Displaying books 145-156 of 156 in total

Tiger and the Robot (Chandler Gray #1)

2017

by Grahame Shannon

She lives in the cloud, and travels in a phone. She’s Saga, Artificial Intelligence Detective. The exciting action of the Swiftsure Yacht race launches an adventure which ranges from the urban landscape of Vancouver to the wild islands of Alaska. Chandler Gray, a sailor and software developer, has created Saga (Say-Gah), an Artificial Intelligence app which emulates the powers of fiction’s greatest detectives.

A chance encounter with the wealthy, glamorous Gina Lee, leads to an invitation to sail on her yacht in the Swiftsure race. When Gina is kidnapped, Saga falsely claims Chan is a Private Investigator, and he takes on the rescue. Sometimes bumbling, but always determined, Chan and Saga roll through adventures in flight, at sea, and on the ground. With a band of friends providing support, and sometimes derision, Chan doggedly pursues the truth, no matter where it leads.

The quest leads to piracy in the Aleutians, a Land Rover attacked in the backwoods of Vancouver Island, and a lover’s betrayal. Saga’s remarkable abilities don't always lead in the right direction, and her sassy attitude sometimes annoys Chan, but in the end, they make an effective team.

Class

A daring, discussable satire about gentrification and liberal hypocrisy, and a candid take on rich and poor, white and black, CLASS is also a smartly written story that reveals how life as we live it--not as we like to imagine it--often unfolds in gray areas.

For idealistic forty-something Karen Kessler, it isn't enough that she works full-time in the non-profit sector, aiding an organization that helps hungry children from disadvantaged homes. She's also determined to live her personal life in accordance with her ideals. This means sending her daughter, Ruby, to an integrated public school in their Brooklyn neighborhood.

But when a troubled student from a nearby housing project begins bullying children in Ruby's class, the distant social and economic issues Karen has always claimed to care about so passionately feel uncomfortably close to home. As the situation at school escalates, Karen can't help but wonder whether her do-gooder husband takes himself and his causes more seriously than her work and Ruby's wellbeing.

The Bear and the Nightingale

2017

by Katherine Arden

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.

Dark Matter

2017

by Blake Crouch

Dark Matter is a mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from Blake Crouch, author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy. "Are you happy with your life?" Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Jason awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. A man he's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."

In the world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not as he knows it. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. He's not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable—something impossible. Is this world or the other the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves?

The journey that lies ahead of Jason is more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could have imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe. Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange, and profoundly human—a science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and the lengths we'll go to claim the lives we dream of.

Idaho

2017

by Emily Ruskovich

Idaho, a sharp, stunning debut novel by Emily Ruskovich, explores themes of grief, loss, and redemption, and has been recognized as an Irish bestseller. Set against the backdrop of a hot August day, a family outing to collect birch wood in a mountain clearing becomes the scene of a harrowing event.

Jenny, the mother, is tasked with trimming the logs while Wade, the father, stacks them. Their daughters, June and May, try to enjoy their time with lemonade and songs amidst the sweltering heat. Amidst the mundane, something unthinkable occurs, a shocking act that will send the family spiraling in different directions and leave haunting questions lingering for years to come.

Idaho is a multi-layered narrative that is both beautifully crafted and devastating in its portrayal of the complexities of family life and the human condition. It is a tale that promises to captivate readers, leaving a lasting impression long after the final page is turned.

Midnight Obsession

2017

by Melinda Leigh

In Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh's edgy new thriller, Louisa Hancock thought she was safe...but there's a new killer in town. When a mysterious package lands on Louisa Hancock's doorstep, the Philadelphia museum curator can hardly anticipate the nightmare that's about to envelop her. The package is addressed to her father—an expert in Viking culture—and inside is a ninth-century sword, a chilling thank-you note, and photos of two dead bodies in a tableau evoking a Nordic funeral. The gruesome images match a recent crime scene. But before the police can investigate the killer's connection to Louisa's father, Ward Hancock vanishes.

Sports bar owner Conor Sullivan wants nothing more than to spend his life with Louisa. Devoted and protective, he refuses to leave her side after her father's disappearance. When a troubled young boxer he's been coaching is suspected of the murders, Conor is pulled in even deeper. Desperate, Louisa and Conor take it upon themselves to find her father, but soon another ritualistic slaying makes it clear there's a Viking-obsessed serial killer on the loose. And he has a new target: Louisa.

Surviving Poverty

Surviving Poverty carefully examines the experiences of people living below the poverty level, looking in particular at the tension between social isolation and social ties among the poor. Joan Maya Mazelis draws on in-depth interviews with poor people in Philadelphia to explore how they survive and the benefits they gain by being connected to one another.

Half of the study participants are members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a distinctive organization that brings poor people together in the struggle to survive. The mutually supportive relationships the members create, which last for years, even decades, contrast dramatically with the experiences of participants without such affiliation.

