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Circus Galacticus
by Deva FaganRebel. Champion gymnast. Intergalactic traveler? Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect.But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it. Soon Trix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient alien artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel the secrets of her own past—if she can survive long enough.
Einstein's Greatest Mistake: A Biography
by David Bodanis&“What Bodanis does brilliantly is to give us a feel for Einstein as a person. I don&’t think I&’ve ever read a book that does this as well . . . Whenever there&’s a chance for storytelling, Bodanis triumphs.&” —Popular Science &“Fascinating.&” —Forbes Widely considered the greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity and helped lead us into the atomic age. Yet in the final decades of his life, he was ignored by most working scientists, and his ideas were opposed by even his closest friends. How did this happen? Best-selling biographer David Bodanis traces the arc of Einstein&’s life—from the skeptical, erratic student to the world&’s most brilliant physicist to the fallen-from-grace celebrity. An intimate biography in which &“theories of the universe morph into theories of life&” (Times, London), Einstein&’s Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today—and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws.
I'd Walk With My Friends If I Could Find Them: A Novel
by Jesse GoolsbyIn this powerful debut novel, three American soldiers haunted by their actions in Afghanistan search for absolution and human connectionin family and civilian life. Wintric Ellis joins the army as soon as he graduates from high school, saying goodbye to his girlfriend, Kristen, and to the backwoods California town whose borders have always been the limits of his horizon. Deployed in Afghanistan two years into a directionless war, he struggles to find his bearings in a place where allies could at any second turn out to be foes. Two career soldiers, Dax and Torres, take Wintric under their wing. Together, these three men face an impossible choice: risk death or commit a harrowing act of war. The aftershocks echo long after each returns home to a transfigured world, where his own children may fear to touch him and his nightmares still hold sway. Jesse Goolsby casts backward and forward in time to track these unforgettable characters from childhood to parenthood, from redwood forests to open desert roads to the streets of Kabul. Hailed by Robert Olen Butler as a &“major literary event,&” I&’d Walk with My Friends If I Could Find Them is a work of disarming eloquence and heart-wrenching wisdom, and a debut novel from a writer to watch.
The Rector Of Justin: A Novel
by Louis AuchinclossRegarded as one of Louis Auchincloss's most accomplished novels, The Rector of Justin centers on Frank Prescott, the founder of an exclusive school for boys. Eighty years of his life unfold through the observations of six narrators, each with a unique perspective on the man, his motivations, and the roots of his triumphs and failings.
The Borgias And Their Enemies: 1431-1519
by Christopher HibbertThis colorful history of a powerful family brings the world they lived in??—??the glittering Rome of the Italian Renaissance??—??to life and is "simply unputdownable" (New York Times Book Review).The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the central figure of the dynasty. Two of his seven papal offspring also rose to power and fame??—??Lucrezia Borgia, his daughter, whose husband was famously murdered by her brother, and that brother, Cesare, who served as the model for Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince. Notorious for seizing power, wealth, land, and titles through bribery, marriage, and murder, the dynasty's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to its occupation of the highest position in Renaissance society forms a gripping tale. Erudite, witty, and always insightful, Hibbert removes the layers of myth around the Borgia family and creates a portrait alive with his superb sense of character and place.
100 Best Quick Gluten-Free Recipes (100 Best Recipes)
by Carol FensterAn irresistible guide to simple, delicious, gluten-free recipes made in thirty minutes or less As a top gluten-free teacher and writer, Carol Fenster knows what cooks need: easy recipes for every day. 100 Best Quick Gluten-Free Recipes is Fenster’s answer to her fans. In this book, she offers an easy collection of satisfying recipes that take thirty minutes or less to make, showcasing thirty gorgeous photos to inspire any cook. Recipes include favorites like Microwave Muffins in a Mug, Breakfast Pizza, Garlic Breadsticks, Buttermilk Biscuits, Chicken Parmesan, Mini Meat Loaves, Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes, No-Cook Chocolate Cheesecakes, and even a fancy Black Forest Trifle. Because good nutrition is important for gluten-free diets, there are also recipes for Orange-Olive Salad, Tuscan Bean Soup, Split Pea Dal with Rice, and Grilled Fruit with Honey Yogurt. Nutrition information for every recipe, icons for vegetarian dishes, and tips on quick-cooking techniques will make planning meals easy. Fenster’s impeccable knowledge of gluten-free foods and what tastes good makes this a must-have gluten-free guide.
