List

Category
Audience

Wake Up Grateful

Kristi Nelson

“Hugely inspiring and helpful.” — Jon Kabat-Zinn

Is it possible to be grateful in challenging times? Our wellbeing depends on it, but how do we achieve it? In Wake Up Grateful, Kristi Nelson, executive director of A Network for Grateful Living, unlocks the path to recognizing abundance in every moment, no matter the moment. With questions for reflection, daily exercises, and perspective prompts, Nelson introduces readers to the benefits of a daily gratitude practice. Using the story of her own cancer experience as a touchstone, Nelson provides deep insight and help in finding resilience and wellbeing in the face of life’s uncertainties and offers the promise of profound personal change.

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The Secret Gratitude Book

Rhonda Byrne

Show the universe how thankful you are for everything it has given—and lay the groundwork for even more gifts—with this companion to The Secret.

The Secret is an international phenomenon that has inspired millions of people to live extraordinary lives. Now The Secret Gratitude Book provides an incredibly powerful tool to live The Secret, and to bring joy and harmony to every aspect of your life. Filled with insights and wisdom from Rhonda Byrne, this beautiful journal offers a framework for practicing the power of gratitude each day, enabling you to attract every magnificent thing you want into your life.

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Happiness Becomes You

Tina Turner

Tina Turner—living legend, icon to millions, and author of the “brave and wry” (Vulture) memoir My Love Story—returns with a deeply personal book of wisdom that explores her longstanding faith in Buddhism and provides a guide to these timeless principles so you can find happiness in your own life.

I dedicate this book to you…
in honor of your
unseen efforts to
triumph over each problem
life sends your way.

Tina is a global icon of inspiration. And now, with Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good, Tina shows how anyone can overcome life’s obstacles—even transform the “impossible” to possible—and fulfill our dreams. She shows how we, too, can improve our lives, empowering us with spiritual tools and sage advice to enrich our unique paths.

Buddhism has been a central part of Tina Turner’s life for decades and, in music, film, and live performances, she has shined as an example of generating hope from nothing, breaking through all limitations, and succeeding in life. Drawing from the lessons of her own life, from adversity to stratospheric heights, Tina effortlessly shows how the spiritual lessons of Buddhism help her transform from sorrow, adversity, and poverty into joy, stability, and prosperity.

Now, Tina offers the wisdom of an extraordinary lifetime in Happiness Becomes You making this the perfect gift of inspiration for you or a loved one.

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My Day with Gong Gong

Sennah Yee

A day in Chinatown takes an unexpected turn when a bored little girl makes a connection with her grandpa.

May isn't having fun on her trip through Chinatown with her grandfather. Gong Gong doesn't speak much English, and May can't understand Chinese. She's hungry, and bored with Gong Gong's errands. Plus, it seems like Gong Gong's friends are making fun of her! But just when May can't take any more, Gong Gong surprises her with a gift that reveals he's been paying more attention than she thought.

With lighthearted, expressive illustrations by Elaine Chen, this charming debut expertly captures life in the cityand shows how small, shared moments of patience and care--and a dumpling or two--can help a child and grandparent bridge the generational and cultural gaps between them.

A glossary at the end of the book features translations of the Chinese words from the story into Chinese characters and English.

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I Talk Like a River

Jordan Scott

What if words got stuck in the back of your mouth whenever you tried to speak? What if they never came out the way you wanted them to? Sometimes it takes a change of perspective to get the words flowing.

A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year

I wake up each morning with the sounds of words all around me.

And I can't say them all . . .

When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Compassionate parents everywhere will instantly recognize a father's ability to reconnect a child with the world around him.

Poet Jordan Scott writes movingly in this powerful and ultimately uplifting book, based on his own experience, and masterfully illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith. A book for any child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in.

A Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Shelf Awareness, Bookpage, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and more!
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year

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All Because You Matter

Tami Charles

A lyrical, heart-lifting love letter to Black and brown children everywhere: reminding them how much they matter, that they have always mattered, and they always will, from powerhouse rising star author Tami Charles and esteemed, award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier.

 

 

 

Instant New York Times bestseller!

 

 

The #1 Amazon Best Children's Book of 2020

A Best Book of 2020, School Library Journal

A Best Picture Book of 2020, Barnes and Noble

 

A Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2020

* A gem for every household. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 

* Stunning. Powerful. Timely. Illustrated inspiration at its best. -- Horn Book, starred review

Discover this poignant, timely, and emotionally stirring picture book, an ode to Black and brown children everywhere that is full of hope, assurance, and love.

Tami Charles pens a poetic, lyrical text that is part love letter, part anthem, assuring readers that they always have, and always will, matter. This powerful, rhythmic lullaby reassures readers that their matter and their worth is never diminished, no matter the circumstance: through the joy and wonder of their first steps and first laughs, through the hardship of adolescent struggles, and the pain and heartbreak of current events, they always have, and always will, matter. Accompanied by illustrations by renowned artist Bryan Collier, a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner or honoree, All Because You Matter empowers readers with pride, joy, and comfort, reminding them of their roots and strengthening them for the days to come.

Lyrical, personal, and full of love, All Because You Matter is for the picture book audience what The Hate U Give was for YA and Ghost Boys was for middle grade: a conversation starter, a community touchstone, and a deep affirmation of worth for the young readers who need it most.

 

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I Love My Tutu Too!

Ross Burach

What's more irresistible than a pink tutu? Dancing in a pink tutu, of course, and inviting friends to join you!

* A rollicking tutu lovefest. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* Irresistible... Wacky and wonderful. -- School Library Journal, starred review

 

In this jubilant rhyming romp, a penguin, a bear, a toucan, and even a gnu (who knew?) are all wearing their tutus today. As a parade of other curious critters join the fun -- I know a ewe with a new tutu. You do? I do. Woo-hoo! -- the number of tutus grows, until they reach 10 tutus. Then it's time to dance!

 

Abundant alliteration and rollicking rhythms will have little ones laughing and dancing till they drop -- and joyfully learning to count along the way.

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I Am Every Good Thing

Derrick Barnes

An upbeat, empowering, important picture book from the team that created the award-winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

I am
a nonstop ball of energy.
Powerful and full of light.
I am a go-getter. A difference maker. A leader.

The confident Black narrator of this book is proud of everything that makes him who he is. He's got big plans, and no doubt he'll see them through--as he's creative, adventurous, smart, funny, and a good friend. Sometimes he falls, but he always gets back up. And other times he's afraid, because he's so often misunderstood and called what he is not. So slow down and really look and listen, when somebody tells you--and shows you--who they are. There are superheroes in our midst!

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Our Favorite Day of the Year

A. E. Ali

A heartwarming picture book following a group of boys from different backgrounds throughout the school year as they become the best of friends.

Musa’s feeling nervous about his first day of school. He’s not used to being away from home and he doesn’t know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moisés, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn’t sure they’ll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can’t imagine any better friends.

In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering a new friendship with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself brings people together. And the calendar of holidays at the end of the book will delight children as they identify special events they can celebrate with friends throughout the year.

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The Crown in Crisis

Alexander Larman

The thrilling and definitive account of the Abdication Crisis of 1936

On December 10, 1936, King Edward VIII brought a great international drama to a close when he abdicated, renouncing the throne of the United Kingdom for himself and his heirs. The reason he gave when addressing his subjects was that he could not fulfill his duties without the woman he loved—the notorious American divorcee Wallis Simpson—by his side. His actions scandalized the establishment, who were desperate to avoid an international embarrassment at a time when war seemed imminent. That the King was rumored to have Nazi sympathies only strengthened their determination that he should be forced off the throne, by any means necessary.

Alexander Larman’s The Crown in Crisis will treat readers to a new, thrilling view of this legendary story. Informed by revelatory archival material never-before-seen, as well as by interviews with many of Edward’s and Wallis’s close friends, Larman creates an hour-by-hour, day-by-day suspenseful narrative that brings readers up to the point where the microphone is turned on and the king speaks to his subjects. As well as focusing on King Edward and Mrs. Simpson, Larman looks closely at the roles played by those that stood against him: Prime minister Stanley Baldwin, his private secretary Alec Hardinge, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang. Larman also takes the full measure of those who supported him: the great politician Winston Churchill, Machiavellian newspaper owner Lord Beaverbrook, and the brilliant lawyer Walter Monckton.

For the first time in a book about the abdication, readers will read an in-depth account of the assassination attempt on Edward’s life and its consequences, a first-person chronicle of Wallis Simpson’s scandalous divorce proceedings, information from the Royal Archives about the government’s worries about Edward’s relationship with Nazi high-command Ribbentrop and a boots-on-the-ground view of how the British people saw Edward as they watched the drama unfold. You won’t be able to put down The Crown in Crisis, a full panorama of the people and the times surrounding Edward and the woman he loved.

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Dog Flowers

Danielle Geller

A daughter returns home to the Navajo reservation to retrace her mother's life in a memoir that is both a narrative and an archive of one family's troubled history

"An honest, intimate, and heart-wrenching memoir that explores the fractured family, the damaging effects of alcoholism and poverty, and what it means to seek healing from the legacies of trauma."--Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of the National Book Award finalist Sabrina & Corina

When Danielle Geller's mother dies of alcohol withdrawal during an attempt to get sober, Geller returns to Florida and finds her mother's life packed into eight suitcases. Most were filled with clothes, except for the last one, which contained diaries, photos, and letters, a few undeveloped disposable cameras, dried sage, jewelry, and the bandana her mother wore on days she skipped a hair wash.

Geller, an archivist and a writer, uses these pieces of her mother's life to try and understand her mother's relationship to home, and their shared need to leave it. Geller embarks on a journey where she confronts her family's history and the decisions that she herself had been forced to make while growing up, a journey that will end at her mother's home: the Navajo reservation.

Dog Flowers is an arresting, photo-lingual memoir that masterfully weaves together images and text to examine mothers and mothering, sisters and caretaking, and colonized bodies. Exploring loss and inheritance, beauty and balance, Danielle Geller pays homage to our pasts, traditions, and heritage, to the families we are given and the families we choose.

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The Night Lake

Liz Tichenor

Called "such a sad, tough story, but finally so life-affirming, filled with spirit and love" by Anne Lamott, this is a raw and intensely affecting memoir by a young priest about loss of a child, its grief and its aftermath, and the hard-won joy that can follow.

Liz Tichenor has taken her newborn son, five weeks old, to the doctor, from a cabin on the shores of Lake Tahoe. She is sent home to her husband and two-year-old daughter with the baby, who is pronounced "fine" by an urgent care physician. Six hours later, the baby dies in their bed. Less than a year and a half before, Tichenor's mother jumped from a building and killed herself after a long struggle with alcoholism. As a very young Episcopal priest, Tichenor has to "preach the Good News," to find faith where there is no hope, but she realizes these terrible parts of her own life will join her in the pulpit.

The Night Lake is the story of finding a way forward through tragedies that seem like they might be beyond surviving and of carving out space for the slow labor of learning to live again, in grief.

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Happiness in This Life

Pope Francis

A collection of homilies, speeches, and “messages of the day” that brings together Pope Francis’s wisdom on finding happiness in the here and now
 
For Pope Francis, the appreciation of our everyday lives is a spiritual undertaking. Joy is a divine attribute, and creating joy around us an essential part of faith. Every homily and speech in this book delivers, in warm, engaging language accessible to believers and nonbelievers alike, a key lesson, instructing readers on finding love and happiness in a chaotic world.

Along the way, Pope Francis discusses the sanctity of women’s rights, talks about how the love of sports can bring out our best qualities, and explains why fighting discrimination is the essence of loving thy neighbor. He shares personal stories and anecdotes from his life, provides comforting messages of hope, and discusses the ways flawed families can make you a better person. The core ideas of Francis’s papacy—mercy, support for marginalized people, and diplomacy—shine through.

