Displaying books 1-48 of 87 in total

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version

2022

by Anonymous

The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and depth of meaning.

The ESV Bible is equipped with an enhanced navigation feature. Kindle's index feature can be used to navigate directly to any verse. This feature is not supported on the Kindle 1 or any Kindle applications.

Not Here to Be Liked

2022

by Michelle Quach

Emergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get…when you fall for your enemy.

Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat because inexperienced Len—who is tall, handsome, and male—just seems more like a leader.

When Eliza's frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she's a gender equality champion and others who think she's simply crying misogyny.

Amid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization—she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself.

Complicated Moonlight

2022

by Lynessa Layne

In the second installment of the DCYE series, the conflicting love triangle between Jase, Kinsley and Klive intensifies.

Klive’s superiors command him to stay away from Kinsley. Jase makes a move toward commitment. After an Inferno biker crosses the line with Kinsley, Jase takes a violent stand while Klive defies orders in favor of defending her.

Shocked by a side of Jase she’s never seen before, the biker’s behavior and Klive’s sudden distance, she doesn’t know who to trust. When an old nemesis with eyes for Jase reappears in her life, will Kinsley take Jase’s offer to be together, or will she draw near to the man she thinks is the safer option, never knowing she’s amplifying the threat to her life?

The Passenger

2022

by Cormac McCarthy

The Passenger unfolds the thrilling story of a salvage diver named Bobby Western, who, after a late-night dive to a sunken jet, finds himself enmeshed in a mysterious and dangerous situation. The jet crash site reveals nine bodies still strapped into their seats, but the tenth passenger, the pilot's flight bag, and the plane's black box are inexplicably missing. As Western is drawn deeper into the ensuing intrigue, he is haunted not only by those seeking answers but also by the specters of his own past, including the ghost of his father, the man behind the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima, and the memories of his sister, Alicia, whose presence continues to torment his soul.

In Stella Maris, set in 1972, we meet Alicia Western, a brilliant but troubled young woman. At twenty years old, she checks into a psychiatric facility with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, along with a bag containing forty thousand dollars. Alicia, a mathematics prodigy, refuses to discuss her brother Bobby. Instead, she delves into the nature of insanity, the universal human experience, and her own personal grief for a brother who is both lost and unattainable.

Together, The Passenger and Stella Maris paint a portrait of a brother and sister bound by tragedy, conspiracy, and a quest for a reconciliation that seems beyond their grasp.

The Red Scholar's Wake

When tech scavenger Xích Si is captured and imprisoned by the infamous pirates of the Red Banner, she expects to be tortured or killed. Instead, their leader, Rice Fish, makes Xích Si an utterly incredible proposition: an offer of marriage. Both have their reasons for this arrangement: Xích Si needs protection; Rice Fish, a sentient spaceship, needs a technical expert to investigate the death of her first wife, the Red Scholar. That’s all there is to it.

But as the interstellar war against piracy rages on and their own investigation reaches a dire conclusion, the two of them discover that their arrangement has evolved into something much less business-focused and more personal...and tender. And maybe the best thing that’s ever happened to either of them—but only if they can find a way to survive together.

A rich space opera and an intensely soft romance, from an exceptional SF author.

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail is a romantic comedy that follows the story of an interior designer who is learning to navigate her love life without a perfect plan. For Astrid Parker, failure is not an option. After ending her engagement a year prior, she has thrown herself into her career, a move her friends consider obsessive, but she views as driven.

When Astrid is selected to be the designer for the renovation of the Everwood Inn, set to be featured on the popular HGTV show, Innside America, she sees it as an opportunity to focus on something other than her personal life and perhaps even earn her mother's elusive approval. However, she didn't account for Jordan Everwood, the lead carpenter and granddaughter of the inn's owner, who is fiercely protective of her family's history and not a fan of Astrid's modern design ideas.

Their professional tension takes a turn when it's suggested they exaggerate their disagreements for the show, leading to an unexpected evolution of their relationship. Faced with new feelings and challenges, Astrid must decide what success really means to her and whether she will follow the expected path or the one she truly desires.

