Step-by-step projects for all skill levels to spruce up your home, from bookends to breakfast trays to birdhouses. With the right tools, guidance, and attitude, anyone can create beautiful and useful home goods from wood. In Cut, Shape, Assemble, award-winning artist Boo Paterson empowers you to craft with confidence and embark on your own creative journey. With information on tools and materials, clear instructions, full-color photography, and one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn blueprints, she guides you through easy-to-make projects that can be pulled together on the floor of a small apartment. All the designs in this book are stylish and modern, with everything a homeowner needs, like a knife block, plant stand, and even a table! Cutting boards, bookends, and serving platters make for wonderful additions to your home or great gifts for friends and family. Whether you’re a woodworking enthusiast, hobbyist crafter, or complete newcomer, this encouraging guide will inspire you to elevate your living space, your creativity, and your confidence as you experience the joy of making something of your own out of wood.

What does the battle between conservative Christians and LGBTQ+ people look like from the vantage point of those who are both?If a culture war is happening, LGBTQ+ conservative Christians are on the front lines. While many people assume LGBTQ+ people have to say goodbye to the religions they grew up with, and many do, others occupy the intersection of LGBTQ+ existence and conservative Protestantism. Choosing Love shows what happens when two identities that seem diametrically opposed--conservative Christian and LGBTQ+--are joined together within one person.Drawing on participant observation conducted within organizations for LGBTQ+ Christians and on more than 100 interviews with LGBTQ+ Christians, former Christians, and allies--especially Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color--Dawne Moon and Theresa W. Tobin show how a number of LGBTQ+ Christians and their heterosexual/cisgender allies are working to make their families, churches, and communities more inclusive, loving, and just. In telling their stories, Choosing Love shares lessons about what it means to be human, relational beings who need mutual connection to thrive. These stories expose the brutality of treating shame as a special sacrament for LGBTQ+ people and the toxicity of treating a particular construction of gender as sacred. They teach us the difference between arrogance and relational pride, and that humility is the core of true allyship. Finally, they offer contemporary examples of the radical potential of love in movements for social justice. Written in an approachable style and drawing from such diverse sources as Martin Buber, Martin Luther King, Black/Third World feminism, and queer thinkers of color, Choosing Love is for anyone interested in the centrality of relationships in human life, the place of love in the struggle for justice, and the need for justice in any effort to love.

Necessity is the mother of invention. It’s also the father of character.In history class, we’ve been taught that the Great Depression was all about crashing stock markets, snaking breadlines, and ecological disasters. We learned that FDR tried to put it right with the New Deal, but it was only World War II that finally succeeded in revitalizing the American economy. But that’s not the whole story.The “Greatest Generation” didn’t earn that title by sitting around hoping things would get better. The hard times of the Great Depression led to a surge in innovation that we never learned about in school. Did you know that refrigerator sales spiked during the 1930s? Did you know this was the decade that brought us blockbuster monster movies and animated films? Did you know these were the years many families adopted their first dog? Those are just a handful of the stories you were never taught. This “tapas menu” take on the 1930s shows that bad times create the most surprising outcomes.

In her most imaginative novel yet, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell (None of This Is True) launches the Marvel Crime series of thriller books for adults with an original story starring the private detective Jessica Jones. Meet Jessica Jones: Retired super hero, private investigator, loner. She tried her best to be a shiny spandex crimefighter, but that life only led to unspeakable trauma. Now she avoids that world altogether and works on surviving day-to-day in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica would prefer to nurse her hangover and try to forget last night’s poor choices. But something about Amber Randall’s story strikes a chord with her. Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect.” Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins’ new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community? A mother’s intuition is never wrong. And Jessica knows that nothing in life is perfect—not these kids, not her on-again, off-again relationship with Luke Cage, and certainly not Jessica herself. But even as she tries to buy into the idea that better days are ahead, Jessica Jones has seen all too clearly that behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow. Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series, introduces fans to a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe, and will continue with original novels featuring fan-favorite characters like Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.

Win “Coal” Keegan has just landed in his latest foster home, with a big, noisy, slightly nosy family named the McKays. They seem eager to welcome Coal, but he’s wary of trusting them. So, he doesn’t tell them that he went for a walk with chalk in his pocket to cover a nearby street with his art. He doesn’t tell them that a neighbor found Coal drawing, pulled a gun on him, and fired it. He doesn’t tell them the police chased him. And he definitely doesn’t tell them that when everything went down, Coal somehow turned invisible. But he did. Now he has to figure out how. Is he a superhero? Some kind of mutant? A science experiment? Is that why he has no family of his own? As Coal searches for answers and slowly learns to control his invisibility, he turns to the McKay kids and friends both new and old for help. But they soon discover they’re not the only ones looking for a Black boy with superpowers, and the situation is far stranger—and more dangerous—than they ever could have expected.