Praise for Happines in This Life

“Though the title of the book mentions happiness, this collection of thoughts addresses something much deeper—joy. Bringing together excerpts from Pope Francis’s sermons, speeches, prayers, and addresses, these pieces address a range of themes, from mercy and humility to simplicity and family. . . . Readers will be encouraged to clear away the cacophony of modern society and embrace the simplicity of joy. A book as loving and encouraging as the man himself seems to be.”—Booklist

“With this wide-ranging collection of writings, homilies, and addresses, the current pontiff dispels any notion that religious practice is dour and antiquated. . . . It brings together the pope’s most affecting passages to inspire Catholics (and those of other faiths) to lift up those around them.”—Publishers Weekly

“Reminiscent of the gentle encouragement of the Dalai Lama . . . Family-centered and practical—especially on difficult matters of familial contention—these homilies are, on the whole, gentle encouragements to do the right thing. . . . [This] collection offers clear insight into the pope’s doctrinal concerns.”—Kirkus Reviews

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Sea Wife

Amity Gaige

A New York Times Notable Book

"Sea Wife is a gripping tale of survival at sea—but that’s just the beginning.  Amity Gaige also manages, before she’s done, to probe the underpinnings of romantic love, marriage, literary ambition, political inclinations in the Trump age, parenthood, and finally, the nature of survival itself in our broken world.  Gaige is thrillingly talented, and her novel enchants."
—Jennifer Egan

“Sea Wife brilliantly breathes life not only into the perils of living at sea, but also into the fraught and hidden dangers of domesticity, motherhood, and marriage. What a smart, swift, and thrilling novel.”
—Lauren Groff

From the highly acclaimed author of Schroder, a smart, sophisticated page literary page-turner about a young family who escape suburbia for a yearlong sailing trip that upends all of their lives.


Juliet is failing to juggle motherhood and her stalled-out dissertation on confessional poetry when her husband, Michael, informs her that he wants to leave his job and buy a sailboat. With their two kids—Sybil, age seven, and George, age two—Juliet and Michael set off for Panama, where their forty-four foot sailboat awaits them.  

The initial result is transformative; the marriage is given a gust of energy, Juliet emerges from her depression, and the children quickly embrace the joys of being feral children at sea. Despite the stresses of being novice sailors, the family learns to crew the boat together on the ever-changing sea.  The vast horizons and isolated islands offer Juliet and Michael reprieve – until they are tested by the unforeseen.

Sea Wife is told in gripping dual perspectives: Juliet’s first person narration, after the journey, as she struggles to come to terms with the life-changing events that unfolded at sea, and Michael’s captain’s log, which provides a riveting, slow-motion account of these same inexorable events, a dialogue that reveals the fault lines created by personal history and political divisions.  

Sea Wife is a transporting novel about marriage, family and love in a time of unprecedented turmoil. It is unforgettable in its power and astonishingly perceptive in its portrayal of optimism, disillusionment, and survival.

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The Short, the Long and the Tall

Jeffrey Archer

New York Times number one bestselling author Jeffrey Archer is a master of the short-story form, creating classic tales beloved by his fans. Now the award-winning writer joins forces with renowned illustrator Paul Cox to re-imagine twenty of his most popular and fêted short stories alongside beautifully rendered watercolor illustrations in The Short, The Long and the Tall.

Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to solve a murder and ends up falling in love; and the pretentious schoolboy whose discovery of the origins of his father’s wealth changes his life forever. Revel in the stories of the woman who dares to challenge the men at her Ivy League university during the 1930s, and another young woman who thumbs a lift and has an encounter she will never forget. Discover the haunting story about four men whose characters are tested to the point of death. Finally, a short parable about how pointless war is, and how decent people are caught up in the crossfire of their leaders’ ambitions.

This will be a must-buy for dedicated fans of the work of both author and illustrator, and includes the following short stories:

Never Stop on the Motorway
Cheap At Half the Price
Who Killed the Mayor?
It Can’t Be October Already
Stuck on You
The Grass is Always Greener
The Queen’s Birthday Telegram
Clean Sweep Ignatius
The First Miracle
Caste Off
A Wasted Hour
Just Good Friends
Christina Rosenthal
A Gentleman and a Scholar
The Road To Damascus
Old Love
A Good Toss To Lose
One Man’s Meat
Endgame
Confession

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The Talented Miss Farwell

Emily Gray Tedrowe

"Becky Farwell is one of the most wickedly compelling characters I've read in ages -- a Machiavellian marvel, a modern Becky Sharp, a character to root for despite your better judgment -- and her story, both topical and timeless, will knock you off your feet." -- Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers
 

Named a Best Book of Fall by Real Simple * USA Today * Entertainment Weekly * Harper's Bazaar * Crime Reads * Lithub * Alma * NJ.com

Catch Me If You Can meets Patricia Highsmith in this electrifying page-turner of greed and obsession, survival and self-invention that is a piercing character study of one unforgettable female con artist.

At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christie's in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as she's known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To some, the elusive Miss Farwell is a shark with outstanding business acumen. To others, she's a heartless capitalist whose only interest in art is how much she can make.

But a thousand miles from the Big Apple, in the small town of Pierson, Illinois, Miss Farwell is someone else entirely--a quiet single woman known as Becky who still lives in her family's farmhouse, wears sensible shoes, and works tirelessly as the town's treasurer and controller.

No one understands the ins and outs of Pierson's accounts better than Becky; she's the last one in the office every night, crunching the numbers. Somehow, her neighbors marvel, she always finds a way to get the struggling town just a little more money. What Pierson doesn't see--and can never discover--is that much of that money is shifted into a separate account that she controls, "borrowed" funds used to finance her art habit. Though she quietly repays Pierson when she can, the business of art is cutthroat and unpredictable.

But as Reba Farwell's deals get bigger and bigger, Becky Farwell's debt to Pierson spirals out of control. How long can the talented Miss Farwell continue to pull off her double life?

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Sugar in Milk

Thrity Umrigar

A timely and timeless picture book about immigration that demonstrates the power of diversity, acceptance, and tolerance from a gifted storyteller.

A Kirkus Best Books of 2020
A School Library Journal Best Books of 2020

"An engaging, beautiful, and memorable book." --Kirkus Reviews,
starred review

"Lush illustrations and a strong message of hope and perseverance make this a standout title." --School Library Journal, starred review

When I first came to this country, I felt so alone.

A young immigrant girl joins her aunt and uncle in a new country that is unfamiliar to her. She struggles with loneliness, with a fierce longing for the culture and familiarity of home, until one day, her aunt takes her on a walk. As the duo strolls through their city park, the girl's aunt begins to tell her an old myth, and a story within the story begins.

A long time ago, a group of refugees arrived on a foreign shore. The local king met them, determined to refuse their request for refuge. But there was a language barrier, so the king filled a glass with milk and pointed to it as a way of saying that the land was full and couldn't accommodate the strangers. Then, the leader of the refugees dissolved sugar in the glass of milk. His message was clear: Like sugar in milk, our presence in your country will sweeten your lives. The king embraced the refugee, welcoming him and his people. The folktale depicted in this book was a part of author Thrity Umrigar's Zoroastrian upbringing as a Parsi child in India, but resonates for children of all backgrounds, especially those coming to a new homeland.

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Memoirs of a Tortoise

Devin Scillian

Oliver the tortoise has had his human, Ike, for a very, very long time now. In fact, they're the same age--80 years old--and practically twins. They both enjoy the slowness of the garden, cool water from the hose on a hot day, and a nice slice of honeydew melon. But when Ike stops visiting the garden, Oliver wonders why his pet has left him so soon. So he makes the long journey to see his mother ten gardens away--she will certainly have the answer. This tender story from the author and illustrator that brought us Memoirs of a Goldfish reminds us to cherish all the days we have with our pets and loved ones.

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The Blue Table

Chris Raschka

 

It's time to celebrate family, community, generosity, and giving! Two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka's stunning picture book is the perfect pick to share whenever family and friends gather together to celebrate and give thanks, no matter the occasion.

 

Spend the day around the heart of a home: the blue table. A shopping list is written, food is prepared, and the table is set. Guests arrive, thanks are given, and a meal is shared. What then? It's time to pitch in and clean up, of course!

Limited text, bright colors, and stunning collage illustrations make The Blue Table ideal for the youngest reader and for storytime sharing. In just thirty-two pages, two-time Caldecott Medalist and New York Times-bestselling picture book creator Chris Raschka captures the very essence of community--and gratitude.

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Zip, the World's Greatest Robot

Rebecca Purcell

When Zip tries to prove he is the world's greatest robot, things don't go exactly as planned. Despite his imperfection, he finds he is his friend's favorite robot. This book is perfect for beginner preschool and kindergarten readers with bold, simple illustrations, appealing characters, and easy-to-read text with new words to expand young readers' vocabulary. Printed as a board book, the story is nicely designed for children and readers of all ages.

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Hike

Pete Oswald

Take to the trails for a celebration of nature -- and a day spent with dad.

In the cool and quiet early light of morning, a father and child wake up. Today they're going on a hike. Follow the duo into the mountains as they witness the magic of the wilderness, overcome challenges, and play a small role in the survival of the forest. By the time they return home, they feel alive -- and closer than ever -- as they document their hike and take their place in family history. In detail-rich panels and textured panoramas, Pete Oswald perfectly paces this nearly wordless adventure, allowing readers to pause for subtle wonders and marvel at the views. A touching tribute to the bond between father and child, with resonant themes for Earth Day, Hike is a breath of fresh air.

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One Yellow Sun

Michael Arndt

The second in a new series of "look + learn M books" presenting eye-catching, creative designs, and die-cut pages to teach children colors, counting, and caring, in this beautiful board book.

There's no better way to share love and learning with your little one than time spent on your lap with a . There's a surprise activity at the end!

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The Sky Book

Hiroshi Osada

"By employing landscapes in lieu of human or animal characters, Osada and Arai ask readers to look--really look--at the rain, the way the changing weather transforms the visible spectrum, and the magnificence of the night sky, phenomena all too often unseen in a hurry-up world. The result is a story that sharpens the senses and quiets the soul." -STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly
 

Gentle and lyrical, Every Color of Light is a bedtime story told by the elements.

Every Color of Light opens on a lush, green forest in the rain. Illustrated by the masterful Ryoji Arai, the calm is shattered when the wind picks up and lightning cuts the sky. Yet out of this turbulence, the day blooms bright, the flowers open, and raindrops roll and drip down to the forest floor. The sun sets. The moon rises, and in a pool of water we see its reflection. We go to sleep with the forest, sinking into the pool, into the calm reflection of the moon. Harmonizing our human experience to the natural world, Arai invites the reader to hold imaginative space for our oneness with the natural world.

 

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The Barnabus Project

Eric Fan

In a world built for Perfect Pets, Barnabus is a Failed Project, half mouse, half elephant, kept out of sight until his dreams of freedom lead him and his misfit friends on a perilous adventure. A stunning picture book from international bestsellers The Fan Brothers, joined by their brother Devin Fan.

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The Bear and the Moon

Matthew Burgess

The Bear and the Moon is a picture book that follows what happens when the gift of a balloon floats into Bear's life.

The two companions embark on a journey—a magical tale that encompasses the joys of friendship and discovery.

This is a gentle book filled with humor, while tackling complex topics like the transcendence of loss and forgiveness.

• Filled with emotive text and radiant illustrations
• Simply told and profoundly felt
• Award winning author-illustrator team

The Bear and the Moon is a compassionate tale that honors the small but profound world of the very young.

This sweet book teaches social and emotional skills to kids, and offers a clever way to soothe some of our most difficult feelings: loss and guilt.

• Just as ideal for gently soothing young readers to sleep as it is for encouraging a contemplative break from an energetic day
• Great for parents, grandparents, and caregivers looking for a beautiful friendship or bedtime story
• Perfect for children ages 3 to 5 years old
• You'll love this book if you love books like Waiting by Kevin Henkes, Emily's Balloon by Komako Sakai, and Stellaluna by Janell Cannon.

