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By Shaun Hamill. 2024
Capturing the electric short fiction energy that led Robert E. Howard to be one of the top fantasy writers of…
the century, with exclusive serialized eBook stories starring Conan, Solomon Kane, and more by many of today&’s top writers in fantasy and sword-and-sorcery.In a port city in Zingara, Conan of Cimmeria drinks away the last of his meager purse. He&’s considering robbing one of the city&’s noble houses when he&’s approached by a man named Flavio, first mate on a ship called Fortune&’s Dawn. The Dawn is seeking mercenaries to transport valuable cargo to Aquilonia, the very heart of civilization. Conan is suspicious, but also deeply curious and in sore need of the coin, so he takes the job. His suspicions only deepen as he meets the reticent, sparse crew of the ship. However, Conan only realizes the severity of danger he&’s walked into when a terrible scream reveals a crew member dead and mutilated on the deck. Armed with only his wits and his sword, Conan must figure out the mysteries of Fortune&’s Dawn before the same fate befalls him.By Ann Napolitano. 2023
The tender and perceptive debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful, about three generations of a large Catholic family jarred into crisis…
by an unexpected pregnancy &“This stunning . . . exquisite, skillfully written gem addresses serious issues–e.g., guilt vs. loyalty, the past vs. the present—[but] remains hopeful and includes ample doses of humor and wit.&”—Library Journal (starred review) No one in my mother&’s family ever talks about anything that can be categorized as unpleasant or as having to do with emotions. . . . This spellbinding novel by bestselling author Ann Napolitano is a poignant reminder of how connected we are to those we love, even when we cannot find the words to say it. The unforgettable story of three generations of an Irish American family, Within Arm&’s Reach is another rich and deeply satisfying novel from the author who captured the many dimensions of grief in Dear Edward and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood in Hello Beautiful.By Liana Finck. 2024
A wryly personal and deeply relatable graphic memoir skewering the &“traditional&” parenting book to chronicle the absurdities, frustrations, and soaring…
joys of new parenthood—from the acclaimed New Yorker cartoonist and authorHow do you know if you&’re ready to have a baby? How do you know if you might be pregnant? And how do you deal with peeing all the time and being hungry all the time and fielding well-meaning but kind of insulting advice and finding a doula and being dropped by your old friends and learning why it&’s called mom brain and not dad brain and the tyranny of the milestones you&’re not meeting and negotiating boundaries with in-laws and realizing that your heart now exists outside of your chest and in the body of this tiny little being whose entire existence depends on the quality of your care? To tackle these questions and many others, award-winning cartoonist and memoirist Liana Finck began illustrating her early years of motherhood, giving images and language to her insecurities, frustrations, and wild joy. In How to Baby, Liana takes her witty and lacerating cartoons (&“Hobbies for Pregnant Women: Waiting on Hold with the Insurance Company&”) and weaves them together with comic essays (&“You Married a Brute. Worse. You&’re a Nag: Go Ahead and Argue with Each Other&”), handy lists (&“Nesting. The Comprehensive List of What to Buy and Why Getting Things Used Is Dangerous and Unamerican&”), and profound observations. Together, these brilliant pieces form an immersive and comprehensive narrative whole—a baby book, a resource, and an emotional balm—for our time.By Katie Zhao. 2024
In the third book of this epic fantasy series, kids from around the world are summoned to compete at the…
magical Shaman Youth Tournament! But with all the young shamans away, who will defend the human realm from evil spirits?"A hilarious tussle between homework, family, and heroism." —Kwame Mbalia, #1 New York Times bestselling authorIf awards were given for multitasking, then Winnie Zeng would come in first place. Between juggling evil spirits and middle school—boy, does she have her hands full. Ordinarily, winter break would be her chance to catch up on anime, but this year marks the return of the Shaman Youth Tournament, where shamans around the world duel for the title of champion!To prepare, Winnie and her archnemesis, David, train for their toughest battles yet. But when some of their competitors start acting a little stranger—and a lot stronger—than normal, they realize they might be in over their heads.Soon, it becomes clear that the spirit attacks in Winnie&’s hometown were only the beginning of something more sinister than any one shaman can tackle. Now, it&’s up to all shamans to take on this task and protect the human world. It just may be the last mission they ever receive. . . .By Shashi Bhat. 2024
