Displaying books 7153-7200 of 10396 in total

A Raisin in the Sun

"Never before, in the entire history of the American theater, has so much of the truth of black people's lives been seen on the stage," observed James Baldwin shortly before A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959. Indeed, Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family living on the South Side of Chicago connected profoundly with the psyche of black America--and changed American theater forever. The play's title comes from a line in Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem," which warns that a dream deferred might "dry up/like a raisin in the sun."

"The events of every passing year add resonance to A Raisin in the Sun," said The New York Times. "It is as if history is conspiring to make the play a classic." This Modern Library edition presents the fully restored, uncut version of Hansberry's landmark work with an introduction by Robert Nemiroff.

Fool's Fate

2004

by Robin Hobb

In the final book in the Tawny Man Trilogy, Fitz and the Fool are tested more severely than ever in a book the Monroe News-Star calls “a breathtaking ride from beginning to end.” FitzChivalry Farseer has become firmly ensconced in the queen’s court. Along with his mentor, Chade, and the simpleminded yet strongly skilled Thick, Fitz strives to aid Prince Dutiful on a quest that could secure peace with the Out Islands—and win Dutiful the hand of the Narcheska Elliania.

The Narcheska has set the prince an unfathomable task: to behead a dragon trapped in ice on the isle of Aslevjal. Yet not all the clans of the Out Islands support their effort. Are there darker forces at work behind Elliania’s demand? Knowing that the Fool has foretold he will die on the island of ice, Fitz plots to leave his dearest friend behind. But fate cannot so easily be defied.

Tehanu

Tehanu, the fourth book in the renowned Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin, continues the saga of the wizard Ged and the priestess Tenar. In their youth, they had faced peril together in the Tombs of Atuan. Now, Ged returns as a broken old man, stripped of his magical powers, while Tenar has embraced the simple pleasures of an ordinary life as a farmer's widow.

Together, they are drawn into aiding another in need—a child scarred physically and emotionally, whose destiny is yet to be revealed. Tehanu is a story of restoration and healing, weaving a tale where magic meets the mundane, and where the characters' personal journeys reflect larger themes of loss, redemption, and the rediscovery of self.

The Bloody Crown of Conan

In his hugely influential and tempestuous career, Robert E. Howard created the genre that came to be known as sword and sorcery—and brought to life one of fantasy’s boldest and most enduring figures: Conan the Cimmerian—reaver, slayer, barbarian, king.

This lavishly illustrated volume gathers together three of Howard’s longest and most famous Conan stories—two of them printed for the first time directly from Howard’s typescript—along with a collection of the author’s previously unpublished and rarely seen outlines, notes, and drafts.

The People of the Black Circle
Amid the towering crags of Vendhya, in the shadowy citadel of the Black Circle, Yasmina of the golden throne seeks vengeance against the Black Seers. Her only ally is also her most formidable enemy—Conan, the outlaw chief.

The Hour of the Dragon
Toppled from the throne of Aquilonia by the evil machinations of an undead wizard, Conan must find the fabled jewel known as the Heart of Ahriman to reclaim his crown... and save his life.

A Witch Shall Be Born
A malevolent witch of evil beauty. An enslaved queen. A kingdom in the iron grip of ruthless mercenaries. And Conan, who plots deadly vengeance against the human wolf who left him in the desert to die.

The Farthest Shore

Book Three of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle. Darkness threatens to overtake Earthsea: the world and its wizards are losing their magic. Despite being wearied with age, Ged Sparrowhawk -- Archmage, wizard, and dragonlord -- embarks on a daring, treacherous journey, accompanied by Enlad's young Prince Arren, to discover the reasons behind this devastating pattern of loss.

Together they will sail to the farthest reaches of their world -- even beyond the realm of death -- as they seek to restore magic to a land desperately thirsty for it.

Night Fall

2004

by Nelson DeMille

Based on true events, but unlike anything you've ever read before, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille has created what may be his finest work to date.

It is dusk on July 17, 1996. A man and a woman who are married--but not to each other--make love on a Long Island beach as a video camera records their pleasure...and something more. Out over the ocean, TWA Flight 800 suddenly explodes with 230 victims on board, the terrible blast illuminating the sky. The government's verdict is mechanical failure. But the videotape may tell another story--if it can be found.