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My Favorite Color

Aaron Becker

The Caldecott Honor-winning creator of the Journey trilogy celebrates color and nature with a joyously simple die-cut book.

People always ask for your favorite color. But who said you can only have one? Open this gorgeous board book to find an ode to ever-changing colors, offering a spectrum of hues evoking the sun, the sea, clouds, and dew-dappled fruit. In colorful grids of small squares--some translucent inserts, some painted on the page--Aaron Becker uses layering to make colors shift and transition from spread to mesmerizing spread. As fun to look at as an alluring paint-chip display and as inspiring as an artful concept book can be, My Favorite Color promises to be a favorite, well-thumbed read and a prized art object in itself.

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Sun Flower Lion

Kevin Henkes

A sun. A flower. And a lion. With three visual motifs, three colors, and fewer than 200 words, renowned Caldecott Medalist and #1 New York Times-bestseller Kevin Henkes cracks open the wide world and the youngest child's endless imagination. This irresistible picture book is a must-have for every reader and every family.

 

On a warm morning, a little lion sleeps under a sun that shines so brightly, it looks like a flower. He dreams the flower is as big as the sun. He dreams the flower is a cookie. He lets his imagination soar.

 

Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes uses simple shapes, limited colors, and a pitch-perfect text to tell Lion's story in this transcendent picture book. Sun Flower Lion introduces emerging readers to short chapters, action verbs, and adjectives, while bright illustrations transform simple shapes into something magical.

 

Sun Flower Lion will shine at story time and bedtime and for young children just learning how to read on their own.

 

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In a Jar

Deborah Marcero

Here's a marvelous picture book, charmingly written and beautifully illustrated, about the power of memory and the magic of friendship.

Llewellyn, a little rabbit, is a collector. He gathers things in jars--ordinary things like buttercups, feathers, and heart-shaped stones. Then he meets another rabbit, Evelyn, and together they begin to collect extraordinary things--like rainbows, the sound of the ocean, and the wind just before snow falls. And, best of all, when they hold the jars and peer inside, they remember all the wonderful things they've seen and done. But one day, Evelyn has sad news: Her family is moving away. How can the two friends continue their magical collection--and their special friendship--from afar?

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Ten Beautiful Things

Molly Griffin

A heartfelt story of changing perspectives, set in the Midwest. Ten Beautiful Things gently explores loss, a new home, and finding beauty wherever you are.

Lily and her grandmother search for ten beautiful things as they take a long car ride to Iowa and Lily's new home with Gran. At first, Lily sees nothing beautiful in the April slush and cloudy sky. Soon though, Lily can see beauty in unexpected places, from the smell of spring mud to a cloud shaped like a swan to a dilapitated barn. A furious rainstorm mirrors Lily's anxiety, but as it clears Lily discovers the tenth beautiful thing: Lily and Gran and their love for each other.

Ten Beautiful Things leaves the exact cause of Lily's move ambiguous, making it perfect for anyone helping a child navigate change, whether it be the loss of a parent, entering or leaving a foster home, or moving.

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Busy Zoo

Ladybird

All busy toddlers will love exploring this bright lift-the-flap board book from Ladybird. Looking at the pictures together and talking about what is happening will help your child to develop observation and early language skills.

Follow Keeper Katie as she works in the busy zoo. From scrubbing the elephants to feeding the penguins, there is always so much for a busy zookeeper to do.

With simple rhyming text, robust flaps to lift (up to four per page ), labelled pictures and a ladybird to spot on every page, there is plenty to keep young children entertained, too

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Who Did It First? 50 Icons, Luminaries, and Legends Who Revolutionized the World

Megan Reid

A vibrantly illustrated and compelling collection of profiles about women and men—and one dog!—who made indelible marks in entertainment, science, politics, and sports.

You may know that Beyoncé was the first Black woman to headline Coachella. And maybe you know that Pelé was the first soccer player to score 1,000 professional goals. You might not know that RuPaul Charles was the first drag queen to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Or that Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was the first Latinx artist to have an album hit the top of the Billboard 200.

Written by Megan Reid and illustrated by Jess Cruickshank, Who Did It First? 50 Icons, Luminaries, and Legends Who Revolutionized the World celebrates fifty trailblazers who made the world a better place. Filled with profiles highlighting what each subject accomplished first alongside vibrant illustrations, this book is a celebration of the iconic figures who have paved the way for future generations.

Perfect for fans of Little Leaders, Women in Science, and Rad Women Worldwide, Who Did It First? makes a wonderful gift for any occasion and is a must-have for every young reader’s library.

Featuring those mentioned above along with Shirley Chisholm, Janet Jackson, Rita Moreno, Harvey Milk, Stephen Hawking, Michael Jordan, and more.

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Boys Dance! (American Ballet Theatre)

John Robert Allman

A lively and encouraging picture book celebrating boys who love to dance, from the renowned American Ballet Theatre.

Boys who love to dance are center stage in this encouraging, positive, rhyming picture book about guys who love to pirouette, jeté, and plié. Created in partnership with the American Ballet Theatre and with the input of their company's male dancers, here is a book that shows ballet is for everyone.

Written by the acclaimed author of A Is for Audra: Broadway's Leading Ladies from A-Z, who danced as a child, this book subtly seeks to address the prejudice toward boys and ballet by showing the skill, hard work, strength, and smarts is takes to be a dancer. Fun and buoyant illustrations showing boys of a variety of ages and ethnicities, making this the ideal book for any boy who loves dance. An afterword with photos and interviews with some of ABT's male dancers completes this empowering and joyful picture book.

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Crossings

Katy S. Duffield

This powerful nonfiction picture book explores wildlife crossings around the world and how they are helping save thousands of animals every day.

Around the world, bridges, tunnels, and highways are constantly being built to help people get from one place to another. But what happens when construction spreads over, under, across, and through animal habitats? Thankfully, groups of concerned citizens, scientists, engineers, and construction crews have come together to create wildlife crossings to help keep animals safe.

From elk traversing a wildlife bridge across a Canadian interstate to titi monkeys using rope bridges over a Costa Rican road to salamanders creeping through tiny tunnels beneath a Massachusetts street, young readers are certain to be delighted and inspired by these ingenious solutions that are saving the lives of countless wild animals.

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Kamala Harris

Nikki Grimes

Discover the incredible story of a young daughter of immigrants who would grow up to be the first woman, first Black person, and first South Asian American ever elected Vice President of the United States in this moving picture book biography of Kamala Harris.

When Kamala Harris was young, she often accompanied her parents to civil rights marches—so many, in fact, that when her mother asked a frustrated Kamala what she wanted, the young girl responded with: “Freedom!”

As Kamala grew from a small girl in Oakland to a senator running for president, it was this long-fostered belief in freedom and justice for all people that shaped her into the inspiring figure she is today. From fighting for the use of a soccer field in middle school to fighting for the people of her home state in Congress, Senator Harris used her voice to speak up for what she believed in and for those who were otherwise unheard. And now this dedication has led her all the way to being elected Vice President of the United States.

Told in Nikki Grimes's stunning verse and featuring gorgeous illustrations by Laura Freeman, this picture book biography brings to life a story that shows all young people that the American dream can belong to all of us if we fight for one another.

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Honest Thief

Tom Carter is a careful thief who has successfully stolen nine million dollars from 12 small-town banks in seven states without anyone ever guessing his true identity. Law enforcement officials and the media have dubbed him the In and Out Bandit. After Tom meets Annie, an honest woman who falls in love with him, he decides that the only way he can ever have any sort of life with her is if he turns himself in to the FBI and makes a deal for a reduced sentence. When two agents decide to keep the money in a brutal double-cross that results in the death of a senior agent, Tom must clear his name or add murder to his list of crimes. The agents soon learn that they're not going to get away with framing him as easily as they thought: It turns out that Tom's a former demolitions expert and marine.

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Bad Education

The Roslyn School District runs like a well-oiled machine under superintendent Frank Tassone's leadership. His charming ability to inspire students, assuage parents' fears, and work with community leaders earn himself and the school an unmatched reputation of integrity. When student journalist Rachel Bhargava begins investigating rumors of monetary gaffes, the community's success takes a shocking nose dive. Forced to answer for his professional and personal indiscretions, his untarnished record will become regarded as the largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history.

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Mulan

When China's emperor sends a decree to enlist one man per family for the Imperial Chinese Army, Mulan decides to take action to save her unwell father from having to join once more. Passing herself off as the son of an honored warrior, she attends training and dives into the battlefield as the Huns invade her country. Pushing herself to her limits and braving the war, Mulan digs deep to find her true inherited strength.

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The Irishman

During World War II, Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran learned how to kill people with efficiency. Upon his return home, he tried to settle down and fought for the labor unions as a high official. He even became friends with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' president Jimmy Hoffa. Yet, Frank couldn't walk away from his skill. He started to paint houses, kill people with a lot of blood splatter, as a contract killer. He became a hitman for the Italian-American Bufalino crime family and the only Irishman to be accepted in the Bufalino's higher echelon of trusted family members. As an old man, Frank thinks back about his time as a criminal and killer and his role in Hoffa's disappearance in July 1975.

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Made in Italy

A father and his son living in London decide to travel to Italy to restore and remodel a Tuscan villa inherited from the father's Italian mother. Both father and son have never gotten over the tragic death of their wife/mother in a car accident two decades earlier. Father and son clash at first as old memories and unresolved family issues come to the surface as they tackle the daunting work that needs to be done on the villa. However, they find unexpected joys, new friends and a chance to heal the past in this light and warm comedy interlaced with drama.

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Unhinged

Russell Crowe stars as a disturbed man who is tired of feeling rejected and oppressed. He becomes deranged when a young woman, Rachel, running late for work, honks her horn and tries to cut into his traffic lane. This incident spikes unbelievable anger in him and he doles out revenge by terrorizing her and other people she knows. This suspenseful story deals with the frightening aspect of 'road rage' and recounts how one small incident can turn into a deadly chase.

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The Little Book of Life Skills

Erin Zammett Ruddy

With tips from leading experts in every field, The Little Book of Life Skills is the practical guide on how to solve the trickiest tasks in your day and make life a little easier.
We all have areas of our lives that make us feel disorganized, unprepared, or stressed out. From creating a calmer morning routine to setting yourself up for a good night's sleep, and everything in between, there are easy and proven ways to do things better. Whether you need advice on how to end an argument, iron a shirt, or keep your inbox under control, Erin Zammett Ruddy has spoken to experts including Rachael Ray, Dr. Oz, Arianna Huffington, and condensed their wisdom into easy to follow steps for all of life's simple and not-so-simple tasks, such as:

  • Working from Home Effectively
  • Keeping a Houseplant Alive
  • Giving Constructive Feedback
  • Arranging the Perfect Cheese Board, and many more

The Little Book of Life Skills offers simple strategies for being better grown-ups. It's the perfect guide for anybody who wants to get organized, be more efficient throughout the day, and finally learn the best way to fold that #$% fitted sheet.

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Sewing Machine Reference Tool

Bernie Tobisch

Troubleshoot Your Sewing Machine... Stat! Kick tension problems to the curb and say goodbye to presser foot problems! This pocket-size guide helps you troubleshoot your sewing machine on the go. A comprehensive chart of common issues will help you quickly diagnose the issue at hand and find the remedy to get your stress levels back to zero. Master needle nicks, tricky threaders, and baffling buttonholes once and for all! This portable guide is perfect to take along to retreats and classes so readers can quickly get their machines back up and running. - All the information you need to resolve common issues for stress-free sewing- Quickly find the facts with a troubleshooting chart for sewers and quilters - Solve tension and presser foot problems, mastering buttonholes, needles, threaders, automatic thread cutters, and more

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Darning

Hikaru Noguchi

Climate and economic change is making many of us rethink the ways we use resources by reusing and repairing our clothes, which has become a mark of pride and style. This is visible mending, more akin to embroidery and embellishment. It makes your favorite clothing even more personal and saves it from landfill.

