There's a difference between falling and letting go. Lauren has a good life: decent grades, great friends, and a boyfriend every girl lusts after. So why is she so unhappy?

It takes the arrival of Evan Kirkland for Lauren to figure out the answer: She's been holding back. She's been denying herself a bunch of things because staying with her loyal and gorgeous boyfriend, Dave, is the right thing to do. After all, who would give up the perfect boyfriend?

But as Dave starts talking more and more about their life together, planning a future Lauren simply can't see herself in and as Lauren's craving for Evan, and moreover, who she is with Evan becomes all the more fierce, Lauren realizes she needs to make a choice... before one is made for her.

Jessica Darling is in college and life is looking up. She has finally escaped her New Jersey hometown for Columbia University in New York City. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Marcus Flutie, is stronger than ever, even though he's attending college across the country. Jessica is making new friends, who might not quite replace her best friend, Hope, but they come close.

However, Jessica quickly realizes that her college bliss might be short-lived. She secures an internship at a snarky Brooklyn-based magazine, but fitting in with the staff poses its own challenges. Her love life becomes complicated as she and Marcus face difficulties, leading Jessica to question if she might fall for other intriguing figures in her life. Financial struggles arise when her parents cut her off, and she's left deciphering cryptic postcards from Marcus.

With her signature wit, cynicism, and candor, Jessica navigates through her tumultuous college years and the summers in between. Charmed Thirds takes readers on a memorable journey filled with laughter, heartache, and growth.

She's from the wrong side of the tracks. Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas—if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty Jones is a complication he doesn't need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them.

He's the one man she can't have. When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty finds herself under the spell of a billionaire tycoon—a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family's past.

Will they find their hearts' desires or will heartbreak tear them apart? Two men. One woman. A choice that can make her or break her. A woman you'll root for every step of the way. A love story you'll never forget.

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

Then. . . .

After. Nothing is ever the same.

Irresistible, one-woman shopping phenomenon Becky Bloomwood is back in this hilarious, heartwarming tale of married life, best friends, and long-lost sisters.

Discover the perils of simply having to own an Angel handbag!

The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a novel by the French professor of philosophy, Muriel Barbery. Set within an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, the story revolves around two main characters: Renée, the concierge, who is typically short, plump, middle-aged, and inconspicuous, with an unexpected passion for art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture; and Paloma, a twelve-year-old resident of the building, who is talented, precocious, and has decided to end her own life on her thirteenth birthday unless she can find something worth living for.

The narrative follows Renée who, despite her position, conceals a world of intellectual wealth and refined tastes beneath a veneer of simplicity. Similarly, Paloma hides her exceptional intelligence behind the facade of a mediocre pre-teen. When a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives at the building, their lives begin to change as they discover kindred spirits in each other.

Humorous and full of biting wit, the story exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous and explores rich secret lives hidden beneath conventional exteriors, evoking a sense of kinship and understanding of human complexities.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a captivating collection of twenty-four stories that generously showcases Haruki Murakami’s mastery of the short story form. From the surreal to the mundane, these stories exhibit his ability to transform the full range of human experience in ways that are instructive, surprising, and relentlessly entertaining.

Within these pages, you will encounter animated crows, a criminal monkey, and an iceman, as well as the dreams that shape us and the things we might wish for. Whether during a chance reunion in Italy, a romantic exile in Greece, a holiday in Hawaii, or in the grip of everyday life, Murakami’s characters confront grievous loss, sexuality, or the glow of a firefly, or the impossible distances between those who ought to be closest of all.

Francesca is at the beginning of her second term in Year Eleven at an all-boys' school that has just started accepting girls. She still misses her old friends, and, to make things worse, her mother has had a breakdown and can barely move from her bed.

But Francesca had not counted on the fierce loyalty of her new friends, or falling in love, or finding that it's within her power to bring her family back together. A memorable and much-loved Australian classic told with humour, compassion and joy, from Melina Marchetta, the internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi.

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet.

It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.

Kafka on the Shore is a compelling odyssey driven by two remarkable characters. The first is a teenage boy named Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home to escape a dark oedipal prophecy and to search for his long-missing mother and sister. The second is an aging simpleton known as Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and finds himself drawn to Kafka for reasons he cannot understand.

As their paths converge, Haruki Murakami weaves a tale where the extraordinary is commonplace. Conversations with cats, spectral figures doling out prophecies, a forest that shelters soldiers seemingly untouched by time, and unexplained phenomena like fish falling from the sky are all part of the journey. The narrative also involves a brutal murder, the mystery of which is as obscure as the motivations driving the characters.