The Shuddering City

2022

by Sharon Shinn

In the city of Corcannon, everyone has a secret. Madeleine is planning her wedding to Tivol, but she's really in love with Reese. Jayla has become the guardian of a child named Aussen, but she knows that Aussen possesses a mysterious and dangerous power. Brandon is a temple soldier keeping the enigmatic Villette a prisoner in her own home, but finds himself risking everything to keep her safe. Pietro is pretending he's surprised every time the city is wracked by tremors, but he'll do anything to stop the devastation. Even Corcannon itself has a secret. It's built on a lie, and that lie is about to come tumbling down.

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth

2022

by Zoe Thorogood

Cartoonist Zoe Thorogood records 6 months of her own life as it falls apart in a desperate attempt to put it back together again in the only way she knows how. It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth is an intimate and metanarrative look into the life of a selfish artist who must create for her own survival.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The Poem relates the experiences of a sailor who has returned from a long sea voyage. The mariner stops a man who is on the way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate a story. The wedding-guest's reaction turns from bemusement to impatience to fear to fascination as the mariner's story progresses, as can be seen in the language style: Coleridge uses narrative techniques such as personification and repetition to create a sense of danger, the supernatural, or serenity, depending on the mood in different parts of the poem.

Along with other poems in Lyrical Ballads, it was a signal shift to modern poetry and the beginning of British Romantic literature. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834) was an English poet, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets.

Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In takes place in autumn 1981, introducing us to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden shaken by an inconceivable horror. The body of a teenager is found, emptied of blood, sparking rumors of a ritual killing. Amidst this terror, twelve-year-old Oskar dreams of revenge against the relentless bullying he faces at school.

However, the murder is not Oskar's only concern. A new girl, Eli, moves in next door. She's never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, yet she can solve it instantly. But there's something peculiar about her, something unsettling. And she only comes out at night...

This international bestseller by John Ajvide Lindqvist is a brilliant take on the vampire myth, offering a roaring good story that explores themes of rejection, friendship, loyalty, and the supernatural. It has inspired a Swedish film, a U.S. adaptation, and a Showtime TV series, marking its place as a significant influence in horror literature.

Foster

2022

by Claire Keegan

A small girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland, without knowing when she will return home. In the strangers' house she finds affection she has not known before, and slowly she begins to blossom in their care. But when a secret is suddenly revealed, she realizes how fragile her idyll is.

Mad Honey

Mad Honey is a soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind.

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father's beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can't help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can she trust him completely . . .

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn't acknowledge the flashes of his father's temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he's hidden more than he's shared with her.

Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.

Three Kingdoms

2022

by Luo Guanzhong

Complete and unabridged, Moss Roberts's translation provides an authoritative, annotated English-language version of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. "The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been." With this characterization of the inevitable cycle of Chinese history, the monumental tale Three Kingdoms begins. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this Ming Dynasty masterpiece continues to be read and loved throughout China as well as in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

The novel offers a startling and unsparing view of how power is wielded, how diplomacy is conducted, and how wars are planned and fought; it has influenced the ways that Chinese think about power, diplomacy, and war even to this day.Three Kingdoms portrays a fateful moment at the end of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) when the future of the Chinese empire lay in the balance. Writing more than a millennium later, Luo Guanzhong drew on often told tales of this turbulent period to fashion a sophisticated compelling narrative, whose characters display vivid individuality and epic grandeur.

The story begins when the emperor, fearing uprisings by peasant rebels known as the Yellow Scarves, sends an urgent appeal to the provinces for popular support. In response, three young men - the aristocratic Liu Xuande, the fugitive Lord Guan, and the pig-butcher Zhang Fei - meet to pledge eternal brotherhood and fealty to their beleaguered government. From these events comes a chain of cause and consequence that leads ultimately to the collapse of the Han.