- Fully illustrated with color photography throughout
- Detailed, step-by-step images
- Easy to follow techniques--even for beginners
- Plenty of inspiration for adventurous menders

Twelve darning Techniques are covered in detail with step-by-step instructions include: Seed stitch, square darning, Reversible darns, Seed and square darn, Triangular darns, English darning, Accordion darning, Appliqué, Reverse appliqué, Chain darning, Honeycomb Darning and the decorative Tambourine darning. Ten chapters cover mending sweaters, shirts, denim, items in the home as well as accessories, such as scarves and bags.

This is the first English edition of the cult darning book by Hikaru Noguchi, who has become the guru of visible darning in Japan. This detailed, step-by-step guide makes the methods easy to follow, even for non-sewers. The stylish photography highlights the artistic and minimalist style of the designer's work.

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Cooking for One

America's Test Kitchen

Discover the joy of cooking for yourself with more than 160 perfectly portioned, easy-to-execute recipes, flexible ingredient lists to accommodate your pantry, and ideas for improvising to your taste.

Taking care to prepare a meal for yourself is a different experience than cooking for others. It can be a fun, casual, and (of course) delicious affair, but there are challenges, from avoiding a fridge full of half-used ingredients to ending up with leftovers that become boring after the third reheat.

Cooking for One helps you make cooking for yourself special without becoming a chore with unfussy yet utterly appealing meals that rely on ingredients you already have on hand, like Garam Masala Pork Chop with Couscous and Weeknight Chicken Cacciatore. Don't have exactly the right ingredients? Never fear--with a Kitchen Improv box on every page, we offer ideas for altering the dish so it works for you. And for those weeks you didn't make it to the supermarket, we use a Pantry Recipe icon to clearly mark recipes that rely entirely on our checklist for a well-stocked pantry. We show you when it's worth making two servings (but never more) with our Makes Leftovers icon, and suggest how to transform those leftovers into a whole new meal. (We love our Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Celery Root and Pepitas served over arugula as a hearty salad the next day.) Ingredients themselves often lead you to another exciting meal--when you're left with half an eggplant from Simple Ratatouille, we direct you to Broiled Eggplant with Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette as the perfect way to use it up. And if the thought of a sink full of dishes keeps you out of the kitchen, there are plenty of appealing one-pan dinners like Roasted Sausage, Sweet Potatoes, and Broccoli Rabe with Mustard-Chive Butter or Couscous with Shrimp, Cilantro, and Garlic Chips that are here to save the day.

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FOOD52 Your Do-Anything Kitchen

Editors of Food52

The ultimate guide to the kitchen from Food52--the award-winning kitchen and home destination--filled with ideas for creating, organizing, and enjoying everyone's favorite room in the house.

The first step to better, happier cooking? Setting up a tip-top kitchen. We're talking one that's stocked with essential tools and ingredients, organized so everything you need is close at hand, and sparkling-clean from floor to ceiling. Food52 is here to make it happen. Your Do-Anything Kitchen gathers the smartest ideas and savviest tricks from the Food52 community and test kitchen to help you transform your space into its very best self.

If you're ready for a top-to-bottom kitchen revamp, this handbook's got you covered--but it's packed with small-but-mighty upgrades, too. Stick with us, and you'll get to know which cooking tools are must-haves, discover new pantry staples for on-a-whim meals, and learn tons of tips to make your fridge (freezer, too!) work even harder for you. You'll find strategies for tidying storage-container clutter and arranging all your cooking gadgets--and while you're at it, maximizing precious drawer and counter space. Once you've gotten your kitchen in order, you can start cooking with a new spring in your step, thanks to a handy how-to on knife skills and a mini-guide to mise en place. A chapter chock-full of cleaning advice will keep your kitchen at its spiffiest.

Throughout, you'll get tours of real-life, super-functional home kitchens from cookbook authors, chefs, bakers, and more. Armed with a choose-your-own-adventure meal-prep planner, helpful charts on the art of speedy, streamlined dinners, and a game-changing cleaning checklist, you'll whiz through your routine like the efficiency expert you now are. So whether you're putting together your very first kitchen or looking to spruce up a well-loved space, Your Do-Anything Kitchen will turn it into the greatest-possible place to cook--and spend time.

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Christmas Baking

Joyce Klynstra

WINNER of the 2020 US Gourmand Award for Specialty Cookbooks!

Irresistible cookies, cakes, confections, snacks, and breads to make and share during the most wonderful time of the year.


This collection brings together more than100 Christmas-inspired recipes, each beautifully photographed with easy-to-follow instructions, from holiday classics like Dark Chocolate Crinkles and Decorated Sugar Cookies to international treats like Krakelingen, Linzer Cookies, and Alfajores. Many favorites will spark fond baking memories, and new flavors will create fresh family traditions. From festive and fancy to quick and easy, recipes include:
 

 

  • Cranberry Almond Thumbprints
  • Chewy Gingersnaps
  • Peanut Butter Caramel Bars
  • Star Bread
  • Cranberry Pistachio Scones
  • Caramel Corn
  • Maple Peanut Clusters
  • Peppermint Chocolate Cheesecake

 


Christmas Baking contains perfect recipes for holiday gatherings, gift-giving, cookie swaps, and Christmas morning. Written by a mother and daughter team and tested in home kitchens, these treats will bring comfort, joy, and a dash of nostalgia to your holiday.

 

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The Front Steps Project

Kristen Collins

Curated from the grassroots social movement of the same name, this inspiring, uplifting portrait series documents how people coped with living in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Front Steps ProjectTM demonstrates that even in the most challenging of circumstances, incredible kindness, love, courage and hope exists to build, bind, and connect communities around the globe.

Created on March 18, 2020, The Front Steps ProjectTM began when friends Kristen Collins and Cara Soulia chose to unite their neighbors through images of life in quarantine. Along with other local photographers, they committed to take a few hours each day to go to neighborhoods around Needham, Massachusetts to photograph residents in front of their homes in exchange for donations to their local food pantry.

Within days, #TheFrontStepsProject became a grassroots social mission, connecting thousands of people across the globe and currently raising over $3,250,000 for vital non-profit organizations and local businesses including food pantries, frontline workers, homeless and animal shelters, hospitals and more. Hundreds of thousands of images and stories of love, sacrifice, joy, compassion, kindness, pride, perseverance, and – ultimately hope – are flooding social media.

Featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and more, The Front Steps Project brings communities together virtually, despite being – and maybe feeling – isolated.

This heartwarming keepsake commemorates a massive effort of unity, courage and commitment to community goodwill in gift book form with over 400 photographs and dozens of stories. Participating photographers as well as their subjects from across the United States, Canada and beyond share how the virus has impacted their lives with both heartache and triumph.

As a tribute to the good work of The Front Steps Project and to keep paying it forward, a portion of proceeds from the sale of the book will go to The United Way and their own efforts to help people impacted by the pandemic.

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Can't Slow Down

Michaelangelo Matos

The definitive account of pop music in the mid-eighties, from Prince and Madonna to the underground hip-hop, indie rock, and club scenes
Everybody knows the hits of 1984 - pop music's greatest year. From "Thriller" to "Purple Rain," "Hello" to "Against All Odds," "What's Love Got to Do with It" to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," these iconic songs continue to dominate advertising, karaoke nights, and the soundtracks for film classics (Boogie Nights) and TV hits (Stranger Things). But the story of that thrilling, turbulent time, an era when Top 40 radio was both the leading edge of popular culture and a moral battleground, has never been told with the full detail it deserves - until now. Can't Slow Down is the definitive portrait of the exploding world of mid-eighties pop and the time it defined, from Cold War anxiety to the home-computer revolution. Big acts like Michael Jackson (Thriller), Prince (Purple Rain), Madonna (Like a Virgin), Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.), and George Michael (Wham!'s Make It Big) rubbed shoulders with the stars of the fermenting scenes of hip-hop, indie rock, and club music.
Rigorously researched, mapping the entire terrain of American pop, with crucial side trips to the UK and Jamaica, from the biz to the stars to the upstarts and beyond, Can't Slow Down is a vivid journey to the very moment when pop was remaking itself, and the culture at large - one hit at a time.

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The Mutant Project

Eben Kirksey

An anthropologist visits the frontiers of genetics, medicine, and technology to ask: Whose values are guiding gene editing experiments? And what does this new era of scientific inquiry mean for the future of the human species?

"That rare kind of scholarship that is also a page-turner."
—Britt Wray, author of Rise of the Necrofauna

At a conference in Hong Kong in November 2018, Dr. He Jiankui announced that he had created the first genetically modified babies—twin girls named Lulu and Nana—sending shockwaves around the world. A year later, a Chinese court sentenced Dr. He to three years in prison for "illegal medical practice."

As scientists elsewhere start to catch up with China’s vast genetic research program, gene editing is fueling an innovation economy that threatens to widen racial and economic inequality. Fundamental questions about science, health, and social justice are at stake: Who gets access to gene editing technologies? As countries loosen regulations around the globe, from the U.S. to Indonesia, can we shape research agendas to promote an ethical and fair society?

Eben Kirksey takes us on a groundbreaking journey to meet the key scientists, lobbyists, and entrepreneurs who are bringing cutting-edge genetic engineering tools like CRISPR—created by Nobel Prize-winning biochemists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier—to your local clinic. He also ventures beyond the scientific echo chamber, talking to disabled scholars, doctors, hackers, chronically-ill patients, and activists who have alternative visions of a genetically modified future for humanity.

The Mutant Project empowers us to ask the right questions, uncover the truth, and navigate this brave new world.

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Future Sea

Deborah Rowan Wright

The world’s oceans face multiple threats: the effects of climate change, pollution, overfishing, plastic waste, and more. Confronted with the immensity of these challenges and of the oceans themselves, we might wonder what more can be done to stop their decline and better protect the sea and marine life. Such widespread environmental threats call for a simple but significant shift in reasoning to bring about long-overdue, elemental change in the way we use ocean resources. In Future Sea, ocean advocate and marine-policy researcher Deborah Rowan Wright provides the tools for that shift. Questioning the underlying philosophy of established ocean conservation approaches, Rowan Wright lays out a radical alternative: a bold and far-reaching strategy of 100 percent ocean protection that would put an end to destructive industrial activities, better safeguard marine biodiversity, and enable ocean wildlife to return and thrive along coasts and in seas around the globe.

Future Sea is essentially concerned with the solutions and not the problems. Rowan Wright shines a light on existing international laws intended to keep marine environments safe that could underpin this new strategy. She gathers inspiring stories of communities and countries using ocean resources wisely, as well as of successful conservation projects, to build up a cautiously optimistic picture of the future for our oceans—counteracting all-too-prevalent reports of doom and gloom. A passionate, sweeping, and personal account, Future Sea not only argues for systemic change in how we manage what we do in the sea, but also describes steps that anyone, from children to political leaders (or indeed, any reader of the book), can take toward safeguarding the oceans and their extraordinary wildlife.

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The Low, Low Woods (Hill House Comics)

Carmen Maria Machado

From New York Times bestselling author Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body And Other Parties, In The Dream House) comes a story so horrifying you won't dare to forget!

There's something in the woods...

Shudder-to-Think, Pennsylvania, has been on fire for years. The woods are full of rabbits with human eyes, a deer woman who stalks hungry girls, and swaths of skinless men. And the people of Shudder-to-Think? Well, they're not doing so well either.

When El and Octavia wake up in a movie theater with no memory of the last few hours of their lives, the two teenage dirtbags embark on a horrifying journey to uncover the truth about the strange town that they call home.

