Within the Worthingtons' extended family circle, laughter and romance rule, and a young lady never settles for less than true love . . .With her three good friends all recently married, Elizabeth Turley is ready for some husband-hunting of her own. One gentleman in particular sparks her interest. Geoffrey, Earl of Harrington is tall, handsome, and dashing. He's also just a bit too sure of himself. But Elizabeth has observed enough about the rules of attraction to pique the earl's attention. Yet once she has it, the discovery of a troubling secret taints her future happiness . . .Lord Harrington must marry or lose a prestigious position in Brussels, and pretty, well-connected Elizabeth fits his needs admirably. But could it be that he has underestimated his bride? She doesn't bat an eye in the face of the danger they encounter overseas. She's strong-willed, intelligent, and more enticing each day—yet also more indifferent to him. Now Geoffrey faces his... Views: 37
An intimate portrait of a marriage intertwined with a meditation on reality TV that reveals surprising connections and the meaning of an authentic life.
In Lucas Mann's trademark vein--fiercely intelligent, self-deprecating, brilliantly observed, idiosyncratic, personal, funny, and infuriating--Captive Audience is an appreciation of reality television wrapped inside a love letter to his wife, with whom he shares the guilty pleasure of watching "real" people bare their souls in search of celebrity. Captive Audience resides at the intersection of popular culture with the personal; the exhibitionist impulse, with the schadenfreude of the vicarious, and in confronting some of our most suspect impulses achieves a heightened sense of what it means to live an authentic life and what it means to love a person.
“Over and over again, while reading Captive Audience, I was struck by Lucas Mann’s refusal to be satisfied by the insights that might satisfy another writer. Instead, he questions each of these insights: digs under it, complicates it, wonders why he felt inspired to utter it, wonders if its opposite might be just as true. The idea of epiphany makes him restless, but this restlessness is a gift to the rest of us. And running like a passionate ribbon through all of his ferocious questioning—about authenticity, presence, self-awareness and self-possession—is an unapologetic love story, full of the daily performances and unexpected grace of reality itself.” —Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams
“I was initially drawn to Captive Audience’s smashing critical analysis and savvy pop culture apologies, but what I ended up cherishing most of all is this book’s vivid portraiture. Mann has written a soulful recounting of not just a decade of watching reality TV as it has evolved past entertainment into something more complex, public, and even sinister, but a story of doing so alongside another person—a beloved life partner, nonetheless, with whom his shared reality also evolves and deepens. Who could have imagined that one of the most evocative love stories I’ve read in ages would be mixed into heady investigations of Joe Millionaire, COPS, and Vanderpump Rules?” —Elena Passarello, author of Animals Strike Curious Poses
“This is book is about what it means to see and be seen. And more: it is about what it means to see and be seen in love. Lucas Mann always writes openly, even ecstatically, at the boundaries of the essay form. Captive Audience offers the pleasure of reading all these things: memoir, lucid cultural analysis, TV Guide, journalism, and, most of all, glorious love letters hurting with shared joys and naked vulnerability.” —Amitava Kumar, author of Immigrant, Montana
“There is no cultural critic in America like Lucas Mann. Perhaps that’s because he turns on the television and sees what you don’t—in the vulgar and striving world of reality television, he finds beauty and heart in the ambition that drove these over-tanned and underfed people to perform for us—and that brought us in to watch. Mann’s voice is filled with empathy, irony, and a tenderness that will make you laugh and then ache, sometimes within the span of a single, perfectly constructed sentence. Captive Audience is the definitive book on the aging but perennially renewed genre of reality TV, and there isn’t an author alive who could have written it better.” —Kristen Radtke, author of Imagine Only Wanting This Views: 37
Olivia Kiernan's tautly written debut novel immerses readers in a chilling murder case . . . and the tantalizing, enigmatic victim at the center of it all.In a quiet Dublin suburb, within her pristine home, Eleanor Costello is found hanging from a rope.Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan would be more than happy to declare it a suicide. Four months ago, Frankie's pursuit of a killer almost ended her life and she isn't keen on investigating another homicide. But the autopsy reveals poorly healed bones and old stab wounds, absent from medical records. A new cut is carefully, deliberately covered in paint. Eleanor's husband, Peter, is unreachable, missing. A search of the couple's home reveals only two signs of personality: a much-loved book on art and a laptop with access to the Dark Web. With the suspect pool growing, the carefully crafted profile of the victim crumbling with each new lead, and mysterious calls to Frankie's phone implying that the... Views: 37
Officer Vincent Cerasino always wanted to be a cop in his home town —he loves his job, his big extended family, and his life. Being a good cop means everything to him but the pretty waitress who brings him coffee and extra-special blue plates at the local diner has him thinking there’s even more to life, right within reach. Views: 37
Despite the emergence of story after story about politically charged email hacks, corporate-security breaches, and secret drone strikes, we still think of the perpetrators as bad actors. Yet as Yasha Levine shows in this bracing book, the truth is simpler. The internet was built to be a weapon, and it's been getting ever more effective.Since ARPA began building it in the 1960s, internet technology has been synonymous with spying. Levine traces this history, starting with the visionary scientist William Godel, who realized that the key to winning the war in Vietnam was not outgunning the enemy but using new technology to understand and anticipate their movements. As the book spins forward in time, Levine shows that many of the tech-industry giants we think of as social networks, e-tailers, and search companies are doing double duty as military contractors and security outfits.Levine is unafraid to name names: Google, IBM, Facebook, and many others make... Views: 37
Rebecca Holdsworth is about to become betrothed. She should be excited. Happy. Looking forward to a life of love. But she's not. She accepts her parent's plan for her grudgingly because she doesn't have much of a choice. The family ranch needs to join forces with the Jenkes family and marriage to Coby Jenkes is the way this will happen.Hayden Galsworthy is an average man. As the schoolmaster, his job is to help mold the lives of the children in town by teaching them to read, write, and do math. He loves his job. When he does what any person with a heart would do in a time of crisis, he becomes a heralded hero. It's a position he's not comfortable in.When Hayden and Rebecca formally meet, they're quietly taken with each other. She's betrothed to another, so he admires her from afar. She longs for her betrothed to be more like Hayden. It's an impossible situation for them both. Is there a chance God is working behind the scenes? Can two people who are really meant to be together find a way to change the plan or will they need a little help? Views: 37
