Displaying books 49-96 of 104 in total

Malibu Rising

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them... and what they will leave behind.

Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth. Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there. And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Talk Bookish to Me

2021

by Kate Bromley

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely—and inconvenient—sources.

Kara Sullivan's life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential Bookstagrammer, she's fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book.

But right now? Not only is Kara's best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn't written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party.

But Ryan's unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver. With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there's only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve.

But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?

Project Hail Mary

2021

by Andy Weir

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that's been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it's up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.

Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

Noise

From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Thinking, Fast and Slow and the coauthor of Nudge, Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment is a revolutionary exploration of why people make bad judgments and how to make better ones. Imagine that two doctors in the same city give different diagnoses to identical patients, or that two judges in the same courthouse give markedly different sentences to people who have committed the same crime. Suppose that different interviewers at the same firm make different decisions about indistinguishable job applicants, or that when a company is handling customer complaints, the resolution depends on who happens to answer the phone. Now imagine that the same doctor, the same judge, the same interviewer, or the same customer service agent makes different decisions depending on whether it is morning or afternoon, or Monday rather than Wednesday. These are examples of noise: variability in judgments that should be identical.

In Noise, Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein show the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, including medicine, law, economic forecasting, forensic science, bail, child protection, strategy, performance reviews, and personnel selection. Wherever there is judgment, there is noise. Yet, most of the time, individuals and organizations alike are unaware of it. They neglect noise. With a few simple remedies, people can reduce both noise and bias, and so make far better decisions.

Packed with original ideas, and offering the same kinds of research-based insights that made Thinking, Fast and Slow and Nudge groundbreaking New York Times bestsellers, Noise explains how and why humans are so susceptible to noise in judgment—and what we can do about it.

The Anthropocene Reviewed

2021

by John Green

The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale—from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar.

Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity. As a species, we are both far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough, a paradox that came into sharp focus as we faced a global pandemic that both separated us and bound us together. John Green’s gift for storytelling shines throughout this masterful collection.

The Anthropocene Reviewed is a open-hearted exploration of the paths we forge and an unironic celebration of falling in love with the world.

The Soulmate Equation

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Her father was never around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn't “father material” before her daughter was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close but working constantly to stay afloat is hard...and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that's predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98 percent compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly's founder, Dr. River Peña. This is one number she can't wrap her head around because she already knows Dr. Peña. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate.

But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we'll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could launch GeneticAlly's valuation sky-high, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.

The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Greta & Valdin

For fans of Schitt's Creek and Sally Rooney's Normal People, Greta & Valdin is an irresistible and bighearted international bestseller that follows a brother and sister as they navigate queerness, multiracial identity, and the dramas big and small of their entangled, unconventional family, all while flailing their way to love.

It's been a year since his ex-boyfriend dumped him and moved from Auckland to Buenos Aires, and Valdin is doing fine. He has a good flat with his sister Greta, a good career where his colleagues only occasionally remind him that he is the sole Maaori person in the office, and a good friend who he only sleeps with when he's sad. But when work sends him to Argentina and he's thrown back in his former lover's orbit, Valdin is forced to confront the feelings he's been trying to ignore—and the future he wants.

Greta is not letting her painfully unrequited crush (or her possibly pointless master's thesis, or her pathetic academic salary...) get her down. She would love to focus on the charming fellow grad student she meets at a party and her friendships with a circle of similarly floundering twenty-somethings, but her chaotic family life won't stop intruding: her mother is keeping secrets, her nephew is having a gay crisis, and her brother has suddenly flown to South America without a word.

An acclaimed bestseller in New Zealand, Greta & Valdin is fresh, joyful, and alive with the possibility of love in its many mystifying forms.

Black Water Sister

2021

by Zen Cho

A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke, and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there's only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she's determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god—and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she'll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.

People We Meet on Vacation

2021

by Emily Henry

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She's a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she's in New York City, and he's in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she's stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Luz de los Jedi

Empieza la nueva etapa en el Universo Star Wars con esta novela. Mucho antes de la Primera Orden, antes del Imperio, incluso antes de La Amenaza Fantasma, existió la edad de oro. Dos siglos antes de la saga Skywalker...

