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Backchannel: (#: Backchannel: Rabt) A Readers Guide To World War Iii A Forward Looking Historical Novel Beginning 2018 (Suffer The Children, Nuevo Laredo: A Prelude To War By Dan Robinson Ser.)
by Dan RobinsonImagine a world where not just teenagers, but governments use secret social media channels to communicate – and to target. Meet Doug McKenzie, a charismatic Black Irish investigative reporter for the New York Daily, a man whose fearless journalism has attracted international enemies with the resources to neutralize him. In response to his incendiary reports, a clandestine ‘Backchannel’ is activated, manipulating the U.S. government itself to take him down. But Doug isn’t alone. His fiery daughter Rachel, an emerging journalist in her own right, stands by his side, as do allies from the global stage. Journey with Doug from the power corridors of Washington, DC to the bustling streets of Osaka, Japan; from the political heart of Ankara, Turkey to the fraught border crossing of Bazargan, Iran. Caught in a web of international intrigue is Doug’s tumultuous personal life – his marriage to Turkish-born Nukhet hangs by a thread, complicated by their one-year-old daughter Sirin, and the reemergence of his enigmatic lover, Dr. Laurie Reynolds. Get ready to dive into a world of political suspense, international espionage, and intricate relationships. Welcome to Backchannel. Trust us, you won’t want to put it down.
The Milk Boys
by Scott RuleTommy Loy moved to the West of Scotland new town of East Kilbride as a troubled teenager, and by 1970 he has robbed, fought, and terrorised his way to the top of a very small tree. His attempts to move further up the ladder leave him dead at the side of the road, murdered for his mistakes, but his legend lives on in the town. By 1979, the legend is fading, but his young family are still living with the consequences. His son, Billy, delivers milk to the houses, while the float drivers he works for deliver misery to the local low life. Rivalries are rife between the teenage boys making the deliveries and the adult drivers who run the town in the early hours of each day. The Milk Boys gives a snapshot of East Kilbride in the 1970s and the town’s decline as the factories begin to close, leaving the people who were living the dream in despair. The optimistic New Town story is destined to have an unhappy ending. Friendship, drugs, football, violence, and punk rock are the backdrop to how the Loy family learn about the truth behind Tommy’s legacy. All of it fuelled by the pints of milk delivered to your door.
501st: An Imperial Commando Novel (Star Wars: Imperial Commando - Legends #5)
by Karen TravissOmega Squad is no more—in its place stand the Imperial commandos, under the imperious command of Darth Vader and the Empire.The Clone Wars are over, but for those with reason to run from the new galactic Empire, the battle to survive has only just begun. . . . The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has fallen. Now the former Republic commandos—the galaxy&’s finest special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fett—find themselves on opposing sides and in very different armor. Some have deserted and fled to Mandalore with the mercenaries, renegade clone troopers, and rogue Jedi who make up Kal Skirata&’s ragtag resistance to Imperial occupation. Others—including men from Delta Squad and Omega Squad—now serve as Imperial commandos, a black ops unit within Vader&’s own 501st Legion, tasked to hunt down fugitive Jedi and clone deserters. For Darman, who&’s grieving for his Jedi wife and separated from his son, it&’s an agonizing test of loyalty. But he&’s not the only one who&’ll be forced to test the ties of brotherhood. On Mandalore, clone deserters and the planet&’s own natives, who have no love for the Jedi, will have their most cherished beliefs challenged. In the savage new galactic order, old feuds may have to be set aside to unite against a far bigger threat, and nobody can take old loyalties for granted.Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!
Lives of Girls and Women: A Novel (Vintage International)
by Alice MunroThe debut novel from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro, &“one of the most eloquent and gifted writers of contemporary fiction&” (The New York Times). &“Munro has an unerring talent for uncovering the extraordinary in the ordinary.&”—Newsweek Rural Ontario, 1940s. Del Jordan lives out at the end of the Flats Road on her father&’s fox farm, where her most frequent companions are an eccentric bachelor family friend and her rough younger brother. When she begins spending more time in town, she is surrounded by women—her mother, an agnostic, opinionated woman who sells encyclopedias to local farmers; her mother&’s boarder, the lusty Fern Dogherty; and her best friend, Naomi, with whom she shares the frustrations and unbridled glee of adolescence. Through these unwitting mentors and in her own encounters with sex, birth, and death, Del explores the dark and bright sides of womanhood. All along she remains a wise, witty observer and recorder of truths in small-town life. The result is a powerful, moving, and humorous demonstration of Alice Munro&’s unparalleled awareness of the lives of girls and women.