Çalıkuşu

Reşat Nuri Güntekin'in 1922 yılında ilk kez Vakit gazetesinde tefrika edilen en tanınmış eseridir. Fransız Lisesi mezunu gencecik, delişmen bir kız olan Feride'nin serüveni yaşadığı derin bir hayal kırıklığı sonrasında nişanlısını, ailesini İstanbul'da bırakarak Anadolu'nun küçük bir köyüne öğretmen olmasıyla başlar. Daha sonra bu köyü diğer kasabalar, şehirler izler. Önceleri her gittiği yerde Kurtuluş Savaşı'nın etkileri görülür, güç koşulların, sefaletin izlerine rastlanır. Sonraları farklı kültürden gelen genç, yalnız ve bağımsız bir kızın toplumsal yaşamdaki zorlukları, çatışan değer yargıları, karşısına dikilen çıkar ilişkileri, Feride'nin iç dünyasındaki fırtınalar ve derin yalnızlıkla iç içe geçerek okurun karşısına çıkar. Çalıkuşu, gerçekçi yönelimin ilk dönemlerinden olan bir başyapıttır.

Tis the Season for Revenge

Abbie Keller thought that Richard Bartholemew Benson the Third would be her forever. In their four years of dating, she never doubted that she wouldn't end up with his grandmother's engagement ring on her finger. Sure, she had to change a few things about herself to fit that mold, like dying her hair, dressing more conservatively, and finding golf enjoyable (honestly the most difficult of the changes), but she was sure that at the end of it all, it would be worth it. That is, until he leaves her crying outside her apartment wearing a Halloween costume, having broken it off with her because she's just not serious enough.

So she does what every girl does when she's broken up with: she calls her friends, gets drunk, dyes her hair, and formulates her plan for revenge. It just so happens that the universe supports her efforts and gives her the perfect match to prove to her ex that he made a huge mistake: his boss. But when the relationship starts to become something more than casual dating and Abbie sees that the tough New York lawyer has a soft side, will she be able to follow through with her plan of deceit?

Demon Copperhead

Demon Copperhead is set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, unraveling the life of a boy born to a teenage single mother in a single-wide trailer. He possesses no material wealth, save for his dead father's good looks, copper-colored hair, a sharp wit, and an innate ability to survive. Told through his candid perspective, Demon navigates the treacherous landscape of foster care, child labor, failing schools, athletic achievement, addiction, disastrous romances, and profound losses.

As he confronts the harsh reality of his own invisibility within a society that has relegated rural people to the shadows, even in popular culture where superheroes favor cities over the countryside, Demon's journey is a testament to resilience.

Inspired by Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, which itself was a product of Dickens' experiences with institutional poverty and its detrimental effects on children, Demon Copperhead carries forward Dickens' legacy of indignation and empathy. Barbara Kingsolver employs these sentiments to weave a narrative that is both a nod to a classic and a voice for the modern generation of 'lost boys' and all those rooted to places of cursed beauty they cannot fathom leaving.

Signal Fires

2022

by Dani Shapiro

Signal Fires weaves the lives of two families across fifty years, revealing the profound connections between them. Under an ancient oak on Division Street, retired doctor Ben Wilf and ten-year-old genius Waldo Shenkman share a moment beneath the stars, unaware of their intertwined destinies.

In a world where secrets and lies intertwine, the Wilfs and the Shenkmans are brought together by unforeseen forces. As the narrative spans the cosmos and half a century, these families are bound by the gravity of their shared history.

Signal Fires is an urgent and compassionate tale of kinship, remembrance, and the ties that bind us together. Dani Shapiro crafts a masterful story that illuminates the heart's capacity to heal itself through connections that transcend time and space.

Our Share of Night

Our Share of Night is a haunting journey through grief, legacy, and the supernatural. After a woman's mysterious death, her husband and son are drawn into a chilling confrontation with her demonic family. As they embark on a road trip to her ancestral home, they face a family known as the Order, who commit unspeakable acts in pursuit of immortality.

The novel traverses time, from London in the swinging 1960s to Argentina's military dictatorship, weaving a tale of love, longing, and the occult. With queer subplots and themes, it is a masterwork from Mariana Enriquez, one of Latin America's most original novelists.

You Dreamed Of Empires

From the visionary author of Sudden Death, You Dreamed Of Empires is a hallucinatory, revelatory, colonial revenge story. One morning in 1519, conquistador Hernán Cortés entered the city of Tenochtitlan – today's Mexico City. Later that day, he would meet the emperor Moctezuma in a collision of two worlds, two empires, two languages, two possible futures.