Throughout this metaphysical reality, the destinies of Kafka and Nakata become increasingly intertwined. With each step they take, the veil over their fates lifts, revealing the inexorable pull of destiny and the possibility of redemption. Murakami masterfully crafts a world that challenges our understanding of the boundaries between the physical and the spiritual, the real and the unreal, leaving readers with a profound sense of the surreal depths of the human psyche.

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who's just walked in to his band's show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you'll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

The narrator of this funny and poignant novel is searching for meaning, going back to his childhood, onto the web and off to New York to find it. He writes lists, obsesses over the nature of time, and finds joy in bouncing balls—all in an effort to find out how best to live life.

An utterly enchanting meditation on experience, Naive. Super was a #1 best-seller in Erlend Loe's native Norway.

From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of the Booker Prize–winning novel The Remains of the Day comes a devastating novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss.

As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.

Ishiguro explores what it means to have a soul and how art distinguishes man from other life forms. But above all, Never Let Me Go is a study of friendship and the bonds we form which make or break while we come of age.

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty is an engaging tale of three girls from Ashbury High who become involved with three boys from the rival Brookfield High through a pen pal program. The program, intended to foster a spirit of harmony between the schools, quickly takes a turn as Cassie, Lydia, and Emily's initial letters lead to a series of unexpected events.

Their correspondence sets off a domino effect of secret missions, false alarms, lock picking, mistaken identities, and a rivalry that escalates into an all-out war between the schools. Amidst the chaos, there are moments of humor, friendship, and some really excellent kissing, making for a story that captures the essence of teenage life with both warmth and wit.

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate—a life and a role that she has never challenged... until now.

Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister—and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

A provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, My Sister's Keeper is the story of one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning parable for all time.

Cloud Atlas, authored by David Mitchell, is a visionary novel that combines elements of adventure, mystery, and philosophical speculation. The narrative begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary traveling from the Chatham Isles to California. During his journey, he becomes acquainted with Dr. Goose, who treats him for a rare brain parasite.

The story then leaps to Belgium in 1931, where we meet Robert Frobisher, a disinherited composer who finds himself in the household of an ailing maestro. The narrative continues to shift, taking us to the West Coast in the 1970s with Luisa Rey, a reporter uncovering a conspiracy, and then to various other settings including a near-future Korean superstate and a post-apocalyptic Hawaii.

The unique structure of Cloud Atlas sees the narrative fold back on itself, with characters' fates intertwining across time and space. It's a novel that questions the nature of reality and identity, and how our actions reverberate through history. Mitchell's work is as playful as it is profound, earning it the status of a modern classic and a worldwide phenomenon.

Enter The Realm of Possibility and meet a boy whose girlfriend is in love with Holden Caulfield; a girl who loves the boy who wears all black; a boy with the perfect body; and a girl who writes love songs for a girl she can't have.

These are just a few of the captivating characters readers will get to know in this intensely heartfelt new novel about those ever-changing moments of love and heartbreak that go hand-in-hand with high school. David Levithan plumbs the depths of teenage emotion to create an amazing array of voices that readers won't forget. So, enter their lives and prepare to welcome the realm of possibility open to us all. Love, joy, and these stories will linger.

High school junior Jenny Greenley is so good at keeping secrets that she's the school newspaper's anonymous advice columnist. She's so good at it that, when hotter-than-hot Hollywood star Luke Striker comes to her small town to research a role, Jenny is the one in charge of keeping his identity under wraps.

But Luke doesn't make it easy, and soon everyone—the town, the paparazzi, and the tabloids alike—know his secret... and Jenny is caught right in the middle of all the chaos.

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.

The Jane Austen Book Club is set in California's central valley where five women and one man come together to discuss the novels of Jane Austen. Over the course of six months, marriages are tested, affairs begin, and unsuitable arrangements become suitable, leading to unexpected love stories.

With an astute eye for the frailties of human behavior and a keen ear for the absurdities of social interactions, Karen Joy Fowler crafts a delightful exploration of modern relationships.

While dedicated Austen fans will enjoy finding the echoes of Austen throughout the novel, most readers will appreciate the unique vision and engaging voice that connect these two brilliant writers of social comedy.

When it comes to relationships, Remy Starr doesn't mess around. After all, she's learned all there is to know from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. But there's something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy's rules. He certainly doesn't seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can't seem to get him out of her head.

Could it be that Remy's starting to understand what those love songs are all about? From acclaimed author Sarah Dessen, this is a captivating novel about a tough-as-nails girl and the unexpectedly charming boy who's determined to soften her up, and be the man she wants.