From the Governor General&’s Award-shortlisted author of The Most Precious Substance on Earth comes a breathtaking and sharply funny collection about the everyday…
trials and impossible expectations that come with being a woman.What would have happened if she&’d met him at a different time in her life, when she was older, more confident, less lonely, and less afraid? She wonders not whether they would have stayed together, but whether she would have known to stay away. A writer discovers that her ex has published a novel about their breakup. An immunocompromised woman falls in love, only to have her body betray her. After her boyfriend makes an insensitive comment, a college student finds an experimental procedure that promises to turn her brown eyes blue. A Reddit post about a man&’s habit of grabbing his girlfriend&’s breasts prompts a shocking confession. An unsettling second date leads to the testing of boundaries. And when a woman begins to lose her hair, she embarks on an increasingly nightmarish search for answers. With honesty, tenderness, and a skewering wit, these stories boldly wrestle with rage, longing, illness, and bodily autonomy, and their inescapable impacts on a woman&’s relationships with others and with herself.By Antal Szerb. 2000
An early-twentieth-century classic — the turbulent, dreamlike story of a businessman torn between middle-class respectability and sensational bohemia&“No one who…
has read it has failed to love it.&” — Nicholas LezardMihály and Erzsi are on honeymoon in Italy. Mihály has recently joined the respectable family firm in Budapest, but as his gaze passes over the mysterious back-alleys of Venice, memories of his bohemian past reawaken his old desire to wander.When bride and groom become separated at a provincial train station, Mihály embarks on a chaotic and bizarre journey that leads him finally to Rome, where he must reckon with both his past and his future. In this intoxicating and satirical masterpiece, Szerb takes us deep into the conflicting desires of marriage and shows how adulthood can reverberate endlessly with the ache of youth.By Janet Skeslien Charles. 1998
The New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the &“captivating, richly drawn&” (Woman&’s World) The Paris Library returns with…
a brilliant new novel based on the true story of Jessie Carson—the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France.1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen—children&’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears. 1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In her obsessive research, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York&’s famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time. Based on the extraordinary little-known history of the women who received the Croix de Guerre medal for courage under fire, Miss Morgan&’s Book Brigade is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of literature, and ultimately the courage it takes to make a change.By Amiee Gibbs. 2023
A dazzling gothic tale of Faustian bargains, jealousy, and murder set in a spectacular circus, where star-crossed lovers' destinies are…
forged at an unexpected price—perfect for readers of V. E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. In Victorian London, where traveling sideshows are the very pinnacle of entertainment, there is no more coveted ticket than Ashe and Pretorius' Carnivale of Curiosities. Each performance is a limited engagement, and London's elite boldly dare the dangerous streets of Southwark to witness the Carnivale's astounding assemblage of marvels. For a select few, however, the real show begins behind the curtain. Rumors abound that the show&’s proprietor, Aurelius Ashe, is more than an average magician. It's said that for the right price, he can make any wish come true. No one knows the truth of this claim better than Lucien the Lucifer, the Carnivale's star attraction. Born with the ability to create fire, he's dazzled spectators since he was a boy. When Odilon Rose, one of the most notorious men in London, comes calling with a proposition regarding his young and beautiful charge, Charlotte, Ashe is tempted to refuse. After revealing, however, that Rose holds a secret that threatens the security of the troupe's most vulnerable members, Ashe has no choice but to sign an insidious contract. The stakes grow higher as Lucien finds himself drawn to Charlotte and her to him, an attraction that spurs a perilous course of events. Grave secrets, recovered horrors, and what it means to be family come to a head in this vividly imagined spectacle—with the lives of all those involved suspended in the balance.Includes a Reading Group Guide.By Sara Cox. 2024
*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 2024*Here is the feel-good read you have been looking for... The big-hearted novel brimming with…
