Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Strategic management analysis of Starbucks Assignment

Key administration examination of Starbucks - Assignment Example This investigation proposes to assess Starbucks from a key perspective. In this setting of the investigation, the United States portion of the organization will be assessed. It will likewise reveal insight into the espresso business of USA. The essential justification behind the business examination is to quantify engaging quality of this industry. The engaging quality of the business will be measured by utilizing PORTER’s five powers system investigation. Aside from that the outside business condition will be likewise broke down utilizing PESTEL investigation. The following part will be tied in with recognizing the qualities and shortcomings of the organization. This will be finished with the assistance of a SWOT system. What's more, the examination will likewise accentuate on the abilities, center skills and assets. Starbucks: A Brief Overview The historical backdrop of Starbucks Corporation goes back to the mid 1970s, when the organization was established by the popular Jer ry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl (Starbucks, n.d.). Since the hour of its establishment, the saying of the organization has been to offer one of a kind and uncommon experience to the clients at whatever point they visit a Starbucks store and taste espresso. Starbucks is by and by headquartered at Seattle, Washington, U.S (Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2009, p.557). The organization works with around 6705 organization possessed stores, and 4,082 authorized stores all through the United Stated. Anyway from a worldwide point of view, the organization works with 20,366 stores and has nearness in 61 nations of the world. It sells hot beverages, nourishments and retail marketing things. Starbucks has amazing representative qualities of 1, 50,000. As of budgetary year end 2012, the net income of the organization was US$ 13.29 billion. A portion of the significant contenders of the organization are Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc., McDonalds, Nestle, Yum Brands, KFC and Wendy's International, Inc (Yahoo Finance, n.d.). Errand A †Market Environment Analysis Micro Environment Analysis Coffee is respected as one of the most valuable farming products and in this way the espresso business is likewise seeing solid developments all around. With solid and built up players, for example, Starbucks and accessibility of mass client makes it one of the likely enterprises of the world. Presently to get further bits of knowledge of the smaller scale condition and to gauge the engaging quality of the espresso business of USA a top to bottom industry investigation will be completed. To do so PORTER’S five powers structure will be utilized. Porter’s five powers is one of the broadly utilized apparatuses to decide the serious powers of the business. The five powers of the business as depicted by Michael Porter are the danger of the new contestants inside the business, danger of the substitute items, and force of the current competition inside the business, dealing intens ity of the providers lastly the bartering intensity of the purchasers. The examination is demonstrated as follows:- Threat of the substitute items The substitute items are the items that are not actually equivalent to the center item, yet perform nearly the comparable capacity or give a similar advantage as given by the center item. With regards to Starbucks, the substitute items are sodas, caffeinated drinks, espresso pills and caffeine. The utilization designs

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Allan Bloom Clearly Distinguishes Between Prestigious Private Liberal

Allan Bloom plainly recognizes Prestigious Private Liberal Arts Colleges and State Universities in the Liberal Studies determination of his book, The Closing of the American Mind. He unequivocally accepts that the University needs to represent something. There is anything but an away from of what an informed individual is, and it is the duty of a University to choose what subjects will be required by their understudies to get a degree. Allan Bloom describes the renowned establishments as schools that should give liberal training. He arranges the State Schools as universities that are to get ready pros to fit the efficient requests of this intricate society. He is attempting to infer that there is an issue with the present liberal investigations program with most colleges in the United States. He imagines that the different courses that are required are for the most part disconnected to one another. He states two ways to deal with the liberal investigations issue, and he proposes his very own answer. The primary methodology is to enroll in a class to study each broad branch of the college. The subsequent methodology, which is typically turned somewhere near most of colleges, is to take composite courses. This is fundamentally a joining of a few divisions into one course. His answer for the liberal investigations issue is the ?Great Books? approach. The Great Books approach is a rundown of by and large perceived old style messages that would be required by the understudies to peruse. In the event that this were the situation, at that point the understudies would not be constrained into the particular classes of the college. All that they would need to do is just perused the books. An inquiry that I have is the means by which would the understudies be tried on their perception of the perusing. The educators couldn't simply accept that everybody read these books, not to mention get them. I believe that the understudies could simply go purchase these books at a book shop on the off chance that they needed to understand them, rather than paying educational cost to peruse these different books. Another issue that he addresses is the profound quality of liberal examinations. The two schools nearly need to feel remorseful for their own personal circumstance in bringing in cash and for ripping the understudies off. They realize that it would not take four years to graduate if we somehow managed to have practical experience in our major the entire time. He likewise imagines that the unsure understudy is a humiliation to the college. I don't concur with this in light of the fact that the understudy has presumably effectively limited their decisions, and now simply attempting to pick the correct one. By and large, I concur with him that there might be a couple of liberal examinations issues, yet I don't have the foggiest idea whether his methodologies are the right responses to the issue.

Monday, August 10, 2020

100 Must-Read Graphic Memoirs

100 Must-Read Graphic Memoirs This post on graphic memoirs is sponsored by Its All Absolutely Fine by Ruby Elliot. It’s All Absolutely Fine is for anyone who struggles with not feeling absolutely fine. Tackling the not-so-simple subjects of depression, anxiety, and body image, Ruby’s unique, humorous, and brutally honest voice and eccentric illustrations will remind readers that they’re not aloneâ€"and that it’s okay to struggle and to talk about struggling. There’s a scene in Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez where one character opens another’s head and looks aroundliterally. That’s what I imagine graphic memoirs doing. I can only live one life, but with their combination of prose and art, graphic memoirs let me see what life is like for someone else in a new, deeper way and on a range of topics and places of origin, from growing up in a country in revolution to living with mental illness to coping with tragic loss. So take a peek. Here are some must-read graphic memoirs. American Splendor by Harvey Pekar: American Splendor  is the world’s first literary comic book. Cleveland native Harvey Pekar is a true American original. A V.A. hospital file clerk and comic book writer, Harvey chronicles the ordinary and mundane in stories both funny and touching. His dead-on eye for the frustrations and minutiae of the workaday world mix in a delicate balance with his insight into personal relationships. Pekar has been compared to Dreiser, Dostoevsky, and Lenny Bruce. But he is truly more than all of themâ€"he is himself. American Widow by Alissa Torres and Sungyoon Choi: On September 10, 2001, Eddie Torres started his dream job at Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The next morning, he said goodbye to his 7 ½-months-pregnant wife, Alissa, and headed out the door.  In an instant, Alissa’s world was thrown into chaos. Forced to deal with unimaginable challenges, Alissa suddenly found herself cast into the role of 9/11 widow, tossed into a storm of bureaucracy, politics, patriotism, mourning, consolation, and, soon enough, motherhood. An Age of License by Lucy Knisley: Acclaimed cartoonist Lucy Knisley (French Milk,  Relish) got an opportunity that most only dream of: a travel-expenses-paid trip to Europe/Scandinavia, thanks to a book tour.  An Age of License  is Knisley’s comics travel memoir recounting her charming (and romantic!) adventures. It’s punctuated by whimsical visual devices (such as a new experiences funnel); peppered with the cute cats she meets along the way; and, of course, features her hallmark?drawings and descriptions of food that will make your mouth water. But it’s not all kittens and raclette crepes: Knisley’s experiences are colored by anxieties, introspective self-inquiries, and quotidian revelations?about traveling alone in unfamiliar countries, and about her life and career?that many young adults will relate to.  An Age of License?which takes its name from a French saying?is an  Eat, Pray, Love  for the alternative comics fan. The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf: In striking, virtuoso graphic style that captures both the immediacy of childhood and the fervor of political idealism, Riad Sattouf recounts his nomadic childhood growing up in rural France, Gaddafis Libya, and Assads Syriabut always under the roof of his father, a Syrian Pan-Arabist who drags his family along in his pursuit of grandiose dreams for the Arab nation. The Arab of the Future 2 by Riad Sattouf: In Volume 2, Riad, now settled in his father’s hometown of Homs, gets to go to school, where he dedicates himself to becoming a true Syrian in the country of the dictator Hafez Al-Assad. Told simply yet with devastating effect, Riad’s story takes in the sweep of politics, religion, and poverty, but is steered by acutely observed small moments: the daily sadism of his schoolteacher, the lure of the black market, with its menu of shame and subsistence, and the obsequiousness of his father in the company of those close to the regime. As his family strains to fit in, one chilling, barbaric act drives the Sattoufs to make the most dramatic of changes. Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel: Alison Bechdel’s  Fun Home  was a pop culture and literary phenomenon. Now, a second thrilling tale of filial sleuthery, this time about her mother: voracious reader, music lover, passionate amateur actor. Also a woman, unhappily married to a closeted gay man, whose artistic aspirations simmered under the surface of Bechdels childhood . . . and who stopped touching or kissing her daughter good night, forever, when she was seven. Poignantly, hilariously, Bechdel embarks on a quest for answers concerning the mother-daughter gulf. Its a richly layered search that leads readers from the fascinating life and work of the iconic twentieth-century psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, to one explosively illuminating Dr. Seuss illustration, to Bechdel’s own (serially monogamous) adult love life. And, finally, back to Motherâ€"to a truce, fragile and real-time, that will move and astonish all adult children of gifted mothers. Becoming Unbecoming by Una: This extraordinary graphic novel is a powerful denunciation of sexual violence against women. As seen through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl named Una, it takes place in northern England in 1977, as the Yorkshire Ripper, a serial killer of prostitutes, is on the loose and creating panic among the townspeople. As the police struggle in their clumsy attempts to find the killer, and the headlines in the local paper become more urgent, a once self-confident Una teaches herself to lower her gaze in order to deflect attention from boys. The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui: This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves. Billy, Me You by Nicola Streeten: Nicola Streeten’s little boy, Billy, was two years old when he died following heart surgery for problems diagnosed only 10 days earlier. Gut-wrenchingly sad at times, her graphic memoir is an unforgettable portrayal of trauma and our reaction to it â€" and, especially, the humor or absurdity so often involved in our responses. As Streeten’s story unfolds and we follow her and her partner’s heroic efforts to cope with well-meaning friends and day-to-day realities, we begin to understand what she means by her aim to create a dead baby story that is funny.' Bitter Medicine by Clem Martini and Olivier Martini: In 1976, Ben Martini was diagnosed with schizophrenia. A decade later, his brother Olivier was told he had the same disease. For the past thirty years the Martini family has struggled to comprehend and cope with a devastating illness, frustrated by a health care system lacking in resources and empathy, the imperfect science of medication, and the strain of mental illness on familial relationships. Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story by Frederik Peeters: One summer night at a house party, Fred met Cati. Though they barely spoke, he vividly remembered her gracefulness and abandon. They meet again years later, and this time their connection is instantaneous. But when things become serious, a nervous Cati tells him that she and her three-year-old son are both HIV positive. With great beauty and economy, Peeters traces the development of their intimacy and their revelatory relationship with a doctor whose affection and frankness allow them to fully realize their passionate connection. Then Cati’s son gets sick, bringing Fred face to face with death. It forces him to question the meaning of life, illness, and love â€" until a Socratic dialogue with a mammoth helps him recognize that living with illness is also a gift; it has freed him to savor his life with Cati. Bright-Eyed at Midnight by Leslie Stein:  â€œBeginning at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2014, and ending on January 1, 2015, Leslie Stein drew a comics page a night. Fueled by an urge toward visual and narrative experimentation and made possible by serendipitous bouts of insomnia, Stein has combined words and images in a series of comic strips, paintings, and collages that reflect her life.” Calling Dr. Laura by Nicole J. Georges: When Nicole Georges  was two years old, her  family told her that her father was  dead. When she was twenty-three, a psychic told her he was alive.  Her sister, saddled with guilt, admits  that the psychic is right and that the whole family has conspired to keep him a secret.  Sent into a tailspin about her identity, Nicole turns to radio  talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger for advice. Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast: In her first memoir,  New Yorker  cartoonist Roz Chast brings her signature wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos, and documents, and a narrative as rife with laughs as it is with tears, Chast’s memoir is both comfort and comic relief for anyone experiencing the life-altering loss of elderly parents. A Chinese Life by Li Kunwu and Philippe Otie: A Chinese Life  is an astonishing graphic novel set against the backdrop of the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. This distinctively drawn work chronicles the rise and reign of Chairman Mao Zedong, and his sweeping, often cataclysmic vision for the most populated country on the planet. Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci: Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Ozge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. Her dad expected Ozge, like her sister, to become an engineer. She tried to hear her own voice over his and the religious and militaristic tensions of Turkey and the conflicts between secularism and fundamentalism. Could she be a scuba diver like Jacques Cousteau? A stage actress? Would it be possible to please everyone including herself? Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White by Lila Quintero Weaver: Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White  is an arresting and moving personal story about childhood, race, and identity in the American South, rendered in stunning illustrations by the author,  Lila Quintero Weaver. Displacement by Lucy Knisley: In the latest volume of her graphic travelogue series,  New York Times-best selling cartoonist Lucy Knisley must care for her grandparents on a cruise. Dont Go Where I Cant Follow by Anders Nilsen: “Dont Go Where I Cant Follow is an eloquent appreciation of the time the author shared with his fiancée, Cheryl Weaver. The story is told using artifacts of the couples life together, including early love notes, simple and poetic postcards, tales of their travels in written and comics form, journal entries, and drawings done in the hospital in her final days. It concludes with a beautifully rendered account of Weavers memorial that Glen David Gold, writing in the Los Angeles Times, called ‘16 panels of beauty and grace.’ Dont Go Where I Cant Follow is a deeply personal romance, and a universal reminder of our mortality and the significance of the relationships we build.” Dragons Breath by MariNaomi: In this collection of raw, emotionally honest stories, MariNaomi explores a wide range of topics including youthful rebellion, mortality, disillusionment, and compassion. Many of these stories were first serialized on the popular site the  Rumpus. These poignant stories, some filled with hope, others tinged with remorse, are sure to appeal to even the most discerning reader. A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi: Acclaimed for his visionary short-story collections  The Push Man and Other Stories,  Abandon the Old in Tokyo, and  Good-Bye?originally created nearly forty years ago, but just as resonant now as ever?the legendary Japanese cartoonist Yoshihiro Tatsumi has come to be recognized in North America as a precursor of todays graphic novel movement.  A Drifting Life  is his monumental memoir eleven years in the making, beginning with his experiences as a child in Osaka, growing up as part of a country burdened by the shadows of World War II. Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz: Representing Julia Wertzs critically acclaimed first graphic memoir in a new format, with a brand new sketchbook from Wertz, and an introduction by Janeane Garofalo. But dont worry; we havent replaced any of the wrenching and ribald, whiskey-soaked coming-of-age tale. This is Wertz at her best, which is sometimes her worst. El Deafo by Cece Bell: Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerfulâ€"and very awkwardâ€"hearing aid. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi: From the bestâ€"selling author of  Persepolis  comes this gloriously entertaining and enlightening look into the sex lives of Iranian women.  Embroideries  gathers together Marjane’s toughâ€"talking grandmother, stoic mother, glamorous and eccentric aunt and their friends and neighbors for an afternoon of tea drinking and talking. Naturally, the subject turns to love, sex and the vagaries of men. Epileptic by David B.: David B. was born Pierre-François Beauchard in a small town near Orléans, France. He spent an idyllic early childhood playing with the neighborhood kids and, along with his older brother, Jean-Christophe, ganging up on his little sister, Florence. But their lives changed abruptly when Jean-Christophe was struck with epilepsy at age eleven. In search of a cure, their parents dragged the family to acupuncturists and magnetic therapists, to mediums and macrobiotic communes. But every new cure ended in disappointment as Jean-Christophe, after brief periods of remission, would only get worse. Ethel Ernest by Raymond Briggs: Poignant, funny, and utterly original,  Ethel Ernest  is Raymond Briggss loving depiction of his parents lives from their chance first encounter in the 1920s until their deaths in the 1970s. Everything Is Teeth by Evie Wyld and Joe Sumner: When she was a little girl, passing her summers in the heat of coastal Australia, Evie Wyld was captivated by sharksâ€"by their innate ruthlessness, stealth, and immeasurable powerâ€"and they have never released their hold on her imagination. From the award-winning author of  All the Birds, Singing,  here is a deeply moving graphic memoir about family, love, loss, and the irresistible forces that, like sharks, course through life unseen, ready to emerge at any moment. Fatherland by Nina Bunjevac: Standing alongside Marjane Satrapis  Persepolis  and Joe Saccos  Palestine, Nina Bunjevacs  Fatherland  renders the searing history of the Balkans in the twentieth century through the experiences of the author and her family. In 1975, fearing her husband’s growing fanaticism, Nina Bunjevacs mother fled her marriage and adopted country of Canada, taking Nina?then only a toddler?and her older sister back to Yugoslavia to live with her parents. Her husband and Ninas father, Peter, was a die-hard Serbian nationalist who was forced to leave his country in the 1950s. Remaining in Canada, he became involved with a terrorist organization bent on overthrowing the Communist Yugoslav government and attacking its supporters in North America. Then in 1977, while his family was still in Yugoslovia, Peter was killed in an accidental explosion while building a bomb. Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence by Geoffrey Canada and Jamar Nicholas: Long before President Barack Obama praised his work as an all-encompassing, all-hands-on-deck anti-poverty effort that is literally saving a generation of children, and First Lady Michelle Obama called him one of my heroes, Geoffrey Canada was a small and scared boy growing up in the South Bronx. His childhood world was one where sidewalk boys learned the codes of the block and were ranked through the rituals of fist, stick, knife, and, finally, gun. In a stunning pairing, acclaimed comics creator Jamar Nicholas presents Canada’s raw and riveting account, one of the most authentic and important true stories of urban violence ever told. Flying Couch  by Amy Kurzweil: Flying Couch,  Amy Kurzweil’s debut, tells the stories of three unforgettable women. Amy weaves her own coming-of-age as a young Jewish artist into the narrative of her mother, a psychologist, and Bubbe, her grandmother, a World War II survivor who escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto by disguising herself as a gentile. Captivated by Bubbe’s story, Amy turns to her sketchbooks, teaching herself to draw as a way to cope with what she discovers. Entwining the voices and histories of these three wise, hilarious, and very different women, Amy creates a portrait not only of what it means to be part of a family, but also of how each generation bears the imprint of the past. Forget Sorrow  by Belle Yang: When Belle Yang was forced to take refuge in her parents’ home after an abusive boyfriend began stalking her, her father entertained her with stories of old China. The history she’d ignored while growing up became a source of comfort and inspiration, and narrowed the gap separating her?an independent, Chinese-American woman?from her Old World Chinese parents. French Milk by Lucy Knisley: Through delightful drawings, photographs, and musings, twenty-three-year-old Lucy Knisley documents a six-week trip she and her mother took to Paris when each was facing a milestone birthday. With a quirky flat in the fifth arrondissement as their home base, they set out to explore all the city has to offer, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on New Years Eve, visiting Oscar Wildes grave, loafing at cafés, and, of course, drinking delicious French milk. What results is not only a sweet and savory journey through the City of Light but a moving, personal look at a mother-daughter relationship. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel: A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books.  This breakout book by Alison Bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdels sweetly gothic drawings. Like Marjane Satrapis Persepolis, its a story exhilaratingly suited to graphic memoir form. A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return by Zeina Abirached: When Zeina was born, the civil war in Lebanon had been going on for six years, so its just a normal part of life for her and her parents and little brother. The city of Beirut is cut in two by bricks and sandbags, threatened by snipers and shelling. East Beirut is for Christians, and West Beirut is for Muslims. When Zeinas parents dont return from a visit to the other half of the city, and the bombing grows ever closer, the neighbors in her apartment house create a world indoors for Zeina and her brother, where they can share cooking lessons and games and gossip. Together they try to make it through a dramatic evening in the one place they hoped they would always be safeâ€"home. Zeina Abirached, born into a Lebanese Christian family in 1981, has collected her childhood memories of Beirut in a warm story about the strength of family and community. Good Eggs by Phoebe Potts: In the tradition of the acclaimed graphic memoirs  Fun Home  and  Persepolis, Phoebe Potts’s  Good Eggs  is a funny, insightful, and deeply moving book about learning to appreciate what we haveeven when we can’t seem to get what we want. In  Good Eggs, Phoebe’s quest to conceive a baby forces her to come to terms with her lapsed Judaism, her aspirations as an artist, her neurotic family, and her depressionâ€"happily, all with the support of her true loving husband. Potts’s clever, charming, and wonderfully detailed graphic novel evokes the intimacy of Alison Bechdel and the humor of  New Yorker  cartoonist Roz Chast. Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash: Maggie Thrash has spent basically every summer of her fifteen-year-old life at the one-hundred-year-old Camp Bellflower for Girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She’s from Atlanta, she’s never kissed a guy, she’s into Backstreet Boys in a really deep way, and her long summer days are full of a pleasant, peaceful nothing . . . until one confounding moment. A split-second of innocent physical contact pulls Maggie into a gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, and most surprising of all (at least to Maggie), female counselor named Erin. But Camp Bellflower is an impossible place for a girl to fall in love with another girl, and Maggie’s savant-like proficiency at the camp’s rifle range is the only thing keeping her heart from exploding. When it seems as if Erin maybe feels the same way about Maggie, it’s too much for both Maggie and Camp Bellflower to handle, let alone to understand. The Hospital Suite by John Porcellino: The Hospital Suite  is a landmark work by the celebrated cartoonist and small-press legend John Porcellino?an autobiographical collection detailing his struggles with illness in the 1990s and early 2000s. How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden: Sarah Glidden is a progressive Jewish American twentysomething who is both vocal about and critical of Israeli politics in the Holy Land. When a debate with her mother prods her to sign up for a Birthright Israel tour, Glidden expects to find objective facts to support her strong opinions. During her two weeks in Israel, Glidden takes advantage of the opportunity to ask the people she meets about the fraught and complex issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but their answers only lead her to question her own take on the conflict. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh: Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices.  Touching, absurd, and darkly comic, Allie Brosh’s highly anticipated book  Hyperbole and a Half  showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. An Iranian Metamorphosis by Mana Neyestani: One of Mana Neyestani’s cartoons sparked riots, shuttered the newspaper he worked for, and landed the cartoonist and his editor in solitary confinement inside of Irans notorious prison system. But that’s not the whole story. Neyestani exposes the complex interplay between art, law, politics, ethnic sensitivities, and authoritarian elements inside of Iran’s Islamic Republic. In his journey to escape imprisonment, the artist travels from Iran to Dubai, Turkey, Malaysia, all the way to China. Along the way he shines a light on the dangerous and convoluted measures taken by refugees in their attempts to find safety and freedom. Mana Neystani’s story is at once unique, universal, and truly Kafkaesque. I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached: Zeina Abirached, author of the award-winning graphic novel  A Game for Swallows, returns with a powerful collection of wartime memories.  Abirached was born in Lebanon in 1981. She grew up in Beirut as fighting between Christians and Muslims divided the city streets. Follow her past cars riddled with bullet holes, into taxi cabs that travel where buses refuse to go, and n outings to collect shrapnel from the sidewalk.  With striking black-and-white artwork, Abirached recalls the details of ordinary life inside a war zone. I Thought You Hated Me by MariNaomi: When MariNaomi first meets Mirabai in grade school, Mirabai seems to be more of a bully than a friend. But over the course of time, their relationship shifts from tense to friendly, to drifting apart, to reconnecting and finding something much deeper.  I Thought You Hated Me  is a comics memoir about female friendship, a story that doesnt involve stale tropes like acrimonious competition or fighting over boys. It explores the complexity and depth of this particular friendship through snapshot-vignettes of relevant moments over thirty years, painting a portrait of something unique but relatable, common but extraordinary. The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell: Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo  stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict). Later, she lucks into the perfect jobinterviewing celebrities for a top womens magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. But while researching an article on her dads life, she makes an astonishing discovery: hes not the man he says he isnot even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from themherself. In-Between Days by Teva Harrison: Teva Harrison was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at the age of 37. In this brilliant and inspiring graphic memoir, she documents through comic illustration and short personal essays what it means to live with the disease. She confronts with heartbreaking honesty the crises of identity that cancer brings: a lifelong vegetarian, Teva agrees to use experimental drugs that have been tested on animals. She struggles to reconcile her long-term goals with an uncertain future, balancing the innate sadness of cancer with everyday acts of hope and wonder. She also examines those quiet moments of helplessness and loving with her husband, her family, and her friends, while they all adjust to the new normal. In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman: For Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of  Maus, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were both highly personal and intensely political.  In the Shadow of No Towers, his first new book of comics since the groundbreaking  Maus, is a masterful and moving account of the events and aftermath of that tragic day. Invisible Ink by Bill Griffith: This is the renowned cartoonists first long-form graphic work ? a 200-page memoir that poignantly recounts his mother’s secret life, which included an affair with a  cartoonist and crime novelist in the 1950s and ’60s.  Invisible Ink  unfolds like a detective story, alternating between past and present, as Griffith recreates the quotidian habits of suburban Levittown and the professional and cultural life of mid-century Manhattan in the 1950s and ’60s as seen through his mother’s and his own then-teenage eyes. Griffith puts the pieces together and reveals a mother he never knew. It’s All Absolutely Fine by Ruby Elliott: Explore the highs and lows of modern life through the sharp, dark wit of Ruby Elliotâ€"creator of the massively popular Tumblr account, Rubyetc, which has over 210k followers and growing. Ruby’s simple drawings of not-so-simple issues capture the humor and melancholy of everyday life.   Her comics appeal to both new adults who are beginning to explore these subjects and to battle-tested veterans of the daily struggles of life with mental illness. Janet Me by Stan Mack: In words and drawings both candid and human, Stan Mack follows his eighteen-year relationship with Janet Bode, a lighthearted fling that beat the odds to become an enduring love affair. The only thing they couldnt beat was cancer. Kiss Tell by MariNaomi: From her father and mothers interracial marriage to her own you show me yours, Ill show you mine moments on the playgroundâ€"from drug experimentation to sexual/identity questionsâ€"MariNaomi lays her inner life bare.  Kiss Tell  is her funny and frank memoir in graphic form: a fresh and offbeat coming-of-age story unfolding against the colorful backdrop of San Francisco in the 80s and 90s. Through deft storytelling and charming illustration, MariNaomi carries us through first love and worst love, through heartbreak and bedroom experimentation, as she grows from misfit teen to young woman. Letting It Go  by Miriam Katin: Miriam Katin has the light hand of a master storyteller in this flowing, expressive, full-color masterpiece. A Holocaust survivor and mother, Katins world is turned upside down by the news that her adult son is moving to Berlin, a city shes villainized for the past forty years. As she struggles to accept her sons decision, she visits the city twice, first to see her son and then to attend a museum gala featuring her own artwork. What she witnesses firsthand is a city coming to terms with its traumatic past, much as Katin is herself.  Letting It Go  is a deft and careful balance: wry, self-deprecating anecdotes counterpoint a serious account of the myriad ways trauma inflects daily existence, both for survivors and for their families. Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green: Like most kids, Katie was a picky eater. Shed sit at the table in silent protest, hide uneaten toast in her bedroom, listen to parental threats that shed have to eat it for breakfast.  But in any life a set of circumstance can collide, and normal behavior might soon shade into something sinister, something deadly. One day you can find yourself being told you have two weeks to live.  