K'wan

No Shade: No offense (as defined by the Urban Dictionary). Ex: “Don’t tell her I told you, but your little cousin is a ho, no Shade.” Every little girl dreams of a happy ending to their stories; a home, children and a man who loves her enough to share his life and last name. When Billy’s longtime boyfriend Marcus finally pops the question, it’s one of the happiest moments of her life. To stand with her on her special day, Billy calls on her childhood friends Reese and Yoshi. Several years passing since they’d last all come together, and some unresolved issues have driven a wedge between the girls, but they agree to put their difference aside for the sake of Billy’s wedding. The truce is a short one when Billy has to decide on a Maid of Honor and both her friends expect the position to fall to them. Just when things seem to be coming together they quickly begin to fall apart, and at a time when Billy is supposed to be basking in the sunshine of her approaching wedding she finds herself the target of shade being thrown from the most unlikely places. While Billy is going through her drama, Marcus is dealing with issues of his own. An old crime partner of his blows into town unexpectedly and his presence threatens to destroy the legitimate life Marcus has worked so hard to build. Even with the universe seemingly working against them, Billy and Marcus are determined to have their dream wedding, but first they have to survive the nightmare of planning it. There goes the neighborhood...again.

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

North Carolina

Every little girl dreams of a happy ending- a home, children, and a man who loves her enough to share his life and last name. When Billy's longtime boyfriend Marcus finally pops the question, it's one of the happiest moments of her life. To stand with her on her special day, Billy calls on her childhood friends, Reese and Yoshi. Several years have passed since they last came together. Some unresolved issues have driven a wedge between the girls, but they agree to put their difference aside for the sake of Billy's wedding.

The truce is a short one when Billy has to decide on a Maid of Honor, and both friends expect the position to fall to them. Just when things seem to be coming together, they quickly begin to fall apart, and at a time when Billy is supposed to be basking in the sunshine of her approaching wedding, she finds herself the target of shade being thrown from the most unlikely places.

While Billy is going through her drama, Marcus is dealing with issues of his own. An old crime partner blows into town unexpectedly, and his presence threatens to destroy the legitimate life Marcus has worked so hard to build.

Even with the universe seemingly working against them, Billy and Marcus are determined to have their dream wedding, but first they have to survive the nightmare of planning it.

There goes the neighborhood...again.

No Shade

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“It's the penthouse or the morgue."

This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. "K-Dawg',' self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids and one of only two that doesn't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between he and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult for him as the years pass. His childhood and young adult years are spent in a home for boys and state prison, where he serves time for manslaughter. It's during his time behind bars, amongst hardened criminals, that the seeds of evil take root in his life and mercilessly transform him from an innocent child into a heartless, conniving menace.

K-Dawg decides that the world owes him something, and when he is released from prison he intends to take it. He comes up with the ultimate power move that is sure to put him on top of the game or under the Earth. He wants it all, and he is dead set on having it - no matter what the cost. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Triple Crown Collection

It's the penthouse or the morgue. This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. K-Dawg, self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids, and one of only two that don't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy, he feels the distance between him and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult for him as the years pass. His young adult years are spent in a home for boys and then in state prison, where he serves time for manslaughter. It is during his time behind bars, amongst hardened criminals, that the seeds of evil take root and mercilessly transform him from an innocent child to a heartless, conniving menace. K-Dawg decides that the world owes him something, and when he is released from prison, he intends to take it. He comes up with the ultimate power move that is sure to put him on top of the game or under the earth. He wants it all, and he is dead set on having it, no matter what the cost. He has nothing to lose . . . and everything to gain.

 On the tenth anniversary of its release, K'wan's Road Dawgz has a gritty, raw realism that will remind readers how he earned a place at the top of the urban lit game.

This is the 10th Anniversary edition of Road Dawgz from #1 Essence bestselling author K'wan.

Road Dawgz

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In the history of New York City’s underworld, there have been a host of criminal figures whose exploits have gone on to inspire. Their stories are told on street corners and in back alleys. One of them is Jonas Rafferty, known among friends and enemies alike as Wrath.