From critically acclaimed writer Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties) comes The Low, Low Woods, from the smash-hit lineup of the Hill House Comics library. Featuring stunning artwork by Dani (Lucifer), this volume collects The Low, Low Woods #1-6.

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Justice League: The Darkseid War (DC Essential Edition)

Geoff Johns

ÒAn entertaining superhero epic.Ó -IGN ÒSome of the biggest and best storylines in the DC Universe.Ó -Nerdist Justice League: The Darkseid War (DC Essential Edition) collects the entire ÒDarkseid WarÓ storyline in this new Essential Edition, featuring brand-new cover art! For new readers and longtime fans, this is a definitive entry point to the DC UniverseÕs vast library. Years ago the Justice League first formed to stop Darkseid and his parademon army from invading Earth. Now Darkseid will once again make the planet a war zone, as Earth becomes the front line in his battle with the Anti-Monitor, a universe-devouring creature who can reduce whole planets to rubble. To stop their planet from becoming collateral damage in this war of gods, the Justice League must uncover the secrets of the New Gods and learn the hidden truth behind the Anti-MonitorÕs identity and his history with Darkseid. From writer Geoff Johns (Doomsday Clock) and acclaimed illustrators Jason Fabok (Detective Comics) and Francis Manapul (The Flash) comes the epic event that changed the Justice League forever. Collects Justice League #40-50, Justice League: The Darkseid War Special and DC Sneak Peek: Justice League. The DC Essential Edition series highlights the best standalone stories the medium has to offer, featuring comicsÕ greatest characters. These trade paperback editions focus on the easiest entry points DC has in its vast library, with seminal, groundbreaking tales that transcend the printed page. Start with the Essentials.

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Lazarus

Lars Kepler

“One of the best thrillers of the year! Kepler treats us readers to a nonstop roller coaster of suspense, taking us deep into the hearts and minds of perfectly realized characters. And, oh, what a villain! Lazarus is the definition of a one-sitting read!” —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times best-selling author of The Goodbye Man 

Sometimes the past won't stay buried.


All across Europe, the most ruthless criminals are suffering gruesome deaths. At first, it seems coincidental that their underworld affiliations are finally catching up to them. But when two of the victims are found to have disturbing connections to Detective Joona Linna, it becomes clear that there’s a single killer at work. Still, police are reluctant to launch an investigation. If a mysterious vigilante is making their jobs easier, why stand in his way? Joona, however, is convinced this is no
would-be hero. These deaths serve a much darker purpose.
 
Desperate for help, Joona turns to Saga Bauer. If his hunch is correct, she’s one of the few people who stands a chance at bringing this criminal mastermind down. But Saga is fighting her own demons—and the killer knows just how to use them to his advantage. He continues to strike with impunity, and no one, it seems, is safe. When the killer begins targeting those closest to Saga and Joona, it appears more and more likely that Joona has been right all along, and that tracking down the person responsible will force him to confront a ghost from his past . . . the most terrifying villain he’s ever had to face.

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Olive Bright, Pigeoneer

Stephanie Graves

Set in a charming British village during World War II, Stephanie Graves' new charming historical mystery introduces Olive Bright, a spirited young pigeon fancier who finds herself at the heart of a baffling murder...

Though war rages across mainland Europe and London is strafed by German aircraft, the little village of Pipley in Hertfordshire bustles along much as it always has. Adrift since her best friend, George, joined the Royal Air Force, twenty-two-year-old Olive Bright fills her days by helping at her father's veterinary practice and tending to her beloved racing pigeons. Desperate to do her bit, Olive hopes that the National Pigeon Service will enlist Bright Lofts' expertise, and use their highly trained birds to deliver critical, coded messages for His Majesty's Forces.

The strangers who arrive in Pipley are not from the NPS. Instead, Jameson Aldridge and his associate are tied to a covert British intelligence organization known as Baker Street. If Olive wants her pigeons to help the war effort, she must do so in complete secrecy. Tired of living vicariously through the characters of her beloved Agatha Christie novels, Olive readily agrees. But in the midst of her subterfuge, the village of Pipley is dealing with another mystery. Local busybody Miss Husselbee is found dead outside Olive's pigeon loft. Is the murder tied to Olive's new assignment? Or did Miss Husselbee finally succeed in ferreting out a secret shameful enough to kill for? With the gruff, handsome Jameson as an unlikely ally, Olive intends to find out--but homing in on a murderer can be a deadly business...

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The House on Vesper Sands

Paraic O'Donnell

An Irish Times and Guardian Book of the Year

A January Pick for Indie Next, Apple Books, and Library Reads

London, 1893: high up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O’Donnell’s Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances?

On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter’s sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters—despite her employer’s preference that she stick to a women’s society column. As Inspector Cutter peels back the mystery layer by layer, he leads them all, at last, to the secrets that lie hidden at the house on Vesper Sands.

By turns smart, surprising, and impossible to put down, The House on Vesper Sands offers a glimpse into the strange undertow of late nineteenth-century London and the secrets we all hold inside us.

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Death at a Country Mansion

Louise R. Innes

"A promising debut with scads of interesting characters, a spirited heroine, and a hint of romance."
--
Kirkus Reviews

Welcome to Daisy Thorne's Ooh La La hair salon in the charming village of Edgemead in Surrey, England, where you'll find the latest styles, the juiciest gossip -- and the most tantalizing murder clues . . .

No one would ever accuse famous opera star Dame Serena Levanté of lacking a flare for the dramatic. Unfortunately, it's curtains down on the dysfunctional diva when she's found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her elegant home. Solving an opera singer's murder may not be the typical hairdresser's aria of expertise. But Dame Serena was the mother of Daisy's best friend Floria, so Daisy must do-or-dye her best to get to the roots of the case.

When a priceless Modigliani painting in the house is reported missing, the mystery gets even more tangled. Even though the gruff but handsome Detective Inspector Paul McGuinness tells the stylist to stay out of his hair, Daisy is determined to make sure the killer faces a stern makeover--behind bars.

"Death at a Country Mansion has more twists than a French braid."
--Sherry Harris


"If you enjoy British manor houses, a touch of budding romance, and a good mystery (like I do), I highly recommend Death at a Country Mansion."
--Vikki Walton


"A little romance, a little art history, and a gorgeous mansion . . . a page-turner that is fun and intriguing."
--ACF Bookens

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How to Raise an Elephant

Alexander McCall Smith

Mma Ramotswe must balance family obligations with the growing needs of one of Charlie's pet projects in this latest installment in the cherished No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

Precious Ramotswe loves her dependable old van. Yes, sometimes it takes a bit longer to get going now, and it has developed some quirks over the years, but it has always gotten the job done. This time, though, the world--and Charlie--may be asking too much of it, for when he borrows the beloved vehicle he returns it damaged. And, to make matters worse, the interior seems to have acquired an earthy smell that even Precious can't identify.

But the olfactory issue is not the only mystery that needs solving. Mma Ramotswe is confronted by a distant relative, Blessing, who asks for help with an ailing cousin. The help requested is of a distinctly pecuniary nature, which makes both Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni and Mma Makutsi suspicious. And there is no peace at home, either, as the new neighbors are airing their marital grievances rather loudly. Still, Mma Ramotswe is confident that there are solutions to all of these difficulties, there to be discovered as long as she is led by kindness, grace, and logic, and can rely on the counsel of her friends and loved ones.

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Mudlarking

Lara Maiklem

MUDLARK: A PERSON WHO SCAVENGES FOR USABLE DEBRIS IN THE MUD OF A RIVER OR HARBOUR. Lara Maiklem has scoured the banks of the Thames for over fifteen years in pursuit of the objects that the river unearths: from Neolithic flints to Roman hair pins, medieval buckles to Tudor buttons, and Georgian clay pipes to Victorian toys. These objects tell her about London and its lost ways of life. Moving from the river's tidal origins in the west of the city to the point where it meets the sea in the east, MUDLARKING is a search for urban solitude and history on the River Thames, which Lara calls the longest archaeological site in England. As she has discovered, it is often the tiniest objects that tell the greatest stories.

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Eleanor

David Michaelis

Prizewinning bestselling author David Michaelis presents a “stunning” (The Wall Street Journal) breakthrough portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, America’s longest-serving First Lady, an avatar of democracy whose ever-expanding agency as diplomat, activist, and humanitarian made her one of the world’s most widely admired and influential women.

In the first single-volume cradle-to-grave portrait in six decades, acclaimed biographer David Michaelis delivers a stunning account of Eleanor Roosevelt’s remarkable life of transformation. An orphaned niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, she converted her Gilded Age childhood of denial and secrecy into an irreconcilable marriage with her ambitious fifth cousin Franklin. Despite their inability to make each other happy, Franklin Roosevelt transformed Eleanor from a settlement house volunteer on New York’s Lower East Side into a matching partner in New York’s most important power couple in a generation.

When Eleanor discovered Franklin’s betrayal with her younger, prettier social secretary, Lucy Mercer, she offered a divorce and vowed to face herself honestly. Here is an Eleanor both more vulnerable and more aggressive, more psychologically aware and sexually adaptable than we knew. She came to accept FDR’s bond with his executive assistant, Missy LeHand; she allowed her children to live their own lives, as she never could; and she explored her sexual attraction to women, among them a star female reporter on FDR’s first presidential campaign, and younger men.

Eleanor needed emotional connection. She pursued deeper relationships wherever she could find them. Throughout her life and travels, there was always another person or place she wanted to heal. As FDR struggled to recover from polio, Eleanor became a voice for the voiceless, her husband’s proxy in presidential ambition, and then the people’s proxy in the White House. Later, she would be the architect of international human rights and world citizen of the Atomic Age, urging Americans to cope with the anxiety of global annihilation by cultivating a “world mind.” She insisted that we cannot live for ourselves alone but must learn to live together or we will die together.

Drawing on new research, Michaelis’s riveting portrait is not just a comprehensive biography of a major American figure, but the story of an American ideal: how our freedom is always a choice. Eleanor rediscovers a model of what is noble and evergreen in the American character, a model we need today more than ever.

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D (A Tale of Two Worlds)

Michel Faber

“Glorious. A story that will be found and enjoyed and dreamed about for years to come.”—Neil Gaiman

A stunning modern-day Dickensian fable and a celebration of friendship and bravery for freethinkers everywhere.

It all starts on the morning the letter D disappears from language. First, it vanishes from Dhikilo’s parents’ conversation at breakfast, then from the road signs outside and from her school dinners. Soon the local dentist and the neighbor’s dalmatian are missing, and even the Donkey Derby has been called off.

Though she doesn’t know why, Dhikilo is summoned to the home of her old history teacher Professor Dodderfield and his faithful Labrador, Nelly Robinson. And this is where our story begins.

Set between England and the wintry land of Liminus, a world enslaved by the monstrous Gamp and populated by fearsome, enchanting creatures, D (A Tale of Two Worlds) is told with simple beauty and warmth. Its celebration of moral courage and freethinking is a powerful reminder of our human capacity for strength, hope and justice.

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Armada

Ernest Cline

From the author of Ready Player One, a rollicking alien invasion thriller that embraces and subverts science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline can.

Zack Lightman has never much cared for reality. He vastly prefers the countless science-fiction movies, books, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. And too often, he catches himself wishing that some fantastic, impossible, world-altering event could arrive to whisk him off on a grand spacefaring adventure.

So when he sees the flying saucer, he's sure his years of escapism have finally tipped over into madness.

Especially because the alien ship he's staring at is straight out of his favorite videogame, a flight simulator callled Armada--in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders.

As impossible as it seems, what Zack's seeing is all too real. And it's just the first in a blur of revlations that will force him to question everything he thought he knew about Earth's history, its future, even his own life--and to play the hero for real, with humanity's life in the balance.

But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can't help thinking: Doesn't something about this scenario feel a little bit like . . . well . . . fiction?