warmth, humour and heart. It's not too late to live the life you want...'Gorgeous! Warm and funny and brimming with tenderness and heart' GRAHAM NORTON'Full of Sara Cox's natural warmth and wit' PRIMA'Relatable, observant and funny' WOMAN & HOME Josie's life is fine. Absolutely, completely fine.Nice husband, brilliant best friend, a gorgeous kid at uni. The big house of her dreams on its leafy London street is a lifetime away from the Lancashire farm of her childhood. So what if her mother is tricky, and James isn't in love with Josie any more, and maybe she's not in love with him either? It's great to have time to herself now Chloe's flown the nest . . . isn't it? This is the life Josie never believed possible. The life she needed when her heart was breaking as a child, when her mum wasn't coping and Josie had to grow up too fast. So why this feeling, nibbling away at the edges of Josie's thoughts? The sense that she has lost something. That she has lost herself. If Josie is to truly live, she must now take back the reins and confront her future. And to find her way ahead, she needs to go back - way back.To the place where it all began . . ._______'A gorgeously written story of starting over, secrets, friendship... and going wild in the country' LUCY DIAMOND'A warm and moving dive into childhood secrets' JO BRAND'Excellent!' ALEX JONESBy Lauren Roberts. 2024
Set during the time of the New York Times bestseller Powerless, fan favorite Adena gets a story all her own…
in this captivating novella as she attempts to survive on the streets of Loot…and falls for a mysterious—and dangerous—Elite.Adena and Paedyn have always been inseparable. Fate brought them together when they were young, but friendship ensured they would always protect each other and the home they built in the slums of Loot. But now Paedyn—an Ordinary—has been selected for the Purging Trials, which means almost certain death. Now alone in Loot, Adena must fend for herself. After attempting to steal, she&’s rescued by a mysterious man from the market. Mak&’s shadowy past and secretive power set him apart from the other low-level Elites of Loot. And as the pair team up to see their loved ones before the Trials, the quest tests their loyalty, their love, and their lives. This novella also includes a special extended teaser to Reckless—the exciting sequel to Powerless!By Wenyan Lu. 2024
&“The title character&’s wry, sad, and insightful inner voice is the star here. Her meditations on grief, death, love, and…
duty are full of poetry and longing. Perfect for literary-fiction fans, especially those who enjoyed other extraordinary novels about ordinary people.&” —Library Journal, starred reviewDebut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman&’s midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China, for fans of Yiyun Li and Julie Otsuka. The Funeral Cryer long ago accepted the mundane realities of her life: avoided by fellow villagers because of the stigma attached to her job and underappreciated by her husband, whose fecklessness has pushed the couple close to the brink of breakup. But just when things couldn't be bleaker, she takes a leap of faith—and in so doing, things start to take a surprising turn for the better. Dark, moving and wry, The Funeral Cryer is both an illuminating depiction of a &“left behind&” society—and proof that it's never too late to change your life.By Erin M Evans. 2024
From a rising star in epic fantasy comes the captivating second novel in a trilogy featuring an unlikely team who…
must find a way to work together and solve an empire-spanning mystery to defend the last place they call home. The conspiracy at the heart of the empire has been revealed. The Archivists played a key role in solving a brutal murder and uncovering one of the empire&’s longest kept secrets. Now, what&’s left in its wake are a series of unearthed artifacts, one shaken city, and the shocking truth not dared spoken aloud. Just as the empire has begun to regain normalcy, another mystery unveils itself when a stolen ancient relic is found. Only no one knew that it was missing from its sacred vault in the first place. And now that the real one has been recovered, who replaced it with a fake? With Quill and Amadea at the heart of another mystery, they will need to quickly follow the clues that all lead back to this new relic. Because all the while, an old enemy is gathering strength beyond the Salt Wall and the Archivists might come to find there&’s nowhere left for them to go but over."Detailed and mysterious, a place to explore and relish. Highly recommended!" ―R. A. Salvatore, author of "The Legends of Drizzt"For more from Erin M. Evans, check out:Empire of ExilesBy Kaaron Warren, Cat Sparks. 2024
Calvaria Fell is a stunning collaborative collection of weird tales from two acclaimed authors, Kaaron Warren and Cat Sparks. It…