Jonas, the only boy in a family of four children, came into the world under less than favorable conditions, and he has always been a fighter. From the neighborhood bullies to the stepfather who uses him and his siblings as punching bags, his life has always been one battle after another. At night, he would lay awake and dream of rising above his circumstances, and when he crosses paths with rogue homicide detective Louis “Lou” Ceavers, he’s offered a bargain that will change the course of his life.

Detective Ceavers becomes like a guardian angel and surrogate father to Jonas, teaching him the game and guiding him in his quest for power. In a short time, Jonas goes from errand boy and street muscle to one of the most dangerous young men in the city, dubbed Wrath because of his violent exploits.

His dreams are finally becoming reality, and Wrath feels like he’s on his way to having everything he’s ever dreamed of, until Alex, his childhood crush, comes home on break from college and gives him a glimpse of the one thing he’s always craved more than money and power: love. Wrath begins to question himself and his decisions as he’s drawn further away from the world he’s created and deeper into the stable life he believes he could have with Alex. When Alex becomes pregnant, Wrath decides that being there for her and his unborn child are more important to him than power or money, but when he seeks to end his arrangement with the detective, he’s taught the final lesson in his education: no bargain comes without a price.

Jonas Rafferty, known among friends and enemies alike as Wrath, always dreamt of rising above his circumstances, and when he crosses paths with rogue homicide detective, he's offered a bargain that will change the course of his life. Detective Ceavers becomes like a guardian angel and surrogate father, teaching him the game and guiding him in his quest for power. His dreams are finally becoming reality when Alex, his childhood crush, gives him a glimpse of the one thing he's always craved more than money and power: love. Wrath begins to question himself and his decisions as he's drawn further away from the world he's created and deeper into the stable life he believes he could have with Alex.

Wrath

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K'wan Foye

After news of the attempted murder of his estranged fiancé, Gucci, Animal has two things on his mind, love and gunplay. With the help of his mistress, the deadly Red Sonja, Animal manages to elude his captors in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and washes up on the shores of Miami, FL. He's one step closer to home, but it may as well have been a world away. Animal is still a wanted fugitive and getting to New York undetected proves to be trickier than he thought. This all changes when he meets an old friend of Red Sonja's, a New Orleans refugee named Diamonds. Diamonds promises to provide Animal with safe passage from Miami to New York and all the firepower he will need to settle his blood debt, but he also brings something far more valuable to the table, the name of the man who shot Gucci.Diamonds holds the key to unlocking the mystery of what really happened that tragic night in Harlem, but the information comes at a price.Animal finds himself swept up into a deadly game of cat and mouse set in the glamorous Miami underworld of sex, drugs and violence, where cash is king and death is always lurking. His only ally is a mysterious stripper named Reign, who harbors a secret of her own that threatens to change everything.

An Animal Novelette

Love and Gunplay

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Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Spilotro: the Chicago Mob's Man over Las Vegas

Bugsy Siegel built Las Vegas, but it was Tony "The Ant" Spilotro who ran the show. Now William F. Roemer, Jr., veteran FBI agent and scourge of the Cosa Nostra, tells the shocking story of how a teenage wiseguy grew up to become "the man" in Vegas. From the gritty streets of Chicago to the neon-lit Nevada wonderland, Roemer assembles a rogue's gallery of the highest-ranking capos and the lowest creeps of organized crime. As incredible as any work of fiction -- but it's all fact!

Enforcer

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Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

The FBI and Paul Castellano

"At least as good as Mario Puzo, with shades of David Mamet or even Arthur Miller."--New York Daily News

Paul Castellano headed New York's immensely powerful Gambino crime family for more than ten years. On December 16, 1985, he was gunned down in a spectacular shooting on Manhattan's fashionable East Side.

At the time of his death, Paul Castellano was under indictment. So were most of the major Mafia figures in New York. Why? Because in 1983 the FBI had hidden a microphone in the kitchen of Castellano's Staten Island mansion. The 600 hours of recorndings led to eight criminal trials. And this book.

Agents Joe O'Brien and Andris Kurins planted that mike. They listened to the voices. Now they bring you the most revealing look inside the Mafia ever . . . in the Mafia's own words.

"Beautifully done, not only strange and fascinating but even touching."--Robert Daley, author of Prince of the City

Boss of Bosses

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The Sicilian 

A Novel

A masterful saga of the last great American Mafia family and its powerful reach into Hollywood and Las Vegas, from the author of The Godfather

The Last Don is Domenico Clericuzio, a wise and ruthless old man who is determined to see his heirs established in legitimate society but whose vision is threatened when secrets from the family's past spark a vicious war between two blood cousins.