Family Furnishings: Selected Stories, 1995-2014 (Vintage International Ser.)
by Alice Munro&“An extraordinary collection&” (San Francisco Chronicle) of twenty-four short stories from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro. &“Superb . . . Munro is a writer to be cherished.&”—NPRA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Minneapolis Star TribuneA selection of Alice Munro&’s most accomplished and powerfully affecting short fiction from 1995 to 2014, these stories encompass the fullness of human experience, from the wild exhilaration of first love (in &“Passion&”) to the punishing consequences of leaving home (&“Runaway&”) or ending a marriage (&“The Children Stay&”). And in stories that Munro has described as &“closer to the truth than usual&”—&“Dear Life,&” &“Working for a Living,&” and &“Home&”—we glimpse the author&’s own life.Subtly honed with her hallmark precision, grace, and compassion, these stories illuminate the quotidian yet astonishing particularities in the lives of men and women, parents and children, friends and lovers as they discover sex, fall in love, part, quarrel, suffer defeat, set off into the unknown, or find a way to be in the world.
A Wilderness Station: Selected Stories, 1968-1994 (Vintage International)
by Alice MunroNEW YORK TIMES EDITORS&’ CHOICE • A &“luminous&” (Vogue) collection of twenty-eight stories from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro, &“one of the finest contemporary story writers in the English language&” (Newsday)—previously published as Selected Stories&“Her stories are like few others. One must go back to Tolstoy and Chekhov . . . for comparable largeness.&”—John Updike, The New York Times Book ReviewSpanning almost thirty years and settings that range from big cities to small towns and farmsteads of rural Canada, this magnificent collection brings together twenty-eight stories &“about love, marriage, discontent, divorce, betrayal, impulsive passion, second thoughts, deaths, even murder—stories with plenty of drama and surprise as well as reflection and meditation&” (The Wall Street Journal)—by a writer of unparalleled wit, generosity, and emotional power. In A Wilderness Station: Selected Stories, 1968–1994, Alice Munro makes lives that seem small unfold until they are revealed to be as spacious as prairies and locates the moments that change those lives forever. A traveling salesman during the Depression takes his children with him on an impromptu visit to a former girlfriend. A poor girl steels herself to marry a rich fiancé she can&’t quite manage to love. An abandoned woman tries to choose between the opposing pleasures of seduction and solitude. To read these stories is to succumb to the spell of a true narrative sorcerer, a writer who enchants her readers utterly even as she restores them to their truest selves.
Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways (Stanford d.school Library)
by Sarah Stein Greenberg Stanford d.schoolWINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • &“A delightful, compelling book that offers a dazzling array of practical, thoughtful exercises designed to spark creativity, help solve problems, foster connection, and make our lives better.&”—Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author and host of the Happier podcast In an era of ambiguous, messy problems—as well as extraordinary opportunities for positive change—it&’s vital to have both an inquisitive mind and the ability to act with intention. Creative Acts for Curious People is filled with ways to build those skills with resilience, care, and confidence. At Stanford University&’s world-renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, aka &“the d.school,&” students and faculty, experts and seekers bring together diverse perspectives to tackle ambitious projects; this book contains the experiences designed to help them do it. A provocative and highly visual companion, it&’s a definitive resource for people who aim to draw on their curiosity and creativity in the face of uncertainty. Teeming with ideas about discovery, learning, and leading the way through unknown creative territory, Creative Acts for Curious People includes memorable stories and more than eighty innovative exercises. Curated by executive director Sarah Stein Greenberg, after being honed in the classrooms of the d.school, these exercises originated in some of the world&’s most inventive and unconventional minds, including those of d.school and IDEO founder David M. Kelley, ReadyMade magazine founder Grace Hawthorne, innovative choreographer Aleta Hayes, Google chief innovation evangelist Frederik G. Pferdt, and many more. To bring fresh approaches to any challenge–world changing or close to home–you can draw on exercises such as Expert Eyes to hone observation skills, How to Talk to Strangers to foster understanding, and Designing Tools for Teams to build creative leadership. The activities are at once lighthearted, surprising, tough, and impactful–and reveal how the hidden dynamics of design can drive more vibrant ways of making, feeling, exploring, experimenting, and collaborating at work and in life. This book will help you develop the behaviors and deepen the mindsets that can turn your curiosity into ideas, and your ideas into action.