Now on the fifth anniversary of the crash, two members of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force set out to reopen the case; John Corey, an ex-NYPD detective, and his wife, Kate Mayfield, a career FBI agent. Together, they hunt for the crucial video...and race toward an elusive truth even more horrifying than the crash itself.

Ghost in the Shell

2004

by Masamune Shirow

In the rapidly converging landscape of the 21st century, Major Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including ghost hackers. When she tracks the trail of one hacker, her quest leads her to a world she could never have imagined.

Deep into the 21st century, the line between man and machine has been inexorably blurred. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg super-agent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including "ghost hackers," capable of exploiting the human/machine interface by reprogramming human minds to become puppets to carry out their criminal ends.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Graphic Novel)

2004

by Bo Hampton

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Graphic Novel) is a faithful adaptation of Washington Irving's tale, brought to life by Bo Hampton. This graphic novel explores the ghostly inhabitants of Tarrytown, New York, during the time of the American Revolution.

Headlined by the Headless Horseman himself, this edition features new covers and 16 pages of new material, including numerous preliminary sketches of scenes and characters. Dive into this classic story with a new visual twist!

Daniel Martin

2004

by John Fowles

Set internationally and spanning three decades, Daniel Martin is, among other things, an exploration of what it is to be English. Daniel is a screenwriter working in Hollywood, who finds himself dissatisfied with his career and with the person he has become.

In a richly evoked narrative, Daniel travels home to reconcile with a dying friend, and also to visit his own forgotten past in an attempt to discover himself. Summoned home to England to visit an ailing friend, Daniel Martin finds himself back in the company of people who once knew him well, forced to confront his buried past, and propelled toward a journey of self-discovery through which he ultimately creates for himself a more satisfying existence.

A brilliantly imagined novel infused with a profound understanding of human nature, Daniel Martin is John Fowles at the height of his literary powers.

Maktub

2004

by Paulo Coelho

Maktub não é um livro de conselhos, mas uma troca de experiências. A maior parte dos textos se refere a ensinamentos que Paulo Coelho recebeu de seu mestre ao longo de 11 anos. Outros são relatos de amigos ou pessoas desconhecidas que de uma forma ou de outra lhe deixaram uma mensagem inesquecível. Finalmente, existem trechos de livros que ele leu e de histórias que pertencem à herança espiritual da raça humana.

A proposta do autor é reunir um apanhado da sabedoria universal destacando um ponto comum a todas as histórias: a busca da felicidade. Embora o desejo de ser feliz seja relatado em contextos tão diversos, fica fácil concluir que, não importa o lugar ou a época, ele sempre se baseia nos mesmos pilares: amor, humildade, solidariedade e renúncia.

Maktub oferece aos leitores uma oportunidade de refletir e se reencontrar. "Se você está percorrendo o caminho de seus sonhos, comprometa-se com ele. Não deixe a porta de saída aberta através da 'Ainda não é bem isto que eu queria.' Assuma o seu caminho. Mesmo que precise dar passos incertos, mesmo que saiba que pode fazer melhor o que está fazendo. Se você aceitar suas possibilidades no presente, com toda certeza vai se sair melhor no futuro."

The Heart of the Matter

2004

by Graham Greene

In a British colony in West Africa, Henry Scobie is a pious and righteous man of modest means enlisted with securing borders. But when he’s passed over for a promotion as commissioner of police, the humiliation hits hardest for his wife, Louise.


Already oppressed by the appalling climate, frustrated in a loveless marriage, and belittled by the wives of more privileged officers, Louise wants out. Feeling responsible for her unhappiness, Henry decides against his better judgment to accept a loan from a black marketeer to secure Louise’s passage. It’s just a single indiscretion, yet for Henry it precipitates a rapid fall from grace as one moral compromise after another leads him into a web of blackmail, adultery, and murder.


