The Starks are scattered. Robb Stark may be King in the North, but he must bend to the will of the old tyrant Walder Frey if he is to hold his crown. And while his youngest sister, Arya, has escaped the clutches of the depraved Cersei Lannister and her son, the capricious boy-king Joffrey, Sansa Stark remains their captive.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, Daenerys Stormborn, the last heir of the Dragon King, delivers death to the slave-trading cities of Astapor and Yunkai as she approaches Westeros with vengeance in her heart.

Airport is a gripping thriller that unfolds over the course of a single, chaotic evening at Lincoln International Airport outside Chicago. A ferocious blizzard wreaks havoc, pushing the airport and airline personnel to their limits as they try to cope with this unstoppable force of nature that endangers thousands of lives.

In the air, a lone plane struggles to reach its destination, battling the elements. Over the course of seven pulse-pounding hours, a tense human drama plays out as a brilliant airport manager, an arrogant pilot, a tough maintenance man, and a beautiful stewardess strive to avert disaster.

Featuring a diverse cast of vibrant characters, Airport is both a realistic depiction of the airline industry and a novel of nail-biting suspense.

Renowned psychic, spiritual teacher, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Browne leads readers on an adventure of the spirit and gives them a surprising glimpse into the next world. Filled with stunning revelations and stories of those who have visited the other side, this uplifting book is the ultimate guide to finding peace in the afterlife.

Take a journey you will never forget and discover the answer to life’s greatest question: “What’s on The Other Side?” In this extraordinary and inspirational book, Sylvia reflects upon her past experiences, hypnosis sessions, and research to tell the truth about The Other Side. She explains the process of leaving this world for the next, and what circumstances foretell our next incarnation on Earth.

Martin Chuzzlewit is Charles Dickens' powerful black comedy that delves into themes of hypocrisy and greed. The story follows the lives of two Chuzzlewits, Martin and Jonas, who embody the characteristic Chuzzlewit selfishness.

Set partly in America, a country Dickens visited in 1842, the novel features a searing satire on the United States. It contrasts the diverse fates of moral redemption and worldly success for one, with increasingly desperate crime for the other.

This engaging tale is laced with blackmail and features some of Dickens' most grotesque characters, including the infamous Mrs. Gamp. With its vivid portrayal of family dynamics and societal conventions, Martin Chuzzlewit remains a timeless classic.

Milan Kundera initially intended to call this novel The Lyrical Age. The lyrical age, according to Kundera, is youth, and this novel, above all, is an epic of adolescence; an ironic epic that tenderly erodes sacrosanct values: childhood, motherhood, revolution, and even poetry.

Jaromil is in fact a poet. His mother made him a poet and accompanies him (figuratively) to his love bed, and (literally) to his deathbed. A ridiculous and touching character, horrifying and totally innocent ("innocence with its bloody smile"!), Jaromil is at the same time a true poet. He's no creep, he's Rimbaud. Rimbaud entrapped by the communist revolution, entrapped in a sombre farce.

Madame Bovary yearns for a life of luxury and passion of the kind she reads about in romantic novels. But life with her country doctor husband in the provinces is unutterably boring, and she embarks on love affairs to realize her fantasies. This new translation by Margaret Mauldon perfectly captures Flaubert's distinctive style.

'Would this misery go on forever? Was there no escape? And yet she was every bit as good as all those other women who led happy lives!' When Emma Rouault marries Charles Bovary she imagines she will pass into the life of luxury and passion that she reads about in sentimental novels and women's magazines. But Charles is a dull country doctor, and provincial life is very different from the romantic excitement for which she yearns. In her quest to realize her dreams she takes a lover, and begins a devastating spiral into deceit and despair. Flaubert's novel scandalized its readers when it was first published in 1857, and it remains unsurpassed in its unveiling of character and society. In this new translation Margaret Mauldon perfectly captures the tone that makes Flaubert's style so distinct and admired.