Carly Adams feels as if she's been given a new lease on life. Born with a rare eye disease, she was blind until a recent operation restored her sight. Now, she's eager to experience everything the world has to offer—including the sweet talk of a handsome cowboy who rouses her with desire.

But she isn't prepared for the consequences, especially when a night of searing passion results in a pregnancy that threatens her eyesight—and all her dreams for the future...

Hank Coulter has no plans to settle down—until he discovers that Carly Adams is carrying his child. Obsessed with making things right, he bullies the blue-eyed beauty into marrying him. With her radiant smile and remarkable goodness, Carly is exactly the kind of wife he's always imagined by his side.

But if Hank wants their practical arrangement to become permanent, he's going to have to convince Carly that one moment of risk can bring about a lifetime of joy...

Becky Bloomwood has a fabulous flat in London’s trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season’s must-haves. The only trouble is, she can’t actually afford it—not any of it. Her job writing at Successful Saving magazine not only bores her to tears, it doesn’t pay much at all. And lately Becky’s been chased by dismal letters from the bank—letters with large red sums she can’t bear to read. She tries cutting back. But none of her efforts succeeds. Her only consolation is to buy herself something . . . just a little something. Finally a story arises that Becky actually cares about, and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will transform her life—and the lives of those around her—forever.

Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can't seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica's parents won't get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany's pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household.

With keen intelligence, sardonic wit, and ingenious comedic timing, Megan McCafferty again re-creates the tumultuous world of fast-moving and sophisticated teens. Fans of Sloppy Firsts will be reunited with their favorite characters and also introduced to the fresh new faces that have entered Jess's life, including the hot creative writing teacher at her summer college prep program and her feisty, tell-it-like-it-is grandmother Gladdie.

But most of all, readers will finally have the answers to all of their burgeoning questions, and then some: Will Jessica crack under the pressure of senioritis? Will her unresolved feelings for Marcus wreak havoc on her love life? Will Hope ever come back to Pineville? Fall in love with saucy, irreverent Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to a book that critics and readers alike hailed as the best high school novel in years.

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci — clues visible for all to see — yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion — an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory’s ancient secret — and an explosive historical truth — will be lost forever.

Violetta es una joven de quince años que huye de México a Estados Unidos con dinero que ha robado a sus padres. Azarosamente desembarcada en Nueva York, sobrevive durante cuatro años a todo tren, gastando montones de dinero en caprichos caros y descabellados. Para mantener semejante tren de vida, acelerado todavía más por el polvo blanco que introduce por su nariz en cantidades generosas, se enseña a enganchar hombres en lobbies de hoteles lujosos.

No sabe, ni le interesa, la cantidad de leyes, límites y preceptos a los que pasa por encima. Tampoco sabe que Nefastófeles, el supuesto rico heredero que la deslumbra, será como una daga clavada en su bella espalda hasta que, ya de vuelta en México, se tope con Pig, y llegue entonces la hora del Diablo Guardián. Pero lo que Violetta sí sabe es que es tiempo de arrojar los dados y cerrar los ojos, casi con ganas de que a todo se lo lleve el diablo; y que, generalmente, eso lo haces sólo cuando de plano crees que ya te va a llevar.

In the last gasp of youth, Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson is back in Edinburgh. He taps into one last great scam: directing and producing a porn film. To make it work, he needs bedfellows: the lovely Nikki Fuller-Smith, a student with ambition, ego, and troubles to rival his own; old pal Mark Renton; and a motley crew that includes the neighborhood's favorite ex-beverage salesman, "Juice" Terry.

In the world of Porno, however, even the cons are conned. Sick Boy and Renton jockey for top dog. The out-of-jail and in-for-revenge Begbie is on the loose. But it's the hapless, drug-addled Spud who may be spreading the most trouble.

Porno is a novel about the Trainspotting crew ten years further down the line: still scheming, still scamming, still fighting for the first-class seats as the train careens at high velocity with derailment looming around the next corner.

How did pretty, flighty Daisy Devreaux find herself in this fix? She can either go to jail or marry the mystery man her father has chosen for her. Alex Markov, however, has no intention of playing the loving bridegroom to a spoiled little featherhead with champagne tastes. As humorless as he is deadly handsome, he drags the irrepressible Daisy away from her uptown life and sets out to tame her. Except it won't be as easy as he thinks.

This man without a soul has met a woman who's nothing but heart. Will vows spoken in haste shatter... or offer the promise of love everlasting?