And for a devout man like Henry, there may be nothing left but damnation.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

2004

by Victor Hugo

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a timeless work by Victor Hugo that transports readers to Medieval Paris, under the imposing twin towers of its most revered structure, the cathedral of Notre-Dame. At the heart of this historical novel is the poignant story of Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer, and his unrequited love for the beautiful Esmeralda, a gypsy dancer. Their lives intertwine with that of Claude Frollo, a priest battling his own inner demons.

Hugo's masterful storytelling weaves a tale of love, devotion, jealousy, and deception, set against the backdrop of a city teeming with life and the specter of social injustice. The author's remarkable powers of description bring the setting and characters vividly to life, making the novel not only an exploration of the human condition but also a critique of society and its treatment of those who are different.

Pillar of Light

2004

by Gerald N. Lund

You believe me, don't you, Nathan. It was not a question, but a statement, filled with wonder. It stunned Nathan. You believe it all. I can see it on your face. For a moment, time seemed suspended as Nathan probed the inward recesses of his soul. There was still the incredulousness, still the sense of hearing something that couldn't possibly be true. And yet he knew it was. He knew without the least shadow of doubt that everything Joseph was telling him was true. And so, finally, with a wonder of his own, he said, Yes, Joseph, I believe you.

Pillar of Light — the first volume in the series The Work and the Glory — begins the epic story of the Benjamin Steed family. In the 1820s, they move from Vermont to Palmyra Township in upstate New York in search of better farmland. There they meet a young man named Joseph Smith and are thrown into the maelstrom of conflict and controversy that swirls around him. Did he really see the Father and the Son in a pillar of light? Has he truly been visited by angelic messengers? What is all this talk about gold plates and new scripture? In short, is he a prophet and seer or a monumental fraud? The answers each one gives to these questions — intensely personal, potentially divisive — will dramatically affect the lives of the Steeds forever after.

Author Gerald N. Lund masterfully weaves together historical reality and high-powered fiction. This combination seems to make the reader an eyewitness to the early scenes of the Restoration, thus deepening one's understanding and appreciation of those momentous events. The well-drawn plot and fictional characters present a moving, gripping story. Meet Benjamin and Mary Ann Steed, devoted to each other as man and wife, yet at odds over religion; Joshua, their volatile son, who rebels and heads for trouble; the sensitive Nathan, their second son, in whom Joseph Smith's message strikes a responsive chord; and the beautiful Lydia McBride, who captures the hearts of both Joshua and Nathan.

This book skillfully explores the inmost motivations of Joseph Smith and his early followers and the responses of typical contemporary families to the claims he made. These people come to life in this powerful historical novel, a story that captures both the heartache and the happiness that came in the wake of Joseph's experience with the pillar of light.

Test of the Twins

Defying the fate that claimed his evil predecessor, Raistlin opens the Portal to the Abyss and passes through. With Crysania at his side, he engages the Queen of Darkness in a battle for the ultimate prize—a seat among the gods.

At the same time, Caramon and Tasslehoff are transported to the future. There, they come to understand the consequences of Raistlin's quest—and Caramon at last realizes the painful sacrifice he must make to prevent his brother's success. Old friends and strange allies come together to aid him, but Caramon must take the last, greatest step alone: the first step into the Abyss.

The Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

Where do you find Nabokov's butterflies, George Washington's pheasants, and the only stuffed bird remaining from the Lewis and Clark expedition? The vast collections of animals, minerals, and plants at the Harvard Museum of Natural History are among the oldest in the country, dating back to the 1700s.

In the words of Edward O. Wilson, the museum stands as both a "cabinet of wonder and temple of science." Its rich and unlikely history involves literary figures, creationists, millionaires, and visionary scientists from Asa Gray to Stephen Jay Gould. Its mastodon skeleton — still on display — is even linked to one of the nineteenth century's most bizarre and notorious murders.

"The Rarest of the Rare" tells the fascinating stories behind the extinct butterflies, rare birds, lost plants, dazzling meteorites, and other scientific and historic specimens that fill the museum's halls. You'll learn about the painting that catches Audubon in a shameful lie, the sand dollar collected by Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle, and dozens of other treasures in this surprising, informative, and often amusing tour of the natural world.