Lighter Than My Shadow  is a hand-drawn story of struggle and recovery, a trip into the black heart of a taboo illness, an exposure of those who are so weak as to prey on the weak, and an inspiration to anybody who believes in the human power to endure towards happiness. Little White Duck by Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez: The world is changing for two girls in China in the 1970s. Da QinBig Pianoand her younger sister, Xiao QinLittle Pianolive in the city of Wuhan with their parents. For decades, Chinas government had kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their countrys leader, Chairman Mao, dies, new opportunities begin to emerge. Da Qin and Xiao Qin soon learn that their childhood will be much different than the upbringing their parents experienced.  Eight short storiesbased on the authors own lifegive readers a unique look at what it was like to grow up in China during this important time in history. Long Red Hair by Meags Fitzgerald: Long Red Hair is Meags Fitzgeralds follow up to her acclaimed Photobooth: A Biography. In this graphic memoir, Fitzgerald paints a childhood full of sleepovers, playing dress-up, amateur fortune-telling and renting scary movies. Yet, Fitzgerald suspects that she is unlike her friends. The book navigates a childs struggle with averageness, a preteens budding bisexuality and a young womans return after rejection. Fitzgerald takes us from her first kiss to a life sworn to singlehood, while weaving in allusions to witches in history and popular culture. Long Red Hair alluringly delves into the mystique of red hair and the beguiling nature of alternative romantic relationships. Make Me a Woman by Vanessa Davis: Its easy to understand why Vanessa Davis has taken the comics industry by storm and is poised to do the same with the world at large?her comics are pure chutzpah, gorgeously illustrated in watercolors. No story is too painful to tell?like how much she enjoyed fat camp. Nor too off-limits?like her critique of R. Crumb. Nor too personal?like her stories of growing up Jewish in Florida. Using her sweet but biting wit, Davis effortlessly carves out a wholly original and refreshing niche in two well-worn territories: autobio comics and the Jewish identity. Marbles by Ellen Forney: Cartoonist Ellen Forney explores the relationship between crazy and creative in this graphic memoir of her bipolar disorder, woven with stories of famous bipolar artists and writers. March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell: March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.  Book One spans John Lewis youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall. March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell: After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence â€" but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before. Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the movement’s young activists place their lives on the line while internal conflicts threaten to tear them apart. March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell: By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense: Jim Crow strikes back through legal tricks, intimidation, violence, and death. The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression: One Man, One Vote.' Marzi by Marzena Sowa and Sylvain Savoia: Told from a young girl’s perspective, Marzena Sowa’s memoir of a childhood shaped by politics feels remarkably fresh and immediate. Structured as a series of vignettes that build on one another, Marzi  is a compelling and powerful coming-of-age story that portrays the harsh realities of life behind the Iron Curtain while maintaining the everyday wonders and curiosity of childhood. With open and engaging art by Sylvain Savoia, Marzi  is a moving and resonant story of an ordinary girl in turbulent, changing times. A Matter of Life by Jeffrey Brown: In  A Matter of Life, Jeffrey Brown draws upon memories of three generations of Brown men: himself, his minister father, and his preschooler son Oscar. Weaving through time, passing through the quiet suburbs and colorful cities of the midwest, their stories slowly assemble into a kaleidoscopic answer to the big questions: matters of life and death, family and faith, and the search for something beyond oneself. Maus I by Art Spiegelman: Acclaimed as a quiet triumph and a brutally moving work of art, the first volume of Art Spiegelmans  Maus  introduced readers to Vladek Spieglman, a Jewish survivor of Hitlers Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his fathers terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive. Maus II by Art Spiegelman: This second volume, subtitled  And Here My Troubles Began,  moves us from the barracks of Auschwitz to the bungalows of the Catskills. Genuinely tragic and comic by turns, it attains a complexity of theme and a precision of thought new to comics and rare in any medium.  Mausties together two powerful stories: Vladeks harrowing take of survival against all odds, delineating the paradox of family life in the death camps, and the authors account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. At every level this is the ultimate survivors taleâ€"and that too of the children who somehow survive even the survivors. Mendel’s Daughter by Martin Lemelman and Gusta Lemelman: In 1989 Martin Lemelman videotaped his mother, Gusta, as she opened up about her childhood in 1930s Poland and her eventual escape from Nazi persecution.  Mendels Daughter, now in paperback and selected as one of the best books of 2006 by the  Austin Chronicle, is Lemelmans loving transcription of his mothers harrowing testimony, bringing her narrative to life with his own powerful black-and-white drawings, interspersed with reproductions of actual photographs, documents and other relics from that era. The result is a wholly original, authentic and moving account of hope and survival in a time of despair. Mom’s Cancer by Brian Fies: Winner of the 2005 Eisner Award in the category of Best Digital Comic for the original Web version,  Mom’s Cancer  is now available as a graphic novel. An honest, unflinching, and sometimes humorous look at the practical and emotional effect that serious illness can have on patients and their families,  Mom’s Cancer  is a story of hopeâ€"uniquely told in words and illustrations. My Depression by Elizabeth Swados: This intimate journey through long-term depression is by turns tender, funny, poignant, and uplifting. Swados charming words and frenzied drawings bring home the experience of severe depression, from the black cloud forming on the horizon to feelings of self-loathing and loss of self-confidence; from contemplating suicide, which Swados describes as wandering off into the Sahara desert (discounting the buzzards and the scorpions), to actively seeking out methods for fighting depressionâ€"including psychics, diet, and repression therapyâ€"to experimenting with antidepressants that make you snippy, sleepy, or judgmental.  My Depression  is an engaging and heartening memoir of an illness that has been stigmatized for too long and on how it is possible to survive, one little challenge at a time, with medication and the occasional tasty, messy slice of pizza; with dancing to a boombox on the street and thanking the mailman for the newest catalogue, then p roceeding to read it cover to cover! My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf: You only think you know this story. In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmerâ€"the most notorious serial killer since Jack the Ripperâ€"seared himself into the American consciousness. To the public, Dahmer was a monster who committed unthinkable atrocities. To Derf Backderf, Jeff was a much more complex figure: a high school friend with whom he had shared classrooms, hallways, and car rides. In My Friend Dahmer, a haunting and original graphic novel, writer-artist Backderf creates a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a disturbed young man struggling against the morbid urges emanating from the deep recesses of his psycheâ€"a shy kid, a teenage alcoholic, and a goofball who never quite fit in with his classmates. With profound insight, what emerges is a Jeffrey Dahmer that few ever really knew, and one readers will never forget. NonNonBa by Shigeru Mizuki: NonNonBa  is the definitive work by acclaimed  Gekiga-ka  Shigeru Mizuki, a poetic memoir detailing his interest in  yokai  (spirit monsters). Mizukis childhood experiences with  yokai  influenced the course of his life and oeuvre; he is now known as the forefather of  yokai  manga. His spring 2011 book,  Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, was featured on PRIs  The World, where Marco Werman scored a coveted interview with one of the most famous visual artists working in Japan today. Nylon Road by Parsua Bashi: In the tradition of graphic memoirs such as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, comes the story of a young Iranian woman’s struggles with growing up under Shiite Law, her journey into adulthood, and the daughter whom she had to leave behind when she left Iran. Nylon Road  is a window into the soul of a culture that we are still struggling to understand.   Beautifully told, poignant, this is a powerful work about the necessity of freedom. One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry: In this graphic novel thats part memoir and part creativity primer, Lynda Barry serves up comics that delve into the funk and sweetness of love, family, adolescence, race, and the hood. Name that Demon!!! Freaky boyfriends! Shouting Moms! Innocence betrayed! These are some of the pickled demons youll meet as Lynda Barry mixes the true and the un-true into something she calls autobificitionalography. From her nattering and intolerant/loving Filipina grandmother to the ex-boyfriend from hell who had lice,  Lynda Barrys demons jump out of these pages and double-dare you to speak their names. Called by Time magazine a work of art as well as literature,  One Hundred Demons  has been hailed for its shimmering watercolor images and unforgettable stories about lifes little monsters. The Other Side of the Wall by Simon Schwartz: Simon Schwartz was born in 1982 in East Germany, at a time when the repressive Socialist Unity Party of Germany controlled the area. Shortly before Simons birth, his parents decided to leave their home in search of greater freedoms on the other side of the Berlin Wall. But East German authorities did not allow the Schwartzes to leave for almost three years. In the meantime, Simons parents struggled with the costs of their decision: the loss of work, the attention of the East German secret police, and the fragmentation of their family. Our Cancer Year by Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, and Frank Stack: It was they year of Desert Storm that Harvey Pekar and his wife, Joyce Brabner, discovered Harvey had cancer. Pekar, a man who has made a profession of chronicling the Kafkaesque absurdities of an ordinary life (if any life is ordinary) suddenly found himself incapacitated. But he had a better-than-average chance to beat cancer and he took it â€" kicking, screaming, and complaining all the way. Pekar and Brabner draw on this and other trials to paint a portrait of a man beset with fears real and imagined â€" who survives. Over Easy by Mimi Pond: Over Easy  is a brilliant portrayal of a familiar coming-of-age story. After being denied financial aid to cover her last year of art school, Margaret finds salvation from the straightlaced world of college and the earnestness of both hippies and punks in the wisecracking, fast-talking, drug-taking group she encounters at the Imperial Café, where she makes the transformation from Margaret to Madge. At first she mimics these new and exotic grown-up friends, trying on the guise of adulthood with some awkward but funny stumbles. Gradually she realizes that the adults she looks up to are a mess of contradictions, misplaced artistic ambitions, sexual confusion, dependencies, and addictions. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood  by Marjane Satrapi: Wise, funny, and heartbreaking,  Persepolis  is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi: Here is the continuation of her fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging. Prison Island by Colleen Frakes: McNeil Island in Washington state was the home of the last prison island in the United States, accessible only by air or sea. It was also home to about fifty families, including Colleen Frake’s. Her parentsâ€"like nearly everyone else on the islandâ€"both worked in the prison, where her father was the prison’s captain and her mother worked in security. In this engaging graphic memoir, a Xeric and Ignatz Award-winning comics artist, Colleen Frakes, tells the story of a typical girl growing up in atypical circumstances. Ramshackle: A Yellowknife Story by Alison McCreesh: Over the past decade, the North, or at least the idea of it, has slowly made its way back to our consciousness, a notion that the North is synonymous with a lawless, rugged freedom. But at first glance Yellowknife, NWT is actually a somewhat disappointing modern capital city. There are tall buildings, yoga pants, a Walmart and a lot of government jobs. None the less, if you dig a little deeper, you do find that alternative off-grid reality. Barely five minutes from the downtown core, wedged between million dollar houses, you find little shacks where people exist without running water and use honey buckets for toilets.When Alison McCreesh moved from Quebec to Yellowknife she quickly fell in love with the quirky ways in which it seemed possible to live up North. Part travelogue, part comic book, part love story and part guide to the North and its quirky inhabitants Ramshackle spans her first summer north of 60. Relish by Lucy Knisley: Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe?many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucys original inventions. Rosalie Lightning by Tom Hart: A Goodreads Choice Award Semi-Finalist, Amazon Best Book of 2016, one of  TheWashington Posts  Best Graphic Novels of 2016, and one of  Publishers Weeklys 100 Best Books of 2016,  Rosalie Lightning  is Eisner-nominated cartoonist Tom Harts  #1  New York Times  bestselling  touching and beautiful graphic memoir about the untimely death of his young daughter, Rosalie. His heart-breaking and emotional illustrations strike readers to the core, and take them along his familys journey through loss. Hart uses the graphic form to articulate his and his wifes on-going search for meaning in the aftermath of Rosalies death, exploring themes of grief, hopelessness, rebirth, and eventually finding hope again. Scenes from an Impending Marriage by Adrian Tomine: At the behest of his soon-to-be wife, Adrian Tomine set out to create a wedding favor for their guests that would be funnier and more personal than the typical chocolate bars and picture frames. What started out as a simple illustrated card soon grew into a full-fledged comic book: a collection of short strips chronicling the often absurd process of getting married. A loose, cartoony departure from Tomines previous work,  Scenes from an Impending Marriage  is a sweet-natured, laugh out-loud skewering of the modern marriage process, including hiring a DJ, location scouting, trips to the salon, suit fittings, dance lessons, registering for gifts, and managing familial demands. The most personal and autobiographical work of Tomines career,  Scenes from an Impending Marriage  is a charming, delightful token of love. Sisters by Raina Telgemeier: Raina cant wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things arent quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but shes also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesnt improve much over the years, but when a baby brother enters the picture and later, something doesnt seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all. Smile by Raina Telgemeier: Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, theres still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly. Snapshots of a Girl by Beldan Sezen: In this autobiographical graphic novel, Beldan Sezen revisits the various instances of her coming of age, and her coming out as lesbian, in both western and Islamic cultures (as the daughter of Turkish immigrants in western Europe)â€"to friends, family, and herself. Through a series of vignettes, she navigates the messy circumstances of her life, dealing with family issues, bad dates, and sexual politics with the raw honesty of a young woman looking for happiness.  Snapshots  is an amusing, thoroughly modern take on dyke life and cultural identity. Something New by Lucy Knisley: In 2010, Lucy and her long-term boyfriend John broke up. Three long, lonely years later, John returned to New York, walked into Lucys apartment, and proposed. This is not that story. It is the story of what came after: The Wedding. Special Exits by Joyce Farmer: In the vein of Alison Bechdel or Harvey Pekar, Joyce Farmer’s memoir chronicles the decline of the author’s parents’ health, their relationship with one another and with their daughter, and how they cope with the day-to-day emotional fragility of the most taxing time of their lives. Set in southern Los Angeles (which makes for a terrifying sequence as blind Rachel and ailing Lars are trapped in their home without power during the 1992 Rodney King riots), Farmer details the slow, inexorable decline in Lars’ and Rachel’s health, and perfectly captures the timbre of the exchanges between a long-married couple: the affectionate bickering; their gallows humor; their querulousness as their bodies break down. Stitches by David Small: David Small, a best-selling and highly regarded childrens book illustrator, comes forward with this unflinching graphic memoir. Remarkable and intensely dramatic, Stitches tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who awakes one day from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he has been transformed into a virtual mute?a vocal cord removed, his throat slashed and stitched together like a bloody boot. From horror to hope, Small proceeds to graphically portray an almost unbelievable descent into adolescent hell and the difficult road to physical, emotional, and artistic recovery. The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden: When Jennifer Hayden was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 43, she realized that her tits told a story. Across a lifetime, theyd held so many meanings: hope and fear, pride and embarrassment, life and death. And then they were gone. Now, their story has become a way of understanding her story. Sunday in the Park with Boys by Jane Mai: Jane Mai will give you advice if you ask for it. With  Sunday in the Park with Boys  she has given us a poetic account of self-discovery and self-loathing. In this comic as emotional cartography, persona and person collide as Mai contends with loneliness, heartache and herself. Susceptible by Geneviève Castrée: Goglu is a daydreamer with a young working mother, a disengaged stepfather, and a father who lives five thousand miles away. Drawing, punk rock, and the promise of true independence guide Goglu to adulthood while her homes daily chaos inevitably shapes her identity.  Susceptible  is a devastating graphic novel debut by Geneviève Castrée; its a testament to the heartbreaking loss of innocence when a child is forced to be the adult amongst grownups. Tangles by Sarah Leavitt: In this powerful memoir the  the  LA Times  calls moving, rigorous, and heartbreaking, Sarah Leavitt reveals how Alzheimer’s disease transformed her mother, Midge, and her family forever. In spare blackand- white drawings and clear, candid prose, Sarah shares her family’s journey through a harrowing range of emotionsâ€"shock, denial, hope, anger, frustrationâ€"all the while learning to cope, and managing to find moments of happiness. Midge, a Harvard educated intellectual, struggles to comprehend the simplest words; Sarah’s father, Rob, slowly adapts to his new role as full-time caretaker, but still finds time for wordplay and poetry with his wife; Sarah and her sister Hannah argue, laugh, and grieve together as they join forces to help Midge.  Tangles  confronts the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease, and ultimately releases a knot of memories and dreams to reveal a bond between a mother and a daughter that will never come apart. Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust: Back in 1984, a rebellious,17-year-old, punked-out Ulli Lust set out for a wild hitchhiking trip across Italy, from Naples through Verona and Rome and ending up in Sicily. Twenty-five years later, this talented Austrian cartoonist has looked back at that tumultuous summer and delivered a long, dense, sensitive,and minutely observed autobiographical masterpiece. Tomboy by Liz Prince: Growing up, Liz Prince wasnt a girly girl, dressing in pink tutus or playing Pretty Pretty princess like the other girls in her neighborhood. But she wasnt exactly one of the guys either, as she quickly learned when her Little League baseball coach exiled her to the outfield instead of letting her take the pitchers mound. Liz was somewhere in the middle, and  Tomboy  is the story of her struggle to find the place where she belonged. Turning Japanese by MariNaomi: In 1995, twenty-two-year-old Mari had just exited a long-term relationship, moving from Mill Valley to San Jose, California. Soon enough, she falls in love, then finds employment at a hostess bar for Japanese expats, where she is determined to learn the Japanese language and culture.  Turning Japanese  is a story about otherness, culture clashes, generation gaps, and youthful impetuosity. Two Generals by Scott Chantler: In March of 1943, Scott Chantlers grandfather, Law Chantler, shipped out across the Atlantic for active service with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, along with his best friend, Jack, a fellow officer. Not long afterward, they would find themselves making a rocky crossing of the English Channel, about to take part in one of the most pivotal and treacherous military operations of World War II: the Allied invasion of Normandy.  