Cortés was accompanied by his nine captains, his troops, and his two translators: Friar Aguilar, a taciturn, former slave, and Malinalli, a strategic, former princess. Greeted at a ceremonial welcome meal by the steely princess Atotoxli, sister and wife of Moctezuma, the Spanish nearly bungle their entrance to the city. As they await their meeting with Moctezuma – who is at a political, spiritual, and physical crossroads, and relies on hallucinogens to get himself through the day and in quest for any kind of answer from the gods – the Spanish are ensconced in the labyrinthine palace.

Soon, one of Cortés's captains, Jazmín Caldera, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the city, begins to question the ease with which they were welcomed into the city, and wonders at the risks of getting out alive, much less conquering the empire. You Dreamed Of Empires brings to life Tenochtitlan at its height, and reimagines its destiny. The incomparably original Alvaro Enrigue sets afire the moment of conquest and turns it into a moment of revolution, a restitutive, fantastical counter-attack, in a novel so electric and so unique that it feels like a dream.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2022

by J.K. Rowling

As the Order of the Phoenix keeps watch over Harry Potter, troubled times have come to Hogwarts in a year filled with secrets, subterfuge, and suspicion. The deliciously dark fifth instalment of Jim Kay's inspired reimagining of J.K. Rowling's classic series is an epic artistic achievement, featuring over 160 illustrations in an astonishing range of visual styles.

Now an exciting new collaboration brings together two virtuoso artistic talents, as Kate Greenaway Medal winner Jim Kay is joined by acclaimed guest illustrator Neil Packer, winner of the 2021 BolognaRagazzi Award for non-fiction. Prepare to be enchanted once again as Jim Kay depicts J.K. Rowling's wizarding world with the dazzling artistic alchemy fans around the globe have come to know and love, perfectly complemented by Neil Packer's own unique and eclectic illustrations, skilfully woven into the heart of the story.

This is a stunning visual feast of a book, filled with dark magical delights for both fans and new readers alike. Breathtaking scenes, iconic locations, and unforgettable characters await inside – Luna Lovegood, Professor Umbridge, Grawp the giant, and many more – as Harry Potter and Dumbledore's Army prepare for the coming battle against Lord Voldemort. Perfect for Potterheads of all ages! Picture the Magic. Fully illustrated. Completely spellbinding.

Tranquility by Tuesday

2022

by Laura Vanderkam

Tranquility by Tuesday is not just a time management book about "how to do it all." Instead, it's a guide to intentionally living the life that you want and becoming an autonomous steward of life's possibilities. Laura Vanderkam, the bestselling author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, shares nine strategies for reclaiming your hours and building opportunities for joy, nourishment, and fulfillment into your week.

Based on a time diary study of over 150 people, Vanderkam's book provides insights into how real people changed their lives using her nine rules. These strategies include embracing habits like "Three times a week is a habit," seeking out "One big adventure, one little adventure," and prioritizing "Effortful before effortless."

The book is a beacon for anyone who's tired of to-do lists dictating their time and who hopes for a less hectic life. Vanderkam explains that if you want something to happen, you need to design your life to make it so. Life's unpredictable nature, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, means that dull tasks can quickly consume our precious hours. However, with a resilient schedule, and not necessarily a perfect one, it's possible to make time for what truly matters.

Blood on the Tracks

2022

by Shuzo Oshimi

Seiichi is back home for the first time in ages to inter his father's remains in the family grave. After that, he'll be finished, nothing left to hold him in this world...until he happens to bump into Fukiishi, resurrecting all the feelings he had buried along with his past—

Will Seiichi finally find peace in death? Or will the specters of the past keep him here against his will...?

Shrines of Gaiety

2022

by Kate Atkinson

London 1926. Roaring Twenties.
Corruption. Seduction. Debts due.

In a country still recovering from the Great War, London is the focus for a delirious nightlife. In Soho clubs, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.

