Magazine's “Summer’s Best Books” “Summer’s hottest new beach read, a juicy tome inspired by real-life Hollywood stories and scandals.” —E! Online “A dishy summer read about Hollywood’s underbelly, featuring twists on real celebrity scandals that weren’t fit for print in their original state.” —ET Online "This book is as outrageous as any true life tabloid scandal—a must read!" —Jenny McCarthy, talk show host, actress and New York Times-bestselling author of Belly Laughs No one knows her name, but now everyone wants to. As an assistant publicist in Hollywood, Nicola spends her days (and nights) sweeping up the scandals of singers, movie stars, and TV actors. Fresh from Ohio, she’s rapidly discovering the real Hollywood is rotten under its glittering skin. Everyone is a hustler with a hard bottom line and a soap opera sob story. When she breaks her own rules and starts dating a movie star, the Los Angeles scene starts to spill into her own life. As the paparazzi begin the hunt for sexy star Seamus O’Riordan’s new mystery girl, Nicola’s best friend Billy has her back while he prowls parties for the latest scoop to sell to the tabloids. Her roommate Kara keeps tabs on things too—in between befriending a former child star and transforming herself from stylist to reality TV sensation. As the scandals pile up behind them, their pasts will be exposed... And every secret can be sold. Written by two Hollywood insiders, Kevin Dickson and Jack Ketsoyan, Blind Item's jaw-dropping scandals are real, but the names are not. And they’ll never tell. Don't miss the sequel, Guilty Pleasure, a Hollywood tale of love and PRomance! An Imprint Book “[A] racy, rollicking novel by two industry insiders.” —In Touch Weekly “A dishy new book.” —Page Six “Sprinkled throughout this rags-to-riches wish-fulfillment story are real scandals that busy publicists and managers managed to hush up and hide.” —Publishers Weekly “This novel doesn’t just push the envelope but shreds it.” —School and Library Journal "What a sexy, fun read! It pulls back the curtain, for an inside look at the Hollywood that's behind the glitz and glamour. Blind Item leaves you wanting more." —Kristin Cavallari, television star, designer and author of Balancing in Heels

Author: Kitty Thomas
Editor: Burlesque Press
ISBN: 1938639073
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Guilty Pleasures by Kitty Thomas Summary

Note: The books in the Pleasure House world are all stand alones featuring a different couple in each book. They can be read in any order without any trouble. The listed order is the order of publication. Vivian Delaney leads a life of privilege, but behind closed doors she feels isolated and trapped in a gilded cage. Unable to achieve sexual pleasure with her husband, she finds herself in the capable hands of Anton, a massage therapist intent on awakening her to her full sexual potential. By any means necessary. Publisher's Note: This title is dark romance. If you enjoy this title, you will also enjoy Broken Dolls by Kitty Thomas, set in the same world as Guilty Pleasures. Broken Dolls is now available on pre-order for $2.99 through release day only. (Regular retail: $4.95) What Readers are Saying About Guilty Pleasures: "5 stars all the way. I love how kitty writes. no shame. it's everything I didn't know I wanted." - Drew P. "Such a sexy submissive story. I love Vivian and all the many characters that are thrown into her life. Sequel please, would definitely love more about these characters!" - Kenzie "I read "Comfort Food" and wanted to read more from the author ... "Dark eroticia" is so much more exciting than the "50 Shades" type story lines! With this book and Comfort Food, I questioned if I could handle reading about the things the character's were subjected to but that wasn't an issue, I was captivated. When about one quarter through the book, I thought it's not going to be as good as "Comfort Food" but that definitely wasn't the case ... It's a hot book and I loved it!" - Megan "This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. Very intense BDSM but if you have a depraved mind like me, you'll love it!" -AsianCocoa "Kitty Thomas is an incredibly talented erotica writer and storyteller, and she really turned up the heat and the kink in her latest release. Guilty Pleasures is a very erotic and twisted tale that sucks the reader in from the first paragraph. Ultimately, it is a look at one woman's sexual awakening and the drastic steps she must take to arrive there. She must question what is the worse existence, a lifetime of dull, passionless sex in her husband's bed or being "forced" to experience orgasmic kinky sex with strangers. I am so very pleased with the book's ending. Perfect! Highly recommended to those who like darker, BDSM erotica" - Book of Secrets "Guilty Pleasures is a lovely and sweet BDSM story about how a bored, rich and sexually shut-down wife gets her game back. " - Sheri Johnson "In Guilty Pleasures, Kitty Thomas' second novel, she has once again produced a wickedly arousing tale of nonconsensual submission that turned me on, satisfied me and left me wanting for more." -Zelda Gillian More dark literary erotica by Kitty Thomas: Dark Erotic Novels: Comfort Food Tender Mercies The Last Girl Submissive Fairy Tales (anthology of The Auction, Awakening, and The King's Pleasure) Big Sky Mafia Captive Blood Mate Dark Erotic Novellas: The Auction Awakening The King's Pleasure Note: This work is not 50 Shades of Grey, however, if you enjoy work like 50 Shades of Grey, you may also enjoy Kitty Thomas' dark erotica. If you like Kitty Thomas, consider trying some of these other great authors: CJ Roberts, Tiffany Reisz, Annabel Joseph, Pepper Winters, Anna Zaires, Aleatha Romig, Skye Warren, Cherise Sinclair Kitty writes dark literary erotica, usually with a kinky master/slave theme and a hint of bdsm and captive erotica elements.