This outrageously charming and infuriatingly adorable enemies-to-lovers coffee shop romance is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Better Than the Movies. Meet River Langston-Lee. In the past 24 hours, he’s dumped his girlfriend, walked out of his SATs, and quit his job at his parents’ cafe in spectacularly disastrous fashion—even for him. Somehow, he manages to talk his way into a gig at a failing Korean cafe, Bingsu for Two, which is his lucky break until he meets short, grumpy, and goth: Sarang Cho. She’s his new no-BS co-worker who’s as determined to make River’s life hell as she is to save her family’s cafe. After River accidentally uploads a video of his chaotic co-workers to his popular fandom account, they strike viral fame. The kicker? Their new fans ship River and Sarang big-time. In order to keep the Internet’s attention—and the cafe’s new paying customers—River and Sarang must pretend that the tension between them is definitely of the romantic variety, not the considering the best way to kill you and hide your body variety. But when Bingsu for Two’s newfound success catches the attention of River’s ex and his parents’ cafe around the corner, he faces a choice: keep letting others control his life or stand up for the place that’s become home. And a green-haired girl who’s not as heartless as he originally thought . . .

A thrilling graphic novel reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that follows Jim, an enslaved man on a journey towards freedom, and his sidekick, Huck, in the antebellum South—from the team behind the Eisner Award–winning The Black Panther Party.Commonly regarded as one of the great American novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers since 1885. But since its publication, critics have rightfully condemned Mark Twain’s troubling portrayal of Black Americans as stereotypes and caricatures, with contemporary fans searching for a modern update to this iconic tale. Big Jim and the White Boy is a radical retelling of this American classic, centering the experiences of Jim, an enslaved Black man in search of his kidnapped wife and children, along with his cheeky sidekick, Huckleberry Finn. Jim and Huck’s high-stakes adventures take them on an epic voyage across the antebellum South and Midwest, through Confederate war camps and runaway safe houses, into Old West standoffs, and on the road as covert Underground Railroad agents. Intertwined into the story of Jim and Huck are the stories of Jim’s descendants in the 1930s, 1980s, and 2010s, making this a multigenerational family epic as well as an adventure story. Big Jim and the White Boy takes readers on a journey through Jim and Huck’s past, present, and future, delving into their incredible friendship and years of adventures—a bond that transcends the gruesome racism of the Civil War era. With compelling artwork and riveting storytelling, David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson push the boundaries of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in this incredible graphic novel, exploring the triumphs and tribulations of Jim and his family, and finally giving his due as a hero of American literature.

Writer Gabby Rivera and debuting artist Royal Dunlap present a new adventure series for anyone who’s ever fought to discover the truth about yourself even when it feels like the whole world is against you.THERE’S NOTHING ORDINARY ABOUT B.B. FREE. It’s been over twenty years since the Plague That Ate Greed wiped out half the population, and it’s the only world that b.b. has ever known.  Broadcasting her underground radio show from her remote swamp community, b.b. free has no idea about the world outside her home - or her role in it! But when b.b. discovers a terrible secret about her overbearing father, she realizes that everything she believes in could be a lie!  Now on the run from her own family, b.b. will learn the truth about the world she lives in, and about the power she never knew she had.  Writer Gabby Rivera (Marvel’s America) and debuting artist Royal Dunlap (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) present a new adventure series for anyone who’s ever fought to discover the truth about yourself even when it feels like the whole world is against you. Collects b.b. free #1-4.

Afraid her sister (and maybe even herself) could lose sight of their Vietnamese identity, twelve-year-old Bom writes a poetic memoir to help them both remember--a love letter in verse to sisterhood and the places we leave behind. Bom can't believe that her sister doesn't see herself as Vietnamese, only American. She says she doesn't remember Vietnam or their lives there, their family there, their house and friends. How could her sister forget the terrible journey through Saigon and the airplanes and... everything? And what about Bom? She remembers now, but how long will she keep her memories? She always found comfort in the sound of her father's typewriter. Clickity-clack, clickity-clack. So she has an idea. She'll write down all that she can remember: the time when her father was a spy, when her mother was nicknamed a "radio," when they were so hungry Bom couldn't walk well, when the family all said goodbye. Bom will even tell her sister, and herself, about what it was like moving to Tennessee. The ESL classes, bullies, strange new foods, icy weather, friendships, and crushes--and how her family worked to keep their heritage alive. She'll type one poem at a time, until they'll never forget again.

Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten . . .and your heart sing.Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster. Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.

This charming YA rom-com follows a strong-willed, ambitious teen as she teams up with her childhood frenemy to start a dating-advice column, perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Gloria Chao. Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things: 1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love. 2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition. When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior. Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview. With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.

A landmark illustrated anthology of queer Greek and Roman love stories that reclaim and celebrate homosexual love and sensuality, from artist Luke Edward Hall and award-winning poet Seán Hewitt. For centuries, evidence of queer love in the ancient world has either been ignored or suppressed. Even today, only a few narratives are widely the wild romance of Achilles and Patroclus; the yearning love of Sappho's lyrics; and the three genders introduced in Plato's Symposium . Yet there is a rich literary tradition of queer Greek and Roman love that extends far beyond the prudish translations of these familiar handful of stories. In 300,000 Kisses , award-winning poet Seán Hewitt and renowned designer Luke Edward Hall collect these stories—including some of the most beautiful and moving in the classical canon—and bring them to vivid life. Alongside celebrated works by Homer, Sappho, Ovid and Catullus, they include a wide range of rarely anthologized raunchy poems, thoughtful dialogues, philosophical treatises, and even a graffiti text salvaged from the ruins of Pompeii. Through Hewitt's contemporary translations and Hall's vibrant illustrations, we encounter relationships that are by turns heartfelt and nourishing, unrequited and lustful, toxic and crude, tender and fulfilling. A groundbreaking anthology that seeks to change the way we see the ancient world, 300,000 Kisses is a fascinating journey through love in all its forms.

