Imagine a world where 80 percent of the population manifests superpowers, known as "Quirks," by the age of four. In such a world, heroes and villains are commonplace, and becoming a hero means learning to harness your abilities. The place to do that? The Hero Academy. But what if you're among the 20 percent born without a Quirk?
Izuku Midoriya, a middle school student, dreams of becoming a hero, but lacks any superpowers. With no hope of getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for aspiring heroes, it seems his future is on a steady decline. However, a fateful encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of all, presents an opportunity to alter his destiny.
What happens when a superhero can beat the snot out of every villain with just one punch? Can he find an opponent to give his life meaning, or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom? Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem—he just can't seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on!
Garo, a man who admires monsters, attacks the Hero Association! But after pulverizing the heroes there, he just leaves. What the heck does this guy want?! Meanwhile, Class-B, Rank-1 Miss Blizzard visits Saitama at his apartment. Since he's just a low-ranking hero, she thinks she can make him one of her subordinates, but as always, Saitama has other plans!
This is the way the world ends. Again.
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
Webb Thompson awakes, disoriented and fearful. He sees green grass and a black, boiling sky spread out before him. He finds his little sister nearby, unconscious. When he reaches her side, Sundown is alive. But now they have other problems: where are they, how did they get there, and what is that growling noise?
Webb and Sundown have awakened in the Dark Lands-a world between life and death where sacred souls battle malevolent evil for control of the living realm, a battle of which mere mortals know nothing. How did Webb and Sundown come to this place? Are they living? Are they dead? Or are they something else? Webb and Sundown will soon discover mystical abilities within themselves, abilities they will need to practice and perfect because evil is growing. His name is the Dark Man, an ancient evil, but one new to the Dark Lands. His very presence threatens to destroy the fabric of the Dark Lands, the living world and of time itself. The battle lines have been drawn. The war is soon to begin...
Imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. His only possessions are the old, torn clothes he carries in a paper bag. The only world he knows is one of isolation and fear. Although others had rescued this boy from his abusive alcoholic mother, his real hurt is just beginning — he has no place to call home.
This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to A Child Called "It". In The Lost Boy, he answers questions and reveals new adventures through the compelling story of his life as an adolescent. Now considered an F-Child (Foster Child), Dave is moved in and out of five different homes. He suffers shame and experiences resentment from those who feel that all foster kids are trouble and unworthy of being loved just because they are not part of a "real" family.
Tears, laughter, devastation, and hope create the journey of this little lost boy who searches desperately for just one thing — the love of a family.
Lips of a Mastodon explores the poignant and true-to-heart love affair between James Dean and actress Pier Angeli, conceptually narrated in the actor's own words. This narrative delves into the depths of a romance that defied societal expectations and the pressures of Hollywood fame.
The story is set against the backdrop of the 1950s, a time when Dean was ascending to the heights of his career and Angeli was a rising star. Their connection, though fraught with challenges, is depicted with a raw and genuine emotion that transcends the pages, inviting readers into the intimate world of two iconic figures struggling to reconcile their love with the demands of their public lives.
One of the most influential and well-loved books of Christianity, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis appears here in Penguin Classics in a new translation by Robert Jeffery, with an introduction by Max Von Habsburg, notes, a chronology and further reading.
The Imitation of Christ is a passionate celebration of God's love, mercy and holiness, which has stimulated religious devotion for over five hundred years. With great personal conviction and deep humanity, Thomas à Kempis demonstrates the individual's reliance on God and on the words of Christ, and the futility of a life without faith, as well as exploring the ideas such as humility, compassion, patience and tolerance.
Thomas spent some seventy years of his life in the reclusive environment of monasteries, yet in this astonishing work he demonstrates an encompassing understanding of human nature, while his writing speaks to readers of every age and every nation.
Three hundred years ago, something terrifying arose and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Now, a small remnant – the descendants of the few survivors who were able to escape the massacre below – lives above the clouds, on the top of a Mountain.
When they discover that their water supply is being poisoned Down Below, an expedition, including seventeen year-old girl Icelyn Brathius, must descend and face the monsters, the Threat Below, that wiped out civilization centuries ago.
Icelyn quickly learns that all is not what it seems as she uncovers secrets hundreds of years old and struggles to stay alive in a world where no human is fit to survive.
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.
In this profound work, Coates pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, offering a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?
From Harper Lee comes a landmark new novel set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird. Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—"Scout"—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.
Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can be guided only by one's conscience. Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context, and new meaning to an American classic.