New York Times bestselling author Maeve Binchy has captured the hearts of millions with her unforgettable novels. Binchy's graceful storytelling and wise compassion have earned her the devotion of fans worldwide--and made her one of the most beloved authors of our time. Now she dazzles us once again with a new novel filled with her signature warmth, humor, and tender insight.

A provocative tale of family heartbreak, friendship, and revelation, Tara Road explores every woman's fantasy: escape, into another place, another life. "What if . . ." Binchy asks, and answers in her most astonishing novel to date.

Praise for Tara Road

• "Her best work yet . . . Tara Road is like a total immersion in a colorful new world, where the last page comes too soon."—Seattle Times
• "An irresistible tale."—Elle
• "Engrossing."—Wall Street Journal
• "Difficult to put down!"—Denver Post
• "One of Binchy's best."—Kirkus Reviews

Open House is a superb novel by the beloved author of Talk Before Sleep, The Pull of the Moon, and Until the Real Thing Comes Along. In this story, a woman re-creates her life after divorce by opening up her house and her heart.

Samantha's husband has left her, and after a spree of overcharging at Tiffany's, she settles down to reconstruct a life for herself and her eleven-year-old son. Her eccentric mother tries to help by fixing her up with dates, but a more pressing problem is money. To meet her mortgage payments, Sam decides to take in boarders.

The first is an older woman who offers sage advice and sorely needed comfort; the second, a maladjusted student, is not quite so helpful. A new friend, King, an untraditional man, suggests that Samantha get out, get going, get work. But her real work is this: In order to emerge from grief and the past, she has to learn how to make her own happiness.

In order to really see people, she has to look within her heart. And in order to know who she is, she has to remember—and reclaim—the person she used to be, long before she became someone else in an effort to save her marriage.

Open House is a love story about what can blossom between a man and a woman, and within a woman herself.

Low-rent bounty hunter Stephanie Plum reaches depths of personal experience that other women detectives never quite do. In Hot Six, for example, a sequence of new and hideous cars bite the dust. She finds herself lumbered with a policeman's multiply incontinent dog, and she has several bad skin days. All this when she is trying to prove her distinctly more competent colleague and occasional boyfriend, Ranger, innocent of a mob hit. She must avoid the heavies trailing her in the hope of finding him and cope with a wife-abusing bail defaulter with nasty habits, such as setting Stephanie on fire.

Stephanie's adventures are a blend of humor and thrilling suspense, making her journey both challenging and entertaining. Will she manage to keep her life intact while solving the mystery?

September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau, failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people, marking the greatest natural disaster in American history.

Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy. Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude.

Meticulously researched and vividly written, Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature. This book serves as a powerful reminder of the unpredictable might of hurricanes and the limits of human understanding.

It is the summer holidays and soon Harry Potter will be starting his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is counting the days: there are new spells to be learnt, more Quidditch to be played, and Hogwarts castle to continue exploring. But Harry needs to be careful - there are unexpected dangers lurking...

The Triwizard Tournament is to be held at Hogwarts. Only wizards who are over seventeen are allowed to enter - but that doesn't stop Harry dreaming that he will win the competition. Then at Hallowe'en, when the Goblet of Fire makes its selection, Harry is amazed to find his name is one of those that the magical cup picks out. He will face death-defying tasks, dragons and Dark wizards, but with the help of his best friends, Ron and Hermione, he might just make it through - alive!

With their message of hope, belonging and the enduring power of truth and love, the story of the Boy Who Lived continues to delight generations of new readers.

In 1842, thirteen-year-old orphan Maria Merryweather arrives at Moonacre Manor, her family's ancestral home in an charmed village in England's West Country, and she feels as if she’s entered Paradise. Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny; the Manor itself feels like home right away; and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend.

But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort, that shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it. Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending.