Three Junes is a luminous first novel by Julia Glass, set across the picturesque landscapes of Greece, Scotland, Greenwich Village, and Long Island. The story intricately traces the lives of a Scottish family as they navigate through the complex tapestry of love, encompassing its joys, longings, fulfillments, and betrayals.

In June of 1989, Paul McLeod, a newspaper publisher and recent widower, embarks on a journey to Greece. Here, he falls for a young American artist, reflecting deeply on the complicated truths of his marriage. Fast forward six years, and Paul's demise brings his three grown sons and their families back to their ancestral home in Scotland. Fenno, the eldest son and a wry, introspective gay man, narrates the unexpected family reunion. Far removed from his structured life as a bookseller in Greenwich Village, Fenno faces a series of revelations that threaten his carefully built defenses.

Another four years pass, and in yet another June, a chance meeting on the Long Island shore reunites Fenno with Fern Olitsky, the artist who once captivated his father. Now pregnant, Fern grapples with her past guilt while contemplating her future, redefining what family means to her.

In prose rich with compassion and wit, Three Junes paints a haunting portrait of love’s redemptive powers, offering readers a profound look into the intricacies of family and the enduring bonds that tie us together.

Jack St. Bride arrives by chance in the sleepy New England town of Salem Falls, determined to reinvent himself. Once a beloved teacher and soccer coach, Jack's life was turned upside down by a student's crush, leading to accusations that shattered his reputation.

Now working at the Do-Or-Diner, Jack attempts to bury his past. He becomes the mysterious stranger, trying to fit into the town's routine. Addie Peabody, haunted by her own ghosts, finds herself drawn to Jack, and a gentle, healing love begins to blossom between them.

However, a group of bored, privileged teenage girls form a coven, crossing the line between amusement and malice. They notice Jack and make a shattering allegation, causing history to repeat itself. Jack must again proclaim his innocence, turning Salem Falls from a safe haven into a dangerous place.

As Jack's hidden past catches up with him, the town's seams begin to tear, and the truth becomes a slippery concept. Addie must look into her heart and Jack's secrets to find evidence that will either condemn or redeem the man she has come to love.

When I was twelve, a fortune teller told me that my one true love would die young and leave me all alone. Everyone said she was a fraud, that she was just making it up. I'd really like to know why the hell a person would make up a thing like that.

Written with the snap, glitter, and wit of The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, God-Shaped Hole is a memorable, poignant love story that will leave you weeping with laughter.

It is told in the wry, vulnerable voice of Beatrice "Trixie" Jordan who replies to a personal ad, "If your intentions are pure I am seeking a friend for the end of the world." In doing so, she meets Jacob Grace, a charming, effervescent thirty-something writer, a free spirit who is a passionate seeker of life.

He possesses his own turn of phrase and ways of thinking and feeling that dissonantly harmonize with Trixie's off-center vision as they roller coaster through the joys and furies of their wrenching romance. Along the way, they try to come to terms with the hurt brought about by their distant fathers who, in different ways, forsook them.

This story will prove so touching you will rush to share it with a friend or loved one or even a stranger.

چراغ‌ها را من خاموش می‌کنم is a fascinating exploration of life and human relationships. Dive into a world where emotions and daily experiences intertwine, creating a tapestry of rich cultural insights and profound personal connections.

This book offers a vivid portrayal of the characters' lives, inviting readers to reflect on their own journeys and the complexities of human interaction.

Feeling Sorry for Celia is a hilariously candid novel that captures the roller coaster ride of being a teenager. Written entirely in the form of letters, messages, postcards, and bizarre missives from imaginary organizations, the book delves into the life of Elizabeth Clarry, whose existence is anything but simple.

Her best friend, Celia, has a habit of disappearing, her father who was absent has now reappeared, and her communication with her mother relies solely on wacky notes left on the fridge. To add to her confusion, Elizabeth's English teacher is determined to revive the art of letter writing, leading to a Complete and Utter Stranger knowing more about her than anyone else.

Elizabeth is on the brink of numerous changes. She might lose her best friend but could find an incredible new one, share a kiss with the sexiest guy alive, and even participate in a marathon. The story goes to show that a lot can happen in the time it takes to write a letter.

Feeling Sorry for Celia is not just a story about teenage life; it sharply captures the essence of female friendship and the moments of bonding and separation that come with growing up. Jaclyn Moriarty's debut is as much fun as it is poignant, offering a vivid reminder of the highs and lows of adolescence.

"My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don't they realize that Hope's the only one who keeps me sane? I don't see how things could get any worse."

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone.