The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
by Lee SmolinIn this illuminating book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics -- the search for the laws of nature -- losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the public’s imagination -- and the imagination of experts. But these ideas have not been tested experimentally, and some, like string theory, seem to offer no possibility of being tested. Yet these speculations dominate the field, attracting the best talent and much of the funding and creating a climate in which emerging physicists are often penalized for pursuing other avenues. As Smolin points out, the situation threatens to impede the very progress of science. With clarity, passion, and authority, Smolin offers an unblinking assessment of the troubles that face modern physics -- and an encouraging view of where the search for the next big idea may lead.
The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded American is Tearing Us Apart
by Bill BishopThe award-winning journalist reveals the untold story of why America is so culturally and politically divided in this groundbreaking book.Armed with startling demographic data, Bill Bishop demonstrates how Americans have spent decades sorting themselves into alarmingly homogeneous communities??—??not by region or by state, but by city and neighborhood. With ever-increasing specificity, we choose the communities and media that are compatible with our lifestyles and beliefs. The result is a country that has become so ideologically inbred that people don't know and can't understand those who live just a few miles away.In The Big Sort, Bishop explores how this phenomenon came to be, and its dire implications for our country. He begins with stories about how we live today and then draws on history, economics, and our changing political landscape to create one of the most compelling big-picture accounts of America in recent memory.
The Alaskan Laundry: A Novel
by Brendan JonesOn the icy waters of the Bering Sea, a lost, fierce young woman finds herself through the hard work of fishing and the stubborn love of real friendship.Tara Marconi has made her way from Philly to “the Rock,” a remote island in Alaska governed by the seasons. Her mother’s death left her unmoored, with a seemingly impassable rift between her and her father. But in this majestic, rugged frontier she works her way up the commercial fishing ladder??—??from hatchery assistant all the way to king crabber. Disciplined from years as a young boxer, she learns anew what it means to work, to connect, and??—??through an unlikely old tugboat??—??how to make a home she knows is her own. A testament to the places that shape us and the places that change us, The Alaskan Laundry tells one woman’s unforgettable journey back to the possibility of love. “This novel will reconvince you of the power of wilderness to heal a human heart” (Pam Houston, author of Contents May Have Shifted).
The Pattern In The Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws
by Margaret DrabbleThe Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws is an original and brilliant work. Margaret Drabble weaves her own story into a history of games, in particular jigsaws, which have offered her and many others relief from melancholy and depression. Alongside curious facts and discoveries about jigsaw puzzles — did you know that the 1929 stock market crash was followed by a boom in puzzle sales? — Drabble introduces us to her beloved Auntie Phyl, and describes childhood visits to the house in Long Bennington on the Great North Road, their first trip to London together, the books they read, the jigsaws they completed. She offers penetrating sketches of her parents, her siblings, and her children; she shares her thoughts on the importance of childhood play, on art and writing, on aging and memory. And she does so with her customary intelligence, energy, and wit. This is a memoir like no other.
A Journey To The End Of The Millennium: A Novel of the Middle Ages
by A. B. YehoshuaIn the year 999, when Ben Attar, a Moroccan Jewish merchant, takes a second wife, he commits an act whose unforeseen consequences will forever alter his family, his relationships, his business-his life. In an attempt to forestall conflict and advance his business interests at the same time, Ben Attar undertakes his annual journey to Europe with both his first wife and his new wife. The trip is the beginning of a profound human drama whose moral conflicts of fidelity and desire resonate with those of our time. Yehoshua renders the medieval world of Jewish and Christian culture and trade with astonishing depth and sensuous detail. Through the trials of a medieval merchant, the renowned author explores the deepest questions about the nature of morality, character, codes of human conduct, and matters of the heart.
1919: Volume Two of the U.S.A. Trilogy (U.S.A. Trilogy #2)
by John Dos PassosWith 1919, the second volume of his U.S.A. trilogy, John Dos Passos continues his "vigorous and sweeping panorama of twentieth-century America" (Forum), lauded on publication of the first volume not only for its scope, but also for its groundbreaking style. Again, employing a host of experimental devices that would inspire a whole new generation of writers to follow, Dos Passos captures the many textures, flavors, and background noises of modern life with a cinematic touch and unparalleled nerve.1919 opens to find America and the world at war, and Dos Passos's characters, many of whom we met in the first volume, are thrown into the snarl. We follow the daughter of a Chicago minister, a wide-eyed Texas girl, a young poet, a radical Jew, and we glimpse Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Unknown Soldier. 1919 provides an incomparable portrait of America from the turn of the century to the Depression of 1929.