Vivimos una época dorada. Intrépidos exploradores hiperespaciales expanden los límites de la República hasta las estrellas más remotas, los mundos prosperan bajo el benévolo liderato del Senado y reina la paz en la galaxia, defendida por la sabiduría y fuerza de la célebre orden de usuarios de la Fuerza conocidos como Jedi. Con los Jedi en la cima de su poder, los ciudadanos libres de la galaxia confían en su habilidad para capear cualquier temporal.

Pero incluso la luz más brillante proyecta alguna sombra y algunos temporales desafían cualquier preparación.

Cuando una impactante catástrofe en el hiperespacio hace pedazos una nave, la lluvia de metralla que emerge del desastre amenaza a todo un sistema. Los Jedi acuden a toda velocidad cuando llega su petición de auxilio. Sin embargo, el alcance de la emergencia lleva a los Jedi hasta su límite. Cuando el cielo se abre y la destrucción llueve sobre la pacífica alianza que ellos mismos ayudaron a construir, los Jedi deben confiar en la Fuerza para superar un día en que un solo error puede costar miles de millones de vida.

Pero, mientras los Jedi combaten valerosamente contra la calamidad, algo realmente letal florece más allá de los confines de la República. El desastre hiperespacial es mucho más siniestro de lo que los Jedi podían sospechar. Una amenaza se esconde en la oscuridad, lejos de la luminosidad de la época, y guarda un secreto capaz de infundir terror incluso en el corazón de un Jedi.

Great Circle

Great Circle is an epic and emotional journey through the life of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost. This monumental work of art spans from Prohibition-era Montana to wartime London, and from the rugged shores of New Zealand to the icy wilderness of Antarctica.

Marian and Jamie Graves, rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, are raised by their dissolute uncle in Missoula, Montana. Here, Marian begins her lifelong love affair with flight after encountering barnstorming pilots. She drops out of school at fourteen, and a wealthy bootlegger subsidizes her lessons, providing a plane—an arrangement that will haunt her throughout her life and allows her to pursue her destiny: circumnavigating the globe by flying over the North and South Poles.

A century later, Hadley Baxter, a film star trapped by the claustrophobia of Hollywood and her cult celebrity status, is cast to play Marian. As Hadley immerses herself into the character of Marian, the fates of the two women intertwine, each pursuing self-determination in different times and geographies, culminating in Marian's mysterious disappearance in Antarctica.

Great Circle is not just a story of adventure and ambition, but also a portrayal of the hunger for self-determination in vastly different circumstances. Maggie Shipstead delivers a tremendously told tale that is meticulously researched and gloriously recounted, making it a tremendous leap forward for this prodigiously gifted author.

Hour of the Witch

2021

by Chris Bohjalian

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant, the enthralling story of a young Puritan woman who marries the wrong man and soon finds herself caught up in the violence and hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials.

Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four years old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary's hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary--a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony--soon finds herself the object of suspicion and rumor.

When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary's garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows. A twisting, tightly plotted thriller from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying novel of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.

Take Me Home Tonight

2021

by Morgan Matson

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist in this romp through the city that never sleeps from the New York Times bestselling author of Since You’ve Been Gone, Morgan Matson. Two girls. One night. Zero phones.

Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong? Well. Kind of a lot? They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians.

Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore. Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future. That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.

Early Morning Riser

2021

by Katherine Heiny

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny is a novel that is both bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, offering an astute examination of love, disaster, and unconventional family dynamics. Jane, a woman who easily falls for Duncan's charm and good looks, finds herself in a dilemma as she realizes that Duncan has been romantically involved with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan.

Jane encounters Duncan's exes everywhere - from the local eateries to the grocery store, and even in neighboring towns. Her relationship with Duncan becomes further complicated by the continuous presence of his ex-wife Aggie, who retains Duncan's services to mow her lawn. Likewise, Duncan's coworker, Jimmy, has a habit of dropping by at inopportune moments.

As Jane grapples with the realities of a relationship that seems to include more than just two people, a tragic car crash alters her perspective on love and marriage. Suddenly, Jane's life is irrevocably intertwined with Duncan's, Aggie's, and Jimmy's. Despite knowing she can never have Duncan all to herself, Jane begins to wonder if a different form of happiness is within her reach - one that transcends traditional notions of romance.

Early Morning Riser showcases Katherine Heiny's remarkable ability to weave humor and heartache into a narrative that resonates with readers, making it her most astonishingly wonderful work to date.