Author: Cynthia Loyst
Editor: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1508259348
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Find Your Pleasure by Cynthia Loyst Summary

From The Social cohost Cynthia Loyst, a deeply personal lifestyle book about how to take the guilt out of pleasure and get to the heart of what you need and want in all aspects of life—from family, home, and work to love and sex. Find Your Pleasure is a pleasure revolution: where society has told women to feel guilty or ashamed for embracing pleasures, Cynthia Loyst shows you how to get to the heart of what you need and want, in every aspect of life. Live: Uncover the beauty of everyday moments, celebrate family and friends, find fun and satisfaction in your workdays, and enjoy the immense rewards parenting has to offer—all while being mindful of taking care of yourself. Love: Cynthia reveals everything from learning to enjoy your body more, ways to feel intimate and communicate effectively with your partner, and the keys to having better sex. Inspire: Find out how to let your creative self bloom, seek out exciting new pathways in life, and let kindness guide you with Cynthia’s tips and tricks for mastering mindfulness and meditation. Through her insightful anecdotes, Cynthia empowers women to revel in all of life’s joys, even the messy ones. Filled with beautiful color photographs, Find Your Pleasure is a treat for the soul that you can devour in one go or savor in tiny bites.

Author: Timothy Aubry
Editor: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674988965
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Guilty Aesthetic Pleasures by Timothy Aubry Summary

For scholars invested in supporting or challenging dominant ideologies, the beauty of literature seemed frivolous, even complicit with social iniquities. Suspicion of aesthetics became a way to establish the rigor of one’s thought and the purity of one’s politics. Yet aesthetic pleasure never disappeared, Timothy Aubrey writes. It went underground.

Author: Nikki Sloane
Editor: Shady Creek Publishing
ISBN:
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Three Guilty Pleasures by Nikki Sloane Summary

I didn’t expect to fall off the stage and land in the powerful arms of this gorgeous man. He’s a brutal warrior on the rugby field and a delicate artist with the cello, and the combination is irresistible. His music seduces. It inspires my dancing and demands my surrender. I gave up on my dream once, and I’ll need his help to resume the chase. And when we take the stage together, I’m willing to give him everything. My submission. The dark secret I’ve been keeping. Even my tenuous heart. But will he want any of it once he knows the truth?

Author: Alice Guilluy
Editor: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350163058
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'Guilty Pleasures' by Alice Guilluy Summary

In Guilty Pleasures, Alice Guilluy examines the reception of contemporary Hollywood romantic comedy by European audiences. She offers a new look at the romantic comedy genre through a qualitative study of its consumption by actual audiences. In doing so, she attempts to challenge traditional critiques of the genre as trite “escapism” at best, and dangerous “guilty pleasure” at worst. Despite this cultural anxiety, little work has been done on the genre's real audiences. Guilluy addresses this gap by presenting the results of a major qualitative study of the genre's reception, based on interview research with rom-com viewers in Britain, France and Germany, focusing on Sweet Home Alabama (2002, dir. Andy Tennant). Throughout the interviews, participants attempted to distance themselves from what they described as the “typical” rom-com viewer: the uneducated, gullible, overly emotional (American) woman. Guilluy calls this fantasy figure the “phantom spectatrix”. Guilluy complements this with a critical examination of the press reviews of the 20 biggest-grossing rom-coms at the worldwide box-office in order to contextualise the findings of her audience research.