There, Nellie Coker is a ruthless ruler, ambitious for her six children. Niven is the eldest, his enigmatic character forged in the harsh Somme. But success breeds enemies. Nellie faces threats from without and within. Beneath the gaiety lies a dark underbelly, where one may be all too easily lost.

Stay True

2022

by Hua Hsu

Stay True is a gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art, by New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu. In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken—with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity—is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes 'zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to.

The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them. But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become friends, a friendship built on late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the successes and humiliations of everyday college life. And then violently, senselessly, Ken is gone, killed in a carjacking, not even three years after the day they first meet.

Determined to hold on to all that was left off one of his closest friends—his memories—Hua turned to writing. Stay True is the book he's been working on ever since. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.

The Golden Enclaves

2022

by Naomi Novik

Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate. The one thing you never talk about while you're in the Scholomance is what you'll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it's all we dream about: the hideously slim chance we'll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I'm out, we're all out—and I didn't even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother's prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn't kill enclavers, I saved them. Me, and Orion, and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: we saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves everywhere. Ha, only joking! Actually, it's gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war.

And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously gotten out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.

Nona the Ninth

2022

by Tamsyn Muir

Her city is under siege. The zombies are coming back. And all Nona wants is a birthday party.

In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona is not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body, and she's afraid she might have to give it back.

The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.

And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face...

Prisoners of the Castle

2022

by Ben Macintyre

In this gripping narrative, Ben Macintyre tackles one of the most famous prison stories in history and makes it utterly his own. During World War II, the German army used the towering Colditz Castle to hold the most defiant Allied prisoners. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend.

But as Macintyre shows, the story of Colditz was about much more than escape. Its population represented a society in miniature, full of heroes and traitors, class conflicts and secret alliances, and the full range of human joy and despair. In Macintyre’s telling, Colditz’s most famous names—like the indomitable Pat Reid—share glory with lesser known but equally remarkable characters like Indian doctor Birendranath Mazumdar whose ill treatment, hunger strike, and eventual escape read like fiction; Florimond Duke, America’s oldest paratrooper and least successful secret agent; and Christopher Clayton Hutton, the brilliant inventor employed by British intelligence to manufacture covert escape aids for POWs.

Bringing together the wartime intrigue of his acclaimed Operation Mincemeat and keen psychological portraits of his bestselling true-life spy stories, Macintyre has breathed new life into one of the greatest war stories ever told.

Fairy Tale

2022

by Stephen King

Legendary storyteller Stephen King dives deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

Fairy Tale is a story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King's work, about an ordinary guy forced into the hero's role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.

Kick the Latch

2022

by Kathryn Scanlan

Kick the Latch is a piercing narrative about one woman's remarkable life at the racetrack. With its unyielding brevity and enigmatic complexities, the novel captures the essence of a life spent in the world of horse racing—the flat expanse, the improvised structures of the backstretch, the undercurrent of discord and tension, the euphoria of the winner's circle, and the convivial atmosphere of the racetrack bar.

Kathryn Scanlan's Kick the Latch vividly portrays the life of Sonia, a horse trainer, through the lens of her particular environment and the distinctive vernacular of those who inhabit it—grooms, jockeys, trainers, and others intimately involved in the sport. The book is a testament to Scanlan's skill in crafting a composite portrait that resonates with authenticity and a profound sense of character.

Carved with a unique artistic vision, the story launches out of the gates with intensity, inviting readers on an exhilarating journey through the inner circle of the racetrack.

How to Win Friends and Manage Remotely

2022

by McKenna Sweazey

Two things are certain with the shift in office structure: First, we will never go back to the way things were. Second, we all must learn to live in a virtual workplace. If we are managers, that means we also need to know how to communicate with, motivate, and coach virtual teams. In the words of Dale Carnegie, how do you win friends and influence people in a virtual office?

How to Win Friends and Manage Remotely shares real-life examples, scientifically proven ideas, and distillations of tried-and-true business tenets, including why expressing empathy is the most important factor in managing and working with others—all mapped to a new virtual-first office. This book is a handbook—a step-by-step guide to common interactions in the workplace using eight classic management examples: from digitizing your onboarding journey to helping new recruits and delivering useful feedback over video conference.