Accidents Of Providence: A Novel
by Stacia Brown"Wonderfully detailed and keenly researched, it is a moving portrait of a courageous woman caught between a disastrous affair with a charismatic revolutionary and the draconian laws of the land that would put her to death because of it."—Kathleen Kent "Dangerous Liaisons: A seventeenth-century heroine for our times . . . [A] delightfully seditious heroine...Proof that a historical novel can be educational and entertaining, and nothing like homework."—O, The Oprah MagazineLondon, 1649: King Charles has been beheaded for treason, Cromwell is in power, the Levelers are demanding rights for the people, and a new law targeting unwed mothers presumes anyone who conceals the death of her illegitimate child is guilty of murder. Glovemaker Rachel Lockyer is locked in a secret affair. But while her lover is imprisoned in the Tower, a child is found buried in the woods. Rachel is arrested. So comes an investigation, a trial, and an extraordinary cast of characters all brought to reckon for this one life. Spinning within is a remarkable love story and evidence that miracles come to even the commonest lives. &“The best kind of historical fiction--a combination of love story and murder mystery, with a sprinkling of intriguing historical snippets and wonderful writing.&”—Library Journal, starred review"[A] marvelous story written in searing prose. Don't miss it!"—Sheri Holman "Heart-poundingly vivid [and] intellectually provocative . . . A romping good read . . . Historical fiction at its best."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
The Love Letter: A Novel
by Cathleen SchineIn praise of Rameau's Niece, the New York Times hailed "the sheer delight of listening to Cathleen Schine's wonderfully inventive comic voice." Schine's sparkling new comedy of manners is a sublimely sophisticated romance, a delectable confection that pairs illicit love with mystery and the joys of selling books.
The Hidden Life Of Dogs
by Elizabeth Marshall ThomasLong before the Dog Whisperer, anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas revealed to readers the nature of pack dynamics, leading to a completely new understanding of dogs and their desires. In this fascinating account, based on thirty years of living with and observing dogs, we meet Misha, a friend’s husky, whom Thomas followed on his daily rounds of more than 130 square miles, and who ultimately provided the simple and surprising answer to the question What do dogs want most? Not food, not sex, but other dogs. We also meet Maria, who adored Misha, bore his puppies, and clearly mourned when he moved away; the brave pug Bingo and his little wife, Violet; the dingo Viva; and the remaining dogs and pups that constitute the pack.“Instead of training and obedience, [Thomas] offers as an alternative a world of ‘trust and mutual obligation’” (Los Angeles Times Book Review). When it was first published in hardcover, The Hidden Life of Dogs spent over a year on the New York Times Bestseller list. This Mariner paperback edition will include a new afterword by the author.
The Partners: A Novel
by Louis AuchinclossLouis Auchincloss is writing here at the top of his remarkable powers as an observer of contemporary America. The Partners is a group portrait of men — and women in what is mostly a man's world — whose common bond is their work. Within that bond each one pursues different answers to the search for money, power, love, revenge, or a meaning in life.They occupy the chief seats of influence, but there are always pressures threatening to unseat them. An ambitious member can upset the balance in a bold bid for power, a young associate can do it by a foolish mistake, and the clients are susceptible to many kinds of discontent or the deft attractions of a rival firm.The Partners is a masterful characterization of lawyers and of the people in whose service they gain riches and prestige. It is a story of the small but distinguished New York firm of Shepard, Putney and Cox, and particularly of one of the senior partners, Beekman Ehninger.When he was younger, Beeky had worked out a reorganization that saved his firm from decline. Son of a rich mother and a socially ambitious father, he succeeded in making a career of his own within the narrow upper levels of the law.Now he and his colleagues, such as Burrill Hume, the trusts-and-estates lawyer, again face the question of whether they can survive on their own in the relentless heat of competition or must join forces with a different breed — new, tough, but undeniably successful.Time and change: these are the forces with which the man of morals must strike a bargain in an amoral world. Every day his bargaining position is slightly different. In this sense the story of one profession today becomes timeless.The Partners is a portrait done with consummate skill, one to rivet the eye and the mind.