The Last Don is a mesmerizing tale that takes us inside the equally corrupt worlds of the mob, the movie industry, and the casinos where beautiful actresses and ruthless hitmen are ruled by lust and violence, where sleazy producers and greedy studio heads are drunk on power, where crooked cops and desperate gamblers play dangerous games of betrayal, and where one man controls them all.

Praise for The Last Don
 
"Puzo is in top form. . . . Head-long entertainment, bubbling over with corruption, betrayal, assassinations, Richter-scale romance, and, of course, family values."--Time

"The most entertaining read since The Godfather."--The New York Times Book Review

"Skillfully crafted . . . It gives us Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the mob in one sweet dish."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Puzo returns after a quarter century to the terrain of his greatest success, The Godfather, to tell a second masterful tale of Mafia life."--Variety

"A compelling tale peopled by memorable characters . . . Puzo is a master storyteller with an uncanny facility for details that force the reader to keep the pages turning."--USA Today

The Last Don

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The Godfather Returns 

book 3 of 26

The Republicans' "golden boy" -- and a loyal, unquestioning tool of the powerful special interests -- handsome, unthreatening, Florida governor-by-default Marlon Conrad seems a virtual shoo-in for re-election. That is, until he undergoes a radical personality shift during a bloody military action in the Balkans. Now it's just three weeks before the election and Marlon is suddenly talking about "issues" and "reform" as he crosses the length and breadth of his home state with an amnesiac speechwriter and a chief of staff who turns catatonic in the presence of minorities. The governor's new-found conscience might well cost him the election, though. And it appears that pretty much everybody from Tallahassee to Miami Beach is trying to kill him...

Orange Crush 3

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Conversations about Life and Comedy

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE A.V. CLUB • Includes new interviews! From the writer and director of Knocked Up and the producer of Freaks and Geeks comes a collection of intimate, hilarious conversations with the biggest names in comedy from the past thirty years—including Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Harold Ramis, Seth Rogen, Chris Rock, and Lena Dunham. Before becoming one of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood, Judd Apatow was the original comedy nerd. At fifteen, he took a job washing dishes in a local comedy club—just so he could watch endless stand-up for free. At sixteen, he was hosting a show for his local high school radio station in Syosset, Long Island—a show that consisted of Q&As with his comedy heroes, from Garry Shandling to Jerry Seinfeld. They talked about their careers, the science of a good joke, and their dreams of future glory (turns out, Shandling was interested in having his own TV show one day and Steve Allen had already invented everything). Thirty years later, Apatow is still that same comedy nerd—and he’s still interviewing funny people about why they do what they do. Sick in the Head gathers Apatow’s most memorable and revealing conversations into one hilarious, wide-ranging, and incredibly candid collection that spans not only his career but his entire adult life. Here are the comedy legends who inspired and shaped him, from Mel Brooks to Steve Martin. Here are the contemporaries he grew up with in Hollywood, from Spike Jonze to Sarah Silverman. And here, finally, are the brightest stars in comedy today, many of whom Apatow has been fortunate to work with, from Seth Rogen to Amy Schumer. And along the way, something kind of magical happens: What started as a lifetime’s worth of conversations about comedy becomes something else entirely. It becomes an exploration of creativity, ambition, neediness, generosity, spirituality, and the joy that comes from making people laugh. Loaded with the kind of back-of-the-club stories that comics tell one another when no one else is watching, this fascinating, personal (and borderline-obsessive) book is Judd Apatow’s gift to comedy nerds everywhere. Praise for Sick in the Head “I can’t stop reading it. . . . I don’t want this book to end.”—Jimmy Fallon “An essential for any comedy geek.”—Entertainment Weekly “Fascinating . . . a collection of interviews with many of the great figures of comedy in the latter half of the twentieth century.”—The Washington Post “Open this book anywhere, and you’re bound to find some interesting nugget from someone who has had you in stitches many, many times.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times “An amazing read, full of insights and connections both creative and interpersonal.”—The New Yorker “Fascinating and revelatory.”—Chicago Tribune “Anyone even remotely interested in comedy or humanity should own this book.”—Will Ferrell

Sick in the Head

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BLOW tells the story of Tay, a young man living on the dangerous streets of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Although he was making a decent living selling weed, he one day discovers something far more sinister. Blow. Heroin, or Horse depending on what era you're from. After doing a little research, he finds out that he can make more money by selling blow than crack or coke. He now has the money, women, and power. But Tay soon finds that success is not all it's cracked up to be. Jealous tensions eventually build and the same cats he once rolled with now become mortal enemies and try to thwart his rise to power.