Negative Space

2021

by Lilly Dancyger

Despite her parents’ struggles with addiction, Lilly Dancyger always thought of her childhood as a happy one. But what happens when a journalist interrogates her own rosy memories to reveal the instability around the edges? 

Dancyger’s father, Joe Schactman, was part of the iconic 1980s East Village art scene. He created provocative sculptures out of found materials like animal bones, human hair, and broken glass, and brought his young daughter into his gritty, iconoclastic world. She idolized him—despite the escalating heroin addiction that sometimes overshadowed his creative passion. When Schactman died suddenly, just as Dancyger was entering adolescence, she went into her own self-destructive spiral, raging against a world that had taken her father away. As an adult, Dancyger began to question the mythology she’d created about her father—the brilliant artist, struck down in his prime. Using his sculptures, paintings, and prints as a guide, Dancyger sought out the characters from his world who could help her decode the language of her father’s work to find the truth of who he really was.

The Road Trip

2021

by Beth O'Leary

Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend's wedding in the north of Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.

But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie's ex, Dylan, who she's avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.

Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they've totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with three hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can't avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship...

Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly... is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?

Fugitive Telemetry

2021

by Martha Wells

The New York Times bestselling security droid with a heart (though it wouldn't admit it!) is back! Having captured the hearts of readers across the globe, Murderbot has also established Martha Wells as one of the great SF writers of today.

No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall. When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans! Again! A new standalone adventure in the New York Times-bestselling, Hugo and Nebula Award winning series!

Crying in H Mart

2021

by Michelle Zauner

Crying in H Mart is an exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance. Michelle Zauner, known as the indie rock sensation Japanese Breakfast, proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up as one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; and of a painful adolescence.

Zauner shares treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band—and meeting the man who would become her husband—her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live.

It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

Lovesickness

2021

by Junji Ito

Ryusuke returns to the town he once lived in because rumors are swirling about girls killing themselves after encountering a bewitchingly handsome young man. Harboring his own secret from time spent in this town, Ryusuke attempts to capture the beautiful boy and close the case.

Starting with the strikingly bloody Lovesickness, this volume collects ten stories showcasing horror master Junji Ito in peak form, including The Strange Hikizuri Siblings and The Rib Woman.

Entangled Life

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake is a fascinating journey into the world of fungi, an essential but often overlooked kingdom of life. Sheldrake, a biologist and mycologist, explores how these extraordinary organisms live, grow, and interact with their environment, offering insights into their crucial role in our ecosystems.

Through his engaging narrative, Sheldrake brings to light the complex and often hidden networks that fungi create, revealing how they can teach us about connectivity and symbiosis. He delves into the various ways fungi can be utilized for ecological and biotechnological purposes, from decomposing matter to creating new materials.

With a blend of rigorous science and captivating storytelling, Entangled Life not only expands our understanding of fungi but also challenges our perception of life itself. It's a compelling read for anyone interested in the natural world and the untapped potential of these enigmatic life forms.

Hana Khan Carries On

2021

by Uzma Jalaluddin

From the author of Ayesha at Last comes a sparkling new rom-com for fans of “You’ve Got Mail,” set in two competing halal restaurants. Sales are slow at Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, the only halal restaurant in the close-knit Golden Crescent neighbourhood. Hana waitresses there part time, but what she really wants is to tell stories on the radio. If she can just outshine her fellow intern at the city radio station, she may have a chance at landing a job.

In the meantime, Hana pours her thoughts and dreams into a podcast, where she forms a lively relationship with one of her listeners. But soon she’ll need all the support she can get: a new competing restaurant, a more upscale halal place, is about to open in the Golden Crescent, threatening Three Sisters. When her mysterious aunt and her teenage cousin arrive from India for a surprise visit, they draw Hana into a long-buried family secret.

A hate-motivated attack on their neighbourhood complicates the situation further, as does Hana’s growing attraction for Aydin, the young owner of the rival restaurant—who might not be a complete stranger after all. As life on the Golden Crescent unravels, Hana must learn to use her voice, draw on the strength of her community and decide what her future should be.

Victories Greater Than Death

Outsmart Your Enemies. Outrun the Galaxy.

