Tuco and the Scattershot World

Tuco and the Scattershot World PDF Author: Brian Brett
Publisher: Greystone Books
ISBN: 1771640642
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
The acclaimed author’s memoir of life with an African grey parrot offers “a thoughtful and generous celebration of minds and bodies different from our own” (Times Literary Supplement, UK). For thirty years, Brian Brett shared his office and his life with Tuco, a remarkable parrot given to asking questions such as “Whaddya know?” and announcing “Party time!” when guests showed up at Brett’s farm. Although Brett bought Tuco on a whim, he gradually realized the enormous obligation he has to his pet, learning that the parrot is far more complex than he thought. In Tuco and the Scattershot World, Brett not only chronicles his fascinating relationship with Tuco, but uses it to explore the human tendency to “other” the world, abusing birds, landscapes, and each other. Brett sees in Tuco’s otherness a mirror of his own experience contending with Kallman syndrome, a rare genetic condition that made him the target of bullies—and nurtured his affinity for winged creatures. Brett’s meditative digressions touch on topics ranging from the history of birds and dinosaurs to our concepts of knowledge, language, and intelligence—and include commentary from Tuco himself. By turns provocative and deeply moving, Tuco and the Scattershot World “is not a straight memoir—it’s something much more wondrously weird . . . a view of the human predicament that is hilarious, sobering and profound” (Globe & Mail, UK).

Tuco and the Scattershot World

Tuco and the Scattershot World PDF Author: Brian Brett
Publisher: Greystone Books
ISBN: 1771640642
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Get Book Here

Book Description
The acclaimed author’s memoir of life with an African grey parrot offers “a thoughtful and generous celebration of minds and bodies different from our own” (Times Literary Supplement, UK). For thirty years, Brian Brett shared his office and his life with Tuco, a remarkable parrot given to asking questions such as “Whaddya know?” and announcing “Party time!” when guests showed up at Brett’s farm. Although Brett bought Tuco on a whim, he gradually realized the enormous obligation he has to his pet, learning that the parrot is far more complex than he thought. In Tuco and the Scattershot World, Brett not only chronicles his fascinating relationship with Tuco, but uses it to explore the human tendency to “other” the world, abusing birds, landscapes, and each other. Brett sees in Tuco’s otherness a mirror of his own experience contending with Kallman syndrome, a rare genetic condition that made him the target of bullies—and nurtured his affinity for winged creatures. Brett’s meditative digressions touch on topics ranging from the history of birds and dinosaurs to our concepts of knowledge, language, and intelligence—and include commentary from Tuco himself. By turns provocative and deeply moving, Tuco and the Scattershot World “is not a straight memoir—it’s something much more wondrously weird . . . a view of the human predicament that is hilarious, sobering and profound” (Globe & Mail, UK).

In the Flesh

In the Flesh PDF Author: Lynne Van Luven
Publisher: Brindle and Glass
ISBN: 1926972384
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Living is a process of continuous transformation: we have been embryos, children, adolescents, thin, fat, sick, better again. And as humans, we are always at odds with at least one part of our bodies. Have we inherited the family nose? Is there nothing to be done for our finicky stomach or our limp hair? In the Flesh is an intelligent, witty, and provocative look at how we think about—and live within—our bodies. The editors and writers in this collection describe, in many voices, what human bodies feel now. Each author’s candid essay focuses on one part of the body, and explores its function, its meanings, and the role it has played in his or her life. Written from both the male and female perspectives, contributors include Caroline Adderson, André Alexis, Taiaiake Alfred, Brian Brett, Trevor Cole, Dede Crane, Lorna Crozier, Candace Fertile, Stephen Gauer, Julian Gunn, Heather Kuttai, Susan Olding, Kate Pullinger, Merilyn Simonds, Richard Steel, Madeleine Thien, Sue Thomas, and Margaret Thompson.

Trauma Farm

Trauma Farm PDF Author: Brian Brett
Publisher: Greystone Books Ltd
ISBN: 1926812387
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
The acclaimed author transforms a single day on his small farm into a “gorgeously thoughtful meditation on the natural world” and our place in it (Vancouver Sun). The acclaimed poet and author Brian Brett takes readers on an irreverent and illuminating journey through a day in the life of his small island farm in British Columbia, affectionately named Trauma Farm. With fascinating ruminations on everything from the natural history of farming to the horrors of industrial slaughterhouses, Brett’s day of tending to his farm becomes a Joycean epic of agrarian life. Brett moves from the tending of livestock, poultry, orchards, gardens, machinery, and fields to the social intricacies of rural communities and, finally, to an encounter with a magnificent deer in the silver moonlight of a magical field. Brett understands both tall tales and rigorous science as he explores the small mixed farm—meditating on the perfection of the egg and the nature of soil while also offering a scathing critique of agribusiness. Whether discussing the uses and misuses of gates, examining the energy of seeds, or bantering with his family, farm hands, and neighbors, Brett remains aware of the miracles of life, birth, and death that confront the rural world every day. Trauma Farm was a 2009 book of the year in the Times Literary Supplement and the Globe & Mail, and winner of Writers’ Trust Canadian Non-Fiction Prize.