features previously published stories from both authors, along with a new novella by Kaaron Warren and four new stories by Cat Sparks.The collection offers a glimpse into a chilling future world that is similar to our own. Readers will be drawn into experiences at once familiar and bizarre, where our choices have far-reaching consequences and the environment is a force to be reckoned with.The title of the collection tethers these stories to a shared space. The calvaria is the top part of the skull, comprising five plates that fuse together in the first few years of life. Story collections work like this; disparate parts melding together to make a robust and sturdy whole. The calvaria tree, also known as the dodo tree, adapted to being eaten by the now-extinct dodo bird; its seeds need to pass through the bird' s digestive tract in order to germinate. In a similar way, the stories in Calvaria Fell reflect the idea of adaptation and the consequences of our actions in a changing world.Calvaria Fell is a haunting and thought-provoking collection that will linger in readers' minds long after the final page has been turned.By Zyta Rudzka. 2021
A Holocaust story as fascinating and compelling as it is terrifying and puzzling—a book about aging and war crimes, pain…
and pride.In the middle of summer, omnipresent heat radiates as a group of elderly people are remembering their youth. The story focuses on two sisters, Leokadia and Helena, who live together in a retirement home not far from Warsaw. These are not ordinary stories they are sharing because both of them were imprisoned as children in Auschwitz during World War II. At the center is Helena, who at the age of 12 was saved from extermination by the notorious doctor Josef Mengele, the real-life Nazi officer and physician who was known as the &“angel of death&” for the experiments he conducted on prisoners, including twins and siblings.This is a story both provocative and disturbing about the fear that lingers in victims. Was the sisters&’ relationship with the executioner a desperate attempt to save their lives, or perhaps they harbor a hideous pride and sense of superiority over other prisoners? Rudzka&’s extraordinary writing turns unsettling questions about memory and survival into art.By Dianna Hutts Aston. 2024
From acclaimed poet Dianna Hutts Aston (An Egg is Quiet) and #1 NYT bestselling illustrator Renée Kurilla (Just Because by Matthew…
McConaughey) comes a charming book in which three adorable mermaids share bedtime blessings with the sweet creatures of the coral reef.Like Goodnight Moon, but for the creatures of the sea:Bless clams in their beds, and lobsters in pods. Bless sharks in their shivers, and squids in their squads.In this gorgeous rhyming picture book perfect for cozy bedtime reading, three mermaid troubadours sing their blessings to sea creatures everywhere. &“Bless clams in their beds, and lobsters in pods,&” they sing. &“Sharks in their shivers, and squids in their squads.&” Draped with leis and strumming harps, the mermaids travel the ocean to deliver a benediction to their beloved community—fish, whales, sharks, sea snails and many more. Endpapers will identify all of the featured ocean creatures in this one-of-a-kind book that honors the denizens of the sea and brims with a gentle spirit of kindness and environmental awareness. With colorful, ethereal illustrations that will have young mermaid lovers turning the pages again and again, this special picture book is ideal for gift giving, vacation/staycation readalouds, or enjoying in a group storytime anywhere.By Lindsay Smith. 2015
A high-concept, fantastical espionage novel set in a world where dreams are the ultimate form of political intelligence. Livia is…
a dreamstrider. She can inhabit a subject's body while they are sleeping and, for a short time, move around in their skin. She uses her talent to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. But her partner, Brandt, has lately become distant, and when Marez comes to join their team from a neighboring kingdom, he offers Livia the option of a life she had never dared to imagine. Livia knows of no other dreamstriders who have survived the pull of Nightmare. So only she understands the stakes when a plot against the Empire emerges that threatens to consume both the dreaming world and the waking one with misery and rage.By Jens Liljestrand. 2021
Life goes on in the face of a climate crisis in this astonishing and unforgettable debut novel that follows four…
characters as they struggle to survive in a burning world. Even when the climate crisis escalates beyond our worst nightmares and people become refugees, the world keeps turning and life carries on as usual: teenaged love stories, marital collapses, identity crises, and revolts against hopeless parents continue to play out. Didrik is a forty-year-old media consultant whose misguided efforts to become the family hero render him a pathetic vision of masculine incompetence. Melissa is an influencer with a suitcase full of lost dreams after denying climate change for years. André is the nineteen-year-old loser son of an international sports star who uses the erupting violence around him to orchestrate his own personal vengeance on his negligent father. And Vilja is Didrik&’s teenaged daughter who steps into a leadership role in the face of adult ineptitude. &“Simultaneously nerve-wracking, astute, and consumedly entertaining&” (Sydsvenskan, Sweden) and through these four related stories, Even If Everything Ends eloquently illustrates a picture of a very near future that is at once extraordinary and entirely realistic.By Hanna Pylväinen. 2023
