Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 63863 items
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans
By Phil Bildner. 2015
In New Orleans, there lived a man who saw the streets as his calling, and he swept them clean. He…
danced up one avenue and down another and everyone danced along. The old ladies whistled and whirled. The old men hooted and hollered. The barbers, bead twirlers, and beignet bakers bounded behind that one-man parade. But then came the rising Mississippi—and a storm greater than anyone had seen before. In this heartwarming book about a real garbage man, Phil Bildner and John Parra tell the inspiring story of a humble man and the heroic difference he made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Plus, this is the fixed format version, which will look almost identical to the print version. Additionally for devices that support audio, this ebook includes a read-along setting.James: A Novel
By Percival Everett. 2024
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told…
from the enslaved Jim's point of view • From the &“literary icon&” (Oprah Daily) and Pulitzer Prize Finalist whose novel Erasure is the basis for Cord Jefferson&’s critically acclaimed film American Fiction"Genius"—The Atlantic • "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune • "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe • "Everett&’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times"If you liked Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver, read James, by Percival Everett" —The Washington PostWhen the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.While many narrative set pieces of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river&’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim&’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a &“literary icon&” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.Tomás Nevinson: A novel
By Javier Marías. 2021
The final novel from Spain's most acclaimed writer, a novel about a charismatic half-Spanish, half-English man who is recruited by…
British intelligence • &“Marías&’s best work.&” —El País&“Compelling, hypnotic, and exciting at the same time.&” —Los Angeles Review of Books Retired spy Tomás Nevinson—once an agent for the British Secret Service, now living a quiet life in his hometown, Madrid—is approached by his former handler, Bertram Tupra, with an offer to bring him back in from the cold for one last assignment.The mission: to go undercover again, in a small Spanish town, to find out which of three women who moved there a decade ago is in fact a terrorist trained by the IRA, on the run after masterminding several deadly attacks.Everything about the assignment is shadowy, from exactly who is in charge, to the question of what &“justice&” Nevinson will need to mete out once he unmasks the terrorist. But, lured by the appeal of being back on the inside, he accepts the job.Nevinson soon becomes intimately involved with each of the three women. How—or whom—to choose among them? Under increasing pressure, he must choose, and then act . . .Charting a world in which right and wrong, good and evil, are irreparably blurred, Javier Marías takes us on a journey of rare and unforgettable suspense in this, the final novel written before his untimely passing.Normal Rules Don't Apply: Stories
By Kate Atkinson. 2023
A dazzling collection of eleven interconnected stories from the bestselling, award-winning author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life,…
which offer the gimlet eye and delightful social critique that have made Atkinson one of the most lauded writers of our time.Nothing is quite as it seems in this collection of eleven dazzling stories. We meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; a man who bets on a horse that may—or may not—have spoken to him. Everything that readers love about the novels of Kate Atkinson is here: the inventiveness, the verbal felicity, the sharp observations on human nature and the deeply satisfying emotional wallop. A startling and funny feast for the imagination, these stories conjure a multiverse of subtly connected worlds while illuminating the webs of chance and connection among us all.A Daughter's Choice
By June Francis. 1997
Seventeen year old Katie is about to discover a devastating family secret...Katie is the apple of her mother’s eye and…
is being groomed to take over the family business. But when Celia, her natural mother, re-enters her life, her world is turned completely upside down.Tormented by her divided loyalties, Katie is plagued by a question Celia refuses to answer – who is her real father? (Note: Originally published as Somebody Else's Girl)Small Hours: the spellbinding new novel from the author of ISAAC AND THE EGG
By Bobby Palmer. 2024
'Powerful' JOANNA GLEN'Beautiful' KATE SAWYER'A triumph' JENNIE GODFREYThe eagerly awaited new novel from Bobby Palmer, author of the critically acclaimed…