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
by Stefan FatsisStefan Fatsis, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and National Public Radio regular, recounts his remarkable rise through the ranks of elite Scrabble players while exploring the game's strange, potent hold over them—and him.Scrabble might truly be called America's game. More than two million sets are sold every year and at least thirty million American homes have one. But the game's most talented competitors inhabit a sphere far removed from the masses of "living room players." Theirs is a surprisingly diverse subculture whose stars include a vitamin-popping standup comic; a former bank teller whose intestinal troubles earn him the nickname "G.I. Joel"; a burly, unemployed African American from Baltimore's inner city; the three-time national champion who plays according to Zen principles; and Fatsis himself, who we see transformed from a curious reporter to a confirmed Scrabble nut.He begins by haunting the gritty corner of a Greenwich Village park where pickup Scrabble games can be found whenever weather permits. His curiosity soon morphs into compulsion, as he sets about memorizing thousands of obscure words and fills his evenings with solo Scrabble played on his living room floor. Before long he finds himself at tournaments socializing—and competing—with Scrabble's elite. But this book is about more than hardcore Scrabblers, for the game yields insights into realms as disparate as linguistics, psychology, and mathematics. Word Freak extends its reach even further, pondering the light Scrabble throws on such notions as brilliance, memory, competition, failure, and hope. It is a geography of obsession that celebrates the uncanny powers locked in all of us. This edition includes a new 2013 afterword by the author.
Whiteman: A Novel
by Tony D'SouzaIn an Ivory Coast village where Christians and Muslims are squaring off for war, against a backdrop of bloody conflict and vibrant African life, Jack Diaz—an American relief worker—and Mamadou, his village guardian, learn that hate knows no color and that true heroism waits where we least expect it. During lulls in the violence, Jack learns the cycles of Africa—of hunting in the rain forest, cultivating the yam, and navigating the nuances of the language; of witchcraft, storytelling, and chivalry. Despite the omnipresence of AIDS, he courts a stunning Peul girl, meets his neighbor&’s wife in the darkened forest, and desperately pursues the village flirt. Still, Jack spends many nights alone in his hut, longing for love in a place where his skin color excludes him. Brimming with dangerous passions and the pressures of life in a time of war, Whiteman is a stunning debut and a tale of desire, isolation, humor, action, and fear.
Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious
by Steven Cook Michael SolomonovFor their first major book since the trailblazing Zahav, Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook go straight to the food of the people—the great dishes that are the soul of Israeli cuisine. Usually served from tiny eateries, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, or market stalls, these specialties have passed from father to son or mother to daughter for generations. To find the best versions, the authors scoured bustling cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, and sleepy towns on mountaintops. They visited bakeries, juice carts, beaches, even weddings. Their finds include meals in the hand like falafel and pita; juicy, grilled and roasted spice-rubbed meats; stuffed vegetables; a wealth of chopped vegetable salads; a five-minute fluffy hummus with more than two dozen toppings; pastries, ice creams, and shakes. Solomonov has perfected and adapted every recipe for the home kitchen. Each chapter weaves history with contemporary portrayals of the food. Striking photographs capture all its flavor and vitality, while step-by-step how-tos and closeups of finished dishes make everything simple and accessible.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Penguin Modern Classics Ser.)
by James Agee Walker EvansPulitzer Prize-winning author James Agee and renowned photgrapher Walker Evans's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men is a landmark work of American photojournalism “renowned for its fusion of social conscience and artistic radicality” (The New York Times)In the summer of 1936, James Agee and Walker Evans set out on assignment for Fortune magazine to explore the daily lives of sharecroppers in the South. Their journey would prove an extraordinary collaboration and a watershed literary event when, in 1941, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men was first published to enormous critical acclaim. This unsparing record of place, of the people who shaped the land and the rhythm of their lives, is intensely moving and unrelentingly honest, and today ??—?? recognized by the New York Public Library as one of the most influential books of the twentieth century ??—?? it stands as a poetic tract of its time. With an elegant design as well as a sixty-four-page photographic prologue featuring archival reproductions of Evans's classic images, this historic edition offers readers a window into a remarkable slice of American history.