At once reinventing and paying homage to science-fiction classics, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before.

Praise for Armada

"A thrilling coming-of-age story."--Entertainment Weekly

"Nerd-gasmic . . . another science fiction tale with a Comic-Con's worth of pop-culture shout-outs."--Rolling Stone

"An amazing novel that] proves Cline has the ability to blend popular culture with exciting stories that appeal to everyone."--Associated Press

"Mixes Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Independence Day and a really gnarly round of Space Invaders into a tasty sci-fi stew."--USA Today

"A fantastic second novel . . . fans of Ready Player One, it is time to rejoice."--Huffington Post

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The Awakening

Nora Roberts

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts begins a new trilogy of adventure, romance, and magick in The Awakening.

In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own...

When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.

This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home. Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny...

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The Loop

Patrick T. Reardon

The structure that anchors Chicago

Every day Chicagoans rely on the loop of elevated train tracks to get to their jobs, classrooms, or homes in the city’s downtown. But how much do they know about the single most important structure in the history of the Windy City? In engagingly brisk prose, Patrick T. Reardon unfolds the fascinating story about how Chicago’s elevated Loop was built, gave its name to the downtown, helped unify the city, saved the city’s economy, and was itself saved from destruction in the 1970s.

This unique volume combines urban history, biography, engineering, architecture, transportation, culture, and politics to explore the elevated Loop’s impact on the city’s development and economy and on the way Chicagoans see themselves. The Loop rooted Chicago’s downtown in a way unknown in other cities, and it protected that area—and the city itself—from the full effects of suburbanization during the second half of the twentieth century. Masses of data underlie new insights into what has made Chicago’s downtown, and the city as a whole, tick.

The Loop features a cast of colorful Chicagoans, such as legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow, poet Edgar Lee Masters, mayor Richard J. Daley, and the notorious Gray Wolves of the Chicago City Council. Charles T. Yerkes, an often-demonized figure, is shown as a visionary urban planner, and engineer John Alexander Low Waddell, a world-renowned bridge creator, is introduced to Chicagoans as the designer of their urban railway.

This fascinating exploration of how one human-built structure reshaped the social and economic landscape of Chicago is the definitive book on Chicago’s elevated Loop.

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Mediocre

Ijeoma Oluo

From the author of the New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race, a history of white male America and a scathing indictment of what it has cost us socially, economically, and politically
After the election of Donald Trump, and the escalation of white male rage and increased hostility toward immigrants that came with him, New York Times-bestselling author Ijeoma Oluo found herself in conversation with Americans around the country, pondering one central question: How did we get here?
In this ambitious survey of the last century of American history, Oluo answers that question by pinpointing white men's deliberate efforts to subvert women, people of color, and the disenfranchised. Through research, interviews, and the powerful, personal writing for which she is celebrated, Oluo investigates the backstory of America's growth, from immigrant migration to our national ethos around ingenuity, from the shaping of economic policy to the protection of sociopolitical movements that fortify male power. In the end, she shows how white men have long maintained a stranglehold on leadership and sorely undermined the pursuit of happiness for all.

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Unsinkable

James Sullivan

In the bestselling tradition of Indianapolis and In Harm’s Way comes a thrilling and vividly told account of the USS Plunkett—a US Navy destroyer that sustained the most harrowing attack on any Navy ship by the Germans during World War II, that gave as good as it got, and that was later made famous by John Ford and Herman Wouk.

More than the story of a single, savage engagement, Unsinkable traces the individual journeys of five men on one ship from Casablanca in North Africa, to Sicily and Salerno in Italy and then on to Plunkett’s defining moment at Anzio, where a dozen-odd German bombers bore down on the ship in an assault so savage, so prolonged, and so deadly that one Navy commander was hard-pressed to think of another destroyer that had endured what Plunkett had. After a three-month overhaul and with a reputation rising as the “fightin’est ship” in the Navy, Plunkett (DD-431) plunged back into the war at Omaha Beach on D-Day, and once again into battle during the invasion of Southern France—perhaps the only Navy ship to participate in every Allied invasion in the European theatre.

Featuring five incredibly brave men—the indomitable skipper, who will receive the Navy Cross; the gunnery officer, who bucks the captain every step of the way to Anzio; a first lieutenant, who’s desperate to get off the ship and into the Pacific; a seventeen-year-old water tender, who’s trying to hold onto his hometown girl against all odds, and another water tender, who mans a 20mm gun when under aerial assault—the dramatic story of each plays out on the decks of the Plunkett as the ship’s story escalates on the stage of the Mediterranean. Based on Navy logs, war diaries, action reports, letters, journals, memoirs, and dozens of interviews with the men who were on the ship and their families, Unsinkable transcends historical appreciation of a single military ship to become a timeless evocation of young men stepping up to the defining experience of their lives.

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The Enigma Game

Elizabeth Wein

The hair stood up at the back of my neck. Those letters meant something. And with the cipher machine, I'd worked it out myself.
1940. Facing a seemingly endless war, fifteen-year-old Louisa Adair wants to fight back, make a difference, do something-anything to escape the Blitz and the ghosts of her parents, who were killed by enemy action. But when she accepts a position caring for an elderly German woman in the small village of Windyedge, Scotland, it hardly seems like a meaningful contribution. Still, the war feels closer than ever in Windyedge, where Ellen McEwen, a volunteer driver with the Royal Air Force, and Jamie Beaufort-Stuart, a flight leader for the 648 Squadron, are facing a barrage of unbreakable code and enemy attacks they can't anticipate.
Their paths converge when a German pilot lands in Windyedge under mysterious circumstances and plants a key that leads Louisa to an unparalleled discovery: an Enigma machine that translates German code. Louisa, Ellen, and Jamie must work together to unravel a puzzle that could turn the tide of the war? but doing so will put them directly in the cross-hairs of the enemy.
Featuring beloved characters from Code Name Verity and The Pearl Thief, as well as a remarkable new voice, this brilliant, breathlessly plotted novel by award-winning author Elizabeth Wein is a must-read.

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Skyhunter

Marie Lu

#1 New York Times-bestselling author Marie Lu is back with Skyhunter, an adrenaline-laced novel about the lengths one warrior will go to fight for freedom and those she loves.

A broken world.
An overwhelming evil.
A team of warriors ready to strike back.


Talin is a Striker, a member of an elite fighting force that stands as the last defense for the only free nation in the world: Mara.

A refugee, Talin knows firsthand the horrors of the Federation, a world-dominating war machine responsible for destroying nation after nation with its terrifying army of mutant beasts known only as Ghosts.

But when a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front to Mara's capital, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? What secrets is he hiding?

Only one thing is clear: Talin is ready to fight to the death alongside her fellow Strikers for the only homeland she has left . . . with or without the boy who might just be the weapon to save—or destroy—them all.

Loyalty is life.

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These Violent Delights

Chloe Gong

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

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A Deadly Education

Naomi Novik

 

 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic.

“The dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for.” Katherine Arden, author of Winternight Trilogy
I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.

Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans.

I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

At least, that’s what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does.

But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.

Although I’m giving serious consideration to just one.

With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a school bursting with magic like you’ve never seen before, and a heroine for the ages—a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.

 

 

 

 

Praise for Deadly Education

“The can’t-miss fantasy of fall 2020, a brutal coming-of-power story steeped in the aesthetics of dark academia. . . . A Deadly Education will cement Naomi Novik’s place as one of the greatest and most versatile fantasy writers of our time.”BookPage (starred review)

“A must-read . . . Novik puts a refreshingly dark, adult spin on the magical boarding school. . . . Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion’s relationship, the fantastically detailed world, the clever magic system, and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

 

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This Time Next Year

Sophie Cousens

Their lives began together, but their worlds couldn't be more different. After thirty years of missed connections, they're about to meet again...

Minnie Cooper knows two things with certainty: that her New Year's birthday is unlucky, and that it's all because of Quinn Hamilton, a man she's never met. Their mothers gave birth to them at the same hospital just after midnight on New Year's Day, but Quinn was given the cash prize for being the first baby born in London in 1990--and the name Minnie was meant to have, as well. With luck like that, it's no wonder each of her birthdays has been more of a disaster than the one before.

When Minnie unexpectedly runs into Quinn at a New Year's party on their mutual thirtieth birthday, she sees only more evidence that fortune has continued to favor him. The gorgeous, charming business owner truly seems to have it all--while Minnie's on the brink of losing her pie-making company and her home. But if Quinn and Minnie are from different worlds, why do they keep bumping into each other? And why is it that each fraught encounter leaves them both wanting more?

A moving, joyful love story, This Time Next Year explores the way fate leads us to the people we least expect--no matter what the odds.

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The Law of Innocence

Michael Connelly

"One of the finest legal thrillers of the last decade" (Associated Press)

Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller must defend himself against murder charges in the heart-stopping new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly
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A CBS The Doctors Book Club Pick

A People Book of the Week Selection

On the night he celebrates a big win, defense attorney Mickey Haller is pulled over by police, who find the body of a former client in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is immediately charged with murder but can't post the exorbitant $5 million bail slapped on him by a vindictive judge.

Mickey elects to represent himself and is forced to mount his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles. All the while he needs to look over his shoulder--as an officer of the court he is an instant target, and he makes few friends when he reveals a corruption plot within the jail.

But the bigger plot is the one against him. Haller knows he's been framed, whether by a new enemy or an old one. As his trusted team, including his half-brother, Harry Bosch, investigates, Haller must use all his skills in the courtroom to counter the damning evidence against him.

Even if he can obtain a not-guilty verdict, Mickey understands that it won't be enough. In order to be truly exonerated, he must find out who really committed the murder and why. That is the law of innocence.

In his highest stakes case yet, the Lincoln Lawyer fights for his life and proves again why he is "a worthy colleague of Atticus Finch... in the front of the pack in the legal thriller game" (Los Angeles Times).

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Perestroika in Paris

Jane Smiley

"From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres and the New York Times best-selling Last Hundred Years Trilogy, a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals--and a young boy--whose lives intersect in Paris Paras is a spirited racehorse at a racetrack west of Paris. At dusk, one afternoon she pushes open the door of her stall--she's a curious filly--and, after traveling through the night, arrives by chance in the City of Light. She's dazzled, and often mystified, by the sights, sounds and smells around her, but she isn't afraid. Soon she meets an elegant dog, a German shorthair pointer named Frida, who knows how to get by without attracting the attention of suspicious Parisians. Paras and Frida coexist for a time in the city's lush green spaces, nourished by Frida's strategic trips to the bakery and the butchershop. They keep company with two irrepressible ducks, and an opinionated raven. But then Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the secluded, ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great grandmother live, quietly and unto themselves. As the cold weather and Christmas near, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom among humans and animals alike. But how long can a runaway horse live undiscovered in Paris? And how long can a boy keep her hidden, and all his own? Jane Smiley's beguiling new novel is itself an adventure that celebrates curiosity and ingenuity, and expresses the desire of all creatures for true friendship, love, and freedom"--

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Cardiff, by the Sea

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates, the "grand mistress of ghoulishness" (Publishers Weekly), showcases her mastery in four deeply disturbing novellas that will leave the reader both quaking and pining for more

In the titular novella, an academic in Pennsylvania discovers a terrifying trauma from her past after inheriting a house in Cardiff, Maine from someone she has never heard of. Mia, the protagonist of "Miao Dao," is a pubescent girl overcome with loneliness, who befriends a feral cat that becomes her protector from the increasingly aggressive males that surround her.

A brilliant but shy college sophomore realizes that she is pregnant in "Phan-tomwise: 1972." Distraught, she allows a distinguished visiting professor to take her under his wing, though it quickly becomes evident that he is interested in more than an academic mentorship. Lastly, "The Surviving Child" is Stefan, who was spared when his mother, a famous poet, killed his sister and herself. Stefan's father remarries, but his young wife is haunted by dead poet's voice dancing in the wind, an inexplicably befouled well, and a compulsive draw to the same gar-age that took two lives.