Tina never worries about being 'ordinary'—she doesn't have to, since she's known practically forever that she's not just Tina Mains, average teenager and beloved daughter. She's also the keeper of an interplanetary rescue beacon, and one day soon, it's going to activate, and then her dreams of saving all the worlds and adventuring among the stars will finally be possible. Tina's legacy, after all, is intergalactic—she is the hidden clone of a famed alien hero, left on Earth disguised as a human to give the universe another chance to defeat a terrible evil.

But when the beacon activates, it turns out that Tina's destiny isn't quite what she expected. Things are far more dangerous than she ever assumed. Luckily, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, and her best friend Rachel, and she is still determined to save all the worlds. But first she'll have to save herself.

The Dictionary of Lost Words

2021

by Pip Williams

In 1901, the word 'Bondmaid' was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the 'Scriptorium', a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word 'bondmaid' flutters to the floor. Esme rescues the slip and stashes it in an old wooden case that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realizes that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women's experiences often go unrecorded. While she dedicates her life to the Oxford English Dictionary, secretly, she begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set when the women's suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It's a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it.

Twice Shy

2021

by Sarah Hogle

Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start.

Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn't the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who's as grouchy as he is gorgeous--and it turns out he has a very different vision for the property's future.

Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley's scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one's comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards.

Death's End

2021

by Cixin Liu, Ken Liu

Death's End, the third installment of the Remembrance of Earth's Past series, marks the thrilling conclusion to Cixin Liu's highly acclaimed near-future science fiction saga. This epic narrative, which has captured the imagination of readers worldwide, is soon to be adapted into a Netflix Original Series.

Set half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the story unfolds in a future where the principle of Dark Forest Deterrence has maintained a fragile peace, keeping the Trisolaran invaders at bay. The Earth basks in prosperity, enriched by Trisolaran knowledge, leading to rapid advancements in human science and a cultural exchange that suggests the two civilizations might finally coexist without the looming threat of annihilation.

However, this era of peace has rendered humanity complacent. Enter Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the early 21st century, who emerges from hibernation into this newfound utopia. Her reawakening and the knowledge she carries of a long-forgotten program from the dawn of the Trisolar Crisis could destabilize the delicate equilibrium between Earth and the Trisolarans.

As the narrative explores the complexities of interstellar politics and the human condition, readers are left to wonder: Will humanity seize the opportunity to expand to the stars, or will it succumb to a premature end?

Remote Work Revolution

2021

by Tsedal Neeley

Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere offers a blueprint for thriving in remote and hybrid organizations. Harvard Business School professor and virtual work expert Tsedal Neeley provides insights into the unique challenges that come with managing and working in a digital environment.

As the world rapidly transitions to remote work due to unprecedented events such as Covid-19, companies and employees alike are adapting to a new way of working. This book tackles the challenges of virtual work, such as feelings of isolation, maintaining productivity, and fostering trust without in-person interactions. It also addresses the benefits, including reduced commute times, lower operational costs, and access to a global talent pool.

Neeley's book is filled with evidence-based answers to the most pressing questions about remote work, actionable steps, and interactive tools designed to help leaders and team members create effective strategies for remote collaboration. By following Neeley’s advice, readers will learn how to break through routine norms and use remote work to their advantage.

Oracle

Oracle, by international bestseller Thomas Olde Heuvelt, is a supernatural thriller where an omen from our past threatens the return of ancient forces that will change the world forever.

On a foggy winter morning, Luca Wolf and Emma Reich discover an eighteenth-century sailing ship stranded on a barren flower field, its name written on its side: Oracle. Emma, unable to resist, enters the hatch on the tilted deck. The ship's bell begins to toll, and no one sees her again. Not much later, eleven people have disappeared, Luca and his mother have been absconded by a clandestine government agency which has questions, no answers, and is determined to uncover the ship’s secrets before a media storm erupts.

But as they force Robert Grim, a retired specialist of the occult with a strange history and a healthy dislike of authority, to unravel the mystery, the Oracle is revealed to be a harbinger of an ancient doom awakened underneath the sea. What follows is a maelstrom of international intrigue, history, young love, humanity’s relationship with climate and disease, and pure terror as they come face to face with an open doorway to apocalypse.

Deserter

2021

by Junji Ito

A vengeful family hides an army deserter for eight years after the end of World War II, cocooning him in a false reality where the war never ended. A pair of girls look alike, but they’re not twins. And a boy's nightmare threatens to spill out into the real world...

This hauntingly strange story collection showcases a dozen of Junji Ito's earliest works from when he burst onto the horror scene, sowing fresh seeds of terror.