The enchanted valley of Moonacre is shadowed by a tragedy that happened years ago, and the memory of the Moon Princess and the mysterious little white horse. Determined to restore peace and happiness to the whole of Moonacre Valley, Maria finds herself involved with an ancient feud, and she discovers it is her destiny to end it and right the wrongs of her ancestors.

Maria usually gets her own way. But what can one solitary girl do?

A new-fashioned fantasy story that is as wonderful as the best classic fairy tales.

Harry White is a man haunted by a satyr's lust and an obsessive need for sin and retribution. The more Harry succeeds -- a good marriage, a good corporate job -- the more desperate he becomes, as a life of petty crime leads to fraud and murder and, eventually, to apocalyptic violence.

Author of the controversial cult classic, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Hubert Selby began as a writer of short fiction. He plunges the reader head-first into the densely realized worlds of his protagonists, in which the details of daily life rub shoulders with obsession and madness. Although fundamentally concerned with morality, Selby's own sense of humility prevents him from preaching. He offers instead a passionate empathy with the ordinary dreams and aspirations of his characters, a brilliant ear for the urban vernacular and for the voices of conscience and self-deceit that torment his characters.

Jack Reacher, ex-military policeman, was enjoying the laid-back life in Key West until everything changed. The tranquility was shattered when Costello, a friendly private investigator, turned up dead. This amiable PI had been hired in New York by the daughter of Reacher's mentor and former commanding officer, General Garber.

Garber's investigation into a Vietnam MIA sets Reacher on a collision course with the sinister hand-less "Hook" Hobie, who is mere hours away from pulling off his biggest score yet. As the plot unfolds, Reacher finds himself embroiled in a web of danger and deceit, forcing him to confront his own past.

Join Reacher on this thrilling journey filled with unexpected twists and turns, as he navigates a world where danger lurks around every corner.

This haunting, suspenseful tale of love and vengeance by the author of the international bestseller Silk surges with the hypnotic power of the ocean sea. In Ocean Sea, Alessandro Baricco presents a hypnotizing postmodern fable of human malady--psychological, existential, erotic--and the sea as a means of deliverance.

At the Almayer Inn, a remote shoreline hotel, an artist dips his brush in a cup of ocean water to paint a portrait of the sea. A scientist pens love letters to a woman he has yet to meet. An adulteress searches for relief from her proclivity to fall in love. And a sixteen-year-old girl seeks a cure from a mysterious condition which science has failed to remedy. When these people meet, their fates begin to interact as if by design. Enter a mighty tempest and a ghostly mariner with a thirst for vengeance, and the Inn becomes a place where destiny and desire battle for the upper hand.

Playful, provocative, and ultimately profound, Ocean Sea is a novel of striking originality and wisdom.

Go Tell It on the Mountain, originally published in 1953, is James Baldwin's first major work, a semi-autobiographical novel that has established itself as an American classic. This novel chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.

With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin tells the story of the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem. This "truly extraordinary" novel (Chicago Sun-Times) opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.

After stumbling across a haunted go board, Hikaru Shindo discovers that the spirit of a master player named Fujiwara-no-Sai has taken up residence in his consciousness. Sai awakens in Hikaru an untapped genius for the game, and soon the schoolboy is chasing his own dream--defeating the famed go prodigy Akira Toya!

Hikaru is horrified to find that he's losing all of his games at the insei school! The Young Lions Tournament is just three months away, and the insei who qualify will play against rookie pros, including Akira. Hikaru sees his chance to impress his rival, but can he turn his losing streak around in time?

Lilith Iyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an irresistible need to heal others, the Oankali are rescuing our dying planet by merging genetically with mankind.

But Lilith and all humanity must now share the world with uncanny, unimaginably alien creatures: their own children.

This is their story, a thrilling, epic adventure of man's struggle to survive after Earth's destruction, and a provocative meditation on what it means to be human.

