“The Red Keep was full of cats: lazy old cats dozing in the sun, cold-eyed mousers twitching their tails, quick little kittens with claws like needles, ladies’ cats all combed and trusting, ragged shadows prowling the midden heaps. One by one Arya had chased them down and snatched them up and brought them proudly to Syrio Forel … all but this one, this one-eared black devil of a tomcat. “That’s the real king of this castle right there,” one of the gold cloaks had told her. “Older than sin and twice as mean. One time, the king was feasting the queen’s father, and that black bastard hopped up on the table and snatched a roast quail right out of Lord Tywin’s fingers. Robert laughed so hard he like to burst. You stay away from that one, child.”He had run her halfway across the castle; twice around the Tower of the Hand, across the inner bailey, through the stables, down the serpentine steps, past the small kitchen and the pig yard and the barracks of the gold cloaks, along the base of the river wall and up more steps and back and forth over Traitor’s Walk, and then down again and through a gate and around a well and in and out of strange buildings until Arya didn’t know where she was.Now at last she had him. High walls pressed close on either side, and ahead was a blank windowless mass of stone. Quiet as a shadow, she repeated, sliding forward, light as a feather.When she was three steps away from him, the tomcat bolted. Left, then right, he went; and right, then left, went Arya, cutting off his escape. He hissed again and tried to dart between her legs. Quick as a snake, she thought.”
―
George R.R. Martin,
A Game of Thrones
“Sublime Books The Known World, by Edward P. Jones The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro A Thousand Trails Home, by Seth Kantner House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday Faithful and Virtuous Night, by Louise Glück The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy, by Robert Bly The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman Unfortunately, It Was Paradise, by Mahmoud Darwish Collected Fictions, by Jorge Luis Borges, trans. Andrew Hurley The Xenogenesis Trilogy, by Octavia E. Butler Map: Collected and Last Poems, by Wisława Szymborska In the Lateness of the World, by Carolyn Forché Angels, by Denis Johnson Postcolonial Love Poem, by Natalie Diaz Hope Against Hope, by Nadezhda Mandelstam Exhalation, by Ted Chaing Strange Empire, by Joseph Kinsey Howard Tookie’s Pandemic Reading Deep Survival, by Laurence Gonzales The Lost City of the Monkey God, by Douglas Preston The House of Broken Angels, by Luis Alberto Urrea The Heartsong of Charging Elk, by James Welch Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey Let’s Take the Long Way Home, by Gail Caldwell The Aubrey/Maturin Novels, by Patrick O’Brian The Ibis Trilogy, by Amitav Ghosh The Golden Wolf Saga, by Linnea Hartsuyker Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky Coyote Warrior, by Paul VanDevelder Incarceration Felon, by Reginald Dwayne Betts Against the Loveless World, by Susan Abulhawa Waiting for an Echo, by Christine Montross, M.D. The Mars Room, by Rachel Kushner The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander This Is Where, by Louise K. Waakaa’igan I Will Never See the World Again, by Ahmet Altan Sorrow Mountain, by Ani Pachen and Adelaide Donnelley American Prison, by Shane Bauer Solitary, by Albert Woodfox Are Prisons Obsolete?, by Angela Y. Davis 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, by Ai Weiwei Books contain everything worth knowing except what ultimately matters. —Tookie * * * If you are interested in the books on these lists, please seek them out at your local independent bookstore. Miigwech! Acknowledgments” ― Louise Erdrich, The Sentence
“If it were me, I’d take that apology to the board meeting tomorrow. I’d set it down real careful like on the table in front of them. Then, after I had their full and undivided attention, I’d unzip my pants and piss on the damn thing. When I was finished, I’d fold my dick back up and walk my ass outta there.” ― Robert Bailey, The Professor
“Her hand shot out, gripped his arm. "M.J. and Bailey?""Your friends are fine." He felt her grip go limp. "They've had an eventful holiday weekend, all of which could have been avoided if they'd contacted and cooperated with the police. And it's cooperation I'll have from you now, one way or the other."She tossed her hair back. "Where are they? What did you do,toss them in a cell? My lawyer will have them out and your butt in a sling before you can finish reciting the Miranda." She started toward the phone, saw it wasn't on the Queen Anne table."No,they're not in a cell." It goaded him, the way she snapped into gear, ready to buck the rules. "I imagine they're planning your funeral right about now.” ― Nora Roberts, Treasures: Secret Star / Treasures Lost, Treasures Found
