Displaying books 2689-2736 of 10591 in total

Oscar and Lucinda

2015

by Peter Carey

Peter Carey's Booker Prize winning novel imagines Australia's youth, before its dynamic passions became dangerous habits. It is also a startling and unusual love story.

Oscar is a young English clergyman who has broken with his past and developed a disturbing talent for gambling. A country girl of singular ambition, Lucinda moves to Sydney, driven by dreams of self-reliance and the building of an industrial Utopia. Together this unlikely pair create and are created by the spectacle of mid-nineteenth century Australia.

Peter Carey's visionary brilliance, and his capacity to delight and surprise, propel this story to its stunning conclusion.

More Happy Than Not

2015

by Adam Silvera

In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving New York Times bestselling-debut—also called “mandatory reading” and selected as an Editors' Choice by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx. In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again—but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is. Why does happiness have to be so hard?

"Adam Silvera explores the inner workings of a painful world and he delivers this with heartfelt honesty and a courageous, confident hand . . . A mesmerizing, unforgettable tour de force." —John Corey Whaley, National Book Award finalist and author of Where Things Come Back and Noggin

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents

If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, you may have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, or abandonment. You may recall your childhood as a time when your emotional needs were not met, when your feelings were dismissed, or when you took on adult levels of responsibility in an effort to compensate for your parent’s behavior. These wounds can be healed, and you can move forward in your life.

In this breakthrough book, clinical psychologist Lindsay Gibson exposes the destructive nature of parents who are emotionally immature or unavailable. You will see how these parents create a sense of neglect, and discover ways to heal from the pain and confusion caused by your childhood. By freeing yourself from your parents’ emotional immaturity, you can recover your true nature, control how you react to them, and avoid disappointment. Finally, you’ll learn how to create positive, new relationships so you can build a better life.

Discover the four types of difficult parents:

The emotional parent instills feelings of instability and anxiety
The driven parent stays busy trying to perfect everything and everyone
The passive parent avoids dealing with anything upsetting
The rejecting parent is withdrawn, dismissive, and derogatory

Children of Time

Children of Time is a thrilling race for survival among the stars. Humanity's last survivors have escaped Earth's ruins in search of a new home. But when they find it, can their desperation overcome its dangers?

Who will inherit this new Earth?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age—a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?

The Best Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe

2015

by Edgar Allan Poe

This volume contains a collection of some of the best short stories ever written by Edgar Allan Poe. A master of the macabre, Poe exhibits his literary prowess in these classic short stories. Contained within this volume are the following:

  • The Gold-Bug
  • The Murders in the Rue Morgue
  • The Balloon-Hoax
  • The Purloined Letter
  • A Descent into the Maelstrom
  • The Black Cat
  • The Fall of the House of Usher
  • The Masque of the Red Death
  • The Cask of Amontillado
  • The Pit and the Pendulum
  • The Tell-Tale Heart

Immerse yourself in the dark and atmospheric worlds crafted by one of literature's most enigmatic authors.

Extraordinary Means

2015

by Robyn Schneider

Extraordinary Means is a heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful story about the miracles of first love and second chances.

When Lane is sent to Latham House, a boarding school for sick teens, he thinks his life may as well be over. But when he meets Sadie and her friends—a group of eccentric troublemakers—he realizes that maybe getting sick is just the beginning.

This darkly funny novel explores how illness doesn't have to define you and that falling in love can be its own cure.

Join Lane and Sadie on their journey through an insular world with paradoxical rules, med sensors, and true friendships that defy all odds.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

2015

by Jesse Andrews

Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia. Greg's life is one of careful invisibility among his classmates, and he spends most of his time making mediocre films with his only friend, Earl.

Greg's mother insists he rekindle a friendship with Rachel, who is struggling with her illness. This new connection brings both awkwardness and genuine human moments. As Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl set out to make a film for her, which leads to unexpected personal growth and emotional revelations for the boys. The story navigates the complex terrain of adolescence, illness, and self-discovery with a blend of wit and sensitivity.

Our Souls at Night

2015

by Kent Haruf

Our Souls at Night is a spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future.

In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf's inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis's wife.

His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.