In 1993, Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture with the acclaimed international hit Understanding Comics, a massive comic book that explored the inner workings of the world's most misunderstood art form. Now, McCloud takes comics to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are created, read, and perceived today, and how they're poised to conquer the new millennium.

Part One of this fascinating and in-depth book includes:

• The life of comics as an art form and as literature
• The battle for creators' rights
• Reinventing the business of comics
• The volatile and shifting public perceptions of comics
• Sexual and ethnic representation in comics

Then in Part Two, McCloud paints a breathtaking picture of comics' digital revolutions, including:

• The intricacies of digital production
• The exploding world of online delivery
• The ultimate challenges of the infinite digital canvas

Georgia Nicolson's year might just be the most fabbity fab fab ever! Between trying to reduce the size of her nose, stopping her mad cat Angus from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and winning the love of handsome hunk Robbie, Georgia's life is anything but dull. Her diary captures the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager with humor and irreverence.

This wildly funny journal, in the spirit of Bridget Jones's Diary, will leave you laughing out loud. As Georgia would say, it's "Fabbity fab fab!"

The Railway Children is a much-loved children's classic first published in 1906. It tells the story of three well-mannered siblings whose comfortable lives are greatly altered when their father is taken away by two mysterious men one evening.

With their family's fortunes considerably reduced in his absence, the children and their mother are forced to live in a simple country cottage near a railway station. There, the young trio—Roberta, Peter, and young Phyllis—befriend the porter and station master.

The youngsters' days are filled with adventure and excitement, including their successful attempt to avert a horrible train disaster. However, the mysterious disappearance of their father continues to haunt them.

The solution to that painful puzzle, along with many other details and events of the children's lives, come to vivid life in this perennial favorite. This story has captivated generations of readers and, more recently, delighted television and movie audiences. It continues to charm young readers with its warmth and appeal.

In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits females to train for knighthood. Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces only one real roadblock: Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He is absolutely against girls becoming knights. So while he is forced to train her, Wyldon puts her on probation for one year. It is a trial period that no male page has ever had to endure and one that separates the good natured Kel even more from her fellow trainees during the tough first year. But Kel is not a girl to underestimate, as everyone is about to find out...

It is such an all-American story. A lanky kid from Plano, Texas, is raised by a feisty, single parent who sacrifices for her son, who becomes one of our country's greatest athletes. Given that background, it is understandable why Armstrong was able to channel his boundless energy toward athletic endeavors.

By his senior year in high school, he was already a professional triathlete and was training with the U.S. Olympic cycling developmental team. In 1993, Armstrong secured a position in the ranks of world-class cyclists by winning the World Championship and a Tour de France stage, but in 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Armstrong entered an unknown battlefield and challenged it as if climbing through the Alps: aggressive yet tactical. He beat the cancer and proceeded to stun all the pundits by winning the 1999 Tour de France.

In this memoir, Armstrong covers his early years swiftly with a blunt matter-of-factness, but the main focus is on his battle with cancer. Readers will respond to the inspirational recovery story, and they will appreciate the behind-the-scenes cycling information. After he won the Tour, his mother was quoted as saying that her son's whole life has been a fight against the odds; we see here that she was not exaggerating.

A New York City chef who is also a novelist recounts his experiences in the restaurant business, and exposes abuses of power, sexual promiscuity, drug use, and other secrets of life behind kitchen doors.

Born Free is a story that has captivated audiences since its original publication in 1960. Joy Adamson's remarkable tale of a lion cub, Elsa, highlights the transition between captivity and the wild. This journey is a testament to the unique bond that can form between humans and animals, bridging the seemingly unbridgeable gap between their worlds.

Joy Adamson beautifully captures the abilities of both humans and animals to coexist and thrive. Her account is an idyll and a model for understanding the sanctity of the wild, especially in times when it is threatened by human development and natural disasters.

Illustrated with evocative photographs, this book invites readers to experience one of the most heartwarming associations between man and animal. Rediscover the magic of Elsa's story, a narrative that continues to inspire and enchant readers around the world.