Blow

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A hilarious, heartfelt, and refreshingly honest memoir and New York Times bestseller by the beloved comedic actress known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek, and Cougar Town who has become “the breakout star of Instagram stories...Imagine I Love Lucy mixed with a modern lifestyle guru” (The New Yorker). There’s no stopping Busy Philipps. From the time she was two and “aced out in her nudes” to explore the neighborhood (as her mom famously described her toddler jailbreak), Busy has always been headstrong, defiant, and determined not to miss out on all the fun. These qualities led her to leave Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of nineteen to pursue her passion for acting in Hollywood. But much like her painful and painfully funny teenage years, chasing her dreams wasn’t always easy and sometimes hurt more than a little. In a memoir “that often reads like a Real World confessional or an open diary” (Kirkus Reviews), Busy opens up about chafing against a sexist system rife with on-set bullying and body shaming, being there when friends face shattering loss, enduring devastating personal and professional betrayals from those she loved best, and struggling with postpartum anxiety and the challenges of motherhood. But Busy also brings to the page her sly sense of humor and the unshakeable sense that disappointment shouldn’t stand in her way—even when she’s knocked down both figuratively and literally (from a knee injury at her seventh-grade dance to a violent encounter on the set of Freaks and Geeks). The rough patches in her life are tempered by times of hilarity and joy: leveraging a flawless impression of Cher from Clueless into her first paid acting gig, helping reinvent a genre with cult classic Freaks and Geeks, becoming fast friends with Dawson’s Creek castmate Michelle Williams, staging her own surprise wedding, conquering natural childbirth with the help of a Mad Men–themed hallucination, and of course, how her Instagram stories became “the most addictive thing on the internet right now” (Cosmopolitan). Busy is the rare entertainer whose impressive arsenal of talents as an actress is equally matched by her storytelling ability, sense of humor, and sharp observations about life, love, and motherhood—“if you think you know Busy from her Instagram stories, you don’t know the half of it” (Jenni Konner). Her conversational writing reminds us what we love about her on screens large and small. From “candid tales of celebrity life, mom life, and general Busy-ness” (W Magazine), This Will Only Hurt a Little “is everything we’ve been dying to hear about” (Bustle).

This Will Only Hurt a Little

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Oversized Paperback (4 to 6 lbs)

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Border, a "down-and-dirty dip into the treacherous social currents of Southern California" (The Wall Street Journal), in which P.I. Boone Daniels agrees to defend a young man accused of murdering a beloved surfer and local legend.

Former cop turned investigator Boone Daniels lives to surf. He begins each day with the Dawn Patrol, a close-knit group of surfers who have one another's backs in and out of the water. When one of their own, a local legend, is murdered, the small world of Pacific Beach is rocked to its core. But when Boone agrees to defend the young man accused, the outrage from the community is more than he ever anticipated, and as he digs deeper into San Diego's murkier side, it becomes clear that not just a murder case is at stake. Boone soon finds himself out there alone, struggling to stay afloat as the waves get rougher and rougher . . . and more deadly.

The Gentlemen's Hour

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Powerful Lessons in Personal Change 