Author: Mary Gaitskill
Editor: Pantheon
ISBN: 1524749141
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This Is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill Summary

Starting with Bad Behavior in the 1980s, Mary Gaitskill has been writing about gender relations with searing, even prophetic honesty. In This Is Pleasure, she considers our present moment through the lens of a particular #MeToo incident. The effervescent, well-dressed Quin, a successful book editor and fixture on the New York arts scene, has been accused of repeated unforgivable transgressions toward women in his orbit. But are they unforgivable? And who has the right to forgive him? To Quin’s friend Margot, the wrongdoing is less clear. Alternating Quin’s and Margot’s voices and perspectives, Gaitskill creates a nuanced tragicomedy, one that reveals her characters as whole persons—hurtful and hurting, infuriating and touching, and always deeply recognizable. Gaitskill has said that fiction is the only way that she could approach this subject because it is too emotionally faceted to treat in the more rational essay form. Her compliment to her characters—and to her readers—is that they are unvarnished and real. Her belief in our ability to understand them, even when we don’t always admire them, is a gesture of humanity from one of our greatest contemporary writers.

Author: Victoria Stone
Editor: Fair Winds Press
ISBN: 1610593839
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The World's Best Massage Techniques The Complete Illustrated Guide by Victoria Stone Summary

Massage is one of the oldest healing modalities in the world and even modern science is proving its incredible power to soothe anxiety, boost immunity, and alleviate pain. The World’s Best Massage Techniques presents the most effective massage and bodywork techniques from around the world—many of which have been used for thousands of years—to soothe stress and tension, alleviate discomfort, and give pleasure. This beautiful hands-on guide teaches you how to skillfully apply a wide variety of massage and bodywork techniques from other cultures for relaxation, stress relief, and wellness. — Swedish Massage: Kneading strokes lengthen tense muscles — Hot Stone Massage: Heated, flowing movements penetrate tight knots — Thai Yoga Massage: Assisted stretches bring the body into alignment — Reflexology: Focused pressure activates energy meridians — Lomi Lomi: Sensuous strokes calm the body and mind — Tantsu: Close, body-to-body contact creates intimacy — Polarity: Gentle rocking movements loosen muscles and joints — Shiatsu: Small compressions reduce pain and aid injury recovery Color photography and step-by-step layout make techniques understandable and immediately applicable. With The World’s Best Massage Techniques you can use the world’s most exciting bodywork techniques in your own home.

Author: Amy Kaufman
Editor: Penguin
ISBN: 1101985925
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Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman Summary

*A New York Times Bestseller* The first definitive, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes cultural history of the Bachelor franchise, America’s favorite guilty pleasure. For sixteen years and thirty-six seasons, the Bachelor franchise has been a mainstay in American TV viewers’ lives. Since it premiered in 2002, the show’s popularity and relevance have only grown—more than eight million viewers tuned in to see the conclusion of the most recent season of The Bachelor. Los Angeles Times journalist Amy Kaufman is a proud member of Bachelor Nation and has a long history with the franchise—ABC even banned her from attending show events after her coverage of the program got a little too real for its liking. She has interviewed dozens of producers, contestants, and celebrity fans to give readers never-before-told details of the show’s inner workings: what it’s like to be trapped in the mansion “bubble”; dark, juicy tales of producer manipulation; and revelations about the alcohol-fueled debauchery that occurs long before the Fantasy Suite. Kaufman also explores what our fascination means, culturally: what the show says about the way we view so-called ideal suitors; our subconscious yearning for fairy-tale romance; and how this enduring television show has shaped society’s feelings about love, marriage, and feminism by appealing to a marriage plot that’s as old as the best of Jane Austen.