debut Isaac and the Egg.If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden, here's what you'd see:A father and son, a fox standing between them.Jack, home for the first time in years, still determined to be the opposite of his father.Gerry, who would rather talk to animals than the angry man back under his roof.Everything that follows is because of the fox, and because Jack's mother is missing. It spans generations of big dreams and lost time, unexpected connections and things falling apart, great wide worlds and the moments that define us.If you met them in the small hours, you'd begin to piece together their story.'A magical, comforting read that touches on father-son relationships, male mental health and the healing power of nature' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'A beautiful examination of love and loss' HEAT'Tender and touching' GLAMOUR PRAISE FOR ISAAC AND THE EGG'A tender story of love, grief and the transformative power of friendship' Guardian'Truly one of the most beautiful stories you will ever read' Joanna Cannon'Will linger longer after the final page' Independent'Unique, tender and funny' Pandora Sykes'A future classic' Clare Mackintosh'Like nothing I've ever read before' Stylist'An arresting debut novel about grief in the most wonderfully oblique way' Reverend Richard Coles'Just magic' Kate SawyerThe Most Fun We Ever Had: Now a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
By Claire Lombardo. 2019
APRIL 2024 REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICKLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A literary…
love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler . . . outstanding and highly enjoyable' Observer'The Most Fun We Ever Had is as good as books come' Telegraph'I loved this book' Bryony Gordon'The perfect, engrossing holiday read' RED'A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory' Madeline Miller'A moving, immersive, often very funny study of family and sisterhood' Sunday Times'Like Meg Wolitzer. A forensic dissection of family past and present, I loved it. If you like reading about relationships, this one is for you.' Pandora SykesMEET THE SORENSON FAMILY.MARILYN has somehow fallen into motherhood and spent four decades married toDAVID, who's pretty certain he loves her more than anyone has ever loved another person.WENDY, their eldest, a cause for concern, soothes herself with drink after being widowed young,while VIOLET, lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mother, is disturbed by the reappearance of a son placed for adoption fifteen years earlier.LIZA, a professor, is pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she lovesand GRACE, their dawdling youngest daughter, lives a lie that no one in her family suspects.Adjustment Day: A Novel
By Chuck Palahniuk. 2018
New York Times Bestseller "An irreverent satirical fantasy about a sudden and violent upheaval.…Think Tom Robbins channeling Jonathan Swift." —David…
Takami, Seattle Times Adjustment Day is an ingenious darkly comic work in which Chuck Palahniuk does what he does best: skewer the absurdities in our society. Geriatric politicians bring the nation to the brink of a third world war to control the burgeoning population of young males, while working-class men dream of burying the elites. Adjustment Day’s arrival makes real the logical conclusion of every separatist fantasy, alternative fact, and conspiracy theory lurking in the American psyche.The King's Gold: An Old World Novel of Adventure (The Red Lion Series)
By Yxta Maya Murray. 2008
One look at the centuries-old document she receives from a mysterious stranger is all it takes to plunge Lola Sanchez—a…
brilliant bibliophile and owner of the Red Lion bookshop—into the adventure of an already adventurous lifetime. The ancient writings tell of a stolen fortune in Montezuma's gold—and of the thief's transformation from conquistatore to alchemist . . . to werewolf. Riches beyond imagining possibly await the stalwart globe-trotter who can solve the intricate riddles hidden in the artifact's crumbling pages. But a deadly curse is buried there as well. On a dangerous quest through the dark shadows of history, Lola and her dashing companion, Eric, will have to unravel the twisted strands of her own family's fantastical past—and stay a step ahead of the villainous treasure hunters who would eagerly kill for the secrets she possesses and the Aztec gold she seeks.This Could Hurt: A Novel
By Jillian Medoff. 2018
“Periodically a writer captures the pattern of comedy and tragedy that peppers office life like alternating colors of carpet squares.…
. . . As smart as Medoff’s critique of corporate inanity is, it’s tempered by compassion for these people, who are ultimately tender with each other, too. . . . Medoff finds plenty of hurt—but strains of hope, too.” —Ron Charles, The WashingtonPostThe acclaimed and deeply felt novel that illuminates the pivotal role of work in our lives. Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery.While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company’s bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged, happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something—a romance, a promotion—to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places—that is, if his high-powered wife has her way.Compelling, flawed, and heartbreakingly human, these men and women scheme, fall in and out of love, and nurture dreams big and small. As their individual circumstances shift, one thing remains constant—Rosa, the sun around whom they all orbit. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and Leo, Rob, Lucy, and Kenny find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.Jillian Medoff explores the inner workings of an American company in all its brilliant, insane, comforting, and terrifying glory. Authentic, razor-sharp, and achingly funny, This Could Hurt is a novel about work, loneliness, love, and loyalty; about sudden reversals and unexpected windfalls; a novel about life.The Hand That First Held Mine