Their brave adventures—their pleasures and their difficulties—are hugely involving and truly resonant, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer's enduring contribution to American literature.

P.S. I Still Love You

2015

by Jenny Han

Lara Jean didn't expect to really fall for Peter. They were just pretending, until they weren't. And now Lara Jean has to learn what it's like to be in a real relationship and not just a make-believe one.

But when another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean's feelings for him suddenly return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once? In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean is about to find out that falling in love is the easy part.

Forgotten, Saved, Loved

2015

by Violet Samuels

Werewolf, Monster Romance, Suspense, Inspiring, Edge of your seat

Day by day my resolve is weakening. These wounds won’t kill me, but hopelessness will. In this wretched darkness, I need someone to shed some light.

It has been three years, three excruciating years that it’s even a miracle I’m still alive. Who will share my pain? Who will heal my wounds? But the real question is… who will liberate me? Do I deserve to die in this rotten cell?

I am Comrade, the guardian. Please. Save me.

Sword of Destiny

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

This is a collection of short stories, following the adventures of the hit collection THE LAST WISH. Join Geralt as he battles monsters, demons and prejudices alike...

Zen in the Art of Writing

2015

by Ray Bradbury

Zen in the Art of Writing by the celebrated author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles offers inspiration and insight on finding one’s muse and channeling it onto the page. Acclaimed writer of novels and short stories as well as screen- and stage plays, Ray Bradbury has established himself as one of the most legendary voices in science fiction and fantasy.

In Zen in the Art of Writing, he shares how his unbridled passion for creating worlds made him a master of the craft. Part memoir, part philosophical guide, the essays in this book teach the joy of writing. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of putting words together, Bradbury’s zen is found in the celebration of storytelling that drove him to write every day.

Bringing together eleven essays and a series of poems written with his own unique style and fervor, Zen in the Art of Writing is a must-read for all prospective writers and Bradbury fans. Follow the unique path of your instincts and enthusiasms to the place where your inner genius dwells.

A School for Unusual Girls

Welcome to Stranje House.

It's 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England's dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society's constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think.

In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle them in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father's stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt.

Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts…

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

2015

by Ashlee Vance

Elon Musk is the most daring entrepreneur of our time. There are few industrialists in history who could match Elon Musk's relentless drive and ingenious vision. A modern alloy of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs, Musk is the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity, each of which has sent shock waves throughout American business and industry. More than any other executive today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as a science fiction fantasy.

In this lively, investigative account, veteran technology journalist Ashlee Vance offers an unprecedented look into the remarkable life and times of Silicon Valley's most audacious businessman. Written with exclusive access to Musk, his family, and his friends, the book traces his journey from his difficult upbringing in South Africa to his ascent to the pinnacle of the global business world. Vance spent more than fifty hours in conversation with Musk and interviewed close to three hundred people to tell the tumultuous stories of Musk's world-changing companies and to paint a portrait of a complex man who has renewed American industry and sparked new levels of innovation—all while making plenty of enemies along the way.

In 1992, Elon Musk arrived in the United States as a ferociously driven immigrant bent on realizing his wildest dreams. Since then, Musk's roller-coaster life has brought him grave disappointments alongside massive successes. After being forced out of PayPal, fending off a life-threatening case of malaria, and dealing with the death of his infant son, Musk abandoned Silicon Valley for Los Angeles. He spent the next few years baffling his friends by blowing his entire fortune on rocket ships and electric cars. Cut to 2012, however, and Musk had mounted one of the greatest resurrections in business history: Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity had enjoyed unparalleled success, and Musk's net worth soared to more than $5 billion. At a time when many American companies are more interested in chasing easy money than in taking bold risks on radical new technology, Musk stands out as the only businessman with enough dynamism and vision to tackle—and even revolutionize—three industries at once.

Vance makes the case that Musk's success heralds a return to the original ambition and invention that made America an economic and intellectual powerhouse. Elon Musk is a brilliant, penetrating examination of what Musk's career means for a technology industry undergoing dramatic change and offers a taste of what could be an incredible century ahead.

Seveneves

2015

by Neal Stephenson

What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain.

Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown, to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.