Author: Voltaire Voltaire
Editor: Xist Publishing
ISBN: 1681959526
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Candide by Voltaire Voltaire Summary

Candide by Voltaire from Coterie Classics All Coterie Classics have been formatted for ereaders and devices and include a bonus link to the free audio book. “Do you believe,' said Candide, 'that men have always massacred each other as they do to-day, that they have always been liars, cheats, traitors, ingrates, brigands, idiots, thieves, scoundrels, gluttons, drunkards, misers, envious, ambitious, bloody-minded, calumniators, debauchees, fanatics, hypocrites, and fools?' Do you believe,' said Martin, 'that hawks have always eaten pigeons when they have found them?” ― Voltaire, Candide Candide is a young man who is raised in wealth to be an optimist but when he is forced to make his own way in the world, his assumptions and outlook are challenged.

Author: May Cobb
Editor: Penguin
ISBN: 0593101154
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The Hunting Wives by May Cobb Summary

A Most Anticipated Novel by The Skimm * Cosmopolitan * SheReads * Frolic * PopSugar * BuzzFeed * Goodreads * E! Online * Betches * Crime Reads * Pure Wow * Book Riot * Bustle * and more! A Book of the Month Club Selection “Gossipy, scandalous housewives behaving badly might make this the juiciest read of the season."--Library Journal (starred review) "Sultry, salacious and utterly unpredictable....You'll devour it."--Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark The Hunting Wives share more than target practice, martinis, and bad behavior in this novel of obsession, seduction, and murder. Sophie O'Neill left behind an envy-inspiring career and the stressful, competitive life of big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in a small Texas town. It seems like the perfect life with a beautiful home in an idyllic rural community. But Sophie soon realizes that life is now too quiet, and she's feeling bored and restless. Then she meets Margot Banks, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. Sophie finds herself completely drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying. As Sophie's curiosity gives way to full-blown obsession, she slips farther away from the safety of her family and deeper into this nest of vipers. When the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet, Sophie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and her life spiraling out of control.

Author: Yann Martel
Editor: Vintage Canada
ISBN: 0307371123
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Life of Pi by Yann Martel Summary

Life of Pi is a masterful and utterly original novel that is at once the story of a young castaway who faces immeasurable hardships on the high seas, and a meditation on religion, faith, art and life that is as witty as it is profound. Using the threads of all of our best stories, Yann Martel has woven a glorious spiritual adventure that makes us question what it means to be alive, and to believe.

Author: Joseph Finder
Editor: Penguin
ISBN: 0698409752
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Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder Summary

New York Times bestselling author Joseph Finder delivers an exhilarating and timely thriller exploring how even the most powerful among us can be brought down by a carefully crafted lie and how the secrets we keep can never truly stay buried. The chief justice of the Supreme Court is about to be defamed, his career destroyed, by a powerful gossip website that specializes in dirt on celebs and politicians. Their top reporter has written an exposé claiming that he had liaisons with an escort, a young woman prepared to tell the world her salacious tale. But the chief justice is not without allies and his greatest supporter is determined to stop the story in its tracks. Nick Heller is a private spy—an intelligence operative based in Boston, hired by lawyers, politicians, and even foreign governments. A high-powered investigator with a penchant for doing things his own way, he’s called to Washington, DC, to help out in this delicate, potentially explosive situation. Nick has just forty-eight hours to disprove the story about the chief justice. But when the call girl is found murdered, the case takes a dangerous turn, and Nick resolves to find the mastermind behind the conspiracy before anyone else falls victim to the maelstrom of political scandal and ruined reputations predicated upon one long-buried secret.

Author: Heather Widdows
Editor: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400889626
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Perfect Me by Heather Widdows Summary

How looking beautiful has become a moral imperative in today’s world The demand to be beautiful is increasingly important in today's visual and virtual culture. Rightly or wrongly, being perfect has become an ethical ideal to live by, and according to which we judge ourselves good or bad, a success or a failure. Perfect Me explores the changing nature of the beauty ideal, showing how it is more dominant, more demanding, and more global than ever before. Heather Widdows argues that our perception of the self is changing. More and more, we locate the self in the body--not just our actual, flawed bodies but our transforming and imagined ones. As this happens, we further embrace the beauty ideal. Nobody is firm enough, thin enough, smooth enough, or buff enough—not without significant effort and cosmetic intervention. And as more demanding practices become the norm, more will be required of us, and the beauty ideal will be harder and harder to resist. If you have ever felt the urge to "make the best of yourself" or worried that you were "letting yourself go," this book explains why. Perfect Me examines how the beauty ideal has come to define how we see ourselves and others and how we structure our daily practices—and how it enthralls us with promises of the good life that are dubious at best. Perfect Me demonstrates that we must first recognize the ethical nature of the beauty ideal if we are ever to address its harms.