Vampire Mountain

2004

by Darren Shan

In the fourth book of the bestselling Cirque Du Freak series, Darren Shan and Mr. Crepsley embark on a dangerous trek to the very heart of the vampire world. But they face more than the cold on Vampire Mountain—the vampaneze have been there before them.

Will a meeting with the Vampire Princes restore Darren's human side, or turn him further toward the darkness? Only one thing is certain—Darren's initiation into the vampire clan is more deadly than he can ever have imagined.

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter

Mario Vargas Llosa's brilliant, multilayered novel is set in the Lima of the author's youth, where a young student named Marito is toiling away in the news department of a local radio station. His young life is disrupted by two arrivals.

The first is his aunt Julia, recently divorced and thirteen years older, with whom he begins a secret affair. The second is a manic radio scriptwriter named Pedro Camacho, whose racy, vituperative soap operas are holding the city's listeners in thrall. Pedro chooses young Marito to be his confidant as he slowly goes insane.

Interweaving the story of Marito's life with the ever-more-fevered tales of Pedro Camacho, Vargas Llosa's novel is hilarious, mischievous, and masterfully done.

Beyond Tuesday Morning

2004

by Karen Kingsbury

The hope-filled sequel to the bestselling One Tuesday Morning.

In this new novel by Karen Kingsbury, three years have passed since the terrorist attacks on New York City. Jamie Bryan, widow of a firefighter who lost his life on that terrible day, has found meaning in her season of loss by volunteering at St. Paul’s, the memorial chapel across the street from where the Twin Towers once stood. Here she meets a daily stream of people touched by the tragedy, including two men with whom she feels a connection. One is a firefighter also changed by the attacks, the other a police officer from Los Angeles.

But as Jamie gets to know the police officer, she is stunned to find out that he is the brother of Eric Michaels, the man with the uncanny resemblance to Jamie’s husband, the man who lived with her for three months after September 11. Eric is the man she has vowed never to see again. Certain she could not share even a friendship with his brother, Jamie shuts out the police officer and delves deeper into her work at St. Paul’s.

Now it will take the persistence of a tenacious man, the questions from her curious young daughter, and the words from her dead husband’s journal to move Jamie beyond one Tuesday morning.

Jamie Bryan took her position at the far end of the Staten Island Ferry, pressed her body against the railing, eyes on the place where the Twin Towers once stood. She could face it now, every day if she had to. The terrorist attacks had happened, the World Trade Center had collapsed, and the only man she’d ever loved had gone down with them.

Late fall was warmer than usual, and the breeze across the water washed over Jamie’s face. If she could do this, if she could make this journey three times a week while Sierra was in school, then she could convince herself to get through another long, dark night. She could face the empty place in the bed beside her, face the longing for the man who had been her best friend, the one she’d fallen for when she was only a girl.

Class A

Drugs, cars and guns! Keith Moore is Europe's biggest cocaine dealer. The police have been trying to get enough evidence to nail him for more than twenty years.

Now, four CHERUB agents are joining the hunt. Can a group of kids successfully infiltrate Keith Moore's organisation when dozens of attempts by undercover police officers have failed?

James Adams must start at the bottom, making deliveries for small-time drug dealers and getting to know the dangerous underworld they inhabit. He needs to make a big splash if he's going to win the confidence of the man at the top.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

From first-time novelist, Jordan Sonnenblick, comes a brave and beautiful story that will make readers laugh and break their hearts at the same time.

Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life; he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece.

Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.

Perahu Kertas

2004

by Dee Lestari

Namanya Kugy. Mungil, pengkhayal, dan berantakan. Dari benaknya, mengalir untaian dongeng indah. Keenan belum pernah bertemu manusia seaneh itu.

Namanya Keenan. Cerdas, artistik, dan penuh kejutan. Dari tangannya, mewujud lukisan-lukisan magis. Kugy belum pernah bertemu manusia seajaib itu.

Dan kini mereka berhadapan di antara hamparan misteri dan rintangan. Akankah dongeng dan lukisan itu bersatu? Akankah hati dan impian mereka bertemu?

