Entertainment Science

In this Very Short Introduction audiobook, the renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object - either in art, in nature, or the human form - beautiful and examining how we can compare differing judgments of beauty when it is evident all around us that our tastes vary so widely.

For almost a century, movie fans have been riveted by the Academy Awards and the stars who have won Oscars. 50 Oscar Nights takes listeners behind the scenes of Hollywood’s most storied awards show through new and exclusive interviews with dozens of A-list actors, filmmakers, and craftspeople spanning sixty years of the Oscars. Here these artists reflect on their winning work and recount all the details of how they got ready, how they felt when they heard their name and got up on stage to accept their award, what they wore, how the entire experience impacted their life, and more.

Just when Claudia thought she'd come out on top, she's slammed with ominous dreams and a troubling reunion: Raul, one of her most prominent clients when she was a sex worker, has arrived at the academy! In her previous life, he offered to pay off her debts and free her from the brothel, but this time, he may be the mastermind fanning the flames of international conflict. Claudia's prepared to bring her tricks of the trade to the political stage--and she'll have Raul dancing in the palm of her hand in no time!

The Allman Brothers Band’s Brothers and Sisters was not only the band’s best-selling album at over seven million copies sold, it was also a powerfully influential release, both musically and culturally, one whose influence continues to be profoundly felt.

An original journalist for The Source, Dan Charnas built a celebrated career in the rap industry. In The Big Payback, he chronicles the rise of the hip-hop culture and shows how it became so powerful in a matter of decades. Charnas also profiles many of the movers and shakers in this burgeoning cultural movement, offering unprecedented access to an industry that continues to shake the globe.

For the first time, learn what really happened inside the walls of Hotel des Mille Collines. In Inside the Hotel Rwanda, survivor Edouard Kayihura tells his own personal story of what life was really like during those harrowing days within the walls of that infamous hotel and offers the testimonies of others who survived there, from Hutu and Tutsi to UN peacekeepers. Kayihura writes of a divided society and his journey to the place he believed would be safe from slaughter.

The long-awaited tournament has finally begun, and, under Lumina's tutelage, Teacher and Fran are ready to claim their rightful spot as champions. There's just one problem, though--as they advance through the rounds, they find themselves facing off against old friends and A-rank adventurers Amanda and Forlund!

Answers and vengeance are so close that Absalom Scryne can almost taste them. Perhaps if his consciousness had been transferred to a pair of shoes instead of a hat, he would've had the necessary tongue to do so . . . Having made it through the Badlands by the skin of his crooked yellow teeth, Ig the kobold celebrated the achievement by blowing everyone up. Now, separated from the unhygienic scalp of his apprentice, Absalom must navigate the pitch-black underworld.

In the final book in the series, Lief, Barda and Jasmine must find the heir to the kingdom's throne. They know that only the true heir can use the belt's magic to overthrow the evil Shadow Lord. But the heir has been in deepest hiding since birth and only the belt can reveal the hiding place. Shock follows shock as the Deltora Quest rushes to its thundering climax and the fury and the power of the Shadow Lord himself threaten to destroy its three heroes and everything they love.

It was a pretty radical idea - a channel for teenagers, showing nothing but music videos. It was such a radical idea that almost no one thought it would actually succeed, much less become a force in the worlds of music, television, film, fashion, sports, and even politics. But it did work. MTV became more than anyone had ever imagined. I Want My MTV tells the story of the first decade of MTV, the golden era when MTV's programming was all videos, all the time, and kids watched religiously to see their favorite bands, learn about new music, and have something to talk about at parties.

Marshall Seaver is being haunted. In the first installment of this chillingly compelling trilogy, sixteen-year-old Marshall discovers that something beyond our world is after him. The eerie clues pile up quickly, and when people start dying, it's clear whatever this is - it's huge. Marshall has no idea what's happening to him, but he's soon convinced that it has something to do with his best friend, Cooper, who's been missing for over a week.

Alex Lockerby’s father once told him that it’s the simple jobs that take the longest, and finding missing things is about as simple a job as Alex can get. When wealthy socialites hire him to track down their wayward daughter, finding her is easy, but that’s just the beginning of his problems.

The Queen of Urban Airwaves and VH1 host, Wendy Williams, dishes up juicy revelations and insider stories without batting a false eyelash.

Eating one's own kind is a completely natural behavior in thousands of species, including humans. Throughout history we have engaged in cannibalism for reasons related to famine, burial rites, and medicine. Cannibalism has also been used as a form of terrorism and as the ultimate expression of filial piety. With unexpected wit and a wealth of knowledge, Bill Schutt takes us on a tour of the field, exploring exciting new avenues of research and investigating questions like why so many fish eat their offspring and some amphibians consume their mothers' skin.

Lief, Barda, and Jasmine are on a perilous quest to find the seven lost gems of the magic belt of Deltora. Only when all the gems have been restored to the belt can Deltora be freed from the tyranny of the evil Shadow Lord. Four gems have been found. Now, though grave news reaches Lief from home, and he longs to return, the quest must continue. To find the fifth stone the heroes must venture almost to the border of the Shadowlands, and plunge into the darkness and terror of the realm of the monstrous toad Gellick - Dread Mountain.

Today both reality and entertainment crowd our fields of vision with brutal imagery. The pervasiveness of images of torture, horror, and war has all but demolished the 20th-century hope that such imagery might shock us into a less alienated state, or aid in the creation of a just social order. What to do now? When to look, when to turn away? Genre-busting author Maggie Nelson brilliantly navigates this contemporary predicament, with an eye to the question of whether or not focusing on representations of cruelty makes us cruel.

Are you a big fan of Harry Potter? You’ve probably read the books and seen the films many times over. But how much of the detail behind the series do you really know? This special audiobook collection contains three individual audiobooks: 101 Amazing Facts About Harry Potter, 101 More Amazing Books About Harry Potter and 101 Amazing Facts About J.K. Rowling. Separated into sections for easy listening, there is a huge amount of information that will surprise and amaze you in equal measure!

In this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin explores the connection between music - its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it - and the human brain. Levitin draws on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen.

Nineteen-year-old second-year quarterback Quentin Barnes has overcome racism and unified his team. He led the Ionath Krakens to a lower-tier championship, a championship that earned them promotion into the meat grinder known as "Tier One." Now, Quentin and his teammates have to compete against the greatest football teams ever assembled, and do far more than just survive each game. As he rebuilds the team in his own image, Quentin's true quest for a Tier One championship begins.

Acclaimed journalist Peter Doggett recounts the previously untold story of the dramatic final chapter in the lives, loves, and legal battles of John, Paul, George, and Ringo - a.k.a. The Beatles - from their breakup in 1969 to the present day. Called "refreshingly straightforward and highly readable" by the Daily Telegraph (London), You Never Give Me Your Money is the dramatic and intimate story of the breakup and aftermath of The Fab Four as it's never been told before.