Uprooted

2015

by Naomi Novik

Uprooted weaves a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, echoing the rhythm of a Grimm fairy tale yet creating a fresh, original, and totally irresistible narrative.

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests, and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn't, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

Maximum Ride Forever

2015

by James Patterson

The Ninth and Ultimate Maximum Ride Story is Here!

Legions of Max fans won't be disappointed by this encore episode in the beloved series about the incredible adventures of a teenage girl who can fly.

As Maximum Ride boldly navigates a post-apocalyptic world, she and her broken flock are roaming the earth, searching for answers to what happened. All will be revealed in this last spectacular "ride" - a brand-new grand finale featuring all of the nonstop action, twists and turns that readers can rely on in a blockbuster Patterson page-turner!

The Poet

Denver crime-beat reporter Jack McEvoy specializes in violent death. So when his homicide detective brother kills himself, McEvoy copes in the only way he knows how—he decides to write the story. But his research leads him to suspect a serial killer is at work—a devious murderer who's killing cops and leaving a trail of poetic clues.

It's the news story of a lifetime, if he can get the story without losing his life.

Scion of Ikshvaku

2015

by Amish Tripathi

Ram Rajya. The Perfect Land. But perfection has a price. He paid that price.

3400 BCE. INDIA
Ayodhya is weakened by divisions. A terrible war has taken its toll, and the damage runs deep. The demon King of Lanka, Raavan, does not impose his rule on the defeated. Instead, he imposes his trade. Money is sucked out of the empire, and the Sapt Sindhu people descend into poverty, despondency, and corruption.

They cry for a leader to lead them out of the morass. Little do they appreciate that the leader is among them. One whom they know: a tortured and ostracised prince, a prince they tried to break, a prince called Ram.

He loves his country, even when his countrymen torment him. He stands alone for the law, with his band of brothers, his Sita, and himself, against the darkness of chaos.

Will Ram rise above the taint that others heap on him? Will his love for Sita sustain him through his struggle? Will he defeat the demon Lord Raavan who destroyed his childhood? Will he fulfil the destiny of the Vishnu?

Begin an epic journey with Amish’s latest: the Ram Chandra Series.

Everything I Never Told You

2015

by Celeste Ng

Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.

A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

Only Ever Yours

2015

by Louise O'Neill

In a world where women are created for the pleasure of men, beauty is the first duty of every girl. In Louise O'Neill's world of Only Ever Yours, women are no longer born naturally. Girls, called "eves," are raised in schools and trained in the arts of pleasing men until they come of age.

Best friends Freida and Isabel are sure they’ll be chosen as companions – they are among the most highly rated girls in their year. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year, they expect to be selected as companions—wives to powerful men. All they have to do is ensure they stay in the top ten beautiful girls in their year.

The alternatives—life as a concubine or a chastity (teaching endless generations of girls)—are too horrible to contemplate. But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to be perfect mounts. Isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty—her only asset—in peril.

And then, into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride. Freida must fight for her future—even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known.

The Crown of Ptolemy

2015

by Rick Riordan

In their first encounter, demigod Percy Jackson and magician Carter Kane had to battle a giant crocodile on Long Island. A month later, Annabeth Chase ran into Carter's sister, Sadie, on the A train to Rockaway, where the pair fought a god named Serapis.

Now trouble is brewing again, this time on Governor's Island. An ancient Egyptian magician named Setne has come back from the dead and is experimenting with Egyptian and Greek magic, trying to become a god himself. He's so powerful and tricky that all four—Percy, Annabeth, Carter, and Sadie—have to team up against him.

But their usual weapons and spells aren't going to cut it this time. Will the heroes be taken down by a wannabe god who looks like Elvis, or will they rise to the challenge?

Told from Percy's point of view, this third demigod-magician crossover story has all of the spunk and action that Rick Riordan fans crave.

The Lord God Made Them All

2015

by James Herriot

The Lord God Made Them All is the bestselling sequel to All Things Wise and Wonderful and the fourth volume in James Herriot's classic collections of animal stories. After serving in the RAF in World War II, Herriot gladly returns home to Yorkshire to his beloved family and multitude of patients, with many more tender, funny, sad and wise stories to share with us and warm our hearts.

