Break It Down

The thirty-four stories in this seminal collection powerfully display what have become Lydia Davis's trademarks—dexterity, brevity, understatement, and surprise. Although the certainty of her prose suggests a world of almost clinical reason and clarity, her characters show us that life, thought, and language are full of disorder. Break It Down is Davis at her best. In the words of Jonathan Franzen, she is "a magician of self-consciousness."

Heres a witty, engaging, and dynamic interactive guide that uses sparkling dialogue, riveting characters, and appealing graphics to pique and hold the interest of students even those who dont like to read to help them in college-level reading comprehension. Break It Down! tries to improve and sharpen the students study skills, critical thinking, and test-taking strategies in a fun, funny, and refreshing way. It introduces unique steps, methods, and approaches like Brainups -- to aid them in college. Educators and authors Vicki Vernon Lott and Clifton Estus Laird aim to provide students good strategies for life-long learning. Start discovering them now! What Students Are Saying About Break It Down! It really made English fun! Not only did it help in English, but it also helped to improve my study habits for other classes. -- Jacqwese Stephens. Established a new and easy way to learn at a level I could enjoy. -- Jessica Smith. Helped me understand a subject that I couldnt comprehend. -- Devon McVea. Its the primary reason why I changed my major from Criminal Justice to English. It helped me expand my vocabulary and think more critically. -- Danielle Cooper. Improved my college-level comprehension 100%. -- Tristain Bell. An amazing book that, I believe, all students should read. Because of this book, I now know how to express myself properly in a society full of confusion. -- Asia Terry. What Instructors Are Saying Students respond to Break it Down. The books tips and tricks are presented in a way that encourages students and helps them not only improve their reading and writing skills, but also offers an accessible approach to academia. Michael Salerno. Break It Down does a great job of preparing students to meet the various academic challenges they will face throughout their college years. The book truly earns its name and is a wonderful tool for standardized test preparation. -- Randolph Walker

More food is thrown away than any other trash item. But we can keep food out of the landfill by turning it into compost! Discover how real people are out there making change to better the world we all live in. Break it Down will give readers an in-depth look at how we can turn garbage into greenery, with features that include a glossary, index, environmental awareness activities, and list of sources for further reading.

A leading cancer specialist tells the powerful stories of 3 adult leukemia patients—shining new light on the hidden history of the disease and the drugs developed to treat it. “A look at leukemia patients’ fear, survival and grace while fighting the disease . . . a quiet chronicle of life with and beyond leukemia, and sometimes life’s end.” —The Washington Post When you are told that you have leukemia, your world stops. Your brain can’t function. You are asked to make decisions about treatment almost immediately, when you are not in your right mind. And yet you pull yourself together and start asking questions. Beside you is your doctor, whose job it is to solve the awful puzzle of bone marrow gone wrong. The two of you are in it together. In When Blood Breaks Down, Mikkael Sekeres, a leading cancer specialist, takes readers on the journey that patient and doctor travel together. Sekeres, who writes regularly for the “Well” section of The New York Times, tells the compelling stories of three people who receive diagnoses of adult leukemia within hours of each other: Joan, a 48-year-old surgical nurse, a caregiver who becomes a patient; David, a 68-year-old former factory worker who bows to his family’s wishes and pursues the most aggressive treatment; and Sarah, a 36-year-old pregnant woman who must decide whether to undergo chemotherapy and put her fetus at risk. We join the intimate conversations between Sekeres and his patients, and we watch as he teaches trainees. Along the way, Sekeres also explores leukemia in its different forms and the development of drugs to treat it—describing, among many other fascinating details, the invention of the bone marrow transplant (first performed experimentally on beagles) and a treatment that targets the genetics of leukemia. The lessons to be learned from leukemia, Sekeres shows, are not merely medical; they teach us about courage and grace and defying the odds.

In Helen Keller: Break Down the Walls!, students will meet a remarkable woman who rose above the challenges of being deaf and blind to become one of the most respected speakers in America. Children will read how Keller worked with her teacher, Anne Sullivan, to learn to communicate when most people in the late 19th century held little hope for the deaf and blind. Full-color photographs, timeline, and a compelling biographical narrative will engage and enlighten readers as they learn about Keller's triumphant life.

The New York Times bestselling author of Call on Me invites you to discover the thrill of control as one couple wrestles for power in and out of the bedroom… Samantha Dunbar needs to forget Gibson Andrews. When he trained her to be a domme, she experienced just how hot things could get with the sexy executive. She was ready to hand him everything—including her heart. But Gibson backed away, declaring them incompatible. He’s a dominant, and Sam’s no submissive. But after an attack shakes Sam to her core, Gibson tracks her down at her family’s rundown farmhouse and makes her an offer. He’ll stay the week and be hers in every way—a helping hand for the renovation and a willing lover in her bed. He swore he’d never give up control to anyone again, but he hasn’t been able to touch another woman since Sam. Maybe a week alone with her will cure him of his relentless craving. But one taste only makes them want more, and Sam and Gibson are drawn in deeper than ever. The man who won’t give in has just met the girl who won’t give up… Includes a preview of Off the Clock, the first novel in Roni Loren’s Pleasure Principle series… Praise for Roni Loren and her novels “Loren writes delicious, dark, sensual prose.”—USA Today “Hot and romantic, with an edge of suspense.”—Shayla Black, New York Times bestselling author of His to Take “Revved up and red-hot sexy!”—Lorelei James, New York Times bestselling author of Hillbilly Rockstar

"Everyone involved in the performing arts, from professors to casting directors to actors to students, especially those just starting out, should read this eye-opening work." Library Journal, Starred Review A practical guide that shows BIPOC actors how to break down the audition process rather than being broken down by the entertainment industry and its practices of exclusion and bias. Working in an environment that often stereotypes or attempts to “universalize” experiences, it’s more important than ever that actors consider how culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability are inseparable and important parts of their identity that should not be minimized and can instead enhance their work. In Breaking It Down: Audition Techniques for Actors of the Global Majority, Nicole Hodges Persley and Monica White Ndounoushare real-world audition strategies that centers the experiences of actors of color. They combine practical advice, cultural studies, Black feminist perspectives, and lived experiences to offer intersectional approaches to auditioning. The ten steps outlined in this book aid actors across racial lines seeking to develop the necessary skills to break down a character and script while affirming their full selves into the audition to book the role. Building on the momentum of the #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and Time’s Up movements, Breaking It Down emboldens actors of the global majority to embrace every aspect of their identities rather than leaving themselves behind in an effort to gain entry and access to the entertainment industry

Your relationship may be 'breaking up.' but you will not be 'breaking down.' If anything, you're correcting a mistake that was hurting four people, you and the person you're with not to mention the two people who you were destined to meet.