Firekeeper's Daughter

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley is an exhilarating young adult novel that delves into the life of Daunis Fontaine, a biracial, unenrolled tribal member who finds herself in the midst of a harrowing FBI investigation.

Daunis's world is already complicated, being caught between her hometown and the nearby Ojibwe reservation. After a family tragedy, she is forced to put her own dreams aside to look after her mother. The only glimmer of hope comes from Jamie, the alluring new member of her brother's hockey team.

The story takes a dark turn when Daunis witnesses a chilling murder, catapulting her into a convoluted criminal investigation. Agreeing to go undercover, she navigates a labyrinth of deceit, with the death toll rising and danger closing in on her own life. Daunis must confront a crucial question: how much is she willing to risk for her community, even if it means unraveling the threads of the world she knows?

Complicate Me

2021

by M. Robinson

It was complicated, it was also just the beginning. A decision. A simple choice. There is always that one moment in life where things could have been different. That one moment where you could have chosen a path that would lead you down a certain road. A different life. It was easier to pretend that we were still best friends, and that she was my girl and I was her boy. Pretending was better than knowing the truth... I. Ruined. Us.

I had her. I lost her. I love her. All I did was complicate us.

The Arsonists' City

2021

by Hala Alyan

The Arsonists' City delivers all the pleasures of a good old-fashioned saga. In Alyan's hands, one family's tale becomes the story of not just a nation--Lebanon and Syria--but also the United States. It's a rich family story that gives a personal look at the legacy of war in the Middle East and an indelible rendering of how we hold on to the people and places we call home.

The Nasr family is spread across the globe--Beirut, Brooklyn, Austin, the California desert. With a Syrian mother, a Lebanese father, and three American children, they have all lived a life of migration. Yet, they've always had their ancestral home in Beirut--a constant touchstone--and the complicated, messy family love that binds them. However, following his father's recent death, Idris, the new patriarch, has decided to sell. This decision brings the family to Beirut, where they unite against Idris in a fight to save the house. They all have secrets--lost loves, bitter jealousies, abandoned passions, deep-set shame--that distance has helped smother. But in a city smoldering with the legacy of war, an ongoing flow of refugees, religious tension, and political protest, these secrets ignite, imperiling the fragile ties that hold the family together.

In a novel teeming with wisdom, warmth, and remarkable human insight, award-winning author Hala Alyan shows us that fiction often provides the best filter for the real world around us.

A Desolation Called Peace

2021

by Arkady Martine

A Desolation Called Peace is the thrilling sequel to Arkady Martine's genre-reinventing debut, A Memory Called Empire. As an alien armada looms on the edges of Teixcalaanli space, the empire is on the brink of a potential catastrophe. Unable to communicate or destroy the mysterious invaders, Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is quickly running out of options.

In an urgent bid for diplomacy, a diplomatic envoy has been dispatched. Now, Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass—still recovering from political turmoil within the empire—must embark on a daunting mission to establish communication with the hostile entity. Their efforts could dictate the survival of Teixcalaan, either saving the empire from destruction or paving the way for its relentless expansion. But success may also lead to an outcome far more unexpected.

A World Without Email

2021

by Cal Newport

There was a time when tools like email felt cutting edge, but a thorough review of current evidence reveals that the "hyperactive hive mind" workflow they helped create has become a productivity disaster, reducing profitability and perhaps even slowing overall economic growth. Equally worrisome, it makes us miserable. Humans are simply not wired for constant digital communication.

We have become so used to an inbox-driven workday that it's hard to imagine alternatives. But they do exist. Drawing on years of investigative reporting, author and computer science professor Cal Newport makes the case that our current approach to work is broken, then lays out a series of principles and concrete instructions for fixing it. In A World without Email, he argues for a workplace in which clear processes—not haphazard messaging—define how tasks are identified, assigned and reviewed. Each person works on fewer things (but does them better), and aggressive investment in support reduces the ever-increasing burden of administrative tasks. Above all else, important communication is streamlined, and inboxes and chat channels are no longer central to how work unfolds.

The knowledge sector's evolution beyond the hyperactive hive mind is inevitable. The question is not whether a world without email is coming (it is), but whether you'll be ahead of this trend. If you're a CEO seeking a competitive edge, an entrepreneur convinced your productivity could be higher, or an employee exhausted by your inbox, A World Without Email will convince you that the time has come for bold changes, and will walk you through exactly how to make them happen.