How Muzn Found Her Voice
by Fatma Al-ManjiThe story’s main character, Muzn, is a young girl living near the Strait of Hormuz and has a fear of public speaking because of her stutter. All Muzn wants is to hide and not speak, but her grandmother and butterfly sidekick Sama never allow her to give up and in fact take her on a journey that changes her perspective forever.
Herumphmumph: A Story of Friendship
by Jo HillPolly just loves to sew. Whether they’re big things or small things, stuffed or flat, patterned or plain, she is never happier than when she is surrounded by threads and materials in a rainbow of colours, textures and designs and the two things she has endless amounts of, which are imagination and love. These she stitches into every one of her creations. On one special afternoon at school, she makes the softest, most colourful, most special gingham elephant, who from that moment becomes her bestest friend, sharing the most wonderful adventures with her that last a lifetime.
AI, Ethics, and Discrimination in Business: The DEI Implications of Algorithmic Decision-Making (Palgrave Studies in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization in Business)
by Marco MarabelliThis book takes a historical approach to explore data, algorithms, their use in practice through applications of AI in various settings, and all of the surrounding ethical and DEI implications. Summarizing our current knowledge and highlighting gaps, it offers original examples from empirical research in various settings, such as healthcare, social media, and the GIG economy.The author investigates how systems relying on a binary structure (machines) work in systems that are instead analogic (societies). Further, he examines how underrepresented populations, who have been historically penalized by technologies, can play an active role in the design of automated systems, with a specific focus on the US legal and social system.One issue is that main tasks of machines concern classification, which, while efficient for speeding up decision-making processes, are inherently biased. Ultimately, this work advocates for ethical design and responsible implementation and deployment of technology in organizations and society through through government-sponsored social justice, in contrast with free market policies.This interdisciplinary text contributes to the timely and relevant debate on algorithmic fairness, biases, and potential discriminations. It will appeal to researchers in business ethics and information systems while building on theories from anthropology, psychology, sociology, management, marketing, and economics.
Migration and Cities: Conceptual and Policy Advances (IMISCOE Research Series)
by Melissa Kelly Anna Triandafyllidou Zeynep Şahin-Mencütek Amin MoghadamThis open access book brings together different perspectives on migration and the city that are usually discussed separately, to show the special character of the urban context as a territorial and political space where people coexist, whether by choice or necessity. Drawing on heterogeneous situations in cities in different world regions (including Europe, North America, the Middle East, South, Southeast and East Asia and the Asia Pacific) contributions to this volume examine how migration and the urban context interact in the twenty-first century. The book is structured in four parts. The first looks at cities as hubs of cultural creativity, exploring the many dimensions of cultural diversity and identity as they are negotiated in the urban context. The second focuses on what lies outside the large urban centres of today, notably suburbs, while the third part engages with migration and diversity in small and mid-sized cities, many of which have adopted strategies to welcome growing numbers of migrants. Last but not least, the fourth part looks at the challenges and opportunities that asylum-seeking and irregular migration flows bring to cities. By providing a variety of empirical cases based on various world regions, this book is a valuable resource for researchers, students and policy makers.
Playful Pedagogy in Higher Education: Research and Cases from across the Disciplines (Knowledge Studies in Higher Education #14)
by Laura Baecher Lindsay PortnoyThis collection provides a wide array of concrete and inspiring "playful" approaches to teaching in a range of higher education contexts and discipline areas, grounded in the learning sciences and within a future-oriented revisioning of the university learning environment. Within the broad area of active learning strategies, this text offers a curated collection of creative innovations such as game-based learning, gamification of courses, escape rooms, semester-long quests, dramatic role-plays, artistic endeavors and more. Containing descriptive and impact research that evidences the power of playful pedagogy, this text will offer a range of novel, transferable and usable materials for readers to apply in their lecture halls and classrooms tomorrow.