The Marvelous Land of Oz

2004

by L. Frank Baum

Few fantasy lands have captured our hearts and imaginations as has the marvelous land of Oz. For over four generations, children and adults alike have reveled in the magical adventures of its beloved folk. Now, for the first time in over seventy years, the second book about Oz is presented here in the same deluxe format as the rare first edition, complete with all 16 of the original John R. Neill color plates, its colorful pictorial binding, and the many black-and-white illustrations that bring it to joyous life.

First issued in 1904, L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz is the story of the wonderful adventures of the young boy named Tip as he travels throughout the many lands of Oz. Here he meets with our old friends the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as some new friends like Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the amazing Gump. How they thwart the wicked plans of the evil witch Mombi and overcome the rebellion of General Jinjur and her army of young women is a tale as exciting and endearing today as it was when first published over eighty years ago.

White: The Great Pursuit

2004

by Ted Dekker

White: The Great Pursuit takes readers on a thrilling adventure as Thomas, the leader of a small ragtag group known as The Circle, faces new enemies and never-ending challenges. In this epic tale, Thomas battles on two different worlds - one threatened by a deadly virus and the other by a forbidden love that could destroy everything The Circle stands for.

Join Thomas on a heroic journey filled with love and sacrifice, where the lines between good and evil blur, and every decision could mean life or death. This gripping story is sure to captivate anyone who loves epic quests and tales of heroism.

Atlantis Found

2004

by Clive Cussler

Dirk Pitt discovers Atlantis in a breathtaking novel from the grand master of adventure fiction. Clive Cussler has long since proven himself one of America's most popular authors—a master of intricate, audacious plotting and vibrant, rollicking narrative.

September 1858: An Antarctic whaler stumbles upon an aged wreck, its grisly frozen crew guarding crates of odd antiquities—and a skull carved from black obsidian.

March 2001: A team of anthropologists gazes in awe at a wall of strange inscriptions, moments before a blast seals them deep within the Colorado rock.

April 2001: A research ship manned by Dirk Pitt and members of the U.S. National Underwater and Marine Agency is set upon and nearly sunk by an impossibility—a vessel that should have died fifty-six years before.

Pitt knows that somehow all these incidents are connected, and his investigations soon land him deep into an ancient mystery with very modern consequences. He faces a diabolical enemy unlike any he has ever known, racing to save not only his own life but the future of the world itself.

The trap is set. The clock is ticking. And only one man stands between earth and Armageddon...

Odd Thomas

2004

by Dean Koontz

"The dead don't talk. I don't know why." But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn.Maybe he has a gift, maybe it's a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd's otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd's deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.Today is August 14.In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares, and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.

Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation

2004

by Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell famously defined myth as other people's religion. But he also said that one of the basic functions of myth is to help each individual through the journey of life, providing a sort of travel guide or map to reach fulfillment—or, as he called it, bliss. For Campbell, many of the world's most powerful myths support the individual's heroic path toward bliss.

In Pathways to Bliss, Campbell examines this personal, psychological side of myth. Like his classic best-selling books Myths to Live By and The Power of Myth, Pathways to Bliss draws from Campbell's popular lectures and dialogues, which highlight his remarkable storytelling and ability to apply the larger themes of world mythology to personal growth and the quest for transformation. Here he anchors mythology's symbolic wisdom to the individual, applying the most poetic mythical metaphors to the challenges of our daily lives.

Campbell dwells on life's important questions. Combining cross-cultural stories with the teachings of modern psychology, he examines the ways in which our myths shape and enrich our lives and shows how myth can help each of us truly identify and follow our bliss.

The Chronicles of Narnia

2004

by C.S. Lewis

Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Staples Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and together they became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.

For the past fifty years, The Chronicles of Narnia have transcended the fantasy genre to become part of the canon of classic literature. Each of the seven books is a masterpiece, drawing the reader into a land where magic meets reality, and the result is a fictional world whose scope has fascinated generations.

This edition presents all seven books—unabridged—in one impressive volume. The books are presented here in chronological order, each chapter graced with an illustration by the original artist, Pauline Baynes. Deceptively simple and direct, The Chronicles of Narnia continue to captivate fans with adventures, characters, and truths that speak to readers of all ages, even fifty years after they were first published.