Arthur

Arthur PDF Author: Mikael Lindnord
Publisher: Greystone Books Ltd
ISBN: 1771643382
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
The uplifting true story of an extreme athlete, a stray dog, and how they found each other. “Heroic and heartwarming” (Forbes), this unbelievable adventure will make readers laugh, gasp, cry, and see rescue dogs with a whole new perspective. NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MARK WAHLBERG—STREAMING ON STARZ When you're racing 435 miles through the jungles and mountains of South America, the last thing you need is a stray dog tagging along. But that's exactly what happened to Mikael Lindnord, captain of a Swedish adventure racing team, when he threw a scruffy but dignified mongrel a meatball one afternoon. When the team left the next day, the dog followed. Try as they might, they couldn't lose him—and soon Mikael realized that he didn't want to. Crossing rivers, battling illness and injury, and struggling through some of the toughest terrain on the planet, the team and the dog walked, kayaked, cycled, and climbed together toward the finish line, where Mikael decided he would save the dog, now named Arthur, and bring him back to his family in Sweden, whatever it took. Illustrated with candid photographs, Arthur provides a testament to the amazing bond between dogs and people.

Eat, Sleep, Ride

Eat, Sleep, Ride PDF Author: Paul Howard
Publisher: Greystone Books
ISBN: 1553658183
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
For Paul Howard, who has ridden the entire Tour de France route during the race itself—setting off at 4 am each day to avoid being caught by the pros—riding a small mountain-bike race should hold no fear. Still, this isn’t just any mountain-bike race. This is the Tour Divide. Running from Banff in Canada to the Mexican border, the Tour Divide is more than 2,700 miles—500 miles longer than the Tour de France. Its route along the Continental Divide goes through the heart of the Rocky Mountains and involves more than 200,000 feet of ascent—the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest seven times. The other problem is that Howard has never owned a mountain bike—and how will training on the South Downs in southern England prepare him for sleeping rough in the Rockies? Entertaining and engaging, Eat, Sleep, Ride will appeal to avid and aspiring cyclers, as well as fans of adventure/travel narrative with a humorous twist.

Uproar's Your Only Music

Uproar's Your Only Music PDF Author: Brian Brett
Publisher: Exile Editions, Ltd.
ISBN: 9781550960204
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
This memoir is personal and intense, a vision that is half paradise, half abattoir. It is Brett telling of growing up in the shadow of his peg-legged, strongman potato-peddling father, as he reveals that he is a hermaphrodite - sometimes angelic in his insights and also physically powerful, yet always on the brink of dying. Through excruciating pain in his bones and drug-induced hallucinations, he has stayed alive into his middle years as a storyteller with a huge appetite for life and words - a man of brilliance and courage, who has confronted the essential questions and conundrums of existence.

Crows

Crows PDF Author: Candace Savage
Publisher: Greystone Books
ISBN: 1771640863
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
A treasure trove of stories, poems, and information on the brainy, black-feathered bird that’s rich in insight and humor. This revised and expanded edition of Candace Savage’s best-selling book about ravens and crows is enhanced by additional paintings, drawings, and photos, as well as a fascinating selection of first-person stories and poems about remarkable encounters with crows. In one story, a pack of crows brilliantly thwarts an attack by a Golden Eagle; in another, a mischievous crow rescues the author from grief. And in a third piece, after nursing a battered baby crow back to health until it flies off with other crows, Louise Erdrich hauntingly describes her altered awareness as she listens for the “dark laugh” of crows while she works. Based on two decades of audacious research by scientists around the world, the book also provides an unprecedented, evidence-based glimpse into corvids’ intellectual, social, and emotional lives. But whether viewed through the lens of science, myth, or everyday experience, the result is always the same. These birds are so smart—and so mysterious—they take your breath away. Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute. Praise for Crows “A beautifully crafted celebration of these birds.” —Nature “A deft juxtaposition of interesting anecdotes and firsthand accounts of scientific discoveries.” —Canadian Literature “Surprising avian revelations are contained within the pages of Savage’s glorious festival of crow arcana.” —Alberta Views

Fear of Dying

Fear of Dying PDF Author: Erica Jong
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 146687290X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Fear of Dying is a hilarious, heart wrenching, and beautifully told story about what happens when one woman steps reluctantly into the afternoon of life. Vanessa Wonderman is a gorgeous former actress in her 60's who finds herself balancing between her dying parents, her aging husband and her beloved, pregnant daughter. Although Vanessa considers herself "a happily married woman," the lack of sex in her life makes her feel as if she's losing something too valuable to ignore. So she places an ad for sex on a site called Zipless.com and the life she knew begins to unravel. With the help and counsel of her best friend, Isadora Wing, Vanessa navigates the phishers and pishers, and starts to question if what she's looking for might be close at hand after all. Fear of Dying is a daring and delightful look at what it really takes to be human and female in the 21st century. Wildly funny and searingly honest, this is a book for everyone who has ever been shaken and changed by love.

Coyote

Coyote PDF Author: Brian Brett
Publisher: Saskatoon : Thistledown Press
ISBN: 9781894345538
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
In this dazzling "ethical thriller" novelist and poet, Brian Brett and a wildly unreliable narrator employ every trick in the storyteller's arsenal, dancing us from slapstick to horror, from Godel's Proof to oyster hunting, from high comedy to lyric portraits of one of the legendary Gulf Islands, while engaging in a wicked argument with the reader and the world we are losing.

The Secret Poisoner

The Secret Poisoner PDF Author: Linda Stratmann
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300219547
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
“This fine social history charts the changing patterns of using poison” and the forensic methods developed to detect it in the Victorian Era (The Guardian, UK). Murder by poison alarmed, enthralled, and in some ways even defined the Victorian age. Linda Stratmann’s dark and splendid social history reveals the nineteenth century as a gruesome battleground where poisoners went head-to-head with scientific and legal authorities who strove to detect poisons, control their availability, and bring the guilty to justice. Separating fact from Hollywood fiction, Stratmann corrects many misconceptions about particular poisons and their deadly effects. She also documents how the motives for poisoning—which often involved domestic unhappiness—evolved as marriage and child protection laws began to change. Combining archival research with vivid storytelling, Stratmann charts the era’s inexorable rise of poison cases.