A doctor discovers the surprising truth about marijuana.
No substance on earth is as hotly debated as marijuana. Opponents claim it’s dangerous, addictive, carcinogenic, and a gateway to serious drug abuse. Fans claim it as a wonder drug, treating cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, glaucoma, arthritis, migraines, PTSD, and insomnia. Patients suffering from these conditions need—and deserve—hard facts based on medical evidence, not hysteria and superstition.
In Stoned, palliative care physician Dr. David Casarett sets out to do anything—including experimenting on himself—to find evidence of marijuana’s medical potential. He smears mysterious marijuana paste on his legs and samples pot wine. He poses as a patient at a seedy California clinic and takes lessons from an artisanal hash maker. In conversations with researchers, doctors, and patients around the world, he learns how marijuana works—and doesn’t—in the real world.
Dr. Casarett unearths tales of near-miraculous success, such as a child with chronic seizures who finally found relief in cannabidiol oil. In Tel Aviv, he learns of a nursing home that’s found success giving marijuana to dementia patients. On the other hand, one patient who believed marijuana cured her lung cancer has clearly been misled.
As Casarett sifts the myth and misinformation from the scientific evidence, he explains, among other things:
Often humorous, occasionally heartbreaking, and full of counterintuitive conclusions, Stoned offers a compassionate and much-needed medical practitioner’s perspective on the potential of this misunderstood plant.
After an impoverished and indigent childhood, Callie Dahl is interested in one thing: money enough to buy her own home. Love and marriage are impractical pursuits, and hold zero attraction for her—though she alleviates her loneliness through the guilty pleasure of an at-far fantasy of her temporary boss, Lucius Ransome.
So when Lucius gives her the task of disproving a long-standing Ransome Family legend, it’s a tossup for her whether the main attraction is the financial bonus he’s promised or the chance to spend time in his company!
Her investigation unravels more than family secrets. As she plunges into a steamy affair with Lucius, everything she holds true comes apart as he introduces her to a world where love actually might mean more than money.
The worldwide phenomenon from the bestselling author of The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, A Column of Fire, and The Evening and the Morning His code name was “The Needle.” He was a German aristocrat of extraordinary intelligence—a master spy with a legacy of violence in his blood, and the object of the most desperate manhunt in history. . . .
But his fate lay in the hands of a young and vulnerable English woman, whose loyalty, if swayed, would assure his freedom—and win the war for the Nazis. . . .
The groundbreaking work on trauma that remains a “classic for our generation” (Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps the Score).
Trauma and Recovery is the foundational text on understanding trauma survivors. By placing individual experience in a political frame, psychiatrist Judith L. Herman argues that psychological trauma is inseparable from its social and political context.
Drawing on her own research on incest, as well as a vast literature on combat veterans and victims of political terror, she shows surprising parallels between private horrors like child abuse and public horrors like war.
This edition includes a new epilogue by the author assessing what has—and hasn’t—changed in understanding and treating trauma over the last three decades.
Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how we heal.
Embark on a high-seas adventure with One Piece, the record-shattering best-selling manga series from Japan. In Volume 78, Luffy and his crew carry the hopes of the Dressrosa citizens as they face off in their final battle. As each fight reaches its climax, Luffy finally confronts Doflamingo. The unimaginable ultimate battle begins, setting the stage for an oceanic odyssey in pursuit of the 'One Piece' treasure!
Sara Fielding is a prim and proper gentlewoman, a writer who creates dreams with her pen. Yet, her curiosity draws her away from the safety of her country cottage into the thrilling, dangerous world of Derek Craven—a man of substantial wealth and the proprietor of London's most exclusive gambling house.
Derek, a man who rose from the depths of poverty, is now faced with the necessity of allowing Sara into his world of fluctuating fortunes, with her impeccable manners and exasperating innocence. However, Sara possesses an unexpected strength and sensuality that captivates Derek beyond his control. In a place where shadows conceal imminent threats, a supposedly meek 'mouse' can evolve into a stunning enchantress, and a hardened gambler can be profoundly affected by the intensity of passion and the prospect of love.
See the world of Fifty Shades of Grey anew through the eyes of Christian Grey. In Christian's own words, and through his thoughts, reflections, and dreams, E L James offers a fresh perspective on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the world.
Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty—until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.
Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?
This book is intended for mature audiences.
If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling. Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off. Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school.
So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist. Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more normal than she ever has as part of the popular crowd... until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.
Fragments of Horror offers a new collection of delightfully macabre tales from Junji Ito, a celebrated master of horror manga. The stories range from the terrifying to the comedic, and from the erotic to the loathsome.
