Stripper Lessons

From the author of Leaving Las Vegas, “a sensitive and understated novel” about a lonely law clerk yearning for human connection (Booklist). Here is the simple life of Carroll, a middle-aged, unmarried, friendless man whose only joy is watching beautiful women dance. Terribly shy and unable to socialize with the people around him, Carroll’s fascination with the women at his favorite strip club, Indiscretions, is totally innocent. He finds solace in the routine, the rules, and the predictability of the action. But when his desire for a particular dancer takes him one step too far, his entire life threatens to crumble. Since his debut novel Leaving Los Vegas, which was made into the film starring Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth Shue, John O’Brien has been one of the great literary voices of American loners and outcasts. Perhaps his most interior and intense novel, Stripper Lessons is a powerful story of one man’s obsessive search to belong.

This “brutal and unflinching” novel of fleeting love in Sin City inspired the film starring Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth Shue (Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City). John O’Brien’s debut novel, Leaving Las Vegas, is an emotionally wrenching story of a woman who embraces life and a man who rejects it; a powerful tale of hard luck, hard drinking, and a relationship of tenderness and destruction. An avowed alcoholic, Ben drinks away his family, friends, and, finally, his job. With deliberate resolve, he burns the remnants of his life and heads for Las Vegas to end it all in the last great binge of his hopeless life. On the Strip, he picks up Sera, a prostitute, in what might have become another excess in his self-destructive jag. Instead, their chance meeting becomes a respite on the road to oblivion as they form a bond that is as mysterious as it is immutable.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Washington Post best celebrity memoir of 2023 An Audible best celebrity memoir of 2023 “A timely, urgent portrait of working-class American women.” —Gabrielle Union In her highly anticipated memoir Tell Me Everything, Minka Kelly shares a story as powerful as it is page-turning. Fans know her as the spoiled, rich cheerleader Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights or as the affluent, mysterious Samantha on the HBO megahit Euphoria. But as revealed for the first time in these pages, Minka Kelly’s life has been anything but easy. Raised by a single mother who worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction, Minka spent years waking up in strange apartments as she and her mom bounced around the country, relying on friends and relatives to take them in. At times they even lived in storage units. She reconnected with her father, Aerosmith’s Rick Dufay, and eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she landed the role of a lifetime on Friday Night Lights. Now an established actress and philanthropist, Minka takes this next step in her career as a writer. She has poured her soul into the pages of this book, which ultimately tells a story of triumph over adversity, and how resilience and love are all we have in the end.

Informative and entertaining introduction to the study of popular culture. As the “culture of the people,” popular culture provides a sense of identity that binds individuals to the greater society and unites the masses on ideals of acceptable forms of behavior. Lessons Learned from Popular Culture offers an informative and entertaining look at the social relevance of popular culture. Focusing on a wide range of topics, including film, television, social media, music, radio, cartoons and comics, books, fashion, celebrities, sports, and virtual reality, Tim Delaney and Tim Madigan demonstrate how popular culture, in contrast to folk or high culture, gives individuals an opportunity to impact, modify, or even change prevailing sentiments and norms of behavior. For each topic, they include six engaging and accessible stories that conclude with short life lessons. Whether you’re a fan of The Big Bang Theory or Seinfeld, the Beatles or Beyoncé, Charlie Brown or Superman, there’s something for everyone.

He's vice. She's nice. Watch out. Seattle! It seemed easy enough. Hit the local all-male strip club, pick a likely target and hire him for her best friend’s bachelorette party. But the stripper who catches Caroline’s eye has a different agenda. He’s an undercover cop, and Caroline ends up under arrest—for solicitation! Tony DiMarco realizes too late that he’s made a mistake. Caroline’s reputation and business are suffering, and he feels responsible. He feels something else too—the pull of red-hot desire. He wants Caroline, but she’s afraid that he’s just trying to make up for his mistake. Can this determined vice cop teach her to trust him? THIS BOOK HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED. It has been lightly edited and revised. WARNING: This book contains people taking their clothes off. Which is kind of the point, right?

The starting and ending points for all outreach have to be love. The most effective way to reach people for Jesus is through kindness outreach—showing God’s love in practical ways. This type of outreach is what Jesus modeled, is culturally relevant, and values people. The goal should be to invite people to take the next step from where they are. Friendship Community Church, led by Pastor Todd Stevens, has experienced tremendous growth through acts of kindness. The church’s most radical kindness project is Nashville Strip Church, founded by Erin Stevens. Erin’s life changed when God told her to “go feed the strippers.” With home-cooked meals and gift bags, Erin shows dancers that God loves them. How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness includes the story of a dancer who has come to know Christ, left the strip club industry through Erin’s ministry, and is now serving with Erin to reach other strippers. From feeding the homeless, to Easter egg hunts for special needs children, to ministering in a strip club, How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness provides exciting ideas for showing God’s love in practical ways. Features include: Stories from kindness outreach events, including Strip Church Ideas for showing God’s love in practical ways Inspiration to step out of your comfort zone to serve people

Offers practical, classroom-tested ideas for helping students learn mathematics through problem solving.