Klara and the Sun

2021

by Kazuo Ishiguro

From the best-selling author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel—his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature—about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart.

Klara and the Sun, the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

In its award citation in 2017, the Nobel committee described Ishiguro's books as "novels of great emotional force" and said he has "uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".

Silicon Values

2021

by Jillian C. York

How Google, Facebook and Amazon threaten our Democracy.

What is the impact of surveillance capitalism on our right to free speech? The internet once promised to be a place of extraordinary freedom beyond the control of money or politics, but today corporations and platforms exercise more control over our ability to access information and share knowledge to a greater extent than any state. 

From the online calls to arms in the thick of the Arab Spring to the contemporary front line of misinformation, Jillian C. York charts the war over our digital rights. She looks at both how the big corporations have become unaccountable censors, and the devastating impact it has had on those who have been censored. 

Who decides the difference between political debate and hate speech? How does this impact on our identity, our ability to create communities and to protest? Who regulates the censors? In response to this threat to our democracy, York proposes a user-powered movement against the platforms that demands change and a new form of ownership over our own data.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

2021

by Bill Gates

In How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical, and accessible plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in various fields, he focuses on what must be done to stop the planet's slide toward environmental disaster.

Gates gathers all the information we need to understand the importance of working toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases and details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He provides a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face and describes the areas where technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where current technology can be made more effective, and where breakthrough technologies are needed.

Finally, he offers a concrete plan for achieving zero emissions, suggesting policies for governments to adopt and actions individuals can take to hold governments, employers, and themselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. Achieving zero emissions will not be simple, but Gates is optimistic that by following the guidelines he sets out, it is a goal within our reach.

The Sum of Us

2021

by Heather McGhee

Heather McGhee's specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?

McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she meets white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world's advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.

But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: gains that come when people come together across race, to accomplish what we simply can't do on our own. McGhee marshals economic and sociological research to paint a story of racism's costs, but at the heart of the book are the humble stories of people yearning to be part of a better America, including white supremacy's collateral victims: white people themselves. With startling empathy, this heartfelt message from a Black woman to a multiracial America leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than a zero-sum game.

Under a White Sky

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction, delves into humanity's transformative impact on the environment. Kolbert presents a critical question: After causing extensive damage, can we now alter nature to save it?

Living in the Anthropocene, an era defined by significant human influence on our planet, Kolbert explores the new world we are shaping. She introduces us to scientists working to save the world's rarest fish in the Mojave, engineers in Iceland transforming carbon emissions into stone, Australian researchers developing heat-resistant coral, and physicists considering the use of tiny diamonds to cool the earth by reflecting sunlight.

With human civilization being a millennia-long defiance of nature, Kolbert examines whether our latest interventions, which once imperiled Earth, could now be its only salvation. Under a White Sky offers an original and multifaceted look at the environmental challenges we must confront, characterized by inspiration, terror, and a touch of dark humor.

Flora & Ulysses

2021

by Kate DiCamillo

Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures is the beloved 2014 Newbery Medal winner from former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Kate DiCamillo. This laugh-out-loud story is brimming with eccentric, endearing characters and features a narrative interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all masterfully rendered in black and white by K. G. Campbell.

Holy unanticipated occurrences! A cynic meets an unlikely superhero in this novel that is as humorous as it is heartwarming. It begins with a tragic accident involving a vacuum cleaner and a squirrel that never saw it coming. Enter Flora Belle Buckman, a self-described cynic who has read every issue of the comic book 'Terrible Things Can Happen to You!' She is just the right person to step in and save the day. However, what neither Flora nor the squirrel, Ulysses, can predict is that he has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry. As they embark on wild adventures, Flora discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart.

La Horde du Contrevent

2021

by Alain Damasio

Imaginez une Terre poncée, avec en son centre une bande de cinq mille kilomètres de large et sur ses franges un miroir de glace à peine rayable, inhabité.

Imaginez qu’un vent féroce en rince la surface. Que les villages qui s’y sont accrochés, avec leurs maisons en goutte d’eau, les chars à voile qui la strient, les airpailleurs debout en plein flot, tous résistent.