Switters is a contradiction for all seasons: an anarchist who works for the government; a pacifist who carries a gun; a vegetarian who sops up ham gravy; a cyberwhiz who hates computers; a man who, though obsessed with the preservation of innocence, is aching to deflower his high-school-age stepsister (only to become equally enamored of a nun ten years his senior). Yet there is nothing remotely wishy-washy about Switters. He doesn't merely pack a pistol. He is a pistol.

And as we dog Switters's strangely elevated heels across four continents, in and out of love and danger, discovering in the process the "true" Third Secret of Fatima, we experience Tom Robbins—that fearless storyteller, spiritual renegade, and verbal break dancer—at the top of his game. On one level this is a fast-paced CIA adventure story with comic overtones; on another it's a serious novel of ideas that brings the Big Picture into unexpected focus; but perhaps more than anything else, Fierce Invalids is a sexy celebration of language and life.

Alistair MacLeod musters all of the skill and grace that have won him an international following to give us No Great Mischief, the story of a fiercely loyal family and the tradition that drives it.

Generations after their forebears went into exile, the MacDonalds still face seemingly unmitigated hardships and cruelties of life. Alexander, orphaned as a child by a horrific tragedy, has nevertheless gained some success in the world. Even his older brother, Calum, a nearly destitute alcoholic living on Toronto's skid row, has been scarred by another tragedy. But, like all his clansmen, Alexander is sustained by a family history that seems to run through his veins.

And through these lovingly recounted stories—wildly comic or heartbreakingly tragic—we discover the hope against hope upon which every family must sometimes rely.

The Stories of John Cheever is a remarkable collection of sixty-one stories that chronicle the lives of what has been called "the greatest generation." From the early wonder and disillusionment of city life in "The Enormous Radio" to the surprising discoveries and common mysteries of suburbia in "The Housebreaker of Shady Hill" and "The Swimmer," Cheever tells us everything we need to know about "the pain and sweetness of life."

This collection spans the duration of Cheever’s long and distinguished career, showcasing tales that have helped define the short story form. Cheever’s crowning achievement is his ability to be simultaneously generous and cynical, acknowledging that the absurd and the profound can reside in the same moment.

By day, Risika sleeps in a shaded room in Concord, Massachusetts. By night, she hunts the streets of New York City. She is used to being alone. But someone is following Risika. He has left her a black rose, the same sort of rose that sealed her fate three hundred years ago.

Three hundred years ago Risika had a family—a brother and a father who loved her. Three hundred years ago she was human. Now she is a vampire, a powerful one. But her past has come back to torment her.

The Moon and Sixpence, inspired by the life of Paul Gauguin, is W. Somerset Maugham's exploration of the complexities of artistic genius. Charles Strickland, a middle-aged stockbroker, abandons his family to become an artist. His journey from London to Paris, and finally Tahiti, is marked by his relentless pursuit of art, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Strickland's story is a reflection on the sacrifices made for art, the selfishness of genius, and the irrevocable changes it brings to the lives of those involved.

Where the Red Fern Grows is a beloved tale of a young boy named Billy and his two loyal hunting dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann. Together, they form an inseparable trio, exploring the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. With Old Dan's strength, Little Ann's intelligence, and Billy's determination, they become the finest hunting team in the valley.

As they embark on thrilling adventures, they find themselves enveloped in a world of glory and victory. However, their journey is not without its hardships, and they will face challenges that test their bond. The story is a heartwarming and exciting exploration of love, friendship, and the adventures that await in the wild.

It's an unforgettable adventure that captures the essence of the bond between a boy and his dogs, and a story that continues to resonate with readers of all ages.

Scandale dans une pension de famille « comme il faut », sur la Côte d'Azur du début du siècle : Mme Henriette, la femme d'un des clients, s'est enfuie avec un jeune homme qui pourtant n'avait passé là qu'une journée...