Animal lovers of all ages, and fans of Herriot's original classics, won't want to miss this beautiful treasure.

The Shell Seekers

Artist's daughter Penelope Keeling can look back on a full and varied life: a Bohemian childhood in London and Cornwall, an unhappy wartime marriage, and the one man she truly loved. She has brought up three children - and learned to accept them as they are. Yet she is far too energetic and independent to settle sweetly into pensioned-off old-age.

And when she discovers that her most treasured possession, her father's painting, The Shell Seekers, is now worth a small fortune, it is Penelope who must make the decisions that will determine whether her family can continue to survive as a family, or be split apart.

The Wrath and the Dawn

2015

by Renée Ahdieh

#1 New York Times Bestseller A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all. *The book is a Rough Cut Edition (pages are deliberately not the same length).*

Girl Online

2015

by Zoe Sugg

The incredible debut novel from YouTube phenomenon Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella.I have this dream that, secretly, all teenage girls feel exactly like me. And maybe one day, when we realize that we all feel the same, we can all stop pretending we're something we're not... But until that day, I'm going to keep it real on this blog and keep it unreal in real life.Penny has a secret. Under the alias Girl Online, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, high school drama, her crazy family, and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets Noah, a gorgeous, guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog.But Noah has a secret, too, one that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

2015

by Sarah J. Maas

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

A God in Ruins

2015

by Kate Atkinson

A God in Ruins is the stunning companion to Kate Atkinson's #1 bestseller Life After Life. In this novel, Atkinson shifts her focus to Ursula Todd's beloved younger brother, Teddy—a would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband, and father—who navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century.

For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge is living in a future he never expected to have. The narrative switches back and forth in time, exploring Teddy's childhood memories and his post-war life as he grapples with a rapidly changing world and family dynamics.

This ingenious and moving exploration of one ordinary man's path through extraordinary times proves once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the finest novelists of our age. A God in Ruins is a poignant reflection on the loss of innocence, the transition from war to peace, and the enduring power of family bonds.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the remarkable story of Tsukuru Tazaki, a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. This novel gives us a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.

Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school, each of whom had a name that contained a color. The boys were Akamatsu, meaning 'red pine,' and Oumi, 'blue sea,' while the girls were Shirane, 'white root,' and Kurono, 'black field.' Tazaki's name was the only one without a color. One day, his friends suddenly announced that they did not want to see him or talk to him again. Since that day, Tsukuru has been floating through life, unable to form intimate connections with anyone. But then he meets Sara, who tells him that it is time to discover what happened all those years ago.

I Am Legend and Other Stories

Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.

By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.

How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?

This collection includes the following stories:

  • I am legend
  • Buried talents
  • The near departed
  • Prey
  • Witch war
  • Dance of the dead
  • Dress of white silk
  • Mad house
  • The funeral
  • From shadowed places
  • Person to person

Landline

2015

by Rainbow Rowell

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...Is that what she’s supposed to do? Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Since You've Been Gone

2015

by Morgan Matson

Since You've Been Gone explores the story of Emily, a quiet teenager whose sociable and daring best friend, Sloane, has vanished, leaving behind nothing but a random list of bizarre tasks. Emily would never normally consider completing these tasks, but with the unexpected assistance from popular classmate Frank Porter, she decides to give them a try.

The summer that follows is one of self-discovery and adventure as Emily embarks on each task, hoping that they might somehow lead her to Sloane. What starts as an intimidating challenge becomes an exciting journey that pushes Emily out of her comfort zone and into a series of firsts that could change her life forever.

Superintelligence

2015

by Nick Bostrom

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom is a comprehensive analysis of the concept of artificial intelligence surpassing human intelligence and the potential consequences of such a development. Bostrom explores the capabilities unique to the human brain that have allowed our species to hold a dominant position on Earth. This dominance could be challenged if machine intelligence exceeds our own, presenting a superintelligence that could become extremely powerful, possibly beyond our control.

The book delves into whether it is possible to construct an initial seed AI in such a way that an intelligence explosion could be survivable. Bostrom presents a controlled approach to this explosive potential, addressing topics such as oracles, genies, singletons, boxing methods, tripwires, mind crime, humanity's cosmic endowment, differential technological development, indirect normativity, instrumental convergence, whole brain emulation, technology couplings, Malthusian economics, dystopian evolution, artificial intelligence, biological cognitive enhancement, and collective intelligence.