The General in His Labyrinth

Gabriel García Márquez's most political novel is the tragic story of General Simón Bolívar, the man who tried to unite a continent.

Bolívar, known in six Latin American countries as the Liberator, is one of the most revered heroes of the western hemisphere; in García Márquez's brilliant reimagining, he is magnificently flawed as well.

The novel follows Bolívar as he takes his final journey in 1830 down the Magdalena River toward the sea, revisiting the scenes of his former glory and lamenting his lost dream of an alliance of American nations. Forced from power, dogged by assassins, and prematurely aged and wasted by a fatal illness, the General is still a remarkably vital and mercurial man.

He seems to remain alive by the sheer force of will that led him to so many victories in the battlefields and love affairs of his past. As he wanders in the labyrinth of his failing powers—and still-powerful memories—he defies his impending death until the last.

The General in His Labyrinth is an unforgettable portrait of a visionary from one of the greatest writers of our time.

The Blue Girl

2004

by Charles de Lint

Seventeen-year-old Imogene's tough, rebellious nature has caused her more harm than good—so when her family moves to Newford, she decides to reinvent herself. She won't lose her punk/thrift-shop look, but she'll try to avoid the gangs, work a little harder at school, and maybe even stay out of trouble for a change. But trouble shows up anyway.

Imogene quickly catches the eye of Redding's bullies, as well as the school's resident teen ghost. Then she gets on the wrong side of a gang of malicious fairies. When her imaginary childhood friend, Pelly, actually manifests, Imogene realizes that the impossible is all too real. And it's dangerous.

If she wants to survive high school—not to mention stay alive—she has to fall back on the skills she picked up in her hometown, running with a gang. Even with Maxine and some unexpected allies by her side, will her new friend be able to make it?

The Fairy Godmother

2004

by Mercedes Lackey

In the land of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale.

Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderella—until fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince! So she set out to make a new life for herself. But breaking with "The Tradition" was no easy matter—until she got a little help from her own fairy godmother. Who promptly offered Elena a most unexpected job...

Now, instead of sleeping in the chimney, she has to deal with arrogant, stuffed-shirt princes who keep trying to rise above their place in the tale. And there's one in particular who needs to be dealt with...

Sometimes a fairy godmother's work is never done...

The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels (5 Volumes)

2004

by Patrick O'Brian

Patrick O’Brian’s twenty-one-volume Aubrey/Maturin series has delighted generations of devoted fans, inspired a blockbuster film, and sold millions of copies in twenty-four languages.

These five omnibus volumes, beautifully produced and boxed, contain 7,000 pages of what has often been described as a single, continuous narrative. They are a perfect tribute for such a literary achievement, and a perfect gift for the O’Brian enthusiast.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

The E-Myth Revisited is an instant classic, a revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller that dispels the myths about starting your own business.

Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.

Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed—and shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise.

Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business. The E-Myth Revisited will help you grow your business in a productive, assured way.

Blink

2004

by Ted Dekker

The future changes in the BLINK of an eye...or does it?

Seth Borders isn't your average graduate student. For starters, he has one of the world's highest IQs. Now he's suddenly struck by an incredible power—the ability to see multiple potential futures.

Still reeling from this inexplicable gift, Seth stumbles upon a beautiful woman named Miriam. Unknown to Seth, Miriam is a Saudi Arabian princess who has fled her veiled existence to escape a forced marriage of unimaginable consequences. Cultures collide as they're thrown together and forced to run from an unstoppable force determined to kidnap or kill Miriam.

Seth's mysterious ability helps them avoid capture once, then twice. But with no sleep, a fugitive princess by his side, hit men a heartbeat away, and a massive manhunt steadily closing in, evasion becomes impossible.

An intoxicating tale set amidst the shifting sands of the Middle East and the back roads of America, Blink engages issues as ancient as the earth itself...and as current as today's headlines.

Gateway

2004

by Frederik Pohl

Gateway opened on all the wealth of the Universe... and on reaches of unimaginable horror.

When prospector Robinette Broadhead ventured out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he was determined to find the right mission that would make him his fortune.
Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Rob Broadhead faces the haunting memories of what happened to him and what he has become.