Author: George Orwell
Editor: epubli
ISBN: 3753145130
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Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Summary

"Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel", often published as "1984", is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English novelist George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, "Nineteen Eighty-Four" centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of persons and behaviours within society. Orwell, himself a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian government in the novel after Stalinist Russia. More broadly, the novel examines the role of truth and facts within politics and the ways in which they are manipulated. The story takes place in an imagined future, the year 1984, when much of the world has fallen victim to perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, historical negationism, and propaganda. Great Britain, known as Airstrip One, has become a province of a totalitarian superstate named Oceania that is ruled by the Party who employ the Thought Police to persecute individuality and independent thinking. Big Brother, the leader of the Party, enjoys an intense cult of personality despite the fact that he may not even exist. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a diligent and skillful rank-and-file worker and Outer Party member who secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion. He enters into a forbidden relationship with a colleague, Julia, and starts to remember what life was like before the Party came to power.

Author: Robert Greene
Editor: Penguin
ISBN: 0698184548
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The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene Summary

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power comes the definitive new book on decoding the behavior of the people around you Robert Greene is a master guide for millions of readers, distilling ancient wisdom and philosophy into essential texts for seekers of power, understanding and mastery. Now he turns to the most important subject of all - understanding people's drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves. We are social animals. Our very lives depend on our relationships with people. Knowing why people do what they do is the most important tool we can possess, without which our other talents can only take us so far. Drawing from the ideas and examples of Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, Greene teaches us how to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people's masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose. Whether at work, in relationships, or in shaping the world around you, The Laws of Human Nature offers brilliant tactics for success, self-improvement, and self-defense.

Author: Maggie Alderson
Editor: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141906677
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Mad About The Boy by Maggie Alderson Summary

'Some of my best friends are homosexuals. I just didn't expect my husband to be one too.' A year after Antonia and Hugh move to Australia with their 4 year old son Tom, everything is going terribly well. They have a lovely house, they're very popular - and then Hugh tells Antonia he is gay and has a boyfriend ... It's only the arrival of Ant's outrageous lavender-haired uncle Percy that lifts her out of her depression and sends her off to the gym - to combat the lardy thighs her comfort eating has given her - where she meets the mysterious James, and falls head over heels in lust. Soon Ant finds she's over Hugo - but by then her problems are only just beginning ...

Author: James Patterson,David Ellis
Editor: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316097578
FileSize: 544kb
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Guilty Wives by James Patterson,David Ellis Summary

After a lavish night of guilty pleasures in Monte Carlo, four best friends face an awful morning of arrests -- and a fight for survival. Only minutes after Abbie Elliot and her three best friends step off of a private helicopter, they enter the most luxurious, sumptuous, sensually pampering hotel they have ever been to. Their lavish presidential suite overlooks Monte Carlo, and they surrender: to the sun and pool, to the sashimi and sake, to the Bruno Paillard champagne. As the weekend moves into pulsating discos, high-stakes casinos, and beyond, Abbie is transported to the greatest pleasure and release she has ever known. In the morning's harsh light, Abbie awakens on a yacht, surrounded by police. Something awful has happened: something impossible, unthinkable. Abbie, Winnie, Serena, and Bryah are arrested and accused of the foulest crime imaginable. And now the vacation of a lifetime becomes the fight of a lifetime-a fight for survival. Guilty Wives is the ultimate indulgence, the kind of nonstop joy-ride of excess, friendship, betrayal, and danger that only James Patterson can create.

