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Five-Star Stranger
''Five-Star Stranger'' is a 2024 debut novel by Kat Tang, published by Scribner. Involving a high-rated man on a fictitious Rental Stranger app, the novel is based on real-life rental family services in Japan. Synopsis The novel follows an unnamed Japanese American male protagonist who has worked on the Rental Stranger app as a "rent-a-stranger" for a decade in New York City imitating various characters on behalf of his clients: boyfriends, in-laws, funeral mourners, and others. One of the man's longest pretend relationships is to Mari, a mother who hired him to be a pretend father to her daughter, Lily. When another client, Darlene, hires him to masquerade as an alcoholic brother and subsequently tries to find out more about his pretend family, however, the man's career is tested. Critical reception ''Huffington Post'' included the novel on a list of 8 books to read for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, stating that "Kat Tang's inventive debut novel perfectly capture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rental Family Service
A or professional stand-in service provides clients with actor(s) who portray friends, family members, or coworkers for social events such as weddings, or to provide platonic companionship. The service was first offered in Japan during the early 1990s. History The earliest known rental family service was offered by Japan Efficiency Corporation (Nihon Kokasei Honbu) starting in the fall of 1991. Japan Efficiency, run by Satsuki Oiwa, was started in 1987 to train corporate employees, but after hearing complaints about unsatisfactory relationships, began to also offer professional actors for "soft service — reaching others with a sympathetic heart". By May 1992, Japan Efficiency had a roster of 21 clients, a waiting list of 84 more, and more than 400 applicants for professional stand-ins. Some of the rental family agencies felt the services offered were uniquely suited to aspects of Japanese culture such as saving face and social etiquette, but the practice has since spread to o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and List of islands of Japan, thousands of smaller islands, covering . Japan has a population of over 123 million as of 2025, making it the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh-most populous country. The capital of Japan and List of cities in Japan, its largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the List of largest cities, largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37 million inhabitants as of 2024. Japan is divided into 47 Prefectures of Japan, administrative prefectures and List of regions of Japan, eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of Geography of Japan, the countr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Americans
are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ranking to constitute the sixth largest Asian American group at around 1,469,637, including those of partial ancestry. According to the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, the largest Japanese American communities were found in California with 272,528, Japanese in Hawaii, Hawaii with 185,502, New York with 37,780, Washington (state), Washington with 35,008, Illinois with 17,542 and Ohio with 16,995. Southern California has the largest Japanese American population in North America and the city of Gardena, California, Gardena holds the densest Japanese American population in the 48 contiguous states. History Immigration People from Empire of Japan, Japan began migrating to the US in significant numbers following the political, cultur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy eating, young women's interests, and local news featuring columnists. It was created to provide a progressive alternative to conservative news websites such as the Drudge Report. The site contains its own content and user-generated content via video blogging, audio, and photo. In 2012, the website became the first commercially run United States digital media enterprise to win a Pulitzer Prize. Founded by Arianna Huffington, Andrew Breitbart, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, the site was launched on May 9, 2005, as a counterpart to the Drudge Report. In March 2011, it was acquired by AOL for US$315 million, with Arian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (, officially changed from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Month) is an annually observed commemorative month in the United States. It is celebrated during the month of May, and recognizes the contributions and influence of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration's Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions eliminated federal recognition of the month. The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders was subsequently dissolved.. Nonetheless, on May 16, 2025, the proclamation was issued after all. Despite not having initially received federal recognition in late April or early May 2025, it is still acknowledged and celebrated by some cities, states, and major companies and those living in the United States. Backgro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers' literature. ''Kirkus Reviews'', published on the first and 15th of each month, previews books before their publication. ''Kirkus'' reviews over 10,000 titles per year. History Virginia Kirkus was hired by Harper & Brothers to establish a children's book department in 1926. In 1932, the department was eliminated as an economic measure. However, within a year, Louise Raymond, the secretary Kirkus hired, had the department running again. Kirkus, however, had left and soon established her own book review service. Initially, she arranged to get galley proofs of "20 or so" books in advance of their publication; almost 80 years later, the service was receiving hundreds of books weekly and reviewing about 100. Ini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of Book Publishing and Bookselling." With 51 issues a year, the emphasis today is on book reviews. History Nineteenth century The magazine was founded by bibliographer Frederick Leypoldt in the late 1860s and had various titles until Leypoldt settled on the name ''The Publishers' Weekly'' (with an apostrophe) in 1872. The publication was a compilation of information about newly published books, collected from publishers and from other sources by Leypoldt, for an audience of booksellers. By 1876, ''The Publishers' Weekly'' was being read by nine tenths of the booksellers in the country. In 1878, Leypoldt sold ''The Publishers' Weekly'' to his friend Richard Rogers Bowker, in order to free up time for his other bibliographic endeavors. Augu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is available to subscribers in print and online. It is published 22 times per year, and reviews over 7,500 titles annually. The ''Booklist'' brand also offers a blog, various newsletters, and monthly webinars. The ''Booklist'' offices are located in the American Library Association headquarters in Chicago’s Gold Coast, Chicago, Gold Coast neighborhood. History ''Booklist'', as an introduction from the American Library Association (ALA) publishing board notes, began publication in January 1905 to "meet an evident need by issuing a current buying list of recent books with brief notes designed to assist librarians in selection." With an annual subscription fee of 50 cents, ''Booklist'' was initially subsidized by a $100,000 grant from the Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major U.S. daily newspapers and radio and television broadcasters. Since the award was established in 1917, the AP has earned 59 Pulitzer Prizes, including 36 for photography. The AP is also known for its widely used ''AP Stylebook'', its AP polls tracking National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA sports, sponsoring the National Football League's annual awards, and its election polls and results during Elections in the United States, US elections. By 2016, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters. The AP operates 235 news bureaus in 94 countries, and publishes in English, Spanish, and Arabic. It also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides twice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Library Journal
''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice. It also reviews library-related materials and equipment. Each year since 2008, the Journal has assessed public libraries and awarded stars in their Star Libraries program. Its "Library Journal Book Review" does pre-publication reviews of several hundred popular and academic books each month. With a circulation of approximately 100,000, ''Library Journal'' has the highest circulation of any librarianship journal, according to Ulrich's. ''Library Journal's'' original publisher was Frederick Leypoldt, whose company became R. R. Bowker. Reed International later merged into Reed Elsevier and purchased Bowker in 1985; they published ''Library Journal'' until 2010, when it was sold to Media Source Inc., owner of the Junior Library G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conceit
An extended metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is the use of a single metaphor or analogy at length in a work of literature. It differs from a mere metaphor in its length, and in having more than one single point of contact between the object described (the so-called tenor) and the comparison used to describe it (the vehicle). These implications are repeatedly emphasized, discovered, rediscovered, and progressed in new ways. History of meaning In the Renaissance, the term ''conceit'' (which is related to the word concept) indicated the idea that informed a literary work—its theme. Later, it came to stand for the extended and heightened metaphor common in Renaissance poetry, and later still it came to denote the even more elaborate metaphors of 17th century poetry. The Renaissance conceit, given its importance in Petrarch's ''Il Canzoniere'', is also referred to as Petrarchan conceit. It is a comparison in which human experiences are described in terms of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
