A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

James Joyce

James Joyce first wrote Portrait as a one-thousand page novel, full of well-developed scenes and long explanations of Stephens motives, but he decided to trim it into a short book with a new sort of style. The novel tells the story of the first twenty years of Stephen Dedalus a young Catholic boy growing up in late 19th century Ireland. As the title suggests, this is the story not just of a young man, but of a boy developing into an artist. His search for knowledge and undestanding, and the decline of his familys circumstances, lead him to revelations on the nature of art and politics. His personal renaissance makes him feel unwelcome in his own nation, and forces him to decide whether to leave and accept exile, or to stay and fight. An semi-autobiographic novel, featuring a fictionalized character as Joyces alter-ego, it traces his formative childhood years that led him ambivalently away from a vocation in the clergy and into that of literature.

A Power User's Guide to FL Studio 21. Master the art of music production and advanced mixing techniques to create Billboard-charting records

Chris Noxx

A digital audio workstation empowering both aspiring and seasoned producers to create original music compositions, FL Studio has not only advanced the culture of collaboration across several genres but has provided a creative outlet for up-and-coming artists worldwide.Achieving professional production prowess takes practice, market insight, and mentorship. This book explains how the author used FL Studio as a creative palette to build a successful career as a record producer, using specific techniques and workflow processes that only FL Studio can accommodate. You’ll develop a Power User's mindset, create signature sounds using stock FL Studio One Shots, create top-level drum loops, learn about FL Studio's VST’s, and approach arrangements from a practical and pop music perspective. This comprehensive guide covers everything from crafting and adding hypnotic melodies and chords, to mixing and mastering productions, and promoting those records to artists and companies, to take your career to the next level.By the end of this book, you’ll be able to create original productions from scratch using FL Studio’s virtual instruments and sound kits, mix and master the finished production, and arrange it using the Billboard-charting formula.

A Practical Guide to Quantum Machine Learning and Quantum Optimization. Hands-on Approach to Modern Quantum Algorithms

Alberto Di Meglio, Elías F. Combarro, Samuel González-Castillo, Alberto Di Meglio

This book provides deep coverage of modern quantum algorithms that can be used to solve real-world problems. You’ll be introduced to quantum computing using a hands-on approach with minimal prerequisites.You’ll discover many algorithms, tools, and methods to model optimization problems with the QUBO and Ising formalisms, and you will find out how to solve optimization problems with quantum annealing, QAOA, Grover Adaptive Search (GAS), and VQE. This book also shows you how to train quantum machine learning models, such as quantum support vector machines, quantum neural networks, and quantum generative adversarial networks. The book takes a straightforward path to help you learn about quantum algorithms, illustrating them with code that’s ready to be run on quantum simulators and actual quantum computers. You’ll also learn how to utilize programming frameworks such as IBM’s Qiskit, Xanadu’s PennyLane, and D-Wave’s Leap.Through reading this book, you will not only build a solid foundation of the fundamentals of quantum computing, but you will also become familiar with a wide variety of modern quantum algorithms. Moreover, this book will give you the programming skills that will enable you to start applying quantum methods to solve practical problems right away.

A Practical Guide to Service Management. Insights from industry experts for uncovering, implementing, and improving service management practices

Keith D. Sutherland, Lawrence J. "Butch" Sheets, Lisa Schwartz

Many organizations struggle to find practical guidance that can help them to not only understand but also apply service management best practices. Packed with expert guidance and comprehensive coverage of the essential frameworks, methods, and techniques, this book will enable you to elevate your organization’s service management capability.You’ll start by exploring the fundamentals of service management and the role of a service provider. As you progress, you’ll get to grips with the different service management frameworks used by IT and enterprises. You'll use system thinking and design thinking approaches to learn to design, implement, and optimize services catering to diverse customer needs.This book will familiarize you with the essential process capabilities required for an efficient service management practice, followed by the elements key to its practical implementation, customized to the organization’s business needs in a sustainable and repeatable manner. You’ll also discover the critical success factors that will enhance your organization’s ability to successfully implement and sustain a service management practice.By the end of this handy guide, you’ll have a solid grasp of service management concepts, making this a valuable resource for on-the-job reference.