Two Generals  tells the story of what happened there through the eyes of these two young men not the celebrated military commanders or politicians we often hear about, but everyday heroes who risked their lives for the Allied cause. Meticulously researched and gorgeously illustrated,  Two Generals  is a harrowing story of battle and a touching story of friendship and a vital and vibrant record of unsung heroism. The Vanished Path by Bharath Murthy: In 2009, Bharath Murthy took refuge as a lay Buddhist. Soon after, accompanied by his wife Alka, he set out on a pilgrimage to the historical sites in India and Nepal associated with the life of Siddhattha Gotama, the Buddha. The Vanished Path is an account of their journey through the ruins that mark the Buddhas life the places where he lived and taught, lands from where all traces of that past have almost disappeared. As the duo wends its way from Sarnath to Lumbini, from Kudan to Bodhgaya, and many places in between, Bharaths pen brings alive the sights and sounds and smells of these places. Whether it is Buddhism youre interested in or travel, this is a journey you will find yourself drawn into. Vietnamerica by G.B. Tran: GB Tran is a young Vietnamese American artist who grew up distant from (and largely indifferent to) his familys history. Born and raised in South Carolina as a son of immigrants, he knew that his parents had fled Vietnam during the fall of Saigon. But even as they struggled to adapt to life in America, they preferred to forget the pastand to focus on their childrens future. It was only in his late twenties that GB began to learn their extraordinary story. When his last surviving grandparents die within months of each other, GB visits Vietnam for the first time and begins to learn the tragic history of his family, and of the homeland they left behind. The Voyeurs by Gabrielle Bell: The Voyeurs  is a real-time memoir of a turbulent five years in the life of renowned cartoonist, diarist, and filmmaker Gabrielle Bell. It collects episodes from her award-winning series Lucky, in which she travels to Tokyo, Paris, the South of France, and all over the United States, but remains anchored by her beloved Brooklyn, where sidekick Tony provides ongoing insight, offbeat humor, and enduring friendship. We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin: In this captivating and elegantly illustrated graphic memoir, Miriam Katin retells the story of her and her mothers escape on foot from the Nazi invasion of Budapest. With her father off fighting for the Hungarian army and the German troops quickly approaching, Katin and her mother are forced to flee to the countryside after faking their deaths. Leaving behind all of their belongings and loved ones, and  unable to tell anyone of their whereabouts, they disguise themselves as a Russian servant and illegitimate child, while literally staying a few steps ahead of the German soldiers. What is Obscenity? by Rokudenashiko: A graphic memoir of a good-for-nothing Japanese artist who has been jailed twice for so-called acts of obscenity and the distribution of pornographic materials yet continues to champion the art of pussy. In a society where one can be censored, pixelated, and punished, Rokudenashiko asks what makes pussy so problematic? When Anxiety Attacks by Terian Koscik: Frank and full of gentle humor, Terian Kosciks graphic memoir shares her experiences of living with anxiety, finding the courage to see a therapist, and learning more than she could have imagined. A Year Without Mom by Dasha Tolstikova: A Year Without Mom  follows 12-year-old Dasha through a year full of turmoil after her mother leaves for America. It is the early 1990s in Moscow, and political change is in the air. But Dasha is more worried about her own challenges as she negotiates family, friendships and school without her mother. Just as she begins to find her own feet, she gets word that she is to join her mother in America â€" a place that seems impossibly far from everything and everyone she loves.  This gorgeous and subtly illustrated graphic novel signals the emergence of Dasha Tolstikova as a major new talent. What do you think are the best graphic memoirs? Get even more comics and graphic novels coverage here.   Sign up to The Stack to receive  Book Riot Comic's best posts, picked for you. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Female Sexuality Essay examples - 1744 Words

| Activism Project | Female Sexuality | | Leisa Thornton | 5/2/2011 | The pleasures and rights of a woman’s sexual freedom, and doing it safely was my activism project main objective. I endeavored to educate woman concerning these issue in a fun and comfortable atmosphere. This topic can be simultaneously controversial and exciting. What is female sexuality? Female sexuality encompasses a broad range of topics, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual aspects of sex. This is not a subject that has recently been viewed as a topic of interest. This subject has been under scrutiny for many centuries. To discuss sexuality is†¦show more content†¦The clinical name for the condition was known as â€Å"hysterical paroxysm.† The first vibrator was invented be a British physician in the 1880s was a direct response to doctors who wanted help performing this procedure to reduce the time factor. (Jennifer Berman, 2005) Everyone in that era did not consider masturbation a medical treatment. They believe that masturbation led to a series of disasters such as: insomnia, exhaustion, neurasthenia, epilepsy, moral insanity, convulsions, melancholia, and paralysis to eventual coma and death. Dr. Lawson Tait stated in 1889 that the evils of masturbation had been greatly exaggerated. His colleague did not share his same ideas, Dr. Isaac Baker was a surgeon who treated women for masturbation by clitoridectomy this procedure was also said to cure nymphomania, epilepsy, catalepsy, painful periods and numerous other female disorders. (Studd, 2006) Sex is not a dirty word as some may define it, but a pleasurable experience. Women must learn to embrace their sexuality and enjoy it. They should embark on a journey by touching themselves to find out what is pleasurable, and then teach their partners how they want to be touched. A person’s religion or spirituality plays an important part on how they vie w sex. Abstinence before marriage is the religion world view on sex. Sex outside of marriage is labeled as sin, and called fornication accordingShow MoreRelatedThe Sexuality Of Female Sexuality1974 Words   |  8 Pagesare ready to accept and be tolerant to homosexual or bisexual people, but the issue over the female sexuality is still unsettled. The question how it differs from the male sexuality and why exactly the attitude to female sexuality is different compared to the male one is discussed by lots of psychologists, sociologists and philosophers. However, there is no coherent and competent explanation yet. â€Å"Sexuality is messy, passionate, unclear, tentative, anxiety-producing, liberating, frightening, embarrassingRead MoreMale Sexuality : Female Sexuality1024 Words   |  5 Pages Female Sexuality Female sexuality intertwines with Possessing the Secret of Joy by illustrating its power and those who fear it. History In the early nineteenth century, heightened female sexuality was considered a disorder (Studd, 2006). Doctors and psychiatrist sought ways to prevent â€Å"masturbation and decrease libido†. Issac Baker Brown- a gynecological surgeon removed the clitoris of a women who sought to use the Divorce Act of 1857 and leave her husbands as well as young women who read booksRead MoreThe Sexuality Of Female Body961 Words   |  4 PagesFor decades, images of the ideal sexualized female body have plagued covers of magazines and other forms of published media in the United States, perpetuating notions of what the sexual female body should look like (Krassas, Blauwkamp and Wesselink 2001). These images of the sexualized female body are deeply embedded in advertisements and media, both of which hold strong roots in the United States, as well as other comparable countries in the developed world (Baker 2005). It is estimated, that theRead MoreFemale Sexuality : Male Sexuality846 Words    |  4 PagesFemale Sexuality Female sexuality has been a controversial subject that plays a crucial role in our everyday lives. There is a constant double standard women face. In terms of sexuality both males and females are more similar than society deems them. It begins with parents; they have a great impact on how their daughters view sex and their own sexuality. Also female sexuality is considered taboo when they become mothers. There is a never ending battle of hypocrisy that women face when it comes toRead MoreFemale Sexuality And Its Impact On Women1430 Words   |  6 Pages3. Goffman defines ritualization of subordination as â€Å"female bodies in particular are used to demonstrate the broadest social idea and what the culture defines as feminine as a subordinate relationship as to what the culture defines as masculine†. This means that by social aspects and ideals, women are depicted as subordinates and are underlying to men because of how the culture is defined. One position in which women are depicted as subordinates and defenseless is when they are lying down. TheyRead MorePortrayal Of Black Female Sexuality1599 Words   |  7 Pagesaudiences but it is the inclusion of black female sexuality. The look of a woman through a male gaze quenches the subconscious thirst of a male’s fantasy. In Lee’s films, males portrayed on screen as multidimensional, and are defined by their unusual characteristics and attributes. The women, on the other hand, are drawn as oversexualized, promiscuous beings that lack the ordinary humane attributes. While the inclusion of the exploitation of black female sexuality from a male gaze provides black audiencesRead MoreSexuality And The Female Body1715 Words   |  7 Pageswomen expressing their sexuality and often downplays women’s capacities for sexual pleasure. Our literature reflects this. Women in literature do not often express their sexuality openly, or if they do, they are vilified. If the women are not vilified, th e book will often be banned (like several of the books we’ve read in class, like Mrs. Warren’s Profession and Chà ©ri). Peggy Orenstein’s article When Did Porn Become Sex Ed? illustrates taboos around female sexuality and the female body. Also, how itRead MoreFemale Sexuality, Gender, And The Body4267 Words   |  18 Pages Women’s body which is personal in nature is, no more personal, it’s always binding by the culture. Female sexuality in a Brahmanical Patriarchy is much more complicated. Caste hierarchy and gender hierarchy are the organizing principles of the brahmanical (Chakravarti 1993). Most often women are denied of their rights over her own body. Here culture plays a prominent role in binding the women’s rights over the body and the power of her body is vested in the hands of the men. Women’s body isRead MoreFemale Sexuality And Its Effects On Our Minds By Using Humor, Violence, And Sexuality1612 Words   |  7 Pages Every day we are bombarded with dozens of advertisements. We are pitched products, ideas, and even feelings. Companies manipulate our minds by using humor, violence, and sexuality to sell. Often, we chose to ignore the constant distractions shown to us on the television, newspapers, magazines, and giant billboards. Yet, the subliminal messages still affect us, sometimes without us even noticing. Society has normalized so many of these ideas that they are not seen as offensive, although they shouldRead MoreFemale Sexuality And The Paradox Of Sexual Freedom By Leslie Bell990 Words   |  4 Pagessocial expectations and culture guidelines, which are conventions of female sexuality and stereotypes of being a good girl, prevent these young women from pursuing their sexual desires and limiting their relationships with men. However, even these women have chosen the way they live and what kind of sexual life they want in order to be bad girls to break those old rules, they ended with losing their identities. In general, female sexuality is impacted more by establishing a women’s identity rather than

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Cause and Effects of Media Violence - 779 Words