Author: Adolf Hitler
Editor: Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd
ISBN: 9390504872
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Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler Summary

‘MEIN KAMPF’ is the autobiography of Adolf Hitler gives detailed insight into the mission and vision of Adolf Hitler that shook the world. This book is the merger of two volumes. The first volume of MEIN KAMPF’ was written while the author was imprisioned in a Bavarian fortress. The book deals with events which brought the author into this blight. It was the hour of Germany’s deepest humiliation, when Napolean has dismembered the old German Empire and French soldiers occupied almost the whole of Germony. The books narrates how Hitler was arrested with several of his comrades and imprisoned in the fortress of Landsberg on the river Lech. During this period only the author wrote the first volume of MEIN KAMPF. The Second volume of MEIN KAMPF was written after release of Hitler from prison and it was published after the French had left the Ruhr, the tramp of the invading armies still echoed in German ears and the terrible ravages had plunged the country into a state of social and economic Chaos. The beauty of the book is, MEIN KAMPF is an historical document which bears the emprint of its own time. Moreover, Hitler has declared that his acts and ‘public statements’ constitute a partial revision of his book and are to be taken as such. Also, the author has translated Hitler’s ideal, the Volkischer Staat, as the People’s State. The author has tried his best making German Vocabulary easy to understand. You will never be satisfied until go through the whole book. A must read book, which is one of the most widely circulated and read books worldwide.

Author: Jostein Gaarder
Editor: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 1466804270
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Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder Summary

One day Sophie comes home from school to find two questions in her mail: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" Before she knows it she is enrolled in a correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher. Thus begins Jostein Gaarder's unique novel, which is not only a mystery, but also a complete and entertaining history of philosophy.

Author: Jan Bowles
Editor: Siren-BookStrand
ISBN: 1619262894
FileSize: 1846kb
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Claimed for the Master's Pleasure [Guilty Pleasures 5] by Jan Bowles Summary

[Siren Everlasting Classic: Erotic BDSM Romance, spanking, knife play, sex toys] When Lia Constantine's father dies suddenly, she's shocked to discover he's left casino debts totaling more than one million dollars. Unless she sells the family home, making herself homeless, she cannot repay the debt. Under difficult circumstances, self-made billionaire Jake Benetti, owner of the Arabian Nights Casino, meets the incredibly beautiful Lia Constantine for the first time. As soon as he sees her, he knows she holds the key to unlocking his broken heart. He cannot allow this highly alluring woman to slip through his fingers. Caught between the past and the future, he makes her an offer she simply can't refuse—until Lia repays her father's gambling debts, he owns her, mind, body, and soul. Lia is into the BDSM lifestyle as much as Jake is, but with their D/s relationship beginning to blossom, will the money drive a wedge between them? Can they ever find happiness together? ** A Siren Erotic Romance

Author: C. L. Parker
Editor: Bantam
ISBN: 0345548779
FileSize: 1266kb
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A Million Dirty Secrets by C. L. Parker Summary

“Super-sexy with snappy dialogue, this wonderful Cinderella tale begins the search for Lanie and Noah’s happily-ever-after. . . . The sequel cannot arrive fast enough.”—RT Book Reviews (4-1/2 stars) Delaine Talbot has a secret. When a matter of life and death threatens to tear apart her family, Delaine makes the ultimate sacrifice. She auctions herself off at Chicago’s most exclusive erotic club. Now she belongs to Noah Crawford, a wealthy mogul who introduces her to a seductive feast of the senses, awakening desires she only dreamed about. Noah doesn’t know why Delaine sold her body for a cool two mil. But it’s the perfect business arrangement. The inexperienced beauty will learn to satisfy his every sensual need, yet never touch his heart. Almost immediately their relationship generates heat—in more ways than one. When they fight, they take no prisoners. When they love, they show no mercy. When they’re together, they never want to leave each other’s arms. But soon, their intense, physical bond will take an unexpected turn—evolving into something neither has bargained for: the promise of a lasting love. Praise for A Million Dirty Secrets “Smoldering sex scenes and a cliffhanger ending will have [romance] fans panting for more.”—Publishers Weekly “This book has some yummy scenes. The chemistry is absolutely there, the back and forth bantering, the punishments, and the tender moments. . . . I am looking forward to the next one for sure as we are left with a bit of a cliffhanger . . . man I hate (love love love) that!”—The Reading Cafe “Explosive . . . If I had to sum this story up in three words, they would be thrilling, dangerous and addictive.”—23 Review Street A Million Dirty Secrets is intended for mature audiences.