Combining academic research and personal experiences across various companies, roles, and countries, author McKenna Sweazey presents a roadmap to get us through the WFH (work from home) quagmire and help us all be more aware of others' perspectives in this brave new world.

Carrie Soto Is Back

Carrie Soto Is Back is a powerful novel about the cost of greatness, featuring a legendary athlete's attempt at a comeback when the world considers her past her prime. Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. However, by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen, having shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles.

Carrie believes she is entitled to every one of her victories, having sacrificed nearly everything to become the best. Under her father Javier's coaching—a former champion himself—she has thrived since the age of two. Yet, six years into her retirement, Carrie watches as her record is threatened by a new formidable player at the 1994 US Open. At thirty-seven, she decides to come out of retirement to reclaim her record, coached by her father for one last year.

Despite criticism from the sports media and her own physical limitations, Carrie is determined. Her comeback also involves working with a man she once nearly opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Each has something to prove before leaving the game for good. Taylor Jenkins Reid delivers a riveting and unforgettable story of vulnerability and emotional intensity through Carrie Soto's epic final season.

Babel : Or the Necessity of Violence

2022

by R. F. Kuang

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Babel is a profound exploration of the complexities of language, power, and colonialism, set against the backdrop of the British Empire's expansion.

When orphan Robin Swift is brought from Canton to London by Professor Lovell, he embarks on an intense education in languages and translation, aiming for a bright future at Oxford University's Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. This institution stands at the heart of the Empire's superiority, harnessing the mystical power of silver working to manifest the elusive meanings lost in translation.

As Robin becomes entrenched in the scholastic utopia of Babel, his ties to his heritage pull him into an inner conflict. When an aggressive war threatens China over silver and opium, Robin is torn between the comfort of academia and the call for justice. He must confront a crucial question: Can change come from within, or is violence an inevitable part of revolution?

Icebreaker

2022

by Hannah Grace

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, she has landed a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and she has a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep. Stassie is here to win, no exceptions.

Nathan Hawkins, the captain of the Maple Hills Titans, knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders. When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia's partner gets hurt, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one.

The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it's fine, because Anastasia doesn't even like hockey players...right?

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

2022

by Megan Bannen

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It's an unforgiving job, and Hart's got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness. Mercy never has a moment to herself. She's been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to "A Friend". Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born. If only Hart knew he's been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?

Set in a world full of magic and demigods, donuts and small-town drama, this enchantingly quirky, utterly unique fantasy is perfect for readers of The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Invisible Library.

Heat 2

Michael Mann, four-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker and writer-director of Heat, Collateral, Thief, Manhunter, and Miami Vice, teams up with Edgar Award-winning author Meg Gardiner to deliver Mann's first crime novel—an explosive return to the world and characters of his classic film Heat—an all-new story that illuminates what happened before and after the iconic film.

Described by Michael Mann as both a prequel and sequel to the renowned, critically acclaimed film of the same name, Heat 2 covers the formative years of homicide detective Vincent Hanna (Oscar winner Al Pacino) and elite criminals Neil McCauley (Oscar winner Robert De Niro), Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), and Nate (Oscar winner Jon Voight), and features the same extraordinary ambition, scope, rich characterizations, and attention to detail as the epic film.

This new story leads up to the events of the film and then moves beyond it, featuring new characters on both sides of the law, new high-line heists, and breathtakingly cinematic action sequences. Ranging from the streets of L.A. to the inner sancta of rival Taiwanese crime syndicates in Paraguay to a massive drug cartel money-laundering operation just over the border in Mexico, Heat 2 illuminates the dangerous workings of international crime organizations and the agents who pursue them as it provides a full-blooded portrait of the men and women who inhabit both worlds. Operatic in scope, Heat 2 is engrossing, moving, and tragic—a masterpiece of crime fiction from one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in American cinema.

Thank You for Listening

2022

by Julia Whelan

Thank You for Listening is an uplifting novel by Julia Whelan, the author of My Oxford Year. It follows the story of Sewanee Chester, a former actress who has found a new path and success as an audiobook narrator, which also allows her to care for her ailing grandmother. Despite the satisfaction her current life brings, Sewanee has lost sight of her old dreams after a tragic accident.