White Apples And The Taste Of Stone: Selected Poems 1946-2006
by Donald HallThroughout his writing life Donald Hall has garnered numerous accolades and honors, culminating in 2006 with his appointment as poet laureate of the United States. White Apples and the Taste of Stone collects more than two hundred poems from across sixty years of Hall’s celebrated career, and includes poems recently published in The New Yorker, the American Poetry Review, and the New York Times. It is Hall’s first selected volume in fifteen years, and the first to include poems from his seminal bestseller Without. Those who have come to love Donald Hall's poetry will welcome this vital and important addition to his body of work. For the uninitiated it is a spectacular introduction to this critically acclaimed and admired poet.
The Cyberiad: Stories (Penguin Modern Classics Series)
by Stanislaw LemTrurl and Klaupacius are constructor robots who try to out-invent each other. They travel to the far corners of the cosmos to take on freelance problem-solving jobs, with dire consequences for their employers. “The most completely successful of his books... here Lem comes closest to inventing a real universe” (Boston Globe). Illustrations by Daniel Mr—z. Translated by Michael Kandel.
The Book Of Souls (Detective Inspector MacLean #2)
by James OswaldEach year for ten years, a young woman&’s body was found in Edinburgh at Christmastime: naked, throat slit, body washed clean. The final victim, Kirsty Summers, was Detective Constable Tony McLean's fiancée. But the Christmas Killer made a mistake, and McLean put an end to the brutal killing spree. It&’s now twelve years later. A fellow prisoner has just murdered the incarcerated Christmas Killer. But with the arrival of the festive season comes a body. A young woman: naked, washed, her throat cut. Is this a copycat killer? Was the wrong man behind bars all this time? Or is there a more frightening explanation? McLean must revisit the most disturbing case of his life and discover what he missed before the killer strikes again . . .
The Hidden Letters Of Velta B.: A Novel
by Gina OchsnerFINALIST FOR THE OREGON BOOK AWARDS—KEN KESEY AWARD FOR FICTION &“Intimate, vibrant, and richly colored.&”—Portland Monthly &“[An] extraordinary feat of storytelling . . . A spellbinding novel as tough as it is beautiful.&” — Helen Simonson, author of The Summer Before the War &“A beautifully spun tale . . . An astonishing alchemy of history, romance, and fable.&” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review Maris was born knowing things: his very large, very special ears enable him to hear the secrets of the dead, as well as the memories that haunt his Latvian hometown. As a boy, Maris finds himself heir to an odd assortment of hidden letters, letters from which he would weave a story that could finally expose—and maybe even patch—the holes in the fabric of his family and their town. With humor, heart, and her characteristic &“luminous writing [and] affection for her characters&” (New York Times), Gina Ochsner creates an intimate, hopeful portrait of a fascinating town in all its complications and charm. From the onset of World War II through the cold shock of independence, we see how, despite years of distrust, a community can come through love and loss to the joy of understanding. &“A captivating novel of secrets, love, and memory . . . This terrific novel knocked me out.&” —Janet Fitch, author of Paint It Black &“A gift on par with Joanne Harris&’s Chocolat . . . Quirky, ethereal, hilarious, and sorrowful.&” —Shelf Awareness
A Confederate General From Big Sur, Dreaming Of Babylon, The Hawkline Monster: A Confederate General From Big Sur, Dreaming Of Babylon, And The Hawkline Monster
by Richard BrautiganThis omnibus edition collects three classic novels by Richard Brautigan, "the counterculture's Mark Twain" (New York Times)."There is nothing like Richard Brautigan anywhere…This man has invented a genre, a whole new shot, a thing needed, delightful and right."??—??San Francisco Sunday Examiner & ChronicleA Confederate General from Big SurThe year is 1957 in a California that was a preview of things to come in America??—??the dawn of lifestyles that were eventually to have a profound and disturbing effect on our culture.Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942You are in San Francisco, and you need a private eye. Nobody's left but C. Card. And when you hire C. Card, you have scraped the bottom of the private-eye barrel as revealed in the fast, funny, slam-bang adventures of the seedy, not-too-bright detective.The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic WesternThe time is 1902, the setting eastern Oregon. Magic Child, a fifteen-year-old Indigenous girl, wanders into the wrong bordello looking for the right men to kill the monster that lives in the ice caves under the basement of Miss Hawkline's yellow house??—??sparking off a series of wild, witty, and bizarre encounters.