“Methodically, like a tested surgeon, Helen took Melvin through his experience as a coroner, going over his expertise in determining the cause and time of death in thousands of cases. After establishing his acumen in forensics,” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“No, Bailey, you're not a coward, but you're constantly worried that you are. You're a championworrier. And a woman, I think, who gives herself very little credit for her strengths, and has very littletolerance for her weaknesses. Self-judgmental.” ― Nora Roberts, Hidden Star
“back. She knew she was lucky to have a job but she didn’t feel lucky. She felt depressed. Sad. Tired. And most of all, confused. She knew this was the week of Ruth Ann’s trial. There hadn’t been any press coverage yet, but she remembered the date. She had wanted to call Rick and wish him luck. In fact, she had picked up the phone several times and started to dial the number, but she just couldn’t go through with it. Not after all the things they had said to each other. She opened the back door to the office and stepped out into the night. The parking lot was barren except for her white Mustang, and the only sounds she heard were the passing of cars on Greensboro a few blocks up. She shut the door behind her, putting the key in the dead bolt and twisting it. “Kinda late for a pretty girl like you to be out.” Dawn turned to the sound of the voice, her stomach tightening into a knot. The lot was sparsely lit, and for a moment she didn’t see him. Then, standing by her Mustang, she saw a tall man dressed in khaki pants and a golf shirt. As he stepped toward her, she noticed that his hair was sandy blond and he had a patch of stubble on his face. “Can I help you?” Dawn asked, her voice shaky. She reached into her pocket for her cell phone but then remembered that the battery was dead. Damn, damn, damn. The man was in front of her now. He had continued to approach as if his appearance were completely natural.” ― Robert Bailey, The Professor
“Prostate cancer that had spread to the liver,” she said. “I think that was the main reason he was released from the prison. So that they could avoid the costs of treatment.” Barbara” ― Robert Bailey, The Last Trial
“Bo had opened his law practice in September 1985, just a few months after graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law, and three weeks after his marriage to the lovely Jasmine Desiree Henderson. He’d done well in school,” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“Tom let his eyes drift to the gallery, which was again filled to capacity. He noticed that for the third straight day, Jasmine Haynes had attached an orange corsage to her dress just above her heart. Curious, Tom had asked Jazz about the garnish this morning. “When the Klan marched in 1989 with the Aryan Nation, the people here protested by putting orange wreaths and ribbons on all the business doors,” she had explained. “Orange is the international color of brotherhood. Bo and I were part of that protest, and I guess I’m . . . trying to send a message.” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“Ku Klux Klan” was chosen as the name, because it came from the Greek word kyklos, meaning circle of brothers.” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“No lime. No salt. No problem.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Rick had heard the Professor describe jury service as like attending someone else’s church—you don’t know when to stand, when to sit, when to pray, or whether it is OK to say “amen” out loud.” ― Robert Bailey, The Final Reckoning
“the board were five words written side by side in capital letters: MATERIALITY, RELEVANCE, HEARSAY, AUTHENTICATION, and PRIVILEGE. McMurtrie’s five columns, to those who knew. Today was the first day of Evidence. And their teacher was Thomas Jackson McMurtrie. The Professor. He who wrote the book, literally, on evidence in Alabama. As he turned to them, Tom smiled to himself, taking” ― Robert Bailey, The Professor