Her journey takes an unexpected turn when she attends a book convention in Las Vegas and spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger. Upon returning home, she learns that one of the world's most beloved romance novelists has requested her to narrate her last book alongside Brock McNight, the industry's most enigmatic and sought-after voice.

Sewanee, who has grown cynical of romance novels after her dreams were dashed, is hesitant to return to narrating them. However, her respect for the late author and the chance to help her grandmother more convinces her to take on the task. As she begins recording under her old romance pseudonym, Sewanee and Brock develop a genuine connection, veiled by the anonymity the job provides.

As she starts to dream again, Sewanee's life is upended by revelations and the harsh realities of life. Facing the risk of embracing long-buried desires, she stands to uncover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never thought possible—a world where she can finally listen to her heart.

The Liminal Zone

2022

by Junji Ito

What destiny awaits them after the screaming? After abruptly departing from a train in a small town, a couple encounters a weeping woman—a professional mourner—sobbing inconsolably at a funeral. Mako changes afterward—she can't stop crying! In another tale, having decided to die together, a couple enters Aokigahara, the infamous suicide forest. What is the shocking otherworldly torrent that they discover there?

One of horror's greatest talents, Junji Ito beckons readers to join him in an experience of ultimate terror with four transcendently terrifying tales.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a lavish historical drama set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.

Carlota Moreau: a young woman, growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of either a genius, or a madman.
 
Montgomery Laughton: a melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers. 
 
The hybrids: the fruits of the Doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities. 
 
All of them living in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas

Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, one of the greatest novels written in Portuguese, is a celebration of language and a revolutionary work that shattered all of the literary conventions of its time. The reader is mistreated, with chapters left blank and others deemed useless. Brás Cubas, the unlikely hero of this story, did nothing special in life. He fell in love with a married woman, failed a political career, never had children, and then he died. After his death, he wrote his memoirs. Since its publication in 1881, it has continued to gain the appreciation and affection of some of the greatest contemporary intellectuals and artists. Woody Allen considered it one of his favorite books, calling it a "very, very original masterpiece." Susan Sontag mentioned that this book always impresses readers with the strength of a personal discovery. Harold Bloom described the book as comic, clever, evasive, and very fun to read, sentence after sentence.

Eclipse the Moon

2022

by Jessie Mihalik

Acclaimed author Jessie Mihalik returns with an exciting new novel about a rainbow-haired female bounty hunter tasked with preventing an interstellar war. Kee Ildez has been many things: hacker, soldier, bounty hunter. She never expected to be a hero, but when a shadowy group of traitors starts trying to goad the galaxy's two superpowers into instigating an interstellar war, Kee throws herself into the search to find out who is responsible—and stop them.

Digging up hidden information is her job, so hunting traitors should be a piece of cake, but the primary suspect spent years in the military, and someone powerful is still covering his tracks. Disrupting their plans will require the help of her entire team, including Varro Runkow, a Valovian weapons expert who makes her pulse race. Quiet, grumpy, and incredibly handsome, Varro watches her with hot eyes but ignores all of her flirting, so Kee silently vows to keep her feelings strictly platonic.

But that vow will be put to the test when she and Varro are forced to leave the safety of their ship and venture into enemy territory alone. Cut off from the rest of their team, they must figure out how to work together—and fast—because a single misstep will cost thousands of lives.

SOLO

2022

by Jenny Tough

Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete renowned for her feats in running and cycling through some of the world's most demanding events. In SOLO, she shares a narrative that is as much about personal growth as it is about physical endurance.

Her journey begins with a quest to confront the feelings and emotions that were limiting her. Running, a therapeutic and empowering practice for Jenny, becomes the foundation for an extraordinary goal: to traverse mountain ranges on six continents, alone and unaided, starting in the isolated terrains of Kyrgystan.