A Prayer for My Son

Hugh Walpole

This is the story of a sadist, in this case, a grandfather with excessive ego and a thirst for satisfying his sense of strength. The boys mother, his aunt, the boy himself become a victim of his madness, and the story gathers momentum until they are forced to flee from an environment that gives him his strength. This is a skillful build-up of atmosphere and tension.

A Prince of Sinners

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Elegantly written novel, which tells about a young man who can not forgive his newly found father, because he left him and his mother. But after many living trials in many ways teach them both, they realize that there are other more important priorities and forces. A pleasant, easy-to-read, and thought-out essay.

A Prince of the Captivity

John Buchan

A classic John Buchan story of espionage during World War I. It contains several familiar Buchan elements: a motley cast of characters, Great War intrigue, the use of disguises and linguistic talents, the concept of gaining inner strength from a beloved spot in nature, man against the forces of nature in less benign settings, a race against time and evil, and sacrifice for a greater good. This is the epic story of one mans courage. Adam Melfort released from jail just before the outbreak of World War I and becomes involved in intelligence work behind enemy lines. After the war he carries on seeking adventure and tries to prevent the assassination of the German Chancellor. A Prince of the Captivity is not a story about external events, but about what happens in Adams mind and soul as he tries to rebuild his life in a new pattern. However, the external events that forge Melforts soul are drawn from the toolbox of a skillful writer of thrillers.

A Princess of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs

“A Princess of Mars“ is a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, an American fiction writer, who created such great characters as Tarzan and John Carter of Mars.   A Princess of Mars is a science fantasy novel, the first of the Barsoom series. It features the characters of John Carter and Carter's wife Dejah Thoris. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the novel is considered a classic example of 20th-century pulp fiction. The story is set on Mars, imagined as a dying planet with a harsh desert environment. This vision of Mars was based on the work of the astronomer Percival Lowell, whose ideas were widely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  

A propos inferna. Tradycje wynalezione i dyskursy nieczyste w kulturach modernizmu skandynawskiego

Jan Balbierz

Od początku XX w. dominujący dyskurs interpretacyjny utożsamia kultury modernizmu skandynawskiego z postępem, optymizmem, emancypacją, równouprawnieniem i spełnioną utopią społeczną. Książka À propos Inferno ukazuje inne oblicze literatury i kultury północy Europy. Miejsce centralne zajmują w niej figury zejścia, ruch ku dołowi wiodący od współczesności do tradycji literackiej i kulturowej, od oficjalnej religii do heretyckich wędrówek po sferach piekielnych, od antropologii logocentrycznej do poetyki cielesności, od porządku symbolicznego do semiotycznego. Książka ukazuje procesy formowania się kanonu literackiego, konstruowania i dekonstruowania prekursorów, dialogu intertekstualnego, translacji między kulturowej a wreszcie przekraczania granic między literaturą a innymi obszarami kultury na przykładzie tekstów Augusta Strindberga, Knuta Hamsuna, Oli Hanssona i Gunnara Ekelöfa.