“Standing there, in his crumpled suit with a loaner gun stuck in his front pocket, badly needing a shave and a shower, Jason felt self-conscious and a bit ridiculous as his heart rate picked up speed. “I think so,” he said.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Have you ever wondered who you really are? I mean, beyond what you do for a living, who you marry, who your friends are, how you spend your time . . . but literally, who in the hell you are. That simple, little question.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Confidence is a strange thing. When you are good at something, you want to do it more and more, and confidence breeds repetition and practice, which produces excellence.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Self-control . . . In order to stop beating yourself, you have to learn and practice self-control. Resilience . . . Be resilient in the face of great adversity. Belief . . . Believe in yourself and go after what you want. Forgiveness . . . Forgive the people who have caused you the most hurt. In my case, my dad . . . and myself. I” ― Robert Bailey, The Golfer's Carol
“Why had she done it? Why?” ― Robert Bailey, The Wrong Side
“Sublime Books The Known World, by Edward P. Jones The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro A Thousand Trails Home, by Seth Kantner House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday Faithful and Virtuous Night, by Louise Glück The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy, by Robert Bly The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman Unfortunately, It Was Paradise, by Mahmoud Darwish Collected Fictions, by Jorge Luis Borges, trans. Andrew Hurley The Xenogenesis Trilogy, by Octavia E. Butler Map: Collected and Last Poems, by Wisława Szymborska In the Lateness of the World, by Carolyn Forché Angels, by Denis Johnson Postcolonial Love Poem, by Natalie Diaz Hope Against Hope, by Nadezhda Mandelstam Exhalation, by Ted Chaing Strange Empire, by Joseph Kinsey Howard Tookie’s Pandemic Reading Deep Survival, by Laurence Gonzales The Lost City of the Monkey God, by Douglas Preston The House of Broken Angels, by Luis Alberto Urrea The Heartsong of Charging Elk, by James Welch Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey Let’s Take the Long Way Home, by Gail Caldwell The Aubrey/Maturin Novels, by Patrick O’Brian The Ibis Trilogy, by Amitav Ghosh The Golden Wolf Saga, by Linnea Hartsuyker Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky Coyote Warrior, by Paul VanDevelder Incarceration Felon, by Reginald Dwayne Betts Against the Loveless World, by Susan Abulhawa Waiting for an Echo, by Christine Montross, M.D. The Mars Room, by Rachel Kushner The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander This Is Where, by Louise K. Waakaa’igan I Will Never See the World Again, by Ahmet Altan Sorrow Mountain, by Ani Pachen and Adelaide Donnelley American Prison, by Shane Bauer Solitary, by Albert Woodfox Are Prisons Obsolete?, by Angela Y. Davis 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, by Ai Weiwei Books contain everything worth knowing except what ultimately matters. —Tookie * * * If you are interested in the books on these lists, please seek them out at your local independent bookstore. Miigwech! Acknowledgments” ― Louise Erdrich, The Sentence
“If it were me, I’d take that apology to the board meeting tomorrow. I’d set it down real careful like on the table in front of them. Then, after I had their full and undivided attention, I’d unzip my pants and piss on the damn thing. When I was finished, I’d fold my dick back up and walk my ass outta there.” ― Robert Bailey, The Professor
“Her hand shot out, gripped his arm. "M.J. and Bailey?""Your friends are fine." He felt her grip go limp. "They've had an eventful holiday weekend, all of which could have been avoided if they'd contacted and cooperated with the police. And it's cooperation I'll have from you now, one way or the other."She tossed her hair back. "Where are they? What did you do,toss them in a cell? My lawyer will have them out and your butt in a sling before you can finish reciting the Miranda." She started toward the phone, saw it wasn't on the Queen Anne table."No,they're not in a cell." It goaded him, the way she snapped into gear, ready to buck the rules. "I imagine they're planning your funeral right about now.” ― Nora Roberts, Treasures: Secret Star / Treasures Lost, Treasures Found
“Methodically, like a tested surgeon, Helen took Melvin through his experience as a coroner, going over his expertise in determining the cause and time of death in thousands of cases. After establishing his acumen in forensics,” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“No, Bailey, you're not a coward, but you're constantly worried that you are. You're a championworrier. And a woman, I think, who gives herself very little credit for her strengths, and has very littletolerance for her weaknesses. Self-judgmental.” ― Nora Roberts, Hidden Star