This book is a vivid account of her expeditions across the Tien Shan (Asia), the High Atlas (Africa), the Cordillera Oriental (South America), the Southern Alps (Oceania), the Canadian Rockies (North America), and the Transylvanian Alps (Europe). Along the way, Jenny discovers invaluable lessons in self-esteem, resilience, and courage.

The essence of SOLO is the affirmation that embarking on solo endeavors, whether grand or modest, can be exhilarating and uplifting. Jenny's call to action, urging us to find inner strength, confidence, and self-belief, serves as a powerful source of motivation for readers seeking to overcome their own barriers.

Honey and Spice

2022

by Bolu Babalola

Introducing Bolu Babalola's dazzling debut novel, Honey and Spice, a story that brings together passion, humor, and heart, revolving around Kiki Banjo, a young Black British woman who has deliberately steered clear of love. However, she finds herself in an unexpected fake relationship with Malakai Korede, the very man she cautioned others about.

Sharp-tongued and secretly tender-hearted, Kiki is an expert in avoiding relationships. She's the voice behind the popular student radio show Brown Sugar, where she empowers the women of the African-Caribbean Society at Whitewell University to navigate away from the pitfalls of 'situationships', players, and heartbreak. But after a public mishap involving Malakai, dubbed 'The Wastemen of Whitewell', Kiki's show and reputation are at risk.

A novel that captures the essence of young love and self-discovery, Honey and Spice is a delightful blend of laughter, tension, and the thrill of romantic possibilities.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

2022

by Gabrielle Zevin

In this exhilarating novel, two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

Building a Second Brain

2022

by Tiago Forte

For the first time in history, we have instantaneous access to the world's knowledge. There has never been a better time to learn, to contribute, and to improve ourselves. Yet, rather than feeling empowered, we are often left feeling overwhelmed by this constant influx of information. The very knowledge that was supposed to set us free has instead led to the paralyzing stress of believing we'll never know or remember enough.

Now, this eye-opening and accessible guide shows how you can easily create your own personal system for knowledge management, otherwise known as a Second Brain. As a trusted and organized digital repository of your most valued ideas, notes, and creative work synced across all your devices and platforms, a Second Brain gives you the confidence to tackle your most important projects and ambitious goals. Discover the full potential of your ideas and translate what you know into more powerful, more meaningful improvements in your work and life by Building a Second Brain.

Horse

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history.

Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.

New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.

Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse--one studying the stallion's bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.

Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.

Nora Goes Off Script

Nora's life is about to get a rewrite...

Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it's her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage's collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it's picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home.

When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne'er-do-well husband, Nora's life will never be the same. The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He'll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it's the need in his eyes that makes her say yes.

For Nora and Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen.

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes

2022

by Cat Sebastian

Cat Sebastian returns to Georgian London with a stunning tale of a reluctant criminal and the thief who cannot help but love her. Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, just shot her husband. Of course, the evil, murderous man deserved what was coming to him, but now she must flee to the countryside. Unfortunately, the only person she can ask for help is the charismatic criminal who is blackmailing her—and who she may have left tied up a few hours before...

A highwayman, con artist, and all-around cheerful villain, Rob Brooks is no stranger to the wrong side of the law or the right side of anybody's bed. He never meant to fall for the woman whose secrets he promised to keep for the low price of five hundred pounds, but how could he resist someone who led him on a merry chase all over London, left him tied up in a seedy inn, and then arrived covered in her husband's blood and in desperate need of his help?

As they flee across the country—stopping to pick pockets, drink to excess, and rescue invalid cats—they discover more true joy and peace than either has felt in ages. But when the truth of Rob's past catches up to him, they must decide if they are willing to reshape their lives in order to forge a future together.

Frankenstein

2022

by Junji Ito

Junji Ito meets Mary Shelley! The master of horror manga bends all his skill into bringing the anguished and solitary monster—and the fouler beast who created him—to life with the brilliantly detailed chiaroscuro he is known for.

Also included are six tales of Oshikiri—a high school student who lives in a decaying mansion connected to a haunted parallel world. Uncanny doppelgangers, unfortunately murdered friends, and a whole lot more are in store for him.

Bonus: The Ito family dog! Thrill to the adventures of Non-non Ito, an adorable Maltese!

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