Readers will encounter an old wooden mansion that turns on its inhabitants, a dissection class with a most unusual subject, and a funeral where the dead refuse to rest in peace. These chilling narratives mark Junji Ito's much-anticipated return to the realm of horror.
Welsh’s sizzling new novel, Crime, is a thrilling journey into the bright glamour of the Sunshine State and a seething underworld of utter darkness.
Now bereft of both youth and ambition, Detective Inspector Ray Lennox is recovering from a mental breakdown induced by occupational stress and cocaine abuse, and a particularly horrifying child sex murder case back in Edinburgh. On vacation in Florida, his fiancée Trudi is only interested in planning their forthcoming wedding, and a bitter argument sees a deranged Lennox cast adrift in strip-mall Florida. In a seedy bar, Lennox meets two women, ending up at their apartment for a coke binge, which is interrupted by two menacing strangers. After the ensuing brawl, Lennox finds himself alone with Tianna, the terrified ten-year-old daughter of one of the women, and a sheet of instructions that make him responsible for her immediate safety.
Lennox takes the girl to an exclusive marina on the Gulf coast, and quickly suspects that he has stumbled into a hornet’s nest: a gang or organized paedophiles, every bit as threatening as the monster that haunted him back in Edinburgh. His priority is to protect the abused girl, but can the edgy Lennox trust his own instincts? And can he negotiate her inappropriate sexuality as well as his own mental fragility?
In Crime, Welsh has written a shocking and gripping story about the corruption and abuse of the human soul and the possibilities of redemption.
Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski's strong suit. All throughout her life, she's been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.
Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, This Song Will Save Your Life is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.
Obsession is a stand-alone novel that is an adult spin-off of the Lux Series. You do not need to read a Lux book to read Obsession and vice versa.
He’s arrogant, domineering, and... To. Die. For.
Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.
Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something... unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.
Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life… or is it Hunter?
Finding Audrey is a contemporary Young Adult novel that blends comedy, romance, and psychological recovery in an inspiring and entertaining way. Fourteen-year-old Audrey is making slow but steady progress dealing with her anxiety disorder when Linus, her brother's gaming teammate, comes into the picture. His presence energizes her recovery and deepens her connection to the world around her.
With Linus's support, Audrey begins to open up and talk through her fears in ways she never could before, leading to a sweet romantic connection that benefits not just Audrey but her entire family as well. This heartwarming story is a testament to the power of friendship, love, and family in overcoming personal challenges.
The Secret History meets Sharp Objects in this stunning debut about murder and glamour set in the ambiguous and claustrophobic world of an exclusive New England prep school.
Death sets the plot in motion: the murder of Nica Baker, beautiful, wild, enigmatic, and only sixteen. The crime is solved, and quickly—a lonely classmate, unrequited love, a suicide note confession—but memory and instinct won’t allow Nica’s older sister, Grace, to accept the case as closed.
Dropping out of college and living at home, working at the moneyed and progressive private high school in Hartford, Connecticut, from which she recently graduated, Grace becomes increasingly obsessed with identifying and punishing the real killer.
Compulsively readable, Lili Anolik’s debut novel combines the verbal dexterity of Marisha Pessl’s Special Topic in Calamity Physics and the haunting atmospherics and hairpin plot twists of Megan Abbott’s Dare Me.
From an early age, children are taught to color inside the lines, and any color that strays outside the lines is seen as a mistake to be avoided. Perfectionism is a naturally limiting mindset. Imperfectionism, on the other hand, frees us to live outside the lines, where possibilities are infinite, mistakes are allowed, and self-judgment is minimal.
The old way to approach perfectionism was to inspire people to "let go" of their need for perfection and hope they could do it. The new way is to show people how simple but highly strategic "mini actions" can empower them to gradually and effortlessly "let go" of perfectionism. This book applies the science of behavior modification directly to the roots of perfectionism, resulting in a new and superior method for change. Imperfectionists aren't so ironic as to have perfect lives: they're just happier, healthier, and more productive at doing what matters.
In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving New York Times bestselling-debut—also called “mandatory reading” and selected as an Editors' Choice by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx. In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again—but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.
When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is. Why does happiness have to be so hard?