FINALIST FOR THE 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARDAn epic love story in the vein of Cold Mountain and The Great Circle,…
about a young reindeer herder and a minister’s daughter in the nineteenth century Arctic Circle In 1851, at a remote village in the Scandinavian tundra, a Lutheran minister known as Mad Lasse tries in vain to convert the native Sámi reindeer herders to his faith. But when one of the most respected herders has a dramatic awakening and dedicates his life to the church, his impetuous son, Ivvár, is left to guard their diminishing herd alone. By chance, he meets Mad Lasse’s daughter Willa, and their blossoming infatuation grows into something that ultimately crosses borders—of cultures, of beliefs, and of political divides—as Willa follows the herders on their arduous annual migration north to the sea.Gorgeously written and sweeping in scope, Hanna Pylväinen's The End of Drum-Time immerses readers in a world lit by the northern lights, steeped in age-old rituals, and guided by passions that transcend place and time.By Jeff VanderMeer. 2006
From the author of Borne and Annihilation comes the paperback reissue of his cult classic Shriek: An Afterword.An epic yet…
personal look at several decades of life, love, and death in the imaginary city of Ambergris—previously chronicled in Jeff VanderMeer’s acclaimed City of Saints and Madmen—Shriek: An Afterword relates the scandalous, heartbreaking, and horrifying secret history of two squabbling siblings and their confidantes, protectors, and enemies.Narrated with flamboyant intensity and under increasingly urgent conditions by the ex-society figure Janice Shriek, this afterword presents a vivid gallery of characters and events, emphasizing the adventures of Janice’s brother Duncan, a historian obsessed with a doomed love affair and a secret that may kill or transform him; a war between rival publishing houses that will change Ambergris forever; and the gray caps, a marginalized people armed with advanced fungal technologies, who have been waiting underground for their chance to mold the future of the city.After reading this introduction to the Family Shriek—part academic treatise, part tell-all biography—you’ll never look at history in quite the same way.By Beverly Swerling. 2007
Set against the dramatic backdrop of America’s during the War of 1812, Beverly Swerling’s gripping and intricately plotted sequel to…
the much-loved City of Dreams plunges deep into the crowded streets of old New York.Poised between the Manhattan woods and the sea that is her gateway to the world, the city of 1812 is vibrant but raw, a cauldron where the French accents of Creole pirates mingle with the brogues of Irish seamen, and shipments of rare teas and silks from Canton are sold at raucous Pearl Street auctions. Allegiances are more changeable than the tides, love and lust often indistinguishable, the bonds of country weak compared to the temptation of fabulous riches from the East, and only a few farseeing patriots recognize the need not only to protect the city from the redcoats, but to preserve the fragile Constitutional union forged in 1787. Joyful Patrick Turner, dashing war hero and brilliant surgeon, loses his hand to a British shell, retreats to private life, and hopes to make his fortune in the China trade. To succeed he must run the British blockade; if he fails, he will lose not only a livelihood, but the beautiful Manon, daughter of a Huguenot jeweler who will not accept a pauper as a son-in-law. When stories of a lost treasure and a mysterious diamond draw him into a treacherous maze of deceit and double-cross, and the British set Washington ablaze, Joyful realizes that more than his personal future is at stake. His adversary, Gornt Blakeman, has a lust for power that will not be sated until he claims Joyful’s fiancée as his wife and half a nation as his personal fiefdom. Like the Turners before him, Joyful must choose: his dreams or his country. Swerling’s vividly drawn characters illuminate every aspect of the teeming metropolis: John Jacob Astor, the wealthiest man in America, brings the city’s first Chinese to staff his palatial Broadway mansion; Lucretia Carter, wife of a respectable craftsman, makes ends meet as an abortionist serving New York’s brothels; Thumbless Wu, a mysterious Cantonese stowaway, slinks about on a secret mission; and the bewitching Delight Higgins, proprietress of the town’s finest gambling club, lives in terror of the blackbirding gangs who prey on runaway slaves. They are all here, the butchers and shipwrights, the doctors and scriv-eners, the slum dwellers of Five Points and the money men of the infant stock exchange...conspiring by day and carousing by night, while the women must hide their loyalties and ambitions, their very wills, behind pretty sighs and silken skirts.