“back. She knew she was lucky to have a job but she didn’t feel lucky. She felt depressed. Sad. Tired. And most of all, confused. She knew this was the week of Ruth Ann’s trial. There hadn’t been any press coverage yet, but she remembered the date. She had wanted to call Rick and wish him luck. In fact, she had picked up the phone several times and started to dial the number, but she just couldn’t go through with it. Not after all the things they had said to each other. She opened the back door to the office and stepped out into the night. The parking lot was barren except for her white Mustang, and the only sounds she heard were the passing of cars on Greensboro a few blocks up. She shut the door behind her, putting the key in the dead bolt and twisting it. “Kinda late for a pretty girl like you to be out.” Dawn turned to the sound of the voice, her stomach tightening into a knot. The lot was sparsely lit, and for a moment she didn’t see him. Then, standing by her Mustang, she saw a tall man dressed in khaki pants and a golf shirt. As he stepped toward her, she noticed that his hair was sandy blond and he had a patch of stubble on his face. “Can I help you?” Dawn asked, her voice shaky. She reached into her pocket for her cell phone but then remembered that the battery was dead. Damn, damn, damn. The man was in front of her now. He had continued to approach as if his appearance were completely natural.” ― Robert Bailey, The Professor
“Prostate cancer that had spread to the liver,” she said. “I think that was the main reason he was released from the prison. So that they could avoid the costs of treatment.” Barbara” ― Robert Bailey, The Last Trial
“Bo had opened his law practice in September 1985, just a few months after graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law, and three weeks after his marriage to the lovely Jasmine Desiree Henderson. He’d done well in school,” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“Tom let his eyes drift to the gallery, which was again filled to capacity. He noticed that for the third straight day, Jasmine Haynes had attached an orange corsage to her dress just above her heart. Curious, Tom had asked Jazz about the garnish this morning. “When the Klan marched in 1989 with the Aryan Nation, the people here protested by putting orange wreaths and ribbons on all the business doors,” she had explained. “Orange is the international color of brotherhood. Bo and I were part of that protest, and I guess I’m . . . trying to send a message.” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“Ku Klux Klan” was chosen as the name, because it came from the Greek word kyklos, meaning circle of brothers.” ― Robert Bailey, Between Black and White
“No lime. No salt. No problem.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Rick had heard the Professor describe jury service as like attending someone else’s church—you don’t know when to stand, when to sit, when to pray, or whether it is OK to say “amen” out loud.” ― Robert Bailey, The Final Reckoning
“the board were five words written side by side in capital letters: MATERIALITY, RELEVANCE, HEARSAY, AUTHENTICATION, and PRIVILEGE. McMurtrie’s five columns, to those who knew. Today was the first day of Evidence. And their teacher was Thomas Jackson McMurtrie. The Professor. He who wrote the book, literally, on evidence in Alabama. As he turned to them, Tom smiled to himself, taking” ― Robert Bailey, The Professor
“Standing there, in his crumpled suit with a loaner gun stuck in his front pocket, badly needing a shave and a shower, Jason felt self-conscious and a bit ridiculous as his heart rate picked up speed. “I think so,” he said.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Have you ever wondered who you really are? I mean, beyond what you do for a living, who you marry, who your friends are, how you spend your time . . . but literally, who in the hell you are. That simple, little question.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Confidence is a strange thing. When you are good at something, you want to do it more and more, and confidence breeds repetition and practice, which produces excellence.” ― Robert Bailey, Rich Blood
“Self-control . . . In order to stop beating yourself, you have to learn and practice self-control. Resilience . . . Be resilient in the face of great adversity. Belief . . . Believe in yourself and go after what you want. Forgiveness . . . Forgive the people who have caused you the most hurt. In my case, my dad . . . and myself. I” ― Robert Bailey, The Golfer's Carol
“Why had she done it? Why?” ― Robert Bailey, The Wrong Side