Seul le narrateur tente de comprendre cette « créature sans moralité », avec l'aide inattendue d'une vieille dame anglaise très distinguée, qui lui expliquera quels feux mal éteints cette aventure a ranimés chez elle.

Ce récit d'une passion foudroyante, bref et aigu comme les affectionnait l'auteur d'Amok et du Joueur d'échecs, est une de ses plus incontestables réussites.

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization -- the Illuminati. In a desperate race to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, and deserted cathedrals, and into the depths of the most secretive vault on earth...the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.

In utter disbelief, Jane Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr. Rafiel — an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. He had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing.

Soon she is faced with a new crime — the ultimate crime — murder. It seems someone is adamant that past evils remain buried...

Generous-hearted and wickedly insightful, The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing maps the progress of Jane Rosenal as she sets out on a personal and spirited expedition through the perilous terrain of sex, love, and relationships, as well as the treacherous waters of the workplace.

With an unforgettable comic touch, Bank skillfully teases out universal issues of the heart, puts a new spin on the mating dance, and captures in perfect pitch what it's like to be a young woman coming of age in America today.

Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act.

At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.

A Struggle of the Spirit and a Search for the Truth

Written with the same masterful prose and clarity of vision that made The Alchemist an international phenomenon, The Fifth Mountain is Paulo Coelho's inspiring story of the Biblical prophet Elijah. In the ninth century B.C., the Phoenician princess Jezebel orders the execution of all the prophets who refuse to seek safety in the land of Zarephath, where he unexpectedly finds true love with a young widow. But this newfound rapture is to be cut short, and Elijah sees all of his hopes and dreams irrevocably erased as he is swept into a whirlwind of events that threatens his very existence. In what is truly a literary milestone, Coelho gives a quietly moving account of a man touched by the hand of God who must triumph over his frustrations in a soul-shattering trail of faith.

In the hopeful 1950s, Frank and April Wheeler appear to be a model couple: bright, beautiful, talented, with two young children and a starter home in the suburbs. Perhaps they married too young and started a family too early. Maybe Frank's job is dull. And April never saw herself as a housewife. Yet they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. But now that certainty is now about to crumble. With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves.

Horse Heaven is a funny, passionate, and brilliant novel by Jane Smiley that dives into the world of horse racing. The story is woven into a marvelous tapestry of joy and love, chicanery, folly, greed, and derring-do.

The characters are as exquisite as they are haunting. Rosalind Maybrick, the wife of a billionaire owner, suddenly finds her life transformed in ways she never anticipated. Then there's Tiffany Morse, a 20-year-old stuck in her job at Wal-Mart, who prays for a change and gets more than she bargained for.

Meet Farley, a good trainer in a bad slump, and Buddy, a ruthless trainer who can't seem to lose even when he wants to. Roberto, an apprentice jockey, faces the challenge of outgrowing his dream career. Leo the gambler and his son Jesse try to understand why their "system" doesn't work.

Don't forget Elizabeth, a 62-year-old theorist of sex and animal communication, and her best friend, Joy, the mare manager. They all revolve around the horses: two colts and two fillies with the potential for greatness. Justa Bob, the plain brown horse who wins by a nose, and Mr. T., a horse with amazing talents, add to the mix.

Even Eileen, the Jack Russell terrier with real convictions, plays a significant role in this strange, compelling, and sparkling universe of horse racing. This book is a veritable celebration of the sport, depicted with verve, originality, tenderness, and sheer exuberance.

Jonathan Kozol's books have become touchstones of the American conscience. In his most personal and optimistic book to date, Jonathan returns to the South Bronx to spend another four years with the children who have come to be his friends at P.S. 30 and St. Ann's.