The 7 Habits of Effective People

Life Lessons

New York Times bestselling author, superstar comedian, and Hollywood box office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have a “hilarious but also heartfelt” (Elle) memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself. The question you’re probably asking yourself right now is: What does Kevin Hart have that a book also has? According to the three people who have seen Kevin Hart and a book in the same room, the answer is clear: A book is compact. Kevin Hart is compact. A book has a spine that holds it together. Kevin Hart has a spine that holds him together. A book has a beginning. Kevin Hart’s life uniquely qualifies him to write this book by also having a beginning. It begins in North Philadelphia. He was born an accident, unwanted by his parents. His father was a drug addict who was in and out of jail. His brother was a crack dealer and petty thief. And his mother was overwhelmingly strict, beating him with belts, frying pans, and his own toys. The odds, in short, were stacked against our young hero. But Kevin Hart, like Ernest Hemingway, J.K. Rowling, and Chocolate Droppa before him, was able to defy the odds and turn it around. In his literary debut, he takes us on a journey through what his life was, what it is today, and how he’s overcome each challenge to become the man he is today. And that man happens to be the biggest comedian in the world, with tours that sell out football stadiums and films that have collectively grossed over $3.5 billion. He achieved this not just through hard work, determination, and talent. “Hart is an incredibly magnetic storyteller, on the page as he is onstage, and that’s what shines through [in this] genial, entertaining guide to a life in comedy” (Kirkus Reviews).

I Can't Make This Up

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An Autobiography

A wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye A teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood. The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety. Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends

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Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

In six intense short novels connected by the themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption, Broken is #1 international bestseller Don Winslow at his nerve-shattering, heart-stopping, heartbreaking best. In Broken, he creates a world of high-level thieves and low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, dope dealers, bounty hunters and fugitives, the lost souls driving without headlights through the dark night on the American criminal highway. With his trademark blend of insight, humanity, humor, action and the highest level of literary craftsmanship, Winslow delivers a collection of tales that will become classics of crime fiction.

Broken

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There's a different schemer or slimeball behind every door: cocaine duckpins who have survived only by the dumbest fortune, hard-luck gigolos desperate to score, undercover cops busting undercover cops who are running sting operations on undercover cops. And just down the row, local historian and spree killer Serge A. Storms -- who has stopped keeping up with his meds -- is still looking for a briefcase stuffed with five million dollars...and is now capable of wreaking more havoc than hurricane Rolando-berto, the big wind gathering force offshore, just waiting for the opportunity to blow everything straight to hell.

Pack up your bags and head south to sunny Florida. Leave your rational mind at home and come well armed. There's a room with your number on it at the Hammerhead Ranch Motel.

Hammerhead Ranch Motel

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Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle

The former Saturday Night Live comedienne recounts her midlife career slump, long-distance relationship, and unplanned motherhood, which culminated in uproarious childcare activities and the bewilderment of friends and family members.

Girl Walks into a Bar ...

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A Suspense Thriller

Insurance adjustor Jack Wade investigates a house fire which killed a California heiress. Police rule an accident, but Wade suspects the woman's husband. Or is he being led up the creek by the real arsonist? By the author of The Death and Life of Bobby Z.

California Fire and Life

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Omertà 

In the final installment of the saga of the Corleone crime family, New Orleans under-boss Carlo Tramonti is deported to Colombia and turns dangerously vengeful, triggering a series of events that change the course of American history. Reprint.

The Godfather's Revenge

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A Hood Rat Novel

After he finds fame and fortune as a recording artist in Texas, Animal returns home to his girlfriend, Gucci, bringing with him a hidden agenda that will have life-altering consequences, while Malika meets the man of her dreams, who happens to be married, and bad-blooded Jada Butler meets her match. By the #1 Essence best-selling author of Section 8. Original.

Browse by categories

K'wan

No Shade

K'wan

Road Dawgz

K'wan

Wrath

K'wan Foye

Love and Gunplay

William F. Roemer

Enforcer

Joseph F. O'Brien; Andris Kurins

Boss of Bosses

Mario Puzo

The Sicilian

Mario Puzo

The Last Don

Mario Puzo

The Godfather Returns

Tim Dorsey

Orange Crush 3

Judd Apatow

Sick in the Head

K'wan; 50 50 Cent

Blow

Busy Philipps

This Will Only Hurt a Little

Don Winslow

The Gentlemen's Hour

Stephen R Covey

The 7 Habits of Effective People

Kevin Hart; Neil Strauss (As told to)

I Can't Make This Up

Rob Lowe

Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Don Winslow

Broken

Tim Dorsey

Hammerhead Ranch Motel

Rachel Dratch

Girl Walks into a Bar ...

Don Winslow

California Fire and Life

Mario Puzo

Omertà

Mark Winegardner

The Godfather's Revenge

K'wan

Welfare Wifeys

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