LETRAS

What do a barracks for British troops in the Falklands War, a floating jail off the Bronx, and temporary housing for VW factory workers in Germany have in common? The Balder Scapa: a single barge that served all three roles. Though the name would eventually change to Finnboda 12. And then to Safe Esperia. And later on, to the Bibby Resolution. And after that . . . in short, a vessel with so many names, and so many fates, that to keep it in our sights—as the protagonist of this fascinating economic parable—Ian Kumekawa has no choice but to call it, simply, the Vessel. Despite its sturdy steel structure, weighing 9,500 deadweight tons, the Vessel is a figure as elusive and abstract as the offshore market it comes to embody: a world of island tax havens, exploited labor forces, free banking zones, Thatcherism, Reaganomics, and mass incarceration, where even the prisoners are held offshore. Fitted with modular shipping containers, themselves the product of standardized global trade, the ship could become whatever the market demanded. Whether caught in an international dispute involving Hong Kong, Nigeria, Indonesia, and the Virgin Islands—to be settled in an English court of law—or flying yet another foreign “flag of convenience” to mask its ownership—the barge is ever a container for forces much larger than even its hulking self. Empty Vessel is a jaw-dropping microhistory that speaks volumes about the global economy as a whole. In following the Vessel—and its Sister Vessel, built alongside it in Stockholm—from one thankless task to the next, Kumekawa connects the dots of a neoliberal world order in the making, where regulation is for suckers and “Made in USA” feels almost quaint.

We know how to push our bodies for peak physical fitness but when it W comes to our emotional health, many of us just wing it. What if you could coach your mind for greater satisfaction and success, just like you train your body to get stronger? That's the promise of Flex Your Feelings, a data-driven, step-by-step plan for developing the seven essential traits of emotional fitness necessary to become the best leader, entrepreneur, and human you can be. Here's the good news: Emotional fitness can be LEARNED . even if you didn't. grow up with mentally strong role models, and even if you're not sure how to do it. Dr. Emily Anhalt psychologist to the Silicon Valley tech elite and cofounder of Coa, the gym for mental fitness offers a prescriptive, seven-step plan to help you develop the emotional strength and flexibility to cope with whatever comes your way. Ás you progress in your career and through your life, she explains, emotional intelligence isn't just a “nice to have” soft skill. It's a vital talent that allows you to show up as your best self, in good times and during tough moments. In Flex Your Feelings, you'll find a blueprint for building an emotional fitness practice that works for you so you can live it, every day.

Frances Bean has always been content living life on the perimeter. Until she gets paired up for a class project with rich and popular Julia, daughter of famous wellness guru Deena Patterson. The "magic" skincare products, healing sound baths, and extravagant parties of Deena’s company DEEP never really interested Frances before, who wears the badge of goth outcast and bookworm proudly. But face time with the girl she has been crushing on for years is starting to give her a new outlook.

En siete días, Jet Mason estará muerto. Jet es la hija de una de las familias más ricas de Woodstock, Vermont. Tiene veintisiete años y todavía espera que su vida comience. Lo haré más tarde, dice siempre. Ella tiene tiempo. Hasta la noche de Halloween, cuando Jet es atacado violentamente por un intruso invisible. Ella sufre una lesión catastrófica en la cabeza. El médico está seguro de que, dentro de una semana, la lesión provocará un aneurisma mortal. Jet nunca pensó que tuviera enemigos. Pero ahora ve a todos bajo una nueva luz: su familia, su ex mejor amiga convertida en cuñada, su ex novio. Tiene como máximo siete días, y como su condición se deteriora, solo puede contar con la ayuda de su amigo de la infancia Billy. Pero aun así, está absolutamente decidida a terminar algo finalmente: Jet va a resolver su propio asesinato.

For years, Erik, the scarred King of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who dilled his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realim Until his enermy's dauahter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes " werrtine annitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge. She's innocent. He's vicious. But he will take back what he lost, no matter the price.  unless she steals his heart first

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.

ALICE SCOTT is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning human thundercloud. And they're both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century. When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she'll choose the person.who'll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice's head in the game. One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over. Two: she's ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication. | Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

No matter who youre talking to, the Next Conversation gives you immediately actionable strategies and phrases that will forever change how you communicate. Jefferson Fisher, trial lawyer and one of the leading voices on real-world communication, offers a tried-and-true framework that will show you how to transform your life and your relationships by improving your next conversation. Fisher has gained millions of followers through short, simple, practical videos teaching people how to argue less and talk more. Whether its handling a heated conversation, dealing with a difficult personality, or standing your ground with confidence, his down-toearth teachings have helped countless people navigate life's toughest situations. Now, for the first time, Fisher has distilled his three-part communication system (Say it with control, Say it with confidence, Say it to connect), which can easily be applied to any situation.

Life is full of twists and turns you never see coming. But what if you did? The plane is jam-packed. Every seat is taken. So of course the flight is delayed! Flight attendant Allegra Patel likes her job—she’s generally happy with her life, even if she can’t figure out why she hooks up with a man she barely speaks to—but today is her twenty-eighth birthday. She can think of plenty of things she’d rather be doing than placating a bunch of grumpy passengers. There’s the well-dressed man in seat 4C who is compulsively checking his watch, desperate not to miss his eleven-year-old daughter’s musical. Further back, a mother of two is frantically trying to keep her toddler entertained and her infant son quiet. How did she ever think being a stay-at-home mom would be easier than being a lawyer? Ethan is lost in thought; he’s flying back from his first funeral. A young couple has just gotten married; she’s still wearing her wedding dress. An emergency room nurse is looking forward to traveling the world once she retires in a few years, it’s going to be so much fun! If they ever get off the tarmac. . . .