By Maggie O'Farrell. 2024
International bestseller and winner of the 2010 Costa Novel—a gorgeously written story of love and motherhood from the author of…
Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait.When the sophisticated Innes Kent turns up on her doorstep, Lexie Sinclair realizes she cannot wait any longer for her life to begin, and leaves for London. There, at the heart of the 1950s Soho art scene, she carves out a new life. In the present day, Elina and Ted are reeling from the difficult birth of their first child. Elina struggles to reconcile the demands of motherhood with her sense of herself as an artist, and Ted is disturbed by memories of his own childhood that don’t tally with his parents’ version of events. As Ted begins to search for answers, an extraordinary portrait of two women is revealed, separated by fifty years, but connected in ways that neither could ever have expected.The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
By Maggie O'Farrell. 2024
The "actually unputdownable" (Ali Smith) fourth novel from the award-winning author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait: the shocking, breathtaking…
story of a woman’s life stolen, and reclaimed.Edinburgh in the 1930s. The Lennox family is having trouble with its youngest daughter. Esme is outspoken, unconventional, and repeatedly embarrasses them in polite society. Something will have to be done.Years later, a young woman named Iris Lockhart receives a letter informing her that she has a great-aunt in a psychiatric unit who is about to be released.Iris has never heard of Esme Lennox and the one person who should know more, her grandmother Kitty, seems unable to answer Iris’s questions. What could Esme have done to warrant a lifetime in an institution? And how is it possible for a person to be so completely erased from a family’s history?Herself: A Novel
By Leslie Carroll. 2007
Forty is fabulous for Tessa Craig. Heck, she has it all—a glamorous job as a political speechwriter, a Manhattan duplex,…
and a handsome boyfriend, Congressman David Weyburn, whose integrity, charisma, and good looks have made him his party's rising star. But her fabulosity fizzles when scandal strikes, and Tessa watches helplessly as her seemingly happy love life and successful career collapse like a house of cards.Tessa realizes it's time to embark on a new journey, one she should have made a long time ago. It's a trip that takes her to the Emerald Isle and back, leading her heart in unimagined directions. She makes new friends, unexpectedly adopts a new family (or do they adopt her?), and discovers unanticipated love with silver-tongued, green-eyed, aspiring pub owner, Jamie Doyle. And, most importantly, Tessa makes that uphill climb over the rainbow to find the ultimate pot of gold: Herself.The Burning Sky (The Elemental Trilogy #1)
By Sherry Thomas. 2013
This special ebook edition of Sherry Thomas's extraordinary romantic fantasy debut, The Burning Sky—the first in the Elemental Trilogy—features a…
repackaged cover for her legions of romance fans and an excerpt from the sequel, The Perilous Sea.Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of the Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life.The Witches of St. Petersburg: A Novel
By Imogen Edwards-Jones. 2018
“Readers fascinated with the Romanovs and this tumultuous period in Russian history will be enthralled by this deliciously dark and…
memorable novel.” —Publishers WeeklyInspired by real characters, this transporting historical fiction debut spins the fascinating story of two princesses in the Romanov court who practiced black magic, befriended the Tsarina, and invited Rasputin into their lives—forever changing the course of Russian history.As daughters of the impoverished King of Montenegro, Militza and Stana must fulfill their duty to their father and leave their beloved home for St. Petersburg to be married into senior positions in the Romanov court. For their new alliances to the Russian nobility will help secure the future of the sisters’ native country. Immediately, Militza and Stana feel like outcasts as the aristocracy shuns them for their provincial ways and for dabbling in the occult. Undeterred, the sisters become resolved to make their mark by falling in with the lonely, depressed Tsarina Alexandra, who—as an Anglo-German—is also an outsider and is not fully accepted by members of the court. After numerous failed attempts to precipitate the birth of a son and heir, the Tsarina is desperate and decides to place her faith in the sisters’ expertise with black magic.Promising the Tsarina that they will be able to secure an heir for the Russian dynasty, Militza and Stana hold séances and experiment with rituals and spells. Gurus, clairvoyants, holy fools, and charlatans all try their luck. The closer they become to the Tsarina and the royal family, the more their status—and power—is elevated. But when the sisters invoke a spiritual shaman, who goes by the name of Rasputin, the die is cast. For they have not only irrevocably sealed their own fates—but also that of Russia itself.The Tin Drum