A propos niczego. Autobiografia

Woody Allen

Szczery, soczysty i błyskotliwy autoportret jednego z największych artystów naszych czasów! Z wyjątkową gawędziarską pasją Allen prowadzi nas od dzieciństwa i młodości na Brooklynie, przez pracę scenarzysty w programie Sida Ceasara i komika stand-upowego, aż po pierwsze próby aktorsko-reżyserskie i rozkwit trwającej sześćdziesiąt lat kariery w przemyśle filmowym. Na kartach tej niecodziennej autobiografii wielkie nazwiska mieszają się z błahostkami, naiwne zachwyty z bagażem życiowych doświadczeń, a kino ma godnego rywala w postaci muzyki jazzowej. Ta intymna i często humorystyczna historia znajduje się na listach bestsellerów takich czasopism, jak New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times i Publishers Weekly. Żywa opowieść o dorastaniu na Brooklynie, w rodzinie z klasy średniej; plotkarska relacja o wdrapywaniu się po szczeblach drabiny komedii, od pisania gagów dla tabloidów po zdobycie Oscarów. () Większa część tych wspomnień jest przyjemną i zajmującą lekturą. () Trzeba być prawdziwym ponurakiem, żeby nie roześmiać się pod gradem żartów.- Peter Biskind, Loch Angeles Times Prawdziwie wyluzowany głos na papierze.- New York Times Absolutnie zachwycająca, zabawna, ujmująca i skrząca się gwiezdnym pyłem. - National Review Od młodości mistrz w humorystycznym umniejszaniu samego siebie, urodzony z nowojorskimi cojones, Allen mówi to, o czym inni tylko myślą, i do diabła z kontrowersjami. - New York Journal of Books - The Federalist Rzutka, żywa, nadzwyczaj zabawna relacja.- Commentary Magazine Jeśli kochacie Woodyego Allena, pokochacie tę książkę. - Sam Wasson, Air Mail

A Pulpit in the Grill Room

E. Phillips Oppenheim

In 1914, after seven years of service in the most famous room in the Grill Room in London, he dropped his very favorable position and went to France. In 1919, he came from a war with two crutches and many medals. He came to Paris and looked enviously at the funny scenes in the cafe, and thought that it was all over for him.

A Queen of Atlantis

Frank Aubrey

Frank Aubrey, the author of The Devil Tree of Eldorado, has ventured again to write a wild and romantic tale of adventure. A Queen of Atlantis is the second of his trilogy of novels. This story relates the discovery of a telepathic race living in the Sargasso Sea. A wonderful tale of the mythical continent, told with outstanding imaginative ingenuity, chronicling the adventures of the near-immortal Monella. The readers interest is sustained from the start and the experiences are thrilling!

A Queen of Atlantis. A Romance of the Caribbean

Frank Aubrey

There is a long tradition among the romances of the 19th and early 20th century of the lost race novel concerning explorers who stumble onto a culture exists hidden from the outside world. A Queen of Atlantis: A Romance of the Caribbean is a novel among the most famous lost race novels written by Frank Aubrey. This story relates the discovery of a telepathic race living in the Sargasso Sea. A wonderful tale of the mythical continent, told with outstanding imaginative ingenuity, chronicling the adventures of the near-immortal Monella. Most desirable, all the expected thrills of an Atlantean thriller plus some: flying damsels; immortals; a satisfying variety of monsters including the frightful shape, with its maddening leer and its blood-curdling scream that welcomes us to the book.

A Queen of the Stage

Fred M. White

The story of A Queen of the Stage about a lonely woman Elsie Wayne, who is alone in London. She gets a fake theater role. The stranger throws her a note. It reads: Be brave and patient. If your friend does not let you down, be today under the portico of the Regency Theater.

A Rogues Life

Wilkie Collins

This is a charming and highly readable novel written in the middle of the 19th century. This novel also combines the adventure and twists of a novel with a moderately upper-class protagonist. Frank sees work life as a problem, and by his 25th birthday, he has failed in medicine, portraiture, caricature, and even forgery. Disillusioned with life, he despaired of finding something to do until he met Alicia Dulcifer.

A Romance of Two Worlds

Marie Corelli

The main character, who is fond of music, being under the heavy pressure of a creative crisis, goes on a journey with her friends to improve her mental and physical health. There she meets an artist who once also became very discouraged, but who was lucky enough to be treated by a mysterious healer with fantastic abilities. In the midst of an ignorant society, a rumor has already been very successfully circulating about the doctor, as if he communicates with evil spirits, which is why his extraordinary skills. However, as it turns out later, the doctor is not at all a sorcerer and not a servant of Satan, but, on the contrary, a man of deep scientific interests and, even, achievements, to which he came purely thanks to sincere faith in God and the after life.