Author: Jackson Katz
Editor: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1492697133
FileSize: 1617kb
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The Macho Paradox by Jackson Katz Summary

"A candid look at the cultural factors that lend themselves to tolerance of abuse and violence against women."—Booklist Revised and updated to include current studies, politics, and discussions, The Macho Paradox is the first book to show how violence against women is a male issue as well as a female one — and how we can come together to stop it. Written by pioneering anti-violence educator Jackson Katz, The Macho Paradox incorporates the voices and experiences of women and men who have confronted the problem from all angles, the discussions surrounding currents events in politics and pop-culture, and where the violence is ignored or encouraged in our upbringing. Katz also offers cogent explanations for why so many men harass and hurt women, and he shows what can be done to stop the violence. By working together as allies, Katz shows how all genders can end the abuse and mistreatment of women. Additional Praise for The Macho Paradox: "If only men would read Katz's book, it could serve as a potent form of male consciousness-raising."—Publishers Weekly "These pages will empower both men and women to end the scourge of male violence and abuse. Katz knows how to cut to the core of the issues, demonstrating undeniably that stopping the degradation of women should be every man's priority."—Lundy Bancroft, author of Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men

Author: Jeremy Bentham
Editor: Good Press
ISBN:
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An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham Summary

"An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation" by Jeremy Bentham. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Author: Lois Lowry
Editor: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0547345909
FileSize: 1997kb
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The Giver by Lois Lowry Summary

In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community. Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late? The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.

Author: Bernhard Schlink
Editor: Vintage
ISBN: 0375726977
FileSize: 875kb
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The Reader by Bernhard Schlink Summary

Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany. When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.

Author: Glen Weldon
Editor: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476756740
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The Caped Crusade by Glen Weldon Summary

“A roaring getaway car of guilty pleasures” (The New York Times Book Review), Glen Weldon’s The Caped Crusade is a fascinating, critically acclaimed chronicle of the rises and falls of one of the world’s most iconic superheroes and the fans who love him—now with a new afterword. Since his debut in Detective Comics #27, Batman has been many things: a two-fisted detective; a planet-hopping gadabout; a campy Pop Art sensation; a pointy-eared master spy; and a grim ninja of the urban night. Yet, despite these endless transformations, he remains one of our most revered cultural icons. In this “smart, witty, and engrossing” (The Wall Street Journal) cultural critique, NPR contributor and book critic Glen Weldon provides “a sharp, deeply knowledgeable, and often funny look at the cultural history of Batman and his fandom” (Chicago Tribune) to discover why it is that we can’t get enough of the Dark Knight. For nearly a century, Batman has cycled through eras of dark melodrama and light comedy and back again. How we perceive his character, whether he’s delivering dire threats in a raspy Christian Bale growl or trading blithely homoerotic double entendres with Robin the Boy Wonder, speaks to who we are and how we wish to be seen by the world. It’s this endless adaptability that has made him so lasting, and ultimately human. But it’s also Batman’s fundamental nerdiness that uniquely resonates with his fans and makes them fiercely protective of him. As Weldon charts the evolution of Gotham’s Guardian from Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s hyphenated hero to Christopher Nolan’s post-9/11 Dark Knight, he reveals how this symbol of justice has made us who we are today and why his legacy remains so strong. The result is “possibly the most erudite and well-researched fanboy manifesto ever” (Booklist). Well-researched, insightful, and engaging, The Caped Crusade, with a new afterword by the author, has something for everyone: “If you’re a Bat-neophyte, this is an accessible introduction; if you’re a dyed-in-the-Latex Bat-nerd, this is a colorfully rendered magical history tour redolent with nostalgia” (The Washington Post).