"Adam Silvera explores the inner workings of a painful world and he delivers this with heartfelt honesty and a courageous, confident hand . . . A mesmerizing, unforgettable tour de force." —John Corey Whaley, National Book Award finalist and author of Where Things Come Back and Noggin
If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, you may have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, or abandonment. You may recall your childhood as a time when your emotional needs were not met, when your feelings were dismissed, or when you took on adult levels of responsibility in an effort to compensate for your parent’s behavior. These wounds can be healed, and you can move forward in your life.
In this breakthrough book, clinical psychologist Lindsay Gibson exposes the destructive nature of parents who are emotionally immature or unavailable. You will see how these parents create a sense of neglect, and discover ways to heal from the pain and confusion caused by your childhood. By freeing yourself from your parents’ emotional immaturity, you can recover your true nature, control how you react to them, and avoid disappointment. Finally, you’ll learn how to create positive, new relationships so you can build a better life.
Discover the four types of difficult parents:
The emotional parent instills feelings of instability and anxiety
The driven parent stays busy trying to perfect everything and everyone
The passive parent avoids dealing with anything upsetting
The rejecting parent is withdrawn, dismissive, and derogatory
Extraordinary Means is a heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful story about the miracles of first love and second chances.
When Lane is sent to Latham House, a boarding school for sick teens, he thinks his life may as well be over. But when he meets Sadie and her friends—a group of eccentric troublemakers—he realizes that maybe getting sick is just the beginning.
This darkly funny novel explores how illness doesn't have to define you and that falling in love can be its own cure.
Join Lane and Sadie on their journey through an insular world with paradoxical rules, med sensors, and true friendships that defy all odds.
Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia. Greg's life is one of careful invisibility among his classmates, and he spends most of his time making mediocre films with his only friend, Earl.
Greg's mother insists he rekindle a friendship with Rachel, who is struggling with her illness. This new connection brings both awkwardness and genuine human moments. As Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl set out to make a film for her, which leads to unexpected personal growth and emotional revelations for the boys. The story navigates the complex terrain of adolescence, illness, and self-discovery with a blend of wit and sensitivity.
Lara Jean didn't expect to really fall for Peter. They were just pretending, until they weren't. And now Lara Jean has to learn what it's like to be in a real relationship and not just a make-believe one.
But when another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean's feelings for him suddenly return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once? In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean is about to find out that falling in love is the easy part.
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.
This is a collection of short stories, following the adventures of the hit collection THE LAST WISH. Join Geralt as he battles monsters, demons and prejudices alike...
Elon Musk is the most daring entrepreneur of our time. There are few industrialists in history who could match Elon Musk's relentless drive and ingenious vision. A modern alloy of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs, Musk is the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity, each of which has sent shock waves throughout American business and industry. More than any other executive today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as a science fiction fantasy.
In this lively, investigative account, veteran technology journalist Ashlee Vance offers an unprecedented look into the remarkable life and times of Silicon Valley's most audacious businessman. Written with exclusive access to Musk, his family, and his friends, the book traces his journey from his difficult upbringing in South Africa to his ascent to the pinnacle of the global business world. Vance spent more than fifty hours in conversation with Musk and interviewed close to three hundred people to tell the tumultuous stories of Musk's world-changing companies and to paint a portrait of a complex man who has renewed American industry and sparked new levels of innovation—all while making plenty of enemies along the way.
In 1992, Elon Musk arrived in the United States as a ferociously driven immigrant bent on realizing his wildest dreams. Since then, Musk's roller-coaster life has brought him grave disappointments alongside massive successes. After being forced out of PayPal, fending off a life-threatening case of malaria, and dealing with the death of his infant son, Musk abandoned Silicon Valley for Los Angeles. He spent the next few years baffling his friends by blowing his entire fortune on rocket ships and electric cars. Cut to 2012, however, and Musk had mounted one of the greatest resurrections in business history: Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity had enjoyed unparalleled success, and Musk's net worth soared to more than $5 billion. At a time when many American companies are more interested in chasing easy money than in taking bold risks on radical new technology, Musk stands out as the only businessman with enough dynamism and vision to tackle—and even revolutionize—three industries at once.
Vance makes the case that Musk's success heralds a return to the original ambition and invention that made America an economic and intellectual powerhouse. Elon Musk is a brilliant, penetrating examination of what Musk's career means for a technology industry undergoing dramatic change and offers a taste of what could be an incredible century ahead.
What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain.
Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown, to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.
A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.
Uprooted weaves a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, echoing the rhythm of a Grimm fairy tale yet creating a fresh, original, and totally irresistible narrative.