By Günter Grass. 2009
One of the greatest modern novels, The Tin Drum is the story of thirty-year-old Oskar Matzerath, who has lived through…
the long Nazi nightmare and who, as the novel begins, is being held in a mental institution. Matzerath provides a profound yet hilarious perspective on both German history and the human condition in the modern world.In this edition, Breon Mitchell, acclaimed translator and scholar, draws from a wealth of detailed scholarship to produce a translation that is more faithful to Grass’s style and rhythm than the 1959 translation, restoring omissions and reflecting the complexity of the original work.After more than sixy years, The Tin Drum has, if anything, gained in power and relevance. All of Grass’s amazing evocations are still there, and still amazing: Oskar Matzerath, the indomitable drummer; his grandmother, Anna Koljaiczek; his mother, Agnes; Alfred Matzerath and Jan Bronski, his presumptive fathers; Oskar’s midget friends—Bebra, the great circus master and Roswitha Raguna, the famous somnambulist; Sister Scholastica and Sister Agatha, the Right Reverend Father Wiehnke; the Greffs, the Schefflers, Herr Fajngold, all Kashubians, Poles, Germans, and Jews—waiting to be discovered and re-discovered.Celebrated author and illustrator Henry Cole uses stunningly detailed black-and-white artwork to illuminate a tale of friendship between an adventurous…
mouse and a boy who would become one of America’s greatest presidents. In this sequel to A Nest for Celeste, Celeste is hundreds of miles from home following an unexpected journey aboard a Mississippi steamboat. After mishaps and disasters, she finds herself on the frontier in southern Indiana. It's 1822, and Celeste meets a tall, lanky boy wielding an ax: a young Abraham Lincoln. The journey reveals the harsh realities of frontier life for the Lincoln family. But with the help of Celeste’s new woodland animal friends and some creativity, she may just prove that even the littlest creatures can make a big difference. And it’s in losing her way that Celeste finds herself in a place she never expected—home, finally.“A stand-alone sequel to A Nest for Celeste (2010), this chapter book has everything that made its predecessor so enjoyable: an inviting format, good storytelling, and at least one large, beautifully drawn shaded pencil illustration on each double-page spread. An inviting entry into historical fiction.” –BooklistSeven Moves: A Novel
By Carol Anshaw. 1997
Christine Snow, a successful Chicago therapist, sets out to find her vanished lover, the sultry and elusive travel photographer Taylor…
Hayes. Forging a trail that leads into the heart of Morocco, Seven Moves tracks Christine's gradual recognition that no one can ever really know another's soul. Bearing Anshaw's trademark style -funny, hip, and laser-sharp -this is "a tightly told tale that resists the bookmark as well as any thriller" (Chicago Sun-Times). A Reader's Guide is now available.The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells: A Novel
By Andrew Sean Greer. 2013
From the critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller The Confessions of Max Tivoli comes The Impossible Lives…
of Greta Wells, a rapturously romantic story of a woman who finds herself transported to the “other lives” she might have lived.After the death of her beloved twin brother and the abandonment of her long-time lover, Greta Wells undergoes electroshock therapy. Over the course of the treatment, Greta finds herself repeatedly sent to 1918, 1941, and back to the present. Whisked from the gas-lit streets and horse-drawn carriages of the West Village to a martini-fueled lunch at the Oak Room, in these other worlds, Greta finds her brother alive and well—though fearfully masking his true personality. And her former lover is now her devoted husband…but will he be unfaithful to her in this life as well? Greta Wells is fascinated by her alter egos: in 1941, she is a devoted mother; in 1918, she is a bohemian adulteress.In this spellbinding novel by Andrew Sean Greer, each reality has its own losses, its own rewards; each extracts a different price. Which life will she choose as she wrestles with the unpredictability of love and the consequences of even her most carefully considered choices?Aquamarine: A Novel
By Carol Anshaw. 1997
Olympic swimmer Jesse Austin is seduced and consequently edged out for a gold medal by her Australian rival. From there,…
Anshaw intricately traces three possible paths for Jesse, spinning exhilarating variations on the themes of lost love and parallel lives unlived. Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina, writes, "I found myself wishing I could buy a dozen copies and start a discussion group, just so I'd be able to debate all the questions this astonishing novel provokes." A Reader's Guide is available.