Author: Laura Rademacher,Lindsey Hoskins
Editor: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 131750531X
FileSize: 972kb
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The Principles of Pleasure by Laura Rademacher,Lindsey Hoskins Summary

There are tremendous benefits to discussing the subject of sexual and emotional pleasure with clients, and this book addresses the challenges and misconceptions of doing just that. Laura Rademacher and Lindsey Hoskins teach the skills necessary for mental health professionals and sex educators to build competence in this work with their clients. Readers get techniques to implement in therapeutic, clinical, and educational settings, and learn how to examine pleasure in ways that are currently lacking from academic work on sexual health. This book covers skills for working with populations of all orientations and gender expressions. Language and phrasing for addressing pleasure issues in a wide variety of educational or therapeutic settings is also provided. Information about sexual lubrication and sex toys that is rarely taught in professional training programs is included, as well as how to appropriately incorporate information about these important sexual tools into your work. Issues such as abstinence, sexual orientation, couple therapy, and sexual education will be discussed outside of the standard medical model of sex therapy. The Principles of Pleasure will help you feel relaxed and confident while moving clients and students closer to their pleasure goals, and provides the evidence to back up the importance of talking and teaching about pleasure, should you need to justify this work.

Author: Chris Harrison
Editor: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062305247
FileSize: 318kb
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The Perfect Letter by Chris Harrison Summary

“Do you love romance? Do you love reading? Do you love The Bachelor? Are you from Texas? If you answered ‘yes’ to any two of those questions, do we ever have a book for you.”—Huffington Post As the longtime host of ABC’s hit shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Chris Harrison has witnessed the joys and heartbreak of men and women searching for everlasting love. A true romantic at heart, he believes that everyone deserves their own fairytale ending. Now, in his first work of fiction, Chris draws on his unique insights and wisdom in a remarkable debut novel that explores love and its consequences—a must-read for Bachelor fans and hopeless romantics everywhere. Leigh Merrill spent ten years running away from her past. Now she’s going back . . . A talented young book editor in New York City, Leigh leads a rich life full of writing, parties, and romance, far from the dust of her grandfather’s horse farm in Texas. And she is engaged to Joseph, a brilliant, generous man who adores her. Still, when she’s invited to a writer’s conference in Austin, Leigh can’t help but feel that Texas, with all of its tangled secrets, is calling her home. She tells herself the trip is just a few days away to catch up with old friends, meet new authors, and clear her mind. But Leigh’s plans for a quiet retreat quickly dissolve when she discovers a stack of letters from her past in her hotel room . . . letters that bare her soul and her deepest and darkest secrets . . . letters she wrote to the love of her life. After years of running, but with nowhere left to hide, Leigh must finally decide what she truly wants . . . and just how much she’ll risk to get it.

Author: Robert Christgau
Editor: Duke University Press
ISBN: 1478002077
FileSize: 416kb
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Is It Still Good to Ya? by Robert Christgau Summary

Is It Still Good to Ya? sums up the career of longtime Village Voice stalwart Robert Christgau, who for half a century has been America's most widely respected rock critic, honoring a music he argues is only more enduring because it's sometimes simple or silly. While compiling historical overviews going back to Dionysus and the gramophone along with artist analyses that range from Louis Armstrong to M.I.A., this definitive collection also explores pop's African roots, response to 9/11, and evolution from the teen music of the '50s to an art form compelled to confront mortality as its heroes pass on. A final section combines searching obituaries of David Bowie, Prince, and Leonard Cohen with awed farewells to Bob Marley and Ornette Coleman.

Author: Laura Little
Editor: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190625783
FileSize: 1095kb
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Guilty Pleasures by Laura Little Summary

Few people associate law books with humor. Yet the legal world--in particular the American legal system--is itself frequently funny. Indeed, jokes about the profession are staples of American comedy. And there is actually humor within the world of law too: both lawyers and judges occasionally strive to be funny to deal with the drudgery of their duties. Just as importantly, though, our legal system is a strong regulator of humor. It encourages some types of humor while muzzling or punishing others. In a sense, law and humor engage a two-way feedback loop: humor provides the raw material for legal regulation and legal regulation inspires humor. In Guilty Pleasures, legal scholar Laura Little provides a multi-faceted account of American law and humor, looking at constraints on humor (and humor's effect on law), humor about law, and humor in law. In addition to interspersing amusing episodes from the legal world throughout the book, the book contains 75 New Yorker cartoons about lawyers and a preface by Bob Mankoff, the cartoon editor for the New Yorker.