In interviews, participants discuss their struggles and hardships, and their responses highlight the importance of cultivating relationships among people living in poverty. Surviving Poverty documents the ways in which social ties become beneficial and sustainable, allowing members to share their skills and resources and providing those living in similar situations a space to unite and speak collectively to the growing and deepening poverty in the United States.

The study concludes that productive, sustainable ties between poor people have an enduring and valuable impact. Grounding her study in current debates about the importance of alleviating poverty, Mazelis proposes new modes of improving the lives of the poor. Surviving Poverty is invested in both structural and social change and demonstrates the power support services can have to foster relationships and build sustainable social ties for those living in poverty.

The Lost City of the Monkey God

2017

by Douglas Preston

The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story is an enthralling narrative by acclaimed journalist Douglas Preston, taking readers on a true adventure deep into the Honduran rainforest. This riveting account details the discovery of a lost civilization and unfolds into a stunning medical mystery.

Rumors of a lost city called the White City or the Lost City of the Monkey God have circulated since the days of conquistador Hernán Cortés. Indigenous tribes tell of ancestors who escaped the Spanish invaders to this sacred city, a place said to curse those who enter with illness and death. In 1940, journalist Theodore Morde claimed to have found the city, returning with artifacts but tragically took his own life without disclosing the location.

Decades later, Doug Preston joined a team of scientists equipped with lidar technology to map the rainforest canopy. Their exploration revealed a sprawling metropolis, hinting at an enigmatic, lost civilization. Facing the dangers of the wilderness, the team's success was overshadowed by a horrifying discovery upon their return—contracting a mysterious and sometimes lethal disease from the ruins.

The Lost City of the Monkey God is not only a tale of historical and scientific significance but also a testament to human curiosity and the relentless pursuit of knowledge, despite the risks involved.

Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon’s Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table

2017

by Stephen Westaby

An incredible memoir from one of the world’s most eminent heart surgeons, Professor Stephen Westaby, detailing some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he has worked on. Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon's shoulder. A slip of the hand and life ebbs away. The balance between life and death is so delicate, and the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room, there is no time for doubt. It is flesh, blood, rib-retractors, and pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it. An off-day can have dire consequences – this job has a steep learning curve, and the cost is measured in human life. Cardiac surgery is not for the faint of heart.

Professor Westaby took chances and pushed the boundaries of heart surgery. He saved hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty-five-year career. Now, in his astounding memoir, Westaby details some of his most remarkable and poignant cases – such as the baby who had suffered multiple heart attacks by six months old, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked-in syndrome, and a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years.

A powerful, important, and incredibly moving book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the exhilarating and sometimes tragic world of heart surgery, and how it feels to hold someone's life in your hands.

Un revólver para salir de noche

Un revólver para salir de noche, escrita por Monika Zgustova, es una obra que sigue su exploración de la figura femenina en el siglo XX. En esta ocasión, la autora se enfoca en Véra Nabokov, la esposa de Vladimir Nabokov, quien desempeñó un papel clave en la vida y el éxito del renombrado escritor.

Véra Nabokov es retratada como una mujer de gran claridad, que eligió dedicar su vida al triunfo de su esposo. Ella fue la primera en leer los manuscritos de Vladimir, encargándose de transcribirlos y prepararlos para su publicación. Además, Véra organizó la vida de la familia Nabokov durante su exilio, viviendo primero en Berlín, luego en París y, finalmente, en Estados Unidos. Allí convenció a Vladimir de cambiar al inglés y centrarse en la novela, hasta que volvieron a Europa y se establecieron en Suiza.

La novela también explora las dinámicas de poder en la relación de los Nabokov, cuestionando si Véra era realmente independiente o si su existencia giraba completamente en torno a su marido. La narrativa se sumerge en las complejas interacciones de Nabokov con otras mujeres y el impacto que tuvieron en su vida y obra, a pesar de los esfuerzos de Véra por mantener el control.

鬼滅の刃 8 [Kimetsu no Yaiba 8]

眠り鬼・魘夢にヒノカミ神楽「碧羅の天」を放った炭治郎の戦いの顛末は!? さらに、炭治郎一行の下に現れたものの正体とは!? そしてついに炎柱・煉獄杏寿郎が動く。その強き者の口から語られる言葉の先に炭治郎が見たものとは!?

In the Clearing

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crime.

So when Jenny, a former police academy classmate and protégé, asks Tracy to help solve a cold case that involves the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier, Tracy agrees. Following up on evidence Jenny’s detective father collected when he was the investigating deputy, Tracy probes one small town’s memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden within the community’s fabric. Can Tracy uphold the promise she’s made to the dead girl’s family and deliver the truth of what happened to their daughter? Or will she become the next victim?

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