Every other day it seems there is another violent act occurring because of the media. Some people say it is entirely because of television. Others say it is because of the lack of responsibility of people. When the two young gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 13 students and a teacher, and injured 21 before killing themselves in 1999, an ongoing, blazing debate about the medias influence was ignited. The 1999 Columbine High School massacre and extensive coverage of the issue by the media appeared to side with those who think that violence depicted graphically in movies and video games causes, contributes to, and influences violent behavior and even murder. Both Harris and Klebold played violent murder-simulation video games, and were fans of the controversial film Natural Born Killers. As the Social Learning Theory states, children learn their behavior from watching others. These others could be television, movies, video games, and even the internet. As the media show acts of violence, many of the young children and even adults feel that if it is okay be displayed on Television, or a video game why can it not be acted on in real life. As in my earlier paragraph, the media stated that the Columbine boys watch Natural Born Killers repeatedly and finally acted out of what they believed to be the norm in society, this alone shows the effects of what the media causes. As this cause is the most widely used to defend media violence, there are others that have aShow MoreRelatedMedia Violence Cause And Effect1883 Words   |  8 PagesMedia Violence Cause and Effect Violence is just one of many things that humans are exposed to throughout their lives. It is a natural part of the world we live in. Humankind has faced it in the forms of hunting, battle, and crime, but for the longest time violence was not commonplace in the home, depending on the people. That is, until the media came about. It is the drama and the action that gets the most attention and the media capitalizes on that. With the ever increasing presence of violentRead MoreThe Effects Of Media Violence On People1388 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effect of Media Violence on People Media violence impacts the physical aggression of human beings. It is one of the many potential factors that influence the risk for violence and aggression. Research has proven that aggression in children will cause the likelihood of aggression in their adulthood. Theories have evolved that the violence present in the media most likely teaches the viewer to be more violent. It is a risky behavior that is established from the childhood. Furthermore, media violenceRead MoreMedia Violence And Its Effects1057 Words   |  5 Pages Media violence exposure has been investigated as a risk factor for aggression behavior for years. The impact of exposure to violence in the media the long term development and short term development of aggressive behavior has been documented. Aggression is caused by several factors, of which media violence is one. Research investigating the effects of media violence in conjunction with other predictors of aggression such as; environmental factors and dysfunction within the family household,Read MoreMedia s Influence On The Youth Of America1454 Words   |  6 PagesMedia in the United States has a prominent role on the youth of America. A majority of children and young adults have access to internet, television, radio, newspapers, and video games practically any time they want. The violence in media, along with the availability of media are increasing, however the most predominant form of media for children is video games. Because of this, many are concerned with the effects on t he youth. The violence in video games is a cause for aggressive emotions, thoughtsRead Moreâ€Å"There is increasing evidence that early exposure to media violence is a contributing factor to the1000 Words   |  4 Pagesexposure to media violence is a contributing factor to the development of aggression† (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, Eron, 2003). Huesmann and Kirwil (2007, p. 545), argue that an individual’s aggression and violent behaviour are not only caused by emotional, mental and physical circumstances but also the environment plays an equally vital role. They further on state that hastening violent behaviour in the short-term sense is due to disclosure to violence, which can be either through media, computerRead MoreMedia Violence and Its Effect on Children Essay1112 Words   |  5 Pagessociety that violence in the country is on the rise. It is easy to see why this is a strong argument among the American people, especially because of the rising populari ty of violent video games and television programs. However, as these violent video games and television shows are creating their own place in our society, the reports of violence among children are escalating. This correlation has been studied extensively in the scientific community in an attempt to discover whether media violence does negativelyRead MoreMass Media and Violence Essay891 Words   |  4 PagesMass Media and Violence Is it hard to believe that just forty years ago only a few privileged American families had televisions in their home? In recent years, it is estimated that a whopping ninety-eight percent of Americans have one or more television sets in their home. Motion pictures, televisions, video games, and the internet are just some forms of mass media that have emerged since the last century. With the rise of mass media, the increase of violent behavior has increased as well. MassRead MoreThe Effects Of Media Violence On Families809 Words   |  4 PagesJai Patel Mrs. Caldwell CP English 9 March 2017 How Media Violence is Affecting Families Often times parents overlook the fact of watching television as a subtle act without any true consequences. Children watch â€Å"TV†. However watching media over time takes a toll on the young mind. Many young children view television and other forms of media on a daily basis. With how society defines entertainment nowadays, there is bound to be negative and violent content on every child’s new smart â€Å"TV†. InRead MoreThe Effects Of Violence On Young Children981 Words   |  4 Pagesthroughout America spend countless hours on the media, such as watching television, playing video games, or listening to music. Most media in the world today contains immeasurable images of violence, and average total media use of children throughout the United States is nearly 8 hours per day (Bushman Anderson, 2001). This means that through this constant access to the media, young children are exposing themselves to countless images of graphic violence. This is a serious is sue, as young childrenRead MoreThe Criminal Justice System: Media Violence and Social Justice724 Words   |  3 Pagesadults who are exposed to the media are aggressive and violent. According to such articles, violent content provokes aggressive behavior and violence. Ferguson illustrates that watching satanic content, like in Harry Potter, or teaching of witchcraft can lead to Satanism or mental illness. According to Ferguson (2008), books, rock, jazz, television and watching movies in the media, leads to a wave of moral degradation, rebelliousness and violence. They also clam that new media like internet and video games

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Should Teens Be Tried as Adults Free Essays

As more minors are committing violent crimes, the question of whether they should be tried as adults is on the rise. Children as young as 13 or 14 are committing violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are being tried as juveniles and receiving milder punishments. We will write a custom essay sample on Should Teens Be Tried as Adults or any similar topic only for you Order Now A juvenile offender may receive a few years in a juvenile detention facility and possibly probation following his release at age eighteen. An adult committing the same violent crime will receive a much harsher penalty, often years in jail, possibly a life sentence, with little or no chance of parole. The only difference between the two offenders is the age at which they committed the crime. Juveniles over the age of fourteen should be tried as adults when accused of violent crimes. Forty-one states currently have laws that make it easier to try a juvenile that has committed a violent crime and is over the age of 14 as an adult. At age fourteen the average person is mentally mature enough to understand the consequences associated with committing a crime. A juvenile offender should be tried according to his crime. If they have committed a juvenile crime, then juvenile punishment is fitting. However, if they have committed an adult crime, or violent crime, a harsher punishment is needed. A teenager will not be taught anything or learn to take responsibility for their actions, if they are treated with special care and consideration when acting as an adult. A fourteen year old has the mental capacity to determine right from wrong, even when it comes to committing violent crimes. In my opinion an adult crime deserves an adult punishment, even when the offender is a juvenile. The Juvenile system is very similar to New York’s Family Court. The New York Family Court was originally sought to protect children who were getting in trouble with the law that still considered them infants, because of their young age. A teenager that is a criminal would not be tried or treated as an adult because of the teenagers’ young age. The present juvenile court system encourages the young delinquent to continue criminal behavior by showing them that they can get away with a crime. It was designed to function as helping parents of juveniles. By protecting those kids who were younger from the age of 18 juveniles always used the system as a game and said, â€Å"I ain’t sixteen yet,† and â€Å"they can’t do anything to me†. If the government protects them and the juveniles receive no punishment, it means the government is giving them a second chance to repeat crimes. In the 1950’s juvenile delinquents who were caught doing something illegal were not treated like an adult, because the delinquent was â€Å"not criminally responsible†¦ by reason of infancy. † A hearing would be held in private to protect the child’s identity. In the 1960’s the juvenile court system changed and gave juveniles referred to as â€Å"respondents† instead criminals, the rights to have a lawyer represent them. On top of the juvenile court system changing it also gave protection, like the criminal court system gave adults who were responsible to serious penalties if guilty. The current juvenile system has made it the defendant’s lawyer’s job to protect the young client from any possibility of rehabilitation. That means that the courts now are also protecting rights of juveniles, which makes it even more impossible for prosecutors to convict the defendant. This offers the child to get away with no punishment and now thinks that he/she have the right to keep on acting in a misbehaving or unlawful way which had brought him or her into juvenile court, knowing that there was no big consequence that would happen to them. If there was any consequence it would be something small like being put in a facility that contains a TV, basketball courts, probably better food and medical service than what was provided at home. If the courts send juveniles to facilities like these, juveniles would keep doing crimes to stay in these facilities. If juveniles have a better life at the facilities than what they have at home, who wouldn’t want to go to these facilities. That is where the court is wrong because the court bases the judgment on the person’s age not on their crimes, and that does not help the juvenile to be disciplined. In the early 70’s the majority of cases in family courts were misdemeanors by children. Through 1987-91 possession of a loaded gun by a juvenile was growing and schools started to install metal detectors in their school halls. Because juveniles have worsened in their act of crime rates have increased. The juvenile system defines juveniles as children rather than as criminals. Although Family Courts turn the most delinquent offenders over to the adult system for trial, they are sentenced as juveniles and only serve the maximum sentence in a juvenile