With lucid writing, Bostrom guides the reader through this complex landscape, making it accessible and engaging. Superintelligence does not merely lay out the challenges ahead; it offers a reconceptualization of our essential tasks in the face of the future of intelligent life and the fate of humanity itself.

The Argonauts

2015

by Maggie Nelson

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson is a genre-bending memoir that intertwines the author's personal narrative with a deep engagement in literary and theoretical texts. At the heart of this work is a story of romance between Nelson and her partner, artist Harry Dodge, whose experiences of gender transition and reassignment intersect with Nelson's journey through pregnancy.

This reflective, poignant exploration of motherhood, desire, and identity is grounded in an intimate portrayal of the author's queer family life. Nelson challenges the societal norms surrounding sexuality, gender, marriage, and childrearing, advocating for radical individual freedom and the value of caregiving.

Through her narrative, Nelson conducts a rigorous examination of philosophical and theoretical discourses, tracing the contours of what iconic theorists have to say about the complexities of contemporary social structures. The Argonauts is thus not only a memoir but also an impassioned argument for the embracement of unorthodox forms of love and kinship in the modern age.

The Cask of Amontillado

2015

by Edgar Allan Poe

The Cask of Amontillado is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. The story is set in a nameless Italian city during an unspecified year, possibly in the eighteenth century, and concerns the deadly revenge taken by the narrator on a friend who he claims has insulted him.


Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around a person being buried alive – in this case, by immurement.

The Fill-In Boyfriend

2015

by Kasie West

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed.

So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

The Heir

2015

by Kiera Cass

A new era dawns in the world of Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series America and Maxon’s fairy-tale romance enchanted readers from the very first page of The Selection. Now find out what happens after happily ever after in this fourth captivating novel, perfect for fans of Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Lauren Oliver’s Delirium, or Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath & the Dawn. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon’s heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn’t expect anything like her parents’ fairy-tale love story...but as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she’s always thought. A new generation of swoon-worthy characters and captivating romance awaits in the fourth book of the Selection series! Don’t miss The Betrothed, a glittering royal romance sure to captivate Kiera Cass’s legion of loyal readers and lovers of courtly intrigue alike!

The Moon and More

2015

by Sarah Dessen

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

The Night Gardener

2015

by Jonathan Auxier

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon, the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives.

With Auxier’s exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.

The Seven Sisters

2015

by Lucinda Riley

Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings.

Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela—passionate and longing to see the world—convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski’s studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

In this sweeping, epic tale of love and loss—the first in a unique, spellbinding series of seven novels—Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talent like never before.

The Heat

Lily St. Claire is a southern girl, born and raised, with a soft spot in her heart for Baton Rouge. But when she returns after being out of town for a few years, she finds that things have changed. Hurricane Katrina rearranged the city’s face, there are more people, the streets are meaner, and most importantly, the boy she had a crush on her entire childhood is all grown up. In a big, bad way.

Daniel Kane is the youngest police chief Baton Rouge has ever known. Standing well over two meters high, with a hard body, jet black hair that needs a cut, eyes like blue slate, and a quick mind, not much gets past him. But what could hold more sway than a handsome, young, competent chief of police? A handsome, young, competent chief of police who also happens to be a werewolf. And not just any werewolf, but an alpha.

Yet, all that power doesn’t seem to mean a damn thing when it comes to claiming the one thing he wants more than anything on Earth – the girl who, as far as he is concerned, was meant for him: Lily St. Claire. Not only is Lily head-strong, independent, and more than a little capable of slipping through his tightly gripped fingers, it turns out, Daniel’s not the only one who’s ready to claim her as his mate. And as bad luck would have it for Chief Kane, his competition is also an alpha werewolf. And a notorious cold-blooded killer.

Did I Mention I Love You?

2015

by Estelle Maskame

When sixteen-year-old Eden Munro agrees to spend the summer with her estranged father in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, she has no idea what she’s letting herself in for. Eden's parents are divorced and have gone their separate ways, and now her father has a brand new family. For Eden, this means she's about to meet three new step-brothers.