Unleash your creativity with Amigurumi Critters, where every stitch brings an adorable critter to life. From cuddly koalas to tiny whales, playful pandas, and lovable dinosaurs, this book has everything you need to create your own menagerie of amigurumi animals. Inside you’ll find 25 patterns with step-by-step instructions and helpful tips on techniques and materials. Whether you’re an experienced crocheter or just starting out, this book features designs that cater to all skill levels. Each page includes full-color photographs of each critter for you to easily reference every step of the way. Once you learn the basic techniques, you can even apply them to your own designs! Let your imagination run wild and customize your critters however you want as you craft for yourself or create unique gifts. Grab your crochet hook and your favorite yarn and bring some cuteness to your life with this charming collection of handmade critters!

When the Pillar blooms, the end of the world is not far behind. Li Ami was always on the outside—outside of family, outside of friendships, outside of ordinary magic. The odd and eccentric daughter of a former imperial magician, she has devoted her life to books because she finds them easier to read than people. Exiled to the outermost west of the Morning Realms, Ami has become the sole caretaker of her mentally ill father, whose rantings and ravings may be more than mere ramblings; they may be part of a dire prophecy. When her father is arrested for trespassing and stealing a branch from the sacred tree of the local monastery, Ami offers herself to the mysterious Beast in the castle, who is in need of someone who can translate a forbidden magical text and find a cure for the mysterious blight that is affecting the harvest of the land. Meanwhile, as signs of magical corruption arise throughout the Morning Realms, Jin Zhara begins to realize that she might be out of her element. She may have defeated a demon lord and uncovered her identity as the Guardian of Fire, but she’ll be more than outmatched in the coming elemental battle against the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons…unless she can find the other Guardians of Dawn. Her magic is no match for the growing tide of undead, and she needs the Guardian of Wood with power over life and death in order to defeat the revenants razing the countryside. The threat of the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons looms larger by the day, and the tenuous peace holding the Morning Realms together is beginning to unravel. Ami and Zhara must journey to the Root of the World in order to seal the demon portal that may have opened there and restore balance to an increasingly chaotic world.

Critics have called this book “utterly useless” and “infuriatingly inaccurate.” Within its pages, multi-award-losing scientist Amelia E. Clawford presents a guide to all the facts she made up instead of actually doing research on the topic. Blatantly false, laughably contradictory, and entirely void of anything close to actual insight, All That There Is(n’t) To Know About Frogs will equip you with nothing you have ever needed to know about frogs.

As fiercely feminist as it is hopeful, this speculative, sapphic YA romance is simultaneously a modern-day war cry and a PSA that there is a wolf who slumbers us all—we only have to wake her. Rue’s life is over. After she’s caught kissing a girl behind the Sunday School classrooms, she gets exiled to Sacred Heart so she can be transformed into her mother’s idea of a respectable lady. The irony of being sent to—of all places—an all-girls Catholic boarding school is not lost on Rue, especially when she falls immediately and irreversibly under the spell of its ethereal, ferocious outcast, Charlotte Savage.  But there’s more to Charlotte than her sharp gaze and even sharper Charlotte Savage is, against all logic, a werewolf. And Rue can become one, too—any woman can, if she’s brave enough to heed the wild that howls inside of her. She and Charlotte aren’t alone in answering the call, and upon forming a wolf pack of wild girls who refuse to remain docile, Rue realizes she couldn’t have been more wrong. Her life isn’t over. It’s just beginning. This world is not kind to women, much less wild women…but God help the man who tries to cage the girls of Sacred Heart.

Welcome to the Magical Emporium of Wares, a bookshop that appears only to those who need to find it. When Sable answers a too-good-to-be-true job posting—cozy bookshop, perfect espresso machine, adorable black cat, and an apartment upstairs—she thought she'd finally caught a break from her crushing student loans. But the ink on the deal is barely dry when Sable realizes that the contract is very literal. She cannot leave. Also, her new feline companion talks, the bookstore itself is a sentient enigma with an excellent espresso machine, and magic isn’t just for storybooks–it’s woven into her new reality. Bound to the shop as the mystical Cat's voice and hands in the human world, the bookstore's true purpose begins to unfold, and Sable must choose. Will she embrace the impossible magic blooming around her, or cling to the mundane life she thought she wanted, risking the fate of the shop and its curious inhabitants? If you love the heartwarming charm of found family, the gentle unraveling of an enchanting mystery, and the quiet wonder of magic woven into everyday life, then this is your next favorite read. Discover the secrets of the bookstore and join Sable's extraordinary journey – pick up your copy of Meow: Magical Emporium of Wares today!