Join him on a perilous journey into his own psyche, which proves to be even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he pushed himself to undertake!

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

Move over, Charles Dickens—it's Christopher Moore time.

Trainspotting

2004

by Irvine Welsh

Choose us. Choose life. Choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fuckin junk food intae yir mooth. Choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yersel in a home, a total fuckin embarrassment tae the selfish, fucked-up brats ye've produced. Choose life.

The bestselling novel by Irvine Welsh that provided the inspiration for Danny Boyle’s hit film takes us into the world of Mark Renton and his attempts to escape the bleak and destructive lifestyle of Edinburgh's heroin addicts. With its raw Scottish dialect and brutal honesty, Trainspotting navigates the challenges of addiction, poverty, and the quest for meaning in a seemingly indifferent world.

xxxHolic, Vol. 3

2004

by CLAMP

Kimihiro Watanuki is haunted by spirits–and the only way to escape his curse is to become the indentured servant of the mysterious witch, Yûko Ichihara. But when his beloved, beautiful Himawari-chan, asks him for a favor, he and his eternal rival, the exorcist Dômeki, must go on a spirit-busting adventure without Yûko there to save them!

Meanwhile, Yûko gives a young woman a precious cylindrical box from her treasure room. There's just one caveat: She must never open it. Inside is a magical device with a terrifying reputation! Can Kimihiro save an ambitious young lady from her own overconfidence?

See a special appearance by the characters of Tsubasa in xxxHOLiC volume three! Don't miss it! Includes chapters 16-22.

Thr3e

2004

by Ted Dekker

The award-winning, best-selling suspense masterwork, now a major motion picture event. Enter a world where nothing is what it seems. Where your closest friend could be your greatest enemy.

Kevin Parson is alone in his car when his cell phone rings. A man calling himself Slater offers a deadly ultimatum: "You have exactly three minutes to confess your sin to the world. Refuse, and the car you're driving will blow sky high." Then the phone goes dead.

Kevin panics. Who would make such a demand? What sin? Yet not sure what else to do, Kevin swerves into a parking lot and runs from his car. Just in case.

Precisely three minutes later, a massive explosion sets his world on a collision course with madness. And that's only the first move in this deadly game.

From the #1 best-selling fiction author comes a powerful story of good, evil, and all that lies between.

Forest of Secrets

2004

by Erin Hunter

Allegiances are shifting among the Clans of warrior cats that roam the forest. With tensions so delicately balanced, former friends can become enemies overnight, and some cats are willing to kill to get what they want.

Fireheart is determined to find out the truth about the mysterious death of brave ThunderClan warrior Redtail. But as he searches for answers, he uncovers secrets that some believe would be better left hidden.

The Line of Beauty

In the summer of 1983, twenty-year-old Nick Guest moves into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: conservative Member of Parliament Gerald, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their two children, Toby—whom Nick had idolized at Oxford—and Catherine, who is highly critical of her family's assumptions and ambitions.

As the boom years of the eighties unfold, Nick, an innocent in the world of politics and money, finds his life altered by the rising fortunes of this glamorous family. His two vividly contrasting love affairs, one with a young black clerk and one with a Lebanese millionaire, dramatize the dangers and rewards of his own private pursuit of beauty, a pursuit as compelling to Nick as the desire for power and riches among his friends.

Richly textured, emotionally charged, and disarmingly comic, this is a major work by one of our finest writers.

City of Masks

2004

by Mary Hoffman

Lucien is seriously ill, but his life is transformed when an old Italian notebook gives him the power to become a stravagante, a time traveller with access to 16th century Italy. He wakes up in Bellezza (Venice) during carnival time and meets Arianna, a girl his own age who is disguised as a boy in the hope of being selected as one of the Duchessa's mandoliers.

Arianna gives Lucien her boy's clothing, and he is selected as a mandolier himself, becoming a friend of fellow-stravagante Rodolfo, the Duchessa's lover, and saving the Duchessa's life when she is threatened by an assassin hired by the powerful di Chimici family.