How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad's obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany's lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica's predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment—from the dark days of Hope's departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious "Dreg" who works his way into her heart.

Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. He then allows himself to be “saved” by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor’s life, go on to send checks to support him. When he’s not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his addled mom, and spends his days working at a colonial theme park. His creator, Chuck Palahniuk, is the visionary we need and the satirist we deserve.

Michael Ondaatje, Booker Prize-winning author of The English Patient, delivers a compelling narrative in Anil's Ghost, a novel set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's civil war. We follow Anil Tissera, a young Sri Lankan woman raised and educated in the West, who returns to her homeland as a forensic anthropologist for an international human rights group. Her mission: to uncover the origins of the systematic murders that are ravaging the country.

As Anil delves into a mystery that leads her into the realms of love, family, and identity, she is ensnared by an unknown enemy's plot, driving her to unlock the concealed history of her nation. The narrative unfolds amidst the rich tapestry of Sri Lanka's culture, ancient civilization, and evocative landscapes. Anil's Ghost stands out as Ondaatje's most potent novel to date, weaving a tale that is as much about the human condition as it is about a country in turmoil.

Sputnik Sweetheart is a novel that delves into the complexities of love and human longing. The story revolves around Sumire, an aspiring writer with a unique fashion sense reminiscent of a Kerouac character, who finds herself in love with a woman seventeen years her senior, named Miu. Sumire's best friend, K, a primary school teacher, grapples with his own feelings for Sumire, which remain unspoken.

As Sumire confides in K about her life's big questions, such as the nature of sexual desire and whether to confess her feelings to Miu, K contemplates revealing his unrequited love. The narrative takes an unexpected turn when Miu, in a state of desperation, calls from a Greek island to report that Sumire has mysteriously disappeared. This event thrusts K back into Sumire's enigmatic world, leading to a search that is fraught with ominous visions and a haunting sense of absence.

Sputnik Sweetheart is a subtle and evocative exploration of the yearning that drives us to seek connection and the profound impact of love and loss on the human psyche.

Lurching from the cappuccino bars of Notting Hill to the blissed-out shores of Thailand, Bridget Jones searches for The Truth in spite of pathetically unevolved men, insane dating theories, and Smug Married advice. She experiences a zeitgeist-esque Spiritual Epiphany somewhere between the pages of How to Find the Love You Want Without Seeking It ("can self-help books really self help?"), protective custody, and a lightly chilled Chardonnay.

A heartstrong story of family and romance, tribulation and tenacity, set on the High Plains east of Denver.

In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl—her father long since disappeared, her mother unwilling to have her in the house—is pregnant, alone herself, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they've ever known.

From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together—their fates somehow overcoming the powerful circumstances of place and station, their confusion, curiosity, dignity and humor intact and resonant. As the milieu widens to embrace fully four generations, Kent Haruf displays an emotional and aesthetic authority to rival the past masters of a classic American tradition.

Utterly true to the rhythms and patterns of life, Plainsong is a novel to care about, believe in, and learn from.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is a thought-provoking and playful short story collection by David Foster Wallace, where he nudges at the boundaries of fiction with inimitable wit and seductive intelligence. Wallace's stories present a world where the bizarre and the banal are interwoven and where hideous men appear in many guises.

Among the stories are 'The Depressed Person', a dazzling and blackly humorous portrayal of a woman's mental state; 'Adult World', which reveals a woman's agonized consideration of her confusing sexual relationship with her husband; and 'Brief Interviews with Hideous Men', a dark, hilarious series of imagined interviews with men on the subject of their relations with women.

Wallace delights in leftfield observation, mining the absurd, the surprising, and the illuminating from every situation. This collection will enthrall DFW fans and provides a perfect introduction for new readers.

Meet Bridget Jones—a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:

• lose 7 pounds
• stop smoking
• develop Inner Poise

123 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)...

Bridget Jones' Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which she resolves to:

• reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches
• visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich
• form a functional relationship with a responsible adult
• learn to program the VCR

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like millions of readers the world round — you'll find yourself shouting, "Bridget Jones is me!"

White Oleander is a novel that has been everywhere hailed as a work of rare beauty and power. It tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid. Astrid's odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery. Each home is its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, and its own hard lessons to be learned.

Josephine Alibrandi is seventeen, illegitimate, and in her final year at a wealthy Catholic school. This is the year her father comes back into her life, the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family's past and the year she sets herself free.

'I'll run one day. Run from my life. To be free and think for myself. Not as an Australia and not as an Italian and not as an in between. I'll run to be emancipated.'