Imaginez qu’en Extrême-Aval ait été formé un bloc d’élite d’une vingtaine d’enfants aptes à remonter au cran, rafale en gueule, leur vie durant, le vent jusqu’à sa source, à ce jour jamais atteinte : l’Extrême-Amont.

Mon nom est Sov Strochnis, scribe. Mon nom est Caracole le troubadour et Oroshi Melicerte, aéromaître. Je m’appelle aussi Golgoth, traceur de la Horde, Arval l’éclaireur et parfois même Larco lorsque je braconne l’azur à la cage volante. Ensemble, nous formons la Horde du Contrevent.

Il en a existé trente-trois en huit siècles, toutes infructueuses. Je vous parle au nom de la trente-quatrième : sans doute l’ultime.

Páradais

Páradais, escrita por Fernanda Melchor, una de las escritoras mexicanas más destacadas de la actualidad, explora la facilidad con la que el deseo puede convertirse en obsesión y, más aún, en violencia. En un conjunto residencial de lujo, dos adolescentes inadaptados se reúnen por las noches para embriagarse a escondidas y compartir sus descabelladas fantasías.

Franco Andrade, obeso y solitario, adicto a la pornografía, sueña con seducir a la vecina de al lado -una atractiva mujer casada, madre de familia-, por quien ha desarrollado una obsesión malsana; mientras que Polo, su reacio compañero, fantasea con renunciar a su agobiante empleo como jardinero del exclusivo fraccionamiento y huir de su casa, de su pueblo infestado de narcos, y del yugo de su dominante madre.

Ante la imposibilidad de conseguir lo que cada uno cree merecer, Franco y Polo maquinarán un plan tan pueril como macabro.

Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First.

2021

by Laura Tremaine

In a world where social media often masks authentic connection, Laura Tremaine's Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. is a beacon for those seeking genuine relationships. This book isn't just a memoir; it's an invitation to engage in the lost art of personal storytelling.

With 10 thought-provoking questions, Tremaine leads the charge in sharing her own stories first—stories of failure, childhood, and relationships. These questions are more than mere icebreakers; they're a roadmap to deeper friendship and understanding.

As each chapter unfolds, readers are encouraged to ponder their own answers to these questions and to share them with friends. The magic of Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. lies in its ability to foster connection, empathy, and openness. Reading this book feels like sitting down with a good friend over coffee, sharing laughs, tears, and those personal anecdotes that forge unbreakable bonds.

Think Again

2021

by Adam M. Grant

Think Again by Adam Grant is a compelling exploration into the power of rethinking our beliefs and embracing the unknown.

Through a blend of research and storytelling, Grant illustrates how we can develop the intellectual and emotional muscle needed to stay curious enough to effect change in the world. He delves into the art of rethinking: learning to question our opinions and open other people's minds. This, he posits, can position us for excellence at work and wisdom in life.

The book showcases how an international debate champion wins arguments and a Black musician persuades white supremacists to abandon hate. It offers insights on how a vaccine whisperer convinces concerned parents to immunize their children, and even how Yankees fans might be coaxed to root for the Red Sox. Grant reveals that we don't have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. Think Again is an invitation to let go of outdated views and value mental flexibility over foolish consistency.

With bold ideas backed by rigorous evidence, Think Again not only teaches us the importance of rethinking but also provides practical guidance on how to cultivate this critical skill.

This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends

2021

by Nicole Perlroth

From The New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends reveals the untold story of the cyberweapons market—the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth—and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare.

Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election, and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine).

For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world's dominant hoarder of zero days. U.S. government agents paid top dollar—first thousands, and later millions of dollars—to hackers willing to sell their lock-picking code and their silence. Then the United States lost control of its hoard and the market. Now those zero days are in the hands of hostile nations and mercenaries who do not care if your vote goes missing, your clean water is contaminated, or our nuclear plants melt down.

Filled with spies, hackers, arms dealers, and a few unsung heroes, written like a thriller and a reference, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is an astonishing feat of journalism. Based on years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, Nicole Perlroth lifts the curtain on a market in shadow, revealing the urgent threat faced by us all if we cannot bring the global cyber arms race to heel.

Winter's Orbit

2021

by Everina Maxwell

While the Iskat Empire has long dominated the system through treaties and political alliances, several planets, including Thea, have begun to chafe under Iskat's rule. When tragedy befalls Imperial Prince Taam, his Thean widower, Jainan, is rushed into an arranged marriage with Taam's cousin, the disreputable Kiem, in a bid to keep the rising hostilities between the two worlds under control.