detention and are free to go. There was a sudden increase of twenty-six percent over the past twenty five years on violent crimes by juveniles in the years of 1989-1990. This was to show how many juveniles have been getting involved in crimes such as homicides, robbery, rape, and assault. On top of that eighty percent of constant juvenile offenders of five or more arrests are more likely to go on to adult criminal life styles because of the habits they contained throughout their life. The only possible way to change the lives of juveniles is to make a legislation making the juvenile court hearings open to the public and the press, because juveniles should not be given the right to be protected by the government for destroying the lives of others. The government shouldn’t put teenagers in places like a juvenile center for committing a crime. It gives them way too much freedom. If any punishment is given is should be set up as first time offenders should do community service or do something good for the victims’ family. For second time offenders they should be responsible for the victims family, and will be well trained under the supervision of a probation officer. For those who are required to live out of the home it will provide intense schoolwork and job relating skills. Upon also being arrested there should also be a court appearance immediately, and the offender should be sentenced and incarcerated. These trainings would help these juveniles get their life straight in order to live a justful life. Teens today don’t fear the law because they don’t think they will get caught. And if they do, they know they have a good chance of getting off because they are tried as teens and not adults. We have to get tougher on crime. There should be a law that everyone over eleven years old will be tried as adults. That way more teens would be discouraged from committing crimes. They would know that murder would get them a very long sentence instead of staying in juvenile hall until they are eighteen. If we want to cut down on teen crime, we have to have tougher laws. How to cite Should Teens Be Tried as Adults, Essay examples

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Social Graces in Modern Society

Question: Discuss about theSocial Graces in Modern Society. Answer: Introduction Assumingly you get into a bus and see an old, blind grandmother standing while teens are sited, how will you feel, disgusted right? Sitting while a blind grandmother is standing in the bus is lack of skills vital to public etiquette. Social graces are the skills that enable a person to interact with others politely and socially in a public place. The skills of social graces are what we experience in our daily lives and they are part and parcel of socialization. Most of us have ever been in a public place where people are interacting politely, and with respect, all of a sudden someone comes and disrupts the friendly atmosphere and causes chaos. Some skills are primary to the interaction in public places. The skills are what is referred to as the social graces. The skills that constitute social graces are like manners, etiquette, deportment, refinement, and fashion (Carter, 2008). Society cab is not complete without the social graces. The essay is rationed to address the contextual act ivities in society that are not acceptable and that which result due to lack of social graces skills. This discussion is, therefore, going to examine the reasons for lack of social graces in modern society and how we can create more awareness on the importance of the skills of social graces. Social Graces in Contemporary Society Social graces in modern society are changing and are not comparable with that of our ancestors. Our ancestors did practice their social graces well and they maintained that skill in order to have peaceful coexistence. The contemporary society lacks the social graces. The social graces of the contemporary society are degrading due to major factors that accrue from a range of factors (Silver, 1990). In the pre-historic societies, men and women were full of social graces skills and would pass them to their juniors through tales and stories in the evenings. The parents, especially the aged were mandated to offer teachings and training to the children, especially in the traditional African societies. The evidence that gives a clear distinction is that, in the old Asian communities, the etiquette was taught through the approach of plays and songs (Shils, 1991). The songs and the play contained the message of etiquette and social graces in overall. However, in the modern society, social gra ces are taught through formal education and also through training. An apparent change of the social graces in the two epochs. The lack of social graces in the contemporary society is attributed to three major aspects. These aspects are as a result of human activities and the motives that the individuals have during their childhood development and the parental care. The first factor is a sheltered childhood, in which a person may find themselves grown to older age in a confined environment that they did not get that socialization and teachings (Chevalier, 2009). The second factor is the poor social skill role model, in which the person may have been brought up or spent most of the juvenile age bracket with someone not good to model as they grew up (Carter, 1998). The third factor is consistent use of technology especially smartphones. Sheltered childhood is the major factor as a cause of lack of social graces in our society. The current society of the contemporary society is made of households at which children are attending school from as early as four years of age to 19 without having that social time or moment to share views and ideas with the elders (Himmelfarb, 1996). The modern society is not like the pre-historic society at which children would take their time in the evening with their grand pa and grand ma as they listen to the stories that teachers or conveyed a message on etiquette. Researches indicates that, 1 out of 4 children are lacking etiquette and social graces in general due to sheltered childhood (Himmelfarb, 1996). In this instance, therefore, the sheltered kid will grow up without the socially accepted normative values, and as such we tend to see and increased number of people lacking etiquette in public. The reason is that they never had that timer to share information and teachings from the parents. Poor social skill and model is also a major factor that has maintained the lack of social grace in the contemporary society. A social skill model is a person whom the child will imitate and get training from. The model models the social behaviors of the child so that, in their future life they will be fully equipped with the social graces skill. Researchers that have been conducted on the factors that cause lack of social graces in the public domain found out that, in 2 out of 3 children brought up by unsociable parents will be lacking etiquette (Meyer Jepperson, 2000). The children brought up in such a family will grow up, but will blame their parents for lack of that parental care and teaching. Such children will always have a problem in staying politely with the public. For instance, while in class, the child may be talking things that need to be said in a private place. The child will lack that distinction of the audience while uttering some words. The other primary factor in the contemporary society that has resulted to a reduced social graces or etiquette is consistent use of technology.Lenhart, (2015) asserts that the widespread availability of smartphones has facilitated 24% of teens to go online nearly continuously. Due to the convenience of internet access guaranteed by technological advancement, 92% of teens reported going online each and every day, and in this sample, it included the 24% of adolescents who said to go online regularly. It is astonishing to realize that only two percent of teens reported going online weekly. Based on these facts, therefore, the teens that constantly go online are not just going online to read books or global news but social media and other social activities going on on the web. The videos that they watch online have a repercussion on her lives. The teens have adapted the ways of lives more so the dressing styles of the celebrities they watch online. Nowadays teens are seen wearing clothes that totally predispose body parts. Girls wear transparent clothes that display their breasts, and also miniskirts that expose the almost whole of their thighs. This has therefore caused the teens to lack social skills acceptable in the society. Awareness in the community should be on how social grace can be improved. Creating awareness is an approach on which the parents and the guardians are trained and alerted on the importance of the social graces. The target group in the awareness on the importance of social graces is the parents. The awareness should focus on how the sheltered childhood, constant use of technology and poor social skill model can adequately be handled. Sheltered childhood should get tackled in a way that the children offered a chance to get exposed to various activities in society that may improve their social skills. Constant use of technology should also get controlled in a way that the teens restricted from accessing smartphones, and lastly, poor social competence model can be controlled through the provision of a model who would train children on social etiquette. As much as the children can be educated on how to have that social grace in public place, the parent is the person who is always with the kids and is the best trainer (Carter, 1998). Conclusion The essay examined the reasons for lack of social graces in modern society and how we can create more awareness on the importance of the skills of social graces. Social graces are the skills that enable a person to interact with others politely in a public place socially. The society deserves the etiquette socially acceptable to all. The lack of social graces in the modern society is attributed to three broad factors: Sheltered childhood, Poor social skill and model, and consistent use of technology. The research is limited to the findings on the basis that the approximations and generalizability of the samples may not have given the actual value of the intended population. The solution can be reached by conducting a thorough research and conducting literature review that will assist in the final conclusion. It is a recommendation that awareness should be created in the community on how social grace can be improved, and the target is the parents. The projection on the way the social graces are in the contemporary society is that, the future will have a generation that lacks social graces. References Carter, S. L. (1998).Civility: Manners, morals, and the etiquette of democracy. Basic Books (AZ). Carter, S. L. (2008).Civility: Manners, morals, and the etiquette of democracy. Basic Books (AZ). Chevalier, M. (2009).Society, manners and politics in the United States: being a series of letters on North America. Weeks, Jordan. Crossley, N. (2006).Reflexive Embodiment in Contemporary Society: The Body in Late Modern Society. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Himmelfarb, G. (1996). The de-moralization of society: From Victorian virtues to modern values. Meyer, J. W., Jepperson, R. L. (2000). The actors of modern society: The cultural construction of social agency.Sociological theory,18(1), 100-120. Shils, E. (1991). The virtue of civil society.Government and opposition,26(01), 3-20. Silver, A. (1990). Friendship in commercial society: Eighteenth-century social theory and modern sociology.American Journal of Sociology, 1474-1504.