Soil Health Management for Plantation Crops: Recent Advances and New Paradigms
by V. Krishnakumar George V ThomasThis edited volume elucidates state-of-the-art information and provides new paradigms of soil health-based pathways for sustaining plantation crops and diversified systems. The book covers soil characteristics, soil fertility constraints, issues of soil contamination, the impact of climate change on plantation soils, indicators of soil health and soil health assessment, fertility management for healthy soils, soil amendments, soil biodiversity, and biological functions and micro-biome as well as meta-genomic approach.Plantation crops are perennials, cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical agroecosystems in a contiguous area, and comprise estate crops which include tea, coffee, and rubber and small holders’ plantation crops such as coconut, areca nut, oil palm, cashew, cocoa, and spices. These are high-value crops with considerable significance in livelihood security, commerce, and trade, and are grown in ecologically vulnerable regions such as coastal belts, hilly areas, andregions with high rainfall and high humidity, which makes maintenance of soil health a major challenge. Sustainable agricultural production depends on the health, quality, and functionality of the soil. The book includes technological options to achieve sustainable production encompassing soil health improvement through multi-strata, multi-species cropping systems, integrated farming systems, conservation agriculture practices, cover cropping and green manuring, crop residue recycling, bio-fertilizer and bio-stimulant technologies and organic farming systems.This book is an essential resource for researchers, plantation professionals, educators, and policymakers. It provides valuable insights and practical solutions for addressing emerging issues in soil health management and is a must-read for students of agriculture, forestry, ecology, microbiology, soil science, and environmental sciences.
Voice Prosthesis in Total Laryngectomized Patients: From Patient Selection to Complication Management
by Carmelo Saraniti Barbara Verro Simona FiumaraThe volume offers a comprehensive overview of voice rehabilitation after total laryngectomy through a multidisciplinary approach which is the result of the collaboration between otolaryngology specialists and speech therapists. After a short introduction on total laryngectomy and voice recovery, the volume discusses patient selection for voice prosthesis. The following part describes the surgical steps for prosthesis implantation and replacement, the complications that may occur and their solutions. The fourth part focuses on voice rehabilitation. The closing part reviews the different types of voice prostheses and devices and their use and correct management for optimal respiratory, olfactory and speech rehabilitation. Each topic addressed is supported by a wealth of detailed images and step-by-step videos. Given its features, the volume will be an invaluable tool for ENT specialists and speech therapists as well as residents in these fields.
Vintage Munro: Nobel Prize Edition (Vintage International)
by Alice MunroSix of Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro&’s revelatory short stories that unfold the wordless secrets that lie at the center of the human experience. &“Alice Munro is often able to say more in thirty pages than an ordinary novelist is capable of in three hundred. She is a virtuoso of the elliptical . . . the master of the contemporary short story. . . . Munro, like few others, [has] come close to solving the greatest mystery of them all: the human heart and its caprices.&”—From the Presentation Speech, Nobel Prize in Literature 2013 Vintage Munro includes stories from throughout Alice Munro&’s storied career: the title stories from her collections The Moons of Jupiter; The Progress of Love; and Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, as well as &“Differently,&” from Friend of My Youth; &“Carried Away,&” from Open Secrets; and &“In Sight of the Lake&” from Dear Life. This edition includes the Nobel Prize Presentation Speech
The Wind Knows My Name: A Novel
by Isabel AllendeNATIONAL BESTSELLER • &“The lives of a Jewish boy escaping Nazi-occupied Europe and a mother and daughter fleeing twenty-first-century El Salvador intersect in this ambitious, intricate novel about war and immigration&” (People), from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta &“Timely, provocative . . . emotionally satisfying . . . [a story about] the kindness of strangers who become family.&”—The New York Times Book ReviewAN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEARVienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht—the night his family loses everything. As her child&’s safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel&’s mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita&’s mother.Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers—and never stop dreaming.