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests, and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn't, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Denver crime-beat reporter Jack McEvoy specializes in violent death. So when his homicide detective brother kills himself, McEvoy copes in the only way he knows how—he decides to write the story. But his research leads him to suspect a serial killer is at work—a devious murderer who's killing cops and leaving a trail of poetic clues.
It's the news story of a lifetime, if he can get the story without losing his life.
Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.
A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.
The Lord God Made Them All is the bestselling sequel to All Things Wise and Wonderful and the fourth volume in James Herriot's classic collections of animal stories. After serving in the RAF in World War II, Herriot gladly returns home to Yorkshire to his beloved family and multitude of patients, with many more tender, funny, sad and wise stories to share with us and warm our hearts.
Animal lovers of all ages, and fans of Herriot's original classics, won't want to miss this beautiful treasure.
Artist's daughter Penelope Keeling can look back on a full and varied life: a Bohemian childhood in London and Cornwall, an unhappy wartime marriage, and the one man she truly loved. She has brought up three children - and learned to accept them as they are. Yet she is far too energetic and independent to settle sweetly into pensioned-off old-age.
And when she discovers that her most treasured possession, her father's painting, The Shell Seekers, is now worth a small fortune, it is Penelope who must make the decisions that will determine whether her family can continue to survive as a family, or be split apart.
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.
As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the remarkable story of Tsukuru Tazaki, a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. This novel gives us a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.
Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school, each of whom had a name that contained a color. The boys were Akamatsu, meaning 'red pine,' and Oumi, 'blue sea,' while the girls were Shirane, 'white root,' and Kurono, 'black field.' Tazaki's name was the only one without a color. One day, his friends suddenly announced that they did not want to see him or talk to him again. Since that day, Tsukuru has been floating through life, unable to form intimate connections with anyone. But then he meets Sara, who tells him that it is time to discover what happened all those years ago.
Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.
By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.
How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?
This collection includes the following stories:
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...Is that what she’s supposed to do? Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
Since You've Been Gone explores the story of Emily, a quiet teenager whose sociable and daring best friend, Sloane, has vanished, leaving behind nothing but a random list of bizarre tasks. Emily would never normally consider completing these tasks, but with the unexpected assistance from popular classmate Frank Porter, she decides to give them a try.
The summer that follows is one of self-discovery and adventure as Emily embarks on each task, hoping that they might somehow lead her to Sloane. What starts as an intimidating challenge becomes an exciting journey that pushes Emily out of her comfort zone and into a series of firsts that could change her life forever.
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom is a comprehensive analysis of the concept of artificial intelligence surpassing human intelligence and the potential consequences of such a development. Bostrom explores the capabilities unique to the human brain that have allowed our species to hold a dominant position on Earth. This dominance could be challenged if machine intelligence exceeds our own, presenting a superintelligence that could become extremely powerful, possibly beyond our control.
The book delves into whether it is possible to construct an initial seed AI in such a way that an intelligence explosion could be survivable. Bostrom presents a controlled approach to this explosive potential, addressing topics such as oracles, genies, singletons, boxing methods, tripwires, mind crime, humanity's cosmic endowment, differential technological development, indirect normativity, instrumental convergence, whole brain emulation, technology couplings, Malthusian economics, dystopian evolution, artificial intelligence, biological cognitive enhancement, and collective intelligence.
With lucid writing, Bostrom guides the reader through this complex landscape, making it accessible and engaging. Superintelligence does not merely lay out the challenges ahead; it offers a reconceptualization of our essential tasks in the face of the future of intelligent life and the fate of humanity itself.
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson is a genre-bending memoir that intertwines the author's personal narrative with a deep engagement in literary and theoretical texts. At the heart of this work is a story of romance between Nelson and her partner, artist Harry Dodge, whose experiences of gender transition and reassignment intersect with Nelson's journey through pregnancy.
This reflective, poignant exploration of motherhood, desire, and identity is grounded in an intimate portrayal of the author's queer family life. Nelson challenges the societal norms surrounding sexuality, gender, marriage, and childrearing, advocating for radical individual freedom and the value of caregiving.
Through her narrative, Nelson conducts a rigorous examination of philosophical and theoretical discourses, tracing the contours of what iconic theorists have to say about the complexities of contemporary social structures. The Argonauts is thus not only a memoir but also an impassioned argument for the embracement of unorthodox forms of love and kinship in the modern age.
The Cask of Amontillado is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. The story is set in a nameless Italian city during an unspecified year, possibly in the eighteenth century, and concerns the deadly revenge taken by the narrator on a friend who he claims has insulted him.
Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around a person being buried alive – in this case, by immurement.