The eldest of the three is Tyler Bruce, a troubled teenager with a short temper and a huge ego. Complete polar opposites, Eden quickly finds herself thrust into a world full of new experiences as Tyler's group of friends take her under their wing. But the one thing she just can't understand is Tyler, and the more she presses to figure out the truth about him, the more she finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn't – her step-brother.


Throw in Tyler's clingy girlfriend and a guy who has his eyes set on Eden, and there's secrets, lies and a whole lot of drama. But how can Eden keep her feelings under control? And can she ever work out the truth about Tyler?

Sapiens

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is a groundbreaking narrative by renowned historian Dr. Yuval Noah Harari that explores the creation and evolution of humanity. This insightful work integrates history and science, examining how biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human."

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Through a unique lens, Harari dives into the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem, the rise of empires, and the bending of natural selection's laws.

Starting 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition, Harari compels us to look ahead as humans gain the ability to design not only the world around us but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, Sapiens is essential reading for those interested in understanding our past and contemplating our future.

An Ember in the Ashes

2015

by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes tells the gripping tale of Laia, a slave, and Elias, a soldier, both of whom are shackled in their own ways under the oppressive Martial Empire. In a society where defiance against the Empire equates to a death sentence, Laia resides with her grandparents and older brother in the impoverished backstreets, living a life of fear and subjugation.

Their fragile existence is shattered when Laia's brother is taken prisoner for treason. Faced with his impending execution, Laia makes a perilous choice to seek aid from rebels who vow to save her brother. In return, she must infiltrate the Empire's premier military academy as a spy. It is within these walls that she encounters Elias, the academy's most distinguished—and most reluctant—soldier.

As Laia embarks on her dangerous mission, her path intertwines with that of Elias, leading them both to question their roles in a society rife with tyranny and injustice. Their decisions will have far-reaching consequences, not just for their own fates, but for the future of the entire Empire.

Funny in Farsi

2015

by Firoozeh Dumas

In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father's glowing memories of his graduate school years here. More family soon followed, and the clan has been here ever since.

Funny in Farsi chronicles the American journey of Dumas's wonderfully engaging family: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later lost his job during the Iranian revolution; her elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the effects of American fast food with an army of miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting pot.

In a series of deftly drawn scenes, we watch the family grapple with American English (hot dogs and hush puppies—a complete mystery), American traditions (Thanksgiving turkey—an even greater mystery, since it tastes like nothing), and American culture (Firoozeh’s parents laugh uproariously at Bob Hope on television, although they don’t get the jokes even when she translates them into Farsi).

Above all, this is an unforgettable story of identity, discovery, and the power of family love. It is a book that will leave us all laughing—without an accent.

Half Wild

2015

by Sally Green

You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad.

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted.

Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he's on the run—but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father.

Reviled for his half-witch status, Nathan discovers his own magical Gift while fleeing Hunters who would also destroy his father. Nathan's only hope of survival is to join with new allies and old enemies in an alliance to bring down the Council, and they want Nathan's help: they, too, want Nathan to be a killer. Maybe that is the only way out. Maybe that is just who he is now…

Leaving Time

2015

by Jodi Picoult

For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe she was abandoned, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.

As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish.

Magonia

Aza Ray Boyle has always been unique, defined by a mysterious lung disease that makes it increasingly difficult for her to breathe, speak, and live. Her life takes a turn when she glimpses a ship in the sky. While her family dismisses it as a medication-induced hallucination, Aza knows it's real. She can hear someone calling her name from the ship.

Her best friend, Jason, is the only one who believes her. Jason has always been there for Aza, and she harbors feelings for him that might be more than just friendly. But before she can explore these feelings, something goes terribly wrong.

Aza is lost to our world and found by another—Magonia. Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza discovers she is not the weak and dying girl she once was. In Magonia, she can breathe freely for the first time, and she possesses immense power.

As Aza navigates her new life in Magonia, she learns of an impending war between Magonia and Earth. The fate of humanity, including the boy who loves her, lies in her hands. Aza must decide where her loyalties truly lie.

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