Shit At My Fingertips

Two-Fingers and the White Guy Who said the only safe place to live is on an Indian reservation? A novel by Steve C Schneider, JD

Saleem, fed up with all the violence, religiosity, and strict family hierarchies of his Iraqi village, flees to Spain to establish a new life for himself. But his lonely exile is turned upside down when he encounters his father, Noah, in a Madrid nightclub after not seeing him in more than a decade. Noah looks and acts like a new man, and Saleem sets out to discover the mystery of his father's presence in Spain and his altered life. In doing so, he recalls formative moments in Iraq of familial love, war, and the haunting accidental death of his cousin Aliya, Saleem's partner in the hesitant, tender exploration of sexuality. When the renewed relationship with his father erupts in a violent conflict, Saleem is forced to rediscover his sense of self and the hard-won stability of his life. Through Saleem's experiences and reflections, the fast-paced narrative carries the reader between Spain and Iraq to a surprising resolution.

“No use living if you can’t be happy,” says the main character, Doris. Her words are prophetic. In the meantime, free-spirited Doris works hard at having fun and brings the author, her teenage babysitter, Tina, along for the ride. Doris is not the kind of woman Tina’s protective father and grandfather, a preacher with an eye for the ladies, approve of. That is, she is not a sweet little demure housewife. When her father-in-law complains that she is not acting like a lady, Doris counters, “To hell with ladies!” The author takes the reader on an initial joyful and unconventional journey and along divergent paths of family relationships, Jim Crowism, tragedy, loss, and love. The author says this book is payment for the debt she owes to Doris for her caring sisterhood when she was a young girl suffering a great loss and for the good times.

Government dependency is evil in principle and in its effect; it saps character and strength by encouraging weakness. On the Rez, we finally recognized this reality and developed programs where all of our people worked and took pride in working. We took responsibility for our actions and we did not fall into the trap of blaming 150 years of failed Federal Indian Policy for our plight. 150 years ago, Native American Indians had our land stolen, we were massacred, treaties were broken, we were made slaves and then put on reservations where we were left to die. But the worst thing the Government did to us was to make us dependent on them. It took us years to finally wake up and shake free of the chains of dependency but we made it happen. How long before the rest of you do the same?

"Something about him made me want to touch him." Matthew Evans works the overnight shift at his university's nearby museum. He's never been great with people, so he finds solace in the company of the sculptures and statues present there. They don't speak, they don't react, but Matthew has never wanted any of that. He was happy enough just to be able to touch them as he pleased. His nightly ritual with his beloved sculptures goes wholly unnoticed by everyone until the night Gabriel appears. Now faced with a living, breathing person who knows about his secret, Matthew is no longer sure where he stands in society. However, Gabriel makes it clear he has no intention of divulging Matthew's secrets, and in reality, he would like to make a few more with him in exchange for a night out of the cold. Matthew soon learns there is a big difference between a sculpture of a person and the real thing, warm under his fingertips. For the first time in his life, Matthew wants nothing more than the company of another person. He wants Gabriel.

Trapped! Could young Nate ever get past the trauma of his own death and move on to Heaven? Or should he return to Earth and try again? 1940's coastal Maine was not an easy place, and it was especially brutal for Nate's father, a banker and a flatlander who had moved north to begin pulling lobsters from the Maine coast. Barely getting by, the relocated family struggled to survive. But they were hated by the locals, and that hate soon turned to violence. Now, traumatized by the violent murders of his parents and himself, nine-year-old Nate finds himself somewhere between Heaven and Earth, a place where dead relatives can come and go, but a place where he is stuck. Desperately missing his real life, but too frightened to go back to Earth, Nate spends decades in this half-world where other luckier souls blink in and out within hours or days at most. From his unique perch, Nate watches in horror as his surviving younger sister tries to cope with their family's brutal past. Who is worse off, the sibling above or the sibling below? Either way, it seems that violence and tragedy are to follow them no matter what their paths.

Rough Trade Book of the Year Resident Book of the Year A Rolling Stone Book of the Year A Mojo Book of the Year A Sunday Times Book of the Year Formed in 1988, Lush were part of the London gig scene during one of the most vibrant and creative periods in UK music. Now, Miki Berenyi tells all. From the bohemian ways of her father's social circle to the privileged glamour of her mother's acting career, Miki's young life was a blur of travel, celebrities and peripatetic schooling. But frequent relocation, parental neglect and the dark presence of her abusive grandmother resulted in crippling shyness, mental-health issues and a vulnerability to exploitation. The route out of this hole was music - a passion shared by schoolmate Emma Anderson. The teenagers began attending gigs together and would ultimately go on to form Lush. Talented and exuberant, the band became hot property, swiftly transitioning from shoegaze icons to Britpop darlings. Re-living the tours, recording sessions and music-industry madness they experienced along the way, this uncompromising memoir documents Lush's thrilling rise and untimely fall. Yet at the heart of the book are Miki's own battles: the conflict between her mouthy public persona and her thin-skinned private identity; the trials of being a woman in an infuriatingly male world; the struggle to find a middle ground between 'safe' indie obscurity and 'sell-out' international success. Miki also explores her complicated relationship with Emma - one that has fluctuated between camaraderie and rivalry over the years - and addresses the devastating tragedy that led to the band's split. Told through frank confession, wry humour and searing emotional honesty, this is the incredible tale of a trailblazing woman and a seminal band.