A fascinating narrative of daily urban life seen through the eyes of children, Ordinary Resurrections gives a human face to Northern segregation and provides a stirring testimony to the courage and resilience of the young. Sometimes playful, sometimes jubilantly funny, and sometimes profoundly sad, these are sensitive children—complex and morally insightful. Their ethical vitality denounces and subverts the racially charged labels that the world of grown-up expertise too frequently assigns to them.

Yet another classic of unblinking social observation from one of the finest writers ever to work in the genre, this book is a piercing discernment of right and wrong, of hope and despair—from our nation's corridors of power to its poorest city streets.

Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull’s egg, as “perfect as the moon.” With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security.

A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man’s nature, greed, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love.

Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are twelve—old enough to do lots of things... even go downtown on their own. There they see their first horseless carriage, discover the joys of the public library, and see a real play at the Opera House. They even find themselves acting in one!

Best of all, they help a lonely new friend feel at home in Deep Valley—the most wonderful place in the world to grow up.

Ever since their first publication in the 1940s, the Betsy-Tacy stories have been loved by each generation of young readers.

Arthur Rimbaud is remembered as much for his volatile personality and tumultuous life as he is for his writings, most of which he produced before the age of eighteen. This book brings together his poetry, prose, and letters, including "The Drunken Boat," "The Orphans' New Year," "After the Flood," and "A Season in Hell," considered by many to be his finest works.

Complete Works is divided into eight "seasons": Childhood, The Open Road, War, The Tormented Heart, The Visionary, The Damned Soul, A Few Belated Cowardices, and The Man with the Wind at His Heels - that reflect the facets of Rimbaud's life.

Insightful commentary by translator and editor Paul Schmidt reveals the courage, vision, and imagination of Rimbaud's poetry and sheds light on one of the most enigmatic figures in letters.

When it comes to children's books, it's hard to beat the bestselling team of author Laura Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond for creative and captivating tales that are both fun and educational. They continue the tradition that began with such whimsical titles as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin with yet another tale of actions and consequences: If You Give a Pig a Pancake.

Once again, Numeroff follows the potential effects of one creature's chaotic demands, creating a tale filled with beguiling characters, delightful anticipation, and a fun sense of adventure. In addition to being humorous and entertaining, If You Give a Pig a Pancake allows children to see how their own constant demands might frazzle their parents.

Kids should also enjoy studying the subtleties in Bond's colorful illustrations, such as the facial expressions of the book's adorable protagonist or the details found in a mountain of bubbles and the contents of a closet. Easy to understand, stimulating to both mind and eye, and irresistibly amusing, this is one book children will likely want to read over and over again.

After stumbling across a haunted go board, Hikaru Shindo discovers that the spirit of a master player named Fujiwara-no-Sai has taken up residence in his consciousness. This awakening ignites an untapped genius for the game within Hikaru, propelling him on a quest to defeat the renowned go prodigy Akira Toya.

As Akira turns professional, Hikaru realizes that reaching his rival's level will require immense dedication and effort. Before even considering the professional test, he must first conquer the challenges of the insei school and surpass all its students. With each step forward, Akira's shadow looms larger, and Hikaru must push himself to the limits to close the widening gap between them.

An ingenious tour de force: an utterly compelling historical mystery with a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing until the very last page.

We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in suspicious circumstances. A young woman is accused of his murder. We hear the story of the death from four witnesses: an Italian physician intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; the son of an alleged Royalist traitor; a master cryptographer who has worked for both Cromwell and the king; and a renowned Oxford antiquarian. Each tells his own version of what happened. Only one reveals the extraordinary truth.

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.

On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider slumped over his mount's neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan that he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king, and that he bears a "life and death" message for King Zachary. He begs Karigan to carry his message, warning her not to read it, and when she reluctantly agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission "for love of country." As he bestows upon her the golden winged-horse brooch which is the symbol of his office, he whispers on his dying breath, "Beware the shadow man..." Karigan's promise changes her life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, she herself becomes a legendary Green Rider. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.