For state occasions, the Duchessa uses her maid Giuliana as a body-double, but Giuliana commits the fatal mistake of revealing the secret to her fiancé Enrico, leading to a sequence of devastating consequences.

Meanwhile, Lucien has met the original stravagante, the Elizabethan alchemist William Dethridge, and he begins to understand that he may be called to follow in his footsteps.

Moloka'i

2004

by Alan Brennert

This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai'i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place---and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning. With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka'i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death. Such is the warmth, humor, and compassion of this novel that "few readers will remain unchanged by Rachel's story" (mostlyfiction.com).

Crank

2004

by Ellen Hopkins

In Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree:

"there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank.

Harry Potter Boxed Set, Books 1-5 (Harry Potter, #1-5)

2004

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter Boxed Set, Books 1-5 includes:

  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This collection brings together the first five books of the Harry Potter series, where you'll embark on an unforgettable journey through the world of magic and wizardry at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Experience the adventures, friendships, and challenges as Harry and his friends face dark forces and uncover hidden secrets. Perfect for fans of fantasy and adventure!

The Big Bad Wolf

2004

by James Patterson

Alex Cross battles the most ruthless and powerful killer he has ever encountered - a predator known only as the Wolf.

Alex Cross's first case since joining the FBI has his new colleagues stymied. Across the country, men and women are being kidnapped in broad daylight and then disappearing completely. These people are not being taken for ransom, Alex realizes. They are being bought and sold. And it looks as if a shadowy figure called the Wolf - a master criminal who has brought a new reign of terror to organize crime - is behind this business in which ordinary men and women are sold as slaves.

Even as he admires the FBI's vast resources, Alex grows impatient with the Bureau's clumsiness and caution when it is time to move. A lone wolf himself, he has to go out on his own in order to track the Wolf and try to rescue some of the victims while they are still alive.

As the case boils over, Alex is in hot water at home too. His ex-fiancee, Christine Johnson, comes back into his life - and not for the reasons Alex might have hoped.

The Orange Girl

2004

by Jostein Gaarder

From the author of SOPHIE'S WORLD, a modern fairy tale with a philosophical twist. 'My father died eleven years ago. I was only four then. I never thought I'd hear from him again, but now we're writing a book together' To Georg Røed, his father is no more than a shadow, a distant memory. But then one day his grandmother discovers some pages stuffed into the lining of an old red pushchair. The pages are a letter to Georg, written just before his father died, and a story, 'The Orange Girl'. But 'The Orange Girl' is no ordinary story - it is a riddle from the past and centres around an incident in his father's youth. One day he boarded a tram and was captivated by a beautiful girl standing in the aisle, clutching a huge paper bag of luscious-looking oranges. Suddenly the tram gave a jolt and he stumbled forward, sending the oranges flying in all directions. The girl simply hopped off the tram leaving Georg's father with arms full of oranges. Now, from beyond the grave, he is asking his son to help him finally solve the puzzle of her identity.

Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction

2004

by Sue Townsend

Adrian Mole, now age thirty-four and three quarters, needs proof that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction so he can get a refund from a travel agency for the deposit he paid on a trip to Cyprus. Naturally, he writes to Tony Blair for some evidence.

He’s engaged to Marigold, but obsessed with her voluptuous sister. And he is so deeply in debt to banks and credit card companies that it would take more than twice his monthly salary to ever repay them.

He needs a guest speaker for his creative writing group’s dinner in Leicestershire and wonders if the prime minister’s wife is available. In short, Adrian is back in true form, unable—like so many people we know, but of course, not us—to admit that the world does not revolve around him.

But recognizing the universal core of Adrian’s dilemmas is what makes them so agonizingly funny.

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream

2004

by H.G. Bissinger

Return once again to the enduring account of life in the Mojo lane, to the Permian Panthers of Odessa — the winningest high school football team in Texas history. Odessa is not known to be a town big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this small, dusty town going.

Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the oil business. In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; in good times, its murder rate skyrockets. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true.

With frankness and compassion, Bissinger chronicles one of the Panthers' dramatic seasons and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires—and sometimes shatters—the teenagers who wear the Panthers' uniforms.

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