In these psychologically daring, chillingly suspenseful pieces, Joyce Carol Oates writes about women facing threats past and present.

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Wintering

Katherine May

Every bit as beautiful and healing as the season itself. . . . This is truly a beautiful book. —Elizabeth Gilbert

“May writes beautifully….A contemplative, hopeful, consoling book.” —NPR


An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down.


Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered.

A moving personal narrative shot through with lessons from literature, mythology, and the natural world, May's story offers instruction on the transformative power of rest and retreat. Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas.

Ultimately Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times. May models an active acceptance of sadness and finds nourishment in deep retreat, joy in the hushed beauty of winter, and encouragement in understanding life as cyclical, not linear. A secular mystic, May forms a guiding philosophy for transforming the hardships that arise before the ushering in of a new season.

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Let Me Tell You What I Mean

Joan Didion

"From the universally acclaimed, best-selling author of the National Book Award-winning The Year of Magical Thinking: ten pieces never before collected that offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary writer. Here are six pieces written in 1968 from the "Points West" Saturday Evening Post column Joan Didion shared from 1964 to 1969 with her husband, John Gregory Dunne about: American newspapers; a session with Gamblers Anonymous; a visit to San Simeon; being rejected by Stanford; dropping in on Nancy Reagan, wife of the then-governor of California, while a TV crew filmed her at home; and an evening at the annual reunion of WWII veterans from the 101st Airborne Association at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Here too is a 1976 piece from the New York Times magazine on "Why I Write"; a piece about short stories from New West in 1978; and from The New Yorker, a piece on Hemingway from 1998, and on Martha Stewart from 2000. Each one is classic Didion: incisive, bemused, and stunningly prescient"--

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Cult Writers

Ian Haydn Smith

Cult Writers handpicks 50 notable figures from the modern world of literature and explores the creative genius that earned them the cult label, while celebrating the works that made their names.

What makes a cult writer? Whether pioneering in their craft, fiercely and undeniably unique or critically divisive, cult writers come in all shapes and guises. Some gain instant fame, others instant notoriety, and more still remain anonymous until a chance change in fashion sees their work propelled into the limelight.

In Cult Writers Ian Haydn Smith introduces 50 novelists deserving of a cult status. The literary genres and subjects explored within these writers’ pages are rich and diverse – acting as mirrors of their genius minds: from Irvine Welsh’s gritty Edinburgh streets, to Ken Kesey’s drug-fuelled madness; from feminist trailblazer Sylvia Plath to the magical realism of Angela Carter. Discover little knowns with small, devout followings and superstars gracing the covers of magazines: each writer is special in their individuality and their ability to inspire, antagonise and delight

With colourful and quirky illustrations by Kristelle Rodeia, Cult Writers is an essential addition to any book lover's library, as well as an entertaining introduction to our weird and wonderful world of literature.

The Writers: 
Kathy Acker, James Baldwin, J.G. Ballard, Mikhail Bulgakov, Charles Bukowski, William S. Burroughs, Octavia E. Butler, Italo Calvino, Albert Camus, Angela Carter, Colette, Maryse Conde, Julio Cortazar, Philip K. Dick, Douglas Coupland, Marguerite Duras, Ralph Ellison, Elena Ferrante, Janet Frame, Jean Genet, Joseph Heller, Michel Houellebecq, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Ken Kesey, Chris Kraus, Milan Kundera, Ursula K. Le Guin, Doris Lessing, Cormac McCarthy, Carson McCullers, Yukio Mishima, Haruki Murakami, Anais Nin, Sylvia Plath, Thomas Pynchon, Raymond Queneau, Ayn Rand, Pauline Reage, Jean Rhys, Juan Rulfo, Francoise Sagan, J.D. Salinger, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Donna Tartt, Jim Thompson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, Virginia Woolf, Irvine Welsh. 
 

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25 Great Sentences and How They Got That Way

Geraldine Woods

A guide to the artistry that lifts a sentence from good to great.

We all know the basic structure of a sentence: a subject/verb pair expressing a complete thought and ending with proper punctuation. But that classroom definition doesn’t begin to describe the ways in which these elements can combine to resonate with us as we read, to make us stop and think, laugh or cry.

In 25 Great Sentences and How They Got That Way, master teacher Geraldine Woods unpacks powerful examples of what she instead prefers to define as “the smallest element differentiating one writer’s style from another’s, a literary universe in a grain of sand.” And that universe is very large: the hundreds of memorable sentences gathered here come from sources as wide-ranging as Edith Wharton and Yogi Berra, Toni Morrison and Yoda, T. S. Eliot and Groucho Marx.

Culled from fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry, song lyrics, speeches, and even ads, these exemplary sentences are celebrated for the distinctive features—whether of structure, diction, connection/comparison, sound, or extremes—that underlie their beauty, resonance, and creativity. With dry humor and an infectious enjoyment that makes her own sentences a pleasure to read, Woods shows us the craft that goes into the construction of a memorable sentence. Each chapter finishes with an enticing array of exercises for those who want to test their skill at a particular one of the featured twenty-five techniques, such as onomatopoeia (in the Sound section) or parallelism (in the Structure section).

This is a book that will be treasured by word nerds and language enthusiasts, writers who want to hone their craft, literature lovers, and readers of everything from song lyrics and speeches to novels and poetry.

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Plunge (Hill House Comics)

Joe Hill

A distress signal goes out from a ghost ship that's been lost for over forty years...but what the salvage team finds upon their arrival will haunt them for the rest of their lives. New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill tempts you to explore the wreckage and discover where ghost stories start.

The Carpenter Salvage team, accompanied by a Marine Biologist eager to retrieve lost data and a company man looking to protect information and assets, are sent to recover what remains of the Derleth. But when they arrive and begin exploration of the ship and the island it crashed next to--they discover something much more menacing than they could've ever expected.

There's something down in the icy darkness of the Arctic sea...something that doesn't want to be found. Unlike on land, where terror shows itself as the long-lost crew of the Derleth emerges from caves. They seem as though they haven't aged a day--it's as if they're exactly the same as the day they disappeared...except they're all missing their eyes.

Will the salvage crew survive to bring their findings to shore? What danger waits for them if they fail? What dangers await us all should they succeed?

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Oak Flat

Lauren Redniss

A powerful work of visual nonfiction about three generations of an Apache family struggling to protect sacred land from a multinational mining corporation, by MacArthur "Genius" and National Book Award finalist Lauren Redniss, the acclaimed author of Thunder & Lightning.

Oak Flat is a serene high-elevation mesa that sits above the southeastern Arizona desert, fifteen miles to the west of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. For the San Carlos tribe, Oak Flat is a holy place, an ancient burial ground and religious site where Apache girls celebrate the coming-of-age ritual known as the Sunrise Ceremony. In 1995, a massive untapped copper reserve was discovered nearby. A decade later, a law was passed transferring the area to a private company, whose planned copper mine will wipe Oak Flat off the map--sending its natural springs, petroglyph-covered rocks, and old-growth trees tumbling into a void.

Redniss's deep reporting and haunting artwork anchor this mesmerizing human narrative. Oak Flat tells the story of a race-against-time struggle for a swath of American land, which pits one of the poorest communities in the United States against the federal government and two of the world's largest mining conglomerates. The book follows the fortunes of two families with profound connections to the contested site: the Nosies, an Apache family whose teenage daughter is an activist and leader in the Oak Flat fight, and the Gorhams, a mining family whose patriarch was a sheriff in the lawless early days of Arizona statehood.

The still-unresolved Oak Flat conflict is ripped from today's headlines, but its story resonates with foundational American themes: the saga of westward expansion, the resistance and resilience of Native peoples, and the efforts of profiteers to control the land and unearth treasure beneath it while the lives of individuals hang in the balance.

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What Cats Want

Dr. Yuki Hattori

From the top feline doctor in Japan comes a fun, practical, adorably illustrated “cat-to-human” translation guide to decoding your cat's feelings.

What makes cats climb into tiny spaces? Why do they sleep that much? And, most of all, how can we give them a good life?

Dr. Yuki Hattori is Japan's leading cat doctor, and to him cats are the most beautiful animals in the world. His advice comes with little illustrations showing exactly what to look for as a cat owner - including charts showing how to interpret their different meows, the direction of their whiskers and the way their tail is pointing!

Cats may seem low-maintenance but thoughtfulness about where you put their water, how warm or cool they like to be, what name to choose and how to groom them properly will make a life-changing difference. With understanding, affection and respect, your cat will be more healthy and contented - and you'll feel happier too.

An invaluable new guide filled with creative tips and darling illustrations, What Cats Want provides a much-desired glimpse into the minds of our most mysterious pets.

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Wonder Woman: Dead Earth

Daniel Johnson

Wonder Woman's mission was to save Man's World from itself. She failed.

When Diana awakens from a centuries-long sleep, she discovers Earth has been reduced to a nuclear wasteland. Now she's marooned in a dark and dangerous future, protecting the last human city from titanic monsters and struggling to uncover the secret of this dead Earth...and how she may be responsible for it.

In the newest title from DC's critically acclaimed Black Label line, Daniel Warren Johnson, the celebrated creator of Murder Falcon and Extremity, mixes sci-fi and fantasy into a harrowing postapocalyptic vision of Wonder Woman unlike anything you've ever seen. Collects the full four issue miniseries along with behind-the-scenes artwork.

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Punch Needle Embroidery for Beginners

Lucy Davidson

Needle punch 12 gorgeous accessories for you and your home with just 9 colors.

Punch needle embroidery is back! It's a simple technique that involves nothing more than a punch needle - like a normal sewing needle, but with a handle and an aperture at the tip. It can be used on any fabric using either yarn or thread, and creates a textured, raised finish that's soft to the touch and beautiful to look at.

The easy-to-learn technique and repetitive action makes this the perfect, mindful pursuit, and projects from wall hangings and cushions to children's toys, bags and purses can be worked up quickly and easily with minimal effort.

Author Lucy Davidson's imaginative designs are stunning, and will appeal to anyone with an eye for clean, modern design. All the techniques you need are described at the start of the book, with information on how to hold the needle, how to start and finish a thread and how to achieve a variety of interesting textures and colour combinations. There are then 12 projects to try, all accompanied by charts, written instructions and beautiful photographs of the finished pieces.

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Adventures in Eden

Carolyn Mullet

A Bucket List Tour of Europe’s Private Gardens

Acres of white-blooming garden rooms on the island of Mallorca. A seven-tiered wonder of stone, plants, and water above Germany’s Rhine River. The Garden of Cosmic Speculation in a quiet Scottish valley. These sumptuous landscapes are just three of the fifty destinations you’ll visit on this exclusive tour of Europe’s most beautiful private gardens. From Belgium to Ireland, Scandinavia to Wales, Carolyn Mullet is your guide through intimate retreats normally off-limits to visitors. Short profiles introduce the intriguing owners and rich histories of each garden and the land they inhabit. Among the featured gardens are works of eminent designers such as Tom Stuart-Smith, Andy Malengier, and Louis Benech.
 
Whether you love exploring faraway places or creating your own landscape haven at home, Adventures in Eden is the ideal armchair getaway—glimpses into personal garden artistry that are sure to spark inspiration.

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Rugged Access for All

Christopher Kain

Part narrative, part guidebook, this book follows the author and his wheelchair-bound daughter as they complete a range of hikes in all 50 states, validating that anyone can experience the natural landscapes the United States has to offer, even if pushing a mobility chair or stroller.

When Kellisa Kain was born premature with significant developmental and physical disabilities, she wasn’t expected to survive her first 24 hours. She defied the odds, and 20 years later she and her father, Christopher Kain, have pushiked using a specialized mobility chair in all 50 states. Now Chris wants to inspire other families, whether with children in strollers or in mobility chairs, to get outside and experience the country’s natural landscapes.