But when it comes to light that Prince Taam's death may not have been an accident, and that Jainan himself may be a suspect, the unlikely pair must overcome their misgivings and learn to trust one another as they navigate the perils of the Iskat court, try to solve a murder, and prevent an interplanetary war… all while dealing with their growing feelings for each other.

Selected Poems

2021

by Robert Frost

Selected Poems (1923) is a collection of poems by American poet Robert Frost. Dedicated to Edward Thomas, a friend of Frost’s and an important English poet who died toward the end of the First World War, Selected Poems is a wonderful sampling of poems from Frost’s early collections, including A Boy’s Will and North of Boston. Known for his plainspoken language and dedication to the images and rhythms of rural New England, Robert Frost is one of America’s most iconic poets, a voice to whom generations of readers have turned in search of beauty, music, and life.

“Mowing” envisions the poet’s work through the prism of rural labor. “There was never a sound beside the wood but one / And that was my long scythe whispering to the ground. / What was it it whispered?” The speaker does not know, but continues his task, hypnotized by its rhythm and simple music. In “After Apple-Picking,” as fall gives over to winter, the poet remembers in dreams how the “Magnified apples appear and disappear, / Stem end and blossom end” as he climbs the ladder into the heart of the tree. Both a symbol for life and a metaphor for the poetic act, apple picking leaves the poet “overtired / Of the great harvest [he himself] desired”, awaiting sleep as he describes “its coming on,” wondering what, if anything, it will bring.

“The Road Not Taken,” perhaps Frost’s most famous poem, is a meditation on fate and free will that follows a traveler in an autumn landscape, unsure of which path to take, but certain he cannot stand still. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Robert Frost’s Selected Poems is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Chatter

2021

by Ethan Kross

Chatter by acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross explores the powerful and often underappreciated inner voice in our heads. Kross interweaves groundbreaking behavioral and brain research from his own lab with compelling real-world case studies to explain how our self-talk shapes our lives, work, and relationships.

While we often aim to engage our inner coach to boost our confidence, we sometimes end up with a debilitating inner critic instead. This disorienting self-talk, or 'chatter,' can negatively impact our health, mood, social connections, and performance under pressure.

However, Kross reveals that we possess the necessary tools to turn our inner voice into a positive force. These tools are embedded in everyday practices: the language we use, the technologies we utilize, the personal diaries we maintain, the dialogues with those close to us, and the cultures we cultivate in educational and professional settings.

With an expert blend of research and stories, Chatter provides insightful guidance on how to harness the inner voice to lead a more productive and fulfilling life.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

2021

by Jules Verne

As one of the many installments in Jules Verne’s Voyage Extraordinaire series, Journey to the Center of the Earth promises high stakes and thrilling adventure. When Professor Otto Lidenbrock bought an ancient runic manuscript, which chronicles the lives of Norwegian Kings, he did not expect to learn of anything but the history of Icelandic leaders. However, upon further inspection, Lidenbrock and his nephew, Axel, find that the manuscript includes a coded message written by a 16th century alchemist.

After rigorous translating and decoding, Axel and Lidenbrock discover the content of the note, in which the author reveals that it is possible to travel to the center of the Earth through volcanic passages. When Lidenbrock heard the news, he immediately started preparations to start the journey, though Axel was skeptical. When Lidenbrock’s will proves to be more powerful than his nephew’s doubt, the two decide to make the journey, recruiting an Icelandic tour guide named Hans on the way.

As the three men make their way to inactive volcanic tubes, they embark on a high-stake adventure, facing dangers of cave-ins, subpolar tornados, an underground ocean and prehistoric creatures. The three men stay strong in their adventure, knowing the risky journey promises superior knowledge and acclaim, granted that they make it out alive.

With the combination of science fiction and the adventure genre, Jules Verne created a novel that captures the attention of his audience. Originally published in 1864, Journey to the Center of the Earth still provides modern readers with entertainment and insight with its detailed and imaginative prose. Journey to the Center of the Earth can be read independently or as a companion to the other titles of Jules Verne’s critically acclaimed series, Voyage Extraordinaire. This edition of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne now features an eye-catching cover design and is printed in a stylish and readable font, crafting an accessible and pleasant reading experience for modern audiences.

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