Iron Fist: Rogue Squadron, Wedge's Gamble, The Krytos Trap, The Bacta War, Wraith Squadron ,iron Fist, Solo Command, Isard's Revenge, Starfighters Of Adumar, Mercy Kill (Star Wars: Wraith Squadron - Legends #2)
by Aaron AllstonThey are the Rebel Alliance's ultimate strike force--sleek, swift, and deadly. For these X-wing fighters, no job is too dirty or too dangerous. Now they must rise to meet an impossible challenge: stop a powerful warlord by pretending to be his ally.Against all odds, the controversial Wraith Squadron has survived its first covert mission. But now they are called upon to cheat death twice. This time Wedge Antilles sends them in to stop the warlord Zsinj and his Super Star Destroyer, Iron Fist. If Zsinj joins the Empire, it could turn the tide of war against the Rebels. The Wraith Squadron's mission: infiltrate the warlord's fleet and uncover his carefully guarded plans. To do so, they must pose as ruthless pirates seeking to join Zsinj's forces. And that means first becoming pirates in space lanes teeming with Imperial Navy patrols. If that isn't enough to get them killed, they'll have to pass one last test--a suicide mission for Zsinj.Can they survive the test and turn the tables on Zsinj?Or is this the end for Wraith Squadron?Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!
Vagabonds
by Hao JingfangA century after the Martian war of independence, a group of kids are sent to Earth as delegates from Mars, but when they return home, they are caught between the two worlds, unable to reconcile the beauty and culture of Mars with their experiences on Earth in this &“thoughtful debut&” (Kirkus Reviews) from Hugo Award–winning author Hao Jingfang.This &“masterful narrative&” (Booklist, starred review) is set on Earth in the wake of a second civil war…not between two factions in one nation, but two factions in one solar system: Mars and Earth. In an attempt to repair increasing tensions, the colonies of Mars send a group of young people to live on Earth to help reconcile humanity. But the group finds itself with no real home, no friends, and fractured allegiances as they struggle to find a sense of community and identity trapped between two worlds.
The Duke of Shadows (A Romance Bestseller)
by Meredith DuranIn a debut romance as passionate and sweeping as the British Empire, Meredith Duran paints a powerful picture of an aristocrat torn between two worlds, an heiress who dares to risk everything...and the love born in fire and darkness that nearly destroys them.From exotic sandstone palaces...to the marble halls of London—destiny follows wherever you run. Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to settle quietly into British Indian society. But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiancé's betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn. In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous—and that a single decision can alter one's life forever. A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned...and some passions never die.
All That Remains: Scarpetta 3 (Kay Scarpetta Ser. #3)
by Patricia Cornwell#1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell returns to the world of gutsy medical examiner Kay Scarpetta in the third suspenseful novel in the forensic thriller series that begins with Postmortem.In Richmond, Virginia, young lovers are dying. So far, four couples in the area have disappeared, only to be found months later as mutilated corpses. When the daughter of the president's newest drug czar vanishes along with her boyfriend, Dr. Kay Scarpetta knows time is short. Following a macabre trail of evidence that ties the present homicides to a grisly crime in the past, Kay must draw upon her own personal resources to track down a murderer who is as skilled at eliminating clues as Kay is at finding them...
Whalefall: A Novel
by Daniel KrausA USA TODAY BESTSELLER Named a Best Book of 2023 by Book Riot, Shelf Awareness, and NPR The Martian meets 127 Hours in this &“astoundingly great&” (Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author) and scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who&’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool&’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it&’s a long shot, but Jay feels it&’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad&’s death by suicide the previous year. The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid&’s tentacles and drawn into the whale&’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale. Suspenseful and cinematic, Whalefall is an &“powerfully humane&” (Owen King, New York Times bestselling author) thriller about a young man who has given up on life…only to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.
We'll Always Have Summer: The Summer I Turned Pretty; It's Not Summer Without You; We'll Always Have Summer (The Summer I Turned Pretty #3)
by Jenny HanNow an Original Series on Prime Video! Can Belly make a final choice between Jeremiah and Conrad? Find out in the conclusion of the New York Times bestselling The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy from the author of To All the Boys I&’ve Loved Before (now a major motion picture!).Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she&’s almost positive he is her soul mate. Almost. While Conrad has not gotten over the mistake of letting Belly go, Jeremiah has always known that Belly is the girl for him. So when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it&’s now or never—tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good. Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face the inevitable: She will have to break one of their hearts. This paperback edition features bonus content, including Conrad&’s letters to Belly and an excerpt of Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian!