Rugged Access for All: A Guide for Pushiking America’s Diverse Trails with Mobility Chairs and Strollers showcases some of the greatest trails across the US that can be completed while pushiking—hiking with someone in a wheelchair, mobility chair, or stroller. Part narrative, part guide, this book chronicles their hikes in all 50 states. It includes detailed trail descriptions, full-color trail maps, and vibrant stories from Chris and Kellisa’s own experiences. Trails vary in difficulty, from deserts to mountains and everything in between.

Sometimes even a stroll around the block can have frustrating barriers to those with wheels, and this can lead to families staying inside too often. Rugged Access for All gives families the knowledge, confidence, and direction to travel and experience the wonders of nature, no matter what mobility challenges they may face.

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The 99% Invisible City

Roman Mars

A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, USA TODAY, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER

“[A] diverse and enlightening book . . . The 99% Invisible City is altogether fresh and imaginative when it comes to thinking about urban spaces.”
The New York Times Book Review


“Here is a field guide, a boon, a bible, for the urban curious. Your city’s secret anatomy laid bare—a hundred things you look at but don’t see, see but don’t know. Each entry is a compact, surprising story, a thought piece, an invitation to marvel. Together, they are almost transformative. To know why things are as they are adds a satisfying richness to daily existence. This book is terrific, just terrific.”
—Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of StiffGrunt, and Gulp


The 99% Invisible City brings into view the fascinating but often unnoticed worlds we walk and drive through every day, and to read it is to feel newly alive and aware of your place in the world. This book made me laugh, and it made me cry, and it reminded me to always read the plaque.”
—John Green, New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All The Way Down


A beautifully designed guidebook to the unnoticed yet essential elements of our cities, from the creators of the wildly popular 99% Invisible podcast 

Have you ever wondered what those bright, squiggly graffiti marks on the sidewalk mean?

Or stopped to consider why you don't see metal fire escapes on new buildings?

Or pondered the story behind those dancing inflatable figures in car dealerships?


99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things, revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit, the streets we drive, and the sidewalks we traverse. The show celebrates design and architecture in all of its functional glory and accidental absurdity, with intriguing tales of both designers and the people impacted by their designs.

Now, in The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to Hidden World of Everyday Design, host Roman Mars and coauthor Kurt Kohlstedt zoom in on the various elements that make our cities work, exploring the origins and other fascinating stories behind everything from power grids and fire escapes to drinking fountains and street signs. With deeply researched entries and beautiful line drawings throughout, The 99% Invisible City will captivate devoted fans of the show and anyone curious about design, urban environments, and the unsung marvels of the world around them.

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Metazoa

Peter Godfrey-Smith

The scuba-diving philosopher who wrote Other Minds explores the origins of animal consciousness

Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom—the Metazoa—they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds.

In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds, the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus—the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments—eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment—shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness.

Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophical reflections and the latest news from biology, Metazoa reveals that even in our high-tech, AI-driven times, there is no understanding our minds without understanding nerves, muscles, and active bodies. The story that results is as rich and vibrant as life itself.

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Ghostways

Robert Macfarlane

In Holloway, "a perfect miniature prose-poem" (William Dalrymple), Macfarlane, artist Stanley Donwood, and writer Dan Richards travel to Dorset, near the south coast of England, to explore a famed "hollowed way"--a path used by walkers and riders for so many centuries that it has become worn far down into the soft golden bedrock of the region.

In Ness, "a triumphant libretto of mythic modernism for our poisoned age" (Max Porter), Macfarlane and Donwood create a modern myth about Orford Ness, the ten-mile-long shingle spit that lies off the coast of East Anglia, which the British government used for decades to conduct secret weapons tests.

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Fossil Men

Kermit Pattison

"Brilliant. ... A work of staggering depth. ... Pattison deftly weaves strands of science, sociology and political science into a compelling tale that stretches over decades." —Minneapolis Star Tribune

A decade in the making, Fossil Men is a scientific detective story played out in anatomy and the natural history of the human body: the first full-length account of the discovery of a startlingly unpredicted human ancestor more than a million years older than Lucy

It is the ultimate mystery: where do we come from? In 1994, a team led by fossil-hunting legend Tim White uncovered a set of ancient bones in Ethiopia’s Afar region. Radiometric dating of nearby rocks indicated the resulting skeleton, classified as Ardipithecus ramidus—nicknamed “Ardi”—was an astounding 4.4 million years old, more than a million years older than the world-famous “Lucy.” The team spent the next 15 years studying the bones in strict secrecy, all while continuing to rack up landmark fossil discoveries in the field and becoming increasingly ensnared in bitter disputes with scientific peers and Ethiopian bureaucrats. When finally revealed to the public, Ardi stunned scientists around the world and challenged a half-century of orthodoxy about human evolution—how we started walking upright, how we evolved our nimble hands, and, most significantly, whether we were descended from an ancestor that resembled today’s chimpanzee. But the discovery of Ardi wasn’t just a leap forward in understanding the roots of humanity--it was an attack on scientific convention and the leading authorities of human origins, triggering an epic feud about the oldest family skeleton.

In Fossil Men, acclaimed journalist Kermit Pattison brings us a cast of eccentric, obsessive scientists, including White, an uncompromising perfectionist whose virtuoso skills in the field were matched only by his propensity for making enemies; Gen Suwa, a Japanese savant whose deep expertise about teeth rivaled anyone on Earth; Owen Lovejoy, a onetime creationist-turned-paleoanthropologist with radical insights into human locomotion; Berhane Asfaw, who survived imprisonment and torture to become Ethiopia’s most senior paleoanthropologist; Don Johanson, the discoverer of Lucy, who had a rancorous falling out with the Ardi team; and the Leakeys, for decades the most famous family in paleoanthropology.

Based on a half-decade of research in Africa, Europe and North America, Fossil Men is not only a brilliant investigation into the origins of the human lineage, but the oldest of human emotions: curiosity, jealousy, perseverance and wonder. 

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A Series of Fortunate Events

Sean B. Carroll

"Fascinating and exhilarating—Sean B. Carroll at his very best."—Bill Bryson, author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants

From acclaimed writer and biologist Sean B. Carroll, a rollicking, awe-inspiring story of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world


Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world.

Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents' gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death.

This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today's most accomplished science storytellers, A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.

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The Wicked Hour

Alice Blanchard

From the award-winning author of Trace of Evil, a detective dealing with the scars of her past must solve a seemingly unconnected string of murders, and face the impossible question of what to do when the killer may be hiding amongst the ones you know, in Alice Blanchard's The Wicked Hour.

“Readers will welcome a return to Burning Lake with Natalie at the helm.”—Associated Press

“Lockhart is a relatable new heroine on the police-procedural scene, and one who will appeal to readers of Tana French."Booklist

The day after Burning Lake’s notorious, debauched Halloween celebration, Detective Natalie Lockhart uncovers a heartbreaking scene—a young woman, dead and lying in a dumpster. There’s no clue to who she is, save for a mystifying tattoo on her arm, and a callus underneath her chin. She’s not from around here. No one knows who she is.

As Natalie retraces the young woman’s steps leading up to her death, she uncovers a deeper, darker horror—a string of murders and disappearances, seemingly unconnected, that may have ties to each other—and explain the abrupt disappearance of her best friend years ago.

As she digs deeper within the mind of the hunter, Natalie finds a darkness she could never have imagined. And as she draws closer to the truth, the killer is weaving a trap for her that may prove inescapable.

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The Night of the Fire

Kjell Eriksson

Swedish police inspector Ann Lindell finally returns in internationally bestselling and award-winning Kjell Eriksson's newest novel.

Police inspector Ann Lindell has left the Uppsala police and is living a quiet life, producing local cheese in a small town in Uppland. But life in the country is not as idyllic as it seems. On New Year’s Eve someone sets fire to the former village school which is now a home for asylum seekers, and three people are killed. Ann Lindell’s investigative instincts come back to life and soon she takes on the case. She is contacted by a person who has been involved in a previous investigation and who wants to warn her. His message is short and clear: Many will die. A few weeks later a bomb explodes in a suburb of Stockholm.

Kjell Eriksson wrote seven highly acclaimed novels about Ann Lindell, beginning with award-winner The Princess of Burundi, and now, after ten years, he returns to the Uppsala region and his sympathetic police inspector. The Night of the Fire is the first of two new volumes featuring Ann Lindell.

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Snowdrift

Helene Tursten

When a new lead breaks in the cold case that has long haunted Swedish Detective Inspector Embla Nyström, the truth she's been seeking about her best friend's disappearance may finally be revealed--if it doesn't kill her first.

One winter night, 28-year-old Detective Inspector Embla Nyström receives a phone call that sends her reeling. It's been fourteen years since her best friend disappeared from a nightclub in Gothenburg, but Embla recognizes her voice before the call abruptly disconnects. Embla is thrilled to learn Lollo is still alive, but before she can dive into the case, she gets another phone call--this time from a relative. A man has been found shot dead in one of the guest houses he and his wife manage in rural Sweden. Could she come take a look?

When Embla arrives on the scene, she receives another shock. The dead man is Milo Stavic, a well-known gang member and one of the last people seen with Lollo. And, as Embla soon learns, the same night that Milo was shot in the guest house, his brother Luca was also killed. Why, after all these years, is someone targeting the Stavic brothers, and where is the third brother? With help from a handsome local detective and his police dog in training, Embla launches an investigation into the three Stavic brothers, hoping it will bring her closer to finally finding Lollo and putting an end to her terrible nightmares.

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Cold Wind

Paige Shelton

Second in a new series set in Alaska from beloved cozy author Paige Shelton, Cold Wind will chill your bones.

Beth Rivers is still in Alaska. The unidentified man who kidnapped her in her home of St. Louis hasn’t been found yet, so she’s not ready to go back.

But as October comes to a close, Benedict is feeling more and more like her new home. Beth has been working on herself: She’s managed to get back to writing, and she’s enjoying these beautiful months between summer and winter in Alaska.

Then, everything in Benedict changes after a mudslide exposes a world that had been hidden for years. Two mud-covered, silent girls appear, and a secret trapper’s house is found in the woods. The biggest surprise, though, is a dead and frozen woman’s body in the trapper’s shed. No one knows who she is, but the man who runs the mercantile, Randy, seems to be in the middle of all the mysteries.

Unable to escape her journalistic roots, Beth is determined to answer the questions that keep arising: Are the mysterious girls and the frozen body connected? Can Randy possibly be involved? And—most importantly—can she solve this mystery before the cold wind sweeping over the town and the townspeople descends for good?

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To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

Christopher Paolini

Now a New York Times and USA Today bestseller!

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from #1
New York Times bestselling author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini.

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.

Now she's awakened a nightmare.

During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope . . .

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Our Dark Duet

Victoria Schwab

A New York Times bestseller

The bestselling sequel—and conclusion—to Victoria Schwab’s instant #1 New York Times bestseller This Savage Song.

Kate Harker is a girl who isn’t afraid of the dark. She’s a girl who hunts monsters. And she’s good at it. August Flynn is a monster who can never be human. No matter how much he once yearned for it. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.

Nearly six months after Kate and August were first thrown together, the war between the monsters and the humans is a terrifying reality. In Verity, August has become the leader he never wished to be, and in Prosperity, Kate has become the ruthless hunter she knew she could be. When a new monster emerges from the shadows—one who feeds on chaos and brings out its victim’s inner demons—it lures Kate home, where she finds more than she bargained for. She’ll face a monster she thought she killed, a boy she thought she knew, and a demon all her own.

A gorgeously written dark fantasy from New York Times–bestselling author Victoria Schwab, and one to hand to fans of Holly Black, Laini Taylor, and Maggie Stiefvater.

“Explosive.”—Brightly

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