Elevation
by Stephen KingFrom legendary master storyteller Stephen King, a riveting story about &“an ordinary man in an extraordinary condition rising above hatred&” (The Washington Post) and bringing the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine together—a &“joyful, uplifting&” (Entertainment Weekly) tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences, &“the sign of a master elevating his own legendary game yet again&” (USA TODAY).Although Scott Carey doesn&’t look any different, he&’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn&’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis. In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King&’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott&’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face—including his own—he tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott&’s affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others. &“Written in masterly Stephen King&’s signature translucent…this uncharacteristically glimmering fairy tale calls unabashedly for us to rise above our differences&” (Booklist, starred review). Elevation is an antidote to our divisive culture, an &“elegant whisper of a story&” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), &“perfect for any fan of small towns, magic, and the joys and challenges of doing the right thing&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Needful Things: The Last Castle Rock Story (Bride Series)
by Stephen KingSet in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine Master storyteller Stephen King presents the classic #1 New York Times bestseller about a mysterious store than can sell you whatever you desire—but not without exacting a terrible price in return.The town of Castle Rock, Maine has seen its fair share of oddities over the years, but nothing is as peculiar as the little curio shop that&’s just opened for business here. Its mysterious proprietor, Leland Gaunt, seems to have something for everyone out on display at Needful Things…interesting items that run the gamut from worthless to priceless. Nothing has a price tag in this place, but everything is certainly for sale. The heart&’s desire for any resident of Castle Rock can easily be found among the curiosities…in exchange for a little money and—at the specific request of Leland Gaunt—a whole lot of menace against their fellow neighbors. Everyone in town seems willing to make a deal at Needful Things, but the devil is in the details. And no one takes heed of the little sign hanging on the wall: Caveat emptor. In other words, let the buyer beware…
The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
by Siddhartha MukherjeeWinner of the 2023 PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences and the 2023 Chautauqua Prize! Named a New York Times Notable Book and a Best Book of the Year by The Economist, Oprah Daily, BookPage, Book Riot, the New York Public Library, and more! In The Song of the Cell, the extraordinary author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Emperor of All Maladies and the #1 New York Times bestseller The Gene &“blends cutting-edge research, impeccable scholarship, intrepid reporting, and gorgeous prose into an encyclopedic study that reads like a literary page-turner&” (Oprah Daily).Mukherjee begins this magnificent story in the late 1600s, when a distinguished English polymath, Robert Hooke, and an eccentric Dutch cloth-merchant, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek looked down their handmade microscopes. What they saw introduced a radical concept that swept through biology and medicine, touching virtually every aspect of the two sciences, and altering both forever. It was the fact that complex living organisms are assemblages of tiny, self-contained, self-regulating units. Our organs, our physiology, our selves—hearts, blood, brains—are built from these compartments. Hooke christened them &“cells.&” The discovery of cells—and the reframing of the human body as a cellular ecosystem—announced the birth of a new kind of medicine based on the therapeutic manipulations of cells. A hip fracture, a cardiac arrest, Alzheimer&’s dementia, AIDS, pneumonia, lung cancer, kidney failure, arthritis, COVID pneumonia—all could be reconceived as the results of cells, or systems of cells, functioning abnormally. And all could be perceived as loci of cellular therapies. Filled with writing so vivid, lucid, and suspenseful that complex science becomes thrilling, The Song of the Cell tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans. Told in six parts, and laced with Mukherjee&’s own experience as a researcher, a doctor, and a prolific reader, The Song of the Cell is both panoramic and intimate—a masterpiece on what it means to be human. &“In an account both lyrical and capacious, Mukherjee takes us through an evolution of human understanding: from the seventeenth-century discovery that humans are made up of cells to our cutting-edge technologies for manipulating and deploying cells for therapeutic purposes&” (The New Yorker).